self is at the head of it, and for
so supreme a Chief the sons of kings are but of small account."

With an argument such as this she closed my mouth, leaving me quite
amazed, and next day she smiled with delight when she presented the
little Comte de Vegin dressed as a little abbe.

She was careful to see that the crozier, mitre, and cross were painted on
the panels of his carriage, and let the post of vicar-general be given to
one of her pious friends who was presented to me.

CHAPTER XXX.

Once a Queen, Always a Queen.--An Anonymous Letter.--The Queen's
Confidence.--She Has a Sermon Preached against Madame de Montespan.--Who
the Preacher was.--One Scandal May Avert Another.

I related how, near La Fere, at the time of the Flanders campaign, Madame
de la Valliere's coach, at the risk of offending the Queen, left the main
road and took a short cut across country, so as to get on ahead, and
arrive before anybody else. By this the Duchess thought to give her
royal friend a great mark of her attachment. On the contrary, it was the
first cause for that coolness which the King afterwards displayed.

"Fain would he be beloved, yet loved with tact."

The very next day his Majesty, prevailed upon La Valliere to say that
such a style of travelling was too fatiguing for her. She had the honour
of dining with the Queen, and then she returned to the little chateau of
Versailles, so as to be near her children.

The King arranged with Madame de Montausier, lady-in-waiting to the
Queen, that I should use her rooms to dress and write in, and that his
Majesty should be free to come there when he liked, and have a quiet chat
with me about matters of interest.

The Queen, whom I had managed to please by my amusing talk, always kept
me close to her side, both when taking long walks or playing cards. At a
given signal, a knock overhead, I used to leave the Queen, excusing
myself on the score of a headache, or arrears of correspondence; in
short, I managed to get away as best I could.

The King left us in order to capture Douai, then Tournay, and finally the
whole of Flanders; while the Queen continued to show me every sign of her
sincere and trustful friendship.

In August, on the Day of Our Lady, while the King was besieging Lille, a
letter came to the Queen, informing her that her husband had forsaken
Madame de la Valliere for her Majesty's lady-in-waiting, the Marquise de
Montespan. Moreover, the anonymous missive na