CHAPTER XXXVIII.

Madame de Montespan Back at Court.--Her Friends.--Her Enemies.--Edifying
Conversions.--The Archbishop of Paris.

Eight days after the conclusion of the jubilee I returned to Versailles.
The King received me with every mark of sincere friendship; my friends
came in crowds to my apartments; my enemies left their names with my
Swiss servant, and in chapel they put back my seat, chairs, and
footstools in their usual place.

Madame de Maintenon had twice sent my children to Clagny

[The splendid Chateau de Clagny (since demolished) was situated on the
beautiful country surrounding Versailles, near the wood of Millers
d'Avrai.--EDITOR's NOTE.]

with the under-governess; but she did not come herself, which greatly
inconvenienced me. I complained to her about this, and she assured me
the King had dissuaded her from visiting me, "so as to put curious folk
off the scent;" and when I told her of my interview with M. de Bossuet,
she neatly avoided being mixed up in the matter by omitting to blame
anybody. The most licentious women, so she told me, had distinguished
themselves by pious exercises during the observance of the jubilee. She
informed me that the Comtesse de Soissons, the Princesse de Monaco,
Madame de Soubise, and five or six virtuous dames of this type, had given
gold, silver, and enamelled lamps to the most notable churches of the
capital. The notorious Duchesse de Longueville talked of having her own
tomb constructed in a Carmelite chapel. Six leaders of fashion had
forsworn rouge, and Madame d'Humieres had given up gambling. As for my
lord the Archbishop of Paris, he had not changed his way of life a jot,
either for the better or for the worse.

CHAPTER XXXIX.

Attempted Abduction.--The Marquise Procures a Bodyguard.--Her Reasons for
So Doing.--Geography and Morals.

The youthful Marquis d'Antin--my son--was growing up; the King showed him
the most flattering signs of his attachment, and as the child had lived
only with me, he dreaded his father's violent temper, of which he had
often heard me speak. In order to have the custody of his son, the
Marquis de Montespan had appealed to Parliament; but partisans of the
King had shelved the matter, which, though ever in abeyance, was still
pending. I had my son educated under my care, being sure of the tender
attachment that would spring up between himself and the princes, his
brothers. At the Montespan chateau, I admit, he woul