ie, who brought about the marriage of
the king to Marie Leczinska, the daughter of the King of Poland, by
which manoeuvre she made herself _Dame de Palais de la Reine_. The
queen naturally took her and her husband into favor, regarding them
as her and her father's benefactors and as entitled to her warmest
gratitude. Mme. de Prie succeeded in winning the queen's affection
and confidence; however, these were of little value, inasmuch as the
queen's influence upon society and morals was not felt, for she led
a life of seclusion, shut up in her oratory and constantly on her
_prie-dieu_, and was an object of pity and ridicule.

Mme. de Prie and M. le Duc, having planned to deprive M. Fleury, the
minister, of his power,--he had been the king's preceptor,--suddenly
had the tables turned against them. Both were exiled, and a new
coterie of ladies came into power; the Duchesse d'Alincourt replaced
Mme. de Prie, and the king and M. Fleury themselves took up the
affairs of state.

M. Fleury, now cardinal, perceiving that a mistress was inevitable,
consented to the choice by the dissolute men and women of court
of Mme. de Mailly,--or Mlle. de Nesle,--who was supposed to be a
disinterested person. The king, who had no love for her, accepted her
as he would have accepted anything put before him by the court. The
queen was incapable of exerting any beneficial influence upon him; in
fact, the more he became alienated from her, the more humble and timid
did she appear when in his presence. The reign of Mlle. de Nesle had
lasted less than a year, when the beautiful Mme. de La Tournelle,
created Duchesse de Chateauroux, replaced her; the latter lived but
a short time, being the second mistress of Louis XV. to die within a
year. After her death the king raised the beautiful Mme. d'Etioles
to the honor of _maitresse-en-titre_; she, as Mme. de Pompadour, was,
without doubt, the most prominent, possibly the most intelligent and
intellectual, certainly the most powerful, of all French mistresses.
It was the first time that a _bourgeoise_ of the financier class
had usurped the position of mistress--that honor having belonged
exclusively to the nobility.

After the first infidelities of the king, Marie Leczinska's life
became more and more austere and secluded; she remained indoors, far
from the noise and activity of Versailles, leaving only for charitable
purposes or for the theatre. Her mornings were entirely occupied in
prayers and moral