lieutenant-general of the province of Nivernais. Roger was the third son,
but by the death of his elder brothers became the representative of the
family. He entered the army when he was only sixteen and fought through
several campaigns, succeeding his father in the office of _mestre de camp_.
He tells us himself that his two ambitions were to become "honnete homme"
and to distinguish himself in arms, but the luck was against him. In 1641
he was sent to the Bastille by Richelieu for some months as a punishment
for neglect of his duties in his pursuit of gallantry. In 1643 he married a
cousin, Gabrielle de Toulongeon, and for a short time he left the army. But
in 1645 he succeeded to his father's position in the Nivernais, and served
under Conde in Catalonia. His wife died in 1646, and he became more
notorious than ever by an attempt to abduct Madame de Miramion, a rich
widow. This affair was with some difficulty settled by a considerable
payment on Bussy's part, and he afterwards married Louise de Rouville. When
Conde joined the party of the Fronde, Bussy joined him, but a fancied
slight on the part of the prince finally decided him for the royal side. He
fought with some distinction both in the civil war and on foreign service,
and buying the commission of _mestre de camp_ in 1655, he went to serve
under Turenne in Flanders. He served there for several campaigns and
distinguished himself at the battle of the Dunes and elsewhere; but he did
not get on well with his general, and his quarrelsome disposition, his
overweening vanity and his habit of composing libellous _chansons_ made him
eventually the enemy of most persons of position both in the army and at
court. In the year 1659 he fell into disgrace for having taken part in an
orgy at Roissy near Paris during Holy Week, which caused great scandal.
Bussy was ordered to retire to his estates, and beguiled his enforced
leisure by composing, for the amusement of his mistress, Madame de
Montglas, his famous _Histoire amoureuse des Gaules_. This book, a series
of sketches of the intrigues of the chief ladies of the court, witty
enough, but still more ill-natured, circulated freely in manuscript, and
had numerous spurious sequels. It was said that Bussy had not spared the
reputation of Madame, and the king, angry at the report, was not appeased
when Bussy sent him a copy of the book to disprove the scandal. He was sent
to the Bastille on the 17th of April 1665, where he remaine