ns, being so candid and so good natured as to say:

"You would have been just the person to educate Monseigneur."

Unwilling to appear as if she slighted the Dauphin's actual tutors,
Madame de Maintenon adroitly replied that, as it seemed to her, M. le
Dauphin had been brought up like an angel.

It is said that I have special talent for sustaining and enlivening a
conversation; there is something in that, I admit, but to do her justice,
I must say that in this respect Madame de Maintenon is without a rival.
She has quite a wealth of invention; the most arid subject in her hands
becomes attractive; while for transitions, her skill is unequalled. Far
simpler than myself, she gauges her whole audience with a single glance.
And as, since her misfortunes, her rule has been never to make an enemy,
since these easily crop up along one's path, she is careful never to
utter anything which could irritate the feelings or wound the pride of
the most sensitive. Her descriptions are so varied, so vivacious, that
they fascinate a whole crowd. If now and again some little touch of
irony escapes her, she knows how to temper and even instantly to
neutralise this by terms of praise at once natural and simple.

Under the guise of an extremely pretty woman, she conceals the knowledge
and tact of a statesman. I have, moreover, noticed that latterly the
King likes to talk about matters of State when she is present. He rarely
did this with me.

I think she is at the outset of a successful career. The King made
persistent inquiries with regard to her whole family. He has already
conferred a petty governorship upon the Comte d'Aubigne, her brother, and
the Marquis de la Gallerie, their cousin, has just received the command
of a regiment, and a pension.

Madame de Maintenon readily admits that she owes her actual good fortune
to myself. I also saw one of her letters to Madame de Saint-Geran, in
which she refers to me in terms of gratitude. Sometimes, indeed, she
goes too far, even siding with my husband, and condemning what she dares
to term my conduct; however, this is only to my face. I have always
liked her, and in spite of her affronts, I like her still; but there are
times when I am less tolerant, and then we are like two persons just
about to fall out.

The Comte de Toulouse and Mademoiselle de Blois were not entrusted to her
at their birth as the others were. The King thought that the additional
responsibility of their ed