d.

_Political Intrigues_

King Louis XIV. had been failing for some time, though every one
pretended not to notice it; and the Duchess of Maine, ever anxious for
the greatness of her family, was very eager to know his testamentary
intentions. Enough was ascertained, by the help of Madame de Maintenon,
to show that the King's dispositions were in favour of the Duke of
Orleans, and the mistake was made of confiding to the Duke his future
advantage. As the illness progressed, a council of regency was formed
with the Duke of Orleans at its head, and when the King died the Duke
was appointed Regent by Parliament, and the Duke of Maine was entrusted
with the education of the young King.

The Duchess of Maine, who had come up to Paris for this anxious time,
suffered a good deal from insomnia, and now called me in to read to her
every night. But there was more conversation than reading, and she
poured out to me in entire confidence all her secrets, projects,
complaints and regrets. This touching confidence made me very deeply
attached to her; and when she and her husband removed to the Tuilleries
to superintend the King's education, they took me with them.

In defence of the interests of her family in the succession to the
Crown, which were threatened by the Duke of Orleans, Cardinal Polignac
and others undertook the preparation of a very learned memoir, based on
a great mass of historical and legal precedents; the Duchess threw
herself into the most laborious researches to assist them, and I was set
to study ancient volumes and to correspond with all kinds of
authorities. The great work was finished at last; it was a fine,
well-written production; but it did not repay the trouble it had cost.
The question was decided against the family of Maine, the edict
conferring on them the succession to the Crown was revoked, and the rank
of princes of the blood was taken from them.

It is impossible to describe the sorrow of my mistress at this sudden
overthrow of the fortunes of her family. She was wholly unable to
acquiesce in it, and her illtreatment in France suggested to her the
idea of seeking help from the King of Spain. The Baron de Walef, who was
going to that court, undertook to represent her case there, and the
Duchess of Maine held secret interviews with the Spanish ambassador in
Paris. Several other persons became implicated in these intrigues; the
Duchess became more deeply compromised than she had at first intend