which rank paid to beauty was
such that the king stood bareheaded, with his plumed hat in his hand,
engaged during the hour the rain descended in animated conversation.
After this it was observed that in the evening drives in the park he
would ride on horseback for a short time by the carriage of the queen,
or of the Princess Henrietta, and would then gallop to the coach of
Louise.

He soon commenced a daily correspondence with her. Louis was by no
means a well-educated man. In fact, he might be almost regarded as
illiterate; but his letters were written with so much delicacy of
sentiment and elegance of expression, that Louise was embarrassed in
knowing how to return suitable replies. She was mortified at the
thought of having her awkward letters compared with the elegant
epistles which she received. In her embarrassment, she applied to the
Marquis of Dangeau, a man of superior talents and culture, to write
her responses for her.

Louise was a very noble girl, frank, sincere, confiding. On one
occasion, when the king was complimenting her upon the rare beauty of
her letters, the artless child confessed that she was not the author
of them, but that they were written by the Marquis of Dangeau. The
king smiled, and had the grace to admit that his letters to her were
written by the same individual!

It had become a common entertainment of the court to put up in a
lottery some beautiful article of jewelry. On one occasion the king
drew a very costly pair of bracelets. All were looking with some
curiosity to see to whom he would present them. Pausing for a moment,
the king admiringly contemplated the sparkling gems, and then,
threading his way through the throng of ladies, advanced to
Mademoiselle de la Valliere, who stood a little apart, and placed them
in her hands. Henrietta turned pale, and bit her lip with vexation.
The queen, Maria Theresa, looked on with a marble smile, which
revealed nothing of her feelings. Louise was embarrassed, but with
admirable tact she assumed that the king had merely presented them to
her for inspection. After carefully examining them, she handed them
back to him, saying, with a courtesy, "They are indeed very
beautiful." Louis, instead of receiving them, said, with a stately
bow, "In that case, mademoiselle, they are in hands too fair to resign
them," and returned to his seat.

As we have mentioned, the minister of the treasury was rolling in
ill-gotten wealth. His palace of Vaux,[I]