interview, the king caused the dauphin to be called, and presented him to him as a young courtier. M. de Vardes recognised, and saluted him: the king said to him, laughing: "Vardes, this is a blunder, you know that no one is saluted in my presence." M. de Vardes replied in the same tone: " Sire, I have forgotten every thing; your majesty must pardon even thirty blunders." "Well, I will," said the king, "stop at the twentyninth." The king afterwards laughed at his coat. M.de Vardes said: 66 Sire, when a man is so wretched as to be banished from your presence, he is not only unfortunate, but he becomes ridiculous." All this was said in a tone of perfect freedom and playfulness. The courtiers performed wonders. He came one day to Paris, and called upon me; I was just gone out to call upon him, but he found my son and daughter at home, and in the evening I found him at his own house: it was a joyful meeting: I mentioned our friend to him. "What, madam! my master! my intimate friend! the man in the world to whom I owe the greatest obligations! can you doubt that I love him with my whole heart?" This pleased me highly. He resides with his daughter at Versailles. The court goes to-day;

I suppose he will return, to catch the king again at Auxerre, for it appears to all his friends, that he ought to take this journey; in which he will certainly pay his court well, by bestowing the most natural praises on three little things, the troops, the fortifications, and his majesty's conquests. Perhaps our friend will tell. you all this, and my letter will be only a miserable echo; but at any rate I have entered into the minutia, because I should like, on such an occasion, to be written to in the same style, and I judge you,, my dear sir, by myself; I have often been deceived by others, but never by you. It is said, that your worthy and gene

rous friend, M. de Noailles, has rendered very import¬ ant services to M. de Vardes; he is so generous, that it is impossible to doubt this. M. de Calvisson is ar rived; this must either break off, or conclude, our marriage. In reality, I am weary of this tedious affair, I am not in a humour to talk of any thing but M. de Vardes; M. de Vardes for ever: he is the Gospel of the day.

LETTER DCXC.

TO THE SAME.

Paris, July 28, 1682.

You are going to hear a beautiful and an admirable story; pay great attention to every circumstance attending it. The prince de Conti having expressed himself dissatisfied with the chevalier de Lorraine, because he had said the prince de la Roche-sur-Yon was in love with his wife, found an opportunity of telling him two days ago, in the gardens of Versailles, that he would do him the honour of fighting him, because he had offended him by his conversation, &c. The chevalier de Lorraine thanked him for the honour he intended him, and wished to justify himself in what he had said; after which the prince told him, that he might have M. de Marsan for his second: who, hearing himself named, stepped forward and accepted the office without hesitation, desiring the prince de Conti to allow M. de Soissons to be the other second, as he had long been an enemy to their family. The proposal was yielded to; the party was formed, the place appointed, the hour chosen, and secrecy enjoined. Cannot you fancy yourself in the times of the late M. de Boutteville? Each went his way; but the chevalier de Lor

raine went straight to Monsieur, to whom he related the whole story, and Monsieur the next moment confided it to the king. You may guess what he said to his son

in-law he talked to him for two hours, with more of gaiety than anger, but in a tone of authority, which must have caused great repentance. Here the affair ended. The public thinks the chevalier de Lorraine ought to have refused upon the spot, instead of consenting, and then betraying every thing; but people of the trade think a refusal would have excited some angry words from the prince, and perhaps some menace not very easy of digestion: and then to have such a stigma cast upon him, and from a man who is so much to be dreaded! In this way his conduct has been approved, and the more so, because his courage is unquestionable. What say you to this affair? how does it appear to you to be handled? Alas! if that sainted princess were to descend from heaven, and to find her dear son troubled with such impetuosity, do you not think she would retrace her steps from grief and affliction? You will talk this over with M. de Vardes. the birth of a duke of Burgundy, pected, could restore him to us!

Would to God, that which is hourly ex

I am still delighted with your correspondence with the contrary of left: you make me love Serignan, without ever having seen him: I have caused it to be reported to him, that we are nearly related through your means, and that the esteem I entertain for him is as extraordinary as his merit. It is true, that madame de Calvisson has not been to see madame de Noailles : I dare not say what I think of this pride: our friend is her friend, but he will never convince me that, her husband having fulfilled all his duties, this corps de reserve is good policy. The intendant of Lyons would be guilty of very bad policy, if he did not esteem your

brother as he ought in any case, he will be made acquainted with his duty.

The young son of the count de Roye, aged sixteen, being at Rome with the duke de la Roche-Guyon and M. de Liancourt, his cousins, received so charming a little ray of saving grace, that, after a very serious lecture, he placed his abjuration in the hands of the pope, and had the honour to receive the sacrament from his holiness himself. This event is fortunate for him, both in regard to this world and the next: his whole family is in despair.

There are continual entertainments at Versailles, saving the accouchement of the dauphiness; for the physicians not being able to do her any other harm, have been so much out in their calculations, that they bled her towards the end of the third month, and again in the eighth, from the mere rage of doing something. I seem, sir, to have been talking to you a long time; the reflection comes rather late; I pity you that it does, and entreat you to understand all the esteem and friendship, formed on purpose for you, which is in my thoughts, and of which I spare you the recital. Our good abbé returns you a thousand thanks for your remembrance of Livri. All our household sends you compliments more or less serious. M. de Grignan is gone to Provence; my son is still in Flanders.

[N. B. The original of this letter was given to the count de Grave for Mr. Walpole, who wished to have a letter of madame de Sévigné's in her own hand-writing.]

LETTER * DCXCI.

TO THE SAME.

Paris, August 7, 1682.

THE dauphiness was delivered yesterday evening (Thursday) at ten o'clock, of a duke of Burgundy †: your friend will inform you of the joy of the whole court, and what eagerness was displayed to evince it to the king, to the dauphin, to the queen; what noise, what bonfires, what effusions of wine, what dances of two hundred yeomen at the gates of the palace, what shouts of vive le roi, what ringing of bells at Paris, what firing of cannon, what crowds of compliments and harangues➡ and all this must have an end!

LETTER DCXCII.

FROM MADAME de sévigné to THE COUNT DE BUSSY.

Paris, December 23, 1682.

Ir as little justice were to be done you, my very unjust cousin, as you do me, I should not advise you to return to Paris. You judge rashly: you say I have not written to you upon the marriage of my niece de Rabutin. I sincerely hope our friend Corbinelli, with his upright and accurate mind, will show you the consequence of this sort of hasty sentence. Know, therefore, noble sir, your confusion, that I did write to you in our friend's letter. Seek for it, and ask my pardon.

to

† Benserade said on this subject, that this prince would some day be one of the bravest men in the world, because, even at his present age, he had made the prince (the great Condé) fall back.