promotion of the Duke of Orleans.

"The Dauphin commanded at that time the King's Army in
Champaign, and had reduced that of the Emperor to such
extremities, that it must have entirely perished, had not the
Duchess d'Etampes, for fear too great successes should make us
refuse peace, and the Emperor's alliance in favour of the Duke of
Orleans, secretly advised the enemy to surprise Espemai and
Cheteau-Thieni, in which places were great magazines of
provisions; they succeeded in the attempt, and by that means
saved their whole army.

"This Duchess did not long enjoy the success of her treason. A
little after the Duke of Orleans died at Farmontiers of a kind of
contagious distemper: he was in love with one of the finest women
of the Court, and was beloved by her. I will not mention her
name, because she has since lived with so much discretion, and
has so carefully concealed the passion she had for that Prince,
that one ought to be tender of her reputation. It happened she
received the news of her husband's death at the same time as she
heard of the Duke's, so that she had that pretext to enable her
to conceal her real sorrow, without being at the trouble of
putting any constraint upon herself.

"The King did not long survive the Prince his son; he died two
years after; he recommended to the Dauphin to make use of the
Cardinal de Tournon and the Admiral d'Annebault, but said nothing
at all of the Constable, who was then in banishment at Chantilli.

Nevertheless the first thing the King his son did was to recall