Part 19 (2/2)
When Molina left the Court, she did everything on earth to induce Philippa to return with her to Spain, but the girl was sincerely attached to the Queen, who, holding her in a long embrace, promised to find her a wealthy husband if she would stay However, the Queen only gave her as husband the Chevalier de Huze, her cloak-bearer, so as to keep the girl about her person and to be intiuitar to perfection; she, also sang and danced with consurace
CHAPTER XLV
Le Bouthilier de Ranch, Abbe de la Trappe
The Abbe le Bouthilier de Rance,--son of the secretary of state, Le Bouthilier de Chavigny,--after having scandalised Court and town by his public gallantries, lost his reat narief bordered upon despair; he forsook the world, gave away or sold his belongings, and went and shut himself up in his Abbey of La Trappe, the only benefice which he had retained This most ancientThe edifice spacious, yet somewhat dilapidated was situated on the borders of Nor and frost
The Abbe found in this a place exactly suitable to his plan, which was to effect reforms of austere character and contrary to nature He convened his monks, ere amazed at his arrival and residence; he soundly rated the reations of their office, he inforulations, the nature of whichless than to condee of the soil, the performance of menial household duties; and to this he added the practices of ilances, veiled countenances, the renounce literature In short, he advocated sleeping all together on the bare floor of an ice-cold dormitory, the continual conte, while alive, one's own grave every day with one's own hands, and thus, in i at rest there for ever
As laws so foolish and so tyrannical were read out to thee openly expressed their discontent The Abbe de Rance allowed theet pleasure in other monasteries, and contrived to collect around him youths whom it was easy to delude, and a few elderlyflock
As he loved notoriety in everything, he had various views of histhe daily pursuits of his laborious community Such pictures, hawked about everywhere by itinerant vendors of relics and rosaries, served to create for this barbarous refores, even in royal palaces, he forusted either with vice or with society, retired of their own accord to his ht the sooner die
Desirous of enjoying his ridiculous celebrity, the Abbe de Rance came to Paris, under what pretext I do not remember, firmly resolved to show himself off in all the churches, and solicit abundant alms for his phantoms who never touched food Froot h to build a palace, if he had liked
It being iust Mademoiselle de Montpensier to his colony of monks, he desired at any rate to induce her to withdraw from the world, and counselled her to enter a Carmelite convent Mademoiselle's ardent passion for M de Lauzun seemed to the Trappist Abbe a scandal; in fact, his sour spirit could brook no scandal of any sort ”I attended her father as he lay dying,” said he, ”and tohis daughter I would have her keep silence; she has spoken too much”
The moment was ill chosen; just then Made to break the fetters of her dear De Lauzun; she certainly did not wish to get him out of one prison, and then put herself into another
Every one blamed this reforhly exasperated, forbade her servants to admit him It was said that he had worked two or three ht certain dead people back to life
”I will rebuild his ive us back poor little Vegin, and the Duc d'Anjou,” said the King to ht tears to my eyes, just as I was about to joke with his Majesty about the fellow and his miracles
Well satisfied with his Parisian harvest, the Abbe le Bouthilier de Rance went straight to his convent, where the in, catch their death of cold, and beat theood look at the man, sent to inform him of her illness Would-be saints areIn no whit disconcerted, he replied that he had devoted his entire zeal to the poor in spirit, and that Madame Cormeil was not of their number
CHAPTER XLVI
The Court Goes to Flanders--Nancy--Ravon--Sainte Marie aux Mines--Dancing and Death--A Ger Priests--The Good Bailiff of Chatenoi--The Bridge at Brisach--The Capucin Monk Presented to the Queen
Before relating that which I have to say about the Queen and her precautions againstthe journey that the King caused us to take in Alsatia and Flanders, when he captured Maestricht and Courtrai
The King having left us behind at Nancy, a splendid tohere a large proportion of the nobility grieved for the loss of Messieurs de Lorraine, their legitins, the Queen soon saw that here she was ested to her the idea of going to Spa, close by, and of taking the waters for some days
If the Infanta was anxious to escape froid courtesies of the Lorraine aristocracy, I also longed to have a short holiday, and to keep away from the Queen, as well for the sake of her peace of mind as for my own My doctor forbade me to take the Spa waters, as they were too sulphurous; he ordered me those of Pont-a-Mousson Hardly had I moved there, when orders came for us all to
Horrible was the first night of our journey spent at Ravon, in the Vosges Mountains The house in which Madee, full of holes, and propped up in several places Lying in bed, we heard the creaking of the beams and rafters
Two days afterwards the house, so they told us, collapsed