hover near the French court, but this middle-aged sensitive-plant prepares to close her leaves and be coy.  The procession of her wooers files before our wondering eyes, and each the likeness of a kingly crown has on:  Louis himself, her bright possibility of twenty years, till he takes her at her own estimate and prefers the Infanta,—­Monsieur, his younger brother, Philip IV. of Spain, Charles II. of England, the Emperor of Germany, the Archduke Leopold of Austria,—­prospective king of Holland,—­the King of Portugal, the Prince of Denmark, the Elector of Bavaria, the Duke of Savoy, Conde’s son, and Conde himself.  For the last of these alone she seems to have felt any real affection.  Their tie was more than cousinly; the same heroic blood of the early Bourbons was in them, they were trained by the same precocious successes, only six years apart in age, and beginning with that hearty mutual aversion which is so often the parent of love, in impulsive natures like theirs.  Their flirtation was platonic, but chronic; and whenever poor, heroic, desolate Clemence de Maille was sicker than usual, these cousins were walking side by side in the Tuileries gardens, and dreaming, almost in silence, of what might be, while Mazarin shuddered at the thought of mating two such eagles together.—­So passed her life, and at last, like many a matchmaking lady, she baffled all the gossips, and left them all in laughter when her choice was made.

The tale stands embalmed forever in the famous letter of Madame de Sevigne to her cousin, M. de Coulanges, written on Monday, December 15, 1670.  It can never be translated too often, so we will risk it again.

“I have now to announce to you the most astonishing circumstance, the most surprising, most marvellous, most triumphant, most bewildering, most unheard-of, most singular, most extraordinary, most incredible, most unexpected, most grand, most trivial, most rare, most common, most notorious, most secret, (till to-day,) most brilliant, most desirable; indeed, a thing to which past ages afford but one parallel, and that a poor one; a thing which we can scarcely believe at Paris; how can it be believed at Lyons? a thing which excites the compassion of all the world, and the delight of Madame de Rohan and Madame de Hauterive; a thing which is to be done on Sunday, when those who see it will hardly believe their eyes; a thing which will be done on Sunday, and which might perhaps be impossible on Monday:  I cannot possibly announce it; guess it; I give you three guesses; try now.  If you will not, I must tell you.  M. de Lauzun marries on Sunday, at the Louvre,—­whom now?  I give you three guesses,—­ six,—­a hundred.  Madame de Coulanges says, ’It is not hard to guess; it is Madame de la Valliere.’  Not at all, Madame!  ‘Mlle. de Retz?’ Not a bit; you are a mere provincial.  ‘How absurd!’ you say; ‘it is Mlle. Colbert.’  Not that, either.  ‘Then, of course, it is Mlle. de Crequi.’  Not right yet.