by declaring that two letters which, at a reception, had fallen from the pocket of Coligny had been written by Mme. de Longueville.  In reality, they had been written by Mme. de Fouquerolles to the Marquis of Maulevrier.  Mme. la Princesse, mother of Mme. de Longueville demanded full reparation, threatening that unless it was at once granted the house of Conde would withdraw from court, and Mazarin managed to induce the queen to compel Mme. de Montbazon to apologize publicly.  It may be of interest to give, in full, the apology, to show the nature of court etiquette, hypocrisy, and intrigue of that day.  Mme. de Montbazon called at the hotel of the princess and spoke the following words, which were written on a paper attached to her fan:  “Madame, I come here to attest that I am innocent of the spitefulness of which they accuse me, there being no person of honor capable of uttering such a calumny; and if I had committed such a crime, I would have submitted to the punishments that the queen would have imposed upon me, would never have shown myself before the world again, and would have asked your pardon.  I beg you to believe that I shall never be lacking in the respect that I owe you because of the opinion which I have of the merit and virtue of Mme. de Longueville.”  To which the princess replied:  “I very willingly receive the assurance you give me of having had no part in the spitefulness that was published, deferring all to the order the queen has given me.”

After this episode, the princess refused to be in the same place with Mme. de Montbazon.  On one occasion, Mme. de Chevreuse had invited the queen to a collation at a place where the queen enjoyed walking; she requested the princess to join her, giving her word of honor that Mme. de Montbazon would not be there; she was present, however, and the princess was about to leave when the queen ordered Mme. de Montbazon to feign illness and retire; this she refused to do and remained, whereupon the queen and the princess left, and shortly afterward Mme. de Montbazon received orders to leave Paris.

This excited the Importants to fever heat and a plot was formed, with Mme. de Chevreuse as the leader, to assassinate the cardinal.  Shortly after this, Coligny, as champion of the cause of Mme. de Longueville, challenged the Duc de Guise to a duel.  The whole court was made up of two parties:  the Importants with Mme. de Montbazon and Mme. de Chevreuse; and Conde and Mme. de Longueville with their friends; the result was the death of Coligny.  Mme. de Longueville was a true precieuse and hardly loved Coligny, but allowed him and any other to serve and adore her in a respectable way—­a principle followed by the better women of the age, such as Mme. de Rambouillet and Mme. de Sable.