“’The young prince was at this time as beautiful as Cupid, and through the intervention of Cupid himself he succeeded in getting hold of a portrait of his brother.  One of the upper servants of the house, a young girl, had taken his fancy, and he lavished such caresses on her and inspired her with so much love, that although the whole household was strictly forbidden to give him anything without my permission, she procured him a portrait of the king.  The unhappy prince saw the likeness at once, indeed no one could help seeing it, for the one portrait would serve equally well for either brother, and the sight produced such a fit of fury that he came to me crying out, “There is my brother, and this tells me who I am!” holding out a letter from Cardinal Mazarin which he had stolen from me, and making a great commotion in my house.

“’The dread lest the prince should escape and succeed in appearing at the marriage of his brother made me so uneasy, that I sent off a messenger to the king to tell him that my casket had been opened, and asking for instructions.  The king sent back word through the cardinal that we were both to be shut up till further orders, and that the prince was to be made to understand that the cause of our common misfortune was his absurd claim.  I have since shared his prison, but I believe that a decree of release has arrived from my heavenly judge, and for my soul’s health and for my ward’s sake I make this declaration, that he may know what measures to take in order to put an end to his ignominious estate should the king die without children.  Can any oath imposed under threats oblige one to be silent about such incredible events, which it is nevertheless necessary that posterity should know?’”

Such were the contents of the historical document given by the regent to the princess, and it suggests a crowd of questions.  Who was the prince’s governor?  Was he a Burgundian?  Was he simply a landed proprietor, with some property and a country house in Burgundy?  How far was his estate from Dijon?  He must have been a man of note, for he enjoyed the most intimate confidence at the court of Louis xiii, either by virtue of his office or because he was a favourite of the king, the queen, and Cardinal Richelieu.  Can we learn from the list of the nobles of Burgundy what member of their body disappeared from public life along with a young ward whom he had brought up in his own house just after the marriage of Louis xiv?  Why did he not attach his signature to the declaration, which appears to be a hundred years old?  Did he dictate it when so near death that he had not strength to sign it?  How did it find its way out of prison?  And so forth.