Marriage of Monsieur, the King’s Brother.—­His Hope of Mounting a Throne.—­His High-heeled Shoes.—­His Dead Child.—­Saint Denis.

Monsieur would seem to have been created in order to set off his brother, the King, and to give him the advantage of such relief.  He is small in stature and in character, being ceaselessly busied about trifles, details, nothings.  To his toilet and his mirror, he devotes far more time than a pretty woman; he covers himself with scents, with laces, with diamonds.

He is passionately fond of fetes, large assemblies, and spectacular displays.  It was in order to figure as the hero of some such entertainment that he suddenly resolved to get married.

Mademoiselle—­the Grande Mademoiselle—­Mademoiselle d’Eu, Mademoiselle de Dombes, Mademoiselle de Montpensier, Mademoiselle de Saint-Fargeau, Mademoiselle de la Roche-sur-Yon, Mademoiselle d’Orleans—­had come into the world twelve or thirteen years before he had, and they could not abide each other.  Despite such trifling differences, however, he proposed marriage to her.  The princess, than whom no one more determined exists, answered, “You ought to have some respect for me; I refused two crowned husbands the very day you were born.”

So the Prince begged the Queen of England to give him her charming daughter Henrietta, who, having come to France during her unfortunate father’s captivity, had been educated in Paris.

The Princess possessed an admirable admixture of grace and beauty, wit being allied to great affability and good-nature; to all these natural gifts she added a capacity and intelligence such as one might desire sovereigns to possess.  Her coquetry was mere amiability; of that I am convinced.  Being naturally vain, the Prince, her husband, made great use at first of his consort’s royal coat-of-arms.  It was displayed on his equipages and stamped all over his furniture.

“Do you know, madame,” quoth he gallantly, one day, “what made me absolutely desire to marry you?  It was because you are a daughter and a sister of the Kings of England.  In your country women succeed to the throne, and if Charles the Second and my cousin York were to die without children (which is very likely), you would be Queen and I should be King.”

“Oh, Sire, how wrong of you to imagine such a thing!” replied his wife; “it brings tears to my eyes.  I love my brothers more than I do myself.  I trust that they may have issue, as they desire, and that I may not have to go back and live with those cruel English who slew my father-in-law.”

The Prince sought to persuade her that a sceptre and a crown are always nice things to have.  “Yes,” replied Henrietta slyly, “but one must know how to wear them.”

Soon after this, he again talked of his expectations, saying every minute, “If ever I am King, I shall do so; if ever I am King, I shall order this; if ever I am King,” etc., etc.