to befall her, and a pious Capuchin explained her dream to her.  She told me of it herself long before she became the King’s mistress.  She dreamt that she had ascended a high mountain, and, having reached the summit, she was dazzled by an exceedingly bright cloud; then on a sudden she found herself in such profound darkness that her terror at this accident awoke her.  When she told her confessor he said to her:  “Take care of yourself; that mountain is the Court, where some distinction awaits you; it will, however, be but of short duration; if you abandon your God He will forsake you and you will fall into eternal darkness.”

There is no doubt that Fontange died by poison; she accused Montespan of being the cause of her death.  A servant who had been bribed by that favourite destroyed her and some of her people by means of poison mixed with milk.  Two of them died with her, and said publicly that they had been poisoned.

Fontange was a stupid little creature, but she had a very good heart.  She was very red-haired, but, beautiful as an angel from head to foot.

SECTION IV.-MADAME DE LA VALLIERE.

When one of Madame de Montespan’s children died, the King was deeply affected; but he was not so at the death of the poor Comte de Vermandois (the son of La Valliere).  He could not bear him, because Montespan and that old Maintenon had made him believe the youth was not his but the Duc de Lauzun’s child.  It had been well if all the King’s reputed children had been as surely his as this was.  Madame de La Valliere was no light mistress, as her unwavering penitence sufficiently proved.  She was an amiable, gentle, kind and tender woman.  Ambition formed no part of her love for the King; she had a real passion for him, and never loved any other person.  It was at Montespan’s instigation that the King behaved so ill to her.  The poor creature’s heart was broken, but she imagined that she could not make a sacrifice more agreeable to God than that which had been the cause of her errors; and thought that her repentance ought to proceed from the same source as her crime.  She therefore remained, by way of self-mortification, with Montespan, who, having a great portion of wit, did not scruple to ridicule her publicly, behaved extremely ill to her, and obliged the King to do the same.

He used to pass through La Valliere’s chamber to go to Montespan’s; and one day, at the instigation of the latter, he threw a little spaniel, which he had called Malice, at the Duchesse de La Valliere, saying:  “There, Madam, is your companion; that’s all.”