but he never lost sight of the King.  At all the fetes Langlee was present, he took part in the journeys, he was invited to Marly, was intimate with all the King’s mistresses; then with all the daughters of the King, with whom indeed he was so familiar that he often spoke to them with the utmost freedom.  He had become such a master of fashions and of fetes that none of the latter were given, even by Princes of the blood, except under his directions; and no houses were bought, built, furnished, or ornamented, without his taste being consulted.  There were no marriages of which the dresses and the presents were not chosen, or at least approved, by him.  He was on intimate terms with the most distinguished people of the Court; and often took improper advantage of his position.  To the daughters of the King and to a number of female friends he said horribly filthy things, and that too in their own houses, at St. Cloud or at Marly.  He was often made a confidant in matters of gallantry, and continued to be made so all his life.  For he was a sure man, had nothing disagreeable about him, was obliging, always ready to serve others with his purse or his influence, and was on bad terms with no one.

While everybody, during all this winter, was at balls and amusements, the beautiful Madame de Soubise—­for she was so still—­employed herself with more serious matters.  She had just bought, very cheap, the immense Hotel de Guise, that the King assisted her to pay for.  Assisted also by the King, she took steps to make her bastard son canon of Strasbourg; intrigued so well that his birth was made to pass muster, although among Germans there is a great horror of illegitimacy, and he was received into the chapter.  This point gained, she laid her plans for carrying out another, and a higher one, nothing less than that of making her son Archbishop of Strasbourg.

But there was an obstacle, in the way.  This obstacle was the Abbe d’Auvergne (nephew of Cardinal de Bouillon), who had the highest position in the chapter, that of Grand Prevot, had been there much longer than the Abbe de Soubise, was older, and of more consequence.  His reputation, however, was against him; his habits were publicly known to be those of the Greeks, whilst his intellect resembled theirs in no way.  By his stupidity he published his bad conduct, his perfect ignorance, his dissipation, his ambition; and to sustain himself he had only a low, stinking, continual vanity, which drew upon him as much disdain as did his habits, alienated him from all the world, and constantly subjected him to ridicule.