Half an hour at most after this, Madame des Ursins was informed of what had taken place.  She knew well who were meant by the toast, and was transported with rage.  She at once wrote an account of the circumstance to Madame de Maintenon, who, for her part, was quite as furious.  ’Inde ira’.  They never pardoned M. d’Orleans, and we shall see how very nearly they succeeded in compassing his death.  Until then, Madame de Maintenon had neither liked nor disliked M. d’Orleans.  Madame des Ursins had omitted nothing in order to please him.  From that moment they swore the ruin of this prince.  All the rest of the King’s life M. d’Orleans did not fail to find that Madame de Maintenon was an implacable and cruel enemy.  The sad state to which she succeeded in reducing him influenced him during all the rest of his life.  As for Madame des Ursins, he soon found a change in her manner.  She endeavoured that everything should fail that passed through his hands.  There are some wounds that can never be healed; and it must be admitted that the Duke’s toast inflicted one especially of that sort.  He felt this; did not attempt any reconciliation; and followed his usual course.  I know not if he ever, repented of what he had said, whatever cause he may have had, so droll did it seem to him, but he has many times spoken of it since to me, laughing with all his might.  I saw all the sad results which might arise from his speech, and nevertheless, while reproaching M. d’Orleans, I could not help laughing myself, so well, so simply; and so wittily expressed was his ridicule of the government on this and the other side of the Pyrenees.

At last, M. le Duc d’Orleans found means to enter upon his campaign, but was so ill-provided, that he never was supplied with more than a fortnight’s subsistence in advance.  He obtained several small successes; but these were more than swallowed up by a fatal loss in another direction.  The island of Sardinia, which was then under the Spanish Crown, was lost through the misconduct of the viceroy, the Duke of Veragua, and taken possession of by the troops of the Archduke.  In the month of October, the island of Minorca also fell into the hands of the Archduke.  Port Mahon made but little resistance; so that with this conquest and Gibraltar, the English found themselves able to rule in the Mediterranean, to winter entire fleets there, and to blockade all the ports of Spain upon that sea.  Leaving Spain in this situation, let us turn to Flanders.

Early in July, we took Ghent and Bruges by surprise, and the news of these successes was received with the most unbridled joy at Fontainebleau.  It appeared easy to profit by these two conquests, obtained without difficulty, by passing the Escaut, burning Oudenarde, closing the country to the enemies, and cutting them off from all supplies.  Ours were very abundant, and came by water, with a camp that could not be attacked.  M. de Vendome agreed to