reputation for wit by his verses and _mots_ in the salon of the charming and witty comtesse de Balbi, one of Madame's ladies, who had become his mistress,[4] and till 1793 exerted considerable influence over him. He did not emigrate after the taking of the Bastille, but, possibly from motives of ambition, remained in Paris. Mirabeau thought at one time of making him chief minister in his projected constitutional government (see _Corr. de Mirabeau et La Marck_, ed. Bacourt, i. 434, 436, 442), but was disappointed by his caution and timidity. The _affaire Favras_ (Dec. 1789) aroused great feeling against Monsieur, who was believed by many to have conspired with Favras, only to abandon him (see Lafayette's _Mems._ and _Corr. of Mirabeau_). In June 1791, at the time of the flight to Varennes, Monsieur also fled by a different route, and, in company with the comte d'Avaray[5]--who subsequently replaced Mme de Balbi as his confidant, and largely influenced his policy during the emigration--succeeded in reaching Brussels, where he joined the comte d'Artois and proceeded to Coblenz, which now became the headquarters of the emigration. Here, living in royal state, he put himself at the head of the counter-revolutionary movement, appointing ambassadors, soliciting the aid of the European sovereigns, and especially of Catherine II. of Russia. Out of touch with affairs in France and surrounded by violent anti-revolutionists, headed by Calonne and the comte d'Artois, he followed an entirely selfish policy, flouting the National Assembly (see his reply to the summons of the National Assembly, in Daudet, _op. cit._ i. 96), issuing uncompromising manifestoes (Sept. 1791, Aug. 1792, &c.), and obstructing in every way the representatives of the king and queen.[6] After Valmy he had to retire to Hamm in Westphalia, where, on the death of Louis XVI., he proclaimed himself regent; from here he went south, with the idea of encouraging the royalist feeling in the south of France, and settled at Verona, where on the death of Louis XVII. (8th of June 1795) he took the title of Louis XVIII. At this time ended his _liaison_ with Mme de Balbi, and the influence of d'Avaray reached its height. From this time onward his life is a record of constant wanderings, negotiations and conspiracies. In April 1796 he joined Condé's army on the German frontier, but was shortly requested to leave the country, and accepted the hospitality of the duke of Brunswick at Blanckenberg till 1797, when, this refuge being no longer open to him, the emperor Paul I. permitted him to settle at Mittau in Courland, where he stayed till 1801. All this time he was in close communication with the royalists in France, but was much embarrassed by the conflicting policy pursued by the comte d'Artois from England, and was largely at the mercy of corrupt and dishonest agents.[7] At Mittau was realized his cherished plan of marrying Madame Royale, daughter of Louis XVI., to the