Three years later, Frontenac received the appointment of Governor and Lieutenant-General for the king in all New France. "He was," says Saint-Simon, "a man of excellent parts, living much in society, and completely ruined. He found it hard to bear the imperious temper of his wife; and he was given the government of Canada to deliver him from her, and afford him some means of living." [9] Certain scandalous songs of the day assign a different motive for his appointment. Louis XIV. was enamoured of Madame de Montespan. She had once smiled upon Frontenac; and it is said that the jealous king gladly embraced the opportunity of removing from his presence, and from hers, a lover who had forestalled him. [10] [9] Memoires du Duc de Saint-Simon, II. 270; V. 336. [10] Note of M. Brunet, in Correspondance de la Duchesse d'Orléans, I. 200 (ed. 1869). The following lines, among others, were passed about secretly among the courtiers:-- "Je suis ravi que le roi, notre sire, Aime la Montespan; Moi, Frontenac, je me crève de rire, Sachant ce qui lui pend; Et je dirai, sans être des plus bestes, Tu n'as que mon reste, Roi, Tu n'as que mon reste." Mademoiselle de Montpensier had mentioned in her memoirs, some years before, that Frontenac, in taking out his handkerchief, dropped from his pocket a love-letter to Mademoiselle de Mortemart, afterwards Madame de Montespan, which was picked up by one of the attendants of the princess. The king, on the other hand, was at one time attracted by the charms of Madame de Frontenac, against whom, however, no aspersion is cast. The Comte de Grignan, son-in-law of Madame de Sévigné, was an unsuccessful competitor with Frontenac for the government of Canada.