Princes and Poisoners: Studies of the Court of Louis XIVFunck-Brentano, Frantz
History
Princes and Poisoners: Studies of the Court of Louis XIV
Funck-Brentano, Frantz
France -- Court and courtiers; France -- History -- Louis XIV, 1643-1715; Poisoners
In this year 1676, Madame de Montespan not only had recourse to the
incantations of the black mass; at her instigation, the sorceresses sent
La Boissière and Françoise Filastre to Normandy to a certain Louis
Galet, who had 'fine secrets' in regard to poison and love. Galet gave
them powders. As soon as his name was uttered by the prisoner before the
Chambre Ardente, an order was given for his arrest. He was flung into
prison at Caen on February 23, 1680. While still far away from the other
prisoners, detained at Vincennes or the Bastille, he was put through
interrogations, and the depositions made by him and the others coincided
with remarkable accuracy. And La Reynie's conclusion is: 'Guibourg and
Galet having confessed after the torture of La Filastre, they gave
between them a complete proof of these facts.'
* * * * *
It must be confessed that Madame de Montespan would have been of a
singularly incredulous nature if she had not retained a blind
confidence in the influence of the devil as invoked by the magicians
and sorceresses. Madame de Ludres was discarded, and Louis fell at
Madame de Montespan's feet again. On June 11, 1677, Madame de Sévigné
wrote to Madame de Grignan: 'Oh, my daughter, what a triumph at
Versailles! what redoubled pride! what a re-entry into possession! I was
in the room for an hour. She was in bed, decked out, with her hair done:
she was resting for the _medianoche_ (supper about midnight). She
launched shafts of contempt at poor _Io_ (Madame de Ludres), and laughed
at her having the audacity to complain of her. Imagine all that an
ungenerous pride could make her say in triumph, and you will get near
the truth. It is said that the little woman (Madame de Ludres) will
resume her ordinary duties about Madame. She went off to walk in perfect
solitude with La Moreuil in the garden of the Marshal Du Plessis.' On
June 18, Madame de Sévigné wrote to Bussy-Rabutin: 'Madame de Montespan
wanted to strangle her (Madame de Ludres), and makes her life terrible.'
On July 7, to Madame de Grignan: 'Poor _Isis_ (Madame de Ludres) has
not been to Versailles. She has remained in her solitude. When a certain
person (Madame de Montespan) speaks of her, she says, "that rag." The
event makes everything permissible.'
'_Quanto_ and her friend Louis XIV are together longer and more eagerly
than ever they were. The ardour of the first years has returned, and all
fears are banished, all restraint removed, which persuades us that never
was empire seen more firmly established.' And a little later: 'Madame de
Montespan was the other day covered with diamonds; the brilliance of so
blazing a divinity was more than one could bear. The attachment seems
greater than ever: they are all eyes for one another: never has love
been seen to resume its sway like this.'
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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