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
The sorceresses had little lodgings at Saint-Germain, Fontainebleau,
Versailles, around the palaces. They won admission to the Court as
fruit-sellers or dealers in perfumes distilled by the magicians; they
offered pastes for softening the skin and waters for improving the
complexion. They allied themselves with the domestics of great houses,
and domiciled themselves with the laundresses connected with them. They
were intimates of those persons who hung about the Court with the
curious profession of presenters of petitions. They sometimes even
entered the service of a duke or a marchioness. La Chéron was with
Monsieur de Noailles and Monsieur de Rabaton in succession. La Vigoureux
was actively engaged in finding places for serving-maids and lackeys. We
have seen the relations between the fortune-tellers and Leroy, governor
of the pages of the Petite Ecurie. Girardin, governor of the dauphin's
pages, was connected with the magician Belot. Blessis, a crony of La
Voisin, was presented to the queen by Madame de Béthune, by the queen to
the dauphin, and by the dauphin to the king.
Among the _bourgeoises_ of Paris who were struck at by the depositions
of the fortune-tellers we have indicated the principal ones, and then,
coming to the Court ladies, the most illustrious of all, Madame de
Montespan. But how many others La Reynie had to deal with! The beautiful
Duchess of Orleans, Henrietta of England, was accused, not without the
greatest probability, of having had a mass said against her husband,
with the incantations of sorcery, in the Palais-Royal itself. Madame de
Polignac and Madame de Gramont tried to get Louise de la Vallière
poisoned. The Countess de Soissons, Olympe Mancini, who had inspired
Louis XIV with his first passion, was compromised so deeply that, warned
by the king, she fled into the Netherlands. Louis XIV said to the
Princess de Carignan, Madame de Soissons' mother: 'I was determined
that the countess should escape; perhaps some day I shall render an
account therefor to God and my people.'
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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