On the day of her departure, she sent for the curé of Saint-Sulpice, with whom she had a long conversation. “Monsieur,” said she, as she bade him farewell, “this is the last time that you will speak to me, since I shall never return from the place to which the King is sending me. But the confession which I now make to you will proclaim my innocence for ever.” Her parting from her son was heartrending, and, after embracing him again and again, she swooned away in his arms. As soon as she recovered, the carriage started for Châteauroux. The château which Condé had selected as his wife’s prison, and where she was destined to remain for the rest of her days, stands upon a hill on the left bank of the Indre, and commands a magnificent view of the surrounding country. It was built by Raoul _le Large_, seigneur de Déols, about the middle of the tenth century,[216] an age when security was naturally the primary consideration, and, though its sombre appearance had been a good deal modified from time to time, it was still far from a cheerful habitation. The princess was followed thither by her whole Household: _dame d’honneur_, _chevalier d’honneur_, equerry, almoner, physician, apothecary, comptroller, waiting-women, chef, scullions, coachmen and footmen; and an allowance of 50,000 livres a year was made her for the maintenance of this establishment. She was permitted to walk in the grounds of the château, and even to take carriage exercise in the vicinity, but always very carefully watched and guarded; while no stranger was under any pretext allowed to approach her. Apart from these restrictions, she was treated, at any rate at first, with all the consideration and respect due to her exalted rank, and her captivity was not of the harsh and brutal character with which some writers have invested it. Nevertheless, the isolation to which she was subjected, the deadly monotony of her existence in this gloomy fortress, soon began to have its effect upon her already tottering reason. Her disorder took the form of terror. From incessant brooding over her wrongs, the husband who had repaid her unselfish devotion with such harshness and ingratitude became, in moments of hallucination, a monster who, not content with burying her alive, was resolved to rid himself of her altogether, and frequently she refused to touch dishes that were offered her, from fear lest they should contain poison.