The duke was accordingly removed from college, and, on the advice of Bossuet, Condé decided to keep him under his own eye at Chantilly, and to entrust the rest of his education to La Bruyère and the distinguished mathematician Sauveur. This plan worked excellently for some months, and _Monsieur le Prince_ was full of hope; but, unfortunately, the Duc d’Enghien, to whom the possession of the royal favour was of infinitely more importance than anything else in the world, considered that the time had now arrived to bring his son to the notice of the King and initiate him into his duties as a courtier, and desired that he should pay occasional visits to Versailles. These visits, which, on some pretext or other, were frequently prolonged far beyond the limit which Condé had fixed, naturally did not make for the young gentleman’s progress in his studies, for, though his tutors always accompanied him, he soon became so absorbed in the pleasures of the Court that they thought themselves fortunate if they could obtain from him an occasional hour of distracted attention. La Bruyère was in despair and appealed to _Monsieur le Prince_, who remonstrated vigorously with Enghien. “Your son,” he writes, “will become a very good huntsman, but ignorant of everything that he ought to know. It is for you to remedy it, and to think of his life, his health, and his good education. I beg you to consider it, and not to wait to remedy it until it is too late.” Condé and Enghien were, however, at cross-purposes; the one wished to form a man, a prince, a captain; the other thought only of making his son an accomplished courtier. That the hope of the Condés should be an invariable guest at Marly was in the latter’s eyes a more desirable thing than that he should command armies; that he should secure the reversion of the governments and offices which had been bestowed upon his father was of more importance than that he should inherit his grandsire’s fame. It must be admitted that Enghien was indefatigable in his endeavours to further what he conceived to be the interests of his son. “With the prudence and calculation of an officer experienced in sieges, he pursued his plan, seeking to take possession of all the avenues which could conduct him to the heart of the King; hunting and shooting-parties, masquerades, ballets, fêtes at Marly, served him as approach-works; a direct attack that he was preparing could not fail to assure for his son the royal favour.”[234]