blish a council for foreign
affairs, one for war, one for the navy, one for finance, one for
ecclesiastical matters, and one for home affairs and to choose some of
the magistrates of the company to enter these last two councils, and aid
them by their knowledge upon the police of the realm, the jurisprudence,
and what related to the liberties of the Gallican church.

The applause of the magistrates burst out at this, and all the crowd
replied to it. The Chief-President concluded the sitting by a very short
compliment to the Regent, who rose, and at the same time all the
assembly, which then broke up.

On Friday, the 6th of September, 1715, the Regent performed an action of
most exquisite merit, if it had been actuated by the love of God, but
which was of the utmost meanness, religion having no connection with it.
He went at eight o'clock in the morning to see Madame de Maintenon at
Saint-Cyr. He was nearly an hour with this enemy, who had wished to cut
off his head, and who quite recently had sought to deliver him, tied hand
and foot, to M. du Maine, by the monstrous dispositions of the King's
will and codicil.

The Regent assured her during this visit that the four thousand livres
the King had given her every month should be continued, and should be
brought to her the first day of every month by the Duc de Noailles, who
had apparently induced the Prince to pay this visit, and promise this
present. He said to Madame de Maintenon that if she wished for more she
had only to speak, and assured her he would protect Saint-Cyr. In leaving
he was shown the young girls, all together in classes.

It must be remembered, that besides the estate of Maintenon, and the
other property of this famous and fatal witch, the establishment of
Saint-Cyr, which had more than four hundred thousand livres yearly
income, and much money in reserve, was obliged by the rules which founded
it, to receive Madame de Maintenon, if she wished to retire there; to
obey her in all things, as the absolute and sole superior; to keep her
and everybody connected with her, her domestics, her equipages, as she
wished, her table, etc., at the expense of the house, all of which was
very punctually done until her death. Thus she needed not this generous
liberality, by which her pension of forty-eight thousand livres was
continued to her. It would have been quite enough if M. le Duc d'Orleans
had forgotten that she was in existence, and had simply left her
u