e of the second
child into his hands, kept that fear alive. The king also commanded us
to examine the unfortunate prince minutely; he had a wart above the
left elbow, a mole on the right side of his neck, and a tiny wart on
his right thigh; for His Majesty was determined, and rightly so, that
in case of the decease of the first-born, the royal infant whom he was
entrusting to our care should take his place; wherefore he required our
signmanual to the report of the birth, to which a small royal seal
was attached in our presence, and we all signed it after His Majesty,
according as he commanded. As to the shepherds who had foretold the
double birth, never did I hear another word of them, but neither did I
inquire. The cardinal who took the mysterious infant in charge probably
got them out of the country.

"'All through the infancy of the second prince Dame Peronete treated
him as if he were her own child, giving out that his father was a great
nobleman; for everyone saw by the care she lavished on him and the
expense she went to, that although unacknowledged he was the cherished
son of rich parents, and well cared for.

"'When the prince began to grow up, Cardinal Mazarin, who succeeded
Cardinal Richelieu in the charge of the prince's education, gave him
into my hands to bring up in a manner worthy of a king's son, but in
secret. Dame Peronete continued in his service till her death, and was
very much attached to him, and he still more to her. The prince was
instructed in my house in Burgundy, with all the care due to the son and
brother of a king.

"'I had several conversations with the queen mother during the troubles
in France, and Her Majesty always seemed to fear that if the existence
of the prince should be discovered during the lifetime of his brother,
the young king, malcontents would make it a pretext for rebellion,
because many medical men hold that the last-born of twins is in reality
the elder, and if so, he was king by right, while many others have a
different opinion.

"'In spite of this dread, the queen could never bring herself to destroy
the written evidence of his birth, because in case of the death of the
young king she intended to have his twin-brother proclaimed. She told me
often that the written proofs were in her strong box.

"'I gave the ill-starred prince such an education as I should have liked
to receive myself, and no acknowledged son of a king ever had a better.
The only thing for which