rst to make herself acceptable to the Queen of Spain.
Marie-Louise of Savoy, whom her _Camerara-mayor_ met for the first time
on board her galley in the harbour of Villefranche, at the moment when
the tearful eyes of the young princess were casting a last glance at the
lovely Italian land, was that admirable queen whose life in default of
mental courage became worn out by the corroding of adversity, and whose
popular name has remained as a symbol in Spain of every royal and
domestic virtue. Not quite fourteen at the period of that meeting, the
princess was already as tall as the Duchess of Burgundy, whose perfect
shape she also possessed, with a more regular cast of features and an
incomparable charm in her graceful and affable manners. Smiling through
her tears, and in the midst of her grief ever displaying gentleness
blended with majesty, she played the queen on all occasions in a
marvellous way for one so youthful, that everybody who had the honour of
approaching her during the journey was struck with astonishment.
Marie-Louise was a gentle and affectionate girl, of an intelligence and
will in advance of her years, and which happily did not injure her
natural gracefulness. For this young creature, for this child, suddenly
become a wife and a queen, the presence of Madame des Ursins, still
handsome even at sixty-six, sprightly and as skilful as she was eager to
please, was the sole refuge beside the indolent love of a boy-king of
eighteen, who gave her no protection. These two women, whom nature had
created so dissimilar, were about to be united for ever in one common
destiny. The young Queen appeared to be immediately struck with the
value of the support which a mind so supple and vigorous offered her,
and when the departure of her Piedmontese waiting-maids had torn from
the poor girl-queen the last trace of family and country, she clung to
her grand _camerara_ as the ivy to the tree which supports it. On the
other hand, Madame des Ursins did not fail to hold herself out as
representing the respected authority of Louis XIV. and Madame de
Maintenon; on the other, she knew well how to initiate herself, by means
of the domestic duties, of which she designedly exaggerated the
importance, into the innermost prejudices of the royal wife. She made
herself useful to Marie-Louise, became indispensable amidst an
intercourse so privileged and private; at the same time she afforded
pleasure in so doing, and that proved during the