a word, left the apartment. The king followed her. The heart-broken
marchioness, in most imploring tones, entreated the king not thus to
leave her. He paid no heed to her supplications. The agitation of this
scene threw Madame de Montespan into such a burning fever that for
several days she could not be removed from her bed of pain and woe.

CHAPTER X.

THE SECRET MARRIAGE.

1685-1689

Temptation resisted.--Rumors of marriage.--Preparations for
the marriage.--The archbishop summoned.--An extraordinary
scene.--Ceremonies.--The _Widow Scarron_.--Etiquette.--Humiliation
of Madame de Montespan.--Routine of a day at Versailles.--The _First
Entree_.--The ceremony of dressing.--The _Grand Entree_.--Dressing
the king.--The royal breakfast.--Formalities.--The dressing
completed.--The king prays.--The king attends mass.--Etiquette at
the royal dinner.--Visits the kennel.--The morning drive.--The royal
supper.--Tasting and trying.--"Drink for the king!"--He feeds his
dogs at midnight.--Madame de Maintenon's apartments.--Her
tact.--Sickness of the king.--A surgical operation
necessary.--World-weariness of the king.--Dissatisfied with
Versailles.--The royal palaces unsatisfactory.--The "hermitage"
at Marly.--War with Germany.--The dauphin in command.--Devastation
of the Palatinate.--Designs upon England.--Civil war in
France.--Complications of the royal family.

The king exerted all his powers of persuasion to induce Madame de
Maintenon to enter into the same relations with him which Madame de
Montespan had occupied. At last she declared, in reply to some
passionate reproaches on his part, that she should be under the
necessity of withdrawing from the court and retiring to the cloister,
rather than continue to expose herself to a temptation which was
destroying her peace of mind and undermining her health. Under these
circumstances the king had been led to think of a private marriage. At
first his pride revolted from the thought. But in no other way could
he secure Madame de Maintenon.

Rumors of the approaching marriage were circulated through the court.
The dauphin expostulated with his father most earnestly against it,
and succeeded in inducing the king to consult the Abbe Fenelon and
Louvois. They both protested against the measure as compromising the
dignity of the monarch and the interests of the nation. Bossuet,
however, urged the marriage. Boldly he warned the king against
entering again into such connecti