79 - MAINTENON Françoise d'Aubigné, Marquise de [Niort, 1635 – Saint-Cyr, 1719], morganatic wife of Louis XIV, founder of the Saint-Cyr school for young women.

MAINTENON Françoise d'Aubigné, Marquise de [Niort, 1635 – Saint-Cyr, 1719], morganatic wife of Louis XIV, founder of the Saint-Cyr school for young women. Signed letter. Saint-Cyr, September 13; 3 pages, in-4°. “It has been a long time, Sir, since I have wished to have the honor of writing to you, but I have been in such deep despondency ever since your army set out to relieve Lille that I must confess I have not had the courage to do so, and that I kept putting off rejoicing or grieving with you until we saw the outcome of this grave matter; it is dragging on so long that I can no longer wait, and I think of you too often not to tell you this. It is not for me to speculate on what is happening in Flanders; I trust you are well informed, though you may be far from it. It seems that time has been lost that cannot be regained; the diversity of opinions has ruined everything, and having too many generals is not a good thing. The Duke of Burgundy is truly to be pitied for having to begin with such a difficult task and for finding himself torn between so many people who, I believe, all have good intentions but see things differently. Monsieur de Mal de Boufflers is doing, as they say, everything possible and does not yet seem particularly pressed for time. It would take a miracle for Lille to be rescued. This major affair, Sir, which is the focus of all our attention, can never make the King or honorable men forget that you saved the Dauphiné; without you, all our concerns would not have been for Flanders. You wrote to me a long time ago that the King would settle with Mr. de Savoie for two castles, and you would have done even better than you promised had it not been for the treachery of the commander of Exile. I am deeply concerned for your peace of mind regarding that man, for I doubt you will ever forgive him. You have secured a word of thanks for me from Mr. d’Artaignan; I would like the officers serving with you to know how you speak highly of them to the King, while the other generals often complain about those under their command. If people knew you as well as I do, they would love you dearly; you are too kind to be concerned about my health—it is often frail, but so far it holds up.”