Marquis de Montespan had appealed to Parliament; but partisans of the
King had shelved the matter, which, though ever in abeyance, was still
pending. I had my son educated under my care, being sure of the tender
attachment that would spring up between himself and the princes, his
brothers. At the Montespan chateau, I admit, he would have learned to
ride an unbroken horse, as well as to shoot hares, partridges, and big
game; he would also have learned to talk loud, to use bad language, to
babble about his pedigree, while ignorant of its history or its crest; in
fine, he would have learned to despise his mother, and probably to hate
her. Educated under my eyes, almost on the King's lap, he soon learned
the customs of the Court and all that a well-born gentleman should know.
He will be made Duc d'Antin, I have the King's word for it,--and his mien
and address, which fortunately sort well with that which Fate holds in
store for him, entitle him to rank with all that is most exalted at
Court.

The Procureur-General caused a man from Barn to be arrested, who had come
to abduct my son. This individual, half-Spanish and half-French, was
detained in the Paris prisons, and I was left in ignorance of the matter.
It was imprudent not to tell me, and almost occasioned a serious mishap.

One day I was returning from the neighbourhood of Etampes with only my
son, his tutor, and my physician in the carriage. On reaching a steep
incline, where the brake should be put on, my servants imprudently
neglected to do this, and I felt that we were burning the roadway in our
descent. Such recklessness made me uneasy, when suddenly twelve horsemen
rode headlong at us, and sought to stop the postilions. My six horses
were new ones and very fresh; they galloped along at breakneck speed. Our
pursuers fired at the coachman, but missed him, and the report of a
pistol terrified the horses yet further. They redoubled their speed. We