At length he came back. Luckily, the Trappist Abbe de Ranch wished to
take away from him the portrait on enamel of Henrietta of England, so as
to break it in pieces before his eyes. So indignant was the Count that
he was upon the point of giving the hermit a thrashing. He fled in
disgust from the monastery, and this fresh annoyance served, in some
degree, to assuage his grief. Life's daily occupations, the excitements
of society, the continual care shown towards him by his relatives, youth,
above all, and Time, the irresistible healer, at last served to soothe a
sorrow which, had it lasted longer, would have been more disastrous in
its results.

The Comte de Guiche consented to marry a wife to whom he was but slightly
attached, and who is quite content with him, praising his good qualities
and all his actions.




CHAPTER XLIV.

Mexica.--Philippa.--Molina.--The Queen's Jester.


In marrying Maria Theresa, Infanta of Spain, the King had made an
advantageous match from a political point of view. For through the
Infanta he had rights with regard to Flanders; she also provided him with
eventual claims upon Spain itself, together with Mexico and Peru. But
from a personal and social point of view, the King could not have
contracted a more miserable alliance. The Infanta, almost wholly