Louis XIV, had caused the mother of these children, the beautiful
Madame de Montespan, to be cast away, and she became the friend, the
beloved, the secret spouse of the king: and the lofty Louis, who
could say of himself, "L'etat c'est moi" he, with all the power of
his will, with all his authority, was the humble vassal of Franchise
d'Aubigne, Marquise de Maintenon!

This was the first princess whom Martinique had given to the world!

Was it not possible that the prophecies of the old negro woman could
be realized? could not once more a daughter of the Island of
Martinique be exalted into a princess?

"You will be Queen of France!" the negress had said.

No, it was mere folly to believe in such a ridiculous prophecy. The
throne of France was now occupied. Alongside of her consort, the
good, the well-beloved Louis XVI, the young and beautiful Queen
Marie Antoinette, the daughter of the mighty Empress Maria Theresa,
sat on the throne. She was young, she was beloved throughout France,
and she had already, to the great delight of her husband and of his
people, borne an heir to the throne of France.

The throne of the lilies stood then on firm and sure foundations,
and the prophecies of the old negress belonged only to the kingdom
of fables. [Footnote: This prophecy, nearly as related above, was
told by the Empress Josephine herself to her maids of honor in the
castle of Navarra.--See "Memoires sur l'Imperatrice Josephine, la
Ville, la Cour et les Salons de Paris sous l'Empire, par Madame
Georgette Ducrest."]