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The Princess of Cleves by Marie Madeleine Pioche de la Vergne comtesse de Lafayette
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the Duke de Nemours, it was he. The Duke de Nemours was a
masterpiece of Nature; the beauty of his person, inimitable as it
was, was his least perfection; what placed him above other men,
was a certain agreeableness in his discourse, his actions, his
looks, which was observable in none beside himself: he had in his
behaviour a gaiety that was equally pleasing to men and women; in
his exercises he was very expert; and in dress he had a peculiar
manner, which was followed by all the world, but could never be
imitated: in fine, such was the air of his whole person, that it
was impossible to fix one's eye on anything else, wherever he
was. There was not a lady at Court, whose vanity would not have
been gratified by his address; few of those whom he addressed,
could boast of having resisted him; and even those for whom he
expressed no passion, could not forbear expressing one for him:
his natural gaiety and disposition to gallantry was so great,
that he could not refuse some part of his cares and attention to
those who made it their endeavour to please him; and accordingly
he had several mistresses, but it was hard to guess which of them
was in possession of his heart: he made frequent visits to the
Queen-Dauphin; the beauty of this princess, the sweetness of her
temper, the care she took to oblige everybody, and the particular
esteem she expressed for the Duke de Nemours, gave ground to
believe that he had raised his views even to her. Messieurs de
Guise, whose niece she was, had so far increased their authority
and reputation by this match, that their ambition prompted them
to aspire at an equality with the Princes of the blood, and to
share in power with the Constable Montmorency. The King
entrusted the Constable with the chief share in the
administration of the Government, and treated the Duke of Guise
and the Mareschal de St. Andre as his favourites; but whether
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