Madame de Navailles, with oldfashioned notions of virtue and prudence, had great difficulty, with all her vigilance, to keep the young lords about the court, in order; nor was fhe always feconded in her endeavours by the ladies whom the wifhed to defend. Among thofe that were little inclined to refistance, was Mademoifelle de la Motte Houdancourt, one of the queen's maids of honour. The countess of Soiffons formed and instructed her how to please the king, as much to preferve her own credit with the monarch, as to mortify Madame de Navailles; who, alarmed with some preparations which the perceived the king was making for entering her sheep-fold in the night, fpoke to him of the impropriety of his defign with fome degree of firmness. At first he heard these short exhortations with patience, but at length appeared diffatisfied; yet he expreffed his difapprobation with fuch politeness, that the thought there was nothing to fear from his refentment. However, the defire of victory, and the indignation excited in the young fovereign by oppofition to his will, tranfported him to threats, if the continued to thwart his purpofe. The lady, notwithstanding the danger of difgrace, and the ruin of her family, perfifted in rigorously guarding her flock from this royal wolf; who continuing his enterprifes, was encouraged by the railleries of Madame de Soiffons, who called the dame d'honneur a pretended prude, and laughed at the king for fuffering his pleasures to be thus croffed. She awakened his felf-love fo much, that he thought he was following the dictates of a friend, when he was only who gratifying an ambitious woman, Madame de Navailles, with the firmnefs of a Roman matron, in fpite of the ruin which he was fure to encounter, perfifted in her oppofition to the king's defigns, and ordered iron bars to be fixed to all the avenues by which he could poffibly enter, clandestinely, into the apartment of the maids of honour. This bold meafure loft the governante of these ladies her place, which was conferred on the more flexible countess of Soiffons. Madame la Marechale Du Pleffis, at this time fufpecting that a connection was formed between the young monarch and her niece, Mademoiselle de Ponts took her fuddenly away from Fontainbleau, where the court then was, and conducted her to Paris. While thefe tranfrent fancies amufed the king, he conceived a ferious paffion for Mademoiselle de la Valliere; that La Valliere, fo touching, fay all the writers that faw her, fo interefting, fo tender, and fo much ashamed of being fo, who would have loved Lewis if he had been a common man, and who facrificed to him, with tears and lamentations, her honour and first scruples. This unfortunate lady's history is fo well known, that it hardly feems neceffary to say, that neither her beauty, nor the fincerity of her affection, could keep the monarch more faithful to her than he had been to the young queen. La Valliere, far from glorying in her conqueft over the heart of this valage prince, wifhed always to keep their connection a profound fecret. The anguifh, conflicts, and defpair of this modern Magdalen, whofe confcience was no lefs tender than her heart, frequently frequently rendered the triumphs of her feducer painful. He was likewife tired of the reproaches of his mother. Nor was he a little embarraffed by the timid jealoufy, languishing looks, and broken fighs of the young queen. The poor La Valliere, about this time either piqued by the infidelities of Lewis, or feeling unufual compunction at her own conduct, ran away from court, and fhut herself up in a convent at St Cloud. This was no fooner difcovered by the king, than, without listening to the remonftrances of the queen-mother, he mounted the first horse he could find, and gallop. ed full speed after her. He forced the portiere of the convent to let him in, and obliged his mistress to return with him. This young perfon, who never forgot that she was acting wrong, and always intending to vanquish her affection, faid to the nun who let them out, with her eyes bathed in tears. Adieu, my dear fifter; you will foon fee me again. Soon after her return, the queenmother, Anne of Austria, died. The life of this princefs, who seems to have had many good qualities, and to have kept her fon within the bounds of decency and decorum, at least externally, was fhortened by a cancer; a malady which was doubly dreadful to her, who, befide the pain, was in exceffive dread of the other confequences of her complaint. She was remarkably fond of fweet fcents, and of course terrified at the idea of the contrary. She was fingularly delicate, in her fenfe of feeling, and could fcarcely procure cambric fine enough for her fhifts and fheets. Cardinal Mazarin used to say, pleafantly, that " if it fhould be her chance to be d-d, her punishment would be to lie in Holland Sheets." She had experienced many viciffitudes; at one time, tormented by an imperious minifter, and pitied by the people; at another, abufed and execrated by this fame peo ple, for having a minifter for her friend. In fpite of all these exceffes, fhe had a real affection for the French nation; and had the fatisfaction to fee the public prejudice fade away, and juftice done to her virtues and good qualities. While Lewis was lamenting his mother, love, in endeavouring to dry his tears, prepared new mortifications for his confort, and new fhame to the timid La Valliere. More to please her lover and aggrandise her children, than herfelf, fhe accepted the title, rank, and honours of a dutchefs, and was now publicly known and acknow ledged to be the king's mistress. But in a few years, his paffion for Madame Montefpan being discovered, La Valliere again quitted the court, and threw herself into the convent of Sainte Marie, at Chaillot. Lewis did not go after her himself, as heretofore, but fent his minister Colbert, and Lauzun, who, with great difficulty, prevailed on her once more to re turn. About this time ( 1670), the volatile monarch contrived to excite jealoufy in the cold heart of his brother, fome fay to divert his attention from politics, and others, for a different purpose. The character of the princefs Henrietta of England, fifter to Charles II. involved in the intrigues of the court, and wedded to a prince, infenfible not only to her charms, but to thofe of the whole fex, though adored by the French nation at large, yet fuffered by anonymous letters and printed libels'; which were fo much the more dangerous, as they were written in an agreeable ftyle, and gave more probability to the difhonouring adventures they related. The Comte de Buffi Rabutin was thrown into the Bastile (1669) for his Amorous Hiftory of the Gauls; whence he was only liberated, many years after, to go into banishment for the rest of his life. Another libel, entitled, The Amours of the Palace, gave Madame, the confort of Monfieur, the moft alarming un uneafinefs. In this fhe was treated with the most cruel indignity, and her pretended paffion for the king was recounted at full length. M. ANQUETIL gives us a minute and curious account of princefs Henrietta's political journey to England, to folicit her brother to join with Lewis in a war against the Dutch; of her return to France in the beginning of June 1670; and her death, in the most excruciating tortures, the 29th of the fame month, as was generally suppposed at the time, by poifon, when only twenty-fix years of age. During the Dutch war, the king, frequently after a brilliant fiege, fuddenly quitted the army; and, fome times, the troops were fuffered to remain fo long inactive, that a whole campaign was only productive of a fingle exploit. This kind of defertion, of which the cause was unknown, has been afcribed to his paffion for Mad. de Montefpan, his new mistress, whofe power over him was now in fullforce, and occafioned a public murmur. He had not, however, wholly abandoned La Valliere, but vifited her from the remains of habit, and on account of her children. She perceived the defection; but that love, which she could not yet wholly tear from her breast, made her patiently fupport, at firft the equality, and afterward the preference, which was granted to her rival, even under her own eyes. She was lefs hurt by the triumph of Madame de Montefpan, than pleafed at the king's happiness; and even carried her refignation and goodnefs fo far, as to help to adorn her perfon with her own hands. Lewis, extremely affiduous in his attention to his new mistress, knowing that the other only fubmitted to thefe complaifances in order to be near him, could have no doubt of the affliction they caufed her. A remark which efcaped her, to a perfon, who, like herself, was witness of their mutual tenderness, is a plain indication of what he felt: If Ifhould ever be difcontented, fays fhe, at the Carmelites, I shall call to mind what these people have made me fuffer here. The time was now come for her to bury herself and all her forrows in a convent. It was no fudden refolution yet, at the moment of execution, the was greatly embarraffed by a diverfity of opinions. By the devout people of the court, of which number was the D. de Beauvilliers, fhe was exhorted to this great exemplary act. Others, lefs fevere, advised her to retire quietly into fome community, like Madamoifelle de la Motte, one of the king's early favourites, to spend her life in piety, but not to take the veil. Her own family was defirous that fhe fhould keep her rank in the world, and have her children educated under her own eyes; but the king doubted of her being able to fave his daughter from the dangers which had been fatal to herself; and the thought the safest way for both, was to bind herself by indiffoluble ties to virtue. In taking the veil, though she was defired to chuse an order in which fhe might arrive at fuch dignities as are compatible with the cloifter, fhe modeftly replied, that as fhe had been unable to conduct herfelf, he ought not to think of guiding the Steps of others. Several perfons were propofed to her in marriage; but M. de St. Simon fufpected the pride of Lewis to be fuch, as to think that, after belonging to HIM, fhe ought to devote herfelf to none but God; and, as if a new paffion had hardened his reart with refpect to the paft, he pronounced her facrifice; and the devoted herself with entire refignation. April 19th, 1674, fhe plunged into the convent of the Carmelites, at the age of 30; and was profeffed in June. 1675, in the prefence of the Queen and all the court, by the name of Sifter Louife de la Mifericorde. She lived 36 years after this period, in the most rigorous and painful exercifes of a religious life; of which, how ever, she had the confolations. Madame de Montefpan went fometimes thither to feek them. Is it true, fays the to the pious fifter, that you are as pleafed with your prefent fituation as people pretend?—I am not pleased, anfwered the gentle Carmelite, but I am content. A proof that, even through the calmnefs of a good confcience, there were fome remains of regret. Mad. de la Valliere left a daughter, Madamoiselle de Blois, afterward married to the prince de Conti; and a fon, Louis de Bourbon, Comte de Vermandois whofe history is fhort, and romance long. After the retreat of his mother, being improperly educated, he became fo proud, prefumptuous, and debauched, that the king banished him from his prefence. He began, however, to be restored to favour, when it was faid, that at the fiege of Courtrai, in 1683, he was carried off by an acute fever. This is the hiftory. The romance fays, that about this time, in a difpute with the Dauphin, of nearly his own age, he forgot himself so far as to give that prince a blow. The privy council affembled on the occafion, and condemned him to death; but the king, from his paternal goodness, mitigated the punishment to perpetual imprisonment. In'confequence of this fentence, it was reported that he had died of a contagious diftemper before Courtrai, though he had been conducted alive with the utmost secrecy to the isle of St Marguerite; whence he was removed to the Baftile, where he lived till 1703, under the mysterious title of the Man with the Iron Mask. M. Bonnet, who was appointed to inform his mother of his death, in 1683, related that, proftrating herself before her crucifix, the humble penitent criea, Alas! muft I, O my God, weep for his death, before I have fufficiently repented of his birth. Account of Improvements now carrying on at Philadelphia; in a Letter from a Gentleman at that place, dated May 1789. THE "DEAR SIR, HE alteration that I found on my arrival here, after an abfence of two years, exceeds credibility. I will endeavour to amufe you with fome account of the progrefs and prefent ftate of manufactures in this country. I am, no doubt, not acquainted with all, but I fhall give you thofe that have made the greatest noife. "At the fœderal proceffion in Philadelphia, there appeared fix hundred fhoemakers belonging to that city and its environs. By the Cuftom-house-books of Philadelphia, they exported 7000l. worth of tanned leather, the manufacture of the Counery, to Virginia. This laft year, Mr Cabot, of Beverly, in Massachusett's, purchased, and exported to the Southern States, feventy thousand pair of women's fhoes from that place. "The manufacturing Society publifhed a premium for the best American printed book; feveral were prefented in competition for the premium, which was given to the publifher of a German book; and in the courfe of inquiry it was found, not only that the types, paper, and leather were made in America, but alfo the materials to make the types, and all the inftruments used in the printing bufinefs; this far exceeded every hope, even as to the manufacture of the materials, which is ex tremely tremely laborious and difficult. The fame fociety have found that upwards of fixty paper-mills exift in Pennfylvania, fo as almost to preclude the importation of that article. "At Albany they have established a glass manufactory, and at Bofton is established another. The Albany glass is as cheap as that from Europe. "In New York the caftor-put, or Palma Chrifti, grows well; and one or more mills are established for the making of castor oil, "In the course of three years the nail manufactory has been pushed with fo much fpirit and fuccefs, that the importation no longer anfwers. "Coarfe linens are fo univerfally made in New England and Connec ticut, as to underfell those of the fame quality from Europe, which can no longer be fent to any of the places North of Philadelphia: Of the Southward I know nothing but that they raise much cotton in Virginia and Maryland. "Duck is making in a number of farmers' families, through Connecticut particularly, and New England. It is expected that they will thortly make fufficient for the consumption of the country. In Bofton, a Company has built a house 180 feet long, and two stories high, for the manufacture of this article. More hands offer than can be employed in this manufactory, and this without any injury to other objects, as I understand it is carried on in the winter feafon only. I hear that a man in Connecticut works his fpinning and winding wheels by water, and is now building a weaving mill to be turned by the fame. 66 They breed the filk worm in Connecticut. These work filk in the fummer, and the egg is kept all winter. It has always been an opinion that filk could not be made in a cold climate; and the manufacture has been established here, on a perfectly folid footing, before it was known that the thing was poffible. They have for many years bred the filk worm, and made filk in Connecticut, and now in fuch quantity that fome is exported to the neighbouring States. A lady of my acquaintance here has a gown and petticoat now making of it, and her husband, who had left off the wear of filk flockings from Patriotic motives, has agaiņ adopted them. "The quantity of beer and porter made here, has more than doubled within a year, and has turned many farmers to the cultivation of barley. The brewers are indeed at prefent circumfcribed in their manufacture, by the want of barley, which has occafióned an importation from Great Britain. "Carding machines are made as cheap, and as well, at Philadelphia as in Europe. "The importation of fteel has been confiderably leffened at the Port of Philadelphia, within thefe two years, by the making of it in thẹ country it is faid the importation is leffened one fourth. |