. Five fair sisters : an Italian episode at the court of Louis XIV. ances, and tragedies, reading tohim herself verse and prose, in an amorous voice, withintonations which soothed or intoxicated him. Sheaccustomed him to serious conversations with men ofatre and merit, excited him to emulation, and aided himto acquire nobility and correctness of expression. Toher is due also the little taste for the arts that hepossessed. He owed her more than all that. She made himashamed of being without ambition, without dreamseither worthy or unworthy, without desires more lohythan the choice of a costume
. Five fair sisters : an Italian episode at the court of Louis XIV. ances, and tragedies, reading tohim herself verse and prose, in an amorous voice, withintonations which soothed or intoxicated him. Sheaccustomed him to serious conversations with men ofatre and merit, excited him to emulation, and aided himto acquire nobility and correctness of expression. Toher is due also the little taste for the arts that hepossessed. He owed her more than all that. She made himashamed of being without ambition, without dreamseither worthy or unworthy, without desires more lohythan the choice of a costume or a pas de ballet—madehim, in a word, remember that he was King, and gavehim the idea of being a great king. He never torgotthe lesson.^ Louis, who had loved the girl at first because sheloved him and intended that he should reciprocate herpassion, ended by loving her spontaneously, from anobler motive, because he recognised in her a superiormind, contact with which opened to his own unknownhorizons. ^ ArvMe Barine, Princesses et grandes dames : Marie From an engraving after the draw ing by Wallerant VaillantLOUIS XIV FIVE FAIR SISTERS 73 The close of the year 1657, was marked by an unto-ward event, which occasioned Ma/.arin profound youngest nephew, Alphonse Mancini, who hadarrived in France at the same time as his little sisterMarianne, had been sent, like his brothers Paul andPhilippe before him, to the Jesuit College at Clermont,from which glowing accounts as to his progress in hisstudies reached the gratified Cardinal. During theChristmas festivities, he was playing with the otherscholars, when, tired of their ordinary games, some onesuggested that they should toss one another in a went well until it came to Alphonses turn toundergo that not over-pleasant experience, when thelittle Abbe- dHarcourt, who was very weak, allowed thecorner of the blanket he held to slip from his hand, withthe result that Alphonse fell to the floor and fractur
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