Chapter LIV: Letter XLIII: PARIS, Friday, July 19, 1675

Guess from whence I write to you, my dear--from M. de Pomponne’s, as you will perceive by the few lines which Madame de Vins sends you with this. I have been with her, the Abbé Arnauld, and D’Hacqueville, to see the procession of St. Genevieve pass; we returned in very good time; we were back by two o’clock; there are many that will not return till night. Do you know that this procession is considered a very fine sight. It is attended by all the religious orders, in their respective habits, the curates of the several parishes, and all the canons of Notre-Dame, preceded by the archbishop of Paris in his pontificals, and on foot, giving his benediction to the right and left as he goes, till he comes to the cathedral; I should have said to the left only, for the Abbé de St. Genevieve marches on the right, barefoot, and preceded by a hundred and fifty monks, barefoot also; the cross and miter are borne before him, like the archbishop, and he gives his benedictions in the same manner, but with great apparent devotion, humility, and fasting, and an air of penitence, which show that he is to say mass at Notre-Dame. The parliament, in their red robes, and the principal companies follow the shrine of the saint, which glitters with precious stones, and is carried by twenty men clad in white, and barefoot. The provost of the merchants, and four counselors, are left as hostages at the Church of St. Genevieve, for the return of this precious treasure. You will ask me, perhaps, why the shrine was exposed. It was to put a stop to the continual rains we have had, and to obtain warm and dry weather, which happened at the very time they were making preparations for the procession, to which, as it was intended to obtain for us all kinds of blessings, I presume we owe his majesty’s return, who is expected here on Sunday next. In my letter of Wednesday I will write you all that is worth writing.

M. de La Trousse is conducting a detachment of six thousand men to Marshal de Créqui, who is to join M. de Turenne. La Fare and the others remain with the dauphin’s gens-d’armes, in the army commanded by the prince. The other day madame and Madame de Monaco took D’Hacqueville, at the Hôtel de Grammont, to walk about the streets and the Tuileries incog.; as her highness is not much given to a disposition for gallantry, her dignity sits very easy on her. The Tuscan princess is expected every hour. This is another of the blessings obtained by the shrine of St. Genevieve. I saw one of your letters yesterday to the Abbé de Pontcarré; it is the best letter that ever was written; there is no part of it which has not some point and wit. He has sent a copy of it to his eminence, for the original is kept as sacred as the shrine.

Adieu, my dearest and best-beloved; you are so remarkable for your inviolable love of truth, that I do not abate myself a single expression of your kindness toward me, and you may judge, then, how happy it makes me.