Chapter VI: Letter V: PARIS, May 20, 1667

I received a letter from you, my dear cousin, when I was in Brittany, in which you talked of our ancestors, the Rabutins, and of the beauty of Bourbilly. But as I had heard from Paris that you were expected there, and as I had hoped myself to arrive much sooner, I deferred writing to you; and now I find you are not coming at all. You know that nothing is now talked of but war. The whole court is at camp, and the whole camp is at court; and every place being a desert, I prefer the desert of Livri forest, where I shall pass the summer,

En attendant que nos guerriers
Reviennent couverts de lauriers.[6]

[6] Waiting the return of our warriors covered with laurels.

There are two lines for you, but I do not know whether I have heard them before, or have just made them. As it is a matter of no great importance, I shall resume the thread of my prose. My heart has been very favorably inclined toward you, since I have seen so many people eager to begin, or rather to revive, a business in which you acquired so much honor during the time you were able to engage in it. It is a sad thing for a man of courage to be confined at home when there are such great doings in Flanders.[7] As you feel, no doubt, all that a man of spirit and valor can feel, it is imprudent in me to revive so painful a subject. I hope you will forgive me, in consideration of the great interest I take in your affairs.

[7] Bussy was exiled to his estates.

It is said you have written to the king. Send me a copy of your letter, and give me a little information respecting your mode of life, what sort of things amuse you, and whether the alterations you are making in your house do not contribute a good deal toward it. I have spent the winter in Brittany, where I have planted a great number of trees, and a labyrinth, that will require Ariadne’s clew to find the way out of it. I have also purchased some land, to which I have said, as usual, “I shall convert you into a park.” I have extended my walks at a trifling expense. My daughter sends you a thousand remembrances. I beg mine to all your family.