Descendants of the Stuarts

OF THE STUARTS. 131
of her mother-in-law : — *' All that was good in the
dauphin," says this princess, " came from his pre-
ceptor, all that was had from himself. He never
either loved or hated any one much, and yet he was
very wicked. His greatest pleasure was to do some-
thing to vex a person, and immediately afterwards,
if he could do something very pleasing to the same
person, he would set about it with great willingness.
In every respect he was of the strangest disposition
possible ; when one thought he was good-humoured
he was angry, and when one supposed him to be
ill-humoured he was in an amiable mood. No one
could ever guess him rightly, and I do not believe
that his like ever was, or ever will be, born. It
cannot be said he had much wit ; but still less was
he a fool." * Not the prince, gentle reader, to cap-
tivate the affections of a mild loveable girl like Mary
Louisa, who, if she ever entertained any tender feel-
ing for him, must have been effectually cured of it
by his indifference at their coming separation.
Anne was present at the ceremony of her sister's
nuptials, which were celebrated with gorgeous mag-
nificence at Pontainebleau on the 31st day of
August, 1679, the Prince de Conti acting as proxy
for the Spanish bridegroom. The bride submitted
to the ordeal coldly and impassively, but when
the horror of a separation from those she so much
loved pressed upon her with its hideous reality,
, * Memoirs of the Duchess of Orleans.
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