The Count of
Puymaigre relates that she many times took him to the Hospital of
Chantilly, endowed by the munificence of the great Conde, the
revenues of which she wished to increase. He adds: "I urged her to
this good work as much as I could; for good, by whatever hand
done, endures."
One day the Duchess of Angouleme asked him if he went often to
Chantilly.
"I go there," replied the Prefect, "to pay my court to the Duke of
Bourbon, whom I have the honor of having in my department."
"That is very well," responded the Dauphiness, "but I hope that
Madame de Puymaigre does not go."
The grand passion of the Duke of Bourbon was hunting. The Prefect
of the Oise says:--
"It was particularly during the hunts of Saint-Hubert that
Chantilly was a charming abode. The start was made at seven
o'clock in the morning, and usually I was in the carriage of the
Prince with the everlasting Madame de Feucheres. The hunting-
lodge was delightful and in a most picturesque situation. There
twenty or thirty persons met to the sound of horns, in the midst
of dogs, horses, and huntsmen. The coursing train of the Prince
was finer and more complete than that of the King. A splendid
breakfast was served at the place of rendezvous, built and
furnished in the Gothic style of the thirteenth century, and there
the chase began. Although I told the Prince that I was no hunter,
he often made me mount my horse and accompany him; but often
having enjoyed the really attractive spectacle of the stag, driven
by a crowd of dogs, which launched themselves after him across the
waters of a little lake, I hastened back to the Gothic pavilion
where the ladies and a few men remained.
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