A Cyclopaedia of Female Biography/Valliere, Louise Francoise, Duchesse de la
VALLIERE, LOUISE FRANCOISE, DUCHESSE DE LA,
A French lady of an ancient family, and maid of honour to Henrietta of England, wife of the Duke of Orleans, became the mistress of Louis the Fourteenth of France, by whom she had a son and a daughter. She is thus described by contemporary writers. "She was a most lovely woman; the lucid whiteness of her skin, the roses on her cheeks, her languishing blue eyes, and her fine silver-coloured hair were altogether captivating." To her Choisy applies the following line:
"And grace still more charming than beauty."
"That La Vallière," says Anguetil, in his Memoirs, "who was so engaging, so winning, so tender, and so much ashamed of her tenderness; who would have loved Louis for his own sake had he been but a private-man; and who sacrificed to her affection for him her honour and conscientious scruples, with bitter regret." In a fit of mingled repentance and jealousy, she one day left the court, and retired to a convent at St. Cloud. The king, when informed of this, seized the first horse that came to hand, and rode hastily after her. He at length prevailed over her pious resolutions, and carried her back in triumph. "Adieu, sister," said she to the nun who opened the gate for her; "you shall soon see me again." From that time La Vallière, shunning the public gaze, lived in retirement; and consequently the king mingled but little with the circles of the court. In 1666, however, in obedience to her lover, and from tenderness to her children, she ventured once more to appear in public, and accepted the title and honours of Duchess.
Some time after, the beauty, wit, and vivacity of Madame de Montespan acquired for her such an ascendency over the fickle monarch, that La Vallière was again driven by her jealousy to the convent; and she was again induced by the tears and entreaties of Louis to return. But, being convinced that his affections were irretrievably lost, she resolved finally to carry out her purpose, and took the vows in the presence of the whole court, under the name of sister Louise, of the order of Mercy, June 4th., 1675. She survived this sacrifice for thirty-six years, devoted to the performance of the austerities of a conventual life. It was proposed to elevate her to those dignities consistent with her retirement, but she declined, saying, "Alas! after having shown myself incapable to regulate my own conduct, shall I presume to direct that of others?"
Madame de Montespan went sometimes to see her. "Are you really as happy," asked she, at one time, "as people say?"
"I am not happy," replied the gentle Carmelite, "but content." Her daughter, Mademoiselle de Blois, was married to the Prince of Conti; her son, Louis of Bourbon, Count of Vermandois, died at the siege of Courtrai, in 1683. "Alas, my God!" said La Vallière, when informed of her misfortune, "must I weep for his death, before my tears have expiated his birth?" She died in 1710, at the age of sixty-six.
She was much beloved for her meekness, gentleness, and beneficence. She is considered the author of "Réflexions sur la Miséricorde de Dieu."