I Am Louis XIV

  Chapter 292 The Amazing Journey of Anna Maria Luisa De Medici (6)

The Bastille was once the Bastille castle. It was not long as a prison. The square in front of the castle is still a place where people are happy to gather. Compared with the Queens Boulevard, it is more suitable for actors and dancers. Their performances are easy to flow. In vulgar, but definitely not boring, it even makes people laugh, the people gather in a circle, either applauding or whistling, Anna of the Medici sees a bohemian woman training a group of white mice to drill Ring of fire, climbing rope ladders, barely able to move. The Duke of Colonna stood beside her, took off his hat, and waved at a window, knowing that his mother would always stand at the window that looked out into the Louvre, hoping to see her monarch and her husband.

Anna didn't realize what kind of mistake she had made after reading the whole book. She apologized uncomfortably to Duke Colonna, but Duke Colonna just shook her head, "I'll take you to meet someone." He said, "A right I'm very important."

The Duke of Colonna said this, which made the Medici princess a little curious. When she followed the Duke all the way, she kept hearing the sound of someone leaving with heavy footsteps, which should be deliberately turned away. Now, the priests in black walked in front of them, with their hands in the cuffs - priests can be said to be a necessary configuration of the court, or an indispensable part, they are not only the lords of the Roman church, but also the ministers of the king, but the A very amiable looking priest, even the Duke of Colonna has shown him enough respect and caution - is he also a relative of the Bourbon family? Or have an indescribable dignity? Princess Anna guessed like this, but didn't notice that her footsteps were slowing down. The Duke of Colonna glanced at her and remembered that Anna was only a child. Marie Mancini's room was at the top. In order to prevent the enemy's attack, the castle The spiral staircase is often deliberately made at different heights, so that the enemy will suffer in an unfamiliar environment (of course, his own people are familiar and used to it in advance) - an adult male climbs the highest room and is out of breath, not to mention Said to be a child.

   So he whispered "I'm sorry" and lifted Anna up and put it on his shoulder.

The Duke of Colonna inherited the height of Louis, and with Anna, she almost touched the bottom of the upper stairs. Anna had to bow her head and hug the Duke of Colonna's head, which was also a new experience for her. Cosimo III was a good father, but he was frail and hardly ever held any of his children.

They continued to climb for more than ten minutes before they came to an aisle. The priest took out the key and opened the door. Only then did Princess Anna see that there was actually a suite inside. The curtains leading to the bedroom were hanging down. There is a thick wool carpet on it. Although there is no fire in the fireplace, thick soot can be seen, indicating that it is used very frequently. The furniture in the small hall is complete, triangular cabinets, and inclined writing desks. , a small round table and three or four chairs, a man with a velvet mask is standing in front of the window, "watching" them.

The Duke of Colonna put the princess down, hurried forward, took the man's hand and kissed it, the man reached out and stroked the Duke's curls and shoulders, back affectionately, he spoke, not French but Italian With a Siena accent, Princess Anna looked at them in amazement, she really couldn't guess what kind of relationship this person had with the Duke.

Their guide today, the priest in black, waited for the duke to finally take a step back and then stepped forward - the princess couldn't see how he was moving, so maybe she just took off the velvet mask. Come down, under the mask - the princess thought she would see a face that belonged to a young or old gentleman, but no, behind the mask it turned out to be a woman, probably about the same age as Anna's current female official, Madame Aubigne , she looked at Anna with joy and a little surprise, "This is the Duke's fiancee?" She asked Duke Colonna, who coughed a little embarrassedly.

"Probably right," said Elarius, who also looked at Marie. Maybe he thought he would see unwillingness and remorse in this Mancini, but asked him to say that the Duke and Duchess of Colonnaa's It seemed to be better than when she was in Calais or Versailles - he hoped that she had really woken up and not had other unpleasant thoughts.

Mary took two steps, Princess Anna's eyes were full of curiosity - the church would tell people that as long as witches could wear men's trousers, this crime was even written in the judgment of Joan of Arc - but it was not wrong , because Marie Mancini is indeed a witch.

Mary took a deep breath first. Although the mask was a magical product, it didn't hinder her vision, breathing, eating, etc., but it was still a shackle. It was a good thing to be able to get rid of it for a while, she thought. He wanted to walk to Anna and look at her carefully, but he seemed to have thought of something. He picked up an apple from the round table on the side, placed it on the silver plate, and tapped it with his fingertips. The apple would automatically fall apart and become The peeled bunny-apple-peel's ears are still quivering.

   "Wow!" Princess Anna couldn't help but shouted: "Thank you," she shyly bowed to this lady. Although she didn't know the identity of the other party, Duke Colonna had already set an example.

   "This is my mother," said the Duke of Colonna: "The Duchess of Colonna."

"The Duchess of Colonna has been laid to rest in a mausoleum in Rome, and now I'm just a nameless prisoner," Mary said, smiling when she saw a hint of confusion in the girl's eyes: "Don't think too much, child , you can just treat today's visit as just a strange dream." She sighed softly and turned to Elaero, "Please thank your majesty for me."

   "Your Majesty said that there is no need to thank you," Elario said, "when he made such arrangements for the Duke of Colonna, he decided that he must let you see the Duke's future wife with your own eyes."

Mary turned her head suddenly, even if she could only see her back, she knew that she took a few deep breaths to calm her emotions. The three people at the end of the room tacitly did not disturb her. After a few minutes, Mary turned around. When he came, his expression was as usual: "Can they sit with me?"

   "Certainly," said Elarius, "you have an afternoon."

For Anna of the Medici, this afternoon really seemed like a wondrous dream, with the Duke of Colonna in a heavily guarded prison, in a splendid cell, with whom she shared much with a noble lady in menswear. Magic, sweets, and jokes, as the twilight fell, the little princess took a nap, she was carried down by the silent Duke of Colonna, she was awakened and drank a small potion before boarding the carriage.

This bottle of potion will blur her previous memory. She will only remember that the Duke of Colonna took her to visit half of Paris and returned with a great time. Maybe one day she will remember what happened today, but when it comes, it is not What's so important.

  ——

When Princess Anna woke up, it was noon the next day, and her nurse, Madame Barbiere, complained that the Parisians were too...indulgent, while serving a rich breakfast to the princess, and the king will summon them this afternoon, " Your Majesty hopes that you can accept the guidance of the teachers together with the eldest princess and the princess."

   "But I already have Madame Aubigne." Anna said that Madame Aubigne was Anna's teacher and was in charge of several courses, from needlework to French.

   "It's different from this," Madame Aubigne walked in at this moment and said, "This is a girls' school opened by the Duchess of Orleans, and you will have more teachers and classmates."

"It's a little unseemly," muttered Mrs. Barbie. After all, most noble girls of this era were educated in convents or at home, rather than sitting with a group of strange girls in some "school" and studying. Something that men only care about, it's a bit absurd.

   "I think that's fine," said Madame Aubigne, her tone soft but, on the contrary, sharp and firm eyes: "I think that would be a good thing."

  ———

   "What do the Parisians think?" Louis asked.

   "They thought it was a little absurd," said the Duke of Orleans. "You have classes like that - if six to ten year olds just learn to draw and read and write and some simple calculations they can understand - the older girls are taught almost as much as the professors in college. things are level."

   "In other words, how many people refuse to enroll?"

   "On the contrary," said the Duke of Orléans, "they flocked to it, and now a place is probably equal to a vineyard—still worthless."

   "Anyone transfer?"

   "No one has ever done such a stupid thing, my lord," said the Duke of Orleans. "Everyone knows that you made the list yourself."

  Louis nodded, indeed, he wasn't so eager to think it could be done overnight, there were no men in this girls' school—from students to teachers. Not to mention the students, there have never been many scandals between teachers and students—he had read the collection of letters between Father Abelard and Heroris. Back then, the priest was the teacher of the girl Heroris. Louis XIV never tested human nature easily.

   Not only that, but the students of the school are also selected so as not to be used by those who have a heart. Louis is not afraid, but he is worried that his educational project cannot be carried out.

It's not that he can't prepare schools for boys only, but the Huguenots send boys and girls into schools not because they realize that for a group to develop healthily and steadily, the education of both Are they all necessary? After all, in addition to the father, the mother also plays an important role in the family. It can even be said that before the age of six, the children's initial concepts and beliefs come from the mother who is closest to them.

   In addition, he asked the Duchess of Orleans to preside over the matter, hoping that she could get out of the shadow of being almost murdered by his brother.

  ——

There are many reasons why Parisians still flock to this girls’ school despite a lot of discussions. For example, the school is located on the Ile de la Cité in the middle of the Seine, on which Notre Dame de Paris and the Chapel are located, and the school is directly opposite the Louvre. Palace, although the king now lives more in the Palace of Versailles, he still lives in the Louvre for a few weeks every once in a while, and his court and court will also move to the Louvre.

There is also the list of kings. The people on the list include princes, dukes, officers and officials. Without exception, they are all trusted confidants and important officials of the king. They did not make great achievements for the king. , is to serve the king for many years and never slack off, they almost did not hesitate to send their daughter to the king's school - even if those who were quick-witted offered a good price that was almost impossible to refuse.

These undercurrents surging in the crowd became even more fiery after the Duchess of Orleans made it clear that only girls on the list would be admitted - those lucky girls watched in amazement and ecstasy in their classrooms When it came to the eldest princess and the grand princess, it spread all over Paris in a blink of an eye.

In fact, there are only more than 100 students and a dozen teachers in this girls' school for the time being - no way, there may be more students, but there are too few women who can serve as teachers. Most of the teachers here are from France. The Faculty of Science, simply put, are the wives and daughters of the bachelors and professors, who have the privilege of listening to their ears, and have a lot of free time and books and papers, and do not know how to deal with the living room, bedroom and kitchen like other women. between.

   There are also some teachers from the aristocratic class - those ladies who are talented and intelligent like pearls can't be covered by dust and sand are all eager to try.

For example, the female companion of the Duchess of Montpensier, the lady Lafayette who had been humiliated by Felipe Jules Mancini, after the death of the former, she got rid of his magic and went to the country to recuperate After a few years, the Duchess of Montpensier was pardoned and returned to Paris. She was invited to accompany the Duchess. Although her youth had passed away, her charm originally came from her knowledge and talent. Still very much looked after by the Queen Mother and other nobles.

   The Duchess of Montpensier did not expect that the Duchess of Orléans showed her intention to recruit female teachers, and Madame Lafayette immediately offered herself.

Mrs. Lafayette had completed two novels by this time. She taught classical literature in the school, and was in charge of the upper students, girls from ten to fourteen years old, and the lower students by another outsider. Teacher, Madame Françoise Aubigne is in charge. It is said that this lady was originally French, but later went to Italy. Some people say that she came from a humble background, but Madame Lafayette had tea and chat with her. , that this lady is not inferior to himself, or to other teachers.

   It can only be said that there are too many people who love to slander others.

   (end of this chapter)