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Charles de St. Denis, Seigneur de St. Evremond, was a soldier,
philosopher, and courtier, who had distinguished himself by his
bravery, learning, and politeness. Having fallen under the
displeasure of the French court, he had, in the year 1662, sought
refuge in England, where he had been welcomed with the courtesy
due to his rank, and the esteem which befitted his merits.
Settling in the capital, he mixed freely in the companionship of
wits, gallants, and courtiers who constituted its society; and
delighted with London as a residence, he determined on making
England his country by adoption. An old friend and fervent
admirer of the Duchess of Mazarine, he had received the news of
her visit with joy, and celebrated her arrival in verse.
The reputation of her loveliness and the history of her life
having preceded her, the court became anxious to behold her; the
king, mindful of the relationship he had once sought; with the
duchess, grew impatient to welcome her. After a few days' rest,
necessary to remedy the fatigue of her journey, she appeared at
Whitehall. By reason of her beauty, now ripened rather than
impaired by time, and those graces which attracted the more from
the fascination they had formerly exercised, she at once gained
the susceptible heart of the monarch. St. Evremond tells us her
person "contained nothing that was not too lovely." In the
"Character of the Duchess of Mazarine," which he drew soon after
her arrival in London, he has presented a portrait of her worth
examining not only for sake of the object it paints, but for the
quaint workmanship it contains.
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