Note 156 — HISTORY OF THE IRON MASK.

Jane Antoinette Poisson, married to a financier named Le Normand d’Etioles; created Marquise de Pompadour by Lewis the Fifteenth, of whom she was first the mistress, and afterwards the minister of his disgraceful debauches. At her death, in 1765, the King showed no signs of grief; and on seeing her funeral go by his windows on a rainy day, his only remark was, “La Marquise aura aujourd’hui un mauvais temps pour son voyage!”