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| author | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 04:37:10 -0700 |
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| committer | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 04:37:10 -0700 |
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diff --git a/11531-h/11531-h.htm b/11531-h/11531-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ca3e258 --- /dev/null +++ b/11531-h/11531-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,14030 @@ +<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> +<html> + <head> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content= + "text/html; charset=UTF-8"> + <title> + The Project Gutenberg eBook of Marie de Medicis + </title> + <style type="text/css"> + +body { margin-left: 20%; + margin-right: 20%; + text-align: justify; } + + p { margin-top: .75em; + margin-bottom: .75em; } + blockquote {text-align: justify; + margin-left: 15%; + margin-right: 15%;} + + span.pagenum + {position: absolute; left: 1%; right: 91%; font-size: 8pt;} + + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; } + HR { width: 33%; } + + .ind { MARGIN-LEFT: 10%; MARGIN-RIGHT: 10% } + .ctr { TEXT-ALIGN: center } + +div.fig { display:block; + margin:0 auto; + text-align:center; + margin-top: 1em; + margin-bottom: 1em;} + +p.caption {font-weight: bold; + text-align: center; } + + </style> + </head> +<body> +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 11531 ***</div> + +<div class="fig" style="width:100%;"> +<a name="illus0492"></a> +<img src="images/illus0492.jpg" width="557" height="600" alt="[Illustration: ]"> +<p class="caption">MARIE DE MEDICIS, SECOND QUEEN OF HENRY IV OF FRANCE.</p> +</div> + +<h1>THE LIFE</h1> + +<h2>OF</h2> + +<h1>MARIE DE MEDICIS</h1> + +<h2>Queen of France</h2> + +<h4>CONSORT OF HENRI IV, AND REGENT OF THE +KINGDOM UNDER LOUIS XIII</h4> + +<h5>BY</h5> + +<h3>JULIA PARDOE</h3> + +<h5>AUTHOR OF</h5> + +<h4>'LOUIS XIV AND THE COURT OF FRANCE IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY,'</h4> +<h4>'THE COURT AND REIGN OF FRANCIS THE FIRST,' ETC.</h4> + +<div class="fig" style="width:100%;"> +<img src="images/002.jpg" width="150" height="177" alt="[Illustration: ]"> +</div> + +<h5>IN THREE VOLUMES</h5> +<h3>VOL. I</h3> + +<h5>1890</h5> +<br><br> + +<h4>TO</h4> + +<h3>MR. AND MRS. CHARLES BECKET</h3> + +<h3>(OF HEVER COURT, KENT)</h3> + +<h3>These Volumes</h3> + +<h3>ARE VERY AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED</h3> + +<h4>BY</h4> + +<h4>THE AUTHOR</h4> + +<div class="fig" style="width:100%;"> +<img src="images/029.jpg" width="110" height="157" alt="[Illustration: ]"> +</div> + +<br><br><hr style="width: 35%;"><br><br> +<h2>PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION</h2> + +<p>All the existing records of European royalty do not, probably, comprise +the annals of a life of greater vicissitude than that which has been +chosen as the subject of the present work. We find numerous examples in +history of Queens who have suffered exile, imprisonment, and death; but +we believe that the unfortunate Marie de Medicis is the only +authenticated instance of a total abandonment on the part alike of her +family and friends, which terminated almost in starvation. Certain it is +that after having occupied the throne of France, presided over its +Councils, and given birth to the ancestor of a long line of Princes, she +was ultimately indebted to the sympathy and attachment of a foreign +artist, of whom she had once been the zealous patron, for a roof under +which to terminate her miserable existence! The whole life of this +ill-fated Queen is, indeed, full of startling contrasts from which the +mind shrinks back appalled; and her entire career is so freighted with +alternate grandeur and privation that it is difficult to reconcile the +possibility of their having fallen to the share of the same individual; +and this too in an age when France, above all other nations, boasted of +its chivalry, and when some of the greatest names that have ever figured +in its annals gave grace and glory to its history.</p> + +<p>The times were, moreover, as remarkable as the men by whom they were +illustrated; for despite the civil and foreign wars by which they were +so unhappily distinguished, the arts flourished, and the spread of +political liberty became apparent; although it is equally certain that +they were at the same time fatal alike to the aristocracy and to the +magistrature; and that they rapidly paved the way to the absolutism of +Louis XIV, to the shameless saturnalia of the Regency, and to the +dishonouring and degrading excesses of Louis XV, who may justly be said +to have prepared by his licentiousness the scaffold of his successor.</p> + +<p>During several centuries the French monarchs had indulged in a blind +egotism, which rendered them unable to appreciate the effects of their +own errors upon their subjects. L'ÉTAT C'EST MOI had unfortunately been +practically their ruling principle long ere Louis XIV ventured to put it +into words. To them the Court was the universe, the aristocracy the +nation, and the Church the corner-stone of the proud altar upon which +they had enthroned themselves, and beyond which they cared not either to +look or listen. A fatal mistake fatally expiated! Yet, as we have +already remarked, the system, dangerous and hollow as it was, endured +for centuries--endured until crime was heaped on crime, and the fearful +holocaust towered towards Heaven as if to appeal for vengeance. And that +vengeance came! It had been long delayed; so long indeed that when the +brilliant courtiers of Versailles were told of disaffection among the +masses, and warned to conciliate ere it was too late the goodwill of +their inferiors, they listened with contemptuous carelessness to the +tardy caution, and scorned to place themselves in competition with those +untitled classes whom they had long ceased to regard as their +fellow-men. But the voice of the people is like the stroke of the hammer +upon the anvil; it not only makes itself heard, but, however great may +be the original resistance, finishes by fashioning the metal upon which +it falls after its own will.</p> + +<p>During the reign of Louis XIII this great and fatal truth had not yet +been impressed upon the French nation, for the popular voice was stifled +beneath the ukase of despotism; and even the <i>tiers-état</i>--important as +the loyalty of that portion of a kingdom must ever be to its +rulers--were treated with disdain and contumely; but beneath all the +workings of his government (or rather the government of his minister, +for the son of Marie de Medicis was a monarch only in name), may be +traced the undercurrent of popular indignation and discontent, which, +gradually swelling and rising during the two succeeding reigns, finally +overthrew with its giant waves the last frail barrier which still +upreared itself before a time-honoured throne.</p> + +<p>The incapacity of the King, the venality of the Princes, the arrogance +of the hierarchy, the insubordination of the nobles, the licentiousness +of the Court, the despotism of the Government; all the errors and all +the vices of their rulers, were jealously noted and bitterly registered +by an oppressed and indignant people; but it required time to shake off +a yoke which had been so long borne that it had eaten into the flesh; +nor, moreover, were the minds of the masses in that age sufficiently +awakened to a sense of their own collective power to enable them, as +they did in the following century, to measure their strength with those +upon whom they had been so long accustomed to look with fear and awe.</p> + +<p>There cannot, moreover, exist the slightest doubt that the wantonness +with which Richelieu, in furtherance of his own private interests, +poured out so freely on the scaffold some of the proudest blood of +France, did much towards destroying that prestige which had hitherto +environed the high nobility. When Biron perished upon the block, +although his death was decreed by the sovereign, and that sovereign, +moreover, was their own idolized Henri IV, the people marvelled and even +murmured; but in after-years they learned through the teaching of the +Cardinal that nobles were merely men; while the exile of the persecuted +Marie de Medicis, and the privations to which she was exposed through +his agency, taught them that even royalty itself was not invulnerable to +the malice or vengeance of its opponents; and unhappily for those by +whom Richelieu was succeeded in power, the lesson brought forth its +fruits in due season.</p> + +<p>Thus much premised, I shall confine myself to a brief explanation of the +manner in which I have endeavoured to perform my self-imposed task. For +one wilful, but as I trust excusable, inaccuracy, I throw myself on the +indulgence of my critics. Finding my pages already overloaded with +names, and that they must consequently induce a considerable strain upon +the memory of such readers as might not chance to be intimately +acquainted with the domestic history of the period under consideration, +I have, from the commencement of the work, designated the Duc de Sully +by the title which he ultimately attained, and by which he is +universally known, rather than confuse the mind of my readers by +allusions to M. de Béthune, M. de Rosny, and finally M. de Sully, when +each and all merely signified the same individual; and I feel persuaded +that this arrangement will be generally regarded as a judicious one, +inasmuch as it tends to lessen a difficulty already sufficiently great; +a fact which will be at once apparent on reference to the biographical +table at the head of each volume.</p> + +<p>On the other hand I have, contrary to my previous system, but in justice +to myself, carefully, and even perhaps somewhat elaborately, multiplied +the footnotes, in order to give with precision the several authorities +whence I deduced my facts; and I must be excused should this caution +appear uselessly tedious or pedantic to the general reader, as I am +anxious on this occasion to escape the accusation which was once brought +against me when it was equally undeserved, of having "quoted at +secondhand," and even drawn my materials from "historical romances of +the time." It is, of course, easy to make assertions of this nature at +random; but when a writer feels that he or she has conscientiously +performed a duty voluntarily undertaken, it is painful to be misjudged; +especially when, as in the present instance, nearly three years have +been devoted to the work.</p> + +<p>For the facsimile letters by which my volumes are enriched I am indebted +to the kindness of M. de la Plane, a member of the Institut Royal de +France, of whose extensive and valuable cabinet of ancient records they +now form a part; and by whom their publication was obligingly +authorized. The authenticity of these letters admits of no doubt, as it +is known that they originally formed a portion of the rich collection of +autographs in the possession of the Maréchal de Bassompierre, to whom +they were severally addressed; and that at his death they were +transferred to the library of the Fathers of the Oratory at St. Magloire +in Paris; whence (it is believed at the Revolution) they fell into the +hands of a member of that celebrated society, Le Père de Mevolhon, +formerly Canon and Vicar-General of the diocese of St. Omer, by whom +they were presented to M. de la Plane.</p> + +<p>At the time when he so kindly entrusted to me the letters above named, +the same obliging friend also confided to my care, with full permission +to make whatever use of it I should see fit, an unpublished MS. +consisting of nearly twelve thousand pages closely written, and divided +into twenty-four volumes small quarto, all undeniably the work of one +hand. This elaborate MS. was entitled "Memoirs of M. le Commandeur de +Rambure, Captain of the regiment of French Guards, Gentleman of the +Bedchamber under the Kings Henri IV, Louis XIII, and Louis XIV surnamed +the Great, with all the most memorable events which took place during +the reigns of those three Majesties, from the year 1594 to that +of 1660."</p> + +<p>The author of this voluminous MS., who, at the age of eighty-one, +inscribes his work to his <i>uncle</i>, Monseigneur de Rambure, Bishop of +Vannes, and who professes to have ventured thus tardily upon his +Herculean undertaking at the request, and for the instruction, of his +nephew the Marquis de Rambure, lays strict injunctions upon his +successors to keep the record of his life to themselves; alleging as his +reason a dread of injuring by his revelations the interests of the young +courtier, who had succeeded to his own post of Gentleman of the +Bedchamber; "and that," as he proceeds to say, "to the greatest King in +the world, by whom he has the honour to be loved and esteemed; therefore +I pray you that this writing may never be printed, in order not to make +him enemies, who are too ready to come without being sought by our +imprudence; and because I have only composed these Memoirs for myself +and my kindred." <a name="1r"></a><a href="#_1_">[1]</a></p> + +<p>The author states that the work is not in his own handwriting, but in +that of his secretary, to whom he dictated during eleven years four +hours each day, two in the morning, and two in the afternoon--and that +he commenced his formidable task in the year 1664, when he was living in +retirement in his Commanderie of St. Eugène in Limousin; and, despite +his advanced age, "in possession of all his faculties as perfectly as +when he had only reached his twenty-fifth year."</p> + +<p>It is but recently that the present proprietor of the Memoirs, rightly +judging that the time has elapsed in which the disclosures of the +chronicler in question could conduce to the injury of any one connected +with him, has consented to permit of their perusal; and that only by a +few literary friends, all of whom have been astonished by their +extraordinary variety of information, marvellous detail, and intimate +acquaintance, not only with the principal events of the seventeenth +century (the writer having lived to the patriarchal age of ninety-six +years), but also with the leading actors in each of them.</p> + +<p>In conclusion, I may say that these volumes are, through the kindness of +MM. d'Inguimbert and de la Plane, enriched by numerous curious extracts +from these unpublished Memoirs, no part of which has previously +appeared in print.</p> + +<p>LONDON, <i>May</i> 1852.</p> + +<p>FOOTNOTES:</p> + +<p><a name="_1_"></a><a href="#1r">[1]</a> This curious manuscript is at present the property of the Comte +d'Inguimbert d'Avignon; who, having lost his father at an early age, is +not aware of the precise manner in which it fell into the possession of +his family. Thus much, however, is certain, that it has for a +considerable length of time been religiously preserved by his ancestors; +and that the Countess his mother (sister of the last Comte de Bruges, +aide-de-camp to Charles X), who died a few years ago at an advanced age, +had never ventured, in obedience to the injunction above mentioned, to +entrust it to any one.--J.P.</p> + + +<br><br><hr style="width: 35%;"><br><br> +<h2>CONTENTS</h2> + +<h2>BOOK I</h2> + +<h3>MARIE DE MEDICIS AS QUEEN</h3> + +<h2><a href="#CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I</a></h2> + +<h3>1572-99</h3> + +<p>Marriages of Henri IV--Marguerite de Valois--Her character--Her marriage +with the King of Navarre--Massacre of Saint Bartholomew--Henri, Duc +d'Anjou, elected sovereign of Poland--Death of Charles IX--Accession of +Henri III--Conspiracy of the Duc d'Alençon--Revealed by +Marguerite--Henry of Navarre escapes from the French Court--Henry of +Navarre protests against his enforced oath--Marguerite is imprisoned by +her brother--The Duc d'Alençon returns to his allegiance--Marguerite +joins her husband in Béarn--Domestic discord--Marriage-portion of +Marguerite--Court of Navarre--Dupin insults the Queen of +Navarre--Catherine de Medicis induces Marguerite to return to +France--The Duc d'Alençon again revolts--Marguerite arrests a royal +courier--She is banished with ignominy from the French Court--She is +deprived of her attendants--Henry of Navarre refuses to receive her in +the palace--Marguerite returns to Agen--Her licentiousness--Agen is +stormed and taken by the Maréchal de Matignon--Marguerite escapes to the +fortress of Carlat--The inhabitants of the town resolve to deliver her +up to the French King--She is made prisoner by the Marquis de Canillac, +and conveyed to Usson--She seduces the governor of the fortress--Death +of the Duc d'Alençon--Poverty of Marguerite--Accession of Henri IV--He +embraces the Catholic faith--His dissipated habits--The Duc de Bouillon +heads the Huguenot party--Henri IV proceeds to Brittany, and threatens +M. de Bouillon--Festivities at Rennes--Henri IV becomes melancholy--He +resolves to divorce Marguerite, and take a second wife--European +princesses--Henry desires to marry la belle Gabrielle--Sully +expostulates--Sully proposes a divorce to Marguerite--The Duchesse de +Beaufort intrigues to prevent the marriage of the King with Marie de +Medicis--She bribes Sillery--Diplomacy of Sillery--Gabrielle aspires to +the throne of France--Her death--Marguerite consents to a divorce--The +Pope declares the nullity of her marriage--Grief of the King at the +death of Gabrielle--Royal pleasures--A new intrigue--Mademoiselle +d'Entragues--Her tact--Her character--A love-messenger--Value of a royal +favourite--Costly indulgences--A practical rebuke--Diplomacy of +Mademoiselle d'Entragues--The written promise--Mademoiselle d'Entragues +is created Marquise de Verneuil.</p> +<br> + + +<h2><a href="#CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II</a></h2> + +<h3>1599-1601</h3> + +<p>Sully resolves to hasten the King's marriage--Ambassadors are sent to +Florence to demand the hand of Marie de Medicis--The marriage articles +are signed--Indignation of Madame de Verneuil--Revenge of her brother, +the Comte d'Auvergne--The Duke of Savoy visits Paris--His reception--His +profusion--His mission fails--Court poets--Marie de Medicis is married +to the French King by procuration at Florence--Hostile demonstrations of +the Duke of Savoy--Infatuation of the King for the favourite--Her +pretensions--A well-timed tempest--Diplomacy of Madame de Verneuil--Her +reception at Lyons--War in Savoy--Marie de Medicis lands at +Marseilles--Madame de Verneuil returns to Paris--The Duc de Bellegarde +is proxy for the King at Florence--He escorts the new Queen to +France--Portrait of Marie de Medicis--Her state-galley--Her voyage--Her +reception--Henry reaches Lyons--The royal interview--Public +rejoicings--The royal marriage--Henry returns to Paris--The Queen's +jealousy is awakened--Profligate habits of the King--Marie's Italian +attendants embitter her mind against her husband--Marie reaches +Paris--She holds a court--Presentation of Madame de Verneuil to the +Queen--Indignation of Marie--Disgrace of the Duchesse de +Nemours--Self-possession of Madame de Verneuil--Marie takes possession +of the Louvre--She adopts the French costume--Splendour of the +Court--Festival given by Sully--A practical joke--Court +festivities--Excessive gambling--Royal play debts--The Queen's +favourite--A petticoat intrigue--Leonora Galigaï appointed Mistress of +the Robes--Reconciliation between the Queen and Madame de Verneuil--The +King gives the Marquise a suite of apartments in the Louvre--Her rivalry +of the Queen--Indignation of Marie--Domestic dissensions--The Queen and +the favourite are again at war--Madame de Verneuil effects the marriage +of Concini and Leonora--Gratitude of the Queen--Birth of the +Dauphin--Joy of the King--Public rejoicings--Birth of Anne of +Austria--Superstitions of the period--Belief in astrology--A royal +anecdote--Horoscope of the Dauphin--The sovereign and the surgeon--Birth +of Gaston Henri, son of Madame de Verneuil--Public entry of the Dauphin +into Paris--Exultation of Marie de Medicis.</p> + + +<br> +<h2><a href="#CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III</a></h2> + +<h3>1602</h3> + +<p>Court festivities--The Queen's ballet--A gallant prelate--A poetical +almoner--Insolence of the royal favourite--Unhappiness of the +Queen--Weakness of Henry--Intrigue of Madame de Villars--The King +quarrels with the favourite--They are reconciled--Madame de Villars is +exiled, and the Prince de Joinville sent to join the army in +Hungary--Mortification of the Queen--Her want of judgment--New +dissension in the royal ménage--Sully endeavours to restore +peace--Mademoiselle de Sourdis--The Court removes to Blois--Royal +rupture--A bewildered minister--Marie and her foster-sister--Conspiracy +of the Ducs de Bouillon and de Biron--Parallel between the two +nobles--The Comte d'Auvergne--Ingratitude of Biron--He is betrayed--His +arrogance--He is summoned to the capital to justify himself--He refuses +to obey the royal summons--Henry sends a messenger to command his +presence at Court--Precautionary measures of Sully--The President +Jeannin prevails over the obstinacy of Biron--Double treachery of La +Fin--The King endeavours to induce Biron to confess his crime--Arrest of +the Duc de Biron and the Comte d'Auvergne--The royal soirée--A timely +caution--Biron is made prisoner by Vitry, and the Comte d'Auvergne by +Praslin--They are conveyed separately to the Bastille--Exultation of the +citizens--Firmness of the King--Violence of Biron--Tardy +repentance--Trial of Biron--A scene in the Bastille--Condemnation of the +Duke--He is beheaded--The subordinate conspirators are pardoned--The Duc +de Bouillon retires to Turenne--Refuses to appear at Court--Execution of +the Baron de Fontenelles--A salutary lesson--The Comte d'Auvergne is +restored to liberty--Revolt of the Prince de Joinville--He is treated +with contempt by the King--He is imprisoned by the Duc de Guise--Removal +of the Court to Fontainbleau--Legitimation of the son of Madame de +Verneuil--Unhappiness of the Queen--She is consoled by Sully--Birth of +the Princesse Elisabeth de France--Disappointment of the +Queen--Soeur Ange.</p> + + +<br> +<h2><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV</a></h2> + +<h3>1603-4</h3> + +<p>Court festivities--Madame de Verneuil is lodged in the palace--She gives +birth to a daughter--Royal quarrels--Mademoiselle de Guise--Italian +actors--Revolt at Metz--Henry proceeds thither and suppresses the +rebellion--Discontent of the Duc d'Epernon--The Duchesse de Bar and the +Duc de Lorraine arrive in France--Illness of Queen Elizabeth of +England--Her death--Indisposition of the French King--Sully at +Fontainebleau--Confidence of Henri IV in his wife--His recovery--Renewed +passion of Henry for Madame de Verneuil--Anger of the Queen--Quarrel of +the Comte de Soissons and the Duc de Sully--The edict--Treachery of +Madame de Verneuil--Insolence of the Comte de Soissons--A royal +rebuke--Alarm of Madame de Verneuil--Hopes of the Queen--Jealousy of the +Marquise--The dinner at Rosny--The King pacifies the province of Lower +Normandy--The Comte de Soissons prepares to leave the kingdom--Is +dissuaded by the King--Official apology of Sully--Reception of +Alexandre-Monsieur into the Order of the Knights of Malta--Death of the +Duchesse de Bar--Grief of the King--The Papal Nuncio--Treachery near the +throne--A revelation--The Duc de Villeroy--A stormy audience--Escape of +L'Hôte--His pursuit--His death--Ignominious treatment of his +body--Madame de Verneuil asserts her claim to the hand of the King--The +Comte d'Auvergne retires from the Court--Madame de Verneuil requests +permission to quit France--Reply of the King--Indignation of Marie--The +King resolves to obtain the written promise of marriage--Insolence +of the favourite--Weakness of Henry--He asks the advice of +Sully--Parallel between a wife and a mistress--A lame apology--The two +Henrys--Reconciliation between the King and the favourite--Remonstrances +of Sully--A delicate dilemma--Extravagance of the Queen--The "Pot de +Vin"--The royal letter--Evil influences--Henry endeavours to effect a +reconciliation with the Queen--Difficult diplomacy--A temporary +calm--Renewed differences--A minister at fault--Mademoiselle de la +Bourdaisière--Mademoiselle de Bueil--Jealousy of Madame de +Verneuil--Conspiracy of the Comte d'Auvergne--Intemperance of the +Queen--Timely interference--Confidence accorded by the Queen to Sully--A +dangerous suggestion--Sully reconciles the royal couple--Madame de +Verneuil is exiled from the Court--She joins the conspiracy of her +brother--The forged contract--Apology of the Comte d'Entragues--Promises +of Philip of Spain to the conspirators--Duplicity of the Comte +d'Auvergne--He is pardoned by the King--His treachery suspected by M. de +Loménie--D'Auvergne escapes to his government--Is made prisoner and +conveyed to the Bastille--His self-confidence--A devoted wife--The +requirements of a prisoner--Hidden documents--The treaty with Spain--The +Comtesse d'Entragues--Haughty demeanour of Madame de Verneuil--The +mistress and the minister--Mortification of Sully--Marriage of +Mademoiselle de Bueil--Henry embellishes the city of Paris and +undertakes other great national works.</p> + + +<br> +<h2><a href="#CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V</a></h2> + +<h3>1605</h3> + +<p>Trial of the conspirators--Pusillanimity of the Comte +d'Auvergne--Arrogant attitude assumed by Madame de Verneuil--She refuses +to offer any defence--Defence of the Comte d'Entragues--The two nobles +are condemned to death--Madame de Verneuil is sentenced to imprisonment +for life in a convent--A mother's intercession--The King commutes the +sentence of death passed on the two nobles to exile from the Court and +imprisonment for life--Expostulations of the Privy Council--Madame de +Verneuil is permitted to retire to her estate--Disappointment of the +Queen--Marriage of the Duc de Rohan--Singular ceremony--A tilt at the +Louvre--Bassompierre is dangerously wounded--His convalescence--Death of +Clement VIII--Election of Leo XI--His sudden death--Election of Paul +V--The Comte d'Entragues is authorized to return to Marcoussis--Madame +de Verneuil is pardoned and recalled--Marriage of the Prince de +Conti--Mademoiselle de Guise--Marriage of the Prince of Orange--The +ex-Queen Marguerite--She arrives in Paris--Gratitude of the King--Her +reception--Murder at the Hôtel de Sens--Execution of the +criminal--Marguerite removes to the Faubourg St. Germain--The King +condoles with her on the loss of her favourite--Her dissolute +career--Her able policy--Death of M. de la Rivière--Execution of M. de +Merargues--Attempt to assassinate Henri IV--Magnanimity of the +monarch--Henry seeks to initiate the Queen into the mysteries of +government--<i>Madame la Régente</i>--A timely warning.</p> + + +<br> +<h2><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI</a></h2> + +<h3>1606</h3> + +<p>New Year's Day at Court--The royal tokens--A singular audience--A +proposition--Birth of the Princesse Christine--Public festivities--A +ballet on horseback--The King resolves to humble the Duc de +Bouillon--Arguments of the Queen--Policy of Henry--The Court proceeds to +Torcy--Surrender of Bouillon--The sovereigns enter Sedan--Rejoicings of +the citizens--State entry into Paris--The High Court of Justice assigns +to the ex-Queen Marguerite the county of Auvergne--The "Te +Deum"--Marguerite makes a donation of her recovered estates to the +Dauphin--Inconsistencies of Marguerite--The Queen's jealousy of Madame +de Moret--Increasing coldness of the King towards that lady--The frail +rivals--Princely beacons--Indignation of the Queen--Narrow escape of the +King and Queen--Gratitude of the Queen to her preserver--Insolent +pleasantry of the Marquise de Verneuil--A disappointment +compensated---Marriage of the Duc de Bar--The King invites the Duchess +of Mantua to become sponsor to the Dauphin, and the Duc de Lorraine to +the younger Princess--<i>The Mantuan suite</i>--Preparations at +Notre-Dame--The plague in Paris--The Court removes to Fontainebleau--The +royal christenings--Increase of the plague--Royal disappointments--The +Duchesse de Nevers--Discourtesy of the King--Dignity of the Duchess.</p> + + +<br> +<h2><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII</a></h2> + +<h3>1607-8</h3> + +<p>Profuse expenditure of the French nobles--Prevalence of duelling under +Henri IV--Meeting of the Prince de Condé and the Duc de Nevers--They are +arrested by the King's guard--Reconciliation of the two nobles--The Duc +de Soubise is wounded in a duel--Profligacy of Madame de Moret--The King +insists upon her marriage with the Prince de Joinville--Indignation of +the Duchesse de Guise--A dialogue with Majesty--The Prince de Joinville +is exiled--Madame de Moret intrigues with the Comte de Sommerive--He +promises her marriage--He attempts to assassinate M. de Balagny--He is +exiled to Lorraine--Mademoiselle des Essarts--Birth of the Duc +d'Orléans--Peace between the Pope and the Venetians--The Queen and her +confidants--Death of the Chancellor of France--Death of the Cardinal de +Lorraine--Royal rejoicings--The last ballet of a dying Prince--Betrothal +of Mademoiselle de Montpensier to the infant Duc d'Orléans--Sully as a +theatrical manager--The Court gamester--Death of the Duc de +Montpensier--The ex-Queen Marguerite founds a monastery--Influence of +Concini and Leonora over the Queen--Arrogance of Concini--Indignation of +the King--A royal rupture--The King leaves Paris for Chantilly--Sully +and the Queen--The letter--Anger of the King--Sully reconciles the King +and Queen--Madame de Verneuil and the Duc de Guise--Court +gambling--Birth of the Duc d'Anjou--Betrothal of the Duc de Vendôme and +Mademoiselle de Mercoeur--Reluctance of the lady's family--Celebration +of the marriage--Munificence of Henry--Arrival of Don Pedro de +Toledo--His arrogance--Admirable rejoinder of the King--Object of the +embassy--Passion of Henry for hunting--Embellishment of Paris--Eduardo +Fernandez--The King's debts of honour--Despair of Madame de +Verneuil--Defective policy--A bold stroke for a coronet--The +fallen favourite.</p> + + +<br> +<h2><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII</a></h2> + +<h3>1609-10</h3> + +<p>Death of the Grand Duke of Tuscany--The Queen's ballet--Mademoiselle de +Montmorency--Description of her person--She is betrothed to +Bassompierre--Indignation of the Duc de Bouillon--Contrast between the +rivals--The Duc de Bellegarde excites the curiosity of the King--The +nymph of Diana--The rehearsal--Passion of the King for Mademoiselle de +Montmorency--The royal gout--Interposition of the Duc de +Roquelaure--Firmness of the Connétable--The ducal gout--Postponement of +the marriage--Diplomacy of Henry--The sick-room--An obedient +daughter--Henry resolves to prevent the marriage--The King and the +courtier--Lip-deep loyalty--Henry offers the hand of Mademoiselle de +Montmorency to the Prince de Condé--The regal pledge--The Prince de +Condé consents to espouse Mademoiselle de Montmorency--Invites +Bassompierre to his betrothal--Royal tyranny--A cruel pleasantry--The +betrothal--Court festivities--Happiness of the Queen--Royal presents to +the bride--The ex-Queen's ball--Jealousy of the Prince de +Condé--Indignation of the Queen--Henry revenges himself upon M. de +Condé--Madame de Condé retires from the Court--The King insists on her +return--The Prince de Condé feigns compliance--The Prince and Princess +escape to the Low Countries--The news of their flight reaches +Fontainebleau--Birth of a Princess--Unpleasant surprise--Henry betrays +his annoyance to the Queen--He assembles his ministers--He resolves to +compel the return of the Princess to France--Conflicting counsels--M. de +Praslin is despatched to Brussels--Embarrassment of the Archduke +Albert--He refuses an asylum to M. de Condé, who proceeds to +Milan--The Princess remains at Brussels--She is honourably +entertained--Interference of the Queen--Philip of Spain promises his +protection to the Prince de Condé--He is invited to return to +Brussels--The Marquis de Coeuvres endeavours to effect the return of the +Prince to France--His negotiation fails--Madame de Condé is placed under +surveillance--Her weariness of the Court of Brussels--The Duc de +Montmorency desires her return to Paris--M. de Coeuvres is authorized to +effect her escape from Brussels--The plot prospers--Indiscretion of the +King--The Queen informs the Spanish minister of the conspiracy--Madame +de Condé is removed to the Archducal palace--Mortification of the +King--The French envoys expostulate with the Archduke, who remains +firm--Henry resolves to declare war against Spain and Flanders--Fresh +negotiations--The King determines to head the army in person--Marie de +Medicis becomes Regent of France--She is counselled by Concini to urge +her coronation--Reluctance of the King to accede to her request--He +finally consents--"The best husband in the world"--Fatal +prognostics--Signs in the heavens--The Curé of Montargis--The Papal +warning--The Cardinal Barberino--The Sultan's message--Suspicious +circumstances--Supineness of the Austrian Cabinet--Prophecy of Anne de +Comans--Her miserable fate--The astrologer Thomassin--The Béarnais +noble--The Queen's dream--Royal presentiments--The hawthorn of the +Louvre--Distress of Bassompierre--Expostulation of the King--Melancholy +forebodings.</p><br><br> + +<div class="fig" style="width:100%;"> +<img src="images/022.jpg" width="200" height="150" alt="[Illustration: ]"> +</div> + +<center> +NOTE<br><br> + +<i>A brief memoir, with a portrait on steel, of Miss Pardoe will be found +prefixed to "The Court and Reign of Francis the First</i>."<br> +</center> + +<br><br><hr style="width: 35%;"><br><br> +<h2>BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES</h2> + +<h3>OF</h3> + +<h2>THE FIRST VOLUME</h2> + +<center> +<table width="65%"> +<tr><td><a href="#page003">Duc de Guise (Henri de Lorraine, <i>Le Balafré</i>).</a></td> +<td><a href="#page004">Duchesse de Guise.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page011">Prince de Condé (Henri I. de Bourbon).</a></td> +<td><a href="#page013">Ambroise Paré.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page017">Mlle. de Torigni.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page021">Duchesse de Bar.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page024">Duc de Joyeuse.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page025">Le Père Ange.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page028">Maréchal de Matignon.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page030">Marquis de Canillac.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page032">Comtesse de Guiche.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page032">Gabrielle d'Estrées (Duchesse de Beaufort).</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page033">Duc de Bouillon.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page033">Comte d'Aubigny.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page038">Isabella, Infanta of Spain.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page038">Princess Arabella Stuart.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page038">Isabeau de Bavière.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page038">Prince Maurice of Orange.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page039">Marie de Medicis.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page039">Mlle. de Guise.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page040">Mlle. de Mayenne.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page040">Mlle. d'Aumale.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page040">Mlle. de Longueville.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page040">Mlle. de Rohan.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page040">Mlle. de Luxembourg.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page040">Mlle. de Guéménée.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page044">Cardinal de Marquemont.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page044">Cardinal d'Ossat.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page045">Cardinal Duperron.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page047">Duc de Piney-Luxembourg.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page047">M. de Sillery.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page051">Duc de Bellegarde.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page051">Duc de Lude.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page051">M. de Thermes.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page051">Marquis de Castelnau.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page052">Marquis de Montglat.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page052">M. de Frontenac.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page052">Baron de Bassompierre.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page053">Marquise de Verneuil.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page057">Queen Louise.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page059">Comte d'Auvergne.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page065">M. de Villeroy.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page067">Duke of Savoy.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page068">Duc de Biron.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page071">Sebastian Zamet.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page078">M. du Terrail.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page078">Marquis de Créquy.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page088">Duc de Montmorency (Henri I.).</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page089">Duc de Nemours.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page089">Duc de Ventadour.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page090">M. du Vair.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page092">Le Père Suarés.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page096">M. Albert de Bellièvre.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page096">M. de Roquelaure.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page099">Cardinal de Joyeuse.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page099">Cardinal de Gondy.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page099">Cardinal de Sourdis.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page103">Marquis de Gondy.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page104">Duchesse de Nemours.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page113">Leonora Galigaï (Marquise d'Ancre).</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page114">Madame de Richelieu.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page118">Concini (Maréchal d'Ancre).</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page125">Charles I., Cardinal de Bourbon.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page125">Charles II, Cardinal de Bourbon.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page127">M. de la Rivière.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page129">Duc de Verneuil.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page133">Duc de Vendôme.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page133">M. de Berthault.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page137">Prince de Joinville.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page148">Mademoiselle de Sourdis.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page150">Caterina Selvaggio.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page155">Duc de la Trémouille.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page156">Duc d'Epernon.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page161">Condé de Fuentes.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page164">Baron de Luz.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page165">M. de la Fin.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page166">M. Descures.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page167">M. Jeannin.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page170">Comte de Soissons (Charles de Bourbon-Conti).</a></td> +<td><a href="#page172">Marquis de Vitry.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page172">Marquis de Praslin.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page178">Maréchal de Montigny.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page184">M. de Montbarot.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page185">Baron de Fontenelles.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page188">Duc de Mayenne.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page191">Duc de Guise (Charles de Lorraine).</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page194">Madame Elisabeth de France.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page197">Mademoiselle de Bourbon.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page199">M. de Sobole.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page201">M. d'Arquien.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page202">Duc de Deux-Ponts.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page202">Comte de Beaumont.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page222">M. de Bellefonds.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page223">Comte de St. Pol.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page227">Bishop of Nevers.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page232">M. de Barrault.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page233">Comte de Rochepot.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page235">Comte de Brienne.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page254">M. d'Argouges.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page268">M. de Maisse.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page269">M. de Gêvres.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page269">Mademoiselle de Bueil.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page272">M. de la Houssaye.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page277">M. Murat.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page277">M. de Nérestan.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page280">Comtesse d'Auvergne.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page281">M. Defunctis.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page283">Marquis de Spinola.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page284">Comtesse d'Entragues.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page286">M. de Chevillard.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page294">M. de la Varenne.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page296">M. du Plessis-Mornay.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page301">M. Achille de Harlay.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page302">M. Servin.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page306">Mademoiselle d'Entragues.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page308">Duc de Rohan.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page309">Comte de Laval.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page310">Baron de Thermes.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page311">M. de Saint-Luc.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page311">Comte de Sault.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page313">Clement VIII.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page313">Paul V.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page316">Comte de Giury.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page317">Princess of Orange.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page321">Bishop of Bourges.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page326">M. de Merargues.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page333">Madame de Drou.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page333">Mademoiselle de Piolant.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page338">Madame Christine de France.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page342">Comte de Sommerive.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page342">Duc de Nevers.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page353">Duc de Montpensier.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page354">Baron de la Châtaigneraie.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page359">Duchess of Mantua.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page361">Leo XI.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page364">Baron de la Châtre.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page365">Comte de Liancourt.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page365">Maréchal de Fervaques.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page365">Marquis de Bois-Dauphin.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page366">Marquis de Lavardin.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page366">Duc de Montbazon.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page366">Duchesse d'Angoulême.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page367">Prince de Vaudemont.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page368">Marquis de Rosny.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page369">Duchesse de Montpensier.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page370">Duchesse de Nevers.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page375">Duc de Soubise.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page380">Comte de Moret.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page381">M. de Balagny.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page382">Mademoiselle des Essarts.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page382">Comte de Beaumont-Harlay.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page382">Cardinal de Guise.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page386">Cardinal de Lorraine.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page388">Mademoiselle de Montpensier.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page402">Gaston Jean Baptiste de France.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page403">Mademoiselle de Mercoeur.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page404">Don Pedro de Toledo.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page411">Mademoiselle de Montmorency.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page415">Seigneur de Montespan.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page430">Comte d'Elbène.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page430">Marquis de Coeuvres.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page431">Marquis de Gêvres.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page431">Duc de la Force.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page433">Archduke of Austria.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page439">M. de Châteauneuf.</a></td> +<td><a href="#page440">Madame Henriette de France.</a></td> +</tr> +<tr><td><a href="#page444">M. de Preau.</a></td> +<td> </td> +</tr> +</table></center> + +<br><br><hr style="width: 35%;"><br><br> +<h2>ILLUSTRATIONS</h2> + +<h3>VOL. I</h3> + +<center> +<a href="#illus0492">1. MARIE DE MEDICIS, SECOND QUEEN OF HENRY IV OF FRANCE.</a> +<br><br> + +<a href="#illus0493">2. HENRI DE LORRAINE, DUC DE GUISE. Engraved by Hopwood.</a> +<br><br> + +<a href="#illus0494">3. THE EVE OF SAINT BARTHOLOMEW. Engraved by Follet from a Painting by +Raffet.</a> +<br><br> + +<a href="#illus0495">4. GABRIELLE D'ESTRÉES.</a> +<br><br> + +<a href="#illus0496">5. MARÉCHAL DE BIRON. Engraved by Colin from the Original by Gallait.</a> +<br><br> + +<a href="#illus0497">6. DUC DE SULLY. Engraved by Hopwood.</a> +<br><br> + +<a href="#illus0498">7. MARIE DE MEDICIS.</a> +<br><br> +</center> + +<br><br><hr style="width: 35%;"><br><br> +<h2>BOOK I</h2><br> + +<h2>MARIE DE MEDICIS AS QUEEN</h2> +<br> + +<div class="fig" style="width:100%;"> +<img src="images/029.jpg" width="110" height="157" alt="[Illustration: ]"> +</div> + +<h2>THE LIFE</h2> + +<h3>OF</h3> + +<h2>MARIE DE MEDICIS</h2> + + +<br><br><hr style="width: 35%;"><br><br> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I</h2> + +<h3>1572</h3> + +<p>Marriages of Henri IV--Marguerite de Valois--Her character--Her marriage +with the King of Navarre--Massacre of Saint Bartholomew--Henri, Duc +d'Anjou, elected sovereign of Poland--Death of Charles IX--Accession of +Henri III--Conspiracy of the Duc d'Alençon--Revealed by +Marguerite--Henry of Navarre escapes from the French Court--Henry of +Navarre protests against his enforced oath--Marguerite is imprisoned by +her brother--The Duc d'Alençon returns to his allegiance--Marguerite +joins her husband at Béarn--Domestic discord--Marriage-portion of +Marguerite--Court of Navarre--Dupin insults the Queen of +Navarre--Catherine de Medicis induces Marguerite to return to +France--The Duc d'Alençon again revolts--Marguerite arrests a royal +courier--She is banished with ignominy from the French Court--She is +deprived of her attendants--Henry of Navarre refuses to receive her in +the palace--Marguerite returns to Agen--Her licentiousness--Agen is +stormed and taken by the Marshal de Matignon--Marguerite escapes to the +fortress of Carlat--The inhabitants of the town resolve to deliver her +up to the French King--She is made prisoner by the Marquis de Canillac, +and conveyed to Usson--She seduces the governor of the fortress--Death +of the Duc d'Alençon--Poverty of Marguerite--Accession of Henri IV--He +embraces the Catholic faith--His dissipated habits--The Duc de Bouillon +heads the Huguenot party--Henri IV proceeds to Brittany, and threatens +M. de Bouillon--Festivities at Rennes--Henri IV becomes melancholy--He +resolves to divorce Marguerite, and take a second wife--European +princesses--Henry desires to marry la belle Gabrielle--Sully +expostulates--Sully proposes a divorce to Marguerite--The Duchesse de +Beaufort intrigues to prevent the marriage of the King with Marie de +Medicis--She bribes Sillery--Diplomacy of Sillery--Gabrielle aspires to +the throne of France--Her death--Marguerite consents to a divorce--The +Pope declares the nullity of her marriage--Grief of the King at the +death of Gabrielle--Royal pleasures--A new intrigue--Mademoiselle +d'Entragues--Her tact--Her character--A love-messenger--Value of a royal +favourite--Costly indulgences--A practical rebuke--Diplomacy of +Mademoiselle d'Entragues--The written promise--Mademoiselle d'Entragues +is created Marquise de Verneuil.</p><br> + +<p>However celebrated he was destined to become as a sovereign, Henri IV of +France was nevertheless fated to be singularly unfortunate as a husband. +Immediately after the death of his mother, the high-hearted Jeanne +d'Albret, whom he succeeded on the throne of Navarre, political +considerations induced him to give his hand to Marguerite, the daughter +of Henri II and Catherine de Medicis, a Princess whose surpassing beauty +and rare accomplishments were the theme and marvel of all the European +courts, and whose alliance was an object of ambition to many of the +sovereign princes of Christendom.</p> + +<p>Marguerite de Valois was born on the 14th of May 1552, and became the +wife of Henry of Navarre on the 18th of August 1572, when she was in the +full bloom of youth and loveliness; nor can there be any doubt that she +was one of the most extraordinary women of her time; for while her grace +and wit dazzled the less observant by their brilliancy, the depth of her +erudition, her love of literature and the arts, and the solidity of her +judgment, no less astonished those who were capable of appreciating the +more valuable gifts which had been lavished upon her by nature. A dark +shadow rested, however, upon the surface of this glorious picture. +Marguerite possessed no moral self-government; her passions were at once +the bane and the reproach of her existence; and while yet a mere girl +her levity +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page003"></a>[pg 003]</span> +had already afforded ample subject for the comments of the +courtiers.</p> + +<div class="fig" style="width:100%;"> +<a name="illus0493"></a> +<img src="images/illus0493.jpg" width="455" height="500" alt="[Illustration: ]"> +<p class="caption">HENRI DE LORRAINE.</p> +</div> + +<p>Fortunately, in the rapid sketch which we are compelled to give of her +career, it is unnecessary that we should do more than glance at the +licentiousness of her private conduct; our business is simply to trace +such an outline of her varying fortunes as may suffice to render +intelligible the position of Henri IV at the period of his +second marriage.</p> + +<p>After the death of Francis II, when internal commotion had succeeded to +the feigned and hollow reconciliation which had taken place between +Charles IX and Henri de Lorraine, Duc de Guise,<a name="2r"></a><a href="#_2_">[2]</a> Marguerite and her +younger brother, the Duc d'Alençon, were removed to the castle of +Amboise for greater security; and she remained in that palace-fortress +from her tenth year until 1564, when she returned to Court, and +thenceforward became one of the brightest ornaments of the royal circle. +Henri de Guise was not long ere he declared himself her ardent admirer, +and the manner in which the Princess received and encouraged his +attentions left no doubt that the affection was reciprocal. So +convinced, indeed, were those about her person of the fact, that M. du +Gast, the favourite of the King her brother, earnestly entreated His +Majesty no longer to +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page004"></a>[pg 004]</span> +confide to the Princess, as he had hitherto done, +all the secrets of the state, as they could not, he averred, fail, under +existing circumstances, to be communicated to M. de Guise; and Charles +IX so fully appreciated the value of this advice, that he hastened to +urge the same caution upon the Queen-mother. This sudden distrust and +coldness on the part of her royal relatives was peculiarly irritating to +Marguerite; nor was her mortification lessened by the fact that the Duc +de Guise, first alarmed, and ultimately disgusted, by her unblushing +irregularities, withdrew his pretensions to her hand; and, sacrificing +his ambition to a sense of self-respect, selected as his wife Catherine +de Clèves, Princesse de Portien.<a name="3r"></a><a href="#_3_">[3]</a></p> + +<p>At this period Marguerite de Valois began to divide her existence +between the most exaggerated devotional observances and the most sensual +and degrading pleasures. Humbly kneeling before the altar, she would +assist at several masses during the day; but at twilight she cast off +every restraint, and careless of what was due, alike to her sex and to +her rank, she plunged into the grossest dissipation; and after having +played the guest at a riotous banquet, she might be seen sharing in the +disgraceful orgies of a masquerade.<a name="4r"></a><a href="#_4_">[4]</a> A short time after the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page005"></a>[pg 005]</span> +marriage +of the Duc de Guise, the hand of the Princess was demanded by Don +Sebastian, King of Portugal; but the Queen-mother, who witnessed with +alarm the increasing power of the Protestant party, and the utter +impossibility of inspiring confidence in their leaders save by some bold +and subtle stroke of policy, resolved to profit by the presence of the +Huguenot King of Navarre, in order to overcome the distrust which not +even the edict of 1570 had sufficed to remove; and to renew the project +which had been already mooted during the lifetime of Jeanne d'Albret, of +giving Marguerite in marriage to the young Prince, her son.</p> + +<p>The consciousness that she was sacrificing her daughter by thus +bestowing her hand upon the sovereign of a petty kingdom might perhaps +have deterred Catherine, had she not already decided upon the means by +which the bonds of so unequal an alliance might be rent assunder; and it +is even possible that the hatred which she bore to the reformed faith +would in itself have sufficed to render such an union impossible, had +not the crafty and compunctionless spirit by which she was animated +inspired her with a method which would more than expiate the temporary +sin. It is at all events certain that having summoned Henry of Navarre +to her presence, she unhesitatingly, and with many professions of regard +for himself, informed him of the overtures of the Portuguese monarch, +assuring him +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page006"></a>[pg 006]</span> +at the same time, that although the King of Spain was +opposed to the alliance from motives of personal interest, it was one +which would prove highly gratifying to Gregory XIII; but adding that +both Charles IX and herself were so anxious to perform the promise which +they had made to his mother, and to prove their good faith to his own +person, that they were willing to refuse the crown of Portugal and to +accept that of Navarre for the Princess.</p> + +<p>Henry of Béarn hesitated. He was aware that the chiefs of the Protestant +party, especially the Admiral de Coligny, whom he regarded as a father, +were desirous that he should become the husband of Elizabeth of England. +Past experience had rendered them suspicious of the French, while an +alliance with the English promised them a strong and abiding protection. +Nor was Henry himself more disposed to espouse Marguerite de Valois, as +her early reputation for gallantry offended his sense of self-respect, +while a strong attachment elsewhere rendered him insensible to her +personal attractions. As a matter of ambition, the alliance was beyond +his hopes, and brought him one step nearer to that throne which, by some +extraordinary prescience, both he and his friends anticipated that he +was destined one day to ascend;<a name="5r"></a><a href="#_5_">[5]</a> but he could not forget that there +were dark suspicions attached to the strange and sudden +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page007"></a>[pg 007]</span> +death of a +mother to whom he had been devoted; and he felt doubly repugnant to +receive a wife from the very hands which were secretly accused of having +abridged his passage to the sovereignty of Navarre. Like Marguerite +herself, moreover, he was not heart-whole; and thus he clung to the +freedom of an unmarried life, and would fain have declined the honour +which was pressed upon him; but the wily Catherine, who instantly +perceived his embarrassment, bade him carefully consider the position in +which he stood, and the fearful responsibility which attached to his +decision. Charles IX, in bestowing upon him the hand of his sister, gave +to the Protestants the most decided and unequivocal proof of his +sincerity. It was evident, she said, that despite the edict which +assured protection to the Huguenot party, they still misdoubted the +good-faith of the monarch; but when he had also overlooked, or rather +disregarded, the difference of faith so thoroughly as to give a Princess +of France in marriage to one of their princes, they would no longer have +a pretext for discontent, and the immediate pacification of the kingdom +must be the necessary consequence of such a concession. The ultimate +issue of so unequal a conflict could not, as she asserted, be for one +moment doubtful; but the struggle might be a bloody one, and he would do +well to remember that the blood thus spilt would be upon his own head.</p> + +<p>Henry then sought, as his mother had previously done, to create a +difficulty by alleging that the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page008"></a>[pg 008]</span> +difference of faith between himself and +the Princess must tend to affect the validity of their marriage; but the +wily Italian met this objection by reminding him that Charles IX had +publicly declared that "rather than that the alliance should not take +place, he would permit his sister to dispense with all the rites and +ceremonies of both religions."</p> + +<p>It is well known that the motive of the French King in thus urging, or +rather insisting upon, a marriage greatly beneath the pretensions of the +Princess, was simply to attract to Court all the Huguenot leaders, who, +placing little faith in the conciliatory edict, had resolutely abstained +from appearing in the capital; but Catherine alluded so slightly to this +fact that it awoke no misgivings in the mind of the young monarch.</p> + +<p>Thus adjured, Henry of Navarre yielded; nor did the Princess on her part +offer any violent opposition to the marriage. She objected, it is true, +her religious scruples, and her attachment to her own creed; but her +arguments were soon overruled, the hand of the King of Portugal was +courteously declined, Philip of Spain was assured that his +representations had decided the French Court, and immediate preparations +were made for the unhappy union, whose date was to be written in blood. +The double ceremony, exacted by the difference of faith in the +contracting parties, was performed, as we have said, on the 18th of +August 1572, the public betrothal having taken place on the preceding +day at the Louvre; and it was accompanied +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page009"></a>[pg 009]</span> +by all the splendour of which +it was susceptible. The marriage-service was performed by the Cardinal +de Bourbon, on a platform erected in front of the metropolitan church of +Notre-Dame; whence, at its conclusion, the bridal train descended by a +temporary gallery to the interior of the Cathedral, and proceeded to the +altar, where Henry, relinquishing the hand of his new-made wife, left +her to assist at the customary mass, and meanwhile paced to and fro +along the cloisters in conversation with the venerable Gaspard de +Coligny and others of his confidential friends, the whole of whom were +sanguine in their anticipations of a bright and happy future.</p> + +<p>At the conclusion of the mass the King of Navarre rejoined his bride, +and taking her hand, conducted her to the episcopal palace, where, +according to an ancient custom, the marriage-banquet awaited them.<a name="6r"></a><a href="#_6_">[6]</a> +The square of the Parvis Notre-Dame was crowded with eager spectators, +and the heart of the Queen-mother beat high with exultation as she +glanced at the retinue of the bridegroom, and recognised in his suite +all the Huguenot leaders who had hitherto refused to pass the gates of +the capital.</p> + +<p>Save her own, however, all eyes were rivetted upon Marguerite; and many +were the devout Catholics who murmured beneath their breath at the +policy which had determined the monarch to bestow a Princess of such +beauty and genius upon a heretic. In truth, nothing could be more regal +or more dazzling than the appearance of the youthful bride, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page010"></a>[pg 010]</span> +who wore, +as Queen of Navarre, a richly-jewelled crown, beneath which her long and +luxuriant dark hair fell in waving masses over an ermine cape (or +<i>couet</i>) clasped from the throat to the waist with large diamonds; while +her voluminous train of violet-coloured velvet, three ells in length, +was borne by four princesses.<a name="7r"></a><a href="#_7_">[7]</a> And thus in royal state she moved +along, surrounded and followed by all the nobility and chivalry of +France, amid the acclamations of an admiring and excited people, having +just pledged herself to one whose feelings were as little interested in +the compact as her own.</p> + +<p>The bridal festivities lasted throughout three entire days; and never +had such an excess of luxury and magnificence been displayed at the +French Court. Towards the Protestants, the bearing both of Charles IX +and his mother was so courteous, frank, and conciliating, that the most +distrustful gradually threw off their misgivings, and vied with the +Catholic nobles both in gallantry and splendour; and meanwhile +Catherine, the King, the Duc d'Anjou, and the Guises were busied in +organizing the frightful tragedy of St. Bartholomew!</p> + +<p>The young Queen of Navarre had scrupulously been left in ignorance of a +plot which involved the life of her bridegroom as well as those of his +co-religionists; nor was she aware of the catastrophe which had been +organised until Paris was already one vast shambles. Startled from her +sleep at the dead of night, and hurriedly informed of the nature +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page011"></a>[pg 011]</span> +of the +frightful cries that had broken her rest, she at once sprang from her +bed, and throwing on a mantle, forced her way to the closet of her royal +brother, where, sinking on her knees, she earnestly implored the lives +of Henry's Protestant attendants; but for a time Charles was obdurate; +nor was it until after he had reluctantly yielded to her prayers that +she recognised, with an involuntary cry of joy, the figure of her +husband, who stood in the deep bay of a window with his cousin, M. +de Condé.<a name="8r"></a><a href="#_8_">[8]</a></p> + +<p>By one of those caprices to which he was subject, the King had refused +to sacrifice either of these Princes; and he had accordingly summoned +them to his presence, where he had offered them the alternative of an +instant abjuration of their heresy.</p> + +<p>Shrieks and groans already resounded on all sides; the groans of strong +men, struck down unarmed and defenceless, and the shrieks of women +struggling with their murderers; while through all, and above all, +boomed out the deep-toned bells of the metropolitan churches--one long +burial-peal; and amid this ghastly diapason it was the pleasure of the +tiger-hearted Charles to accept the reluctant and informal recantation +of his two horror-stricken victims; after which he compelled them +without +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page012"></a>[pg 012]</span> +remorse to the agony of seeing their friends and followers +butchered before their eyes.</p> + +<p>Enraged by what they denounced as the weak and impolitic clemency of the +King, in having thus shielded two of the most powerful leaders of the +adverse faction, Catherine de Medicis and the Guises, having first +wreaked their vengeance upon the corpse of the brave and veteran de +Coligny, which they induced the King to dishonour himself by subjecting +to the most ignominious treatment, next endeavoured to alienate +Marguerite from her husband, and to induce her to solicit a divorce. It +had formed no part of the Queen-mother's intention that the Princess +should remain fettered by the bonds which she had herself wreathed about +her; nor could she brook that after having accomplished a <i>coup-de-main</i> +which had excited the indignation of half of Europe, Henry of Navarre +should be indebted for an impunity which counteracted all her views to +the alliance which he had formed with her own family. Marguerite, +however, resolutely refused to lend herself to this new treachery, +declaring that as her husband had abjured his heresy, she had no plea to +advance in justification of so flagrant an act of perfidy; nor could the +expostulations of her mother produce any change in her resolve.</p> + +<div class="fig" style="width:100%;"> +<a name="illus0494"></a> +<img src="images/illus0494.jpg" width="426" height="600" alt="[Illustration: ]"> +<p class="caption">THE EVE OF SAINT BARTHOLOMEU.</p> +</div> + +<p>It is probable that the perfect freedom of action for which she was +indebted to the indifference of her young bridegroom had great influence +in prompting this reply, and that the crown which had so recently been +placed upon her brow had at the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page013"></a>[pg 013]</span> +same time flattered her ambition; +while the frightful carnage of which she had just been a witness might +well cause her to shrink from the probable repetition of so hideous a +catastrophe. Be her motives what they might, however, neither threats +nor entreaties could shake the resolution of the Princess; and she was +supported in her opposition by her favourite brother, the Duc d'Alençon, +who had secretly attached himself to the cause of the Protestant +Princes.</p> + +<p>This was another source of uneasiness to the Queen-mother, who +apprehended, from the pertinacity with which Marguerite clung to her +husband, that she would exert all her influence to effect an +understanding between the two brothers-in-law which could not fail to +prove fatal to the interests of the Duc d'Anjou, who, in the event of +the decease of Charles IX, was the rightful heir to the throne. Nor was +that decease a mere matter of idle speculation, for the health of the +King, always feeble and uncertain, had failed more than ever since the +fatal night of the 24th of August; and he had even confessed to Ambroise +Paré,<a name="9r"></a><a href="#_9_">[9]</a> his body-surgeon, that +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page014"></a>[pg 014]</span> +his dreams were haunted by the spectres +of his victims, and that he consequently shrank from the sleep which was +so essential to his existence. The Duc d'Anjou meanwhile was absent at +the siege of Rochelle, while his brother, d'Alençon, was about the +person of the dying monarch, and had made himself eminently popular +among the citizens of Paris. The crisis was an alarming one; but it was +still destined to appear even more perilous, for, to the consternation +of Catherine, intelligence at this period reached the Court that the +Polish nation had elected the Duc d'Anjou as their King, and that their +ambassadors were about to visit France in order to tender him the crown. +In vain did she represent to Charles the impolicy of suffering a warlike +prince like Henri d'Anjou to abandon his country for a foreign throne, +and urge him to replace the elder by the younger brother, alleging that +so long as the Polish people could see a prince of the blood-royal of +France at the head of their nation, they would care little whether he +were called Henry or Francis; the King refused to countenance such a +substitution. He had long been jealous of the military renown of the Duc +d'Anjou; while he was also perfectly aware of the anxiety with which +both the Queen-mother and the Prince himself looked forward to his own +death, in order that Henry might succeed him; and he consequently issued +a command that the sovereign-elect should immediately repair to Paris to +receive at the hands of the foreign delegates the crown which they were +about to offer to him.</p> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page015"></a>[pg 015]</span> +<p>The summons was obeyed. The ambassadors, who duly arrived, were +magnificently received; Henri d'Anjou was declared King of Poland; and, +finally, he found himself compelled to depart for his own kingdom. +Unfortunately for Marguerite, she had not sufficient self-control to +conceal the joy with which she saw the immediate succession to the +French throne thus transferred to her favourite brother; and her evident +delight so exasperated the Queen-mother, that she communicated to +Charles the suspicions which she herself entertained of the treachery of +the Princess; but the King, worn down by both physical and mental +suffering, treated her warnings with indifference, and she was +consequently compelled to await with patience the progress of events.</p> + +<p>The death of the French monarch, which shortly afterwards took place, +and the accession of Henri d'Anjou, whom a timely warning had enabled to +abandon the crown of Poland for that of France, for a time diverted the +attention of Catherine from the suspected machinations of her daughter, +when, as if to convince her of her injustice, she suddenly received +secret intelligence from the young Queen of Navarre, that the Duc +d'Alençon had entered into a new league with the Bourbon Princes. It is +difficult to account for the motive which led Marguerite to make this +revelation, when her extraordinary affection for her brother, and the +anxiety which she had universally exhibited for the safety of her +husband, are remembered; thus much, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page016"></a>[pg 016]</span> +however, is certain, that she did +not betray the conspiracy (which had been revealed to her by a Lutheran +gentleman whom she had saved during the massacre of St. Bartholomew) +until she had exacted a pledge that the lives of all who were involved +in it should be spared. In her anxiety to secure the secret, the +Queen-mother, on her side, gave a solemn promise to that effect, and she +redeemed her word; while from the immediate precautions which she caused +to be taken the plot was necessarily annihilated.</p> + +<p>The Princess had, however, by the knowledge which she thus displayed of +the movements of the Huguenot party, only increased the suspicions both +of the Queen-mother and her son; and the Court of France became ere long +so distasteful to Henry of Navarre, from the constant affronts to which +he was subjected, and the undisguised <i>surveillance</i> which fettered all +his movements, that he resolved to effect his escape from Paris, an +example in which he was imitated by the Duc d'Alençon and the Prince de +Condé, the former of whom retired to Champagne, and the latter to one of +his estates, and with both of whom he shortly afterwards entered into a +formidable league.</p> + +<p>Henri III, exasperated by the departure of the three Princes, declared +his determination to revenge the affront upon Marguerite, who had not +been enabled to accompany her husband; but the representations of the +Queen-mother induced him to forego this ungenerous project, and he was +driven +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page017"></a>[pg 017]</span> +to satiate his thirst for vengeance upon her favourite +attendant, Mademoiselle de Torigni,<a name="10r"></a><a href="#_10_">[10]</a> of whose services he had already +deprived her, on the pretext that so young a Princess should not be +permitted to retain about her person such persons as were likely to +exert an undue influence over her mind, and to possess themselves of her +secrets. In the first paroxysm of his rage, he even sentenced this lady +to be drowned; nor is it doubtful that this iniquitous and unfounded +sentence would have been really carried into effect, had not the +unfortunate woman succeeded in making her escape through the agency of +two individuals who were about to rejoin the Duc d'Alençon, and who +conducted her safely to Champagne.<a name="11r"></a><a href="#_11_">[11]</a></p> + +<p>One of the first acts of Henry of Navarre on reaching his own dominions +had been to protest against the enforced abjuration to which he was +compelled on the fatal night of St. Bartholomew, and to evince his +sincerity by resuming the practices of the reformed faith, a recantation +which so exasperated the French King that he made Marguerite a close +prisoner in her own apartments, under the pretext that she was leagued +with the enemies of the state against the church and throne of her +ancestors. Nor would he listen to her entreaties +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page018"></a>[pg 018]</span> +that she might be +permitted to follow her husband, declaring that "she should not live +with a heretic"; and thus her days passed on in a gloomy and cheerless +monotony, ill suited to her excitable temperament and splendid tastes. +Meanwhile, the Duc d'Alençon, weary of his voluntary exile, and hopeless +of any successful result to the disaffection in which he had so long +indulged, became anxious to effect a reconciliation with the King; and +for this purpose he addressed himself to Marguerite, to whom he +explained the conditions upon which he was willing to return to his +allegiance, giving her full power to treat in his name. Henri III, who, +on his side, was no less desirous to detach his brother from the +Protestant cause, acceded to all his demands, among which was the +immediate liberation of the Princess; and thus she at length found +herself enabled to quit her regal prison and to rejoin her royal +husband at Béarn.</p> + +<p>During the space of five years the ill-assorted couple maintained at +least a semblance of harmony, for each apparently regarded very +philosophically those delicate questions which occasionally conduce to +considerable discord in married life. The personal habits of Henry, +combined with his sense of gratitude to his wife for her refusal to +abandon him to the virulence of her mother's hatred, induced him to +close his eyes to her moral delinquencies, while Marguerite, in her +turn, with equal complacency, affected a like ignorance as regarded the +pursuits of her husband; and thus the little Court of Pau, where +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page019"></a>[pg 019]</span> +they +had established their residence, rendered attractive by the frank +urbanity of the sovereign, and the grace and intellect of the young +Queen, became as brilliant and as dissipated as even the daughter of +Catherine de Medicis herself could desire. Poets sang her praise under +the name of Urania;<a name="12r"></a><a href="#_12_">[12]</a> flatterers sought her smiles by likening her to +the goddesses of love and beauty, and she lived in a perpetual +atmosphere of pleasure and adulation.</p> + +<p>The marriage-portion of Marguerite had consisted of the two provinces of +the Agénois and the Quercy, which had been ceded to her with all their +royal prerogatives; but even after this accession of revenue the +resources of Henry of Navarre did not exceed those of a private +gentleman, amounting, in fact, only to a hundred and forty thousand +livres, or about six thousand pounds yearly. The ancient kingdom of +Navarre, which had once extended from the frontier of France to the +banks of the Ebro, and of which Pampeluna had been the capital, shorn of +its dimensions by Ferdinand the Catholic at the commencement of the +sixteenth century, and incorporated with the Spanish monarchy, now +consisted only of a portion of Lower Navarre, and the principality of +Béarn, thus leaving to Henry little of sovereignty save the title. The +duchy of Albret in Gascony, which he inherited from his +great-grandfather, and that of Vendôme, his appanage as a Prince of the +Blood-royal of France, consequently formed no inconsiderable portion of +his territory: +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page020"></a>[pg 020]</span> +while the title of Governor of Guienne, which he still +retained, was a merely nominal dignity whence he derived neither income +nor influence; and so unpopular was he in the province that the citizens +of Bordeaux refused to admit him within their gates.</p> + +<p>Nevertheless, the young monarch who held his court alternately at Pau +and at Nérac, the capital of the duchy of Albret, expended annually upon +his household and establishment nearly twelve thousand pounds, and that +at a period when, according to the evidence of Sully, "the whole Court +could not have furnished forty thousand livres;" <a name="13r"></a><a href="#_13_">[13]</a> yet so +inadequately were those about him remunerated, that Sully himself, in +his joint capacity of councillor of state and chamberlain, received only +two thousand annual livres, or ninety pounds sterling. This royal penury +did not, however, depress the spirits of the frank and free-hearted +King, who eagerly entered into every species of gaiety and amusement. +Jousts, masques, and ballets succeeded each other with a rapidity which +left no time for anxiety or <i>ennui</i>; and Marguerite has bequeathed to us +in her memoirs so graphic a picture of the royal circle in 1579-80, that +we cannot resist its transcription. "We passed the greater portion of +our time at Nérac," she says, "where the Court was so brilliant that we +had no reason to envy that of France. The sole subject of regret was +that the principal number of the nobles and gentlemen were Huguenots; +but the subject of religion was never mentioned; the King, my husband, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page021"></a>[pg 021]</span> +accompanied by his sister,<a name="14r"></a><a href="#_14_">[14]</a> attending their own devotions, while I +and my suite heard mass in a chapel in the park. When the several +services were concluded, we again assembled in a garden ornamented with +avenues of laurels and cypresses upon the bank of the river; and in the +afternoon and evening a ballet was performed." <a name="15r"></a><a href="#_15_">[15]</a></p> + +<p>It is much to be regretted that the royal biographer follows up this +pleasing picture by avowals of her own profligacy, and complacent +comments upon the indulgence and generosity with which she lent herself +to the vices of her husband.</p> + +<p>The temporary calm was not, however, fated to endure. Marguerite, even +while she indulged in the most unblushing licentiousness, was, as we +have already stated, devoted to the observances of her religion; and on +her first arrival at Pau she had requested that a chapel might be +provided in which the services of her church could be performed. This +was a concession which Henry of Navarre was neither willing nor indeed +able to make, the inhabitants of the city being all rigid reformers who +had not yet forgiven the young monarch either his enforced renunciation +of their faith or his Catholic marriage; and accordingly the Queen had +been compelled to avail herself of a small oratory in the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page022"></a>[pg 022]</span> +castle which +would not contain more than six or eight persons; while so anxious was +the King not to exasperate the good citizens, that no individual was +permitted to accompany her to the chapel save the immediate members of +her household, and the drawbridge was always raised until she had +returned to her own apartments.</p> + +<p>Thus, the arrival of Marguerite in the country, which had raised the +hopes of the Catholic portion of the population, by no means tended to +improve their position; and for a time her co-religionists, disheartened +by so signal a disappointment, made no effort to resist the orders of +the King; but on the day of Pentecost, 1579, a few zealous devotees, who +had by some means introduced themselves secretly into the castle, +followed the Queen to her oratory, where they were arrested by Dupin the +royal secretary, very roughly treated in the presence of Marguerite +herself, and only released on the payment of a heavy fine.</p> + +<p>Indignant at the disrespect which had been shown to her, the Princess at +once proceeded to the apartment of her husband, where she complained +with emphatic bitterness of the insolence of his favourite; and she had +scarcely begun to acquaint him with the details of the affair when Dupin +entered unannounced, and in the most intemperate manner commented on her +breach of good faith in having wilfully abused the forbearance of the +sovereign and his Protestant subjects.</p> + +<p>It was not without some difficulty that Henry +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page023"></a>[pg 023]</span> +succeeded in arresting +this indecent flow of words, when, rebuking Dupin for his want of +discretion and self-control, he commanded him immediately to crave the +pardon of the Queen for his ill-advised interference and the want of +deference of which he had been guilty towards her royal person; but +Marguerite refused to listen to any apology, and haughtily and +resolutely demanded the instant dismissal of the delinquent. In vain did +Henry expostulate, declaring that he could not dispense with the +services of so old and devoted a servant; the Princess was inexorable, +and the over-zealous secretary received orders to leave the Court. +Marguerite, however, purchased this triumph dearly, as the King resented +with a bitterness unusual to him the exhibition of authority in which +she had indulged; and when she subsequently urged him to punish those +who had acted under the orders of the exiled secretary, he boldly and +positively refused to give her any further satisfaction, alleging that +her want of consideration towards himself left him at equal liberty to +disregard her own wishes.</p> + +<p>Angry and irritated, Marguerite lost no time in acquainting her family +with the affront which she had experienced; and Catherine de Medicis, +who believed that she had now found a pretext sufficiently plausible to +separate the young Queen from her husband, skilfully envenomed the +already rankling wound, not only by awakening the religious scruples of +her daughter, but also by reminding her that she had been subjected to +insult from a petty +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page024"></a>[pg 024]</span> +follower of a petty court; and, finally, she urged +her to assert her dignity by an immediate return to France.</p> + +<p>Marguerite, whom the King had not made a single effort to conciliate, +obeyed without reluctance; and, in the year 1582, she left Navarre, and +on her arrival in Paris took possession of her old apartments in the +Louvre. She was received with great cordiality by Henri III, who trusted +that her residence in France might induce her husband ere long to follow +her; but he soon discovered that not even the warmth of his welcome +could cause her to forget the past; and that, under his own royal roof, +she was secretly intriguing with the Duc d'Alençon, who was once more in +open revolt against him.</p> + +<p>For a time, although thoroughly informed that such was the fact, his +emissaries were unable to produce any tangible proof of the validity of +their accusations; but at length, rendered bold by impunity, Marguerite +was so imprudent (for the purpose of forwarding some despatches to the +rebel Duke) as to cause the arrest of a royal courier, charged with an +autograph letter of two entire sheets from the King to his favourite the +Duc de Joyeuse,<a name="16r"></a><a href="#_16_">[16]</a> who was then on a mission at Rome; when the +unfortunate messenger, who found himself suddenly attacked by +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page025"></a>[pg 025]</span> +four men +in masks, made so desperate an effort to save the packet with which he +had been entrusted, that the <i>sbirri</i> of the Princess, who had +anticipated an easy triumph, became so much exasperated that they +stabbed him on the spot.</p> + +<p>This occurrence no sooner reached the ears of Henri III, than he sent to +desire the presence of his sister, when, utterly regardless of the fact +that they were not alone, he so far forgot his own dignity as to +overwhelm her with the coarsest and most cutting reproaches; and not +satisfied with expatiating upon the treachery of which she had been +guilty towards himself, he passed in review the whole of her ill-spent +life, accusing her, among other enormities, of the birth of an +illegitimate son,<a name="17r"></a><a href="#_17_">[17]</a> and terminated his invectives by commanding her +instantly "to quit Paris, and rid the Court of her presence." <a name="18r"></a><a href="#_18_">[18]</a></p> + +<p>On the morrow Marguerite accordingly left the capital with even less +state than she had entered it, for she had neither suite nor equipage, +and was accompanied only by Madame de Duras and Mademoiselle de Béthune, +her two favourite attendants. She was not, however, suffered to depart +even thus without impediment, for she had only travelled a few leagues +when, between Saint-Cler and Palaiseau, her litter was stopped by a +captain of the royal +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page026"></a>[pg 026]</span> +guard, at the head of a troop of harquebusiers: +she was compelled to remove her mask; and her companions, after having +been subjected to great discourtesy, were finally conveyed as prisoners +to the Abbey of Ferrières, near Montargis, where they underwent an +examination, at which the King himself presided,<a name="19r"></a><a href="#_19_">[19]</a> and wherein facts +were elicited that were fatal to the character of their mistress. Their +replies were then reduced to writing; and Marguerite, who had been +detained for this express purpose, was compelled by her inexorable +brother to affix her signature to the disgraceful document; when, after +she had been subjected to this new indignity, the daughter of Catherine +de Medicis was at length permitted to pursue her journey; but she was +compelled to do so alone, as her two attendants were forbidden to bear +her company.</p> + +<p>She had no sooner left Ferrières than Henri III despatched one of the +valets of his wardrobe to St. Foix, where the King of Navarre was for +the moment sojourning, with an autograph letter, in which he informed +him that he had considered it expedient to dismiss from the service of +his royal sister both Madame de Duras and Mademoiselle de Béthune, +having discovered that they were leading the most dissolute and +scandalous lives, and were "<i>pernicious vermin</i>" who could not be +permitted to remain about the person of a Princess of her rank.</p> + +<p>Thus ignominiously driven from the Court of +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page027"></a>[pg 027]</span> +France, Marguerite, who had +no resource save in the indulgence of her husband, travelled with the +greatest speed to Nérac, where he was then residing, in the hope that +she might be enabled by her representations to induce him to espouse her +cause against her brother; but although, in order to preserve +appearances, Henry received her courteously, and even listened with +exemplary patience to her impassioned relation of the indignities to +which she had been subjected, the coldness of his deportment, and the +stern tone in which he informed her that he would give the necessary +orders for a separate residence to be prepared for her accommodation, as +he could never again receive her under his own roof, or accord to her +the honour and consideration due to a wife, convinced her that she had +nothing more to hope from his forbearance.</p> + +<p>Even while he thus resented his own wrongs, however, Henry of Navarre no +sooner comprehended that Marguerite had been personally exposed to +insults which had affected his honour as her consort, than he despatched +a messenger to the French King at Lyons, "to entreat him to explain the +cause of these affronts, and to advise him, <i>as a good master</i>, how he +had better act." <a name="20r"></a><a href="#_20_">[20]</a> But this somewhat servile proceeding produced no +adequate result, as his envoy received only ambiguous answers, and all +he could accomplish was to extort a promise from Henri III that on his +return to Paris he +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page028"></a>[pg 028]</span> +would discuss the affair with the Queen-mother and +the Duc d'Alençon.</p> + +<p>Unaware of the negotiation which was thus opened, Marguerite had, as we +have said, lost all confidence in her own influence over her husband; +and accordingly, without giving any intimation of her design, she left +Nérac and retired to Agen, one of her dower-cities, where she +established herself in the castle; but her unbridled depravity of +conduct, combined with the extortions of Madame de Duras, her friend and +<i>confidante</i>, by whom she had been rejoined, soon rendered her odious to +the inhabitants.</p> + +<p>In vain did she declare that the bull of excommunication which Sixtus V +had recently fulminated against the King of Navarre had been the cause +of her retiring from his Court, her conscience not permitting her to +share the roof of a prince under the ban of the Church.<a name="21r"></a><a href="#_21_">[21]</a> The Agenese, +although Catholics and leagued against her husband, evinced towards +herself a disaffection so threatening that her position was rapidly +becoming untenable, when the city was stormed and taken by the Maréchal +de Matignon<a name="22r"></a><a href="#_22_">[22]</a> in the name of Henri III.<a name="23r"></a><a href="#_23_">[23]</a></p> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page029"></a>[pg 029]</span> +<p>Convinced that the capture of her own person was the sole motive of +this unprovoked assault, the fugitive Queen had once more recourse to +flight; and her eagerness to escape the power of the French King was so +great that she left the city seated on a pillion behind a gentleman of +her suite named Lignerac, while Madame de Duras followed in like manner; +and thus she travelled four-and-twenty leagues in the short space of two +days, attended by such of the members of her little household as were +enabled to keep pace with her.</p> + +<p>The fortress of Carlat in the mountains of Auvergne offered to her, as +she believed, a safe asylum; but although the Governor, who was the +brother of M. de Lignerac, received her with respect, and promised her +his protection, the enmity of Henri III pursued her even to this obscure +place of exile.</p> + +<p>At this period even the high spirit of Marguerite de Valois was nearly +subdued, for she no longer knew in what direction to turn for safety. +She had become contemptible in the eyes of her husband, she was deserted +by her mother, hated by her brother, despised by her co-religionists +from the licentiousness of her life, and detested by the Protestants as +the cause, however innocently, of the fatal massacre of their friends +and leaders. The memory of the martyred Coligny was ever accompanied by +a curse on Marguerite; and thus she was an outcast from all creeds and +all parties. Still, however, confident in the good faith of the +Governor +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page030"></a>[pg 030]</span> +of Carlat, she assumed at least a semblance of tranquillity, +and trusted that she should be enabled to remain for a time unmolested; +but it was not long ere she ascertained that the inhabitants of the +town, like those of Agen, were hostile to her interests, and that they +had even resolved to deliver her up to the French King.</p> + +<p>Under these circumstances, she had no alternative save to become once +more a fugitive; and having, with considerable difficulty, succeeded in +making her escape beyond the walls, she began to indulge a hope that she +should yet baffle the devices of her enemy; she was soon, however, fated +to be undeceived, for she had travelled only a few leagues when she was +overtaken and captured by the Marquis de Canillac,<a name="24r"></a><a href="#_24_">[24]</a> who conveyed her +to the fortress of Usson.<a name="25r"></a><a href="#_25_">[25]</a> As she passed the drawbridge, Marguerite +recognised at a glance that there was no hope of evasion from this new +and impregnable prison, save through the agency of her gaoler; and she +accordingly lost no time in exerting all her blandishments to captivate +his reason. Although she had now attained her thirty-fifth year, neither +time, anxiety, hardship, nor even the baneful indulgence of her +misguided passions, had yet robbed her of her extraordinary beauty; and +it is consequently scarcely surprising that ere long the gallant soldier +to whose custody she was confided, surrendered +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page031"></a>[pg 031]</span> +at discretion, and laid +at her feet, not only his heart, but also the keys of her prison-house.</p> + +<p>"Poor man!" enthusiastically exclaims Brantôme, her friend and +correspondent; "what did he expect to do? Did he think to retain as a +prisoner her who, by her eyes and her lovely countenance, could hold in +her chains and bonds all the rest of the world like galley-slaves?" <a name="26r"></a><a href="#_26_">[26]</a></p> + +<p>Certain it is, that if the brave but susceptible marquis ever +contemplated such a result, he was destined to prove the fallacy of his +hopes; for so totally was he subjugated by the fascinations of the +captive Queen, that he even abandoned to her the command of the +fortress, which thenceforward acknowledged no authority save her own.</p> + +<p>Marguerite had scarcely resided a year at Usson when the death of the +Duc d'Alençon deprived her of the last friend whom she possessed on +earth; and not even the security that she derived from the +impregnability of the fortress in which she had found an asylum could +preserve her from great and severe suffering. The castle, with its +triple ramparts, its wide moat, and its iron portcullis, might indeed +defy all human enemies, but it could not exclude famine; and during her +sojourn within its walls, which extended over a period of two-and-twenty +years, she was compelled to pawn her jewels, and to melt down her plate, +in order to provide food for the famishing garrison; while so utterly +destitute did +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page032"></a>[pg 032]</span> +she ultimately become, that she found herself driven to +appeal to the generosity of Elizabeth of Austria, the widow of her +brother Charles IX, who thenceforward supplied her necessities.</p> + +<p>In the year 1589 Henry of Navarre ascended the throne of France, having +previously, for the second time, embraced the Catholic faith;<a name="27r"></a><a href="#_27_">[27]</a> but +for a while the <i>liaisons</i> which he found it so facile to form at the +Court, and his continued affection for the Comtesse de Guiche,<a name="28r"></a><a href="#_28_">[28]</a> +together with the internal disturbances and foreign wars which had +convulsed the early years of his reign, so thoroughly engrossed his +attention, that he had made no attempt to separate himself from his +erring and exiled wife; nor was it until 1598, when the Edict of Nantes +had ensured a lasting and certain peace to the Huguenots: and that <i>la +belle Gabrielle</i><a name="29r"></a><a href="#_29_">[29]</a> had replaced Madame de +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page033"></a>[pg 033]</span> +Guiche, and by making him +the father of two sons, had induced him to contemplate (as he had done +in a previous case with her predecessor) her elevation to the throne, +that he became really anxious to liberate himself from the trammels of +his ill-omened marriage.</p> + +<p>Having ascertained that the Duc de Bouillon,<a name="30r"></a><a href="#_30_">[30]</a> notwithstanding the +concessions which he had made to the Protestant party, had been recently +engaged, in conjunction with D'Aubigny<a name="31r"></a><a href="#_31_">[31]</a> and other zealous +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page034"></a>[pg 034]</span> +reformers, +in endeavouring to create renewed disaffection among the Huguenots, +Henry resolved to visit Brittany, and personally to express to the Duke +his indignation and displeasure.</p> + +<p>On his arrival at Rennes, where M. de Bouillon was confined to his bed +by a violent attack of gout, the King accordingly proceeded to his +residence; where, after having expressed his regret at the state of +suffering in which he found him, he ordered all the attendants to +withdraw, and seating himself near the pillow of the invalid, desired +him to listen without remark or interruption to all that he was about to +say. He then reproached him in the most indignant terms with his +continual and active efforts to disturb the peace of the kingdom, +recapitulating every act, and almost every word, of his astonished and +embarrassed listener, with an accuracy which left no opportunity for +denial; and, finally, he advised him to be warned in time, and, if he +valued his own safety, to adopt a perfectly opposite line of conduct; +assuring him, in conclusion, that should he persist in his present +contumacy, he should himself take measures, as his sovereign and his +master, to render him incapable of working further mischief.</p> + +<p>The bewildered Duke would have replied, but he was instantly silenced by +an imperious gesture from +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page035"></a>[pg 035]</span> +the King, who, rising from his seat, left the +chamber in silence.</p> + +<p>The presence of Henri IV in Brittany was the signal for festivity and +rejoicing, and all that was fair and noble in the province was soon +collected at Rennes in honour of his arrival; but despite these +demonstrations of affection and respect, his watchful and anxious +minister, the Duc de Sully, remarked that he occasionally gave way to +fits of absence, and even of melancholy, which were quite unusual to +him, and which consequently excited the alarm of the zealous Duke. He +had, moreover, several times desired M. de Sully's attendance in a +manner which induced him to believe that the King had something of +importance to communicate, but the interviews had successively +terminated without any such result; until, on one occasion, a few days +after his interview with the Duc de Bouillon, Henry once more beckoned +him to his side, and turning into a large garden which was attached to +his residence, he there wreathed his fingers in those of the minister, +as was his constant habit, and drawing him into a retired walk, +commenced the conversation by relating in detail all that had passed +between himself and the ducal rebel. He then digressed to recent +political measures, and expressed himself strongly upon the advantages +which tranquillity at home, as well as peace abroad, must ensure to the +kingdom; after which, as if by some process of mental retrogression, he +became suddenly more gloomy in his discourse; and observed, as if +despite himself, that although he +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page036"></a>[pg 036]</span> +would struggle even to the end of his +existence to secure these national advantages, he nevertheless felt that +as the Queen had given him no son, all his endeavours must prove +fruitless; since the contention which would necessarily arise between M. +de Condé and the other Princes of the blood, when the important subject +of the succession gave a free and sufficient motive for their jealousy, +could not fail to renew the civil anarchy which he had been so anxious +to terminate. He then, after a moment's silence, referred to the desire +which had been formally expressed to him by the Parliament of Paris, +that he should separate himself from Marguerite de Valois, and unite +himself with some other princess who might give a Dauphin to France, and +thus transmit to a son of his own line the crown which he now wore.</p> + +<p>Sully, who was no less desirous than himself to ensure the prosperity of +the nation to which he had devoted all the energies of his powerful and +active mind, did not hesitate to suggest the expediency of his Majesty's +immediate compliance with the prayer of his subjects, and entreat him in +his turn to obtain a divorce, which by leaving him free, would enable +him to make a happier choice; and he even assured the anxious monarch +that he had already taken steps to ascertain that the Archbishop of +Urbino and the Pope himself (who was fully aware of the importance of +maintaining the peace of Europe, which must necessarily be endangered by +a renewal of the intestine troubles in France) would both readily +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page037"></a>[pg 037]</span> +facilitate by every means in their power so politic and so desirable +a measure.</p> + +<p>Henry urged for a time his disinclination to contract a second marriage, +alleging that his first had proved so unfortunate in every way, that he +was reluctant to rivet anew the chain which had been so rudely riven +asunder; but the unflinching minister did not fail to remind him that +much as he owed to himself, he still owed even more to a people who had +faith in his wisdom and generosity; and the frank-hearted King suffered +himself, although with evident distaste, to be ultimately convinced.</p> + +<p>He then began to pass in review all the marriageable princesses who were +eligible to share his throne, but to each in succession he attached some +objection which tended to weaken her claim. After what he had already +undergone, as he declared, there were few women, and still fewer women +of royal blood, to whom he would willingly a second time confide his +chance of happiness. "In order not to encounter once more the same +disappointment and displeasure," he said at length, "I must find in the +next woman whom I may marry seven qualities with which I cannot +dispense. She must be handsome, prudent, gentle, intellectual, fruitful, +wealthy, and of high extraction; and thus I do not know a single +princess in Europe calculated to satisfy my idea of feminine +perfection."</p> + +<p>Then, after a pause during which the minister remained silent, he added, +with some inconsistency: +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page038"></a>[pg 038]</span> +"I would readily put up with the Spanish +Infanta,<a name="32r"></a><a href="#_32_">[32]</a> despite both her age and her ugliness, did I espouse the +Low Countries in her person; neither would I refuse the Princess +Arabella of England,<a name="33r"></a><a href="#_33_">[33]</a> if, as it is alleged, the crown of that country +really belonged to her, or even had she been declared heiress +presumptive; but we cannot reasonably anticipate either contingency. I +have heard also of several German princesses whose names I have +forgotten, but I have no taste for the women of that country; besides +which, it is on record that a German Queen<a name="34r"></a><a href="#_34_">[34]</a> nearly proved the ruin of +the French nation; and thus they inspire me only with disgust."</p> + +<p>Still Sully listened without reply, the King having commenced his +confidence by assuming a position which rendered all argument worse +than idle.</p> + +<p>"They have talked to me likewise," resumed Henry more hurriedly, as +disconcerted and annoyed by the expressive silence of his companion he +began to walk more rapidly along the shaded path in which this +conference took place; "they have talked to me of the sisters of Prince +Maurice;<a name="35r"></a><a href="#_35_">[35]</a> but not only are they Huguenots, a fact which could not +fail to give umbrage at the Court of Rome, but I have also +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page039"></a>[pg 039]</span> +heard +reports that would render me averse to their alliance. Then the Duke of +Florence has a niece,<a name="36r"></a><a href="#_36_">[36]</a> who is stated to be tolerably handsome, but +she comes of one of the pettiest principalities of Christendom; and not +more than sixty or eighty years ago her ancestors were merely the chief +citizens of the town of which their successors are now the sovereigns; +and, moreover, she is a daughter of the same race as Catherine de +Medicis, who has been alike my own enemy and that of France."</p> + +<p>Once more the King paused for breath, and glanced anxiously towards his +minister, but Sully was inexorable, and continued to listen respectfully +and attentively without uttering a syllable.</p> + +<p>"So much for the foreign princesses," continued Henry with some +irritation, when he found that his listener had resolved not to assist +him either by word or gesture; "at least, I know of no others. And now +for our own. There is my niece, Mademoiselle de Guise;<a name="37r"></a><a href="#_37_">[37]</a> and she is +one of those whom I should prefer, despite the naughty tales that are +told of her, for I place no faith in them; but she is too much devoted +to the interests of her house, and +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page040"></a>[pg 040]</span> +I have reason to dread the restless +ambition of her brothers."</p> + +<p>The Princesses of Mayenne,<a name="38r"></a><a href="#_38_">[38]</a> of Aumale,<a name="39r"></a><a href="#_39_">[39]</a> and of Longueville,<a name="40r"></a><a href="#_40_">[40]</a> +were next the subject of the royal comments; but they were all either +too fair or too dark, too old or too plain; nor were Mesdemoiselles de +Rohan,<a name="41r"></a><a href="#_41_">[41]</a> de Luxembourg,<a name="42r"></a><a href="#_42_">[42]</a> or de Guéménée<a name="43r"></a><a href="#_43_">[43]</a> more fortunate: the +first was a Calvinist, the second too young, and the third not to +his taste.</p> + +<p>Long ere the King had arrived at this point of his discourse, the +keen-sighted minister had fathomed his determination to raise some +obstacle in every instance; and he began to entertain a suspicion that +this was not done without a powerful motive, which he immediately became +anxious to comprehend. Thus, therefore, when Henry pressed him to +declare his sentiments upon the subject, he answered +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page041"></a>[pg 041]</span> +cautiously: "I +cannot, in truth, hazard an opinion, Sire; nor can I even understand the +bent of your own wishes. Thus much only do I comprehend--that you +consent to take another wife, but that you can discover no princess +throughout Europe with whom you are willing to share the throne of +France. From the manner in which you spoke of the Infanta, it +nevertheless appeared as though a rich heiress would not be +unacceptable; but surely you do not expect that Heaven will resuscitate +in your favour a Marguerite de Flandres, a Marie de Bourgogne, or even +permit Elizabeth of England to grow young again."</p> + +<p>"I anticipate nothing of the kind," was the sharp retort; "but how know +I, even were I to marry one of the princesses I have enumerated, that I +should be more fortunate than I have hitherto been? If beauty and youth +could have ensured to me the blessing of a Dauphin, had I not every +right to anticipate a different result in my union with Madame +Marguerite? I could not brook a second mortification of the like +description, and therefore I am cautious. And now, as I have failed to +satisfy myself upon this point, tell me, do you know of any one woman in +whom are combined all the qualities which I have declared to be +requisite in a Queen of France?"</p> + +<p>"The question is one of too important a nature, Sire, to be answered +upon the instant," said Sully, "and the rather that I have never +hitherto turned my attention to the subject."</p> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page042"></a>[pg 042]</span> +<p>"And what would you say," asked Henry with ill-concealed anxiety, "were +I to tell you that such an one exists in my own kingdom?"</p> + +<p>"I should say, Sire, that you have greatly the advantage over myself; +and also that the lady to whom you allude must necessarily be a widow."</p> + +<p>"Just as you please," retorted the King; "but if you refuse to guess, I +will name her."</p> + +<p>"Do so," said Sully with increasing surprise; "for I confess that the +riddle is beyond my reach."</p> + +<p>"Rather say that you do not wish to solve it," was the cold reply; "for +you cannot deny that all the qualities upon which I insist are to be +found combined in the person of the Duchesse de Beaufort."</p> + +<p>"Your mistress, Sire!"</p> + +<p>"I do not affirm that I have any intention, in the event of my release +from my present marriage, of making the Duchess my wife," pursued Henry +with some embarrassment; "but I was anxious to learn what you would say, +if, unable to find another woman to my taste, I should one day see fit +to do so."</p> + +<p>"Say, Sire?" echoed the minister, struggling to conceal his +consternation under an affected gaiety; "I should probably be of the +same opinion as the rest of your subjects."</p> + +<div class="fig" style="width:100%;"> +<a name="illus0495"></a> +<img src="images/illus0495.jpg" width="480" height="500" alt="[Illustration: ]"> +<p class="caption">GABRIELLE D'ESTRÉES.</p> +</div> + +<p>The King had, however, made so violent an effort over himself, in order +to test the amount of forbearance which he might anticipate in his +favourite counsellor, and was so desirous to ascertain his +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page043"></a>[pg 043]</span> +real +sentiments upon this important subject, that he exclaimed impatiently: +"I command you to speak freely; you have acquired the right to utter +unpalatable truths; do not, therefore, fear that I shall take offence +whenever our conversation is purely confidential, although I should +assuredly resent such a liberty in public."</p> + +<p>The reply of the upright minister, thus authorized, was worthy alike of +the monarch who had made such an appeal, and of the man to whom it was +addressed. He placed before the eyes of his royal master the opprobrium +with which an alliance of the nature at which he had hinted must +inevitably cover his own name, and the affront it would entail upon +every sovereign in Europe. He reminded him also that the legitimation of +the sons of Madame de Beaufort, and the extraordinary and strictly regal +ceremonies which he had recently permitted at the baptism of the younger +of the two (throughout the whole of which the infant had been recognized +as a prince of the blood-royal, although the King had himself refused to +allow the registry of the proceedings until they were revised, and the +obnoxious passages rescinded), could not fail, should she ever become +Queen of France, in the event of her having other children, to plunge +the nation into those very struggles for the succession from which he +had just declared his anxiety to preserve it.</p> + +<p>"And this strife, Sire," he concluded fearlessly, "would be even more +formidable and more frightful than that to which you so anxiously +alluded; for you +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page044"></a>[pg 044]</span> +will do well to remember that not only the arena in +which it must take place will be your own beloved kingdom of France, +while the whole of civilised Europe stands looking on, but that it will +be a contest between the son of M. de Liancourt and the King's +mistress--the son of Madame de Monceaux, the divorced wife of an obscure +noble, and the declared favourite of the sovereign; and, finally, +between these, the children of shame, and the Dauphin of France, the son +of Henri IV and his Queen. I leave you, Sire, to reflect upon this +startling fact before I venture further."</p> + +<p>"And you do well," said the monarch, as he turned away; "for truly you +have said enough for once." <a name="44r"></a><a href="#_44_">[44]</a></p> + +<p>It will be readily conceived that at the close of this conference M. de +Sully was considerably less anxious than before to effect the divorce of +the infatuated sovereign; nor was he sorry to remind Henry, when he next +touched upon the subject, that they had both been premature in +discussing the preliminaries of a second marriage before they had +succeeded in cancelling the first. It was true that Clement VIII, in his +desire to maintain the peace of Europe, had readily entered into the +arguments of MM. de Marquemont,<a name="45r"></a><a href="#_45_">[45]</a> d'Ossat,<a name="46r"></a><a href="#_46_">[46]</a> and +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page045"></a>[pg 045]</span> +Duperron,<a name="47r"></a><a href="#_47_">[47]</a> whom +the Duke had, by command of the monarch, entrusted with this difficult +and dangerous mission, when they represented that the birth of a dauphin +must necessarily avert all risk of a civil war in France, together with +the utter hopelessness of such an event unless their royal master were +released from his present engagements; and that the sovereign-pontiff +had even expressed his willingness to second the washes of the French +monarch. But the consent of Marguerite herself was no less important; +and with a view to obtain this, the minister addressed to her a +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page046"></a>[pg 046]</span> +letter, +in which he expressed his ardent desire to effect a reconciliation +between herself and the King, in order that the prayers of the nation +might be answered by the birth of a Dauphin; or, should she deem such an +event impossible, to entreat of her to pardon him if he ventured to take +the liberty of imploring her Majesty to make a still greater sacrifice.</p> + +<p>Sully had felt that it was unnecessary to explain himself more clearly, +as a reconciliation between Henri IV and his erring consort had, from +the profligate life which she was known to have led at Usson, become +utterly impossible; nor could she doubt for an instant the nature of the +sacrifice which was required at her hands. It was not, therefore, +without great anxiety that he awaited her reply, which did not reach him +for the space of five months; at the expiration of which period he +received a letter, wherein she averred her willingness to submit to the +pleasure of the King, for whose forbearance she expressed herself +grateful; offering at the same time her acknowledgments to the Duke +himself for the interest which he exhibited towards her person. From +this period a continued correspondence was maintained between the exiled +Queen and the minister; and she proved so little exacting in the +conditions which she required as the price of her concession, that the +affair would have been concluded without difficulty, had not the +favourite, who was privy to the negotiation, calculating upon her +influence over the mind of the monarch, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page047"></a>[pg 047]</span> +suddenly assumed an attitude +which arrested its progress.</p> + +<p>For a considerable time she had aspired to the throne; but it was not +until she learnt that the agents of the King in Rome were labouring to +effect the dissolution of his marriage with Marguerite de Valois, and +that the Duc de Luxembourg<a name="48r"></a><a href="#_48_">[48]</a> was also about to visit the Papal Court +in order to hasten the conclusion of the negotiations, that she openly +declared her views to Sillery,<a name="49r"></a><a href="#_49_">[49]</a> whom she knew to be already well +affected towards her, declaring that should he be instrumental in +inducing the King to make her his wife, she would pledge herself to +obtain the seals for him on his return from Rome, as well as the dignity +of chancellor so soon as it should be vacant.<a name="50r"></a><a href="#_50_">[50]</a></p> + +<p>Sillery, whose ambition was aroused, was not slow to obey her wishes; +and, finding the Pope +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page048"></a>[pg 048]</span> +unwilling to lend himself to the haste which was +required of him, he not only informed him privately that, in the event +of a divorce, his royal master was ready to espouse the Princesse Marie +de Medicis, his kinswoman (although at this period Henry evinced no +inclination towards such an alliance), but even when he discovered that +his Holiness remained unmoved by this prospect of family aggrandizement, +he ventured so far as to hint, in conjunction with the Cardinal d'Ossat, +that it was probable, should the Pontiff continue to withhold his +consent to the annullation of the King's present marriage, he would +dispense with it altogether, and make the Duchesse de Beaufort Queen of +France: a threat which so alarmed the sovereign-prelate that, +immediately declaring that he placed the whole affair in the hands of +God, he commanded a general fast throughout Rome, and shut himself up in +his oratory, where he continued for a considerable time in fervent +prayer. On his reappearance he was calm,<a name="51r"></a><a href="#_51_">[51]</a> and simply remarked: "God +has provided for it."</p> + +<p>A few days subsequently a courier arrived at Rome with intelligence of +the death of the Duchess.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile Gabrielle, by her unbridled vanity, had counteracted all the +exertions of her partisans. Aware of her power over the King, and +believing that this divorce from Marguerite once obtained, she should +find little difficulty in overcoming all other obstacles, she was +unguarded enough prematurely to assume the state and pretensions of the +regality +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page049"></a>[pg 049]</span> +to which she aspired, affecting airs of patronage towards the +greatest ladies of the Court, and lavishing the most profuse promises +upon the sycophants and flatterers by whom she was surrounded. The +infatuation of the King, whose passion for his arrogant mistress +appeared to increase with time, tended, as a natural consequence, to +encourage these unseemly demonstrations; nor did the friends of the +exiled Queen fail to render her cognizant of every extravagance +committed by the woman who aspired to become her successor; upon which +Marguerite, who, morally fallen as she was in her own person, had never +forgotten that she was alike the daughter and the consort of a king, +suddenly withdrew her consent to the proposed divorce; declaring, in +terms more forcible than delicate, that no woman of blighted character +should ever, through her agency, usurp her place.</p> + +<p>The sudden and frightful death of the Duchess, which shortly afterwards +supervened, having, however, removed her only objection to the proposed +measure, her marriage with the King was, at length, finally declared +null and void, to the equal satisfaction of both parties. The event +which Marguerite had dreaded had now become impossible, and she at +once<a name="52r"></a><a href="#_52_">[52]</a> forwarded a personal requisition to Rome, in which she declared +that "it was in opposition to her own free will that her royal brother +King Charles IX and the Queen-mother had effected an alliance to which +she had consented only with her lips, but +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page050"></a>[pg 050]</span> +not with her heart; and that +the King her husband and herself being related in the third degree, she +besought his Holiness to declare the nullity of the said marriage." <a name="53r"></a><a href="#_53_">[53]</a></p> + +<p>On the receipt of this application, the Pontiff--having previously +ascertained that the demand of Henry himself was based on precisely the +same arguments, and still entertaining the hope held out to him by +Sillery that the King would, when liberated from his present wife, +espouse one of his own relatives--immediately appointed a committee, +composed of the Cardinal de Joyeuse, the Archbishop of Arles,<a name="54r"></a><a href="#_54_">[54]</a> and +the Bishop of Modena, his nuncio and nephew, instructing them, should +they find all circumstances as they were represented, to declare +forthwith the dissolution of the marriage.<a name="55r"></a><a href="#_55_">[55]</a></p> + +<p>Meanwhile the King, whose first burst of grief at the loss of the +Duchess had been so violent that he fainted in his carriage on receiving +the intelligence, and afterwards shut himself up in the palace of +Fontainebleau during several days, refusing to see the princes of the +blood and the great nobles who hastened to offer their condolences, and +retaining about his person only half a dozen courtiers to whom he was +personally attached, had recovered from the shock sufficiently to resume +his usual habits of dissipation and amusement. In the extremity of his +sorrow he had commanded a general Court mourning, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page051"></a>[pg 051]</span> +and himself set the +example by assuming a black dress for the first week; but as his regret +became moderated, he exchanged his sables for a suit of violet, in which +costume he received a deputation from the Parliament of Paris which was +sent to condole with him upon the bereavement that he had undergone!<a name="56r"></a><a href="#_56_">[56]</a> +while the intelligence which reached him of the presumed treachery of +the Duc de Biron, by compelling his removal to Blois, where he could +more readily investigate the affair, completed a cure already more than +half accomplished. There the sensual monarch abandoned himself to the +pleasures of the table, to high play, and to those exciting amusements +which throughout his whole life at intervals annihilated the monarch in +the man: while the circle by which he had surrounded himself, and which +consisted of M. le Grand<a name="57r"></a><a href="#_57_">[57]</a>, the Comte de Lude<a name="58r"></a><a href="#_58_">[58]</a>, MM. de Thermes<a name="59r"></a><a href="#_59_">[59]</a>, +de Castelnau<a name="60r"></a><a href="#_60_">[60]</a>, de Calosse, de +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page052"></a>[pg 052]</span> +Montglat,<a name="61r"></a><a href="#_61_">[61]</a> de Frontenac,<a name="62r"></a><a href="#_62_">[62]</a> and de +Bassompierre,<a name="63r"></a><a href="#_63_">[63]</a> was but ill calculated to arouse in him better and +nobler feelings. Ambitious, wealthy, witty, and obsequious, they were +one and all interested in flattering his vanity, gratifying his tastes, +and pandering to his passions; and it is melancholy to contemplate the +perfect self-gratulation with which some of the highest-born nobles of +the time have in their personal memoirs chronicled the unblushing +subserviency with which they lent themselves to the encouragement of the +worst and most debasing qualities of their sovereign. Even before his +departure for Blois, and during the period of his +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page053"></a>[pg 053]</span> +temporary retirement +from the Court, while Henry still wore the mourning habits which he had +assumed in honour of his dead mistress, the more intimate of his +associates could discover no means of consolation more effective than by +inducing him to select another favourite.</p> + +<p>"All the Court," says a quaint old chronicler, himself a member of the +royal circle, "were aware that the King had a heart which could not long +preserve its liberty without attaching itself to some new object, a +knowledge which induced the flatterers at Court who had discovered his +weakness for the other sex to leave nothing undone to urge him onward in +this taste, and to make their fortunes by his defeat." <a name="64r"></a><a href="#_64_">[64]</a></p> + +<p>Unfortunately the natural character of the King lent itself only too +readily to their designs; and, as already stated, they had profited by +the opportunity afforded to them during the short retreat at +Fontainebleau to arouse the curiosity of Henry on the subject of a new +beauty. Whether at table, at play, or lounging beneath the shady avenues +of the stately park, the name of Catherine Henriette d'Entragues was +constantly introduced into the conversation, and always with the most +enthusiastic encomiums;<a name="65r"></a><a href="#_65_">[65]</a> nor +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page054"></a>[pg 054]</span> +was it long ere their pertinacity +produced the desired effect, and the monarch expressed his desire to see +the paragon of whom they all professed to be enamoured. A hunting-party +was accordingly organized in the neighbourhood of the château of +Malesherbes, where the Marquis d'Entragues was then residing with his +family; and the fact no sooner became known to the mother of the young +beauty, whose ambition was greater than her morality, and who was aware +of the efforts which had been made to induce Henry to replace the +deceased Duchess by a new favourite, than she despatched a messenger to +entreat of his Majesty to rest himself under her roof after the fatigue +of the chase. The invitation was accepted, and on his arrival Henriette +was presented to the King, who was immediately captivated by her wit, +and that charm of youthfulness which had for some time ceased to enhance +the loveliness of the once faultless Gabrielle. At this period +Mademoiselle d'Entragues had not quite attained her twentieth year, but +she was already well versed in the art of fascination. Advisedly +overlooking the monarch in the man, she conversed with a perfect +self-possession, which enabled her to display all the resources of a +cultivated mind and a lively temperament; while Henry was enchanted by a +gaiety and absence of constraint which placed him at once on the most +familiar footing with his young and brilliant hostess; and thus instead +of departing on +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page055"></a>[pg 055]</span> +the morrow, as had been his original design, he +remained during several days at Malesherbes, constantly attended by the +Marquise and her daughter, who were even invited to share the royal +table.<a name="66r"></a><a href="#_66_">[66]</a></p> + +<p>The Duchesse de Beaufort had been dead only three weeks, and already the +sensual monarch had elected her successor.</p> + +<p>Less regularly handsome than Gabrielle d'Estrées, Mademoiselle +d'Entragues was even more attractive from the graceful vivacity of her +manner, her brilliant sallies, and her aptitude in availing herself of +the resources of an extensive and desultory course of study. She +remembered that, in all probability, death alone had prevented Gabrielle +d'Estrées from ascending the French throne; and she was aware that, +although less classically beautiful than the deceased Duchess, she was +eminently her superior in youth and intellect, and, above all, in that +sparkling conversational talent which is so valuable amid the <i>ennui</i> of +a court. Well versed in the nature of the monarch with whom she had to +deal, Mademoiselle d'Entragues accordingly gave free course to the +animation and playfulness by which Henry was so easily enthralled; +skilfully turning the sharp and almost imperceptible point of her satire +against the younger and handsomer of his courtiers, and thus flattering +at once his vanity and his self-love. Still, the passion of the King +made no progress save in his own breast. At times Mademoiselle +d'Entragues +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page056"></a>[pg 056]</span> +affected to treat his professions as a mere pleasantry, and +at others to resent them as an affront to her honour; at one moment +confessing that he alone could ever touch her heart, and bewailing that +destiny should have placed him upon a throne, and thus beyond the reach +of her affection; and at another declaring herself ready to make any +sacrifice rather than resign her claim upon his love, save only that by +which she could be enabled to return it. This skilful conduct served, as +she had intended that it should do, merely to irritate the passion of +the monarch, who, unconscious of the extent of her ambition, believed +her to be simply anxious to secure herself against future disappointment +and the anger of her family; and thus finding that his entreaties were +unavailing, he resolved to employ another argument of which he had +already frequently tested the efficacy, and on his return to +Fontainebleau he despatched the Comte de Lude to the lady with what were +in that age termed "propositions."</p> + +<p>It is, from this circumstance, sufficiently clear that Henry himself was +far from feeling any inclination to share his throne with the daughter +of Charles IX's mistress; and that, despite the infatuation under which +he laboured, he already estimated at its true price the value of +Henrietta's affection. Nevertheless, the wily beauty remained for some +short time proof against the representations of the royal envoy; nor was +it until the equally wily courtier hinted that Mademoiselle d'Entragues +would do well to reflect ere she declined the overtures of which he was +the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page057"></a>[pg 057]</span> +bearer, as there was reason to believe that the King had, on a +recent visit to the widowed Queen Louise<a name="67r"></a><a href="#_67_">[67]</a> at Chenonceaux, become +enamoured of Mademoiselle +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page058"></a>[pg 058]</span> +la Bourdaisière, one of her maids of +honour<a name="68r"></a><a href="#_68_">[68]</a>, that the startled beauty, who had deemed herself secure of +her royal conquest, was induced to affix a price to the concession which +she was called upon to make, and that M. de Lude returned bearing her +<i>ultimatum</i> to the King.<a name="69r"></a><a href="#_69_">[69]</a></p> + +<p>This <i>ultimatum</i> amounted to no less than a hundred thousand crowns;<a name="70r"></a><a href="#_70_">[70]</a> +and, setting aside the voluntary degradation of the lady--a degradation +which would appear to have been more than sufficient to disgust any man +of delicacy who sought to be loved for his own sake--it was a demand +which even startled the inconsiderate monarch himself, although he had +not sufficient self-command to meet it with the contempt that it was +calculated to excite. Well had it been, alike for himself and for the +nation generally, had he suffered his better judgment on this occasion +to assume the ascendant, and misdoubted, as he well might, the tears and +protestations of so interested a person; particularly, when he could not +fail to remember that he had been deceived even by Gabrielle d'Estrées, +whom he had overwhelmed with riches and honours, and who had voluntarily +given herself to him when he was young and handsome; whereas he was now +in the decline of life, and was suing for the love of one so much his +junior. Unfortunately, however, reason waged a most unequal warfare with +passion in the breast of the French +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page059"></a>[pg 059]</span> +sovereign; and voluntarily +overlooking alike the enormity of the demand, and the circumstances +under which it was made, he at once despatched an order to the +finance-minister to supply the required sum. Sully had no alternative +save obedience; he did not even venture upon expostulation; but he did +better. When admitted to the royal closet, he alluded in general terms +to the extreme difficulty which he anticipated in raising the required +amount of four millions for the renewal of the Swiss alliance; and then, +approaching the table beside which the King was seated, he proceeded +slowly and ostentatiously to count the hundred thousand crowns destined +to satisfy the cupidity of Mademoiselle d'Entragues. He had been careful +to cause the whole amount to be delivered in silver; and it was not, +therefore, without an emotion which he failed to conceal, that Henry saw +the numerous piles of money which gradually rose before him and +overspread the table.</p> + +<p>Nevertheless, although he could not control an exclamation of +astonishment, he made no effort to retrieve his error; but, after the +departure of M. de Sully, placed the required amount in the hands of the +Comte de Lude, who hastened to transfer it to those of the frail beauty. +It was not until after the receipt of this enormous present that the +Marquis d'Entragues and his step-son<a name="71r"></a><a href="#_71_">[71]</a> affected to suspect the design +of the King, and upbraided M. de Lude with +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page060"></a>[pg 060]</span> +the part which he had acted, +desiring him never again to enter a house which he sought only to +dishonour; an accusation which, from the lips of the husband of Marie +Touchet, was a mere epigram. He, however, followed up this demonstration +by removing his daughter from Malesherbes to Marcoussis, although with +what intention it is difficult to determine, as the King at once +proceeded thither, and at once obtained an interview.</p> + +<p>Little accustomed to indulge in a prodigality so reckless, Henry had +flattered himself that the affair was concluded; but such was by no +means the intention of the young lady and her family. Henriette, indeed, +received her royal lover with the most exaggerated assurances of +affection and gratitude; but she nevertheless persisted in declaring +that she was so closely watched as to be no longer mistress of her own +actions, and so intimidated by the threats of her father that she dared +not act in opposition to his will. In vain did the King remonstrate, +argue, and upbraid; the lady remained firm, affecting to bewail the +state of coercion in which she was kept, and entreating Henry to exert +his influence to overcome the repugnance of her family to their mutual +happiness. To his anger she opposed her tears; to his resentment, her +fascinations; and when at length she discovered that the royal patience +was rapidly failing, although her power over his feelings remained +unshaken, she ventured upon the last bold effort of her ambition, by +protesting to the infatuated sovereign that her father had remained deaf +to all her +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page061"></a>[pg 061]</span> +entreaties, and that the only concession which she could +induce him to make was one which she had not courage to communicate to +his Majesty. As she had, of course, anticipated, Henry at once desired +her to inform him of the nature of the fresh demand which was to be made +upon his tenderness; when, with well-acted reluctance, Mademoiselle +d'Entragues repeated a conversation that she had held with the Marquis, +at the close of which he had assured her that he would never consent to +see her the mistress of the King until she had received a written +promise of marriage under the royal hand, provided she became, within a +year, the mother of a son.</p> + +<p>"In vain, Sire," she pursued hurriedly, as she perceived a cloud gather +upon the brow of the monarch--"in vain did I seek to overcome the +scruples of my parents, and represent to them the utter inutility of +such a document; they declared that they sought only to preserve the +honour of their house. And you well know, Sire," she continued with an +appealing smile, "that, as I ventured to remind them, your word is of +equal value with your signature, as no mere subject could dare to summon +a great king like yourself to perform any promise--you, who have fifty +thousand men at your command to enforce your will! But all my reasoning +was vain. Upon this point they are firm. Thus then, since there is no +other hope, and that they insist upon this empty form, why should you +not indulge their whim, when it cannot involve the slightest +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page062"></a>[pg 062]</span> +consequence? If you love as I do, can you hesitate to comply with their +desire? Name what conditions you please on your side, and I am ready to +accept them--too happy to obey your slightest wish."</p> + +<p>Suffice it that the modern Delilah triumphed, and that the King was +induced to promise the required document;<a name="72r"></a><a href="#_72_">[72]</a> a weakness rendered the +less excusable, if indeed, as Sully broadly asserts: "Henry was not so +blind but that he saw clearly how this woman sought to deceive him. I +say nothing of the reasons which he also had to believe her to be +anything rather than a vestal; nor of the state intrigues of which her +father, her mother, her brother, and herself had been convicted, and +which had drawn down upon all the family an order to leave Paris, which +I had quite recently signified to them in the name of his Majesty." <a name="73r"></a><a href="#_73_">[73]</a></p> + +<p>As it is difficult to decide which of the two the Duke sought in his +<i>Memoirs</i> to praise the most unsparingly, the sovereign or himself, the +epithet of "this weak Prince," which he applies to Henry on the present +occasion, proves the full force of his annoyance. He, moreover, gives a +very detailed account of an interview which took place between them upon +the subject of the document in question; even declaring that he tore it +up when his royal master placed it in his hands; and upon being asked by +the King if he were mad, had replied by saying: "Would to God that I +were the only madman in +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page063"></a>[pg 063]</span> +France!" <a name="74r"></a><a href="#_74_">[74]</a> As, however, I do not find the +same anecdote recorded elsewhere by any contemporaneous authority, I +will not delay the narrative by inserting it at length; and the rather +as, although from the influence subsequently exercised over the fortunes +of Marie de Medicis by the frail favourite I have already been compelled +to dwell thus long upon her history, it is one which I am naturally +anxious to abridge as much as possible. I shall therefore only add that +the same biographer goes on to state that the contract which he had +destroyed was rewritten by the King himself, who within an hour +afterwards was on horseback and on his way to Malesherbes, where he +sojourned two days. It is, of course, impossible to decide whether Henry +had ever seriously contemplated the fulfilment of so degrading an +engagement; but it is certain that only a few months subsequently he +presented to Mademoiselle d'Entragues the estate of Verneuil, and that +thenceforward she assumed the title of Marquise, coupled with the name +of her new possession.<a name="75r"></a><a href="#_75_">[75]</a></p> + +<p>FOOTNOTES:</p> + +<p><a name="_2_"></a><a href="#2r">[2]</a> Henri de Lorraine, Duc de Guise, was the brother of Charles, Duc de +Mayenne, and of Louis, Cardinal de Guise. He was the chief of the +League, and excited a popular revolt on the day of the Barricades, in +the hope of possessing himself of the crown. Henri III caused him to be +assassinated at Blois, in the year 1588. He was distinguished as <i>le +Balafré</i> by the people, in consequence of the deep scar of a wound +across the face by which he was disfigured.</p> + +<p><a name="_3_"></a><a href="#3r">[3]</a> Catherine was the second daughter of François de Clèves, Duc de +Nevers, and of Marguerite de Bourbon-Vendôme, the aunt of Henri IV. Her +dower consisted of the county of Eu, in Normandy. She was twice married; +first to Antoine de Croi, Prince de Portien, by whom she had no issue; +and secondly, to Henri de Lorraine, Duc de Guise. She died in 1633, at +the age of eighty-five years.</p> + +<p><a name="_4_"></a><a href="#4r">[4]</a> She heard three masses every day, one high and two low ones, and +took the holy communion each week on the Thursdays, Fridays, and +Sundays.--<i>Letters of Etienne Pasquier</i>, book xxii. letter v. col. 666, +of the folio edition.</p> + +<p><a name="_5_"></a><a href="#5r">[5]</a> By some extraordinary presentiment they always imagined that they +saw a King of France in the Prince of Navarre, even at a time when the +greatest obstacles were opposed to such an idea.--Dreux du Radier, +<i>Mémoires des Reines et Régentes de France</i>, vol. v. p. 130. See also +<i>Mémoires de Sully</i>, vol. i. pp. 60-67.</p> + +<p><a name="_6_"></a><a href="#6r">[6]</a> Dreux du Radier, vol. v. p. 182.</p> + +<p><a name="_7_"></a><a href="#7r">[7]</a> <i>Hist. des Reines et Régentes de France</i>, vol. ii. p. 4.</p> + +<p><a name="_8_"></a><a href="#8r">[8]</a> Henri de Bourbon, Prince de Condé, first Prince of the Blood, and +Grand Master of France, was born in 1552, and succeeded his father, the +Comte Louis, who was killed at the battle of Jarnac, on the 13th of May +1569, in the command of the Protestant party, conjointly with the King +of Navarre (Henri IV). He made a levy of foreign troops in 1575, +distinguished himself at Coutras in 1587, and died by poison the +following year at St. Jean d'Angély.</p> + +<p><a name="_9_"></a><a href="#9r">[9]</a> Ambroise Paré was born at Laval (Mayenne), in 1509. He commenced his +public career as surgeon of the infantry-general Réné de Montejean; and +on his return to France, having taken his degrees at the College of St. +Edmé, he was elected Provost of the Corporation of Surgeons. In 1552, +Henri II gave him the appointment of body-surgeon to the King, a post +which he continued to fill under Francis II, Charles IX, and Henri III. +Charles IX, whose life he saved when he had nearly fallen a victim to +the want of skill of his physician Portail, who, in opening a vein, had +inflicted a deep and dangerous wound in his arm, repaid the benefit by +concealing him in his own chamber during the massacre of St. +Bartholomew. Paré was a zealous Calvinist. He died in 1590. His +published works consist of one folio volume, divided into +twenty-eight books.</p> + +<p><a name="_10_"></a><a href="#10r">[10]</a> Gillone Goyon, dite de Matignon, demoiselle de Torigni, was the +daughter of Jacques de Matignon, Marshal of France, and of Françoise de +Daillon, who was subsequently married to Pierre de Harcourt, Seigneur +de Beuvron.</p> + +<p><a name="_11_"></a><a href="#11r">[11]</a> Lévi Alvarès, <i>Hist. Clas. des Reines et Régentes de France</i>, p. +185.</p> + +<p><a name="_12_"></a><a href="#12r">[12]</a> Dupleix, <i>Hist. de Louis XIII</i>, p. 53.</p> + +<p><a name="_13_"></a><a href="#13r">[13]</a> Sully, <i>Mémoires</i>, vol. i. p. 45.</p> + +<p><a name="_14_"></a><a href="#14r">[14]</a> Catherine de Bourbon, Princesse de Navarre, and sister of Henri IV, +was born at Paris in 1558. After his accession to the throne of France, +Henry gave her in marriage to Henri de Lorraine, Duc de Bar. She refused +to change her religion, even when her brother had done so, and died, +without issue, in 1604, at Nancy.</p> + +<p><a name="_15_"></a><a href="#15r">[15]</a> <i>Mémoires de Marguerite</i>, pp. 176, 177.</p> + +<p><a name="_16_"></a><a href="#16r">[16]</a> Anne, Duc de Joyeuse, Admiral and Peer of France, first gentleman +of the bedchamber, and Governor of Normandy, was born in 1561. He was +one of the <i>mignons</i> of Henri III, who, in 1582, gave him in marriage +Marguerite de Lorraine, the sister of the Queen Louise de Vaudemont. He +commanded the troops in Guienne against the Huguenots, where he +exercised the greatest cruelties; and having been defeated at the battle +of Coutras in 1587, he was put to death by the conquerors.</p> + +<p><a name="_17_"></a><a href="#17r">[17]</a> This child, called by Bassompierre <i>le Père Archange</i>, and by +Dupleix <i>le Père Ange</i>, was the son of Jacques de Harlay de Chanvallon, +known at Court as "the handsome Chanvallon," and was the individual who, +as the confessor of the Marquise de Verneuil, became one of the most +active agents in the conspiracy which was formed against Henri IV and +the French Princes.</p> + +<p><a name="_18_"></a><a href="#18r">[18]</a> Dreux du Radier, vol. v. p. 176.</p> + +<p><a name="_19_"></a><a href="#19r">[19]</a> Mézeray, vol. iii. p. 546. Varillas, <i>Histoire de Henri III</i>, book +vii.</p> + +<p><a name="_20_"></a><a href="#20r">[20]</a> D'Aubigny, <i>Hist</i>. vol. ii. book v. ch. iii. (1583). <i>Confession de +Sancy</i>, ch. vii. p. 447. Duplessis-Mornay.</p> + +<p><a name="_21_"></a><a href="#21r">[21]</a> Duplessis-Mornay, <i>Mém</i>. p. 203.</p> + +<p><a name="_22_"></a><a href="#22r">[22]</a> in the name of Henri III. Jacques Govon de Matignon, Prince de Mortagne, was the +representative of a family of Brittany which traced its descent from the +thirteenth century, and had been established in Normandy towards the +middle of the fifteenth. Born at Lonray in 1526, he was appointed +Lieutenant-General of Normandy in 1559, where he made himself +conspicuous by his persecution of the Huguenots. Henri III recompensed +his services, in 1579, by the <i>bâton</i> of a maréchal, and the collar of +his Order. He subsequently became Commander-in-Chief of the army in +Picardy, then Lieutenant-General of Guienne, and finally, Governor of +that province. He died in 1597.</p> + +<p><a name="_23_"></a><a href="#23r">[23]</a> Lévi Alvarès, p. 187.</p> + +<p><a name="_24_"></a><a href="#24r">[24]</a> Governor of Auvergne.</p> + +<p><a name="_25_"></a><a href="#25r">[25]</a> The fortress of Usson, which had been a state prison under Louis +XI, was demolished by Louis XIII, in 1634.</p> + +<p><a name="_26_"></a><a href="#26r">[26]</a> Brantôme, <i>Dames Illustres, Marguerite de France, Reine de +Navarre</i>, Dis. v. p. 275.</p> + +<p><a name="_27_"></a><a href="#27r">[27]</a> "There are three things," Henri IV was wont to say, "that the world +will not believe, and yet they are certainly true: that the Queen of +England (Elizabeth) died a maid; that the Archduke (Albert, Cardinal and +Archduke of Austria) is a great captain; and that the King of France is +a very good Catholic."--L'Etoile, <i>Journ. de Henri IV</i>, vol. i. p. 233.</p> + +<p><a name="_28_"></a><a href="#28r">[28]</a> Diane d'Andouins, Vicomtesse de Louvigni, dame de l'Escun, was the +only daughter of Paul, Vicomte de Louvigni, Seigneur de l'Escun, and of +Marguerite de Cauna. While yet a mere girl, she became the wife of +Philibert de Grammont, Comte de Guiche, Governor of Bayonne, and +Seneschal of Béarn. The passion of Henri IV for this lady was so great +that he declared his intention of obtaining a divorce from Marguerite de +Valois, for the purpose of making her his wife; a project from which he +was dissuaded by D'Aubigny, who represented that the contempt which +could not fail to be felt by the French for a monarch who had degraded +himself by an alliance with his mistress, would inevitably deprive him +of the throne in the event of the death of Henri III and the Duc +d'Alençon.</p> + +<p><a name="_29_"></a><a href="#29r">[29]</a> Gabrielle d'Estrées was the daughter of Antoine d'Estrées, fourth +of the name, Governor, Seneschal, and first Baron of Boulonnois, Vicomte +de Soissons and Bersy, Marquis de Coeuvres, Knight of the Orders of the +King, Governor of La Fère, Paris, and the Isle of France; and of +Françoise Babou, second daughter of Jean, Seigneur de la Bourdaisière, +and of Françoise Robertet. She married at an early age, by the desire of +her father, who was anxious to protect her from the assiduities of the +King, Nicolas d'Armeval, Seigneur de Liancourt, who was, alike in birth, +in person, and in fortune, unworthy of her hand. This ill-assorted union +produced the very result which it was intended to avert, for Henry found +means to separate the young couple immediately after their marriage, and +to attach Gabrielle to the Court, where she soon became the declared +favourite. On the birth of her first child (César, Duc de Vendôme), +Madame de Liancourt abandoned the name of her husband, from whom she +obtained a divorce, and assumed that of Marquise de Monceaux, which she +derived from an estate presented to her on that occasion by the King; +and on the legitimation of her son in January 1595, she already aspired +to the throne, and formed a party, headed by M. de Sillery, by whom her +pretensions were encouraged. She was subsequently created Duchesse de +Beaufort, and became the mother of Catherine-Henriette, married to the +Duc d'Elboeuf, and of Alexandre de Vendôme, Grand Prior of France, who +were likewise legitimated. She died in childbirth, but not without +suspicion of poison, on Easter Eve, in the year 1599.</p> + +<p><a name="_30_"></a><a href="#30r">[30]</a> Henri de la Tour, Vicomte de Turenne, Duc de Bouillon, Peer and +Marshal of France.</p> + +<p><a name="_31_"></a><a href="#31r">[31]</a> Théodore Agrippa d'Aubigny was the son of Jean d'Aubigny, Seigneur +de Brie, in Xaintonge, and of Catherine de Lestang, and was born on the +8th of February 1550. At the age of six years he read with equal +facility the Latin, Greek, and Hebrew languages; and eighteen months +afterwards translated the <i>Crito</i> of Plato. The persecutions of the +Huguenots, which he witnessed in his early youth, and the solemn +injunctions of his father to revenge their wrongs, rendered him one of +the most zealous and uncompromising reformers under Henri IV. He died at +Geneva on the 20th of April 1630, aged eighty years, and was buried in +the cloisters of St. Pierre. D'Aubigny left behind him not only his own +memoirs, which are admirably and truthfully written, but also the biting +satire known as the <i>Aventures du Baron de Foeneste</i>, and the still more +celebrated <i>Confession de Sancy</i>.</p> + +<p><a name="_32_"></a><a href="#32r">[32]</a> Isabella Clara Eugenia, Infanta of Spain, was the second daughter +of Philip II. She was the Gouvernante of the Low Countries; and although +no longer either young or handsome, she possessed an extraordinary +influence over her royal father, who was tenderly attached to her.</p> + +<p><a name="_33_"></a><a href="#33r">[33]</a> Arabella Stuart, daughter of Charles, Earl of Lennox, the grandson +of Margaret of Scotland, sister to Henry VIII.</p> + +<p><a name="_34_"></a><a href="#34r">[34]</a> Isabeau de Bavière, Queen of Charles VI.</p> + +<p><a name="_35_"></a><a href="#35r">[35]</a> Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange, second son of William, and of +Anne, the daughter of Maurice, Elector of Saxony.</p> + +<p><a name="_36_"></a><a href="#36r">[36]</a> Marie de Medicis was the daughter of Francis, Grand Duke of +Tuscany, and of Jane, Archduchess of Austria and Queen of Hungary, +daughter of the Emperor Ferdinand.</p> + +<p><a name="_37_"></a><a href="#37r">[37]</a> Louise-Marguerite de Lorraine was the daughter of Henri, Duc de +Guise, surnamed <i>le Balafré</i>, and of Catherine of Clèves, subsequently +Duchesse de Nemours. She was celebrated alike for her extreme beauty, +her brilliant wit, and her great intellect. She wrote admirably for that +age, and was the author of the <i>Histoire des Amours du Grand Alcandre</i>, +and of some <i>Court Chronicles</i>, which she published under the patronymic +of Dupilaust. Mademoiselle de Guise married François, Prince de Conti, +son of the celebrated Louis, Prince de Condé, who was killed at Jarnac.</p> + +<p><a name="_38_"></a><a href="#38r">[38]</a> Catherine de Lorraine, daughter of Charles, Duc de Mayenne, and of +Henriette de Savoie-Villars, who became in February 1599 the wife of +Charles de Gonzague, Duc de Nevers, and subsequently Duke of Mantua. She +died on the 8th of March 1618, at the age of thirty-three years; and was +consequently, at the period referred to in the text, only seventeen +years old.</p> + +<p><a name="_39_"></a><a href="#39r">[39]</a> Anne, daughter and heiress of Charles, last Duc d'Aumale, by whom +the duchy was transferred to the house of Savoy.</p> + +<p><a name="_40_"></a><a href="#40r">[40]</a> Mademoiselle de Longueville was the sister of Henri d'Orléans, +first Duc de Longueville.</p> + +<p><a name="_41_"></a><a href="#41r">[41]</a> Catherine de Rohan, second daughter of Réné II, Vicomte de Rohan, +and of Catherine, the daughter and heiress of Jean de Parthenay, +Seigneur de Soubise. When she had subsequently become the wife of the +Duc de Deux-Ponts, Henry IV was so enamoured of her as to make +dishonourable proposals, to which she replied by the memorable answer: +"I am too poor, Sire, to be your wife, and too well-born to become your +mistress."</p> + +<p><a name="_42_"></a><a href="#42r">[42]</a> Diane de Luxembourg, who, in 1600-1, gave her hand to Louis de +Ploësqueler, Comte de Kerman, in Brittany.</p> + +<p><a name="_43_"></a><a href="#43r">[43]</a> Mademoiselle de Guéménée was the daughter of Louis de Rohan, Prince +de Guéménée, first Duc de Montbazon.</p> + +<p><a name="_44_"></a><a href="#44r">[44]</a> Sully, <i>Mém</i>. vol. iii. pp. 162-174.</p> + +<p><a name="_45_"></a><a href="#45r">[45]</a> Denys de Marquemont, Archbishop of Lyons, and subsequently cardinal +(1626). He did not, however, long enjoy this dignity, to obtain which he +had exerted all his energies, as he died at the close of the same year. +He was a truckling politician, and an ambitious priest.</p> + +<p><a name="_46_"></a><a href="#46r">[46]</a> Arnaud d'Ossat was born in 1536 at Cassagnaberre, a small village +of Armagnac, near Auch. His parents lived in great indigence during his +infancy, and at nine years of age he became an orphan, totally +destitute. He was placed as an attendant about the person of a young +gentleman of family, whose studies he shared with such success that, +from the fellow-student of his patron, he became his tutor. After some +time he accompanied his employer to Paris, where by persevering industry +he completed his education, and was enabled to give lessons in +philosophy and rhetoric. He then proceeded to Bourges, where he studied +legal jurisprudence under the famous Cujas. Paul de Foix, Archbishop of +Toulouse, when about to proceed as ambassador to Rome, engaged him as +his secretary; and while there, he embraced the ecclesiastical +profession, and rendered himself perfectly conversant with the whole +policy of the Papal Court. Henri III bestowed upon him the Abbey of +Notre-Dame de Varennes, but, as his claim was contested, he immediately +resigned it. Subsequently he was raised to the bishopric of Rennes, was +created a cardinal in 1598, and some time afterwards was appointed to +the see of Bayeux. His untiring devotion to the interests of France was +ultimately recognized by his elevation to the dignity of minister +under Henri IV.</p> + +<p><a name="_47_"></a><a href="#47r">[47]</a> Jacques Davy Duperron was born at Berne in 1556, and being learned +in mathematics, Greek, Hebrew, and philosophy, he became a professor of +those sciences in Paris, where he obtained the appointment of reader to +Henri III. Having embraced the ecclesiastical profession, he received +from Henri IV (in 1591) the bishopric of Evreux, as a recompense for his +devotion to the interests of Gabrielle d'Estrées. It was Duperron who +obtained from the Pope the removal of the interdict fulminated against +France. He ultimately became a cardinal, and Archbishop of Sens, and +died in 1606.</p> + +<p><a name="_48_"></a><a href="#48r">[48]</a> Henri de Luxembourg, Duc de Piney, was the descendant of the +celebrated Comte de Saint-Pol, and that branch of the family became +extinct in his person. He died in 1616.</p> + +<p><a name="_49_"></a><a href="#49r">[49]</a> Nicolas Brulart, Seigneur de Sillery, was the elder son of Pierre +Brulart, president of the Court of Requests at Paris. He obtained the +office of court-councillor in 1573, and subsequently that of master of +the Court of Requests. Henry IV, after his accession to the throne of +France, appointed him ambassador to Switzerland; and on his return from +that country, made him sixth president, that dignity having become +vacant by the death of Jean Le Maître. In 1598 he was one of the +deputies by whom the peace of Vervins was concluded; and from thence he +proceeded to Brussels with the Duc de Biron, to be present when the +Archduke swore to the observance of the treaty. He next visited Italy as +ambassador extraordinary to the Pope, where he negotiated the marriage +of the King with Marie de Medicis. In 1604 Henri IV created in his +favour the office of keeper of the seals of France; and finally, on the +death of the Chancelier de Bellièvre, he became his successor.</p> + +<p><a name="_50_"></a><a href="#50r">[50]</a> Sully, <i>Mém</i>. vol. iii. pp. 189, 190.</p> + +<p><a name="_51_"></a><a href="#51r">[51]</a> "Comme s'il fût revenu d'extase," says Péréfixe, vol. ii. p. 300.</p> + +<p><a name="_52_"></a><a href="#52r">[52]</a> In April 1599.</p> + +<p><a name="_53_"></a><a href="#53r">[53]</a> Bernard de Montfaucon. <i>Les Monumens de la Monarchie Française</i>, +Paris, 1733, in folio, vol. v. p. 396.</p> + +<p><a name="_54_"></a><a href="#54r">[54]</a> Horace del-Monte.</p> + +<p><a name="_55_"></a><a href="#55r">[55]</a> Mézeray, vol. x. p. 123.</p> + +<p><a name="_56_"></a><a href="#56r">[56]</a> Maintenon, <i>Mém</i>., Amsterdam, 1756, vol. ii. p. 115.</p> + +<p><a name="_57_"></a><a href="#57r">[57]</a> Roger de St. Larry, Duc de Bellegarde, was the favourite of three +successive sovereigns. Henri III appointed him master of his wardrobe, +and subsequently first gentleman of the chamber, and grand equerry. +Henri IV made him a knight of his Orders in 1595; and ultimately Louis +XIII continued to him an equal amount of favour. The preservation of +Quilleboeuf, which he defended with great gallantry during the space of +three weeks, with only forty-five soldiers and ten nobles, against the +army of the Duc de Mayenne, acquired for him a renown which he never +afterwards forfeited.</p> + +<p><a name="_58_"></a><a href="#58r">[58]</a> Henri, Comte, and subsequently Duc, de Lude, was the last male +representative of his family. He was appointed grand-master of the +artillery in 1669, and died without issue in 1685.</p> + +<p><a name="_59_"></a><a href="#59r">[59]</a> Jean de St. Larry de Thermes, brother of the Duc d'Aiguillon.</p> + +<p><a name="_60_"></a><a href="#60r">[60]</a> Jacques, Marquis de Castelnau, subsequently Marshal of France, who, +in 1658, commanded the left wing of the army at the battle of the Dunes, +and died the same year, at the early age of thirty-eight.</p> + +<p><a name="_61_"></a><a href="#61r">[61]</a> François de Paule de Clermont, Marquis de Montglat, first maître +d'hôtel to the King.</p> + +<p><a name="_62_"></a><a href="#62r">[62]</a> M. de Frontenac was one of the officers of Henry IV who, before his +accession to the throne of France (in 1576), had a quarrel with M. de +Rosny, during which he told him that if he were to pull his nose, he +could only draw out milk; a taunt to which the future minister replied +by an assurance that he felt strong enough to draw blood out of that of +his adversary with his sword. The peculiarity of this quarrel existed in +the fact that, although De Rosny was a Protestant, and Frontenac a +Catholic, M. de Turenne nevertheless espoused the cause of the latter; +upon which M. de Lavardin, a Catholic, declared himself ready to second +the arms of the adverse party.</p> + +<p><a name="_63_"></a><a href="#63r">[63]</a> François, Baron de Bassompierre, was the son of Christophe de +Bassompierre and Louise de Radeval, and was born on the 12th of April +1579, at the château of Harouel, in Lorraine. He became at an early age +the intimate companion and favourite of Henri IV, by whom he was +appointed colonel-general of the Swiss troops. In the year 1603 he was +made Marshal of France, and obtained great influence over both Marie de +Medicis and her son Louis XIII. Richelieu, who became jealous of his +favour, caused him to be imprisoned in the Bastille in 1631, where he +remained for twelve years. He was an able diplomatist, a distinguished +general, and a polished, though dissolute, courtier. He acquitted +himself with great distinction in several sieges, and at his death, +which occurred in 1646, he bequeathed to posterity his personal memoirs, +which are among the most curious in the rich collections possessed by +his countrymen.</p> + +<p><a name="_64_"></a><a href="#64r">[64]</a> Rambure, unpublished <i>Mém</i>., 1599, vol. i. pp. 151, 152.</p> + +<p><a name="_65_"></a><a href="#65r">[65]</a> Catherine Henriette de Balzac d'Entragues, subsequently known as +the Marquise de Verneuil, was the elder daughter of the celebrated Marie +Touchet, who, after having been the mistress of Charles IX, became the +wife of François de Balzac, Seigneur d'Entragues, de Marcoussis and de +Malesherbes, Governor of Orleans, who was, in 1573, elected a knight of +St. Michael by Henri III. Henriette, as her name implies, was, together +with her two sisters, the issue of this marriage; while her half-brother +the Comte d'Auvergne, subsequently Duc d'Angoulême, was the son of +Charles IX.</p> + +<p><a name="_66_"></a><a href="#66r">[66]</a> Saint--Edmé, <i>Amours et Galanteries des Rois de France</i>, Brussels, +vol. ii. pp. 199, 200.</p> + +<p><a name="_67_"></a><a href="#67r">[67]</a> Louise Marguerite de Lorraine, the widow of Henri III, was the +elder daughter of Nicolas de Lorraine, Duc de Mercoeur, Comte de +Vaudemont, and of the Marquise d'Egmont, his first wife. Henri III +having seen her at Rheims, during his temporary residence in that city, +became enamoured of her person, and their marriage took place on the 5th +of February 1575. François de Luxembourg, of the House of Brienne, had +for some time paid his addresses to Mademoiselle de Lorraine, with the +hope and intention of making her his wife; a fact which the licentious +and frivolous King no sooner ascertained than he declared his +inclination to effect an alliance between the disappointed suitor and +his own mistress, Mademoiselle de Châteauneuf, for whom he was anxious +to provide through this medium. He consequently proposed the arrangement +to M. de Luxembourg on the day of his coronation, but received the cold +and firm reply that the Count felt himself bound to congratulate +Mademoiselle de Lorraine on her good fortune, since by changing her +lover she had also been enabled to increase her dignity; but that, as +regarded himself, since he could derive no benefit whatever from +becoming the husband of Mademoiselle de Châteauneuf, he begged that his +Majesty would excuse him from contracting such an alliance. The King, +however, declared that he would admit of no refusal, and insisted upon +his instant obedience; whereupon M. de Luxembourg demanded eight days to +make the necessary preparations, to which Henry demurred, and it was +finally arranged that he should be allowed three days for that purpose, +after which he was to hold himself prepared to obey the royal command. +These three days sufficed to enable the intended victim to make his +escape, and he accordingly left the kingdom. His sarcasm against herself +had so deeply irritated Queen Louise that after the death of her husband +she entreated Henri IV to revenge her injured dignity upon her former +suitor, but the monarch declined to aid in any further persecution of +the unfortunate young noble. The married life of the Queen was a most +unhappy one, and appeared to have entirely disgusted her with the world, +as on becoming a widow she passed two years of seclusion and mourning at +Chenonceaux, whence she removed to the château of Moulins, where she +devoted herself to the most austere duties of religion. In her will, by +which she bequeathed nearly the whole of her property to the Church and +to charitable purposes, she left a large sum for the erection of a +Capuchin convent at Bourges, where she desired that she might be +ultimately interred; but by command of Henri IV the convent was built in +the Faubourg St. Honoré, at Paris, and her body deposited in the chapel.</p> + +<p><a name="_68_"></a><a href="#68r">[68]</a> Sully, <i>Mém</i>. vol. iii. p. 312.</p> + +<p><a name="_69_"></a><a href="#69r">[69]</a> Saint-Edmé, p. 200.</p> + +<p><a name="_70_"></a><a href="#70r">[70]</a> Equal, in the present day, to nearly five hundred thousand livres.</p> + +<p><a name="_71_"></a><a href="#71r">[71]</a> Charles de Valois, the son of Charles IX and Marie Touchet, Dame de +Belleville. He was subsequently Duc d'Angoulême and Grand Prior of +France. He died in 1639.</p> + +<p><a name="_72_"></a><a href="#72r">[72]</a> Dreux du Radier, vol. vi. pp. 62, 63. Saint-Edmé, pp. 201, 202.</p> + +<p><a name="_73_"></a><a href="#73r">[73]</a> Sully, <i>Mém</i>. vol. iii. pp. 313, 314.</p> + +<p><a name="_74_"></a><a href="#74r">[74]</a> Sully, <i>Mém</i>. vol. iii. p. 315.</p> + +<p><a name="_75_"></a><a href="#75r">[75]</a> Mézeray, vol. x. p. 124.</p> + + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page064"></a>[pg 064]</span> +<br><br><hr style="width: 35%;"><br><br> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II</h2> + +<h3>1599</h3> + +<p>Sully resolves to hasten the King's marriage--Ambassadors are sent to +Florence to demand the hand of Marie de Medicis--The marriage articles +are signed--Indignation of Madame de Verneuil--Revenge of her brother, +the Comte d'Auvergne--The Duke of Savoy visits Paris--His reception--His +profusion--His mission fails--Court poets--Marie de Medicis is married +to the French King by procuration at Florence--Hostile demonstrations of +the Duke of Savoy--Infatuation of the King for the favourite--Her +pretensions--A well-timed tempest--Diplomacy of Madame de Verneuil--Her +reception at Lyons--War in Savoy--Marie de Medicis lands at +Marseilles--Madame de Verneuil returns to Paris--The Duc de Bellegarde +is proxy for the King at Florence--He escorts the new Queen to +France--Portrait of Marie de Medicis--Her state-galley--Her voyage--Her +reception--Henry reaches Lyons--The royal interview--Public +rejoicings--The royal marriage--Henry returns to Paris--The Queen's +jealousy is awakened--Profligate habits of the King--Marie's Italian +attendants embitter her mind against her husband--Marie reaches +Paris--She holds a court--Presentation of Madame de Verneuil to the +Queen--Indignation of Marie--Disgrace of the Duchesse de +Nemours--Self-possession of Madame de Verneuil--Marie takes possession +of the Louvre--She adopts the French costume--Splendour of the +Court--Festival given by Sully--A practical joke--Court +festivities--Excessive gambling--Royal play debts--The Queen's +favourite--A petticoat intrigue--Leonora Galigaï appointed Mistress of +the Robes--Reconciliation between the Queen and Madame de Verneuil--The +King gives the Marquise a suite of apartments in the Louvre--Her rivalry +of the Queen--Indignation of Marie--Domestic dissensions--The Queen and +the favourite are again at war--Madame de Verneuil effects the marriage +of Concini and Leonora--Gratitude of the Queen--Birth of the +Dauphin--Joy of the King--Public rejoicings--Birth of Anne of +Austria--Superstitions of the period--Belief in astrology--A royal +anecdote--Horoscope of the Dauphin--The sovereign and the surgeon--Birth +of Gaston Henri, son of Madame de Verneuil--Public entry of the Dauphin +into Paris--Exultation of Marie de Medicis.</p><br> + +<p>The infatuation of the King for his new favourite decided M. de Sully to +hasten by every means in +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page065"></a>[pg 065]</span> +his power the marriage of the sovereign with +some European princess worthy to share his throne, and he accordingly +instructed the royal agents at Rome to demand forthwith the hand of +Marie de Medicis for the French monarch; while Henry, absorbed in his +passion, permitted him to act as he saw fit, offering neither assistance +nor impediment to a negotiation on which his domestic happiness was in +future to depend. Nor was it until the Duke urged upon him the necessity +of selecting such of his nobility as it was his pleasure to entrust with +the management of the affair in conjunction with the ambassador whom the +Grand Duke, her uncle, was about to despatch to Paris, that, by dint of +importunity, he was induced to name M. de Sully himself, the Constable, +the Chancellor, and the Sieur de Villeroy,<a name="76r"></a><a href="#_76_">[76]</a> whose son, M. +d'Alincourt, had previously been sent to Rome to offer the +acknowledgments of Henry to his Holiness for the dissolution of his +marriage with Queen Marguerite, and to apprise him of that which he was +desirous to contract with Marie de Medicis. This duty performed, M. +d'Alincourt solicited the permission of the Pope to accompany Sillery to +Florence to pay his respects to the Princess and to negotiate the +alliance; and having obtained the required sanction, the two nobles set +forth upon their embassy, quite unaware that the preliminaries were +already nearly concluded.<a name="77r"></a><a href="#_77_">[77]</a> So determined, indeed, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page066"></a>[pg 066]</span> +had been the +minister that no time should be afforded to the King to redeem the +pledge which he had given to the favourite that Joannini, the agent of +the Grand Duke, had not been many days in Paris before the articles were +drawn up and signed on both sides, and Sully was commissioned by the +other contracting parties to communicate the termination of their +labours to his royal master. The account given by the minister of this +interview is highly characteristic.</p> + +<p>"He had not," says the chronicler, "anticipated such expedition; and +thus when I had answered his question of where I had come from by 'We +come, Sire, from marrying you,' the Prince remained for a quarter of an +hour as though he had been stricken by thunder; then he began to pace +the chamber with long strides, biting his nails, scratching his head, +and absorbed by reflections which agitated him so violently that he was +a considerable time before he was able to speak to me. I entertained no +doubt that all my previous representations were now producing their +effect; and so it proved, for ultimately recovering himself like a man +who has at length taken a decided resolution: 'Well,' said he, striking +his hands together, 'well, then, so be it; there is no alternative, +since for the good of my kingdom you say that I must marry.'" <a name="78r"></a><a href="#_78_">[78]</a></p> + +<p>Such was the ungracious acceptance of the haughty Florentine Princess at +the hands of her future bridegroom.</p> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page067"></a>[pg 067]</span> +<p>The indignation of Madame de Verneuil was unbounded when she +ascertained that she had for ever lost all hope of ascending the throne +of France; but it is nevertheless certain that she was enabled to +dissimulate sufficiently to render her society indispensable to the +King, and to accept with a good grace the equivocal honours of her +position. Her brother, the Comte d'Auvergne, was, however, less +placable; he had always affected to believe in the validity of her claim +upon the King, and his naturally restless and dissatisfied character led +him, under the pretext of avenging her wrongs, to enter into a +conspiracy which had recently been formed against the person of the +King, whom certain malcontents sought to deprive alike of his throne and +of his liberty, and to supersede in his sovereignty by one of the +Princes of the Blood.<a name="79r"></a><a href="#_79_">[79]</a> Among others, the Duke of Savoy,<a name="80r"></a><a href="#_80_">[80]</a> who, +during the troubles of 1588, had taken possession of the marquisate of +Saluzzo, which he refused to restore, was said to be implicated in this +plot; and he was the more strongly suspected as it had been ascertained +that he had constant communication with several individuals at the +French +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page068"></a>[pg 068]</span> +Court, and that he had tampered with certain of the nobles; +among others, with the Duc de Biron.<a name="81r"></a><a href="#_81_">[81]</a> He had also succeeded in +attaching to his interests the Duchesse de Beaufort; and had, during her +lifetime, proposed to the King to visit France in person in order to +effect a compromise, which he anticipated that, under her auspices, he +should be enabled to conclude with advantage to himself. Henry had +accepted the proposition; and although after the death of the Duchess, +M. de Savoie endeavoured to rescind his resolution, he found himself so +far compromised that he was compelled to carry out his original purpose; +and accordingly, on the 1st of December, he left Chambéry with a train +of twelve hundred horse, accompanied by the greater part of his +ministers, his nobles, and the most magnificent members of his +Court.<a name="82r"></a><a href="#_82_">[82]</a> As the French King had issued orders that he should, in every +city through which he passed, be received with regal honours, he did not +reach Fontainebleau until the 14th of the same month, where he arrived +just as his royal host was mounting his horse to meet him. As he +approached Henry he bent his knee, but the King immediately +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page069"></a>[pg 069]</span> +raised and +embraced him with great cordiality; and during the seven days which he +spent at Fontainebleau the Court was one scene of splendour and +dissipation. Balls, jousts, and hunting-parties succeeded each other +without intermission, but the Duke soon perceived that the monarch had +no intention of taking the initiative on the errand which had brought +him to France, a caution from which he justly augured no favourable +result to his expedition;<a name="83r"></a><a href="#_83_">[83]</a> while on his side the subject was never +alluded to by Sully or any of the other ministers without his giving the +most unequivocal proofs of his determination to retain the +marquisate.<a name="84r"></a><a href="#_84_">[84]</a></p> + +<div class="fig" style="width:100%;"> +<a name="illus0496"></a> +<img src="images/illus0496.jpg" width="449" height="600" alt="[Illustration: ]"> +<p class="caption">MARSHAL BIRON.</p> +</div> + +<p>Meanwhile his conduct was governed by the most subtle policy; his +bearing towards the monarch was at once deferential and familiar; his +liberality was unbounded; and his courtesy towards the great nobles and +the officials of the Court untiring and dignified.</p> + +<p>On the eighth day after the arrival of the Duke at Fontainebleau the +Court removed to Paris, where Henry had caused apartments to be prepared +for his royal guest in the Louvre; but M. de Savoie, after offering his +acknowledgments for the proffered honour, preferred to take up his abode +in the house of his relative the Duc de Nemours, near the Augustine +convent. The whole of the Christmas festival was spent in a succession +of amusements as splendid as those with which he had been originally +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page070"></a>[pg 070]</span> +received; and on the 1st of January 1600, when it is customary in France +to exchange presents, the Duke repaid all this magnificence by a +profusion almost unprecedented. To the King, his offering was two large +bowls and vases of crystal so exquisitely worked as to be considered +unrivalled; while he tendered to Madame de Verneuil, who did the honours +of the royal circle, and whom he was anxious to attach to his interests, +a valuable collection of diamonds and other precious stones. Nor did his +liberality end here, for there was not a great noble of the Court who +was not enriched by his munificence save the Duc de Biron; who, from +policy, declined to accept some magnificent horses which were sent to +him in the name of the Prince; and Sully, who, upon being presented by +M. des Alimes, one of the principal Savoyard lords, with a snuff-box +enriched with diamonds, and estimated at fifteen thousand crowns, +containing a portrait of M. de Savoie, at once perceived that the costly +offering was intended as a bribe, and declined to receive it, declaring +that he had made a vow never to accept any present of value except from +his own sovereign.<a name="85r"></a><a href="#_85_">[85]</a></p> + +<p>The King responded to the liberality of his guest by the gift of a +diamond star, of which the centre brilliant covered a miniature of +Madame de Verneuil, together with other valuable jewels; but the +profusion of the Duke was so great that his whole outlay upon this +occasion was estimated at no less a sum than four hundred thousand +crowns; and when +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page071"></a>[pg 071]</span> +it was believed that he must have exhausted his +resources, he still further astonished the French nobles by appearing at +a ball which he gave to the Court in a dress entirely covered with +precious stones, and valued at a far higher sum than that which he had +expended.<a name="86r"></a><a href="#_86_">[86]</a></p> + +<p>That this profusion had been dictated by policy rather than by +generosity was sufficiently apparent; and whatever effect it might have +produced upon the minds of the courtiers, M. de Savoie was soon made +aware that it had been utterly powerless over the resolution of the +sovereign; for he no sooner ventured to allude to the subject of his +journey, than Henry with his accustomed frankness declared his +determination to enforce his right to the marquisate which his guest had +usurped; an assurance which determined the Duke to request that a +commission might be appointed to examine their conflicting claims.</p> + +<p>His demand was conceded; commissioners were appointed on both sides, and +the question was rigidly discussed; propositions were mutually made and +mutually declined; until finally the King, by the advice of his council, +despatched Sebastian Zamet<a name="87r"></a><a href="#_87_">[87]</a> to the Duke of Savoy, with full +authority +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page072"></a>[pg 072]</span> +to negotiate either a restitution or an exchange; giving him +at the same time three months in which to consult his nobility, and to +decide upon the one measure or the other.</p> + +<p>So skilfully did the envoy perform his mission, that he ultimately +succeeded in inducing M. de Savoie to propose to the King, as +compensation for the contested marquisate, the cession of certain towns +and citadels named in a treaty which was signed by the two contracting +parties; and this arrangement had no sooner been concluded than the +court resumed its career of gaiety; nor was it until the 7th of March +that the Duke finally took leave of his royal entertainer, and commenced +his homeward journey.<a name="88r"></a><a href="#_88_">[88]</a></p> + +<p>Meanwhile the Court poets had not been idle; and while the Duke of Savoy +had recognized the supremacy of the favourite by costly gifts, her +favour had been courted by the most popular of those time-serving bards +who were accustomed to make their talents subservient to their +interests; +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page073"></a>[pg 073]</span> +nor is it the least remarkable feature of the age that the +three most fashionable rhymesters in the circles of gallantry were all +ecclesiastics, and that the charms and <i>virtues</i> of Henriette +d'Entragues were celebrated by a cardinal, a bishop, and an abbé!<a name="89r"></a><a href="#_89_">[89]</a></p> + +<p>Her most palmy days were, however, at an end, for hitherto she had +reigned undisputed mistress of the King's affections, and she was +henceforward to hold at best a divided sway. On the 5th of May, M. +d'Alincourt arrived at Fontainebleau from Florence, with the +intelligence that, on the 25th of the preceding month, the contract of +marriage between the French monarch and the Princesse Marie de Medicis +had been signed at the Palazzo Pitti, in the presence of Carlo-Antonio +Putéi, Archbishop of Pisa, and the Duke of Bracciano; and that the bride +brought as her dowry six hundred thousand crowns, besides jewels and +other ornaments of value. He further stated that a "Te Deum" had been +chanted, both in the Palazzo Pitti and at the church of the Annunciation +at Florence; after which the Princesse Marie, declared Queen of France, +had dined in public, seated under a dais above her uncle; and at the +conclusion of the repast, the Duke of Bracciano had presented the water +to wash her hands, and the Marquis de Sillery, the French Ambassador, +the napkin upon which she wiped them. Having made his report, and +delivered his despatches, M. d'Alincourt placed in the hands of the King +a portrait of Marie richly +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page074"></a>[pg 074]</span> +set in brilliants, which had been entrusted +to him for that purpose; and the lover of Madame de Verneuil found +himself solemnly betrothed.<a name="90r"></a><a href="#_90_">[90]</a></p> + +<p>This fact, however, produced little visible effect upon the Court +circle, and still less upon the King himself; and after having afforded +a subject of conversation for a brief interval, it soon appeared to be +entirely forgotten amid the more absorbing matters of interest by which +the minds of the different individuals were severally engrossed. From +policy, the betrothal was never mentioned by the courtiers in the +presence of Madame de Verneuil, a restraint which caused it to fall into +partial oblivion; and the rather as the month of June had arrived +without any demonstration on the part of the Duke of Savoy, who had +availed himself of every possible pretext to evade the fulfilment of the +treaty of Paris; and who had rendered it evident that force of arms +alone could compel him to resign the usurped marquisate. Even the +monarch himself became at length convinced of the impolicy of further +delay, and resolved forthwith to advance to Lyons, whither Sully had +already despatched both troops and artillery.<a name="91r"></a><a href="#_91_">[91]</a> M. de Savoie had, +however, during his sojourn in France, made many partisans, who urged +upon their sovereign the expediency of still affording to the Duke an +opportunity of redeeming his pledge; and Henry, even against his better +reason, listened the more complacently to their counsels that Madame de +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page075"></a>[pg 075]</span> +Verneuil was about to become a mother, and he shrank from the idea of +separation from her at such a moment. Thus he delayed his journey until +Sully, who was not long in discovering the cause of his inaction, +renewed his expostulations with still greater emphasis, and finally +induced him to make preparations for an immediate departure. As the hour +arrived, however, he again wavered, until at length he declared his +determination to be accompanied by the Marquise; but this arrangement +was, from her state of health, soon found to be impossible; and after +considerable difficulty he was persuaded to consent that she should +await his return at Monceaux, whither he himself conducted her, with +renewed protestations that he loved her well enough to resign even then +the alliance with Marie de Medicis, and to make her his wife.<a name="92r"></a><a href="#_92_">[92]</a> This +was precisely what the favourite still hoped to accomplish. She was +aware of the extraordinary influence which she had obtained over the +mind of her royal lover, and she looked forward to the birth of a son as +the one thing necessary to her success. Accordingly, before she suffered +the King to depart, she compelled him to promise that he would be near +her during her illness; and then she reluctantly saw him set forth to +Moulins, where he was detained for a fortnight, his council not being +able to agree as to the expediency of the campaign.</p> + +<p>There can be little doubt that under other circumstances Henry would +have found means to bring +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page076"></a>[pg 076]</span> +them to a decision; but as he was enabled +during their discussions to receive daily intelligence of the Marquise, +he submitted quietly to a detention which seconded his own wishes.</p> + +<p>At length the period arrived in which Madame de Verneuil was about to +enforce her claim upon the tenderness of her royal lover, and already he +spoke of returning for a while to Monceaux; when a violent storm, and +the falling of a thunderbolt in the very chamber of the invalid, so +affected her nervous system, that she lost the infant upon which she had +based all her anticipations of greatness; and although the King hastened +to condole with her upon her disappointment, and even remained in +constant attendance upon her sick-bed until she was partially +convalescent, the great link between them was necessarily broken; a fact +of which she was so well aware that her temper gave way beneath the +trial, and she bitterly upbraided her royal lover for the treachery of +which she declared him to have been guilty in permitting his ministers +to effect his betrothal with Marie de Medicis, when she had herself, as +she affirmed, sacrificed everything for his sake. In order to pacify her +anger, the King loaded her with new gifts, and consoled her by new +protestations; nor did his weakness end there, for so soon as her health +was sufficiently re-established, he wrote to entreat of her to join him +at Lyons; although not before she had addressed to him a most submissive +letter, in which she assured him that her whole happiness depended +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page077"></a>[pg 077]</span> +upon +his affection, and that as she had too late become aware that his high +rank had placed an inseparable barrier between them, and that her own +insignificance precluded the possibility of her ever becoming his wife, +she at least implored of him to leave to her the happiness of still +remaining his mistress, and to continue to feel for her the same +tenderness, with so many demonstrations of which he had hitherto +honoured her.<a name="93r"></a><a href="#_93_">[93]</a></p> + +<p>This was an appeal to which the enamoured monarch willingly responded, +and the nature of her reception at Lyons tended still further to restore +peace between them. What the Lyonnese had previously done in honour of +Diane de Poitiers, when, as the accredited and <i>official</i> mistress of +Henri II, she visited their city, they repeated in honour of Madame de +Verneuil, whose entrance within their gates was rather that of a crowned +queen than a fallen woman; and this triumph was shortly afterwards +augmented by her reception of the standards taken by the King at +Charbonnières, which he caused to be conveyed to her as a proof of his +devotion, and which she, with ostentatious pomp, transferred to the +church of St. Just.</p> + +<p>From Lyons, Henry proceeded to Grenoble, still accompanied by Madame de +Verneuil, the Duke of Savoy having at length declared that rather than +submit to the conditions which had been proposed to him, he would incur +the hazard of a war. In consequence of this decision, immediate +measures +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page078"></a>[pg 078]</span> +were taken by the French generals to march upon Saluzzo; and +the Maréchal de Biron, although already strongly suspected of +disaffection to his sovereign, having collected a body of troops, +possessed himself of the whole territory of Brescia. The town of Bourg +was stormed by Du Terrail,<a name="94r"></a><a href="#_94_">[94]</a> and taken, with the exception of the +citadel; while M. de Créquy<a name="95r"></a><a href="#_95_">[95]</a> entered Savoy, and made himself +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page079"></a>[pg 079]</span> +master +of the city of Montmelian, although the castle still held out.</p> + +<p>Henry then resolved to enter Savoy in person; and having once more taken +leave of the Marquise, who returned to Lyons, he marched upon Chambéry, +which immediately capitulated; and thence he proceeded to possess +himself of the citadels of Conflans and Charbonnières, which had +hitherto been deemed impregnable. M. de Savoie, who had confided in the +strength of his fortresses of Montmelian and Bourg, and who had +continued to affect the most perfect indifference to the approach of the +French troops, now became seriously alarmed, and made instant +preparations to relieve the Marquis de Brandis, the governor of the +former fortress, for which purpose he applied to Spain for assistance. +This was, however, refused; and both places fell into the hands of the +French monarch, who then successively took Chablais and Faussigny; after +which he sat down before the fortress of St. Catherine, which the +Savoyards had erected to overawe the Genevese.<a name="96r"></a><a href="#_96_">[96]</a></p> + +<p>During the siege of Fort St. Catherine, intelligence reached the King of +the arrival of the young Queen at Marseilles; and meanwhile the +gratification of the Pope at an alliance so flattering to his pride had +been of essential benefit to the French interest, as he had, in +consequence, made no demonstration in favour of the Duke of Savoy, +although it was not entirely without anxiety that he had seen +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page080"></a>[pg 080]</span> +the army +of Henry approach his own dominions; but, satisfied that at such a +conjuncture the French monarch would attempt no aggressive measures +against Italy, he had consented to remain passive.</p> + +<p>Madame de Verneuil was no sooner apprised of the landing of Marie de +Medicis than, after having vehemently reproached the King for a haste +which she designated as insulting to herself, she made instant +preparations for her return to Paris, resolutely refusing to assist at +the ceremonious reception of the new Queen; nor could the expostulations +of Henry, even accompanied, as they were, by the most profuse proofs of +his continued affection, induce her to rescind her determination. To +every representation of the monarch she replied by reminding him that +out of all the high nobles of his Court, he had seen fit to select the +Duc de Bellegarde as the bearer of his marriage-procuration to the Grand +Duke of Florence--thus indemnifying him to the utmost of his power for +the mortification to which he had been subjected by the royal refusal to +permit him to act personally as his proxy; while she assured him that +she was not blind to the fact that this selection was meant as an +additional affront to herself, in order to avenge the preposterous +notion which his Majesty had adopted, that, after having previously paid +his court to the Duchesse de Beaufort during her period of power, the +Duke had since transferred his affections to the Marquise de Verneuil.</p> + +<p>Under all circumstances, this accusation was most unfortunate and +ill-judged, and should in itself have +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page081"></a>[pg 081]</span> +sufficed to open the eyes of the +monarch, who had, assuredly, had sufficient experience in female tactics +to be quite aware that where a woman is compelled mentally to condemn +herself, she is the most anxious to transfer her fault to others, and to +blame where she is conscious of being open to censure. Madame de +Verneuil had not, however, in this instance at all miscalculated the +extent of her influence over the royal mind; as, instead of resenting an +impertinence which was well fitted to arouse his indignation, Henry +weakly condescended to justify himself, and by this unmanly concession +laid the foundation of all his subsequent domestic discomfort.</p> + +<p>Madame de Verneuil returned to Paris, surrounded by adulation and +splendour, and the King was left at liberty to bestow some portion of +his thoughts upon his expected bride. It is probable, indeed, that the +portrait of Marie presented to him by the Grand Duchess had excited his +curiosity and flattered his self-love; for it was more than sufficiently +attractive to command the attention of a monarch even less susceptible +to female beauty than himself. Marie was still in the very bloom of +life, having only just attained her twenty-fourth year; nor could the +King have forgotten that when, some time previously, her portrait had +been forwarded to the French Court together with that of the Spanish +Infanta, Gabrielle d'Estrées, then in the full splendour of her own +surpassing loveliness, had exclaimed as she examined them: "I should +fear nothing from the Spaniard, but the Florentine is +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page082"></a>[pg 082]</span> +dangerous." From +whatever impulse he might act, however, it is certain that after the +departure of the favourite, Henry publicly expressed his perfect +satisfaction with the marriage which he had been induced to +contract,<a name="97r"></a><a href="#_97_">[97]</a> and lost no time in issuing his commands for the reception +of his expected bride.</p> + +<p>The Duc de Bellegarde, Grand Equerry of France, had reached Livorno on +the 20th of September, accompanied by forty French nobles, all alike +eager, by the magnificence of their appearance and the chivalry of their +deportment, to uphold the honour of their royal master. Seven days +subsequently, he entered Florence, where he delivered his credentials to +the Grand Duke, having been previously joined by Antonio de Medicis with +a great train of Florentine cavaliers who had been sent to meet him; and +the same evening he had an interview with his new sovereign, to whom he +presented the letters with which he had been entrusted by the King.<a name="98r"></a><a href="#_98_">[98]</a></p> + +<p>On the 4th of October, the Cardinal Aldobrandini, the nephew and legate +of the Pope, who had already been preceded by the Duke of Mantua and the +Venetian Ambassador, arrived in his turn at Florence, in order to +perform the ceremony of the royal marriage. His Eminence was received at +the gate of the city by the Grand Duke in person, and made his entry on +horseback under a canopy supported by eight young Florentine nobles, +preceded +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page083"></a>[pg 083]</span> +by all the ecclesiastical and secular bodies; while +immediately behind him followed sixteen prelates, and fifty gentlemen of +the first families in the duchy bearing halberds. On reaching the +church, the Cardinal dismounted, and thence, after a brief prayer, he +proceeded to the ducal palace. At the conclusion of the magnificent +repast which awaited him, the legate, in the presence of his royal host, +of the Dukes of Mantua and Bracciano, the Princes Juan and Antonio de +Medicis, and the Sieur de Bellegarde, announced to the young Queen the +entire satisfaction of the Sovereign-Pontiff at the union upon which he +was about to pronounce a blessing: to which assurance she replied with +grace and dignity.</p> + +<p>On the morrow a high mass was celebrated by the Cardinal in the presence +of the whole Court; and during its solemnization he was seated under a +canopy of cloth of gold at the right-hand side of the altar, where a +chair had been prepared for him upon a platform raised three steps above +the floor. He had no sooner taken his place, than the Duc de Bellegarde, +approaching the Princess (who occupied a similar seat of honour, +together with her uncle, at the opposite side of the shrine), led her to +the right hand of the legate; the Grand Duke at the same time placing +himself upon his left, and presenting to his Eminence the procuration by +which he was authorized to espouse his niece in the name of the King. +The document was then transferred to two of the attendant prelates, by +whom it +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page084"></a>[pg 084]</span> +was read aloud; and subsequently the authority given by the +Pope for the solemnization of the marriage was, in like manner, made +public. The remainder of the nuptial service was then performed amid +perpetual salvos of artillery. In the evening a splendid ball took place +at the palace, followed by a banquet, at which the new Queen occupied +the upper seat, having on her right the legate of his Holiness, the Duke +of Mantua, and the Grand Duke her uncle, who, in homage to her superior +rank, ceded to her the place of honour; and on her left, the Duchesses +of Mantua, Tuscany, and Bracciano; the Duke of Bracciano acting as +equerry, and Don Juan, the brother of the Grand Duke, as cup-bearer.</p> + +<p>The four following days were passed in a succession of festivities: +hunting-parties, jousts, tiltings at the ring, racing, and every other +description of manly sport occupying the hours of daylight, while the +nights were devoted to balls and ballets, in which the Florentine +nobility vied with their foreign visitors in every species of profusion +and magnificence. Among other amusements, a comedy in five acts was +represented, on which the outlay was stated to have amounted to the +enormous sum of sixty thousand crowns.</p> + +<p>At the close of the Court festivals, the Cardinal Aldobrandini took his +leave of the distinguished party, and proceeded to Chambéry; but the +Queen lingered with her family until the 13th of the month, upon which +day, accompanied by the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page085"></a>[pg 085]</span> +Grand-Duchess her aunt, the Duchess of Mantua +her sister, her brother Don Antonio, the Duke of Bracciano, and the +French Ambassador, she set forth upon her journey to her new +kingdom.<a name="99r"></a><a href="#_99_">[99]</a></p> + +<p>Without being strictly beautiful, Marie de Medicis possessed a person at +once pleasing and dignified. All the pride of her Italian blood flashed +from her large dark eye, while the consciousness of her exalted rank +lent a majesty to her deportment which occasionally, however, in moments +of irritation, degenerated into haughtiness. Her intellect was quick and +cultivated, but she was deficient alike in depth of judgment and in +strength of character. Amiable, and even submissive in her intercourse +with her favourites, she was vindictive and tyrannical towards those who +fell under the ban of her displeasure; and with all the unscrupulous +love of intrigue common to her race, she was nevertheless unguarded in +her confidences, unstable in her purposes, and short-sighted in her +policy. In temper she was hot, impatient, and irascible; in temperament, +jealous and exacting; while her vanity and love of power perpetually +made her the tool of those who sought to profit by her defects.</p> + +<p>It is probable that throughout the whole of Europe no princess could +have been selected less constituted to make the happiness of a sovereign +who, like Henri IV, had not scrupled to avow to his minister that he +dreaded domestic dissension far more than foreign warfare; but who at +the same +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page086"></a>[pg 086]</span> +time did not hesitate, by his own irregularities, to arouse +all the worst passions in the bosom of an outraged wife.</p> + +<p>On the 17th of October the royal bride reached Livorno, where she made +her entry in great pomp, and was received with the most enthusiastic +acclamations; and on the following day she embarked in the state-galley +of the Grand-Duke, one of the most magnificent vessels which had ever +floated upon the blue waters of the Mediterranean. Seventy feet in +length, it was impelled by fifty-four oars, and was richly gilded from +stem to stern; the borders of the poop being inlaid with a profusion of +lapis-lazuli, mother-of-pearl, ivory, and ebony. It was, moreover, +ornamented by twenty large circles of iron interlaced, and studded with +topaz, emeralds, pearls, and other precious stones; while the splendour +of the interior perfectly corresponded with this gorgeous framework. In +the principal cabin, which was hung and carpeted with cloth of gold, a +seat of state had been arranged for the Queen, opposite to which were +suspended the shields of France and of the house of Medicis side by +side; the fleurs-de-lis of the former being composed of large diamonds, +and the device of the latter represented by five immense rubies and a +sapphire, with an enormous pearl above, and a fine emerald in the +centre.<a name="100r"></a><a href="#_100_">[100]</a> This fairy vessel was followed by five other galleys +furnished by the Pope, and six appertaining to the Grand Duke; and thus +escorted Marie de Medicis reached +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page087"></a>[pg 087]</span> +Malta, where she was joined by +another fleet which awaited her off that island; but, despite all this +magnificence, the voyage of the Queen was anything but propitious, for +after arriving at Esperies, where the authorities of Genoa profferred to +her, with great respect, the attendance of their own flotilla, she had +no sooner reached Portofino than she was compelled to anchor for several +days from stress of weather. Unaccustomed as she was, however, to this +mode of travelling, the high-spirited young Queen resisted all the +entreaties of those about her, who were anxious that she should land +until the wind had moderated, simply remarking that the King had given +no directions to that effect;<a name="101r"></a><a href="#_101_">[101]</a> and retaining, amid all the dismay +and discomfort by which she was surrounded, not only her self-command, +but even her cheerfulness.<a name="102r"></a><a href="#_102_">[102]</a></p> + +<p>Meanwhile, Henry had no sooner ascertained the approach of his royal +bride, than he forthwith despatched to welcome her, the Constable, the +Chancellor, and the Dues de Nemours, de Ventadour, and de Guise; and +these princes were followed on the ensuing day by the Cardinals de +Joyeuse, de Gondy, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page088"></a>[pg 088]</span> +and de Sourdis; after which he intimated his +pleasure to all the several princesses and great ladies of the Court who +were then sojourning at Grenoble in order to be near the royal army, +that they should immediately set forth to pay their respects to their +new sovereign, and remain in attendance upon her person until her entry +into Paris; a command which was so literally obeyed, that three days +afterwards the city was utterly stripped of the aspect of gaiety and +splendour which had rendered it for a time an epitome of the +capital itself.</p> + +<p>On the 28th of October the Queen once more put to sea, and two days +subsequently she entered the port of Toulon, where she landed under a +canopy of cloth of gold, with her fine hair flowing over her +shoulders.<a name="103r"></a><a href="#_103_">[103]</a> There she remained for two days, in order to recover +from the effects of her voyage; after which she re-embarked and +proceeded to Marseilles, where she arrived on the evening of Friday the +3d of November. A gallery had been constructed from the port to the +grand entrance of the palace in which apartments had been prepared for +her; and on stepping from her galley, she was welcomed by the +Chancellor,<a name="104r"></a><a href="#_104_">[104]</a> who announced to her the orders that he had received +from the King relative to her reception, and presented to her Majesty +the Connétable--Duc de Montmorency,<a name="105r"></a><a href="#_105_">[105]</a> and the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page089"></a>[pg 089]</span> +Ducs de Nemours<a name="106r"></a><a href="#_106_">[106]</a> +and de Ventadour.<a name="107r"></a><a href="#_107_">[107]</a> The consuls and citizens then tendered to her +upon their knees the keys of the city in gold, linked together by a +chain of the same precious metal; after which ceremony, the young Queen +was conducted to the palace under a rich canopy, preceded by the +Constable, surrounded by the Cardinals and prelates who had been sent to +welcome her, and followed by the wife of the Chancellor, and the other +great ladies of the Court. So long a delay having occurred between her +betrothal and her marriage, the Princess had been enabled to render +herself mistress of the language of her new country; and the +satisfaction of the courtiers was consequently undisguised when she +offered her acknowledgments for the courtesy of her reception in their +own tongue; a gratification which +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page090"></a>[pg 090]</span> +was enhanced by the fact that Marie +had made no effort to assimilate her costume to that of the French +Court, but appeared in a robe of cloth of gold on a blue ground, +fashioned in the Italian taste, and with her fine fair hair simply +braided and utterly destitute of powder;<a name="108r"></a><a href="#_108_">[108]</a> a circumstance which had +already sufficed to awaken the jealousy of the French princesses.</p> + +<p>On the following day the Queen held a reception in the great hall of the +palace, and graciously listened, surrounded by her august relatives, to +the eloquent and celebrated harangue of M. du Vair,<a name="109r"></a><a href="#_109_">[109]</a> the president +of the Parliament of Provence; to which she had no sooner replied than +she hastened to examine from the balcony a sumptuous state-carriage +presented to her by the King, and then retired to her own apartments, +attended by her personal suite. Of the royal vehicle in question Cayet +gives a minute description, which we transcribe as affording an accurate +idea of the taste displayed in that age in the decoration of coaches: +"It was," he says, "covered with brown velvet and +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page091"></a>[pg 091]</span> +trimmed with silver +tinsel on the outside; and within it was lined with carnation-coloured +velvet, embroidered with gold and silver. The curtains were of carnation +damask, and it was drawn by four gray horses." <a name="110r"></a><a href="#_110_">[110]</a> These royal +conveyances were, however, far less convenient than showy, being +cumbrous and ungraceful in form, rudely suspended upon leathern straps, +and devoid of windows, the use of glass not becoming known until the +succeeding reign.</p> + +<p>On the morrow during her toilette the Queen received the principal +ladies of the city, who had the honour of accompanying her to the +temporary chapel which adjoined the principal saloon, where a high mass +was performed with all the magnificent accessories of which it was +susceptible; the numerous prelates and high dignitaries of the Church +then assembled at Marseilles assisting at its celebration. The +subsequent days were spent in courtly festivities and a survey of the +noble city, where the ponderous and gilded coach of the royal bride was +followed by the wondering acclamations of the dazzled and delighted +populace, probably little less dazzled and delighted than herself; for +Marie de Medicis, young and ambitious, could not but be forcibly struck +by the contrast of her present splendour with the comparative obscurity +of the Court to which she had been previously habituated.</p> + +<p>On the 16th of the month, however, she experienced her first trial, in a +separation from the Grand Duchess her aunt, and the Duchess of Mantua +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page092"></a>[pg 092]</span> +her sister, who then took their leave, and returned to Florence in the +galleys which were still awaiting them; and they had no sooner left the +port than the Queen, followed by the brilliant train by which she had +been surrounded since her arrival in France, proceeded to Aix, where she +remained two days; and on the morning of the third she made her entry +into Avignon escorted by two thousand horsemen, who met her before she +reached the city, and officiated as a guard of honour. Every street +through which she passed was richly decorated; tapestry and velvet +hangings were suspended from the windows, and draped the balconies; +triumphal arches and platforms, splendidly decorated and covered with +devices and emblems appropriate to the occasion, were to be seen on all +sides; and finally, in the great square of the city, her progress was +arrested by a stately procession of ecclesiastics, in whose name she was +harangued by François Suarés;<a name="111r"></a><a href="#_111_">[111]</a> who having in the course of his +address expressed his ardent hope that before the anniversary of her +entry into Avignon she might give a Dauphin to France, she momentarily +interrupted by exclaiming energetically: "I will pray to God to grant me +that grace!" <a name="112r"></a><a href="#_112_">[112]</a></p> + +<p>The royal train then again moved forward, and +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page093"></a>[pg 093]</span> +Marie took possession of +the stately abode which had been prepared for her, amid the firing of +musketry, the pealing of bells, and the shouts of the excited people, in +whom the affability and beauty of their new Queen had aroused the most +ardent feelings of loyalty and hope.</p> + +<p>On the following day the corporation of the city presented to their +young sovereign a hundred and fifty medals of gold, some of which bore +on their obverse her own profile, and others that of the King, their +reverse being in every case a representation of the town by which the +offering was made; and on the ensuing evening she attended a banquet +given in her honour by the Papal vice-legate at the palace of Rouvre, +where at the conclusion of the ball, as she was about to retire with her +suite, the tapestry hangings of the saloon were suddenly withdrawn, and +revealed a magnificent collation served upon three separate tables. +Among other costly delicacies, the guests were startled by the variety +and profusion of the ornamental sugar-work which glistened like +jewellery in the blaze of the surrounding tapers; for not only were +there representations of birds, beasts, and fishes, but also fifty +statues, each two palms in height, presenting in the same frail material +the effigies of pagan deities and celebrated emperors. So marvellous +indeed had been the outlay of the prelate on this one luxury, that at +the close of the repast three hundred baskets of the most delicate +confectionery, consisting chiefly of fruits skilfully imitated in +sugar, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page094"></a>[pg 094]</span> +were distributed among the fair and astonished guests.<a name="113r"></a><a href="#_113_">[113]</a></p> + +<p>During her sojourn at Avignon Marie received from the hands of M. de +Rambure, whom the King had despatched from Savoy for that purpose, not +only his renewed assurances of welcome, but also the costly gifts which +he had prepared for her. "After the departure of the princes and +cardinals," says the quaint old chronicler, "his Majesty desired my +attendance in his chamber, and I had no sooner entered than he +exclaimed: 'Friend Rambure, you must go and meet our future Queen, whom +you must overtake two days before her arrival at Lyons; welcome her in +my name, and present to her this letter and these two caskets of gems, +together with these chests containing all the materials necessary for +her first state-toilette; and having done this, bring me back her answer +without delay. You will find a relay of horses awaiting you at every +second league, both going and coming, in order that you may use all +speed, and give me time to reach Lyons so soon as I shall know that she +is to be there,'" This order could not, however, be implicitly obeyed, +as the courtier was only enabled on his return to the King's presence to +inform him that the Princess would enter Lyons that very day; upon which +Henry instantly ordered post-horses, and accompanied by Sully, Rambure, +and ten more of his favourite nobles, he commenced his journey, making, +as he rode along, a thousand inquiries +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page095"></a>[pg 095]</span> +relative to his young wife, her +deportment, and her retinue; asking with the utmost earnestness how she +had received the presents which he had sent, and finally demanding of M. +de Rambure if he were satisfied with the diamond ring that she had +presented to him, a question which his messenger was careful to answer +in the affirmative, at the same time assuring his Majesty that although +he valued the jewel itself at a hundred pistoles, he prized it still +more as the gift of so illustrious a Princess and Queen.<a name="114r"></a><a href="#_114_">[114]</a></p> + +<p>On the 3d of December the Queen reached La Guillotière, one of the +faubourgs of Lyons, where she passed the night; and on the following +morning she proceeded to Lamothe, where she assisted at the mass, and +subsequently dined. At the close of the repast, all the several civic +corporations paid their respects to their new sovereign, the Chancellor +replying to their harangue in the name of the Queen; who, immediately +that they had retired, ascended her carriage, and entered the city gates +in the same state, and amid the same acclamations which had accompanied +her entry into Avignon. The suave majesty of her demeanour, the +magnificence of her apparel, and the flush of health and happiness which +glowed upon her countenance, filled the people with enthusiasm.</p> + +<p>As her ponderous coach with its heavy curtains drawn back crushed +beneath its ungainly wheels the flowers and branches that had been +strewn upon +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page096"></a>[pg 096]</span> +her path, she showed herself in all her imperial beauty, +dividing her smiles between the richly-attired groups who thronged the +windows and balconies and the tumultuous multitude who ran shouting and +gesticulating at her side; and the popular enthusiasm was as great as +though in her person each individual beheld an earnest of the future +prosperity and happiness of the nation over which she had been called to +reign. Triumphal arches, floating draperies, and emblematic devices were +scattered over the city; and thus welcomed and escorted, she reached the +cathedral, where an address was delivered by M. de Bellièvre,<a name="115r"></a><a href="#_115_">[115]</a> and a +"Te Deum" was solemnly performed.</p> + +<p>In the course of the afternoon the young Queen received M. de +Roquelaure,<a name="116r"></a><a href="#_116_">[116]</a> who had been despatched by the monarch to announce that +he was already on his way to Lyons;<a name="117r"></a><a href="#_117_">[117]</a> and her interview +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page097"></a>[pg 097]</span> +with this +new messenger had no sooner terminated than she was invited to pass into +the great saloon, where several costly vases of gold and silver were +presented to her in the name of the citizens; after which she was +permitted to take the repose which she so greatly needed while awaiting +the arrival of the King.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile Henry, who was not expected until the 10th of the month, +reached Lyons on the previous evening just as the Queen had taken her +seat at the supper-table; and being anxious to form his own judgment of +her person and deportment before he declared his identity, he entered +the apartment in an undress military uniform, trusting in this disguise +to pass unnoticed among the throng of attendants. The Chancellor had, +however, hurriedly seized an opportunity of intimating to Marie the +arrival of her royal consort; while the King had no sooner crossed the +threshold than he was recognized by several of the nobles; who, by +hastily stepping aside to enable him to pass, created a movement which +the quick eye of the Princess instantly detected, and of whose cause she +did not remain one instant in doubt. Nevertheless, she betrayed no sign +of her consciousness of the monarch's presence; while he, on his side, +aware that all further incognito had become impossible, hastily retired.</p> + +<p>When he had withdrawn, the Queen instantly ceased eating; and, as each +succeeding dish was presented to her, silently motioned its removal. +Thus the remainder of the repast was rapidly +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page098"></a>[pg 098]</span> +terminated; and at its +close, she rose and retired to her private apartments, which she had +scarcely reached when a loud stroke upon the door of the ante-room, so +authoritatively given that she was at once made aware of the approach of +her royal consort, caused her to rise from the arm-chair in which she +was seated, and to advance to the centre of the floor. She had scarcely +done so when the tapestry hanging was drawn aside, and M. le Grand<a name="118r"></a><a href="#_118_">[118]</a> +entered, followed by the impatient monarch. In an instant she was at his +feet, but in the next she found herself warmly and affectionately +welcomed; nor was it until he had spent half an hour in conversation +with her, that the King, weary and travel-worn as he was, withdrew to +partake of the refreshment which had been prepared for him. On the +following afternoon their Majesties, occupying the same carriage, +attended vespers with great pomp at the Abbey of Aisnay; after which +they passed the ensuing days in a succession of the most splendid +festivities, at which the whole of the Court were present (the cost of +those of the 13th being entirely at the expense of the monarch, in +celebration of his birthday), until the arrival of the Cardinal +Aldobrandini, whom the King had invited from Chambéry to be present at +the public celebration of his nuptials, and who entered the city in +state, when preparations were immediately made for the august rite upon +which he was to confer his benediction.</p> + +<p>At the close of a state dinner on the morrow +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page099"></a>[pg 099]</span> +(17th of December), the +royal couple proceeded, accompanied by all the princes and great nobles +of the Court, to the church of St. John; where the Papal legate, +surrounded by the Cardinals de Joyeuse,<a name="119r"></a><a href="#_119_">[119]</a> de Gondy,<a name="120r"></a><a href="#_120_">[120]</a> and de +Sourdis,<a name="121r"></a><a href="#_121_">[121]</a> together with the prelates then residing in the city, were +already awaiting them. The royal bride retained her Tuscan costume, +which was overlaid with the splendid jewels that formed so considerable +a portion of her dowry; the most conspicuous among them being an +ornament serving as a stomacher, which immediately obtained the name of +"the Queen's Brilliant." This costly decoration consisted of an +octagonal framework of large diamonds, divided into sections +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page100"></a>[pg 100]</span> +by lesser +stones, each enclosing a portrait in enamel of one of the princes of her +house, beneath which hung three immense pear-shaped pearls. The King was +attired in a vest and haut-de-chausses of white satin, elaborately +embroidered with silk and gold, and a black cape;<a name="122r"></a><a href="#_122_">[122]</a> and wore upon his +head the velvet <i>toque</i> that had been introduced at the French Court by +Henri III, to which a string of costly pearls was attached by a star of +diamonds. Nor were the ladies and nobles of the royal retinue very +inferior in the splendour of their appearance even to the monarch and +his bride; feathers waved and jewels flashed on every side; silks and +velvets swept the marble floor; and the brilliant uniforms of the royal +guard were seen in startling contrast with the uncovered shoulders of +the Court dames, which were laden with gems; while, to complete the +gorgeousness of the picture, the high altar blazed with light, and +wrought gold, and precious stones; and the magnificent robes of the +prelates and priests who surrounded the shrine, formed a centre worthy +of the rich framework by which it was enclosed.</p> + +<p>At the termination of the ceremony, gold and silver coins were thrown to +the crowd, and the procession returned to the palace in the same order +as it had reached the church.</p> + +<p>Great, however, as was the satisfaction which Henri IV had publicly +expressed at his marriage, and lavish as were the encomiums that he had +passed upon the grace and beauty of his wife, it is, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page101"></a>[pg 101]</span> +nevertheless, +certain that he by no means permitted this legitimate admiration to +interfere with his passion for Madame de Verneuil, to whom he constantly +despatched couriers, charged with both letters and presents; and whom he +even permitted to speak of the Queen in her replies in a disrespectful +manner. But the crowning proof of the inequality of the struggle which +was about to ensue between the wife and the mistress, was the departure +of the King from Lyons on the 18th of December, the second day after his +marriage;<a name="123r"></a><a href="#_123_">[123]</a> when, announcing his intention of travelling post to +Paris, he left the Queen and her suite to follow at their leisure. That +the haughty spirit of Marie de Medicis was stung by this abrupt +abandonment, and that her woman-pride revolted, will admit of no doubt; +nor is it wonderful that her indignation and jealousy should have been +aroused when she discovered that, instead of pursuing his way to the +capital, where the public arrangements necessitated by the peace with +Savoy, which he had just concluded, required his presence, the King had +embarked at Roanne, and then proceeded from Briare, where he landed, to +Fontainebleau, whence on the morrow, after dining at Villeneuve, he had +travelled at once to Verneuil, and remained there three days before he +entered Paris. Nor even after his arrival in the capital was his conduct +such as to reassure her delicacy; for Bassompierre has left it upon +record that the newly-wedded sovereign took up his abode with M. de +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page102"></a>[pg 102]</span> +Montglat, at the priory of St. Nicolas-du-Louvre, where he constantly +entertained ladies at supper, as well as several of his confidential +courtiers.<a name="124r"></a><a href="#_124_">[124]</a></p> + +<p>So singular and insulting a commencement of her married life was +assuredly well calculated to alarm the dignity of the Tuscan Princess; +and even brief as had been her residence in France, she had already +several individuals about her person who did not suffer her to remain in +ignorance of the movements of her royal consort; while, unhappily for +her own peace, her Italian followers--revolted by an indifference on the +part of the monarch which they considered as an insult to their +mistress--instead of endeavouring to allay the irritation which she did +not attempt to conceal, exasperated her feelings by the vehemence of +their indignation. It was indeed but too manifest that the favourite +retained all her influence; and the arrangements which had been formally +made for the progress of the Queen to the capital involved so much +delay, that it was not possible for her to remain blind to the fact that +they had been organised with the view of enabling the monarch to enjoy +uninterruptedly for a time the society of his mistress. In consequence +of these perpetual stoppages on the road, the harangues to which she was +constrained to listen, and the dreary ceremonies to which she was +condemned, it was not until the 1st of February 1601 that Marie de +Medicis reached Nemours, where she was met by the King, who conducted +her to Fontainebleau, at which palace +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page103"></a>[pg 103]</span> +the royal couple made a sojourn +of five or six days; and, finally, on the 9th of the month, the young +Queen entered Paris, where the civic authorities were anxious to afford +to her a magnificent state reception; a purpose which was, however, +negatived by the monarch, who alleged as his reason the enormous outlay +that they had previously made upon similar occasions, and who commanded +that the ceremony should be deferred.<a name="125r"></a><a href="#_125_">[125]</a> Whatever may have been the +real motive of Henry for exhibiting this new slight towards his royal +bride, it is certain that the partisans of Marie did not fail to +attribute it to the malevolence of Madame de Verneuil; and thus another +subject of animosity was added to the list.</p> + +<p>Under these circumstances, the Queen entered the metropolitan city of +her new kingdom without any of that pomp which had characterised her +progress through the provinces; and alighted at the residence of M. de +Gondy,<a name="126r"></a><a href="#_126_">[126]</a> where the Princesses and the principal ladies of the Court +and city hastened to pay their respects to her Majesty on her arrival.</p> + +<p>It was rumoured that one motive for the visit of +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page104"></a>[pg 104]</span> +the King to Verneuil +had been his anxiety to induce the insolent favourite (whom he resolved +to present to the Queen in order that she might be authorized to +maintain her place at Court) to treat her new sovereign with becoming +respect; and with a view to render her presentation as dignified as +possible, he commanded the Duchesse de Nemours<a name="127r"></a><a href="#_127_">[127]</a> to officiate as her +sponsor. The pride of Anne de Savoie revolted, however, against the +function which was assigned to her, and she ventured respectfully to +intimate her reluctance to undertake so onerous an office, alleging as +her reason, that such a measure on her part must inevitably deprive her +of the confidence of her royal mistress. Nevertheless the King insisted +on her obedience;<a name="128r"></a><a href="#_128_">[128]</a> and, accordingly, the mortified Duchess was +compelled to lead the mistress of the monarch into the circle, and to +name her to the agitated and outraged Queen. Marie de Medicis in this +trying emergency was sustained by her Italian blood; and although her +lip quivered, she vouchsafed no other token of displeasure; but after +coldly returning the curtsey of the favourite, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page105"></a>[pg 105]</span> +who was blazing with +jewels and radiant with triumph, she turned abruptly aside to converse +with one of the Court ladies, leaving the Marquise still standing before +her, as though she had suddenly become unconscious of her existence. Nor +did the Duchesse de Nemours receive a more gracious welcome when, having +ventured to interpose in the conversation, she sought the eye of the +Queen; for that eye was instantly averted, and she became aware that she +had in truth incurred the displeasure which she had so justly +apprehended.</p> + +<p>But although the high-born and exemplary Duchess shrank from the anger +of her young sovereign, the <i>parvenue</i> Marquise was far from feeling +equally abashed. With a steady step, and a proud carriage she advanced a +pace nearer to Marie, and in her turn took up the thread of the +discourse; nor did the haughtiness of the Queen's deportment disturb her +serenity for a moment. The great fascination of Madame de Verneuil +existed, as we have already remarked, in her extraordinary wit, and the +vivacity of her conversation; while so ably did she on this occasion +profit by her advantage, that the disgust of Marie was gradually changed +into wonder; and when, at the close of one of her most brilliant +sallies, the insolent favourite even carried her audacity so far as to +address her royal mistress personally, the Queen was startled into a +reply.<a name="129r"></a><a href="#_129_">[129]</a> She soon, however, recovered her self-possession; and +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page106"></a>[pg 106]</span> +pleading fatigue, broke up the circle by retiring to her own apartments.</p> + +<p>The mortification of Madame de Nemours, whose highest ambition had been +to secure the affection of her new sovereign, and whose pride had been +sorely wounded by the undignified office that she had been compelled to +fulfil, had not, however, yet reached its culminating point; for as on +the approach of the King, who was in his turn preparing to withdraw, she +awaited some acknowledgment of the submission with which she had obeyed +his commands, she was startled to see a frown gather upon his brow as +their eyes met; and still more so to hear herself rebuked for the +ungracious manner in which she had performed her task; an exhibition of +ill-will to which, as he averred, Madame de Verneuil was solely indebted +for the coldness of her reception.</p> + +<p>The Duchess curtseyed in silence; and Henry, without any other +salutation, slowly pursued his way to the ante-room, followed by the +officers of his household.</p> + +<p>On the 12th of the month the Queen changed her residence, and took up +her abode in the house of Zamet,<a name="130r"></a><a href="#_130_">[130]</a> where she was to remain until the +Louvre was prepared for her reception, a precaution which Henry had +utterly neglected; and on the 15th she at length found herself +established in the palace which had been opened to her with so much +apparent +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page107"></a>[pg 107]</span> +reluctance. On the morrow Marie appeared in the costume of the +French Court,<a name="131r"></a><a href="#_131_">[131]</a> with certain modifications which at once became +popular. Like those by whom she was now surrounded, she wore her bosom +considerably exposed, but her back and shoulders were veiled by a deep +ruff which immediately obtained the name of the "Medicis," and which +bore a considerable resemblance to a similar decoration much in vogue +during the sixteenth century. The "Medicis" was composed of rich lace, +stiffened and supported by wire, and rose behind the neck to the +enormous height of twelve inches.<a name="132r"></a><a href="#_132_">[132]</a> The dress to which this ruff was +attached was of the most gorgeous description, the materials employed +being either cloth of gold or silver, or velvet trimmed with ermine; +while chains of jewels confined it across the breast, descending from +thence to the waist, where they formed a chatelaine reaching to the +feet. Nor did the young Queen even hesitate to sacrifice to the +prejudices of her new country the magnificent hair which had excited so +much astonishment on her arrival; but, in conformity with the taste of +the French Court, instead of suffering it, as she had previously done, +to flow loosely over her shoulders, or to display its luxuriant braids +like a succession of glossy diadems around her head, she caused it to be +closely cut, and arranged in stiff rows of thickly-powdered curls.</p> + +<p>Hitherto, since the accession of Henri IV, the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page108"></a>[pg 108]</span> +French Court had been +one of the least splendid in Europe; if, indeed, it could in reality +have been said to exist at all--a circumstance to which many causes had +conduced. During his separation from Marguerite, and before his second +marriage, Henry had cared little for the mere display of royalty. His +previous poverty had accustomed him to many privations as a sovereign, +which he had sought to compensate by self-indulgence as a man; and thus +he made a home in the houses of the most wealthy of his courtiers, such +as Zamet, Gondy, and other dissipated and convenient sycophants, with +whom he could fling off the trammels of rank, and indulge in the +ruinously high play or other still more objectionable amusements to +which he was addicted. On the arrival of the Tuscan Princess, however, +all was changed; and, as though he sought to compensate to her by +splendour and display for the mortifications which awaited her private +life, the King began forthwith to revive the traditional magnificence of +the Court.</p> + +<p>Two days after their arrival at the Louvre, Henry conducted his Queen to +the royal palaces of Fontainebleau and St. Germain; and on the 18th of +the month, their Majesties, attended by the whole of their respective +households, and accompanied by all the princes and great nobles then +resident in the capital, partook of a superb banquet at the Arsenal, +given by Sully in honour of his appointment as Grand-Master of the +Artillery. At this festival the minister, casting aside the gravity of +his functions +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page109"></a>[pg 109]</span> +and the dignity of his rank, and even forgetful, as it +would appear, of the respect which he owed to his new sovereign, not +satisfied with pressing upon his guests the costly viands that had been +prepared for them, no sooner perceived that the Italian ladies of her +Majesty's suite were greatly attracted by the wine of Arbois, of which +they were partaking freely, quite unconscious of its potency, than he +caused the decanters containing the water that they mingled with it to +be refilled with another wine of equal strength, but so limpid as to be +utterly undistinguishable to the eye from the purer liquid for which it +had been substituted. The consequences of this cruel pleasantry may be +inferred; the heat, the movement, and the noise by which they were +surrounded, together with the increased thirst caused by the insidious +draughts that they were unconsciously imbibing, only induced the +unfortunate Florentines to recur the more perseveringly to their +refreshing libations; and at length the results became so apparent as to +attract the notice of the King, who, already prepossessed like Sully +himself against the Queen's foreign retinue, laughed heartily at a piece +of treachery which he appeared to consider as the most amusing feature +of the entertainment.<a name="133r"></a><a href="#_133_">[133]</a></p> + +<p>During the succeeding days several ballets were danced by the young +nobles of the Court; and a tournament, open to all comers, and at which +the Queen presented the prizes to the victors, was held at the +Pont-au-Change.</p> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page110"></a>[pg 110]</span> +<p>At the close of Lent, the Duchesse de Bar, the King's sister, and her +father-in-law, the Duc de Lorraine, arrived in France to welcome the new +sovereign; who, together with her consort, met them at Monceaux, which +estate, lately the property of <i>la belle Gabrielle</i>> Henry had, after +her arrival in the capital, presented to his wife. Here the Court +festivals were renewed; and had the heart and mind of Marie been at +ease, her life must have seemed rather like a brilliant dream than a +sober reality. Such, however, was far from being the case; for already +the seeds of domestic discord which had been sown before her marriage +were beginning to germinate. Madame de Verneuil was absent from the +Court, and it was evident to every individual of whom it was composed, +that the King rather tolerated than shared in the gaieties by which he +was surrounded.</p> + +<p>Bassompierre relates that during this sojourn at Monceaux, while Henry +was standing apart with himself, M. de Sully, and the Chancellor, he +suddenly informed them that the favourite had confided to him a proposal +of marriage which she had received from a prince, on condition that she +should be enabled to bring with her a dowry of a hundred thousand +crowns; and inquired if they would advise him to sacrifice so large a +sum for such a purpose. "Sire," replied M. de Bellièvre, "I am of +opinion that you would do well to give the young lady the hundred +thousand crowns in order that she may secure the match." And when Sully, +with his usual prudence, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page111"></a>[pg 111]</span> +remarked that it was more easy to talk of such +an amount than to procure it, the Chancellor continued, heedless of the +interruption: "Nay more, Sire; I am equally of opinion that you had +better give two or even three hundred thousand, if less will not +suffice. Such is my advice." <a name="134r"></a><a href="#_134_">[134]</a></p> + +<p>It is needless to say that it was not followed.</p> + +<p>The only amusement in which Henri IV indulged freely and earnestly was +play; and he was so reckless a gamester, that at no period has the Court +of France been so thoroughly demoralized by that frightful vice as +throughout his reign. Not only did his own example corrupt those +immediately about him, but the rage for gaming gradually pervaded all +classes. The nobility staked their estates where money failed; the +citizens trafficked in cards and dice when they should have been +employed in commerce or in science; the very valets gambled in the +halls, and the pages in the ante-chambers. Play became the one great +business of life throughout the capital; and enormous sums, which +changed the entire destiny of families, were won and lost. One or two +traits will suffice to prove this, and we will then dismiss the subject. +In the year 1607, M. de Bassompierre relates in his Memoirs, that being +unable from want of funds to purchase a new and befitting costume in +which to appear at the christening of the Dauphin, he nevertheless gave +an order to his tailor to prepare him a dress upon which the outlay was +to be fourteen thousand crowns; his +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page112"></a>[pg 112]</span> +actual resources amounting at that +moment only to seven hundred; and that he had no sooner done so, than he +proceeded with this trifling sum to the hotel of the Duc d'Epernon, +where he won five thousand; while before the completion of the costume, +he had not only gained a sufficient amount to discharge the debt thus +wantonly incurred, but, as he adds, with a self-gratulation worthy of a +better cause, "also a diamond-hilted sword of the value of five thousand +crowns, and five or six thousand more with which to amuse myself." <a name="135r"></a><a href="#_135_">[135]</a></p> + +<p>In 1609, only one Year later, L'Etoile has left on record a still more +astounding and degrading fact. "In this month" (March), he says, +"several academies of play have been established, where citizens of all +ages risk considerable sums, a circumstance which proves not only an +abundance of means, but also the corruption of morals. The son of a +merchant has been seen at one sitting to lose sixty thousand crowns, +although he had only inherited twenty thousand from his father; and a +man named Jonas has hired a house in the Faubourg St. Germain, in order +to hold one of these academies for a fortnight during the fair, and for +this house he has given fourteen hundred francs." <a name="136r"></a><a href="#_136_">[136]</a></p> + +<p>D'Aubigny and several other chroniclers bear similar testimony; and +while Bassompierre boasts of having won five hundred thousand pistoles +in one year (each pistole being little inferior in value to our +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page113"></a>[pg 113]</span> +own +sovereign), he nevertheless gives us plainly to understand that the King +was a more reckless gamester than himself, a fact corroborated moreover +by Sully, who tells us in his Memoirs, "The sums, at least the principal +ones, that I employed on the personal expenses of Henry, were twenty-two +thousand pistoles, for which he sent to me on the 18th of January 1609, +and which he had lost at play; a hundred thousand livres to one party, +and fifty-one thousand to another, likewise play debts, due to Edward +Fernandès, a Portuguese.... A thousand pistoles for future play; Henry +at first took only five hundred, but he subsequently sent Beringhen for +the remainder for a different purpose. I carried him a thousand more for +play when I went with the Chancellor to Fontainebleau." <a name="137r"></a><a href="#_137_">[137]</a></p> + +<p>Only a short time subsequent to the establishment of the Court at the +Louvre, what neither the desire and authority of the King himself nor +the arts of his mistress had been able to accomplish, was achieved +through the agency of the Queen's favourite attendant, Leonora +Galigaï,<a name="138r"></a><a href="#_138_">[138]</a> who had accompanied her royal mistress and foster-sister +from Italy at the period of her marriage. On the formation of the +Queen's household, Henry had, among other appointments, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page114"></a>[pg 114]</span> +honoured Madame +de Richelieu<a name="139r"></a><a href="#_139_">[139]</a> with the post of Mistress of the Robes; but Marie de +Medicis having decided on bestowing this charge upon Leonora, refused to +permit the Countess to perform the duties of her office, and requested +the King to transfer it to her Italian <i>protégée</i>. This, however, was a +concession to which Henry would not consent; and while the Queen +persisted in not permitting the services of Madame de Richelieu, her +royal bridegroom as pertinaciously negatived the appointment of +<i>parvenue</i> lady of honour. The high-born countess bore the affront thus +offered to her with the complacent dignity befitting her proud station; +but such was far from being the case with the ambitious and mortified +Leonora, who had not been a week at the French Court ere she became +aware that all the Italian followers of the Queen were peculiarly +obnoxious both to the King and his minister; and who felt that should +she fail to push her fortunes upon the instant, she might one day be +compelled to leave France as poor and as powerless as she had entered +it. Not contented, therefore, with urging her royal mistress to +persevere in her resolution of rejecting the attendance of Madame de +Richelieu, she began to speculate upon the most feasible measures to be +adopted in order to secure her own succession to the coveted dignity; +and after considerable reflection, she became convinced that +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page115"></a>[pg 115]</span> +this could +only be accomplished through the assistance of the Marquise de Verneuil. +Once assured of the fact, Leonora did not hesitate; but, instead of +avoiding, as she had hitherto done, the advances of the favourite--who, +aware of her unlimited power over the mind of the Queen, had on several +occasions treated her with a courtesy by no means warranted by her +position at the Court--she began to court the favour of the Marquise in +as marked a manner as she had previously slighted it; and ere long the +intrigue of the two favourites was brought to a successful issue. Each +stood in need of the other, and a compact was accordingly entered into +between them. Madame de Verneuil, whose pride was piqued by her +exclusion from the royal circle, was desirous to gain at any price the +countenance of Marie, and to be admitted to her private assemblies, +where alone she could carry out her more extended plan of ambition; +while the wily Italian, rendered only the more pertinacious by +difficulty, and anxious moreover to secure a post which would at all +times enable her to remain about the person of the Queen, thought no +price too great, even the dishonour of her royal foster-sister, to +obtain her object, and thus a mutual promise was made; the Marquise +pledging herself that, in the event of the Queen recognizing her right +to attend her receptions, and treating her with the courtesy and +consideration due to the rank conferred upon her by the King, she would +effect the appointment courted by Leonora; while the Signora Galigaï, +with equal confidence, promised in +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page116"></a>[pg 116]</span> +her turn that she would without +delay cause Madame de Verneuil to receive a summons to the +Queen's presence.</p> + +<p>Nor did either of these ladies over-estimate the amount of her +influence; for the monarch no sooner learnt that the reception of his +mistress by the haughty and indignant Princess could be purchased by a +mere slight to Madame la Grande Prévoste, than he consented to sanction +the appointment of the Italian <i>suivante</i> of Marie to the post of +honour; while Leonora soon succeeded by her tears and entreaties in +wringing from her royal mistress a reluctant acquiescence to +her request.</p> + +<p>Thus then, as before stated, a hollow peace was patched up between the +unequal rivals; and Madame de Verneuil at length found herself in +possession of a folding-seat in the Queen's reception room; while her +coadjutress triumphantly took her place among the noblest ladies of the +land; but scarcely had this result been accomplished, when Henry, +profiting by so unhoped-for an opportunity of gratifying the vanity of +the favourite, assigned to her a suite of apartments in the Louvre +immediately above those of the Queen, and little, if at all, inferior to +them in magnificence.</p> + +<p>This, however, was an affront which Marie de Medicis could not brook; +and she accordingly, with her usual independence of spirit, expressed +herself in no measured terms upon the subject, particularly to such of +her ladies as were likely to repeat her comments to the Marquise. The +latter retorted by +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page117"></a>[pg 117]</span> +assuming all the airs of royalty, and by assembling +about her a little court, for which that of the Queen herself was +frequently forsaken, especially by the monarch, who found the brilliant +circle of the favourite, wherein he always met a warm and enthusiastic +welcome, infinitely more to his taste than the formal etiquette and +reproachful frowns by which his presence in that of his royal consort +was usually signalized.</p> + +<p>Nor could the annoyance of the proud Florentine Princess be subject of +astonishment to any rightly-constituted mind. The position was a +monstrous and an unnatural one. Both the wife and the mistress were +about to become mothers; and the whole Court was degraded by so +unblushing an exhibition of the profligacy of the monarch. Still, +however, the French ladies of the household forebore to censure their +sovereign; and even sought to persuade the outraged Queen that when once +she had given a Dauphin to France the favourite would be compelled to +leave the palace; but Marie's Italian followers were far less +scrupulous, and expressed their indignation in no measured terms. The +Queen, wounded in her most sacred feelings, became gradually colder to +the Marquise, who, as though she had only awaited this relapse to sting +her still more deeply than she had yet done, retorted the slights which +she constantly received by declaring that "the Florentine," as she +insolently designated her royal mistress, was not the legal or lawful +wife of the King, whose written promise, still in her possession, he +was, as she asserted, bound to fulfil should she bear him a +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page118"></a>[pg 118]</span> +son. This +surpassing assurance no sooner reached the ears of Marie de Medicis than +she once more forbade Madame de Verneuil her presence; but the Marquise, +strong in her impunity, merely replied by an epigram, and consoled +herself for her exclusion from the Queen's private circle by assuming +more state and magnificence than before, and by collecting in her +saloons the prettiest women and the most reckless gamblers that the +capital could produce. Thus attracted, the infatuated monarch became her +constant guest; and his neglected wife, in weak health, and with an +agonised heart, saw herself abandoned for a wanton who had set a price +upon her virtue, and who made a glory of her shame.</p> + +<p>Poor Marie! whatever were her faults as a woman, they were bitterly +expiated both as a wife and as a mother!</p> + +<p>Vain were all the efforts of the King on the one hand and those of +Leonora on the other to terminate this new misunderstanding; the Queen +was coldly resolute, and the Marquise insolently indifferent; nor would +a reconciliation, in all probability, ever again have taken place, had +not the interests of the Mistress of the Robes once more required it, +when her influence over the mind of her royal foster-sister sufficed to +overcome every obstacle.</p> + +<p>Among the numerous Florentines who composed the suite of Marie de +Medicis was Concino Concini,<a name="140r"></a><a href="#_140_">[140]</a> a gentleman of her household, whose +extreme +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page119"></a>[pg 119]</span> +personal beauty had captivated the heart of Leonora; while she +saw, as she believed, in his far-reaching ambition and flexile character +the very elements calculated, in conjunction with her own firmer nature +and higher intellect, to lead her on to the most lofty fortunes. It is +probable, however, that had La Galigaï continued to attend the Queen in +her original and obscure office of waiting-woman, Concini, who was of +better blood than herself, and who could not, moreover, be supposed to +find any attraction in the diminutive figure and sallow countenance of +his countrywoman, would never have been induced to consent to such an +alliance; but Leonora was now on the high road to wealth and honour, +while his own position was scarcely defined; and thus ere long the +consent of the Queen to their marriage was solicited by Concini himself.</p> + +<p>Marie, who foresaw that by this arrangement she should keep both parties +in her service, and who, in the desolation of a disappointed spirit, +clung each day more closely to her foreign attendants, immediately +accorded the required permission; but it was far otherwise with the +King, who had no sooner been informed of the projected union than he +sternly forbade it, to the great indignation of his consort, who was +deeply mortified by this new interference with her personal household, +and saddened by the spectacle of her favourite's unaffected +wretchedness. In vain did the Queen expostulate, and, urged by Leonora +and her suitor, even entreat of Henry to relent; all her efforts to this +effect remained +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page120"></a>[pg 120]</span> +fruitless; and she was at length compelled to declare +to the sorrowing woman that she had no alternative save to submit to the +will of the King.</p> + +<p>Such, however, was far from being the intention of the passionate +Italian. Too unattractive to entertain any hope from her own pleadings +with Henry himself, she once more turned in this new difficulty to +Madame de Verneuil, who, in order to display how little she had been +mortified or annoyed by the coldness of the Queen, and at the same time +to prove to her that where the earnest entreaties of the latter had +failed to produce any effect, her own expressed wish would suffice to +ensure success, immediately bade Leonora dry her eyes and prepare her +wedding-dress, as she would guarantee her prompt reception of the royal +consent upon one condition, and that one so easy of accomplishment that +she could not fail to fulfil it.</p> + +<p>Marie de Medicis had been heard to declare that in the event of her +becoming the mother of a Dauphin, she would, at the earliest possible +period, dance a ballet in honour of the King, which should exceed in +magnificence every exhibition of the kind that had hitherto been +attempted; and the condition so lightly treated by the favourite was no +less than her own appearance in the royal ballet, should it indeed take +place. Even La Galigaï herself was startled by so astounding a +proposition; but she soon discovered, from the resolute attitude assumed +by the Marquise, that her powerful intercession with the King was not +otherwise to be secured; and it was +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page121"></a>[pg 121]</span> +consequently with even less of hope +than apprehension that the agitated Mistress of the Robes kissed the +hand of Madame de Verneuil, and assured her that she would leave no +effort untried to obtain the consent of her royal mistress to her +wishes. But when she had withdrawn, and was traversing the gallery which +communicated with the apartments of Marie, she began to entertain +serious misgivings: the pretension of the Marquise was so monstrous, +that, even conscious as she was of the extent of her own influence over +her foster-sister, she almost dreaded to communicate the result of her +interview, and nearly despaired of success; but with the resolute +perseverance which formed so marked a feature in her character, she +resolved to brave the utmost displeasure of the Queen rather than forego +this last hope of a union with Concini. It was, nevertheless, drowned in +tears, and with a trembling heart, that she presented herself before +Marie as the voluntary bearer of this new and aggravated insult; while, +incomprehensible as it must appear in this age, whatever may have been +the arguments and entreaties of which she was clever enough to avail +herself, it is at least certain that they were ultimately successful; +and that she was authorized by the Queen to communicate to Madame de +Verneuil her Majesty's willingness to accede to her request, provided +that the Marquise pledged herself in return to perform her portion of +the contract.</p> + +<p>That her partiality for her early friend induced Marie de Medicis to +make, in this instance, a most +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page122"></a>[pg 122]</span> +unbecoming concession, is certain; while +it is no less matter of record that, probably to prevent any opportunity +of retractation on the part of Madame de Verneuil, she lavished upon her +from that day the most flattering marks of friendship, and publicly +treated her with a distinction which was envied by many of the greatest +ladies at Court, even although it excited the censure of all.<a name="141r"></a><a href="#_141_">[141]</a></p> + +<p>The comparative tranquillity which succeeded this new adjustment of the +differences between the Queen and the Marquise continued until the month +of September, on the 17th day of which Marie became the mother of a +Dauphin (subsequently Louis XIII), at the palace of Fontainebleau, +where, as had already been the case at the Louvre, the apartments of the +favourite adjoined her own. Nothing could exceed the delight of Henry IV +at the birth of his heir. He stood at the lower end of the Queen's +apartment, surrounded by the Princes of the Blood, to each of whom the +royal infant was successively presented; and this ceremony was no sooner +terminated than, bending over him with passionate fondness, he audibly +invoked a blessing upon his head; and then placing his sword in the tiny +hand as yet unable to grasp it, "May you use it, my son," he exclaimed, +"to the glory of God, and in defence of your crown and people." <a name="142r"></a><a href="#_142_">[142]</a> He +next approached the bed of the Queen: +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page123"></a>[pg 123]</span> +"<i>M'amie</i>" he said tenderly, +"rejoice! God has given us what we asked." <a name="143r"></a><a href="#_143_">[143]</a> Mézeray and Matthieu +both assert that the birth of the Dauphin was preceded by an earthquake, +which, with the usual superstition of the period, was afterwards +declared to have been a forewarning of the ceaseless wars by which +Europe was convulsed during his reign.<a name="144r"></a><a href="#_144_">[144]</a></p> + +<p>Rejoicings were general throughout the whole country, and were augmented +by the fact that more than eighty years had elapsed since the birth of a +successor to the crown who had been eligible to bear the title of +Dauphin,--Francis II having come into the world before his father Henri +II was on the throne, who had himself only attained to that title after +the death of his elder brother Francis, who was born in 1517.<a name="145r"></a><a href="#_145_">[145]</a> "Te +Deums" were chanted in all the churches; salvos of artillery were +discharged at the Arsenal; fireworks, bonfires, and illuminations made a +city of flame of Paris for several successive nights; while joyous +acclamations rent the air, and the gratified citizens congratulated each +other as they perambulated the streets as though each had experienced +some personal benefit. The fact that Anne of Austria, the daughter of +Philip III of Spain, was born only five days previous to the Dauphin, +was another source of delight to the French people, who regarded the +circumstance as an earnest of the future union of the two kingdoms, a +prophecy which was +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page124"></a>[pg 124]</span> +afterwards fulfilled by the marriage of the two +royal children.</p> + +<p>We have already made more than one allusion to the belief in magic, +sorcery, and astrology which at this period had obtained in France, and +by which many, even of the most enlightened of her nobles and citizens, +suffered themselves to be trammelled and deluded; and however much we of +the present day may be inclined to pity or to despise so great a +weakness, we shall do well to remember that human progress during the +last sixty years has been more marked and certain than that which had +taken place in the lapse of the three previous centuries. It is true +that there were a few strong-minded individuals even at the period of +which we treat who refused to submit their reason to the wild and +illogical superstitions which were rife about them; but these formed a +very small portion of the aggregate population, and from the peasant in +his hovel to the monarch on his throne the plague-spot of credulity had +spread and festered, until it presented a formidable feature in the +history of the time. It is curious to remark that L'Etoile, the most +commonplace and unimaginative of chroniclers, who might well have been +expected in his realism to treat such phantasies as puerile and absurd, +seems to justify to his own mind the extreme penalties of the scaffold +and the stake as a fitting punishment for sorcerers and magicians: +declaring them, as he records in his usual terse and matter-of-fact +style, to be dictated by justice, and essential to the repression +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page125"></a>[pg 125]</span> +of an +intercourse between men and evil spirits.</p> + +<p>Gabrielle d'Estrées was the dupe, if, indeed, not the victim, of her +firm faith in astrology. She had been assured that "a child would +prevent her from attaining the rank to which she aspired;" <a name="146r"></a><a href="#_146_">[146]</a> and the +predisposition of an excited nervous system probably assisted the +verification of the prophecy. The old Cardinal de Bourbon,<a name="147r"></a><a href="#_147_">[147]</a> whom the +Leaguers would fain have made their king, was seduced from his fidelity +to the illustrious race from which he sprang by his weak reliance upon +the predictions of soothsayers, who thus degraded him into the tool of +the wily Duc de Guise;<a name="148r"></a><a href="#_148_">[148]</a> while his nephew, Charles II, also a +Cardinal,<a name="149r"></a><a href="#_149_">[149]</a> even more infatuated than himself, had been impelled to +believe that the disease which was rapidly sapping his existence was the +effect of the machinations of a Court lady by whom he had been +bewitched! Traitors found excuse for their treason in the assertion that +they had been deluded by false predictions or ensnared by magic;<a name="150r"></a><a href="#_150_">[150]</a> +princes +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page126"></a>[pg 126]</span> +were governed in their political movements by astral +calculations;<a name="151r"></a><a href="#_151_">[151]</a> a grave minister details with complacency, although +without comment, various anecdotes of the operation of the occult +sciences,<a name="152r"></a><a href="#_152_">[152]</a> and even makes them a study; while a European monarch, +strong in the love of his people and his own bravery, suffers the +predictions of soothsayers and prophets to cloud his mind and to shake +his purposes, even while he declares his contempt for all such +delusions.<a name="153r"></a><a href="#_153_">[153]</a></p> + +<p>That such was actually the case is proved by De Thou, who relates an +extraordinary speech made by the King at the Louvre, in 1599, on the +occasion of the promulgation of the Edict of Nantes, to the deputies of +the Parliament of Paris, in the course of which he declared that, +twenty-six years previously, when he was residing at the Court of +Charles IX, he was about to cast the dice with Henri de Lorraine, Duc de +Guise, his relative, amid a large circle of nobles, when at the instant +in which they were prepared to commence their game drops of blood +appeared upon the table, which were renewed without any apparent agency +as fast as they were wiped away. Each party carefully ascertained that +it could +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page127"></a>[pg 127]</span> +not proceed from any of the individuals present; and the +phenomenon was so frequently repeated that Henry, as he averred, at once +amazed and disturbed, declined to persevere in the pastime, considering +the circumstance as an evil omen.<a name="154r"></a><a href="#_154_">[154]</a> Whatever may be the opinion of +the reader as to the actual cause of this apparent prodigy, it is at +least certain that it was verified by subsequent events, as well as the +extraordinary and multiplied prophecy that the King himself would meet +his death in a coach.</p> + +<p>Under these circumstances, combined with the almost universal credulity +of the age and nation which he governed, it is scarcely matter of +surprise that Henri IV, on so momentous an occasion as the birth of his +son, should have sought, even while he feigned to disregard the result, +to learn the after-destiny of the royal infant; and accordingly, a few +days subsequently, he commanded M. de la Rivière,<a name="155r"></a><a href="#_155_">[155]</a> who publicly +professed the science of judicial astrology, to draw the horoscope of +the Dauphin with all the accuracy of which the operation was +susceptible. The command was answered by an assurance from La Rivière +that the work was already in progress; but as another week passed by +without any +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page128"></a>[pg 128]</span> +communication from the seer, Henry became impatient, and +again summoned him to his presence in order to inquire the cause of +the delay.</p> + +<p>"Sire," replied La Rivière, "I have abandoned the undertaking, as I am +reluctant to sport with a science whose secrets I have partially +forgotten, and which I have, moreover, frequently found defective."</p> + +<p>"I am not to be deceived by so idle a pretext," said the King, who +readily detected that the alleged excuse was a mere subterfuge; "you +have no such scruples, but you have resolved not to reveal to me what +you have ascertained, lest I should discover the fallacy of your +pretended knowledge or be angered by your prediction. Whatever may be +the cause of your hesitation, however, I am resolved that you shall +speak; and I command you, upon pain of my displeasure, to do so +truthfully."</p> + +<p>Still La Rivière excused himself, until perceiving that it would be +dangerous to persevere in his pertinacity, he at length reluctantly +replied: "Sire, your son will live to manhood, and will reign longer +than yourself; but he will resemble you in no one particular. He will +indulge his own opinions and caprices, and sometimes those of others. +During his rule it will be safer to think than to speak. Ruin threatens +your ancient institutions; all your measures will be overthrown. He will +accomplish great deeds; will be fortunate in his undertakings; and will +become the theme of all Christendom. He will have issue; and after his +death more heavy troubles will ensue. This is all that you shall know +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page129"></a>[pg 129]</span> +from me, and even this is more than I had proposed to tell you."</p> + +<p>The King remained for a time silent and thoughtful, after which he said +coldly: "You allude to the Huguenots, I see that well; but you only talk +thus because you have their interests at heart."</p> + +<p>"Explain my meaning as you please," was the abrupt retort; "but you +shall learn nothing more from me." And so saying, the uncompromising +astrologer made a hurried salutation to the monarch and withdrew.<a name="156r"></a><a href="#_156_">[156]</a></p> + +<p>A fortnight after this extraordinary scene another event took place at +the Louvre sufficiently interesting to Henry to wean his thoughts for a +time even from the foreshadowed future of his successor. In an apartment +immediately contiguous to that of the still convalescent Queen, Madame +de Verneuil became in her turn the mother of a son, who was baptized +with great ceremony, and received the names of Gaston Henri;<a name="157r"></a><a href="#_157_">[157]</a> and +this birth, which should have covered the King with shame, and +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page130"></a>[pg 130]</span> +roused +the nation to indignation, when the circumstances already detailed are +considered, was but the pretext for new rejoicings.</p> + +<p>On the 27th of October the Dauphin made his public entry into Paris. The +infant Prince occupied a sumptuous cradle presented to him by the Grand +Duchess of Florence; and beside him, in an open litter, sat Madame de +Montglat, his gouvernante, and the royal nurse. The provost of the +merchants and the metropolitan sheriffs met him at some distance from +the gates, and harangued him at considerable length; and Madame de +Montglat having replied in his name to the oration, the <i>cortège</i> +proceeded to the house of Zamet. Two days subsequently he was conveyed +in the same state to St. Germain-en-Laye, where, in order that the +people might see him with greater facility, the nurse carried him in her +arms. The enthusiasm of the crowd, by which his litter was constantly +surrounded, knew no bounds; and the heart of that exulting mother, which +was fated afterwards to be broken by his unnatural abandonment, beat +high with gratitude to Heaven as her ear drank in the enthusiastic +shouts of the multitude, and as she remembered that it was herself who +had bestowed this well-appreciated blessing upon France.</p> + +<p>FOOTNOTES:</p> + +<p><a name="_76_"></a><a href="#76r">[76]</a> Charles de Neufville, Marquis d'Alincourt, Seigneur de Villeroy, +secretary and minister of state, knight of the King's Orders, Governor +of the city of Lyons, and of the provinces of Lyons, Forez, and +Beaujolais.</p> + +<p><a name="_77_"></a><a href="#77r">[77]</a> Mézeray, vol. x. pp. 124, 125.</p> + +<p><a name="_78_"></a><a href="#78r">[78]</a> Sully, <i>Mém</i>. vol. iii. p. 317.</p> + +<p><a name="_79_"></a><a href="#79r">[79]</a> Mézeray, vol. x. p. 125.</p> + +<p><a name="_80_"></a><a href="#80r">[80]</a> Charles Emmanuel, Duke of Savoy, surnamed the Great, was born in +the château of Rivoles on the 12th of January 1562. He greatly +distinguished himself by his gallantry upon several occasions, but +tarnished his reputation by an ambition which was unscrupulous. He was +remarkable for his literary attainments and for his friendship for men +of letters, and was generally esteemed one of the greatest generals of +the age. He was also so thorough a diplomatist that it was commonly +remarked that it was more difficult to penetrate his designs than the +fastnesses of his duchy. He died at Savillan on the 26th of July 1630.</p> + +<p><a name="_81_"></a><a href="#81r">[81]</a> Charles de Gontault, Duc de Biron, Peer, Admiral, and Marshal of +France, acquired great reputation alike for his valour and his services. +He was honoured with the confidence of Henri IV, who created the barony +of Biron into a duchy-peerage for his benefit, and loaded him with +proofs of his favour; Biron, however, repaid his sovereign with the +basest ingratitude by entering into a treaty with the Duke of Savoy and +the Spaniards, who were both inimical to France. Having refused to +acknowledge his fault, and thereby exhausted the forbearance of the +King, he was put upon his trial, convicted of the crime of +<i>lèse-majesté,</i> and condemned to lose his head. The sentence was carried +into execution in the court of the Bastille on the 31st of July 1602.</p> + +<p><a name="_82_"></a><a href="#82r">[82]</a> Guichenon, <i>Histoire de Savoie</i>.</p> + +<p><a name="_83_"></a><a href="#83r">[83]</a> Daniel, <i>Histoire de France</i>, vol. vii. p. 386.</p> + +<p><a name="_84_"></a><a href="#84r">[84]</a> L'Etoile, <i>Journal de Henri IV</i>, vol. ii. p. 481.</p> + +<p><a name="_85_"></a><a href="#85r">[85]</a> L'Etoile, vol. ii. pp. 436, 437.</p> + +<p><a name="_86_"></a><a href="#86r">[86]</a> Mézeray, vol. x. p. 127.</p> + +<p><a name="_87_"></a><a href="#87r">[87]</a> Sebastian Zamet was a wealthy contractor, of Italian origin, but +who had caused himself to be naturalized in France, in 1581, together +with his two brothers, Horace and John-Anthony Zamet. Although he +ultimately became the father of an adjutant-general of the King's +armies, and of a bishop, it was confidently asserted that during the +preceding reign he had been a shoemaker. Be that as it may, it is no +less certain that he must have possessed considerable talent, as even +during the lifetime of Henri III he was already a rich contractor, and +under Henri IV he was esteemed the richest in the kingdom. On the +occasion of the marriage of one of his daughters, the notary who was +employed to draw up the marriage contract, finding it difficult to +define his real rank, inquired by what title he desired to be +designated; upon which Zamet calmly replied: "You may describe me as the +<i>lord of seventeen hundred thousand crowns</i>." His ready wit first +procured for him the favour off Henri IV, which he subsequently retained +by a system of complaisance of thoroughly Italian morality. His house +was always open to the King, even for the most equivocal purposes; and +so great was the familiarity with which he was treated by the dissolute +monarch, that the latter constantly addressed him by a pet name, and +held many of his orgies beneath his roof.</p> + +<p><a name="_88_"></a><a href="#88r">[88]</a> L'Etoile, vol. ii. pp. 492, 493.</p> + +<p><a name="_89_"></a><a href="#89r">[89]</a> Dreux du Radier, vol. vi. p. 58 <i>n</i>.</p> + +<p><a name="_90_"></a><a href="#90r">[90]</a> L'Etoile, vol. ii. pp. 511, 512.</p> + +<p><a name="_91_"></a><a href="#91r">[91]</a> Sully had recently been appointed grand-master of artillery.</p> + +<p><a name="_92_"></a><a href="#92r">[92]</a> Saint-Edmé, vol. ii. p. 207.</p> + +<p><a name="_93_"></a><a href="#93r">[93]</a> Dreux du Radier, vol. vi. pp. 74-76.</p> + +<p><a name="_94_"></a><a href="#94r">[94]</a> Louis de Comboursier, Seigneur du Terrail, commenced his military +career as a cornet in the troop of the Dauphin. He was brave, but +haughty and reckless, and was obliged to retire into Flanders in +consequence of having killed a man under the eyes of the King, and +within the precincts of the Louvre. After making a pilgrimage to the +shrine of Our Lady of Loretto, he profited by his return through Turin +to pay his respects to the Duke of Savoy, to whom he offered his +services and assistance in his project of taking the city of Genoa by +surprise. The plot was, however, discovered by a valet, who apprised the +authorities of the intended treachery; and Du Terrail together with a +companion whom he had associated in the enterprise were imprisoned in +the castle of Yverdun, and thence conveyed to Genoa, where they were +both decapitated, in the year 1609.</p> + +<p><a name="_95_"></a><a href="#95r">[95]</a> Charles de Créquy was the representative of one of the most ancient +families in France, which traced its descent from Arnoul, called the +<i>Old</i>, or the <i>Bearded</i>, who died in 897. The elder branch of the house +became extinct in the person of Antoine de Créquy, Cardinal and Bishop +of Amiens, born in 1531, and who at his death, which occurred in the +year 1574, left all his personal wealth, together with the family +possessions which he inherited from his brothers, to Antoine de +Blanchefort, the son of his sister, Marie de Créquy, on condition that +he should bear the name and arms of his mother. The son of Antoine was +Charles de Créquy, de Blanchefort, and de Canaples, Prince de Poix, +Governor of Dauphiny, peer and marshal of France, who became Duc de +Lesdiguières by his marriage with Madelaine de Bonne, daughter of the +celebrated Connétable de Lesdiguières, in 1611. His duel with Don +Philippino, the bastard of Savoy, in which he killed his adversary, +acquired for him a great celebrity; but he secured a more legitimate and +desirable reputation by his gallantry in the taking of Pignerol and La +Maurienne, in 1630. Three years subsequently he was sent as ambassador +to Rome; in 1636 he conquered the Spanish forces on the Ticino; and in +1638 he was killed by a cannon ball, at the siege of Bremen, in Hanover.</p> + +<p><a name="_96_"></a><a href="#96r">[96]</a> Péréfixe, <i>Histoire de Henri le Grand</i>, vol. ii. pp. 329-33.</p> + +<p><a name="_97_"></a><a href="#97r">[97]</a> Saint-Edmé, vol. ii. pp. 211, 212.</p> + +<p><a name="_98_"></a><a href="#98r">[98]</a> Montfaucon, vol. v. p. 402.</p> + +<p><a name="_99_"></a><a href="#99r">[99]</a> L'Etoile, vol. ii. pp. 534-537.</p> + +<p><a name="_100_"></a><a href="#100r">[100]</a> <i>Hist. des Reines et Régentes de France</i>, vol. ii. p. 28.</p> + +<p><a name="_101_"></a><a href="#101r">[101]</a> Malherbe, the favourite poet of Marie de Medicis, profited by the +tediousness of her voyage to make it the subject of an allegory, in +which he represents that Neptune</p> + +<blockquote> +"Dix jours ne pouvant se distraire<br> + Au plaisir de la regarder,<br> + Il a, par un effort contraire,<br> + Essayé de la retarder."<br> +</blockquote> + +<p>A specimen of his godship's gallantry, with which the young sovereign +would, in all probability, most willingly have dispensed.</p> + +<p><a name="_102_"></a><a href="#102r">[102]</a> L'Etoile, vol. ii. p. 537.</p> + +<p><a name="_103_"></a><a href="#103r">[103]</a> Valadier, year 1600.</p> + +<p><a name="_104_"></a><a href="#104r">[104]</a> M. de Sillery.</p> + +<p><a name="_105_"></a><a href="#105r">[105]</a> Henri I. de Montmorency, duke, peer, marshal, and Constable of +France, Governor of Languedoc, etc., was the second son of the +celebrated Anne de Montmorency. He rendered himself famous, during the +lifetime of his father, under the name of the Seigneur de Damville, and +made prisoner the Prince de Condé at the battle of Dreux in 1562. Having +subsequently incurred the displeasure of Catherine de Medicis, he +retired to the Court of the Duke of Savoy, and became the leader of the +malcontents in Languedoc during the reign of Henri III. Henri IV +restored him to all his honours, and made him Constable of France, and a +knight of the Order of the Holy Ghost, in 1593. He died at an advanced +age, in the town of Agde, in 1614.</p> + +<p><a name="_106_"></a><a href="#106r">[106]</a> Charles Amédée de Savoie, Duc de Nemours, was the son of Jacques +de Savoie and of Anne d'Este, whose first husband was the Duc de Guise. +This lady made herself very conspicuous during the <i>League</i>. Charles +Amédée married Elisabeth, the sister of César de Vendôme, Duc de +Beaufort, and during the <i>Fronde</i> attached himself to the party of the +princes; but having quarrelled with his brother-in-law, he was killed by +him in a duel, in the year 1652.</p> + +<p><a name="_107_"></a><a href="#107r">[107]</a> Anne de Levis, Duc de Ventadour, was the representative of one of +the most ancient and illustrious families of France, which derived its +name from the estate of Levis, near Chevreuse, where his ancestor, Guy +de Levis, a famous general, founded in the year 1190 the abbey of +La Roche.</p> + +<p><a name="_108_"></a><a href="#108r">[108]</a> Valadier, year 1600.</p> + +<p><a name="_109_"></a><a href="#109r">[109]</a> Guillaume du Vair, ultimately Bishop of Lisieux, and Keeper of the +Seals, was the son of Jean du Vair, knight, and attorney-general of +Catherine de Medicis and Henri de France, Duc d'Anjou. He was born at +Paris on the 8th of March 1556, and was successively councillor of +parliament, master of requests, first president of the Parliament of +Provence, and finally (in 1616) keeper of the seals. He subsequently +embraced the ecclesiastical profession, and was elevated to the see of +Lisieux in 1618. He was a man of consummate talent; and his works, which +were published in folio in Paris, in 1641, are still highly esteemed. +Guillaume du Vair died at Tonnoins, in Agénois, in 1621, at the age of +sixty-six years.</p> + +<p><a name="_110_"></a><a href="#110r">[110]</a> <i>Chronologie Septennaire</i>, p. 184.</p> + +<p><a name="_111_"></a><a href="#111r">[111]</a> François Suarés, a celebrated scholar and theologian, was born at +Granada in 1548, and in 1564 became a Jesuit. He taught theology, with +great success, at Alcala, Salamanca, Rome, and Coimbra; and died at +Lisbon in 1617. His collected works were published in twenty-three folio +volumes, and are principally treatises on theology and morals. His +treatise on the laws was reprinted in England.</p> + +<p><a name="_112_"></a><a href="#112r">[112]</a> L'Etoile, <i>Journal de Henri IV</i>, vol. ii. p. 589.</p> + +<p><a name="_113_"></a><a href="#113r">[113]</a> Cayet, p. 187. L'Etoile, vol. i. pp. 539, 540.</p> + +<p><a name="_114_"></a><a href="#114r">[114]</a> Rambure, <i>MS. Mém</i>. vol. i. pp. 276, 277.</p> + +<p><a name="_115_"></a><a href="#115r">[115]</a> Albert de Bellièvre was the second son of the celebrated +Chancellor Pomponne de Bellièvre and of Marie Prunier, demoiselle de +Grignon. He was a distinguished classic and an elegant scholar. Having +become Archbishop of Lyons, he subsequently transferred that dignity to +his younger brother Claude, and retired to his abbey of Jouy, where he +died in 1621.</p> + +<p><a name="_116_"></a><a href="#116r">[116]</a> Antoine de Roquelaure, Seigneur de Roquelaure in Armagnac, de +Guadoux, etc., marshal of France, grand-master of the King's wardrobe, +knight of the Orders of St. Michael and the Holy Ghost, perpetual mayor +of Bordeaux, etc., was the younger son of Geraud Roquelaure, and the +representative of an illustrious house. He was highly esteemed both by +Jeanne d'Albret, Queen of Navarre, and by Henry IV, who loaded him with +honours and distinctions in requital of his faithful and zealous +services. He subsequently became governor of several provinces, and was +created a marshal of France by Louis XIII, in 1615. He restored to their +allegiance Clérac, Nérac, and several other revolted fortesses; and died +at Lectoure in 1625, at the age of eighty-two years.</p> + +<p><a name="_117_"></a><a href="#117r">[117]</a> Daniel, vol. vii. p. 398.</p> + +<p><a name="_118_"></a><a href="#118r">[118]</a> Duc de Bellegarde.</p> + +<p><a name="_119_"></a><a href="#119r">[119]</a> François de Joyeuse was the second son of Guillaume, Vicomte de +Joyeuse, Marshal of France. He was born in the year 1562, and received a +brilliant education, by which he profited so greatly as to become +celebrated for his scientific attainments. He was successively +Archbishop of Narbonne, of Toulouse, and of Rouen; and enjoyed the +entire confidence of three monarchs, by each of whom he was entrusted +with the most important state affairs. Highly esteemed, alike for his +wisdom, prudence, and capacity, he died full of honours at the age of +fifty-three years, at Avignon, where he had taken up his abode as senior +cardinal. He left, as monuments of his piety, a seminary which he +founded at Rouen, a residence for the Jesuits at Pontoise, and another +for the Fathers of the Oratory at Dieppe.</p> + +<p><a name="_120_"></a><a href="#120r">[120]</a> Pierre de Gondy (or Gondi), Bishop of Langres, and subsequently +Archbishop of Paris, who was called to the Conclave by Pope Sixtus V in +1587. He died at Paris in February 1616, at the advanced age of +eighty-four years. The Cardinal de Gondy was the first Archbishop of +Paris, the metropolis having previously been only an episcopal see.</p> + +<p><a name="_121_"></a><a href="#121r">[121]</a> François d'Escoubleau, better known under the name of Cardinal de +Sourdis, was the son of François d'Escoubleau, Marquis d'Allière, and +was of an ancient and noble house. He distinguished himself so greatly +by his mental and moral qualities as to secure the confidence and regard +of Henri IV, who, in 1598, obtained for him a cardinal's hat; and in the +following year he was created Archbishop of Bordeaux, in which city he +died in 1628.</p> + +<p><a name="_122_"></a><a href="#122r">[122]</a> Cayet, p. 191.</p> + +<p><a name="_123_"></a><a href="#123r">[123]</a> L'Etoile, vol. ii. p. 546.</p> + +<p><a name="_124_"></a><a href="#124r">[124]</a> Bassompierre, <i>Mém</i>. p. 25.</p> + +<p><a name="_125_"></a><a href="#125r">[125]</a> L'Etoile, vol. ii. p. 549.</p> + +<p><a name="_126_"></a><a href="#126r">[126]</a> Jerome (or Albert) de Gondy, peer of France, knight of the King's +Orders, and first gentleman of the bedchamber, occupied the mansion +which was subsequently known as the Hôtel de Condé. He enjoyed the +confidence of Catherine de Medicis and Charles IX so fully, that he had +the honour of espousing, in the name of that monarch, the Princess +Elizabeth of Austria, daughter of the Emperor Maximilian II. At the +coronation of Henri III he represented the person of the Constable; and +at that of Henri IV, he was proxy for the Comte de Toulouse.</p> + +<p><a name="_127_"></a><a href="#127r">[127]</a> Anne d'Este, Duchesse de Nemours, was the mother of the Duc de +Mayenne, and grandmother of the young Duc de Guise who aspired to the +throne. She was first married to François de Lorraine, Duc de Guise, and +subsequently to Jacques de Savoie, Duc de Nemours, whose son, after his +decease, also pretended to the crown.</p> + +<p><a name="_128_"></a><a href="#128r">[128]</a> One historian (Sauval., <i>Gallerie des Rois de France</i>, vol. i.) +asserts that the King himself presented his mistress to his wife; but he +is unsupported in this statement save by Bassompierre, who also says: +"The King presented Madame de Verneuil to her, who was graciously +received" <i>(Mémoires,</i> p. 25). Every other authority, however, +contradicts this assertion, which is indeed too monstrous to +be credible.</p> + +<p><a name="_129_"></a><a href="#129r">[129]</a> L'Etoile, vol. i. p. 550.</p> + +<p><a name="_130_"></a><a href="#130r">[130]</a> This residence, which was situated near the Bastille, and +subsequently known as the Hôtel de Lesdiguières, was the same in which +<i>la belle Gabrielle</i> had breathed her last.</p> + +<p><a name="_131_"></a><a href="#131r">[131]</a> Bassompierre, <i>Mém</i>. p. 25.</p> + +<p><a name="_132_"></a><a href="#132r">[132]</a> Wraxall, <i>History of France</i>, vol. vi. p. 187.</p> + +<p><a name="_133_"></a><a href="#133r">[133]</a> L'Etoile, vol. ii. pp. 550, 551.</p> + +<p><a name="_134_"></a><a href="#134r">[134]</a> Bassompierre, <i>Mém</i>. p. 25.</p> + +<p><a name="_135_"></a><a href="#135r">[135]</a> Bassompierre, <i>Mém</i>. p. 50.</p> + +<p><a name="_136_"></a><a href="#136r">[136]</a> L'Etoile, vol. iii. pp. 505, 506.</p> + +<p><a name="_137_"></a><a href="#137r">[137]</a> Sully, <i>Mém</i>. vol. vii. pp. 180, 181.</p> + +<p><a name="_138_"></a><a href="#138r">[138]</a> Leonora Dori, otherwise Galigaï, was the daughter of the nurse of +Marie de Medicis (who was the wife of a carpenter), and she was +consequently the architect of her own fortunes. By her great talent and +insinuating manners, she had, however, succeeded not only in securing +the affection of her royal patroness, but also in exerting an influence +over her actions never attained by any other individual, despite +unceasing attempts to oust her.</p> + +<p><a name="_139_"></a><a href="#139r">[139]</a> Suzanne de la Porte, wife of François du Plessis, Seigneur de +Richelieu, Knight of the Royal Orders, and Grand Provost of France.</p> + +<p><a name="_140_"></a><a href="#140r">[140]</a> Concino Concini was the son of a notary, who, by his talent, had +risen to be secretary of state at Florence.</p> + +<p><a name="_141_"></a><a href="#141r">[141]</a> Dreux du Radier, <i>Mémoires des Reines et Régentes de France</i>, vol. +vi. p. 81. Conti, <i>Amours du Grand Alcandre</i>, Cologne edition, 1652, +p. 41.</p> + +<p><a name="_142_"></a><a href="#142r">[142]</a> Péréfixe, vol. ii. p. 346. L'Etoile, vol. ii. pp. 573, 574.</p> + +<p><a name="_143_"></a><a href="#143r">[143]</a> Matthieu, vol. ii. p. 441.</p> + +<p><a name="_144_"></a><a href="#144r">[144]</a> Mézeray, vol. x. p. 178.</p> + +<p><a name="_145_"></a><a href="#145r">[145]</a> Daniel, vol. vii. p. 407.</p> + +<p><a name="_146_"></a><a href="#146r">[146]</a> Matthieu, <i>Hist. de Henri IV</i>, vol. i. p. 307.</p> + +<p><a name="_147_"></a><a href="#147r">[147]</a> Charles I. de Bourbon, Cardinal-Archbishop of Rouen, legate of +Avignon, abbot of St. Denis, of St. Germain-des-Prés, of St. Ouen, of +Ste. Catherine of Rouen, and of Orcamp, etc., was the son of Charles, +Duc de Vendôme, and was born in 1523. After the death of Henri III, in +1589, he was proclaimed King by the Leaguers and the Duc de Mayenne +under the title of Charles X. Taken captive by Henri IV, of whom he was +the paternal uncle, he was imprisoned at Fontenay, where he died +in 1594.</p> + +<p><a name="_148_"></a><a href="#148r">[148]</a> De Thou, vol. xi. pp. 154, 155.</p> + +<p><a name="_149_"></a><a href="#149r">[149]</a> Charles, the natural son of Anthony of Navarre and of Mademoiselle +de la Beraudière de la Guiche, one of the maids of honour to Catherine +de Medicis.</p> + +<p><a name="_150_"></a><a href="#150r">[150]</a> Such was the plea of the Maréchal de Biron during his imprisonment +in the Bastille.</p> + +<p><a name="_151_"></a><a href="#151r">[151]</a> Charles Emmanuel, Duke of Savoy, whose intellect had in other +respects outrun his age, and whose shrewd good sense should have +emancipated him from so gross an abuse of reason, never undertook any +measure of importance without consulting the astrologers. See De Thou, +vol. xiii. p. 538.</p> + +<p><a name="_152_"></a><a href="#152r">[152]</a> See the Memoirs of Sully.</p> + +<p><a name="_153_"></a><a href="#153r">[153]</a> It is a certain fact that Henri IV, however he might verbally +despise the pretensions of those who exercised what has been happily +designated as the "black art," nevertheless admitted more than once a +conviction of their mysterious privileges.</p> + +<p><a name="_154_"></a><a href="#154r">[154]</a> De Thou, vol. x. p. 375.</p> + +<p><a name="_155_"></a><a href="#155r">[155]</a> M. de la Rivière had originally been the chief medical attendant +of the Duc de Bouillon, who ceded him to Henri IV, by whom he was +appointed his body-surgeon, in which office he succeeded M. d'Aliboust. +He was born at Falaise, in Normandy, and was the son of Jean Ribel, +professor of theology at Geneva. He himself, however, embraced the +reformed religion, and died in 1605, sincerely regretted by the monarch, +to whom his eminent talents and unwearied devotion had greatly +endeared him.</p> + +<p><a name="_156_"></a><a href="#156r">[156]</a> Sully, <i>Mém</i>. vol. vi. pp. 46-49.</p> + +<p><a name="_157_"></a><a href="#157r">[157]</a> Gaston Henri, the son of Henri IV and of Henriette d'Entragues, +Marquise de Verneuil, originally took orders, and became the incumbent +of several abbeys, among others that of St. Germain-des-Prés. He was +subsequently made Bishop of Metz, and bore that title for a considerable +time. On the 1st of January 1662, having been created a knight of the +Order of the Holy Ghost, and in the following year a duke and peer, he +took the title of Duc de Verneuil, and as such was sent to England in +1665 as ambassador extraordinary. Finally, in 1666, Louis XIV bestowed +upon him the government of Languedoc, when he sold his church +property, and married (in 1668) Charlotte Séguier, the widow of +Maximilien-François de Béthune III, Duc de Sully. He died without issue, +at Versailles, on the 28th of May 1682.</p> + + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page131"></a>[pg 131]</span> +<br><br><hr style="width: 35%;"><br><br> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III</h2> + +<h3>1602</h3> + +<p>Court festivities--The Queen's ballet--A gallant prelate--A poetical +almoner--Insolence of the royal favourite--Unhappiness of the +Queen--Weakness of Henry--Intrigue of Madame de Villars--The King +quarrels with the favourite--They are reconciled--Madame de Villars is +exiled, and the Prince de Joinville sent to join the army in +Hungary--Mortification of the Queen--Her want of judgment--New +dissension in the royal ménage--Sully endeavours to restore +peace--Mademoiselle de Sourdis--The Court removes to Blois--Royal +rupture--A bewildered minister--Marie and her foster-sister--Conspiracy +of the Dues de Bouillon and de Biron--Parallel between the two +nobles--The Comte d'Auvergne--Ingratitude of Biron--He is betrayed--His +arrogance--He is summoned to the capital to justify himself--He refuses +to obey the royal summons--Henry sends a messenger to command his +presence at Court--Precautionary measures of Sully--The President +Jeannin prevails over the obstinacy of Biron--Double treachery of La +Fin--The King endeavours to induce Biron to confess his crime--Arrest of +the Duc de Biron and the Comte d'Auvergne--The royal soirée--A timely +caution--Biron is made prisoner by Vitry, and the Comte d'Auvergne by +Praslin--They are conveyed separately to the Bastille--Exultation of the +citizens--Firmness of the King--Violence of Biron--Tardy +repentance--Trial of Biron--A scene in the Bastille--Condemnation of +the Duke--He is beheaded--The subordinate conspirators are pardoned--The +Duc de Bouillon retires to Turenne--Refuses to appear at +Court--Execution of the Baron de Fontenelles--A salutary lesson--The +Comte d'Auvergne is restored to liberty--Revolt of the Prince de +Joinville--He is treated with contempt by the King--He is imprisoned by +the Duc de Guise--Removal of the Court to Fontainebleau--Legitimation of +the son of Madame de Verneuil--Unhappiness of the Queen--She is consoled +by Sully--Birth of the Princesse Elisabeth de France--Disappointment of +the Queen--Soeur Ange.</p><br> + +<p>The convalescence of the Queen was the signal for a succession of +festivities, and the whole winter was spent in gaiety and dissipation; +banquets, ballets, and hunting-parties succeeded each other with +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page132"></a>[pg 132]</span> +bewildering rapidity; and so magnificent were several of the Court +festivals that even some of the gravest historians of the time did not +disdain to record them. The most brilliant of the whole, however, and +that which will best serve to exemplify the taste of the period, was the +ballet to which allusion has already been made as given in honour of the +King by his royal consort, and in which Marie de Medicis herself +appeared. In order to heighten its effect she had selected fifteen of +the most beautiful women of the Court, Madame de Verneuil being, +according to the royal promise, one of the number; and the first part of +the exhibition took place at the Louvre. The entertainment commenced +with the entrance of Apollo and the nine Muses into the great hall of +the palace, which was thronged with native and foreign princes, +ambassadors, and ministers, in the midst of whom sat the King with the +Papal Nuncio on his right hand. The god and his attendants sang the +glory of the monarch, the pacificator of Europe; and each stanza +terminated with the somewhat fulsome and ungraceful words:</p> + +<blockquote> +"Il faut que tout vous rende hommage,<br> + Grand Roi, miracle de notre âge."<br> +</blockquote> + +<p>Thence the whole gay and gallant company proceeded to the Hôtel de +Guise, where the eight maids of honour of the Queen performed the second +act; and this was no sooner concluded than the brilliant revellers +removed to the archiepiscopal palace, where the Queen appeared in person +upon the scene, with her suite divided into four quadrilles. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page133"></a>[pg 133]</span> +Marie +herself represented Venus, and led by the hand César de Vendôme<a name="158r"></a><a href="#_158_">[158]</a> +attired as Cupid; when the splendour of her jewels produced so startling +an effect that murmurs of astonishment and admiration ran through the +hall. Gratified at the sensation caused by the unexampled magnificence +and grace of his royal consort, Henry smilingly inquired of the Nuncio +"if he had ever before seen so fine a squadron?"</p> + +<p>"<i>Bellissimo e pericolosissimo</i>!" was the reply of the gallant prelate.</p> + +<p>Each of the ladies composing the party of the Queen represented a +<i>virtue</i>,\ an arrangement which, when it is remembered that Madame de +Verneuil was one of the chosen, rendered their attributes at least +equivocal. This royal ballet was nevertheless considered worthy of a +poetical immortality by Berthault,<a name="159r"></a><a href="#_159_">[159]</a> a popular bard of the day, who +left little behind him worthy of preservation, but who enjoyed great +vogue among the fashionables of the Court at that period. Its most +important result was, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page134"></a>[pg 134]</span> +however, the marriage of Concini and Leonora; to +which, in consideration of the honour done to the favourite by the +Queen, Henry withdrew his opposition; even authorizing his royal consort +to bestow rich presents upon the bride, and to celebrate the nuptials +with considerable ceremony.<a name="160r"></a><a href="#_160_">[160]</a></p> + +<p>All these royal diversions were suddenly and disagreeably terminated +some months afterwards by an intrigue which once more threw the King and +his courtiers into a state of agitation and discomfort.</p> + +<p>As regards Marie de Medicis herself, she had long ceased to derive any +gratification from the splendid festivities of which she was one of the +brightest ornaments; her ill-judged indulgence, far from exciting the +gratitude of Madame de Verneuil, having rendered the insolent favourite +still more arrogant and overbearing. To such an extent, indeed, did the +Marquise carry her presumption, that she affected to believe herself +indebted for the forbearance of the Queen to the conviction of the +latter that she had a superior claim upon the monarch to her own; and +while she permitted herself to comment upon the words, actions, and +tastes, and even upon the personal peculiarities of her royal mistress, +she declared her conviction of the legality of the written promise +obtained by her from the King; and announced her determination, now that +she had become the mother of a son, to enforce its observance.</p> + +<p>These monstrous pretensions, which were soon +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page135"></a>[pg 135]</span> +made known to the Queen, +at once wounded and exasperated her feelings; and she anxiously awaited +the moment when some new imprudence of the favourite should open the +eyes of the monarch to her delinquency, as she had already become aware +that mere argument on her own part would avail nothing.</p> + +<p>Several writers, and among them even female ones, yielding to the +prestige attached to the name of Henri IV, have sought the solution of +all his domestic discomfort in the "Italian jealousy" of Marie de +Medicis; but surely it is not difficult to excuse it under circumstances +of such extraordinary trial. Marie was a wife, a mother, and a queen; +and in each of these characters she was insulted and outraged. As a +wife, she saw her rights invaded--as a mother, the legitimacy of her son +questioned--and as a queen her dignity compromised. What very inferior +causes have produced disastrous effects even in private life! The only +subject of astonishment which can be rationally entertained is the +comparative patience with which at this period of her career she +submitted to the humiliations that were heaped upon her.</p> + +<p>In vain did she complain to her royal consort of the insulting calumnies +of Madame de Verneuil; he either affected to disbelieve that she had +been guilty of such absurd assumption, or reproached Marie with a want +of self-respect in listening to the idle tattle of eavesdroppers and +sycophants; alleging that her foreign followers, spoiled by her +indulgence, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page136"></a>[pg 136]</span> +and encouraged by her credulity, were the scourge of his +Court; and that she would do well to dismiss them before they +accomplished her own unhappiness. A hint to this effect always sufficed +to silence the Queen, to whom the society and support of Leonora and her +husband were becoming each day more necessary; and thus she devoured her +tears and stifled her wretchedness, trusting that the arrogance and +presumption of the Marquise would ultimately serve her better than her +own remonstrances.</p> + +<p>Such was the position of affairs when the intrigue to which allusion has +been already made promised to produce the desired result; and it can +create no surprise that Marie should eagerly indulge the hope of +delivering herself from an obnoxious and formidable rival, when the +opportunity presented itself of accomplishing so desirable an end +without betraying her own agency.</p> + +<p>During the lifetime of <i>la belle Gabrielle</i>, her sister, Juliette +Hippolyte d'Estrées, Marquise de Cérisay, who in 1597 became the wife of +Georges de Brancas, Duc de Villars, had attracted the attention of the +King, whose dissipated tastes were always flattered by novelty; although +if we are to credit the statements of the Princesse de Conti, this lady, +so far from rivalling the beauty of her younger sister, had no personal +charms to recommend her beyond <i>her youth and her hair</i>.<a name="161r"></a><a href="#_161_">[161]</a> Being as +unscrupulous as the Duchesse de Beaufort herself, Juliette exulted in +the idea of captivating the King, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page137"></a>[pg 137]</span> +and left no effort untried to secure +her supposed conquest; but this caprice on the part of Henry was only +momentary, and in his passion for Henriette d'Entragues, he soon forgot +his passing fancy for Madame de Villars. The Duchess herself, however, +was far from being equally oblivious; and listening to the dictates of +her ambition and self-love, she became persuaded that she was indebted +to the Marquise alone for the sudden coldness of the King; and +accordingly she vowed an eternal hatred to the woman whom she considered +in the light of a successful rival. Up to the present period, anxious as +she was to avenge her wounded vanity, she had been unable to secure an +opportunity of revenge; but having at this particular moment won the +affection of the Prince de Joinville,<a name="162r"></a><a href="#_162_">[162]</a> who had been a former lover +of Madame de Verneuil, and with whom, as she was well aware, he had +maintained an active correspondence, she made his surrender of the +letters of that lady the price of her own honour. For a time the Prince +hesitated; he felt all the disloyalty of such a concession; but those +were not times in which principles waged an equal war against passion; +and the letters were ultimately placed in the possession of Madame +de Villars.</p> + +<p>The Duchess was fully cognizant of the fact that it was from an impulse +of self-preservation alone +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page138"></a>[pg 138]</span> +that M. de Joinville had been induced to +forego his suit to the favourite, and to absent himself from the Court, +a consideration which should have aroused her delicacy as a woman; but +she was by no means disposed to yield to so inconvenient a weakness; and +she had consequently no sooner secured the coveted documents than she +prepared to profit by her good fortune.</p> + +<p>Henriette d'Entragues had really loved the Prince--if indeed so venal +and vicious a woman can be supposed capable of loving anything save +herself--and thus the letters which were transferred to Madame de +Villars, many of them having been written immediately after the +separation of the lovers, were filled with regrets at his absence, +professions of unalterable affection, and disrespectful expressions +concerning the King and Queen; the latter of whom was ridiculed and +slandered without pity. It is easy to imagine the triumphant joy of the +Duchess. She held her enemy at her mercy, and she had no inclination to +be merciful. She read and re-read the precious letters; and finally, +after deep reflection, her plans were matured.</p> + +<p>The Princesse de Conti was her personal friend, and was, moreover, +attached to the household of the Queen, to whom Madame de Villars, from +circumstances which require no comment, had hitherto been comparatively +a stranger. Marie de Medicis, who had experienced little sympathy from +the great ladies of the Court, having thrown herself principally upon +her Italian followers for society, had in +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page139"></a>[pg 139]</span> +consequence been cold and +distant in her deportment to the French members of her circle; who, on +their side, trammelled by the rigorous propriety of her conduct, were +quite satisfied to be partially overlooked, in order that their own less +scrupulous bearing might pass unnoticed by so rigid a censor; and thus, +when, upon the earnest request of Madame de Villars to be introduced to +the more intimate acquaintance of the Queen, the Princess succeeded in +obtaining for her the privilege of the <i>petites entrées</i> (unaware of the +powerful passport to favour which she possessed), she found it difficult +to account for the eagerness with which the ordinarily unapproachable +Marie greeted the appearance and courted the society of the astute +Duchess; nor did she for an instant dream that by facilitating the +intercourse between them, she was undermining the fortunes of a brother +whom she loved.</p> + +<p>It appears extraordinary that of all the ladies about the Queen, Madame +de Villars should have selected the sister of the Prince de Joinville to +enable her to effect her purpose; but let her have acted from whatever +motive she might, it is certain that day by day her favour became more +marked; and the circumstance which most excited the surprise of Madame +de Conti, was the fact that her <i>protégée</i> was often closeted with the +Queen when, for reasons sufficiently obvious, she herself and even +Leonora Galigaï were excluded. In encouraging the vengeance of her new +friend, Marie was well aware that she was committing an imprudence from +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page140"></a>[pg 140]</span> +which the more far-seeing Florentine would have dissuaded her; and thus, +with that impetuosity which was destined through life to be her scourge, +she resolved only to consult her own feelings. The secret of this new +discovery was consequently not divulged to her favourite; and as her +cheek burned and her eye flashed, while lingering over the insults to +which she had been subjected by the unscrupulous mistress of the +monarch, she urged Madame de Villars to lose no time in communicating +the contents of the obnoxious letters to her sovereign.</p> + +<p>The undertaking was difficult as well as dangerous; and in the case of +the Duchess it required more than usual tact and caution. She had not +only to encounter the risk of arousing the anger of Henry by accusing +the woman whom he loved, but also to combat his wounded vanity when he +should see his somewhat mature passion made a subject of ridicule, and, +at the same time, to conceal her own motive for the treachery of which +she was guilty. This threefold trial, even daring as she was, the +Duchess feared to hazard. In communicating the fatal letters to the +Queen, she had calculated that the indignation and jealousy of the +Italian Princess would instigate her to take instant possession of so +formidable a weapon against her most dangerous enemy, and to work out +her own vengeance; but Marie had learnt prudence from past experience, +and she was anxious to conceal her own agency in the cabal until she +could avow it with a certainty of triumph. Perceiving the reluctance of +Madame de +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page141"></a>[pg 141]</span> +Villars to take the initiative, she hastened to explain to +her the suspicion which would naturally be engendered in the mind of the +King, should he imagine that the affair had been preconcerted to satisfy +her private animosity; and moreover suggested that the Duchess should, +in her interview with the monarch, carefully avoid even the mention of +her name. Encouragement and entreaties followed this caution; while a +few rich presents sufficed to convince her auditor--and ultimately, +Madame de Villars (who had too long waited patiently for such an +opportunity of revenge to shrink from her purpose when it was secured to +her), having gained the favour and confidence of the Queen at the +expense of her rival, resolved to terminate her task.</p> + +<p>The pretext of urgent business easily procured for her a private +interview with the King, for the name of D'Estrées still acted like a +spell upon the mind and heart of Henry, and the Duchess was a consummate +tactician. Notice was given to her of the day on which the sovereign +would visit St. Denis; and as she presented herself in the lateral +chapel where he had just concluded his devotions, Henry made a sign for +his attendant nobles to withdraw, when the Duchess found herself in a +position to explain her errand, and to assure him that she had only been +induced to make the present disclosure from her affection for his +person, and the gratitude which she owed to him for the many benefits +that she had experienced from his condescension. Having briefly dwelt on +the contents of the letters which +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page142"></a>[pg 142]</span> +she delivered into his keeping, she +did not even seek an excuse for the means by which they had come into +her own possession, but concluded by observing: "I could not reconcile +it to my conscience, Sire, to conceal so great an outrage; I should have +felt like a criminal myself, had I been capable of suffering in silence +such treason against the greatest king, the best master, and the most +gallant gentleman on earth." <a name="163r"></a><a href="#_163_">[163]</a></p> + +<p>Henry was not proof against this compliment. He believed himself to be +all that the Duchess had asserted, but he liked to hear his own opinion +confirmed by the lips of others; and, although smarting under the +mortification of wounded vanity occasioned by the contents of the +letters of his perfidious mistress, he smiled complacently upon Madame +de Villars, thanking her for her zeal and attachment to his person, and +assuring her that both were fully appreciated.</p> + +<p>She had no sooner retired than, as the Queen had previously done, he +repeatedly read over each letter in turn until his patience gave way +under the task; when hastily summoning the Duc de Lude, he desired him +to forthwith proceed to the apartments of the Marquise, and inform her +in his name that "she was a perfidious woman, a monster, and the most +wicked of her sex; and that he was resolved never to see her +again." <a name="164r"></a><a href="#_164_">[164]</a></p> + +<p>At this period Madame de Verneuil had quitted +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page143"></a>[pg 143]</span> +the palace, and was +residing in an hôtel in the city, which had been presented to her by the +King: a fortunate circumstance for the envoy, who required time and +consideration to enable him to execute his onerous mission in a manner +that might not tend to his own subsequent discomfiture; but on the +delivery of the royal message, which even the courtly De Lude could not +divest of its offensive character, Madame de Verneuil (who was well +aware that the King, however he might yield to his momentary anger, was +even less able to dispense with her society than she herself was to lose +the favour which alone preserved her from the ignominy her conduct had +justly merited) did not for an instant lose her self-possession. "Tell +his Majesty," she replied, as calmly as though a sense of innocence had +given her strength, "that being perfectly assured that I have never been +guilty of word or deed which could justly incur his anger, I cannot +imagine what can have induced him to treat me with so little +consideration. That some one has traduced me, I cannot doubt; but I +shall be revenged by a discovery of the truth." <a name="165r"></a><a href="#_165_">[165]</a></p> + +<p>She then rose from her seat, and retired to her private room, much more +alarmed and agitated than she was willing to betray. De Lude had, during +the interview, suffered a few remarks to escape him from which she was +enabled to guess whence the blow had come; and conscious of the enormity +of her imprudence, she lost no time in confiding to +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page144"></a>[pg 144]</span> +her most +confidential friends the difficulty of her position, and entreated them +to discover some method by which she might escape its consequences.</p> + +<p>As had been previously arranged with the Queen, Madame de Villars, at +her audience of the King, had carefully abstained from betraying the +share which his consort had taken in the intrigue, and had assumed to +herself the very equivocal honour of the whole proceeding; and it was, +consequently, against the Duchess alone that the anger of the favourite +was excited. Even the Prince de Joinville was forgiven, when with +protestations of repentance he threw himself at the feet of the +Marquise, and implored her pardon--he could scarcely fail to be +understood by such a woman, when he pleaded the extremes to which +passion and disappointment could urge an ardent nature--while the Duc de +Bellegarde was no sooner informed by the Princesse de Conti that the +fortune, and perhaps even the life, of her brother were involved in the +affair, than he devoted himself to her cause.</p> + +<p>We have already stated that the time was not one of unnecessary scruple, +and the peril of the Marquise was imminent. The letters not only +existed, but were in the hands of the King: no honest or simple remedy +could be suggested for such a disaster; and thus, as it was imperative +to clear Madame de Verneuil from blame in order to save the Prince, it +was ultimately determined to deny the authenticity of the documents, and +to attribute the forgery to a secretary of the Duc de Guise, who was +celebrated +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page145"></a>[pg 145]</span> +for his aptitude in imitating every species of handwriting. +The attempt was hazardous; but the infatuation of Henry for the +fascinating favourite was so well known, that the conspirators were +assured of the eagerness with which he would welcome any explanation, +however doubtful; and they accordingly instructed the Marquise boldly to +disavow the authorship of the obnoxious packet. The advice was, +unfortunately, somewhat tardy; as, in her first terror, Madame de +Verneuil had declared her inability to deny that she had written the +letters which had aroused the anger of the King; but she modified the +admission, by declaring that her hand had betrayed her heart, and that +she had never felt what, in a moment of pique and annoyance, she had +permitted herself to express. These were, however, mere words; and she +had no sooner become cognizant of the expedients suggested by her +advisers than she resolved to gainsay them; and accordingly, without a +moment's hesitation, she despatched a message to the monarch to entreat +that he would allow her to justify herself.</p> + +<p>For a few days Henry remained inexorable, but at length his passion +triumphed over his pride; and instead of summoning the Marquise to his +presence as a criminal he proceeded to her residence, listened blindly +to her explanations, became, or feigned to become, convinced by her +arguments, and ultimately confessing himself to have been sufficiently +credulous to be the culprit rather than the judge, he made a peace with +his exulting mistress, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page146"></a>[pg 146]</span> +which was cemented by a donation of six +thousand livres.</p> + +<p>As is usual in such cases, all the blame was now visited upon her +accusers. Madame de Villars was exiled from the Court--a sentence to her +almost as terrible as that of death, wedded as she was to a court-life, +and by this unexpected result, separated from the Prince de Joinville, +whose pardon she had hoped to secure by her apparent zeal for the honour +of the monarch. The Prince himself was directed to proceed forthwith to +Hungary to serve against the Turks; and the unfortunate secretary, who +had been an unconscious instrument in the hands of the able +conspirators, and whom it was necessary to consider guilty of a crime +absolutely profitless to himself whatever might be its result, was +committed to a prison; there to moralize at his leisure upon the vices +of the great.</p> + +<p>No mortification could, however, equal that of the Queen; who, having +felt assured of the ruin of her rival, had incautiously betrayed her +exultation in a manner better suited to a jealous wife than to an +indignant sovereign; and who, when she became apprised of the +reconciliation of the King with his wily mistress, expressed herself +with so much warmth upon his wilful blindness, that a fortnight elapsed +before they met again.</p> + +<p>Nothing could be more ill-judged upon the part of Marie than this +violence, as by estranging the King from herself she gave ample +opportunity to the Marquise to resume her empire over his mind. It +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page147"></a>[pg 147]</span> +nevertheless appears certain that although he resented the sarcasms of +the Queen, he was less the dupe of Madame de Verneuil than those about +him imagined; he was fascinated, but not convinced; and it is probable +that had Marie de Medicis at this moment sufficiently controlled her +feelings to remain neuter, she might, for a time at least, have retained +her truant husband under the spell of her own attractions. Such, +however, was not the case; and between his suspicion of being deceived +by his mistress, and his irritation at being openly taunted by his wife, +the King, who shrank with morbid terror from domestic discomfort, +instead of finding repose in the privacy of his own hearth, even while +he was anxious to shake off the trammels by which he had been so long +fettered, and to abandon a <i>liaison</i> which had ceased to inspire him +with confidence, only sought to escape by transferring his somewhat +exhausted affections to a new object. The struggle was, however, a +formidable one; for although the Marquise had forfeited his good +opinion, she had not lost her powers of fascination; and she so well +knew how to use them, that, despite his better reason, the sensual +monarch still remained her slave.</p> + +<p>Thus his life became at this period one of perpetual worry and +annoyance. Marie, irritated by what she justly considered as a culpable +weakness and want of dignity on the part of her royal consort, persisted +in exhibiting her resentment, and in loading the favourite with every +mark of contempt and obloquy; while Madame de Verneuil, in her turn, +renewed her +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page148"></a>[pg 148]</span> +assertions of the illegality of the Queen's marriage, and +the consequent illegitimacy of the Dauphin. The effect of such a feud +may be readily imagined: the Court soon became divided into two distinct +factions; and those among the great ladies and nobles who frequented the +circle of the Marquise were forbidden the entrance of the Queen's +apartments. One intrigue succeeded another; and while Marie, with +jealous vindictiveness, endeavoured to mar the fortunes of those who +attached themselves to the party of Madame de Verneuil, the Marquise +left no effort untried to injure the partisans of the Queen. This last +rupture was an irrevocable one.<a name="166r"></a><a href="#_166_">[166]</a></p> + +<p>In vain did Sully endeavour to restore peace. He could control the +finances, and regulate the defences of a great nation; but he was as +powerless as the King himself when he sought to fuse such jarring +elements as these in the social crucible; and while he was still +striving against hope to weaken, even if he could not wholly destroy, an +animosity which endangered the dignity of the crown, and the respect due +to one of the most powerful monarchs of Christendom, that monarch +himself, wearied of a strife which he had not the moral courage either +to terminate or to sustain, sought consolation for his trials in the +smiles of Mademoiselle de Sourdis,<a name="167r"></a><a href="#_167_">[167]</a> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page149"></a>[pg 149]</span> +whose favour he purchased by +giving her in marriage to the Comte d'Estanges. This caprice, engendered +rather by <i>ennui</i> than affection, was, however, soon terminated, as the +new favourite could not, either personally or mentally, sustain a +comparison with Madame de Verneuil; and great coldness still existed +between the royal couple when the Court removed to Blois.</p> + +<p>During the sojourn of their Majesties in that city, a misunderstanding +infinitely more serious than any by which it had been preceded took +place between them; and at length became so threatening, that although +the night was far advanced, the King despatched D'Armagnac, his first +valet-de-chambre, to desire the immediate presence of M. de Sully at the +castle. Singularly enough, the Duke in his Memoirs affects a morbid +reluctance even to allude to this outbreak, and professes his +determination, in accordance with his promise to that effect made to +both parties, not to reveal the subject of dispute; while at the same +time he admits that, after a long interview with Henry, he spent the +remainder of the night in passing from one chamber to the other, +endeavouring to restore harmony between the royal pair, during which +attempt many of the attendants of the Court were enabled at intervals to +hear all parties mention the names of the Grand Duke and Duchess of +Florence, the Duchess of Mantua, Virgilio Ursino, Don Juan de Medicis, +the Duc de Bellegarde, Joannini, Concini, Leonora, Trainel, Vinti, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page150"></a>[pg 150]</span> +Caterina Selvaggio,<a name="168r"></a><a href="#_168_">[168]</a> Gondy, and more frequently still, of Madame de +Verneuil;<a name="169r"></a><a href="#_169_">[169]</a> a circumstance which was quite sufficient to dispel all +mystery, as it at once became evident to those who mentally combined +these significant names, that the royal quarrel was a recriminatory one, +and that while the Queen was indulging in invectives against the +Marquise, and her champion M. le Grand, the King retorted by reproaching +her with the insolence of her Italian favourites, and her own weak +submission to their thrall.<a name="170r"></a><a href="#_170_">[170]</a></p> + +<p>Capefigue, in his history, has shown less desire than Sully to envelop +this royal quarrel in mystery; and plainly asserts, although without +quoting his authority for such a declaration, that after mutual +reproaches had passed between Henry and his wife, the Queen became so +enraged that she sprang out of bed, and throwing herself upon the +monarch, severely scratched him in the face; a violence which he +immediately repaid with interest, and which induced him to summon the +minister to the palace, whose first care was to prevail upon the King to +retire to another apartment.<a name="171r"></a><a href="#_171_">[171]</a></p> + +<p>Marie, exasperated by the persevering infidelity of her husband, +considered herself, with some reason, as the aggrieved party: she had +given a Dauphin to +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page151"></a>[pg 151]</span> +France; her fair fame was untainted; and she +persisted in enforcing her right to retain and protect her Tuscan +attendants. Henry, on his part, was equally unyielding; and it was, as +we have already shown, several hours before the bewildered minister of +finance could succeed in restoring even a semblance of peace. To every +argument which he advanced the Queen replied by enumerating the +libertine adventures of her husband (with the whole of which she proved +herself to be unhappily only too familiar), and by declaring that she +would one day take ample vengeance on his mistresses; strong in the +conviction that to whatever acts of violence she might be induced by the +insults heaped upon her, no rightly thinking person would be found to +condemn so just a revenge.<a name="172r"></a><a href="#_172_">[172]</a></p> + +<p>This declaration, let Sully modify it as he might, could but aggravate +the anger of the King; and accordingly, he replied by a threat of +banishing his wife to one of his distant palaces, and even of sending +her back to Florence, with the whole of her foreign attendants.</p> + +<p>From this project, if he really ever seriously entertained it, Henry +was, however, at once dissuaded by his minister; who, less blinded by +passion than himself, instantly recognised its enormity when +proportioned to the offence which it was intended to punish; and +consequently he did not hesitate to represent the odium which so unjust +a measure must +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page152"></a>[pg 152]</span> +call down upon the head of the King.<a name="173r"></a><a href="#_173_">[173]</a> The Queen, +whose irritation had reached its climax, was less easily persuaded; or +the astute Concini, who was ever daring where his personal fortunes +might be benefited, sacrificed his royal mistress to his own interests; +for we find it recorded that some time subsequently, when Madame de +Verneuil was residing at her hôtel in Paris, the Florentine favourite +privately informed the monarch that Marie had engaged some persons on +whom she could rely, to insult the Marquise; upon which Henry, after +expressing his thanks for the communication, caused the favourite to +leave the city under a strong escort.<a name="174r"></a><a href="#_174_">[174]</a></p> + +<p>Had the King been less unscrupulously inconstant, there is, however, no +doubt that Marie de Medicis, from the strict propriety of her conduct to +the last, and under every provocation, would ultimately have become an +attached and devoted wife. Her ambition was satisfied, and her heart +interested, in her maternal duties; but the open and unblushing +licentiousness with which Henry pursued his numerous and frequently +ignoble intrigues, irritated her naturally excitable temper, and +consequently tended to throw her more completely into the power of the +ambitious Italians by whom she was surrounded; among whom the most +influential was Madame de Concini, a woman of firm mind, engaging +manners, and strong national prejudices, who, in following the fortunes +of her illustrious foster-sister, had deceived herself into +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page153"></a>[pg 153]</span> +the belief +that they would be almost without a cloud; and it is therefore probable +that a disappointment in this expectation, which, moreover, involved her +own personal interests, rendered her bitter in her judgment of the +<i>débonnaire</i> and reckless monarch who showed himself so indifferent to +the attractions of her idolized mistress.</p> + +<p>The subsequent ingratitude of Marie, indeed, only tends to increase the +admiration of a dispassionate critic for the ill-requited Leonora; to +whom it would appear, after a close analysis of her character, that +ample justice has never yet been done; for ambitious as she was, it is +certain that this unfortunate woman ever sought the welfare of the +Queen, to whom she owed her advancement in life, even when the more +short-sighted selfishness of her husband would have induced him to +sacrifice all other considerations to his own insatiable thirst +for power.</p> + +<p>Unfortunately, however, the very excess of her affection rendered her a +dangerous adviser to the indignant and neglected Princess, from whose +private circle Henry at this period almost wholly absented himself.</p> + +<p>Nor were these domestic anxieties the only ones against which the French +King had to contend at this particular crisis; for while the Court +circle had been absorbed in banquets and festivals, the seeds of civil +war, sown by a few of the still discontented nobles, began to germinate; +and Henry constantly received intelligence of seditious movements in the +provinces. On the banks of the Loire and the Garonne the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page154"></a>[pg 154]</span> +symptoms of +disaffection had already ceased to be problematical; while at La +Rochelle and Limoges the inhabitants had assaulted the government +officers who sought to levy an obnoxious tax.</p> + +<p>Little doubt existed in the minds of the monarch and his ministers that +these hostile demonstrations were encouraged, if not suggested, by the +secret agents of Philip III of Spain, and the Duke of Savoy, who had +been busily engaged some time previously in dissuading the Swiss and +Grisons from renewing the alliance which they had formed with Henri III, +and which became void at his death. This attempt was, however, +frustrated by an offer made to them by Sillery of a million in gold, as +payment of the debt still due to them from the French government for +their past services; which enormous sum reached them through the hands +of the Duc de Biron, to whom, as well as to the memory of his father, +the old Maréchal, many of the Switzers were strongly and +personally attached.</p> + +<p>Day by day, also, the King had still more serious cause of apprehension, +having ascertained almost beyond a doubt that the Duc de Bouillon, the +head of the Huguenot party, who were incensed against Henry for having +deserted their faith, was secretly engaged in a treaty with Spain, +Savoy, and England, a circumstance rendered doubly dangerous from the +fact that the Protestants still held several fortified places in +Guienne, Languedoc, and other provinces, which would necessarily, should +the negotiation prove successful, be delivered into his hands. There +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page155"></a>[pg 155]</span> +can be no doubt, moreover, that the monarch keenly felt the ingratitude +of this noble, whom he had himself raised to the independent sovereignty +of the duchy whence he derived his title; but his mortification was +increased upon ascertaining that the Maréchal de Biron, who had been one +of his most familiar friends, and in whose good-faith and loyalty he had +ever placed implicit trust, was also numbered among his enemies, and +endeavouring to secure his own personal advancement by betraying +his master.</p> + +<p>No two men could probably have been selected throughout the whole nation +more fitted to endanger the stability of the royal authority. Both were +marshals of France, and alike celebrated for their talent as military +leaders, as well as for their insatiable ambition. Of the two, perhaps, +however, the Duc de Bouillon was likely to prove the most formidable +enemy to the sovereign; from the fact of his being by far the more able +and the more subtle politician, and, moreover, gifted with a caution and +judgment which were entirely wanting in the impetuous and +reckless Biron.</p> + +<p>Bouillon, who possessed great influence in the counsels of the +Huguenots, was supported by the Duc de la Trémouille,<a name="175r"></a><a href="#_175_">[175]</a> his +co-religionist, another +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page156"></a>[pg 156]</span> +leader of the reformed party; and secretly also +by the Duc d'Epernon,<a name="176r"></a><a href="#_176_">[176]</a> whose fortunes having greatly deteriorated +since the death of Henri III, considered himself harshly treated, and +was ready to join every cabal which was formed against that King's +successor, although he always avoided any open demonstration of +hostility which might tend to compromise his personal safety.</p> + +<p>A third individual pointed out to the King as one of his most active +enemies was Charles de Valois, Comte d'Auvergne, the step-brother of +Madame de Verneuil; to whom not only in consideration of his royal +blood, but also as the relative of the Marquise, Henry had ever shown a +favour which he little merited. Such an adversary the monarch could, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page157"></a>[pg 157]</span> +however, afford to despise, for he well knew the Count to be more +dangerous as a friend than as an enemy; his cowardly dread of danger +constantly impelling him, at the merest prospect of peril, to betray +others in order to save himself; while his cunning, his gratuitous and +unmanly cruelty, and the unblushing perfidy which recalled with only too +much vividness the character of his father, Charles IX, rendered him at +once unsafe and unpleasant as an associate. Despite all these drawbacks, +Biron with his usual recklessness had nevertheless accepted him as a +partner in his meditated revolt, D'Auvergne having declared that he +would run all risks in order to revenge the dishonour brought upon his +family by the King; but in reality the Comte only sought to benefit +himself in a struggle where he had little to lose, and might, as he +believed, become a gainer.</p> + +<p>The madness of the Duc de Biron in betraying the interests of a +sovereign who had constantly treated him with honour and distinction, +can only find its solution in his overweening vanity, as he was already +wealthy, powerful, and popular; and had, moreover, acquired the +reputation of being one of the first soldiers in France. He had been +appointed admiral, and subsequently marshal; and had even been entrusted +with the command of the King's armies at the siege of Amiens, where he +bore the title of marshal-general, although several Princes of the Blood +and the Connétable himself were present. He was decorated with all the +Royal Orders; was a duke and peer of the realm, and Governor of +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page158"></a>[pg 158]</span> +Bordeaux; and, in fine, every attainable dignity had been lavished upon +him; while he yielded precedence only to royalty, and to the Duc de +Montmorency, to whose office it was vain to aspire during his +lifetime.<a name="177r"></a><a href="#_177_">[177]</a></p> + +<p>Such was the Maréchal de Biron, when, in the vainglorious hope of one +day becoming the sovereign of certain of the French provinces, he +voluntarily trampled under foot every obligation of loyalty and +gratitude, and leagued himself with the enemies of his royal master, to +wrest from him the sceptre which he so firmly wielded. The first +intelligence of the Duke's defection which reached the monarch--to whom, +however, his conduct had long appeared problematical--was obtained +through the treachery of the Maréchal's most trusted agent; a man whom +Biron had constantly employed in all his intrigues, and from whom he had +no secrets. This individual, who from certain circumstances saw reason +to believe that the plans of the Duke must ultimately fail from their +very immensity, and who feared for his own safety in the event of his +patron's disgrace, resolved to save himself by communicating the whole +conspiracy to the King; for which purpose he solicited an audience, +declaring that he had important matters to reveal, which involved not +only the throne of the sovereign, but even his life; and he so +confidently insisted upon this fact, that an interview was at length +accorded to him at Fontainebleau; where, in the presence of Henry and +the Duc de Sully, he +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page159"></a>[pg 159]</span> +confessed that conceiving himself to have been +ill-used by the Court, he had from mortified vanity adopted the +interests of M. de Biron, and even participated in the conspiracy of +which he was now anxious to anticipate the effects, and from which he +had instantly retired when he discovered that it involved the lives of +his Majesty and the Dauphin.</p> + +<p>He then solemnly asserted that when the Maréchal de Biron proceeded to +Flanders to receive the oath of peace from the Archduke Albert, the +Spaniards, who at once detected the extent of his vanity and ambition, +had flattered his weakness and encouraged his hopes; and that they had +ultimately despatched to him an individual named Picoté, who for some +crime had been exiled from Orleans, and who was authorized to give him +the assurance that it only depended upon the Duke himself to secure a +brilliant position through their agency, should he see fit to become +their ally. The Maréchal, his associate went on to say, listened eagerly +to the proposition, and expressed his willingness to treat with Spain +whenever it might be deemed expedient to confide to him the real meaning +of the message; a reply which satisfied the Spaniards that with proper +caution they should find it no difficult undertaking to attach him +entirely to their interests, or, failing in this attempt, to rid +themselves of a dangerous adversary by rendering him the victim of his +own treason.</p> + +<p>Elated by the brilliant prospect which thus opened upon him, Biron +gradually became less energetic in the service of his legitimate master; +and after the peace +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page160"></a>[pg 160]</span> +of Vervins, finding his influence necessarily +diminished, he began to murmur, affecting to believe that the services +which he had rendered to the sovereign had not been duly recognized; and +it was at this period, according to his betrayer, that their +acquaintance had commenced, an acquaintance which so rapidly ripened +into friendship that ere long he became the depository of his patron's +most cherished secrets.</p> + +<p>After many and anxious consultations, principally caused by the +uncertainty of the Duke as to the nature of the honours which were to be +conferred upon him, it had been at length resolved between the two +conspirators that they should despatch a priest to the Duke of Savoy, a +monk of Cîteaux to Milan, and Picoté himself to Spain, to treat with the +several Princes in the name of the Maréchal; and what was even more +essential to the monarch to ascertain, was the fact that a short time +subsequently, and before he visited Paris, the Duke of Savoy had entered +into a secret negotiation with Biron, and even led him to believe that +he would bestow upon him the hand of one of his daughters, by which +marriage the Maréchal would have become the cousin of the Emperor of +Germany, and the nephew of the King of Spain, an alliance which, to so +ambitious a spirit, opened up an opportunity of self-aggrandizement +never to be realized in his own country and under his own sovereign.</p> + +<p>In return for this concession, Biron had pledged himself to his wily +ally that he would provide so much occupation for Henry in the interior +of his +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page161"></a>[pg 161]</span> +kingdom, that he should have no leisure to attempt the invasion +of the marquisate of Saluzzo, a pledge which more than any other +gratified M. de Savoie, who lived in constant dread of being driven from +his territories. During the war the Maréchal nevertheless took several +of the Duke's fortresses in Brescia; but a perfect understanding had +been established between them which rendered this circumstance +comparatively unimportant; and on the refusal of Henry to permit the +appointment of a governor of his own selection for the citadel of Bourg, +Biron became so incensed by what he designated as the ingratitude of his +sovereign--though he was fully aware that by countenancing such an +arrangement the King must necessarily leave the fortress entirely in his +power--that he no longer restrained himself, but declared that the death +of the French sovereign was essential to the accomplishment of his +projects; and meanwhile he gave the Duke of Savoy, whom he thenceforward +regarded as his firmest friend, constant information of the state and +movements of the hostile army.</p> + +<p>A short time afterwards it was definitely arranged between the +conspirators that the Duke of Savoy should give his third daughter in +marriage to the Maréchal, with a dowry of five hundred thousand golden +crowns; that the Spanish monarch should cede to him all his claims of +sovereignty upon the duchy of Burgundy; and that the Condé de +Fuentes<a name="178r"></a><a href="#_178_">[178]</a> and the Duke of Savoy should march their +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page162"></a>[pg 162]</span> +combined forces +into France, thus disabling Henry from pursuing his design of +reconquering the long-coveted duchy.</p> + +<p>This treasonable design, owing to circumstances upon which the impetuous +Biron had failed to calculate, proved, however, abortive; and he had no +sooner convinced himself of the fact, and comprehended the perilous +position in which he had been placed by his imprudence, than he hastened +to Lyons, where the King was then sojourning; and having obtained an +audience, he confessed with a seeming frankness irresistible to so +generous and unsuspicious a nature as that of Henry, that he had been +sufficiently misled by his ambition secretly to demand from the Duke of +Savoy the hand of his younger daughter; and that, moreover, in the +excess of his mortification at the refusal of his Majesty to appoint a +governor of his own selection at Bourg, he had even been induced to plot +against the state, for both which crimes he humbly solicited the +royal pardon.</p> + +<p>Full well did Henry and his minister remember this occurrence; nor could +the King forget that although he had urged the Maréchal to reveal to him +the whole extent of the intrigue, he had dexterously evaded his most +searching inquiries, and constantly recurred to his contrition. Henry +owed much to Biron, whom he had long loved; and with a magnanimity +worthy of his noble nature, after a few expostulations and reproaches, +he not only pardoned him for what he believed to have been a mere +temporary abandonment of his duties, but even +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page163"></a>[pg 163]</span> +assured him of his future +favour, and bade him return in all security to his post.</p> + +<p>Unhappily, however, the demon of ambition by which the Duke was +possessed proved too powerful for the generous clemency of the King, and +he resumed his treasonable practices; but a misunderstanding having +ensued between himself and the false friend by whom he was now betrayed, +all the private documents which had been exchanged between himself and +the foreign princes through whose aid he trusted to obtain the honours +of sovereignty, were communicated on this occasion to the monarch whose +dignity and whose confidence he had alike outraged.</p> + +<p>A free pardon was accorded to the traitor through whose means Henry was +made acquainted with the extent of the intrigue, on condition that he +should reside within the precincts of the Court and lend his assistance +to convict the Duke of his crime, terms to which the perfidious +confidant readily consented; while with a tact worthy of his falsehood, +he soon succeeded in reinstating himself in the good graces of the Duke, +by professing to be earnestly engaged in France in furthering his +interests, and by giving him reason to believe that he was still devoted +to his cause.</p> + +<p>To this deception, and to his own obstinacy, Biron owed his fate.<a name="179r"></a><a href="#_179_">[179]</a></p> + +<p>The alarming facts which had thus been revealed to them were +communicated by Henry and his +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page164"></a>[pg 164]</span> +minister to certain members of the privy +council, by whom a report was drawn up and placed in the hands of the +Chancellor; and, this preliminary arrangement completed, it was +determined to recall the Maréchal to Court either to justify himself, or +to undergo the penalty of his treason. In order to effect this object, +however, it was necessary to exercise the greatest caution, as Biron was +then in Burgundy; and his alarm having already been excited by the +evasion of his most confidential agent, they felt that he might, should +his suspicions be increased, place himself at the head of the troops +under his command, by whom he was idolized, and thus become doubly +dangerous. It was, consequently, only by a subterfuge that there was any +prospect of inducing him to approach the capital; and the King, by the +advice of Sully, and not without a latent hope that he might be enabled +to clear himself of blame, openly asserted that he put no faith in the +disclosures which had been made to him, and that he would advise the +Maréchal to be careful of those about him, whose envy or enmity led them +to put a misconstruction upon his motives as well as upon his actions. +The Baron de Luz,<a name="180r"></a><a href="#_180_">[180]</a> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page165"></a>[pg 165]</span> +the confidential friend of Biron, for whose ear +these declarations were especially designed, did not fail to communicate +them on the instant to the accused party; while La Fin,<a name="181r"></a><a href="#_181_">[181]</a> by whom he +had been betrayed, likewise wrote to assure him that in revealing the +conspiracy to the King and the ministers he had been cautious not to +utter a word by which he could be personally implicated. It is certain, +however, that the Duke placed little reliance either upon the assertions +of Henry, or the assurances of his treacherous agent; as on the receipt +of a letter from the sovereign, announcing his own instant departure for +Poitou, where he invited Biron to join him, in order that he might +afford him his advice upon certain affairs of moment, the latter wrote +to excuse himself, alleging, as a pretext for his disobedience to the +royal command, the rumour of a reported aggression of the Spaniards, and +the necessity of his presence at a meeting of the States of Burgundy +which had been convoked for the 22d of May, where +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page166"></a>[pg 166]</span> +it would be essential +that he should watch over the interests of his Majesty.<a name="182r"></a><a href="#_182_">[182]</a></p> + +<p>The King did not further insist at that moment; but having ascertained +on his return from Poitou that fresh movements had been made in +Burgundy, in Saintonge, in Périgord, and in Guienne, which threatened to +prove inimical to his authority, and that couriers were constantly +passing from one of these provinces to the other, he sent to desire the +presence of the Sieur Descures,<a name="183r"></a><a href="#_183_">[183]</a> an intimate friend and follower of +the Maréchal, whom he commanded to proceed with all speed to Burgundy, +and to inform his lord that if he did not forthwith obey the royal +summons, the sovereign would go in person to bring him thence. This +threat was sufficiently appalling; and the rather as Sully, by his +authority as grand-master of artillery, had taken the precaution, on +pretext of recasting the cannon and improving the quality of the powder +in the principal cities of Burgundy, to cripple Biron's resources, and +to render it impossible for him to attempt any rational resistance to +the royal will. The Maréchal soon perceived that he had been duped, but, +nevertheless, he would not yield; and Descures left him, firm in his +determination not to trust himself within the precincts of the Court.</p> + +<p>The King, who, from his old attachment to Biron, had hitherto hoped that +he had been calumniated, and that, in lieu of crimes, he had only been +guilty +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page167"></a>[pg 167]</span> +of follies, offended by so resolute an opposition to his will, +began, like his ministers, to apprehend that he must in truth +thenceforward number the Duke among his enemies; and he consequently +suffered himself, shortly after the return of his last messenger, to be +persuaded to despatch the President Jeannin<a name="184r"></a><a href="#_184_">[184]</a> as the bearer of a +third summons to the Maréchal, and to represent to him how greatly he +was increasing the displeasure of the sovereign by his disobedience, as +well as strengthening the suspicions +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page168"></a>[pg 168]</span> +which were already entertained +against him. Finally, the president was instructed to assure the haughty +and imperious rebel that the King had not forgotten the good service +which he had rendered to the nation; and that he ascribed the +accusations which had reached him rather to the exaggerations of those +who in making such reports sought to increase their own favour at Court +than to any breach of trust on the part of the Maréchal himself.<a name="185r"></a><a href="#_185_">[185]</a></p> + +<p>Somewhat reassured by these declarations, and unconscious of the extent +of La Fin's treachery, Biron allowed himself to be persuaded by the +eloquence of Jeannin, and reluctantly left Dijon for Fontainebleau, +where he arrived on the 13th of June. As he was about to dismount, La +Fin approached to welcome him; and while holding his stirrup whispered +in his ear: "Courage, my master; speak out boldly, for they know +nothing." The Duke silently nodded his reply, and at once proceeded to +the royal chamber, where Henry received him with a gay countenance and +open arms, declaring that he had done well to accept his invitation, or +he should assuredly have gone to fetch him in person as he had +threatened. Biron excused himself, but with a coldness extremely +displeasing to the King, who, however, forebore to exhibit any symptom +of annoyance; and after a short conversation in which no further +allusion was made to the position of the Maréchal, Henry, as he had +often previously done, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page169"></a>[pg 169]</span> +proposed to show him the progress of the new +buildings upon which he was then actively engaged; and, leading the way +to the gardens, he did in fact for a time point out to him every object +of interest. This done, he suddenly turned the discourse upon the +numerous reasons for displeasure which the recent acts of Biron had +given him (being careful, nevertheless, not to betray the extent of his +knowledge), and earnestly urged him to confess the real amount of the +imprudence of which he had been guilty, pledging his royal word, that +should he do so with frankness and sincerity, the avowal would ensure +his pardon.</p> + +<p>But this the infatuated Duke had no intention of conceding. The +whispered assurance of La Fin still vibrated on his ear, and he also +calculated largely on his intimacy with D'Auvergne, which secured to him +the influence of Madame de Verneuil. He consequently replied, with an +arrogance as unbecoming as it was misplaced, that he had not come to +Court to justify himself, but in order to ascertain who were his +accusers; and, moreover, added that, having committed no crime, he did +not require any pardon; nor could either Henry himself or the Duc de +Sully, with whom he had subsequently a lengthened interview, succeed in +inducing him to make the slightest confession.</p> + +<p>The noonday repast was no sooner over than the King sent to summon the +Maréchal to his closet, where he once more exerted every effort to +soften the obduracy of the man to whose valour he was +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page170"></a>[pg 170]</span> +well aware that +he had been greatly indebted for his crown, and whom he was consequently +anxious to save from dishonour and ignominy; but, unfortunately for his +own interests, Biron retained as vivid a recollection of the fact as +Henry himself; and he so highly estimated the value of his services, +that he resolved to maintain the haughty position which he had assumed, +and to persist in a denial that was fated to cost him his life. Instead, +therefore, of throwing himself upon the clemency of the King by an +undisguised avowal of his treason, he merely replied to the appeal by +again demanding to know who were his accusers; upon which Henry rose +from his seat, and exclaiming: "Come, we will play a match at tennis," +hastily left the room, followed by the culprit.</p> + +<p>The King having selected the Comte de Soissons<a name="186r"></a><a href="#_186_">[186]</a> as his second +against the Duc d'Epernon and the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page171"></a>[pg 171]</span> +Maréchal, this ill-assorted party +continued for some time apparently absorbed in the game; and so +thoroughly did it recall past scenes and times to the mind of the +monarch, that he resolved, before he abandoned his once faithful subject +to his fate, to make one last endeavour to overcome his obstinacy. He +accordingly authorized M. de Soissons to exert whatever influence he +possessed with the rash man who was so blindly working out his own ruin, +and to represent to him the madness of persisting in a line of conduct +which could not fail to provoke the wrath of his royal master.</p> + +<p>"Remember, Monsieur," said the Prince, who was as anxious as the monarch +himself that the scandal of a public trial, and the certainty of an +ignominious death, should be spared to so brave a soldier--"remember +that a sovereign's anger is the messenger of destruction." <a name="187r"></a><a href="#_187_">[187]</a></p> + +<p>Biron, however, persisted in declaring that he had no reason to fear the +displeasure of Henry, and had consequently no confession to make; and +with this fatal answer the Count was fain to content himself.</p> + +<p>The King rose early on the following morning, full of anxiety and +apprehension. He could not look back upon the many gallant acts of the +unfortunate Maréchal without feeling a bitter pang at the idea that an +old and formerly zealous servant was about to become a victim to +expediency, for the spirit of revolt, which he had hitherto endeavoured +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page172"></a>[pg 172]</span> +to suppress by clemency, had now risen hydra-headed, threatening to +dispute his right of reprisal, and to involve the nation once more in +civil war. He painfully felt, that under circumstances like these, +lenity would become, not only a weakness, but a crime, and possessing, +as he did, the most indubitable proofs of Biron's guilt, he saw himself +compelled to forget the friend in the sovereign, and to deliver up the +attainted noble to the justice of his betrayed country.</p> + +<p>A privy council was consequently assembled, at which Henry declared his +determination to arrest the Duke, and to put him upon his trial, if, +after mature deliberation, it was decided that he deserved death, as +otherwise he was resolved not to injure his reputation by any +accusations which might tarnish his renown or embitter his existence. To +this last indication of relenting he received in reply an assurance that +no further deliberation was requisite, as the treason of the Maréchal +was so fully proved, and the facts so amply authenticated, that he would +be condemned to the axe by every tribunal in the world.</p> + +<p>On finding that his councillors were unanimous in this opinion, the King +summoned MM. de Vitry<a name="188r"></a><a href="#_188_">[188]</a> and de Praslin,<a name="189r"></a><a href="#_189_">[189]</a> and gave them orders to +arrest +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page173"></a>[pg 173]</span> +both the Duc de Biron and the Comte d'Auvergne, desiring them at +the same time to act with the greatest caution, and carefully to avoid +all noise and disorder.</p> + +<p>When their Majesties had supped they retired to the private apartments, +where, among other courtiers, they were joined by the two conspirators, +both of whom were peculiarly obnoxious to the Queen--D'Auvergne from his +general character, as well as his relationship to Madame de Verneuil, +and Biron from his intimacy with the brother of the favourite, who had +renewed her pretended claim to the hand of Henry, a subject which always +tortured the heart of Marie, involving, as it did, the legitimacy of her +son, and her own honour. It was not, therefore, without a great exertion +of self-command that she replied to the ceremonious compliments of the +Duke by courtesies equally lip-deep, and, at the express desire of the +King, was induced to accept him as her companion at the card-table. +During the progress of the game, a Burgundian nobleman named Mergé +approached the Maréchal and murmured in a low voice, as he affected to +examine his cards, that he was about to be arrested, but Biron being at +that moment deeply absorbed in his occupation, did not hear or heed the +warning, and he continued to play on in the greatest security until +D'Auvergne, to whom Mergé had communicated the ill-success of his own +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page174"></a>[pg 174]</span> +attempt, in his turn drew near the royal table, and whispered as he +bowed profoundly to the Queen, by which means he brought his lips to a +level with the Duke's ear: "We are not safe here."</p> + +<p>Biron did not for an instant lose his presence of mind; but without the +movement of a muscle again gathered up his cards, and pursued his game, +which was only terminated at midnight by an intimation from the King +that it was time for her Majesty to retire. Henry then withdrew in his +turn; but before he left the room he turned towards the Maréchal and +said with marked emphasis: "Adieu, <i>Baron de Biron</i>, you know what I +have told you." <a name="190r"></a><a href="#_190_">[190]</a></p> + +<p>As the Duke, considerably startled by this extraordinary address, was +about to leave the antechamber, Vitry seized his right arm with one +hand, and with the other laid a firm grasp upon his sword, exclaiming: +"Monsieur, the King has confided the care of your person to me. Deliver +up your sword." A few of the gentlemen of the Duke's household who were +awaiting him made a show of resistance, but they were instantly seized +by the guard; upon which the Maréchal demanded an interview with +the monarch.</p> + +<p>"His Majesty has retired," replied Vitry. "Give me your sword."</p> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page175"></a>[pg 175]</span> +<p>"Ha! my sword," said Biron with a deep sigh of indignant mortification, +"that sword which has rendered him so much good service;" and without +further comment or expostulation he placed the weapon in the hands of +the captain of the guard, and followed him to the chamber in which he +was to pass the night.</p> + +<p>The Comte d'Auvergne had meanwhile also been arrested at the gate of the +palace by M. de Praslin, and conducted to another apartment.</p> + +<p>The criminals were no sooner secured than the King despatched a +messenger to Sully to inform him of the fact, and to desire his +immediate attendance at the palace; and on his arrival, after narrating +to him the mode of their capture, Henry desired him to mount his horse, +and to repair without delay to the Bastille, in order to prepare +apartments for them in that fortress. "I will forward them in boats to +the water-gate of the Arsenal," he pursued; "let them land there, but be +careful that they are seen by no one; and convey them thence to their +lodgings as quietly as possible across your own courts and gardens. So +soon as you have arranged everything for their landing, hasten to the +Parliament and to the Hôtel-de-Ville; there explain all that has passed, +and say that on my arrival in the capital I will communicate my reasons +for what I have done, of which the justice will be at once +apparent." <a name="191r"></a><a href="#_191_">[191]</a></p> + +<p>This arrangement was made upon the instant, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page176"></a>[pg 176]</span> +and on the morrow the +prisoners were embarked in separate boats upon the Seine, under a strong +escort of the King's bodyguard; and on their arrival at the Bastille +they were delivered into the express keeping of the Duc de Sully; while +upon his subsequent entrance into Paris on the afternoon of the same +day, Henry was received with acclamation by the citizens, who were aware +of the fruitless efforts made by the monarch to induce the Maréchal to +return to his allegiance, and whose joy was of the most enthusiastic +description at the escape of their beloved sovereign from a foul +conspiracy.<a name="192r"></a><a href="#_192_">[192]</a> The Maréchal de Biron, like all men who have attained +to a high station, and whose ambition prompts them to conciliate the +goodwill of those by whom they are approached, possessed many friends; +but the accusation of <i>lèse-majesté</i> under which he laboured was one of +so formidable a nature that they remained totally passive; and it was +only his near relatives who ventured to peril their own favour by making +an appeal in his behalf. Their supplications, earnest and humble though +they were, failed, however, to shake the resolution of Henry, whose +pride had, in this instance, been doubly wounded alike as a monarch and +as a man. He felt that not only had the King of France to deal with a +rebel, but that the confiding friend, who had been ready upon the +slightest appearance of regret or repentance once +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page177"></a>[pg 177]</span> +more to forgive, had +been treated with distrust and recompensed by falsehood.</p> + +<p>While those closely connected with him were endeavouring, by every means +in their power, to appease the just indignation of the sovereign, and to +intercede in his behalf, Biron himself, as though his past services must +necessarily suffice to secure his impunity, was indulging, even within +the formidable walls of the Bastille, in the grossest and most +ill-judged vituperations against the King; and boasting of his own +exploits, rather like a maniac than a brave and gallant soldier who had +led armies into the field, and there done his duty unflinchingly.<a name="193r"></a><a href="#_193_">[193]</a> +He partook sparingly of the food which was presented to him; and instead +of taking rest, spent the greater portion of the night in pacing to and +fro the narrow apartment. It was evident that he had firm faith either +in the royal pardon, or in the means of escape being provided for him by +his friends; but as day by day went by, and he received no intelligence +from without, while he remarked that every individual who entered his +chamber was fully armed, and that the knives upon his table were not +pointed, in order that he should be unable to convert them into +defensive weapons, he became somewhat less violent; and he no sooner +ascertained that Henry had refused to comply with the petition of his +family than he said, with a bitter laugh: "Ha! I see that they wish me +to take the road to the scaffold." Thenceforward he ceased to demand +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page178"></a>[pg 178]</span> +justice on his accusers, became less imperious, and even admitted that +he had no rational hope save in the mercy of the monarch.<a name="194r"></a><a href="#_194_">[194]</a></p> + +<p>On the 27th of July, the preliminary arrangements having been completed, +the Maréchal was conducted to the Palais de Justice by the Sieur de +Montigny,<a name="195r"></a><a href="#_195_">[195]</a> the Governor of Paris, in a covered barge escorted by +twelve or fifteen armed men. Previously, however, to his being put upon +his trial, he was privately interrogated by the commissioners chosen for +that purpose; but this last judicial effort to save him only tended to +secure his ruin. When confronted with his judges, Biron appeared to have +lost all consistency of character; the soldier was sunk in the sophist; +he argued vaguely and inconsistently; and compromised his own cause by +the very clumsiness of the efforts which he made to clear himself. +Unaware of the revelations of La Fin, when he was confronted with him he +declared him to be a man of honour, his relative, and his very good +friend; but the depositions of the Burgundian noble were no sooner made +known to him +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page179"></a>[pg 179]</span> +than he retracted his former assertion, branding him as a +sorcerer, a traitor, an assassin, and the vilest of men, with other +epithets too coarse for repetition.<a name="196r"></a><a href="#_196_">[196]</a> These terrible accusations, +however, came too late to serve his cause; he had already committed +himself by his previous panegyric; and, perceiving that such was the +case, he hastened to support his testimony against his former accomplice +by asserting that were Renazé alive and in France, he should be able to +prove the truth of what he advanced, and to justify himself. +Unfortunately for the success of this assurance, Renazé in his turn made +his appearance in court; having, by a strange chance, recently escaped +from Savoy, where the Duke had held him a prisoner; and Biron had the +mortification of finding that this, another of his ancient allies, had +not been more faithful to him in his adversity than La Fin. These two +witnesses, indeed, decided his fate; as the letters which were produced +against him were proved to have been written before the previous pardon +granted to him by Henry at Lyons, and they were consequently of no avail +as regarded the present accusation.</p> + +<p>The Parliament was presided over by Messire Pomponne de Bellièvre, +Chancellor of France, beside whom the Maréchal was requested to take his +place upon a low wooden stool. Matthieu asserts that, although neither +duke nor peer had obeyed the summons of the Chambers, the number of +Biron's judges nevertheless amounted to one hundred and +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page180"></a>[pg 180]</span> +twelve;<a name="197r"></a><a href="#_197_">[197]</a> +and it is probable that this very fact gave him confidence, as during +the two long hours occupied by his trial he never once lost his +self-possession, but argued as closely and as sagaciously as though he +had yielded to no previous intemperance of language. He urged the pardon +previously accorded to him by the King; earnestly protested that he had +never entered into any cabal against the throne or dignity of his +sovereign; and denied that any man could be proved a traitor, whatever +might be his wishes, so long as he made no effort to realize them. He +admitted that he might have talked rashly, but appealed to his judges +whether he had not proved himself equally reckless in the field; and +required them to declare if so venial a fault had not, by that fact, +already been sufficiently expiated. He then recapitulated the events of +his career as a military leader; but he did so temperately and modestly, +without a trace of the arrogant bombast for which he had throughout his +life been celebrated. So great was the effect of this unexpected and +manly dignity, that many members of the court were seen to shed tears; +and had his fate been decided upon the instant, it is probable that his +calm and touching eloquence might have saved his life; but so much time +had already been exhausted that enough did not remain for collecting the +votes, and the result of the trial was consequently deferred; the +Maréchal meanwhile returning to the Bastille +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page181"></a>[pg 181]</span> +under the same escort +which had conveyed him to the capital.<a name="198r"></a><a href="#_198_">[198]</a></p> + +<p>On the 29th, the Chambers having again assembled, they remained in +deliberation from six o'clock in the morning until two hours after +mid-day, when sentence of death was unanimously pronounced against the +prisoner; and he was condemned to lose his head in the Place de Grève, +"as attainted and convicted of having outraged the person of the King, +and conspired against his kingdom; all his property to be confiscated, +his peerage reunited to the Crown; and himself shorn of all his honours +and dignities."</p> + +<p>On the following day, the decision of the Parliament having been made +public, immense crowds collected in the Place de Grève in order to +witness the execution; scaffoldings were erected on every side for the +accommodation of the spectators; and the tumult at length became so +great that it reached the ears of the Maréchal in his prison-chamber. +Rushing to the window, whence he could command a view of some portion of +the open fields leading to the Rue St. Antoine, along which numerous +groups were still making their eager way, he exclaimed, in violent +emotion: "I have been judged, and I am a dead man." One of his guards +hastened to assure him that the outcry was occasioned by a quarrel +between two nobles, which was about to terminate in a duel; and the +unhappy prisoner thus remained for a short time in uncertainty as to his +ultimate +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page182"></a>[pg 182]</span> +fate. Yet still, as he sat in his dreary prison, he heard the +continued murmur of the excited citizens, who, believing that he was to +be put to death by torchlight, persisted in holding their weary watch +until an hour before midnight.<a name="199r"></a><a href="#_199_">[199]</a></p> + +<p>The King had, however, determined to postpone the execution until the +morrow; when, apparently yielding to the solicitations of the Duke's +family, but, as many surmised, anxious to avoid a tumult which the great +popularity of Biron with the troops, and the numerous friends and +followers whom he possessed about the Court, led him to apprehend might +prove the result of so public a disgrace to his surviving relatives, +Henry consented to change the place of execution to the court of the +Bastille, where the Maréchal accordingly was beheaded at five o'clock in +the evening. The circumstances attending his decapitation are too +painful for detail; suffice it that his last struggles for life +displayed a cowardice which ill accorded with his previous gallantry, +and that it was only by a feint that the executioner at length succeeded +in performing his ghastly office; while so great had been the violence +of the victim, that his head bounded three times upon the scaffold, and +emitted more blood than the trunk from which it had been severed.</p> + +<p>It was said that the father of the culprit, the former Maréchal, had on +one occasion, during an exhibition of the violence in which Biron so +continually indulged, bitterly exclaimed: "I would +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page183"></a>[pg 183]</span> +advise you, Baron, +as soon as peace is signed, to go and plant cabbages on your estate, or +you will one day bring your head to the scaffold." <a name="200r"></a><a href="#_200_">[200]</a> A fearful +prophecy fearfully fulfilled.</p> + +<p>The corpse was conveyed to the church of St. Paul, where it was interred +without any ceremony, but surrounded by a dense mass of the populace, +many of whom openly pitied his fate, and lamented over his fall.<a name="201r"></a><a href="#_201_">[201]</a></p> + +<p>La Fin and Renazé were pardoned; but Hubert, the secretary of the +Maréchal, suffered "the question," both ordinary and extraordinary, and +was condemned to perpetual imprisonment, having refused to make any +confession. He was, however, a short time subsequently, restored to +liberty; but the remembrance of all that he had undergone rankled in his +heart, and he no sooner found himself once more free than he abandoned +his country, and withdrew to Spain, where he passed the remainder of +his life.</p> + +<p>The Baron de Luz, who had revealed all he knew of the conspiracy on the +promise of a free pardon, was not only forgiven for the share which he +had taken in the plot, but had, moreover, all his appointments +confirmed; and was made governor of the castle of Dijon and the town of +Beaune. The governorship of Burgundy, vacant by the death of Biron, was +given to the Dauphin; and the lieutenancy of the province was conferred +upon the Duc +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page184"></a>[pg 184]</span> +de Bellegarde, by whom the young Prince was ultimately +succeeded in the higher dignity.</p> + +<p>A Breton nobleman, named Montbarot,<a name="202r"></a><a href="#_202_">[202]</a> was committed to the Bastille +on suspicion of being involved in the cabal; but no proof of his +participation having transpired, he was shortly afterwards liberated.</p> + +<p>The Duc de Bouillon, who was conscious that he had not been altogether +guiltless of participation in the crime for which the less cautious +Biron had just suffered death, deeming it expedient to provide for his +own safety, took refuge in his viscounty of Turenne, where, however, he +did not long remain inactive; and reports of his continued disaffection +having reached the ears of the King, he was, in his turn, summoned to +the royal presence in order to justify himself; but the example of his +decapitated friend was still too recent to encourage him to such a +concession; and instead of presenting himself at Court he despatched +thither a very eloquent letter, in which he informed the monarch that, +being aware of the falsehood and artifice of his accusers, he entreated +him to dispense with his appearance in the capital; and to approve +instead, that, for the satisfaction of his Majesty, the French nation, +and his own honour, he should present himself before +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page185"></a>[pg 185]</span> +the Chamber of +Castres; that assembly forming an integral portion of the Parliament of +Toulouse, which held jurisdiction over his own viscounty of Turenne. +Having forwarded this missive to the sovereign, he hastened to Castres, +where he appeared as he had suggested, and caused his presence to be +registered. The determination of Henry to compel his attendance at Paris +was, however, only strengthened by this act of defiance; and having +ascertained that the King was about to despatch a messenger to compel +his obedience, M. de Bouillon left Castres in haste for Orange, whence +he proceeded, by way of Geneva, to Heidelberg, and placed himself under +the protection of the Prince Palatine, after having declared his +innocence to Elizabeth of England and the other Protestant sovereigns, +and entreated their support and mediation.</p> + +<p>Thus far, with the exception of Biron himself, all the members of this +famous conspiracy had escaped with their lives, and some among them +without loss, either of freedom or of property; one of their number, +however, was fated to be less fortunate, and this one was the Baron de +Fontenelles,<a name="203r"></a><a href="#_203_">[203]</a> a man +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page186"></a>[pg 186]</span> +of high family, who had for several years +rendered himself peculiarly obnoxious to the King and his ministers, and +whose atrocious barbarities caused him to fall unpitied. This wretched +man, after having been put to the torture, was, by the sentence +pronounced against him by the council, broken alive upon the wheel, +where he suffered the greatest agony during an hour and a half. His +lieutenant was condemned to the gallows for having been the medium of +his communication with the Spanish Government; although, even as he was +ascending the fatal ladder, he continued to declare that he had always +been ignorant of the contents of the packets which he was charged to +deliver, and could neither read nor write.<a name="204r"></a><a href="#_204_">[204]</a></p> + +<p>With the life of Biron, the conspiracy had terminated; while his fate +had not failed to produce universal consternation. His devotion to the +early fortunes of the King had been at once so great and so efficient, +his military renown was so universally acknowledged, and his favour with +the monarch was so apparently beyond the reach of chance or change, that +his unhappy end pointed a moral even to the proudest, and so paralysed +the spirit of those who +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page187"></a>[pg 187]</span> +might otherwise have felt inclined to question +the royal authority, that even the nearest and dearest of his friends +uttered no murmur; while those individuals who had dreaded to find +themselves compromised by his ruin, and who, to their equal surprise and +satisfaction, discovered that, while he had unguardedly preserved all +the papers which could tend to his own destruction, he had destroyed +every vestige of their criminality, rejoiced at their escape, and +flattered themselves that their participation in his treachery would for +ever remain undiscovered; a circumstance which rendered them at once +patient and silent.</p> + +<p>That the necessity for taking the life of the Maréchal had been bitterly +felt by the King himself, we have already shown; and it was further +evinced when he declared to those who interceded for the doomed man, +that had his personal interests alone been threatened by the treason of +the criminal, he should have found it easy to pardon the wrong that had +been done him; but that, when he looked into the future, and remembered +that the safety of the kingdom which had been confided to him, and of +the son who was to succeed him upon the throne, must both be compromised +by sparing one who had already proved that his loyalty could not be +purchased by mercy, he held himself bound to secure both against an evil +for which there was no other safeguard than the infliction of the utmost +penalty of the law.</p> + +<p>Many argued that, having spared the lives of the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page188"></a>[pg 188]</span> +Ducs d'Epernon, de +Bouillon, and de Mayenne,<a name="205r"></a><a href="#_205_">[205]</a> all of whom had at different times been +in arms against him, Henry might equally have shown mercy to Biron; but +while they urged this argument, they omitted to remember that the +political crime of these three nobles had not been aggravated, like that +of the Maréchal, by private wrong; and that they had not, by an +unyielding obstinacy, and an ungrateful pertinacity in rebellion, +exhausted the forbearance of an indulgent monarch. Moreover, Biron, in +grasping at sovereignty, had not hesitated to invite the intrusion of +foreign and hostile troops into French territory, or to betray the +exigencies and difficulties of the army under his own command to his +dangerous allies; thus weakening for the moment, and imperilling for the +future, the resources of a frank and trusting master; two formidable +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page189"></a>[pg 189]</span> +facts, which justified the severity alike of his King and of his judges.</p> + +<p>The lesson was a salutary one for the French nobility, who had, from +long impunity, learnt to regard their personal relations with foreign +princes as matters beyond the authority of the sovereign, and which +could involve neither their safety nor their honour; for it taught them +that the highest head in the realm might fall under an accusation of +treason; and that, powerful as each might be in his own province or his +own government, he was still responsible to the monarch for the manner +in which he used that power, and answerable to the laws of his country +should he be rash enough to abuse it.</p> + +<p>That Henry felt and understood that such must necessarily be the effect +produced by the fate of the Maréchal there can be little doubt, as well +as that he was still further induced to impress so wholesome a +conviction upon the minds of his haughty aristocracy by the probability +of a minority, during which the disorders incident to so many +conflicting and imaginary claims could not fail to convulse the kingdom +and to endanger the stability of the throne; while it is no less evident +that, once having forced upon their reason a conviction of his own +ability to compel obedience where his authority was resisted, and to +assert his sovereign privilege where he felt it to be essential to the +preservation of the realm, he evinced no desire to extend his severity +beyond its just limits. Thus, as we have seen, with the exception +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page190"></a>[pg 190]</span> +of +the Baron de Fontenelles, who had drawn down upon himself the terrible +expiation of a cruel death, rather by a long succession of crime than by +his association in the conspiracy of Biron, all the other criminals +already judged had escaped the due punishment of their treason; while +the Comte d'Auvergne, after having been detained during a couple of +months in the Bastille, was restored to liberty at the intercession of +his sister, Madame de Verneuil, who pledged herself to the monarch that +he was guilty only in so far as he had been faithful to the trust +reposed in him by the Maréchal, and had forborne to betray his secret, +while he had never actively participated in the conspiracy. She moreover +assured Henry, who was only anxious to find an opportunity of pardoning +the Count--an anxiety which the tears and supplications of the Marquise, +as well as his own respect for the blood of the Valois inherited by +D'Auvergne from his royal father, tended naturally to increase--that the +prisoner was prepared, since the death of Biron had freed him from all +further necessity for silence, to communicate to his Majesty every +particular of which he was cognizant. The concession was accepted; the +Count made the promised revelations; and his liberation was promptly +followed by a renewal of the King's favour.</p> + +<p>Towards the close of the year, intelligence having reached Henry that +the Prince de Joinville, who was serving in the army of the Archduke, +had, in his turn, suffered himself to be seduced from his allegiance by +the Spaniards, he gave instant orders +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page191"></a>[pg 191]</span> +for his arrest; but the Prince no +sooner found himself a prisoner than he declared his readiness to +confess everything, provided he were permitted to do so to the King in +person and in the presence of Sully. His terms were complied with; and, +as both Henry and his minister had anticipated from the frivolous and +inconsequent character of their new captive, it at once became apparent +that no idea of treason had been blent with the follies of which he had +been guilty, but that they had merely owed their origin to his idle love +of notoriety. A correspondence with Spain had become, as we have shown, +the fashion at the French Court; and Joinville had accordingly, in order +to increase his importance, resolved to effect in his turn an +understanding with that country. During his audience of the King he so +thoroughly betrayed the utter puerility of his proceedings that the +monarch at once resolved to treat him as a silly and headstrong youth, +towards whom any extreme measure of severity would be alike unnecessary +and undignified; and he had consequently no sooner heard Joinville's +narration to an end than he desired the presence of his mother the +Duchesse de Guise and his brother the Duke,<a name="206r"></a><a href="#_206_">[206]</a> and +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page192"></a>[pg 192]</span> +as they entered +the royal closet, somewhat startled by so sudden a summons, he said, +directing their attention to the delinquent: "There stands the prodigal +son in person; he has filled his head with follies; but I shall treat +him as a child and forgive him for your sakes, although only on +condition that you reprimand him seriously; and that you, my nephew," +addressing himself particularly to the Duke, "become his guarantee for +the future. I place him in your charge, in order that you may teach him +wisdom if it be possible."</p> + +<p>In obedience to this command M. de Guise, who was well aware with how +rash and intemperate a spirit he was called upon to contend, at once, +with the royal sanction, reconducted Joinville to his prison, where +during several months the young Prince exhausted himself in threats, +murmurs, and every species of verbal extravagance, until wearied by the +monotony of confinement he finally subsided into repentance, and was, +upon his earnest promise of amendment, permitted to exchange his chamber +in the Bastille for a less stringent captivity in the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page193"></a>[pg 193]</span> +Château de +Dampierre.<a name="207r"></a><a href="#_207_">[207]</a> Such was the lenient punishment of the last of the +conspirators; and it was assuredly a clever stroke of policy in the +monarch thus to cast a shade of ridicule over the close of the cabal, +which, having commenced with a tragedy, had by his contemptuous +forbearance almost terminated in an epigram.</p> + +<p>The Court, after having passed a portion of the summer at St. Germain, +removed in the commencement of August to Fontainebleau, the advanced +pregnancy of the Queen having rendered her anxious to return to that +palace. But any gratification which she might have promised herself, in +this her favourite place of residence, was cruelly blighted by the +legitimation of the son of Madame de Verneuil, which was formally +registered at this period. Nor was this the only vexation to which she +was exposed, the notoriety of the King's intrigues becoming every day +more trying alike to her temper and to her health; while the new +concession which had been made to the vanity--or, as the Marquise +herself deemed it, to the honour--of the favourite, induced the latter +to commit the most indecent excesses, and to increase, if possible, the +almost regal magnificence of her attire and her establishment, at the +same time that her deportment towards the Queen was marked by an +insolent disrespect which involved the whole Court in perpetual +misunderstandings.</p> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page194"></a>[pg 194]</span> +<p>As it had already become only too evident that the unfortunate Marie de +Medicis possessed but little influence over the affections of her +husband, however he might be compelled to respect the perfect propriety +and dignity of her character, the cabal of the favourite daily increased +in importance; and the measure of the Queen's mortification overflowed, +when, soon after the royal visit to Fontainebleau, Henry took leave of +her in order to visit Calais, and she ascertained that he had on his way +stopped at the Château de Verneuil, whither he had been accompanied by +the Marquise. It was in vain that M. de Sully--to whom the King had +given strict charge to endeavour by every method in his power to +reconcile the Queen to his absence, and to provide for her amusement +every diversion of which she was in a condition to partake--exerted +himself to obey the command of the monarch; Marie was too deeply wounded +to derive any consolation from such puerile sources, nor was it until +the return of her royal consort, when his evident anxiety and increased +tenderness once more led her to believe that she might finally wean him +from his excesses and attach him to herself, that she once more +became calm.</p> + +<p>On the 11th of November the anticipated event took place, and the Queen +gave birth to her eldest daughter<a name="208r"></a><a href="#_208_">[208]</a> in the same oval chamber in which +the Dauphin first saw the light.<a name="209r"></a><a href="#_209_">[209]</a> The advent of Elisabeth de France +was not, however, hailed with the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page195"></a>[pg 195]</span> +same delight by Marie as had been +that of her first-born; on the contrary, her disappointment was extreme +on ascertaining the sex of the infant, from the fact of her having +placed the most entire confidence in the assurances of a devotee named +Soeur Ange, who had been recommended to her notice and protection by the +Sovereign-Pontiff, and who had, before she herself became cognizant of +the negotiations for her marriage, foretold that she would one day be +Queen of France. This woman, who still remained in her service, had +repeatedly assured her that she need be under no apprehension of bearing +daughters, as she was predestined by Heaven to become the mother of +three princes only; and after having, with her usual superstition, +placed implicit faith in the flattering prophecy, Marie no sooner +discovered its fallacy than she abandoned herself to the most violent +grief, refusing to listen to the consolations of her attendants, and +bewailing herself that she should have been so cruelly deceived, until +the King, although he in some measure participated in her annoyance, +succeeded in restoring her to composure by bidding her remember that had +she not been of the same sex as the child of which she had just made him +the father, she could not have herself realised the previous prediction +of Soeur Ange; an argument which, coupled with the probability that the +august infant beside her might in its turn ascend a European throne, was +in all likelihood the most efficacious one which could have been adopted +to reconcile her to its present comparative insignificance.</p> + +<p>FOOTNOTES:</p> + +<p><a name="_158_"></a><a href="#158r">[158]</a> César de Vendôme was the son of Henri IV and <i>la belle Gabrielle.</i> +He became Governor of Brittany, and superintendent-in-chief of the +national navigation. Henry also bestowed on him as an appanage the duchy +of Vendôme. He married the daughter of Philip Emmanuel of Lorraine, Duc +de Mercoeur, by whom he had three children: Isabelle, who became the +wife of Charles Amédée, Duc de Nemours; Louis, who died single; and +François, Duc de Beaufort.</p> + +<p><a name="_159_"></a><a href="#159r">[159]</a> Jean de Berthault (or Bertaut) was born at Caen in 1552. He was +first-almoner of Catherine de Medicis, Abbot of Aulnai, and subsequently +Bishop of Séez. He was a pupil of Ronsard, and a friend of Desportes. He +wrote a great number of sacred and profane poems, psalms, and sonnets. +He also produced a "Funeral Oration on Henri IV," and a "Translation of +St. Ambroise." He died in 1611.</p> + +<p><a name="_160_"></a><a href="#160r">[160]</a> <i>Amours du Grand Alcandre</i>, p. 41.</p> + +<p><a name="_161_"></a><a href="#161r">[161]</a> <i>Amours du Grand Alcandre</i>, p. 42.</p> + +<p><a name="_162_"></a><a href="#162r">[162]</a> Claude de Lorraine, Prince de Joinville, was the fourth son of +Henri, Duc de Guise, surnamed the <i>Balafré</i>, brother of Charles, Duc de +Mayenne, and of Louis, Cardinal de Guise. He married Marie de Rohan, +Duchesse de Chevreuse, the daughter of Hercule de Rohan, Duc de +Montbazon, and peer of France, and was subsequently known as Duc de +Chevreuse. He died in 1657.</p> + +<p><a name="_163_"></a><a href="#163r">[163]</a> <i>Amours du Grand Alcandre</i>, pp. 272, 273.</p> + +<p><a name="_164_"></a><a href="#164r">[164]</a> Dreux du Radier, vol. vi. p. 85. Saint-Edmé, p. 218.</p> + +<p><a name="_165_"></a><a href="#165r">[165]</a> <i>Amours du Grand Alcandre</i>, p. 274.</p> + +<p><a name="_166_"></a><a href="#166r">[166]</a> <i>Amours du Grand Alcandre</i>, p. 276.</p> + +<p><a name="_167_"></a><a href="#167r">[167]</a> Mademoiselle de Sourdis was the daughter of François d'Escoubleau, +Seigneur de Jouy, de Launay, Marquis de Sourdis, etc., and of Isabelle +Babou, Dame d'Alluie, daughter of Jean Babou, Seigneur de la +Bourdaisière, and aunt of Gabrielle d'Estrées. He was deprived of the +government of Chartres by the League; but was restored by Henri III at +the entreaty of Gabrielle.</p> + +<p><a name="_168_"></a><a href="#168r">[168]</a> Caterina Selvaggio was one of the Queen's favourite Italian +waiting-women.</p> + +<p><a name="_169_"></a><a href="#169r">[169]</a> Sully, <i>Mém</i>. vol. iv. pp. 93, 94.</p> + +<p><a name="_170_"></a><a href="#170r">[170]</a> Rambure, <i>MS. Mém</i>. vol. i. p. 332.</p> + +<p><a name="_171_"></a><a href="#171r">[171]</a> Capefigue, <i>Hist, de la Réforme, de la Ligue, et du Règne de Henri +IV</i>, vol. viii. pp. 147, 148.</p> + +<p><a name="_172_"></a><a href="#172r">[172]</a> <i>Histoire de la Mère et du Fils</i>, a continuation of the <i>Memoirs +of Richelieu,</i> incorrectly attributed to Mézeray, vol. i. p. 7.</p> + +<p><a name="_173_"></a><a href="#173r">[173]</a> Sully, <i>Note to Memoirs</i>, vol. iv. pp. 95, 96.</p> + +<p><a name="_174_"></a><a href="#174r">[174]</a> Richelieu, <i>La Mère et le Fils</i>, vol. i. p. 7.</p> + +<p><a name="_175_"></a><a href="#175r">[175]</a> Claude, Seigneur de la Trémouille, second Duc de Thouars, peer of +France, Prince de Talmond, was born in the year 1566, and first bore +arms under François de Bourbon, Duc de Montpensier. He embraced the +reformed religion, and attached himself to the fortunes of Henri de +Navarre, subsequently King of France, whom he followed to the sieges of +Rouen and Poitiers, and the battle of Fontaine-Française; after which +the King conferred upon him the rank of peer of France. He was the +brother-in-law of the Duc de Bouillon. He died in the castle of Thouars, +to which he had retired, suspected of treason, after refusing to return +to Court to justify himself, on the 25th of October 1604, in his +thirty-eighth year.</p> + +<p><a name="_176_"></a><a href="#176r">[176]</a> Jean Louis de Nogaret de la Valette, Duc d'Epernon, was the +younger son of an old Gascon family, who sought his fortunes at the +French Court under the name of Caumont. After the death of Charles IX, +he offered his services to Henri de Navarre, subsequently Henri IV; but +was ultimately admitted to the intimacy of Henri III, who caused him to +be instructed in politics and literature, and made him one of his +<i>mignons</i>. He was next created Duc d'Epernon, first peer and admiral of +France, colonel-general of infantry, and held several governments. On +the death of Henri III, this ennobled adventurer once more became a +partisan of his successor, and commanded the royal forces during the war +in Savoy; but throughout the whole of this reign he lived in constant +misunderstanding with the Court and the King, and was even suspected of +the act of regicide which deprived France of her idolised monarch. It +was the Duc d'Epernon who, immediately after that event, convoked the +Parliament, caused the recognition of Marie de Medicis as Regent, and +formed a privy council over which he presided. Banished by the Concini +during their period of power, he reappeared at Court after their fall, +but Richelieu would not permit him to hold any government office, and, +moreover, deprived him of all his governments save that of Guienne. He +died in 1642.</p> + +<p><a name="_177_"></a><a href="#177r">[177]</a> Daniel, vol. vii. p. 408.</p> + +<p><a name="_178_"></a><a href="#178r">[178]</a> Pedro Henriques Azevedo, Condé de Fuentes.</p> + +<p><a name="_179_"></a><a href="#179r">[179]</a> Montfaucon, vol. v. pp. 405-407.</p> + +<p><a name="_180_"></a><a href="#180r">[180]</a> Edmé de Malain, Baron de Luz, Lieutenant-Governor of Burgundy, was +the son of Joachim de Malain and Marguerite d'Epinac. He was deeply +involved in the conspiracy of the Maréchal de Biron, and would +infallibly have perished with him had he not been induced by the +President Jeannin to reveal all that he knew of the plot to Henri IV, on +condition of a free pardon. He survived his treachery for ten years, and +in 1613 was killed in a duel by the Chevalier de Guise. His son, Claude +de Malain, having sworn to avenge his death, in his turn challenged M. +de Guise, at whose hands he met with the same fate as his father.</p> + +<p><a name="_181_"></a><a href="#181r">[181]</a> Jacques de Lanode, Sieur de la Fin, was a petty Burgundian +nobleman, whose spirit of intrigue was perpetually involving those to +whom he attached himself in cabals and factions. He had been actively +engaged at one time in the affairs of the Duc d'Alençon, and at another, +he was no less busily engaged in instigating Henri III to aggressive +measures against the Duc de Guise. Since that period he had negotiated +with the ministers of Spain and Savoy, and by these means he had +contracted a great intimacy with the Duc de Biron, to whom he affected +to be distantly related, and over whom he acquired such extraordinary +ascendancy by his subtle and unceasing flattery that the weak Maréchal +became a mere puppet in his hands, and, misled by his vanity, suffered +himself to be persuaded that his merit had been overlooked and his +services comparatively unrewarded, and that he was consequently fully +justified in aspiring even to regal honours, and in using every exertion +to attain them.</p> + +<p><a name="_182_"></a><a href="#182r">[182]</a> Matthieu, <i>Histoire des Derniers Troubles arrivez en France</i>, book +ii. p. 411.</p> + +<p><a name="_183_"></a><a href="#183r">[183]</a> Pierre Fougeuse, Sieur Descures.</p> + +<p><a name="_184_"></a><a href="#184r">[184]</a> Pierre Jeannin was the architect of his own fortunes. He was born +at Autun in 1540, where his father followed the trade of a tanner, and +was universally respected alike for his probity and his sound judgment. +The future president, after receiving the rudiments of his education in +his native town, was removed to Bourges, where he became a pupil of the +celebrated Cujas. In 1569 he was entered as an advocate at the +Parliament of Burgundy, where he greatly distinguished himself during +the space of two years, at the expiration of which time he was appointed +provincial advocate and member of the Burgundian States; and in this +capacity he justified, by his extraordinary talents, the choice of his +fellow-citizens. On one occasion a wealthy individual, enchanted by his +eloquence, waited upon him at his house, and expressed a desire to have +him for a son-in-law, inquiring, however, at the same time, the amount +of his property. Jeannin, by no means disconcerted at the abruptness of +his visitor, pointed with a smile first to his head and then to his +books: "You see it before you," he said with honest pride; "I have not, +nor do I require, a greater fortune." Tradition is silent as regards the +termination of the interview. In the following year (1572) Jeannin was +present at the council which was held during the frightful massacre of +St. Bartholomew, where he secured the friendship of the Comte de Charny, +at that period Grand Equerry of France, Lieutenant-General of Burgundy, +and provisional governor of the province during the absence of the Duc +d'Aumale, then Governor of Paris; and in the same year he was deputed +from the <i>tiers-état</i> of Burgundy to the States-General, convoked at +Blois by Henri III. It was on that occasion that he began to comprehend +the designs of the Guises, and made the celebrated speech in favour of +religious toleration which does so much honour to his memory. By Henri +III he was successively appointed governor of the chancelry of Burgundy, +councillor of the provincial Parliament, and subsequently +president.--<i>Petitot</i>.</p> + +<p><a name="_185_"></a><a href="#185r">[185]</a> Daniel, vol. vii. pp. 414, 415. Péréfixe, vol. ii. p. 367. +Matthieu, <i>Hist. des Derniers Troubles</i>, book ii. p. 411.</p> + +<p><a name="_186_"></a><a href="#186r">[186]</a> Charles de Bourbon-Conti, Comte de Soissons, espoused the cause of +the King of Navarre, whom he accompanied to the battle of Coutras in +1587. Henry promised to him the hand of his sister, Catherine de +Navarre, to whom he presented him immediately afterwards, when a +reciprocal affection was the result. M. de Soissons, however, abandoned +the reform party, and did not return to it until after the death of +Henri III. He served actively and zealously during the League; but +having discovered that the King did not intend to fulfil his promise of +marrying him to the Princess, he quitted him during the siege of Rouen +in 1592, on the pretext of illness, and hastened to Béarn, hoping to +induce Catherine to become his wife before the King could interfere to +prevent their union, and by engaging himself to support his brother, the +Cardinal de Bourbon, to make himself master of the possessions of the +house of Navarre beyond the Loire. On reaching Béarn, however, he found +Henry already there, and was obliged to withdraw without having +accomplished either object. A short time subsequently he renewed his +friendship with that monarch, and officiated as Duke of Normandy at his +coronation at Chartres in 1594.</p> + +<p><a name="_187_"></a><a href="#187r">[187]</a> Péréfixe, vol. ii. p. 369.</p> + +<p><a name="_188_"></a><a href="#188r">[188]</a> Louis de l'Hôpital de Vitry, knight of all the Royal Orders, and +Captain of the King's bodyguard, was descended from the illustrious and +ancient family of the Marquis de Sainte-Même and de Montpellier, Comtes +d'Entremons.</p> + +<p><a name="_189_"></a><a href="#189r">[189]</a> Charles de Choiseul, Marquis de Praslin, the representative of one +of the most illustrious families of France, was a descendant of the +ancient Comtes de Langres. He distinguished himself at the siege of La +Fère in 1580, at that of Paris in 1589, and at the battle of Aumale in +1592. Henri IV made him a captain of his bodyguard, and Louis XIII, in +1619, bestowed upon him the <i>bâton</i> of marshal of France. He died in +1626, in his sixty-third year.</p> + +<p><a name="_190_"></a><a href="#190r">[190]</a> Mézeray asserts, and with greater probability, that Henry's +parting words were: "Since you will not speak out, adieu, Baron" (<i>Hist, +de France</i>, vol. x. p. 201); while Péréfixe gives a third version, +asserting that the King took leave of him by saying: "Well then, the +truth must be learnt elsewhere; adieu, Baron de Biron" (<i>Hist, de Henri +le Grand</i>, vol. ii. p. 371).</p> + +<p><a name="_191_"></a><a href="#191r">[191]</a> Sully, <i>Mém</i>. vol. iv. pp. 108, 109.</p> + +<p><a name="_192_"></a><a href="#192r">[192]</a> Daniel, vol. vii. pp. 415-417. Matthieu, <i>Hist, des Derniers +Troubles,</i> book ii. pp. 413-415. Mézeray, vol. x. pp. 196-202. Péréfixe, +vol. ii. pp. 369-372.</p> + +<p><a name="_193_"></a><a href="#193r">[193]</a> Mézeray, vol. x. p. 203.</p> + +<p><a name="_194_"></a><a href="#194r">[194]</a> Matthieu, <i>Hist. des Troubles</i>, book ii. pp. 415, 416.</p> + +<p><a name="_195_"></a><a href="#195r">[195]</a> François de la Grange d'Anquien, Seigneur de Montigny, Sery, etc., +afterwards known as the Maréchal de Montigny, served with the Catholics +at Coutras, where he was taken prisoner. In 1601 Henri IV made him +Governor of Paris; in 1609, lieutenant of the King in the Three +Bishoprics; and subsequently, in 1616, Marie de Medicis procured for him +the <i>bâton</i> of Marshal of France. He commanded the royal army against +the malcontents in Nivernais, and died in the same year (1617). He had +but one son, who left no male issue; but his brother had, among other +children, Henri, Marquis d'Anquien, whose daughter, Marie Casimire, +married Sobieski, King of Poland, and died in France, in 1716, two years +after her return to her native country.</p> + +<p><a name="_196_"></a><a href="#196r">[196]</a> Mézeray, vol. x. p. 204.</p> + +<p><a name="_197_"></a><a href="#197r">[197]</a> L'Etoile computes them at one hundred and twenty-seven.--<i>Journ. +de Henri IV</i>, vol. iii. p. 21.</p> + +<p><a name="_198_"></a><a href="#198r">[198]</a> Mézeray, vol. x. p. 205.</p> + +<p><a name="_199_"></a><a href="#199r">[199]</a> Matthieu, <i>Hist. des Troubles</i>, book ii. pp. 426, 427.</p> + +<p><a name="_200_"></a><a href="#200r">[200]</a> Monttaucon, vol. v. p. 410.</p> + +<p><a name="_201_"></a><a href="#201r">[201]</a> Péréfixe, vol. ii. p. 377. Mézeray, vol. x. p. 209.</p> + +<p><a name="_202_"></a><a href="#202r">[202]</a> Réné de Marée-Montbarot, Governor of Rennes in 1602. Wrongly +suspected of complicity with Biron, he made no effort to evade the +consequences of the accusation, but suffered himself to be arrested in +the seat of his government, whence he was conveyed to the Bastille; and +although he succeeded in establishing his innocence, he found himself, +on his liberation, deprived of his office.</p> + +<p><a name="_203_"></a><a href="#203r">[203]</a> Guy Eder de Beaumanoir de Lavardin, Baron de Fontenelles, was a +Breton noble, who, according to De Thou, had been a celebrated Leaguer +and brigand. From the year 1597 he had held, in the name of the Duc de +Mercoeur, the fort of Douarnenez in Brittany, and the island of Tristain +in which it is situated. Since that period he had continually been +guilty of acts of piracy upon the English, and had even extended his +system of theft and murder indiscriminately both on sea and land. He +might, had he been willing so to do, have profited by the benefit of the +edict accorded to the Duc de Mercoeur in 1598, but he affected to hold +it as a point of honour to obtain a distinct one for himself, and he +even appears to have continued in the enjoyment of his government +despite this obstinacy; but having been convicted, during a period of +profound peace, of maintaining an intelligence with the Spaniards, he +was made prisoner by a stratagem, by Nicolas Rapin, provost of the +connétablie (or constable's jurisdiction), as an accomplice of the Duc +de Biron, as he was on the point of delivering up both the fort and the +island to his dangerous allies.</p> + +<p><a name="_204_"></a><a href="#204r">[204]</a> L'Etoile, vol. x. pp. 36, 37.</p> + +<p><a name="_205_"></a><a href="#205r">[205]</a> Charles de Lorraine, Duc de Mayenne, was the second son of +François de Lorraine, Duc de Guise, and was born in 1554. He +distinguished himself at the sieges of Poitiers and La Rochelle, and at +the battle of Montcontour, and fought successfully against the +Calvinists in Guienne and Saintonge. His brothers having been killed at +the States of Blois in 1588, he declared himself chief of the League, +and assumed the title of lieutenant-general of the kingdom and crown of +France; and by virtue of this self-created authority, caused the +Cardinal de Bourbon to be declared King, under the name of Charles X. +Having inherited the hatred of his brothers for Henri III, and his +successor Henri IV, he marched eighty thousand men against the latter +Prince, but was defeated, both at Arques and Ivry. He annihilated the +faction of the Sixteen; and was ultimately compelled to effect a +reconciliation with the King in 1599, when Henri IV, with his usual +clemency, not only pardoned his past opposition, but bestowed upon him +the government of the Isle of France. The Duc de Mayenne died in 1611, +leaving by his wife, Henriette de Savoie, daughter of the Comte de +Tende, one son, Henri, who died without issue in 1621.</p> + +<p><a name="_206_"></a><a href="#206r">[206]</a> Charles de Lorraine, Duc de Guise, born in 1571, was the son of +Henri, Duc de Guise, who was assassinated at the States of Blois in +1588. At the period of his father's death he was conveyed to the castle +of Tours, where he was retained a prisoner until August 1591, when he +effected his escape, a circumstance which materially changed the +fortunes of the League. The general impression in the capital had been +that he would become the husband of the Infanta Isabel, the daughter of +Philip II of Spain, who would cause him to be proclaimed King, an +arrangement which the Duque de Feria, the Spanish ambassador, proposed +to the League in 1593. The Legate, the Sixteen, and the doctors of the +Sorbonne, alike favoured this election, and the negotiations proceeded +so far that the Spaniards and Neapolitans in Paris rendered him regal +honours. The young Prince, who had at this period only attained his +twenty-second year, expressed great indignation at being made the puppet +of so absurd a comedy, feeling convinced that neither the Duc de Mayenne +nor the Duc de Nemours, both of whom coveted the crown, would finally +favour his accession; and there can be little doubt that the state of +extreme poverty to which he was reduced at the time caused him to +consider the project as still more extravagant than he might otherwise +have done, it being stated (<i>Mém. pour l'Hist. de France</i>) that his +servants were, on one occasion, compelled to pawn one of his cloaks and +his saddle-cloth in order to furnish him with a dinner.</p> + +<p><a name="_207_"></a><a href="#207r">[207]</a> Sully, <i>Mém</i>. vol. iv. pp. 128, 129. Daniel, vol. vii. p. 423. +Mézeray, vol. x. p. 219.</p> + +<p><a name="_208_"></a><a href="#208r">[208]</a> Elisabeth de France, who married in 1615 Philip IV of Spain.</p> + +<p><a name="_209_"></a><a href="#209r">[209]</a> Bassompierre, <i>Mém</i>. p. 26.</p> + + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page196"></a>[pg 196]</span> +<br><br><hr style="width: 35%;"><br><br> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV</h2> + +<h3>1603</h3> + +<p>Court festivities--Madame de Verneuil is lodged in the palace--She gives +birth to a daughter--Royal quarrels--Mademoiselle de Guise--Italian +actors--Revolt at Metz--Henry proceeds thither and suppresses the +rebellion--Discontent of the Duc d'Epernon--The Duchesse de Bar and the +Duc de Lorraine arrive in France--Illness of Queen Elizabeth of +England--Her death--Indisposition of the French King--Sully at +Fontainebleau--Confidence of Henri IV in his wife--His recovery--Renewed +passion of Henry for Madame de Verneuil--Anger of the Queen--Quarrel of +the Comte de Soissons and the Duc de Sully--The edict--Treachery of +Madame de Verneuil--Insolence of the Comte de Soissons--A royal +rebuke--Alarm of Madame de Verneuil--Hopes of the Queen--Jealousy of the +Marquise--The dinner at Rosny--The King pacifies the province of Lower +Normandy--The Comte de Soissons prepares to leave the kingdom--Is +dissuaded by the King--Official apology of Sully--Reception of +Alexandre-Monsieur into the Order of the Knights of Malta--Death of the +Duchesse de Bar--Grief of the King--The Papal Nuncio--Treachery near the +throne--A revelation--The Duc de Villeroy--A stormy audience--Escape of +L'Hôte--His pursuit--His death--Ignominious treatment of his +body--Madame de Verneuil asserts her claim to the hand of the King--The +Comte d'Auvergne retires from the Court--Madame de Verneuil requests +permission to quit France--Reply of the King--Indignation of Marie--The +King resolves to obtain the written promise of marriage--Insolence +of the favourite--Weakness of Henry--He asks the advice of +Sully--Parallel between a wife and a mistress--A lame apology--The two +Henrys--Reconciliation between the King and the favourite--Remonstrances +of Sully--A delicate dilemma--Extravagance of the Queen--The "Pot de +Vin"--The royal letter--Evil influences--Henry endeavours to effect a +reconciliation with the Queen--Difficult diplomacy--A temporary +calm--Renewed differences--A minister at fault--Mademoiselle de la +Bourdaisière--Mademoiselle de Beuil--Jealousy of Madame de +Verneuil--Conspiracy of the Comte d'Auvergne--Intemperance of the +Queen--Timely interference--Confidence accorded by the Queen to Sully--A +dangerous suggestion--Sully reconciles the royal couple--Madame de +Verneuil is exiled from the Court--She joins the conspiracy of her +brother--The forged contract--Apology of the Comte d'Entragues--Promises +of Philip of Spain to the conspirators--Duplicity of the Comte +d'Auvergne--He is pardoned by the King--His treachery suspected by M. de +Loménie--D'Auvergne +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page197"></a>[pg 197]</span> +escapes to his government:--Is made prisoner and +conveyed to the Bastille--His self-confidence--A devoted wife--The +requirements of a prisoner--Hidden documents--The treaty with Spain--The +Comtesse d'Entragues--Haughty demeanour of Madame de Verneuil--The +mistress and the minister--Mortification of Sully--Marriage of +Mademoiselle de Beuil--Henry embellishes the city of Paris and +undertakes other great national works.</p><br> + +<p>A few weeks after the birth of Madame Elisabeth the Court returned to +Paris, where, in honour of the little Princess, several ballets were +danced and a grand banquet was given to the sovereigns by the nobility; +but the heart of the Queen was too full of chagrin to enable her to +assist with even a semblance of gratification at the festivities in +which those around her were absorbed. The new-born tenderness lately +exhibited by her husband had gradually diminished; while the assumption +of the favourite, who was once more in her turn about to become a +mother, exceeded all decent limits. The daily and almost hourly disputes +between the royal couple were renewed with greater bitterness than ever, +and when, on the 21st of January, Madame de Verneuil, like herself, and +again under the same roof, gave birth to a daughter,<a name="210r"></a><a href="#_210_">[210]</a> Marie de +Medicis no longer attempted to suppress the violence of her indignation; +nor was it until the King, alike chafed and bewildered by her +upbraidings, declared that should she persist in rendering his existence +one of perpetual turmoil and discomfort he would fulfil his former +threat of compelling her to quit the kingdom, that he could induce +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page198"></a>[pg 198]</span> +her +to desist from receiving him with complaints and reproaches. Henry was +aware that he had discovered, by the assertion of this resolve, a +certain method of silencing his unfortunate consort, who, had she been +childless, would in all probability gladly have sacrificed her ambition +to her sense of dignity; but Marie was a mother, and she felt that her +own destiny must be blended with that of her offspring. Thus she had +nothing left to her save to submit; and deeply as she suffered from the +indignities which were heaped upon her as a wife, she shrank from a +prospect so appalling as a separation from the innocent beings to whom +she had given life.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile the King, wearied alike of the exigencies of his mistress and +the cold, unbending deportment of the Queen, again made approaches to +Mademoiselle de Guise, upon whom he had already, a year or two +previously, lavished all those attentions which bespoke alike his +admiration and his designs; but he was not destined to be more +successful with this lady than before, her intimacy with the Queen, to +whose household she was attached, rendering her still more averse than +formerly to encourage the licentious addresses of the monarch. The +excitement of this new passion nevertheless sufficed for a time to wean +him from his old favourite; and forgetting his age in his anxiety to win +the favour of the beautiful and witty Marguerite, he appeared on the +19th of February in a rich suit of white satin in the court of the +Tuileries, where he had invited the nobles of his Court to run at the +ring, and acquitted +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page199"></a>[pg 199]</span> +himself so dexterously that he twice carried it off +amid the acclamations of the spectators.</p> + +<p>From this period until the end of the month the royal circle were +engaged in one continual succession of festivities, wherein high play, +banquets, ballets, balls (at the latter of which a species of dance +denominated <i>Braules</i>, and corrupted by the English into <i>Brawls</i>, which +became afterwards so popular at the Court of Elizabeth, was of constant +occurrence, as well as the <i>Corranto</i>, a livelier but less graceful +movement), and theatrical representations formed the principal features. +An Italian company invited to France by the Queen, under the management +of Isabella Andrëini, also appeared before the Court, but no record is +left of the nature of their performance.<a name="211r"></a><a href="#_211_">[211]</a></p> + +<p>From this temporary oblivion of all political anxiety Henry was, +however, suddenly aroused by a rumour which reached the Court of a +revolt in the town of Metz, which proved to be only too well founded. +For some time previously great discontent had existed among the +citizens, who considered themselves aggrieved by the tyranny of the two +lieutenants<a name="212r"></a><a href="#_212_">[212]</a> of the Duc d'Epernon their governor; and to such a +height had their opposition to this delegated authority at length risen +that the Duke found himself compelled to proceed to the city, in order, +if possible, to reconcile the conflicting parties. This intelligence had +no sooner been communicated to the King than +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page200"></a>[pg 200]</span> +he resolved to profit by +so favourable an opportunity of repossessing himself, not only of the +town itself, but of the whole province of Messin, in order to disable +the Duc d'Epernon (against whom his suspicions had already been aroused) +from making hereafter a disloyal use of the power which his authority +over so important a territory afforded to him of contravening the +measures of the sovereign. The fortress was one of great importance to +Henry, who was aware of the necessity of placing it in the safe keeping +of an individual upon whom he could place the fullest and most perfect +reliance; and the more so that M. d'Epernon had, during the reign of +Henri III, rather assumed in Metz the state of a sovereign prince than +fulfilled the functions of its governor, and that he would, as the King +at once felt, if not opposed, resist any encroachment upon his +self-constituted privileges. The revolt of the Messinese (for, as was +soon ascertained, the disaffection was not confined to the city, but +extended throughout the whole of the adjoining country) afforded an +admirable opening for the royal intervention, and Henry instantly +decided upon visiting the province in person, accompanied by his whole +Court, before the two factions should have time to reconcile their +differences and to deprecate his interference. At the close of February +he accordingly commenced his journey, despite the inclemency of the +weather and the unfavourable condition of the roads, which rendered +travelling difficult and at times even dangerous for the Queen and her +attendant ladies; and pretexting +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page201"></a>[pg 201]</span> +a visit to his sister the Duchesse de +Bar, he advanced to Verdun, where he remained for a few days ere he +finally made his entry into Metz.</p> + +<p>So unexpected an apparition paralyzed all parties. M. d'Epernon having +refused to consent to the removal of Sobole, who was, as he knew, +devoted to his interests, had failed to appease the indignation of the +Messinese, who were consequently eager to obtain justice from the King; +while Sobole himself, after a momentary vision of fortifying the citadel +and defying the royal authority, became convinced that his design was +not feasible; and he accordingly obeyed without a murmur the sentence of +banishment pronounced against him, gave up the fortress unconditionally, +and left the province.</p> + +<p>Sobole had no sooner resigned his trust than the King appointed M. de +Montigny lieutenant-governor of the province of Messin, and his brother, +M. d'Arquien,<a name="213r"></a><a href="#_213_">[213]</a> lieutenant-governor of the town and fortress; while +the garrison was replaced by a portion of the bodyguard by which the +monarch had been accompanied from the capital.</p> + +<p>The vexation of the Duc d'Epernon was extreme, but he dared not +expostulate, although he at once perceived that his power was +annihilated. So long as his lieutenants had been creatures of his own, +his dominion over the province had been absolute; but when they were +thus replaced by officers of the King's selection, his influence became +merely nominal; so +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page202"></a>[pg 202]</span> +great, moreover, had been the tact of Henry, that he +had found means to compel the Duke himself to solicit the dismissal of +Sobole and his brother, in order to assure his own tenure of office; and +he was consequently placed in a position which rendered all semblance of +discontent impossible, while the citizens, delighted to find themselves +thus unexpectedly revenged upon their oppressors, and proud of the +presence of the sovereigns within their walls, were profuse in their +demonstrations of loyalty and attachment.</p> + +<p>A slight indisposition having detained the King for a longer period than +he had anticipated at Metz, the Duchesse de Bar, the Duc de Lorraine, +and the Duc and Duchesse de Deux-Ponts, arrived on the 16th of March to +welcome him to the province. Thereupon a series of entertainments was +given to these distinguished guests which was long matter of tradition +among the Messinese; and which resulted in the betrothal of Mademoiselle +de Rohan and the young Duc de Deux-Ponts.<a name="214r"></a><a href="#_214_">[214]</a></p> + +<p>While still sojourning at Metz, information reached Henry of the serious +illness of Elizabeth of England; a despatch having been forwarded to the +monarch by the Comte de Beaumont,<a name="215r"></a><a href="#_215_">[215]</a> his ambassador at the Court of +London, informing him of the apprehensions which were entertained that +her Majesty could not survive so grave a malady. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page203"></a>[pg 203]</span> +The effect of this +intelligence was to induce the King to hasten his return to his capital, +and he accordingly prepared for immediate departure; but he was finally +prevailed upon to sojourn for a few days at Nancy, where Madame (his +sister) had prepared a magnificent ballet, which was accordingly +performed, greatly to the admiration of the two Courts. Henry, however, +whose anxiety exceeded all bounds, caused courier after courier to be +despatched for tidings of the illustrious invalid, and took little share +in the festivities which were designed to do him honour. He was probably +on the eve, as he declared in a letter to the Duc de Sully, of losing an +ally who was the enemy of his enemies, and a second self, while he was +totally ignorant of the views and feelings of her successor.</p> + +<p>His forebodings were verified, for ere the Court left Nancy, Elizabeth +had breathed her last; which intelligence was immediately conveyed to +him, together with the assurance that her council had secured the person +of the Lady Arabella Stuart, the cousin of the King of Scotland, and +that there was consequently nothing to fear as regarded the succession. +The death of Elizabeth did not in fact in any respect affect the +relative position of the two countries, neither Henri IV nor James I. +being desirous to terminate the good understanding which existed between +them; and on the 30th of July a treaty of confederation was concluded +between the two sovereigns by Sully, in which they were mutually pledged +to protect the United Provinces of the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page204"></a>[pg 204]</span> +Low Countries against their +common enemy Philip of Spain.</p> + +<p>But, notwithstanding the apparent certainty of a continuance of his +amicable relations with England, whether it were that this fatal +intelligence operated upon the bodily health of the King, or that his +hasty journey homeward had overtaxed his strength, it is certain that on +reaching Fontainebleau he had so violent an attack of fever as to be +compelled to countermand the council which had been convened for the +third day after his arrival. The Court physicians, bewildered by so +sudden and severe an illness, declared the case to be a hopeless one; +while Henry himself, believing that his end was approaching, caused a +letter to be written to Sully to desire his immediate attendance.<a name="216r"></a><a href="#_216_">[216]</a> +So fully, indeed, did he appear to anticipate a fatal termination of the +attack, that while awaiting the arrival of the minister, he caused the +portrait of the Dauphin to be brought to him; and after remaining for a +few seconds with his eyes earnestly fixed upon it, he exclaimed, with a +deep sigh: "Ha! poor child, what will you have to suffer if your father +should be taken from you!" <a name="217r"></a><a href="#_217_">[217]</a></p> + +<div class="fig" style="width:100%;"> +<a name="illus0497"></a> +<img src="images/illus0497.jpg" width="452" height="500" alt="[Illustration: ]"> +<p class="caption">SULLY.</p> +</div> + +<p>Sully lost no time in obeying the melancholy summons of the King; and, +on arriving at Fontainebleau, at once made his way to the royal chamber, +where he indeed found Henry in his bed, but with no symptoms of +immediate dissolution visible either in his countenance or manner. The +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page205"></a>[pg 205]</span> +Queen sat beside him with one of his hands clasped in hers; and as he +remarked the entrance of the Duke, he extended the other, exclaiming: +"Come and embrace me, my friend; I rejoice at your arrival. Within two +hours after I had written to you I was in a great degree relieved from +pain; and I have since gradually recovered from the attack. Here," he +continued, turning towards the Queen, "is the most trustworthy and +intelligent of all my servants, who would have assisted you better than +any other in the preservation alike of my kingdom and of my children, +had I been taken away. I am aware that his humour is somewhat austere, +and at times perhaps too independent for a mind like yours; and that +there would not have been many wanting who might, in consequence, have +endeavoured to alienate from him the affections of yourself and of my +children; but should it ever be so, do not yield too ready a credence to +their words. I sent for him expressly that I might consult with both of +you upon the best method to avert so great an evil; but, thanks be to +God, I feel that such a precaution was in this instance +unnecessary." <a name="218r"></a><a href="#_218_">[218]</a></p> + +<p>Sully, in describing this scene, withholds all comment upon the King's +perfect confidence in the heart and intellect of his royal consort; but +none can fail to feel that the moment must have been a proud one for +Marie, in which she became conscious that the nobler features of her +character had been +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page206"></a>[pg 206]</span> +thoroughly appreciated by her husband. The vanity of +the woman could well afford to slumber while the value of the wife and +of the Queen was thus openly and generously acknowledged.</p> + +<p>And truly did Marie de Medicis need a remembrance like this to support +her throughout her unceasing trials; for scarcely had the King recovered +sufficient strength to encounter the exertion than he determined to +remove to Paris; and, having intimated his wish to the Queen, immediate +preparations were made for their departure. They arrived in the capital +totally unexpected at nine o'clock in the morning, and alighted at the +Hôtel de Gondy, where Henry took a temporary leave of his wife, and +hastened to the residence of Madame de Verneuil, with whom he remained +until an hour after mid-day; thence he proceeded to the abode of M. le +Grand, with whom he dined; nor was it until a late hour that he rejoined +the Queen,<a name="219r"></a><a href="#_219_">[219]</a> who at once became aware that the temporary separation +between the monarch and his favourite, occasioned by the journey to +Metz, had failed to produce the effect which she had been sanguine +enough to anticipate.</p> + +<p>Nor did Marie deceive herself; for, during the sojourn of the Court at +Paris, which lasted until the month of June, Henry abandoned himself +with even less reserve than formerly to his passion for the Marquise; +while the forsaken Queen--who hourly received information of the +impertinent assumption of that lady, and who was assured that she had +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page207"></a>[pg 207]</span> +renewed with more arrogance, and more openly than ever, her pretended +claim to the hand of the sovereign--unable to conceal her indignation, +embittered the casual intercourse between herself and her royal consort +with complaints and upbraidings which irritated and angered the King; +and at length caused an estrangement between them greater than any which +had hitherto existed. There can be little doubt that this period of +Marie's life was a most unhappy one. Deprived even of the presence of +her children, who, from considerations of health, had been removed to +St. Germain-en-Laye, and who could not in consequence be the solace of +every weary hour, she found her only consolation in the society of her +immediate household, and the zealous devotion of Madame de Concini; to +whose first-born child she became joint sponsor with M. de Soissons, +greatly to the annoyance of the King, who watched with a jealous eye the +ever-increasing influence of the Florentine favourite.</p> + +<p>Previously to her marriage with the Duc de Bar, Madame, the King's +sister, had affianced herself to M. de Soissons; but the circumstance no +sooner became known to Henry than he expressed his extreme distaste at +such an union, and directed the Duc de Sully to expostulate with both +parties, and to induce them, should it be possible, to abandon the +project, and to give a written promise never to renew their engagement. +In this difficult and delicate mission the minister ultimately +succeeded; but since that period a coldness had existed +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page208"></a>[pg 208]</span> +between the two +nobles which at length terminated in mutual dissension and avoidance. It +was, consequently, with considerable surprise that while preparing for +his embassy to England, where he was entrusted with the congratulations +of his own sovereign to James I. on his accession, M. de Sully found +himself on one occasion addressed by the Prince in an accent of warmth +and friendliness to which he had long been unaccustomed from his lips; +and heard him cordially express his obligation for some service which, +in his official capacity, the minister had lately rendered him, and +declare that thenceforward he should never recur to the past, but rather +trust that for the future they might be firm and fast friends. Sully +answered in the same spirit; and thus a misunderstanding which had +disturbed the whole Court, where each had partisans who violently +defended his cause, and thus rendered the schism more serious than it +might otherwise have been, was apparently terminated; but the Duke had +no sooner returned to France than it was renewed more bitterly than +ever, to the extreme annoyance of the King, who was reluctant to +interfere; the high rank of M. de Soissons on the one hand, and the +eminent services of Sully on the other, rendering him equally averse to +dissatisfy either party.</p> + +<p>In the month of August 1603 the Comte de Soissons, whose lavish +expenditure made it important for him to increase his income by some new +concession on the part of the monarch, held an +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page209"></a>[pg 209]</span> +earnest consultation +with Madame de Verneuil, with whom he was on the closest terms of +intimacy, as to the most feasible method of effecting his object, and it +was at length determined that the Prince should solicit the privilege of +exacting a duty of fifteen sous upon every bale of cloth, either +imported or exported throughout the kingdom; while the Marquise pledged +herself to exert her influence to induce the King to consent to the +arrangement, for which service she was to receive one-fifth of the +proceeds resulting from the tax. Extraordinary as such a demand must +appear in the present day, it was, according to Sully, by no means an +unusual one at that period; when, by his rigorous retrenchments, he had +greatly reduced the revenues of the Court nobles, and put it out of the +power of the monarch to bestow upon them, as he had formerly done, the +most lavish sums from his own privy purse; thus inducing them to adopt +every possible expedient in order to increase their diminished incomes. +Sympathizing with the annoyance of his impoverished courtiers, and +anxious to silence their murmurs, the good-natured and reckless +sovereign seldom met their requests with a denial, and from this abuse a +number of petty taxes, each perhaps insignificant in itself, but in the +aggregate amounting to a heavy infliction upon the people, were levied +on all sides, and under all pretences; and the evil at length became so +serious that the prudent minister found it necessary to expostulate +respectfully with his royal master upon the danger of such a system, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page210"></a>[pg 210]</span> +and to entreat of him to discountenance any further imposts which had no +tendency to increase the revenues of the state, but merely served to +encourage the prodigality of the nobles.</p> + +<p>It was precisely at this unpropitious moment that M. de Soissons +proffered his demand, which was warmly seconded by Madame de Verneuil, +who represented to the monarch the impossibility of his refusing a +favour of this nature to a Prince of the Blood, when he had so +frequently made concessions of the same nature to individuals of +inferior rank; and the certainty that, were his request negatived, M. de +Soissons would not fail to feel himself at once injured and aggrieved. +Still, mindful of the promise which had been extorted from him by Sully, +the King hesitated; but upon being more urgently pressed by the +favourite, he at length demanded what would be the probable yearly +produce of the tax, when he was assured by the Count that it could not +exceed ten thousand crowns; upon which Henry, who was anxious not to +irritate him by a refusal where the favour solicited was so +comparatively insignificant, at once signified his compliance; and as +the subject had been cleverly mooted by the two interested parties at +Fontainebleau, while the minister of finance was absent in the capital, +Madame de Verneuil, by dint of importunity, succeeded in inducing the +monarch to sign an order for the immediate imposition of the duty in +favour of M. de Soissons; but before he was prevailed upon to do this, +he declared to the Prince that he should withdraw his +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page211"></a>[pg 211]</span> +consent to the +arrangement, if it were proved that the produce of the tax exceeded the +yearly sum of fifty thousand francs, or that it pressed too heavily upon +the people and the commercial interests of the kingdom. This reservation +was by no means palatable to M. de Soissons, who had, when questioned as +to the amount likely to be derived from the transaction, answered rather +from impulse than calculation; but as the said reservation was merely +verbal, while the edict authorizing the levy of the impost was tangible +and valid, the Prince, after warmly expressing his acknowledgments to +the monarch, carried off the document without one misgiving of success.</p> + +<p>Henry, however, when he began to reflect upon the nature of the +concession which he had been prevailed upon to make, could not suppress +a suspicion that it was more important than it had at first appeared; +and, conscious that he had falsified his promise to the minister, he +resolved to ascertain the extent of his imprudence. He accordingly, the +same evening, despatched a letter to Sully, in which, without divulging +what had taken place, he directed him to ascertain the probable proceeds +of such a tax, and the effect which it was likely to produce upon those +on whom it would be levied.</p> + +<p>So unexpected an inquiry startled the finance minister, who instantly +apprehended that a fresh attack had been made upon the indulgence of the +monarch; and he forthwith anxiously commenced a calculation, based upon +solid and well-authenticated +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page212"></a>[pg 212]</span> +documents, which resulted in the discovery +that the annual amount of such an impost could not be less than three +hundred thousand crowns; while it must necessarily so seriously affect +the trade in flax and hemp, that it was likely to ruin the provinces of +Brittany and Normandy, as well as a great part of Picardy.</p> + +<p>Under these circumstances it was decided between Henry and his minister, +that the latter should withhold his signature to the order which had +been extorted from the King; without which, or a letter from the +sovereign specially commanding the registration of the edict by the +Parliament, the document was invalid. There can be no doubt that the +most manly and dignified course which the monarch could have adopted, +would have been to inform M. de Soissons of the result of the +verification which had been made; and to have declared that, in +accordance with his expressed determination when conditionally conceding +the edict, he had resolved, upon ascertaining the magnitude of the sum +which must be levied by such a tax, not to permit its operation. This +was not, however, the manner in which Henry met the difficulty. He felt +that his position was an onerous one, and he gladly transferred his +responsibility to M. de Sully; who accordingly, upon the application of +the Prince for his signature, in order that the document might be laid +before the Parliament and thus rendered available, declined to accede to +the request; alleging that the affair was one of such extreme +importance, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page213"></a>[pg 213]</span> +that he dared not take upon himself to forward it without +the concurrence of the council.</p> + +<p>M. de Soissons urged and expostulated in vain; the minister was +inflexible; and at length the Prince withdrew, but not before he had +given vent to his indignation with a bitterness which convinced his +listener that thenceforward all kindly feeling between them was at +an end.</p> + +<p>But if the Count thus suffered himself to be defeated by a first +refusal, Madame de Verneuil was by no means inclined to follow his +example. Baffled but not beaten, she resolved upon returning to the +charge; and accordingly she drove to the residence of the minister, and +met him at the door of his closet as he was about to proceed to the +Louvre, in order to have an interview with the King.</p> + +<p>There was an expression of haughty defiance in the eye of the favourite, +and a heightened colour upon her cheek, which at once betrayed to Sully +the purpose of her visit; while he on his side received her with a calm +courtesy which was ill-calculated to inspire her with any hope of +success; and she had scarcely seated herself before he gave her reason +to perceive that he was as little inclined to temporize as herself. When +they met he held in his hand a roll of paper, which, even after she had +entered the apartment, he still continued to grasp with a pertinacity +that did not fail to attract her attention.</p> + +<p>"And what may be the precious document, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page214"></a>[pg 214]</span> +Monsieur le Ministre," she +demanded flippantly, "of which you find it so impossible to relax +your hold?"</p> + +<p>"A precious document indeed, Madame," was the abrupt reply, "and one in +which you figure among many others." So saying, he unrolled the scroll, +and read aloud a list of edicts, solicited or granted, similar to that +of the Comte de Soissons, one of which bore her own name.</p> + +<p>"And what are you about to do with it?" she asked.</p> + +<p>"To make it the subject of a remonstrance to his Majesty."</p> + +<p>"Truly," exclaimed the Marquise, no longer able to control her rage, +"the King will be well-advised should he listen to your caprices, and by +so doing affront twenty individuals of the highest quality. Upon whom +should he confer such favours as these, if not upon the Princes of the +Blood, his cousins, his relatives, and his mistresses?"</p> + +<p>"That might be very well," replied the minister, totally unmoved by her +insolence, "if the King could pay these sums out of his own privy purse; +but that they should be levied upon the merchant, the artizan, and the +labourer, is entirely out of the question. It is they who feed both him +and us; and one master is enough, without their being compelled to +support so many cousins, relatives, and mistresses." <a name="220r"></a><a href="#_220_">[220]</a></p> + +<p>Madame de Verneuil could bear no more; but rising passionately from her +chair, she left the room +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page215"></a>[pg 215]</span> +without even a parting salutation to the +plain-spoken minister, who saw her depart with as much composure as he +had seen her enter; and quietly rolling up the obnoxious document which +had formed the subject of discussion between them, he in his turn got +into his carriage, and proceeded to the Louvre.</p> + +<p>Furious alike at her want of success and at the affront which had been +put upon her, the Marquise drove from the Arsenal to the hotel of M. de +Soissons; where, still smarting under the rebuff of the uncompromising +Duke, she did not scruple sufficiently to garble his words to give them +all the appearance of a premeditated and wilful insult to the Prince +personally. She assured him that in reply to her remark that the +relatives of the monarch possessed the greatest claim upon his +liberality, M. de Sully had retorted by the observation that the King +had too many kinsmen, and that it would be well for the nation could it +be delivered from some of them.</p> + +<p>This report so exasperated M. de Soissons, that on the following morning +he demanded an audience of the sovereign, during which he bitterly +inveighed against the arrogance and presumption of the minister, and +claimed instant redress for this affront to his honour and his dignity +as a Prince of the Blood; haughtily declaring that should the King +refuse to do him justice, he would find means to avenge himself.</p> + +<p>The unseemly violence of the Count, by offending the self-respect of the +monarch, could not have failed, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page216"></a>[pg 216]</span> +under any circumstances, to defeat its +own object; but aware as he was that Sully had sought only the +preservation of his master's interests, Henry was even less inclined +than he might otherwise have been to yield to a dictation of this +imperious nature. The very excess of his indignation consequently +rendered him calm and self-possessed, and thus at once gave him a +decided advantage over his excited interlocutor. Instead of retorting +angrily, and involving himself in an undignified dispute, he replied to +the intemperate language of the Count by calmly inquiring if he were to +understand that M. de Sully had addressed the obnoxious remark which was +the subject of complaint to the Prince himself, or if it had merely been +reported to him by a third person. To this question M. de Soissons +impatiently replied that the insult had not indeed been uttered to +himself personally, but that the individual by whom it was communicated +to him was above all suspicion; while he moreover considered that his +assurance of its truth ought to suffice, as he was incapable of +falsehood.</p> + +<p>"Were it so, cousin," said Henry coldly, "you would differ greatly from +the other members of your family, especially your elder brother; but +since you appear to place so perfect a reliance on the veracity of your +informant, you have only to name him to me, and to explain precisely +what he alleges to have passed, and I shall then understand what is +necessary to be done, and will endeavour to satisfy you as far as I can +reasonably do so."</p> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page217"></a>[pg 217]</span> +<p>M. de Soissons was not, however, prepared to involve Madame de Verneuil +in a quarrel which threatened the most serious results; and he +consequently declared that he had plighted his word not to divulge the +identity of his informant; a promise which he, moreover, considered to +be utterly unnecessary, as he was ready to pledge himself to the entire +truth of what he had advanced.</p> + +<p>"So, cousin," said the King with an ambiguous smile, "you screen +yourself under the shadow of an oath from revealing to me what I desire +to know; then I, in my turn, swear not to believe one syllable of your +complaint beyond what M. de Sully may himself report to me; for I hold +his veracity in as great estimation as you do that of the nameless +partisan to whom you are indebted for the fine story you have +inflicted upon me."</p> + +<p>It was in somewhat the same frame of mind in which the Marquise had +quitted the finance minister that M. de Soissons, as the King rose and +thus indicated the termination of the interview, passed from the royal +closet; nor did he retire until he had indulged in such unrestrained +threats of vengeance that Henry considered it expedient to despatch +Zamet without delay to the Arsenal to warn Sully to be upon his guard +against the impetuous Prince, and not to venture abroad without a +sufficient suite; while at the same time the messenger was instructed to +inquire if the obnoxious expression had indeed been used, and to whom.</p> + +<p>On being apprised of the visit which had been +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page218"></a>[pg 218]</span> +paid by Madame de +Verneuil to the Duke, the King instantly comprehended the whole +intrigue, and at once declared that it was useless to search further; as +he well knew that she possessed both malice and invention enough to +distort the words of the minister to her own purposes; an admission +which indicated for the moment a considerable decrease of infatuation on +the part of her royal lover.<a name="221r"></a><a href="#_221_">[221]</a></p> + +<p>That this had, however, already become evident, was exemplified by the +fact that upon some rumour of the kind being addressed to the Duchesse +de Rohan, coupled with an inference that the infidelity of Madame de +Verneuil had become known to the King, the young Duchess had gaily +replied: "What could he anticipate? How was it possible for love to +nestle between a mouth and chin which are always interfering with each +other?" <a name="222r"></a><a href="#_222_">[222]</a></p> + +<p>It is scarcely doubtful that the present incautious proceeding of the +Marquise tended to shake the confidence which Henry had hitherto felt in +an affection so admirably simulated that it might have inspired trust in +an individual of far inferior rank. He could not overlook the fact that +Madame de Verneuil had presumed to declare herself hostile to his +favourite minister, and had even made a tool of one of the Princes of +the Blood; an affront to himself which he resented after his accustomed +fashion, by withdrawing himself from her society, and assiduously +appearing in the private circle of the Queen.</p> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page219"></a>[pg 219]</span> +<p>On this occasion, however, week succeeded week, and the monarch still +continued to avoid the enraged favourite; and even occasionally alluded +to her with a contempt which stung her haughty and presumptuous spirit +beyond endurance. She saw her little Court melting away, her flatterers +dispersing, and her friends becoming estranged; nor could she conceal +from herself that if she failed shortly to discover some method of +estranging Henry from the Queen, and once more asserting her own +influence, all her greatness would be scattered to the winds. Her vanity +was also as deeply involved as her ambition, for she had hitherto +believed her power over the affections of the King to be so entire that +he could not liberate himself from her thrall; yet now, in the zenith of +her beauty, in the pride of her intellect, and in the very climax of her +favour, she found herself suddenly abandoned, as if the effort had not +cost a single struggle to her royal lover.</p> + +<p>Marie de Medicis, meanwhile, was happy. She cared not to look back upon +the past; she sought not to look forward into the future; to her the +present was all in all, and she began to encourage bright dreams of +domestic bliss, by which she had never before been visited since the +first brief month of her marriage. So greatly indeed did her new-born +happiness embellish the exulting Queen, that it was at this period that +the profligate monarch declared to several of his confidential friends, +that had she not been his wife, his greatest desire would +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page220"></a>[pg 220]</span> +have been to +possess her as a mistress.<a name="223r"></a><a href="#_223_">[223]</a> The whole of her little Court felt the +influence of her delight; she lavished on all sides the most costly +gifts; she surrounded the King with amusements of every description, and +day after day the heart of the irritated favourite was embittered by the +reports which reached her of the unprecedented gaiety and splendour of +the Queen's private circle.</p> + +<p>As the dissension which had arisen between Sully and the Comte de +Soissons rather increased in intensity than yielded to the royal +expostulation, Henry resolved to give a public proof of his continued +regard for the minister; and for this purpose he caused him to be +informed that on his way to Normandy (whither he was about to proceed in +order to investigate the truth of certain rumours which had reached him +of a meditated insurrection in that province) he would pass by Rosny, +and should claim his hospitality for one day with his whole Court. As +the King was on the eve of his departure, Sully at once left the +capital, and by travelling with great speed, he reached the château four +days before his expected guests, for whose reception he made the most +magnificent preparations of which so brief an interval would admit. As +the approaches to the domain were not yet completed, and it was +necessary to level the road by which their Majesties would arrive, the +Duke, in order to accomplish this object, incautiously caused a canal by +which it was traversed, and over which the bridge was still unbuilt, to +be +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page221"></a>[pg 221]</span> +dammed up; and this arrangement made, he directed his whole +attention to the internal decorations of the castle. Unfortunately, +however, while his royal and noble guests were still seated at the +elaborate and costly banquet which had been prepared for them, a +terrific storm burst over the edifice, and information was brought to +the host that the waters had become so swollen as to have overflowed +their banks, while the pent-up canal which he had just driven back had +inundated the court, and was pouring itself in a dense volume through +the offices. The alarm instantly became general; the Queen, the +Princesses, and the ladies of the Court sought refuge in the upper rooms +of the castle, whither, as the danger momentarily increased, they were +soon followed by Henry and his retinue; and meanwhile Sully gave instant +orders that workmen should be despatched to clear the bed of the canal, +and thus afford an escape for the invading element. This was happily +accomplished without any loss of life, and the accident entailed no +further evil consequence than the destruction of all the fruits and +confectionary by which the banquet was to have terminated.<a name="224r"></a><a href="#_224_">[224]</a> After +this misadventure the Court proceeded to Caen, where at the close of a +patient investigation the King withdrew the government of the city from +M. de Crèvecoeur-Montmorency, who was accused of being engaged in a +treasonable correspondence with the Duc de Bouillon, the Comte +d'Auvergne, and the Duc de la Trémouille, his relative, and bestowed it +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page222"></a>[pg 222]</span> +upon M. de Bellefonds.<a name="225r"></a><a href="#_225_">[225]</a> Thence the royal party removed to Rouen, +where Henry succeeded in re-establishing perfect order throughout the +whole province of Lower Normandy.</p> + +<p>On his return to Paris the King learnt that M. de Soissons, who had +declined to accompany him in his journey, so deeply resented his visit +to Rosny, the purpose of which he had comprehended upon the instant, +that he had resolved in consequence to quit the kingdom. As the +voluntary expatriation of the Princes of the Blood tended alike to +weaken his resources and to undermine his authority, Henry at once +directed MM. de Bellièvre and de Sillery to wait upon the Count, and to +assure him that, so soon as he produced certain proof of the culpability +of the Duc de Sully, he should receive ample satisfaction for the +alleged affront, but that until such proof was furnished he should +continue to protect the minister, and to consider him innocent of the +offence imputed to him. The Chancellor was, moreover, instructed to +inquire into the motive which had induced the Prince to declare his +intention of leaving France.</p> + +<p>To this message M. de Soissons coldly replied by observing that he had +been insulted by the Duke, to whom he had given no cause of offence; but +that as it nevertheless appeared by the statement to which he had just +listened, that it was the pleasure of his Majesty to defend the accused +rather than the accuser, he considered that he need not advance any +further reason for absenting himself from the kingdom. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page223"></a>[pg 223]</span> +After the +departure of MM. de Bellièvre and de Sillery, however, the Prince +requested the Duc de Montbazon<a name="226r"></a><a href="#_226_">[226]</a> and the Comte de St. Pol<a name="227r"></a><a href="#_227_">[227]</a> to +wait upon the sovereign, in order to explain to him his reason for +quitting the country; to assure him of the regret which he felt that +recent circumstances had left him no other alternative; and to entreat +his Majesty to pardon him if he ventured to take his leave through the +medium of these his friends, rather than, by appearing in person, incur +the risk of aggravating his displeasure.</p> + +<p>Having seen the two nobles depart upon their mission, M. de Soissons +mounted his horse and at once proceeded to Paris, to make the necessary +preparations for the journey which he contemplated; but before he had +taken any definite measures to that effect he was rejoined by his +friends, who had been directed by the King to follow him with all speed, +and to explain to him that he had altogether mistaken the message +entrusted to the Chancellor, as the only protection which his Majesty +had declared his intention of affording to M. de Sully was against his +own threats of personal violence; while in the second place they were +instructed to inform him that the King strictly enjoined him not to quit +Paris, as a want of obedience upon this point would prove very +prejudicial to his Majesty's interests; and finally, they were +authorized to assure him that, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page224"></a>[pg 224]</span> +in the event of his compliance with the +royal wishes, he should receive ample satisfaction for the affront of +which he complained.</p> + +<p>In reply, M. de Soissons maintained that he had given no ground for the +apprehensions expressed by the monarch for the safety of his minister, +and that he had never entertained any design to injure the interests of +the sovereign, while the knowledge that his withdrawal from the country +might have such a tendency was a more powerful preventive to his +departure than "though he had been fettered by a hundred chains"; and +that all he required from his adversary was a public acknowledgment of +the offence which he had committed against him.</p> + +<p>This concession of the irate Prince was followed by a still greater one +on the part of the minister, who, anxious to relieve the mind of his +royal master from the annoyance which he felt at a quarrel in which +every noble of the Court had taken part, and which threatened to become +still more inveterate from day to day, addressed a letter to M. de +Soissons, wherein, although he explicitly denied "having uttered the +expression which was imputed to him," he overwhelmed the Prince with the +most elaborate and hyperbolical assurances of respect and devotion, +declaring "that he would rather die than so forget himself."</p> + +<p>This submissive letter was accepted as an apology, and a hollow peace +between the disputants was thus effected, which restored for a time the +tranquillity of the Court.</p> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page225"></a>[pg 225]</span> +<p>On the 2nd of February 1604 the Queen was invited to participate in a +ceremony which, had she been less happy and hopeful than she chanced to +be at that particular period, could not have failed to excite in her +breast fresh feelings of irritation and annoyance. This was the +reception of Alexandre-Monsieur, the second legitimated son of the +monarch and Gabrielle d'Estrées, into the Order of the Knights of Malta. +The King having decided that such should be the career of the young +Prince, was anxious that he should at once assume the name and habit of +the Order, and he accordingly wrote to the Grand Master to request that +he would despatch the necessary patents, which were forwarded without +delay, accompanied by the most profuse acknowledgments on the part of +that dignitary. In order to increase the solemnity and magnificence of +the inauguration, Henry summoned to the capital the Grand Commanders +both of France and Champagne, instructing them to bring in their +respective trains as many other commanders and knights as could be +induced to accompany them; and he selected as the scene of the ceremony +the Church of the Augustines, an arrangement which was, however, +abandoned at the entreaty of the Commandeur de Villeneuf, the Ambassador +of the Order, who deemed it more dignified that the inauguration should +take place in that of the Temple, which was one of their principal +establishments.</p> + +<p>At the hour indicated the two sovereigns accordingly drove to the Temple +in the same carriage, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page226"></a>[pg 226]</span> +Alexandre-Monsieur being seated between them; and +on alighting at the principal entrance of the edifice, the King +delivered the little Prince into the hands of the Grand Prior who was +there awaiting him, attended by twelve commanders and twelve knights, by +whom he was conducted up the centre aisle. The church was magnificently +decorated, and the altar, which blazed with gold and jewels, was already +surrounded by the Cardinal de Gondy, the Papal Nuncio, and a score of +bishops, all attired in their splendid sacerdotal vestments. In the +centre of the choir a throne had been erected for their Majesties, +covered with cloth of gold, and around the chairs of state were grouped +the Princes, Princesses, and other grandees of the Court, including the +ambassadors of Spain and Venice, the Connétable-Duc de Montmorency, the +Chancellor, the seven presidents of the Parliament, and the knights of +the Order of the Holy Ghost.</p> + +<p>The <i>coup d'oeil</i> was one of extraordinary splendour. The whole of the +sacred edifice was brilliantly illuminated by the innumerable tapers +which lit up the several shrines, and which casting their clear light +upon every surrounding object, brought into full relief the dazzling +gems and gleaming weapons that glittered on all sides. The organ pealed +out its deepest and most impressive harmony; and not a sound was heard +throughout the vast building as the Grand Prior, with his train of +knights and nobles, led the youthful neophyte to the place assigned to +him. The ceremony commenced by the consecration +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page227"></a>[pg 227]</span> +of the sword, and the +change of raiment, which typified that about to take place in the duties +of the Prince by his entrance into an Order which enjoined alike +godliness and virtue. The mantle was withdrawn from his shoulders, and +his outer garment removed by the knights who stood immediately around +him, after which he was presented successively with a vest of white +satin elaborately embroidered in gold and silver, having the sleeves +enriched with pearls, a waist-belt studded with jewels, a cap of black +velvet ornamented with a small white plume and a band of large pearls, +and a tunic of black taffeta. In this costume the Prince was conducted +to the high altar by the Duc and Duchesse de Vendôme, followed by a +commander to assist him during the ceremony, and they had no sooner +taken their places than Arnaud de Sorbin,<a name="228r"></a><a href="#_228_">[228]</a> Bishop of Nevers, +delivered a short oration eulogistic of the greatness and excellence of +the brotherhood of which he was about to become a member. The same +prelate then performed a solemn high mass, and +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page228"></a>[pg 228]</span> +when he had terminated +the reading of the gospel, Alexandre-Monsieur knelt before him with a +taper of white wax in his hand, to solicit admission into the Order. He +had no sooner bent his knee than the King rose, descended the steps of +the throne, and placed himself by his side, saying aloud that he put off +for awhile his sovereign dignity that he might perform his duty as a +parent, by pledging himself that when the Prince should have attained +his sixteenth year, he should take the vows, and in all things conform +himself to the rules of the institution. The procession then passed out +of the church in the same order as it had entered, and the young Prince +was immediately put into possession of the income arising from his +commandery, which was estimated at forty thousand annual livres.<a name="229r"></a><a href="#_229_">[229]</a></p> + +<p>This ceremony was followed by a series of Court festivals, which were +abruptly terminated by the arrival of a courier from Lorraine with the +intelligence of the death of the Duchesse de Bar, an event which it was +so well known would deeply affect the King, that the principal +personages of the Court, and the members of his council, determined to +go in a body to communicate it, in order that they might offer him the +best consolation in their power. This, however, was a grief beyond their +sympathy, the affection which Henry bore towards his sister having been +unshaken throughout their lives; and the distressing intelligence was no +sooner imparted to him than he burst into a passionate flood of tears, +and +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page229"></a>[pg 229]</span> +desired that every one should withdraw, and leave him alone with +God. He was no sooner obeyed than he caused the windows of his closet to +be closed, and admittance refused to all comers; after which he threw +himself upon his bed, and abandoned himself to all the bitterness of a +sorrow alike unexpected and irremediable. Several days passed away in +this ungovernable grief, and when its violence at length partially +subsided, the King issued an order that the whole Court should assume +the deepest mourning, and that no one should presume to approach him in +any other garb. Not only, therefore, were all the great officers of the +Crown, and all the Court functionaries, from M. le Grand to the pages +and lacqueys in the ante-chambers, clad in the same sable livery, but +even the foreign ambassadors, anxious alike to avoid giving offence to +the monarch, and to escape the inconvenience of being excluded from his +presence and thus rendered incapable of furthering the interests of +their several sovereigns, adopted a similar habit. The mourning of the +Queen and her household more than satisfied all the exigencies of the +King; for Marie de Medicis not only sympathized deeply with the +sufferings of her royal consort, but also felt that in Madame Catherine +she had lost a sincere friend--that rarest of all luxuries to a crowned +head!--and it was not consequently in her outward apparel alone that she +gave testimony of her unfeigned regret, for in abandoning her usual +garb, she also abandoned every species of amusement, and +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page230"></a>[pg 230]</span> +forbade all +movement in her immediate circle beyond that which was necessitated by +the service of her attendants.</p> + +<p>There was, however, one exception to this general concession, and that +one was consequently so conspicuous as to excite instant remark. The +Papal Nuncio had exhibited no intention of conforming to the universal +demonstration which had draped the throne and palaces of France in +sables; and the monarch no sooner ascertained the fact than he caused it +to be made known to the prelate that he had no desire to oblige him to +assume a garb repugnant to his feelings, but that he requested to be +spared his presence until the period of his own mourning was at an end. +This announcement greatly embarrassed the Nuncio, who at once felt that +by persisting in the course he had adopted he should be deprived of the +frequent audiences that were essential to the interests of the +Sovereign-Pontiff, and accordingly he resolved no longer to offer any +opposition to the express wishes of the King; but after having written +to Rome to explain that he had put on mourning simply to secure himself +against the threatened exclusion, and thereby to be enabled to watch +over the welfare of the Holy See, he ultimately followed the example of +those around him, and demanded permission in his turn to offer his +compliment of condolence to the monarch.</p> + +<p>This he did, however, in a manner little calculated to reconcile Henry +to the reluctance which he had exhibited in performing this duty; for +after having +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page231"></a>[pg 231]</span> +declared his earnest sympathy with the grief of his +Majesty, he went on to remark that those who knew who he was, and for +whom he spoke, could not fail to be startled by such an assertion, +although he on his part, could assure his Majesty of his sincerity, as +while others were weeping over the body of Madame, who had died a +Protestant and a heretic, his master and himself were mourning for +her soul.</p> + +<p>To this unexpected exordium the King replied, with considerable +indignation, that he had more faith in the mercy of God than to believe +that a Princess who had passed her life in the fulfilment of all her +social duties was destined to be condemned from the nature of her creed, +and that he himself entertained no doubt of her salvation.<a name="230r"></a><a href="#_230_">[230]</a> After +which he diverted the conversation into another channel, with a tone and +manner sufficiently indicative to the Nuncio that he must not presume to +recur to so delicate a subject.</p> + +<p>The body of Madame was, at the King's desire, conveyed to Vendôme, and +deposited beside that of her mother, a dispensation to this effect +having been, after many delays, accorded by the Pope; although too late +for the Duchess to have been made aware that this the earnest wish of +her heart had been conceded.</p> + +<p>At this period a new cause of uneasiness aroused the sovereign from his +private grief. To his extreme surprise he had received intelligence from +the Sieur +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page232"></a>[pg 232]</span> +de Barrault<a name="231r"></a><a href="#_231_">[231]</a> that all the most secret deliberations of +his council were forthwith communicated to the King of Spain, without a +trace of the source whence this important information could be derived; +and for a time the mystery defied all the investigations which were +bestowed upon it by Henry and his ministers. At length, however, long +impunity rendered the culprit daring, and it was ascertained that Philip +III was in possession of copies of the several letters written by the +French monarch to the King of England, the Prince of Orange, and other +friendly powers, all inimical to Spain, a circumstance which at once +rendered it apparent that this treachery must be the work of some +official in whom the greatest confidence had hitherto been placed; and +steps were forthwith taken to secure the identification of the traitor, +which was effected through the agency of another equally unworthy +subject of Henry himself. A certain native of Bordeaux, named Jean Leyré +(otherwise Rafis), who had been one of the most violent partisans of the +League, and who had been banished from France, had entered the Spanish +service, and long enjoyed a pension from the sovereign of that country, +in recompense of the zeal and ardour with which he rendered every evil +office in his power to the kingdom whence he had been cast out.</p> + +<p>Circumstances, however, tended to make Leyré less useful to Philip, who +had, as we have shown, secured +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page233"></a>[pg 233]</span> +a much more efficient agent, and the +ill-acquired pension had accordingly been diminished, while the traitor +had no difficulty in perceiving that the favour which he had hitherto +experienced from his new master was lessened in the same proportion, a +conviction which determined him to make a vigorous effort to obtain the +permission of his offended sovereign to return to France. In order to +effect this object, Leyré attached himself to such of his countrymen as +were, like himself, domiciliated in Spain, and finally he made the +acquaintance of one Jean Blas, who in a moment of confidence revealed to +him that a secretary of the Comte de Rochepot<a name="232r"></a><a href="#_232_">[232]</a> (the predecessor of +M. de Barrault as ambassador at the Court of Madrid), who had +subsequently returned to the service of the Duc de Villeroy, still +maintained a secret correspondence with the Spanish secretaries of +state, Don Juan Idiaque Franchesez, and Prada, to whom, in consideration +of a pension of twelve hundred crowns of gold, he betrayed all the most +important measures of the French cabinet.</p> + +<p>This man, whose name was Nicholas L'Hôte, was the son of an old and +trusted follower of the Duc de Villeroy, to whose family his own +ancestors had been attached for several generations, while he himself +was the godson of the Duke, who had obtained for him the honourable +office of secretary to M. de Rochepot, when that nobleman accepted the +embassy to Spain. On the return of the Count to +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page234"></a>[pg 234]</span> +France, L'Hôte, whose +services were no longer necessary to him, was dismissed, and upon an +application to his old patron, was unhesitatingly received into his +bureau; where, believing that his loyalty and devotion to himself were +beyond all suspicion, he was employed by M. de Villeroy in deciphering +his despatches; an occupation which afforded the traitor ample means of +continuing his nefarious correspondence with his Spanish confederates.</p> + +<p>Leyré had no sooner obtained this important information, and moreover +convinced himself of its probability by various circumstances connected +with L'Hôte which he was careful to learn from other sources, than he +proceeded to the residence of M. de Barrault, and solicited an interview +on business connected with his government. The ambassador, who was still +striving by every method in his power to discover the author of the +active and harassing treason by which his official measures were +perpetually trammelled, with a vague hope that the object of this +request might prove to be connected with the mystery which so +disagreeably occupied his thoughts, at once granted the required +audience; when Leyré, having explained his own position, and expressed +the deepest contrition for his past disloyalty, together with his ardent +desire to obliterate, by an essential service to his rightful sovereign, +a fault which was now irreparable, proceeded to inform M. de Barrault +that he was prepared to reveal a system of treachery which was even at +that moment in operation to the prejudice of France; +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page235"></a>[pg 235]</span> +but added that, as +in communicating this secret he should be compelled immediately to +escape from Spain, he would not consent to do so until the ambassador +pledged himself that he should be permitted to return to his own country +with a free pardon, and a sufficient pension to secure him against want; +and concluded by saying that should it be beyond the power of M. de +Barrault to give such a pledge without the royal authority, and that +should he consider it necessary to mention him by name, and to state the +nature of the promised service to his government, he must entreat him to +make this revelation solely to the monarch, and by no means to commit +the affair to writing.</p> + +<p>To these terms M. de Barrault readily agreed; but after the departure of +Leyré, conceiving that the extreme mystery enjoined by that personage +was merely intended to enhance the implied value of his revelation; and +convinced, moreover, that the sovereign would immediately communicate +such a circumstance to his ministers, he addressed himself, as he was in +the habit of doing, to the Duc de Villeroy, from whom he shortly +afterwards received the required promise of both pardon and pension.</p> + +<p>These were, however, no sooner placed in the hands of the astute Leyré, +than, perceiving that they bore the counter-signature of Villeroy, +instead of that of Loménie,<a name="233r"></a><a href="#_233_">[233]</a> which would have been the case +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page236"></a>[pg 236]</span> +had +they been forwarded through the personal medium of the King, he revealed +the whole transaction to M. de Barrault; representing that the traitor +being under the roof of the minister by whom they had been despatched, +and entirely in his confidence, must already be apprized of his danger, +as well as fully prepared to avert it by the destruction of his +betrayer; and accordingly he declared that, in order to save his life, +he must at once get into the saddle, and endeavour to distance the +pursuit which could not fail to be made with a view to seize his person.</p> + +<p>This reasoning was so valid that the ambassador not only consented to +his immediate departure, but also caused him to be accompanied by his +own secretary, M. Descartes, by whom he was to be introduced to the +sovereign. The precaution proved salutary, as no later than the +following morning the officers of the law were sent to the house of +Leyré, and being unable to find him, forthwith mounted in their turn and +took the road to France. Fortunately for the fugitives they had, +however, already travelled a considerable distance; and although hotly +pursued, they were enabled to reach Bayonne without impediment, whence +they proceeded to Fontainebleau to report their arrival to the King.</p> + +<p>Before they reached their destination, they encountered the Duc de +Villeroy, who was on his way +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page237"></a>[pg 237]</span> +to his château of Juvisy, and to whom +Descartes considered it expedient to declare their errand, without +concealing the name of the culprit whom they were about to accuse. The +Duke listened incredulously; and when the travellers offered, should it +meet with his approbation, to return at once to Paris and arrest his +secretary, in order that he might himself deliver him up to the monarch, +he declined to profit by the proposal, desiring them to fulfil their +mission as the service of the King required; and adding, that he should +shortly join them at Fontainebleau, where he was to be met on the morrow +by the accused party, when the necessary steps for ascertaining the +truth of the statement might be at once taken; but that until he had +obtained an audience of the monarch, and ascertained his pleasure, all +coercive measures would be premature.</p> + +<p>With this unsatisfactory reply Leyré and his companion were fain to +content themselves; and having, as they were desired to do, delivered +into the hands of the Duke the detailed despatch of M. de Barrault with +which they had been entrusted, they saw him calmly resume his way to +Juvisy, while they continued their route to Fontainebleau.</p> + +<p>Early the next day M. de Villeroy in his turn reached the palace, and at +once proceeded to the royal closet; where, at the command of the King, +he began to read aloud the papers which had been thus obtained; but he +had not proceeded beyond the name of the accused when Henry vehemently +interrupted him by exclaiming:</p> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page238"></a>[pg 238]</span> +<p>"And where is this L'Hôte, your secretary? Have you caused him to be +arrested?"</p> + +<p>"I think, Sire," was the reply, "that he is at my hotel; but he is still +at liberty."</p> + +<p>"How, Sir!" said the King still more angrily; "you think that he is at +your hôtel, and you have not had him seized? This is strange negligence! +What have you been about since you were informed of this act of treason, +to which you should at once have attended? See to it instantly, and +secure the culprit."</p> + +<p>The Duc de Villeroy quitted the royal presence in anxious haste, and +made his way to the capital with all speed, feeling convinced that +should he fail in arresting his delinquent secretary he could not escape +the suspicion of the King. L'Hôte had, however, profited by the +intervening time to explain his predicament to the Spanish ambassador, +who instantly perceived that not a moment must be lost. Horses were +accordingly provided, and the detected traitor, accompanied by the +steward of the ambassador, made the best of his way to Meaux, whence +they were to travel post to Luxembourg.</p> + +<p>Orders had, meanwhile, been despatched to all the postmasters not to +supply horses to any traveller answering the description of L'Hôte; but +as he wore a Spanish costume similar to that of his companion he might +still have passed undetected, had he not, while endeavouring to mount at +Meaux, trembled so violently as to fall from his saddle; a circumstance +which attracted the attention of the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page239"></a>[pg 239]</span> +groom who held his stirrup, and +who immediately inferred that he must be some criminal who was flying +from justice. On re-entering the house he related the incident to his +master; and upon comparing the height, and bulk, and features of the +fugitive with the written detail furnished by the authorities, both +parties became convinced that they had suffered the very individual whom +they were commissioned to arrest to pursue his journey to the frontier +through their own agency; and thus impressed, the terrified postmaster +hastened to the Prévôt des Maréchaux,<a name="234r"></a><a href="#_234_">[234]</a> who lost no time in following +upon his track. The fugitives had, however, changed horses before the +anxious functionary and his attendants could arrive to interpose their +authority; but despite the darkness of the night, which prevented them +from obtaining even a glimpse of those whom they were endeavouring to +overtake, they persevered with confidence, being aware that before the +close of the second stage a ferry must be passed, which would +necessarily detain the travellers.</p> + +<p>The event proved the accuracy of their calculation, the lateness of the +hour compelling L'Hôte and his companion to rouse the reluctant ferryman +from his rest, a process which involved considerable delay; and they +were consequently scarcely half way +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page240"></a>[pg 240]</span> +across the river when they heard +the clatter of horses' hoofs upon the bank, and the voice of the +Maréchal hoarsely shouting to their conductor instantly to return, or he +should be hanged for his disobedience.</p> + +<p>The fugitives at once felt that they were lost should they permit him to +comply; and accordingly the Spaniard drew his sword, threatening to bury +it in the heart of the affrighted ferryman should he retreat an inch; +while L'Hôte, as craven as he was traitor, could only urge the boat +forward by the rope, groaning at intervals: "I am a dead man! I am a +dead man!"</p> + +<p>On gaining the opposite shore neither of the two attempted to remount; +but, abandoning their horses, they set off at their best speed on foot; +while the postilion by whom they had been accompanied had great +difficulty, during the return of the boat, in securing the three animals +who were thus suddenly committed to his sole charge.</p> + +<p>L'Hôte, terrified and bewildered by the voices of the Prévôt and his +men, who had, in their turn, passed the ferry, and unable in the +darkness to discern any path by which he might secure his escape, parted +from his companion, and continued his course along the river bank; +until, attracted by some sallows which he supposed to be an island in +the middle of the stream, he threw himself into the water in order to +reach it; but soon getting beyond his depth, and being unable to regain +the shore, as well as alarmed by the rapid approach of his pursuers, he +perished miserably; and was found on the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page241"></a>[pg 241]</span> +following morning not twenty +yards from the spot where he had abandoned the land.</p> + +<p>The Spanish steward, who was captured on the morrow in a hayloft about +two leagues from the river, was conducted to Paris with the corpse, +which was consigned to the prison of the Châtelet, where it was publicly +exposed during two days, and then drawn upon a hurdle to the place of +execution, where it was torn asunder by horses; the quarters of the body +being subsequently attached to four wheels which were placed in the +principal roads leading to the capital.</p> + +<p>The ignominy with which the body was treated was, as Sully asserts, in +accordance with the earnest request of the Duc de Villeroy, who could +not disguise from himself the difficulty of his own position; nor was it +until after several days' deliberation that Henry, remembering the +extent of the confidence placed by the Duke in the traitor by whom his +interests had been so seriously compromised, could sufficiently control +his indignation to assure him that he in no wise suspected him of +complicity, but should continue to regard him with the same trust and +favour as heretofore. The people were, however, less amenable; nor did +they scruple to accuse M. de Villeroy of participation in the crime of +his follower. They could not forget that he had been an active member of +the League; and they looked with jealousy upon every transaction in +which he was involved; while, fortunately for the Duke, the King was +ultimately prevailed +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page242"></a>[pg 242]</span> +upon to believe in the sincerity of his regret, +and to remember that since he had attached himself to the royal cause he +had rendered essential service to the country; nor did the murmurs of +his enemies, who had begun to hope that the treason of his secretary +must involve his own ruin, induce the monarch to exhibit towards him +either distrust or severity. So lenient, indeed, did the King show +himself, that after having being detained for a short time in prison, +the Spaniard who had been taken with L'Hôte was set at liberty, as too +insignificant for trial, and as the mere tool of his master.<a name="235r"></a><a href="#_235_">[235]</a></p> + +<p>While this affair had monopolized the attention of the King, Madame de +Verneuil, enraged by a continual estrangement which threatened the most +dangerous results to herself, and resolved at all hazards to recall the +attention of the monarch, began to assert more openly and arrogantly +than ever her claim upon his hand, and the right of her son to the +succession; while at the same time her brother, the Comte d'Auvergne, +pretexting a quarrel with M. de Soissons, quitted the Court, and +proceeded to the Low Countries, where he had for some time past been +actively engaged in organizing a conspiracy, in support of this +extravagant and hopeless pretension.</p> + +<p>The double personage enacted by the Marquise was one which necessitated +the utmost tact and caution, for she was aware that it involved her +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page243"></a>[pg 243]</span> +liberty, if not her life; and consequently, in order to secure the +sympathy of the people, while she was at the same time exciting the +passions of those discontented nobles who being remnants of the League +still retained an unconquerable jealousy of the power by which they had +been prostrated, she affected the deepest and most bitter repentance for +her past errors, and solicited the permission of the King to retire from +France with her children, that she might expiate, by a future of +retirement and piety, the faults of which she had been guilty. To this +request Henry, without a moment's hesitation, replied by the assurance +that she was at perfect liberty to withdraw from the country whenever +she saw fit to do so; adding, however, that he would not permit the +expatriation of her children, and that before her own departure she must +deliver into his hands the written promise of marriage, which, although +according to the decision of all the high ecclesiastics of the kingdom +totally void and valueless, she had nevertheless been so ill-advised as +to render a source of uneasiness and annoyance to the Queen.</p> + +<p>This demand was, however, arrogantly rejected, the Marquise declaring +that she would neither part with her children nor with a document that +rendered her the legal wife of the King; a decision which so incensed +Marie de Medicis that she vehemently reproached her royal consort for an +act of weakness by which her whole married life had been embittered, and +refused to listen to any compromise until the obnoxious paper should +be restored.</p> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page244"></a>[pg 244]</span> +<p>Thus circumstanced, Henry at length resolved to exert all his +authority, and despairing of success through the medium of a third +person, he determined himself to visit the Marquise and to exact the +restitution of the document. At this period, however, Madame de Verneuil +was too deeply involved in the conspiracy of her brother to prove a +willing agent in her own defeat, and she accordingly received the +monarch with an unyielding insolence for which he was totally +unprepared; violently declaring that the promise had been freely given, +and that the birth of her son had rendered it valid. In vain did the +King insist upon the absurdity of her pretensions; she only replied by +sneering at the extraction of the Queen, and asserting her own equality +with a petty Tuscan princess, whose gestures and language were, as she +declared, the jest of the whole Court. The King, outraged by so gross an +impertinence, imperatively commanded her silence upon all that regarded +the dignity or pleasure of his royal consort, a display of firmness +which more and more exasperated the favourite, who retorted by observing +that since the monarch had seen fit to retract a solemn engagement, and +thus to brand herself and her children with disgrace, it only remained +for her to reiterate her demand for permission to leave the country, +with her son and daughter, and her father and brother, both of whom were +prepared to share her fortunes, gloomy as they might be, the fear of God +not permitting her to recur to the past without the most profound +repentance.</p> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page245"></a>[pg 245]</span> +<p>To this persistence Henry coldly answered that in his turn he +reiterated his declaration that she was at liberty to retire to England +whenever she thought proper to do so, and to place herself under the +protection of her kinsman, the Earl of Lennox, but that he would not +suffer any other member of her family to share her exile; nor should she +herself be permitted to reside either in Spain or the Low Countries, +where the treasonable practices of the Comte d'Auvergne and the party of +the discontented nobles with whom she had recently allied herself, had +already given him just cause for displeasure.</p> + +<p>Madame de Verneuil, perfectly unabashed by this reproach, assured the +King, with a smile of haughty defiance, that she could be as firm as +himself where her own honour and that of her children was involved, and +added that should he persist in demanding the restoration of the written +promise by which he had triumphed over her virtue, he might seek it +where it was to be obtained, as he should never receive it from her +hands; while as regarded her estrangement from himself, it had ceased to +be a subject of regret, as since he had become old he had also become +distrustful and suspicious, and his affected favour only tended to +render her an object of public jealousy and indignation.</p> + +<p>Outraged by this last insult, the King rose angrily from his seat, and +without vouchsafing another word to the imperious Marquise quitted the +room. It was not, however, in the nature of Henri IV to find himself +once more in the presence of his +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page246"></a>[pg 246]</span> +mistress unmoved, and although the +indignity to which he had been subjected throughout the interview just +described should have sufficed to inspire him only with disgust for the +woman who had thus emancipated herself from every observance of respect +towards his own person and decency towards the Queen, it is nevertheless +certain that his very anger was mingled with admiration; and that not +even his sense of what was due to him both as a monarch and as a man +could overcome the attraction of Madame de Verneuil. Their temporary +separation, during which he had failed to find any equivalent for her +wit and vivacity, gave an added charm to every word she uttered; he +yearned to see her once more brilliant and happy, devoting her intellect +and her fascinations to his amusement; and even while complaining to +Sully of her impertinent and uncompromising boldness, he could not +forbear uttering a panegyric upon her better qualities, which convinced +the minister that their misunderstanding was not destined to be of long +duration, an opinion in which he was confirmed when the weak and +vacillating Henry, at the close of this enthusiastic apostrophe, +proceeded to institute a comparison between the Marquise and the Queen, +in which the latter suffered on every point. The earnest wish to please +of the favourite was contrasted with the coldness of Marie de Medicis, +the wit of the one with the haughty superciliousness of the other; in +short, the longer that the King discoursed upon the subject, the more +perfect became the conviction +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page247"></a>[pg 247]</span> +of his listener that the late meeting, +tempestuous as it was, had sufficed to restore to Madame de Verneuil at +least a portion of her former power.</p> + +<p>"I have no society in my wife," pursued the monarch; "she neither amuses +nor interests me. She is harsh and unyielding, alike in manner and in +speech, and makes no concession either to my humour or my tastes. When I +would fain meet her with warmth she receives me coldly, and I am glad to +escape from her apartments to seek for amusement elsewhere. My poor +cousin De Guise is my only refuge; and although she occasionally tells +me some home-truths, yet she does it with so much good humour that I +cannot take offence, and only laugh at her sallies." <a name="236r"></a><a href="#_236_">[236]</a></p> + +<p>It was sufficiently evident at that moment that even the "poor cousin" +of the monarch, beautiful and accomplished though she was, faded into +insignificance before the pampered and presuming favourite.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps," says Sully, with a calm sententiousness better suited to some +question of finance, "the Queen had only herself to blame for not having +released him from the snares of her rival, and detached him from every +other affair of gallantry, as he appeared to me perfectly sincere when +he urged me to induce her to conform to <i>his tastes</i> and to <i>the +character of his mind</i>."</p> + +<p>M. de Sully, great as he was in his official capacity, evidently +possessed little knowledge of a +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page248"></a>[pg 248]</span> +woman's nature, and the workings of a +woman's pride. We have seen what were the "tastes" of Henri IV, and what +was the "character of his mind"; and although it would undoubtedly have +proved both pleasant and convenient to the harassed minister that Marie +de Medicis should have devoured her grief and mortification, and have +received the mistresses of the King as the intimates of her circle, it +was a result little to be anticipated from a pure-hearted wife, who saw +herself the victim of every intriguing beauty whose novelty or notoriety +sufficed to attract the dissolute fancy of her consort. Even at the very +moment in which M. de Sully records this inferential reproach upon the +Queen, he admits that Henry was once more in the thrall of the Marquise, +and, moreover, the obsequious friend of Mademoiselle de Guise; and yet +he seeks to visit upon Marie the odium of a disunion which can only be, +with any fairness, attributed to the King himself, who, even while +professing to return to his allegiance as a husband, was openly +indulging in a system of licentiousness calculated to degrade him in the +eyes of a virtuous and exemplary woman.</p> + +<p>That Marie de Medicis had many faults cannot be denied by her most +zealous biographer, but that she was outraged both as a wife and as a +mother is no less certain; and adopting, as we have a right to do, the +conjectural style of M. de Sully,--perhaps, we say in our turn, had the +Queen, from the period of her marriage, been treated with the deference +and respect which were her due, the harsher features of +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page249"></a>[pg 249]</span> +her character +might have become softened, and the faults which posterity has been +compelled to couple with her name might never have been committed. +Assuredly her period of probation was a bitter one, and it may be +doubted whether the axe of our own eighth Henry were not after all more +merciful in reality than the wire-drawn and daily-recurring torture to +which his namesake of France subjected the haughty and high-spirited +woman who was fated to find herself the victim of his vices.</p> + +<p>The foreboding of M. de Sully was verified, for within a few days of the +interview just recorded between the King and Madame de Verneuil, and +during the continuance of his estrangement from his wife, it soon became +known that the favourite had re-assumed her empire. In vain did the +mortified minister protest against this new weakness, and assure his +royal master that it could not fail to increase the anger and +indignation of Marie de Medicis; Henry only replied by asserting that +when Sully should have succeeded in inducing the Queen to change her +humour and to exert herself to please him, instead of persisting in +closeting herself with her foreign followers, and permitting them to +criticise his conduct and to aggravate his defects, he would forthwith +relinquish his <i>liaison</i> with the Marquise. Such an answer, however, did +not check the zeal of his anxious adviser; who, fearful lest this last +schism should prove more important than those by which it had been +preceded, and undeterred even by the impatience with which +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page250"></a>[pg 250]</span> +the King +listened to his representations, persisted in assailing him with +arguments, remonstrances, and warnings, peculiarly unpalatable at all +times, but especially so at the very moment in which he had effected a +reconciliation with the favourite that promised a renewal of the +entertaining intercourse whence he derived so much gratification.</p> + +<p>"You have now, Sire," resolutely urged the undaunted counsellor, "an +admirable opportunity of terminating in a manner worthy of your exalted +rank the difficulty by which you are beset, and of ensuring your own +future tranquillity. Assume the authority which appertains to you as a +sovereign; compel the Queen to silence; above all, strictly forbid her +any longer to indulge in public in those idle murmurs and lamentations +by which your dignity suffers so severely in the eyes of your subjects; +and visit with the most condign punishment every disrespectful word of +which others may be guilty either towards yourself or her. This effort, +Sire, will be insignificant beside others which you have made, and in +which your personal tranquillity was not involved; be no less courageous +in your own cause, and do not suffer your reputation to be tarnished by +a weakness incomprehensible in so great and powerful a monarch. By +exacting the consideration and obedience which are your due, you are +guilty of no tyranny; for it is the indisputable privilege of every +crowned head to enforce both. Let me then entreat of your Majesty at +once to assert yourself, and thus put a period to the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page251"></a>[pg 251]</span> +domestic +differences by which the whole Court is convulsed."</p> + +<p>"Your advice may be good," was the evasive reply of the King, "but you +do not yet understand me, or you would be aware that I cannot bring +myself to exercise severity against persons with whom I am in habits of +familiar intercourse, and especially against a woman."</p> + +<p>"In that case, Sire," said Sully, "you have but one alternative. Exile +your mistress from the Court, and make the required concessions to +the Queen."</p> + +<p>"I am prepared to do so," said Henry hastily, "if, in return for this +sacrifice on my part, she will pledge herself no longer to annoy me by +her jealousy and violence, and to meet me in the same spirit; but I have +little hope of such a result: she is perfectly unable to exercise the +necessary self-command, and is perpetually mistaking the impulse of +temper for that of reason. Her intolerance and rancour forbid all +prospect of sincere harmony between us. She is perpetually threatening +with her vengeance every woman upon whom I chance to turn my eyes; and +even the children of Gabrielle, who were in being before her arrival in +the kingdom, are as hateful to her as though she had been personally +injured by their birth; nor have I the least reason to anticipate that +she will ever overcome so irrational an antipathy. Nor can she be won by +kindness and indulgence. Not only have I ever treated her with the +respect and deference due to the Queen +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page252"></a>[pg 252]</span> +of a great nation, but even in +moments of pecuniary pressure I have been careful, not merely to supply +her wants, but also to satisfy her caprices; and that too when I was +aware that the sums thus bestowed were to be squandered upon the Italian +rabble whose incessant study it has been to poison her mind against both +myself and her adopted country. Would to Heaven, Rosny, that I had +followed your advice on her arrival, and compelled the mischievous cabal +to recross the Alps; but it is now too late for such regrets; and if you +can indeed succeed in inducing the Queen to become more amenable to my +wishes, and more indulgent to my errors, Ventre Saint-Gris! you will +effect a good work, in which I shall be ready to second you. But mark, +you must do this apparently upon your own responsibility, and be careful +not to let her learn that I have authorized such a measure, or you will +only defeat your own purpose, and render her more impracticable than +ever." <a name="237r"></a><a href="#_237_">[237]</a></p> + +<p>Such was the unsatisfactory result of the effort made by the minister to +reconcile the royal couple; while, in addition to all his other +anxieties, he found himself placed in a position at once so difficult +and so dangerous that he was at a loss how to proceed, until a +circumstance fortunately occurred of which he hastened to avail himself. +In exchanging the petty Court of Florence for that of France, Marie had +speedily emancipated herself from the compulsory economy to which she +had been accustomed +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page253"></a>[pg 253]</span> +from her childhood, and had become reckless in her +expenditure to an excess which constantly disturbed the equanimity of +the prudent minister of finance. The current expenses of her household +amounted annually to the sum of three hundred and forty-five thousand +livres, an enormous outlay for that period; while she was so lavish to +her favourites that she was constantly applying for further supplies; +and on one occasion, when these were withheld, had actually pawned the +crown jewels, which it was necessary to redeem by a disbursement from +the public treasury. In addition to these resources, her income was also +considerably increased by gratuities, bribes from contracting +parties,<a name="238r"></a><a href="#_238_">[238]</a> and edicts created in her favour; the last of which were +peculiarly obnoxious to Sully, from the fact of their harassing the +people without any national benefit; and it was accordingly with great +reluctance, and frequently not without expostulation, that he was +induced to countersign these documents.</p> + +<p>The circumstance to which we have alluded as affording to Sully an +opening for the delicate negotiation with which he was entrusted by the +King, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page254"></a>[pg 254]</span> +was an offer made to Marie de Medicis of the sum of eighty +thousand livres in the event of her causing an edict to be issued in +favour of the officials of the salt-works of Languedoc, which she +forthwith despatched to the minister by M. d'Argouges,<a name="239r"></a><a href="#_239_">[239]</a> with a +request that he would use his influence to obtain it.</p> + +<p>Having made himself acquainted with the nature and tendency of the +edict, M. de Sully desired the messenger to inform her Majesty that he +was of opinion that the sovereign might safely authorize its operation +without any injury to the public interests; but added that he feared the +moment was an unpropitious one as regarded the Queen herself, the King +being still deeply offended by some of her recent proceedings; nor would +he advise her to venture upon such an application until she had +succeeded in disarming his anger; for which purpose he respectfully +suggested that she should endeavour to conciliate her royal consort by +some concession, which he would exert all his ability to enhance in the +eyes of his master, and in every way endeavour to advance her interests +as he had already done on several previous occasions.</p> + +<p>Marie, eager to possess herself of the large sum thus proffered for her +acceptance, consented to follow his advice; and decided upon addressing +a letter to the King, expressive of her regret at the coldness which +existed between them, and of her willingness to +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page255"></a>[pg 255]</span> +meet his wishes should +he condescend to explain them.</p> + +<p>This letter having been read and approved by the finance minister was +forthwith forwarded from Fontainebleau, where Marie de Medicis was then +residing, to the King at Paris; but it was not without a struggle that +the Queen had compelled herself to such an act of self-abnegation, and +her courier was no sooner despatched than she complained in bitter terms +to M. de Sully of the humiliations to which she was subjected by the +infatuation of the monarch for Madame de Verneuil; declaring that she +could never submit to look with favour or indulgence upon a woman who +had the presumption to institute comparisons between herself and her +sovereign; who was rearing her children with all the pretensions of +Princes of the Blood Royal, and encouraging them in demonstrations of +disrespect towards her own person; and who was, moreover, fomenting +sedition, by encouraging the discontented nobles to manifestations of +disloyalty to their monarch; while the King, blinded by his passion, +made no effort to rebuke, or even to restrain, her impertinence.</p> + +<p>The minister listened calmly and respectfully to these outpourings of +her indignation, but assured her in reply that it only depended upon +herself to annihilate the influence of the favourite, by a system of +consideration for the feelings of her royal consort of which she had not +hitherto condescended to test the efficacy. He, moreover, implored her +to make +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page256"></a>[pg 256]</span> +the trial; and represented so forcibly the benefit which must +accrue to herself by a restoration of domestic peace, that she at length +admitted the justice of his arguments, and pledged herself to +accelerate, by every means in her power, a full and perfect +reconciliation.</p> + +<p>Gratified by this almost unhoped-for success, Sully shortly afterwards +withdrew; and the reply of the King to the letter which she had +addressed to him was delivered to Marie when she was surrounded only by +her own private circle. It was at once courteous and conciliatory; and +it is probable that, had it arrived before the departure of the Duke, it +would have been acknowledged in the same spirit; but, unfortunately, the +Queen had no sooner communicated its contents to her confidential +friends than she was met by the assurance that the monarch had, on the +receipt of her missive, carried it to the Marquise, where her credulity +had excited great amusement, an assertion which was followed by other +commentaries so distasteful to her pride, that, instead of persevering +in the prudent course which she had been induced to adopt, she haughtily +informed the royal courier by whom the letter had been brought that she +should entrust him with no written reply, but should expect his Majesty +on the following day according to his own appointment.</p> + +<p>This marked and impolitic demonstration of disrespect excited anew the +resentment of Henry, who openly expressed his indignation in the most +unmeasured terms, and that so publicly, that within +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page257"></a>[pg 257]</span> +a few hours Marie +was informed of every particular; and the breach which Sully had fondly +flattered himself that he was about to heal became wider and more +threatening than ever.<a name="240r"></a><a href="#_240_">[240]</a></p> + +<p>Meanwhile the commerce of the King and the favourite was far from +affording to the former all the gratification which he had anticipated +from its renewal. The coquetry--to designate it by no harsher term--of +Madame de Verneuil irritated the jealousy of the monarch, who could not +forget that she had taunted him with his advancing age, and who saw her +unblushingly encourage the admiration and attention of such of the +courtiers as she could induce to brave his displeasure; while her lavish +expenditure and unceasing demands, alike upon his patience and his +purse, involved him in perpetual difficulties with his finance minister, +which her extravagant attempts to assume the airs and to usurp the +privileges of quasi-royalty did not tend to diminish.</p> + +<p>The French King was, in fact, at this period, the victim of his own +vices; the sovereign of a great and powerful nation, without a home or a +hearth, a wifeless husband, and a discontented lover; tenderly attached +to all his children, and yet unable to confer a favour upon the +offspring of one mother without incurring the resentment of the other; +and while feeling himself degraded by the thrall in which he lived, +totally devoid of the moral courage necessary for his escape from so +disgraceful a bondage.</p> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page258"></a>[pg 258]</span> +<p>It is in moments such as these that virtue and honour assert their +well-earned privileges without even the effort of enforcing them. Weary +of his perpetual discomfort, harassed by the heartless conduct of his +mistress, and pining for the mental repose which he so greatly needed, +Henry once more turned towards his wife as his only probable and +legitimate haven of rest; but hopeless of success through his own +agency, he again addressed himself to Sully for assistance and support.</p> + +<p>Suddenly summoned by the monarch, the minister presented himself at the +Tuileries, where he found Henry in the orangery, in which he had taken +refuge from a shower of rain, pale, agitated, and anxious. The subject +of his reconciliation with the Queen was mooted on the instant, and he +repeatedly called upon Sully for his advice as to the best and surest +method of effecting it. Conscious that his counsels had hitherto been +either disregarded or rendered abortive by the King himself, the Duke +endeavoured to escape this new demand upon his patience, but Henry was +peremptory.</p> + +<p>"Since then you command me to speak, Sire," he said at length, "I will +be frank. In order to accomplish the object which you have in view, you +can only pursue one course. Put the sea between yourself and four or +five individuals by whom you are now beset, and cause as many others to +pass the Alps."</p> + +<p>"Your first suggestion is practicable," was the reply; "there is nothing +to prevent me from banishing +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page259"></a>[pg 259]</span> +the malcontents who are conspiring in my +very Court, but I am differently situated with regard to the Italians; +for, in addition to the hatred which I should draw down upon myself from +a nation proverbially vindictive, the Queen would never forgive an +affront offered to her favourites. In order to free myself from these +she must be induced herself to propose their return to their own +country, and I know no one more likely than you, Rosny, to effect an +object at once so desirable and so important. Make the attempt, +therefore; and should you succeed, I pledge myself from that moment to +abstain from every intrigue of gallantry. Reflect upon what I have +suggested in my turn, and consider the means by which this may be +accomplished with the least possible delay."</p> + +<p>So saying, the King, after ascertaining that the weather had again +cleared, abruptly quitted the orangery, leaving M. de Sully perfectly +aghast at the new duty which had thus been suddenly thrust upon him.</p> + +<p>As it was utterly impossible to propose such a measure to Marie de +Medicis as that of dismissing her most favoured attendants until a +perfect reconciliation had been effected between the royal couple, it +was to that object that the prudent minister first turned his attention; +and so successful did he ultimately prove, that after a brief +correspondence the King and Queen had an interview, during which the +whole of their recent misunderstanding was calmly discussed, and +declared by both parties to have been +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page260"></a>[pg 260]</span> +occasioned by the ill-judged +interference of those by whom they were severally surrounded; nor did +they separate until they had mutually pledged themselves to consign the +past to oblivion, and thenceforward to close their ears against all the +gossiping of the Court.</p> + +<p>The effect produced by this matrimonial truce (for it was unfortunately +nothing more, and lasted only for the short space of three weeks) was of +the most happy description. Nothing was seen or heard of save projects +of amusement, which, not content with absorbing the present, extended +also into the future. This calm, like those by which it had been +preceded, was not, however, fated to realize the hopes of either party. +Henry was too much addicted to pleasure to fulfil his part of the +compact, while the Queen had, unhappily for her own peace, so long +accustomed herself to listen to the comments and complaints of her +favourites, that it was not long ere they found her as well disposed as +she had previously been to lend a willing ear to their communications. +In Madame de Verneuil they, of course, possessed a fruitful topic; and +as Marie, despite all her good resolutions, could not restrain her +curiosity with regard to the proceedings of this obnoxious personage, +she ere long betrayed her knowledge of the new affronts to which she had +been subjected by the Marquise.</p> + +<p>The result of this unfortunate enlightenment was such as, from her +impulsive character, might justly have been anticipated. She no sooner +found herself +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page261"></a>[pg 261]</span> +in the society of the King than she once more assailed +him with invectives and reproaches which he was of no temper to brook; +and in this new dilemma Sully resolved, as a last and crowning effort to +establish peace, to suggest to Marie that as her happiness had again +been destroyed solely by the evil tongues about her, she should secure +to herself the gratitude and affection of her royal consort by +dismissing all her Italian household, and surrounding herself entirely +by French friends and attendants.</p> + +<p>The indignation of the Queen at this proposal was beyond the reach of +all argument. She declared herself to be sufficiently unhappy separated +from her family, and neglected by her husband, without driving from her +presence, almost with ignominy, the few persons who still remained +faithful to her interests, and who sincerely sympathized in her +sufferings; and although the Duke ventured again and again to recur to +the subject, and always with the same earnestness, Marie continued to +reject his counsel as steadily as when it was first offered.<a name="241r"></a><a href="#_241_">[241]</a></p> + +<p>The new attachment felt or feigned by the King for Mademoiselle de la +Bourdaisière had again awakened her jealousy; and she complained with +equal reason that Henry, even while indulging in this new passion, made +no attempt to restrain the arrogance and bitterness of the forsaken +favourite. Nor was Madame de Verneuil less indignant than +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page262"></a>[pg 262]</span> +the Queen; +for even while affecting an extreme devotion, and surrounding herself +with ecclesiastics, who, not content with labouring to effect her +salvation, were also feeding her vanity with the most fulsome +panegyrics, she could ill brook to see herself so easily forgotten; and +once more she indulged in such indecent liberties with the name of Marie +de Medicis that the King, whose patience was the more easily exhausted +from the fact that he believed himself to be at last independent of her +fascinations, was again driven to resort to the assistance of M. de +Sully, in order to compel the restoration of the written promise of +marriage which he had been weak enough to place in her hands.</p> + +<p>It was, indeed, impossible for the sovereign of a great nation longer to +temporize with an insolence which at this period had exceeded all +endurable limits; for not only did the Marquise assert, as she had +previously done, the illegality of the King's union with his wife, but +so thoroughly had her affected devotion wrought upon the minds of the +priests about her that several among them were induced to support her +pretended claim, and even publicly to declare the bans of marriage +between herself and the monarch.<a name="242r"></a><a href="#_242_">[242]</a> Among these, two Capuchins, Father +Hilaire of Grenoble and Father Archange, her confessors, the last in +France, and the first in Rome, attached themselves recklessly to her +interests,<a name="243r"></a><a href="#_243_">[243]</a> while at the same time numerous letters and pamphlets +were distributed in the capital, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page263"></a>[pg 263]</span> +advocating her cause;<a name="244r"></a><a href="#_244_">[244]</a> and so +dangerously active had the cabal become in the Eternal City that the +Cardinal d'Ossat considered it expedient to address a letter to the +French Government upon the subject, which implicated in this wild +conspiracy both the King of Spain and the Duke of Savoy, who, through +the agency of Father Hilaire, were represented as upholding the +pretensions of Madame de Verneuil. These circumstances, and especially +the notoriety of a fact which involved alike the dignity of her husband +and her own honour, so greatly exasperated the temper of the Queen that +she no longer attempted to control her irritation; and on one occasion +when, as was constantly the case, the pretended claim of the Marquise +became the subject of discord between the royal couple, Marie so +thoroughly forgot the respect which she owed to the King that she raised +her hand to strike him. Fortunately, however, for both parties, the Duc +de Sully, who was present +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page264"></a>[pg 264]</span> +during the altercation, and who instantly +detected her intention, sprang forward and seized her arm; but in his +haste he was compelled to do this so roughly that she afterwards +declared he had given her a blow, adding, however, that she was grateful +to him for having thus preserved her from a worse evil.</p> + +<p>So great, indeed, was her sense of the obligation thus conferred, that +thenceforward Marie regarded the finance minister with more favour than +she had hitherto done; and occasionally requested his advice during her +misunderstandings with the King. She could not have chosen a safer +counsellor, for although Sully does not, in any instance, attempt to +disguise his dislike to the Tuscan princess, he was incapable of +betraying so sacred a trust; and if, as generally occurs in such cases, +his advice was frequently neglected, she never once had cause to +question its propriety.</p> + +<p>A short time subsequent to the scene we have just described the Queen +sent to request the presence of the minister in her closet, where he +found her conversing with Concini, and evidently much excited. On his +entrance she informed him that she was weary of the infidelities of the +monarch; that the jealousy which he constantly kept alive alike +undermined her health and destroyed her happiness; and that she had +determined to follow the advice of her faithful servant, there present, +and to communicate to his Majesty certain advances which had been made +to her by some of the Court +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page265"></a>[pg 265]</span> +nobles, who were less insensible to her +attractions than the King himself.</p> + +<p>This communication startled M. de Sully; and while he was endeavouring +to frame a reply by which he might remain uncompromised, Concini with +his usual presumption followed up the declaration of the Queen by +asserting his own conviction that it was the wisest measure which she +could adopt; as it would at once convince her royal consort that she +desired to keep nothing secret from him in which he was personally +interested.</p> + +<p>This interruption afforded time for the Duke to collect his thoughts, +and heedless of the interference of the Italian, he remarked in his turn +that her Majesty must pardon him if he declined to offer any opinion on +so delicate a question, as it was one entirely beyond his province; +after which, resolutely changing the tone of the discourse, he continued +to converse with the Queen upon indifferent topics until Concini had +retired. Then, however, he voluntarily reverted to the subject which she +had herself mooted, and implored her to abandon her design; assuring her +that he had her interest too sincerely at heart to see her without +anxiety about to place herself in a position at once false and +dangerous, as such an assurance from her own lips could not fail to +excite in the breast of the King the greatest and most legitimate +suspicions; for every man of sense must at once feel that no individual, +be his rank what it might, would have dared to declare his passion to a +person of her exalted +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page266"></a>[pg 266]</span> +condition without having previously ascertained +that its expression would be agreeable to her, and having been tacitly +encouraged to do so; while, on the other hand, so far from discovering +any merit in such an avowal, or regarding it as a proof of confidence, +his Majesty would immediately decide that the motive by which she had +been actuated in making it must have been either the fear of discovery, +or a desire to rid herself of persons of whom she had become weary, in +order that she might be left at liberty to encourage new suitors; or +finally, that she had been urged to this unheard-of measure by +individuals who had obtained sufficient influence over her mind to +induce her to sacrifice her peace and her honour to their own +views.<a name="245r"></a><a href="#_245_">[245]</a></p> + +<p>Happily for herself, Marie de Medicis admitted the validity of these +arguments, and abandoned her ill-advised intention; and she was the more +readily induced to do this from the assurance which she received from M. +de Sully that the restoration of the promise given to Madame de Verneuil +by the King was about to be enforced, and that she would consequently be +speedily relieved from the anxiety by which she had been so long +tormented. Nor was the pledge an idle one, as immediate measures were +adopted to effect this act of justice towards the Queen. The negotiation +was renewed by two autograph letters from the King himself, addressed +respectively to the Comte d'Entragues and the Marquise de Verneuil, +which were long preserved +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page267"></a>[pg 267]</span> +in the library of Joly de Fleury, but are now +supposed to be lost. Copies of both had been, however, fortunately taken +by the Abbé de l'Ecluse,<a name="246r"></a><a href="#_246_">[246]</a> and as they are highly characteristic of +the monarch, and cannot fail to prove interesting to the reader, we +shall insert them at length.</p> + +<p>To M. d'Entragues the King wrote as follows:</p> + +<p>"M. d'Entragues, je vous envoye ce porteur pour me rapporter la promesse +que je vous baillay a Malesherbes je vous prys ne faillir de me la +renvoyer et si vous voulez me la rapporter vous mesme je vous diray les +raisons qui m'y poussent qui sont domestiques et non d'estat par +lesquelles vous direz que jay raison et reconnaitrez que vous avez été +trompé, et que jay un naturel plutost trop bon que autrement, massurant +que vous obeyrez à mon commandement, je finirai vous assurant que je +suis votre bon mestre."</p> + +<p>The letter addressed to Madame de Verneuil bears the same date, and runs +thus:</p> + +<p>"Mademoiselle, lamour, Ihonneur et les bienfaits que vous avez reçus de +moi, eussent arrêté la plus legere ame du monde si elle n'eut point été +accompagnée d'un mauvais naturel comme le vostre. Je ne vous picqueray +davantage bien que je le peusse et dusse fair, vous le savez: je vous +prie de me renvoyer la promesse que savez et ne me donnez point la peine +de la revoir par autre voye: renvoyez moi aussi la bague que je vous +rendis l'autre jour: voilà +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page268"></a>[pg 268]</span> +le sujet de cette lettre, de laquelle je +veux avoir réponse à minuit."</p> + +<p>These specimens of royal eloquence were unavailing; evasive answers were +returned by the King's messenger, and entreaties having proved +ineffectual, threats were subsequently substituted, upon which the +arrogant Marquise was ultimately induced to relinquish her claim to +ascend the throne of France, on condition that she should, at the moment +of delivering up the document, receive in exchange the sum of twenty +thousand silver crowns and the promise of a marshal's <i>bâton</i> for her +father the Comte d'Entragues, who had never been upon a field of battle. +This condition, onerous as it appears, was accepted; and the father of +the lady finally, but with evident reluctance, restored the pernicious +document to the King in the presence of the Comte de Soissons and the +Duc de Montpensier, MM. de Bellièvre, de Sillery, de Maisse,<a name="247r"></a><a href="#_247_">[247]</a> de +Jeannin, de +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page269"></a>[pg 269]</span> +Gêvres,<a name="248r"></a><a href="#_248_">[248]</a> and de Villeroy, by whom it was verified, and +who signed a declaration to this effect,<a name="249r"></a><a href="#_249_">[249]</a> although it was afterwards +proved<a name="250r"></a><a href="#_250_">[250]</a> that D'Entragues had only delivered into the hands of Henry +a well-executed copy of the paper, while he himself retained +the original.</p> + +<p>This ceremony over, the Marquise was commanded to leave the Court, and +for a short time peace was perfectly restored. The King had already +become weary of his new conquest, and the hand of Mademoiselle de la +Bourdaisière was bestowed upon a needy and complaisant courtier; but +still the absence of the brilliant favourite, despite all her insolence, +left a void in the existence of Henry which no legitimate affection +sufficed to fill, and it was consequently not long ere he became +enamoured of Mademoiselle de Bueil,<a name="251r"></a><a href="#_251_">[251]</a> a young beauty who had recently +appeared at Court in the suite of the Princesse de Condé. The +extraordinary loveliness of the youthful orphan at once riveted the +attention of the King, and her own inexperience made her, in so +licentious a Court as that of Henri IV, an easy victim, so easy, indeed, +that the libertine monarch +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page270"></a>[pg 270]</span> +did not even affect towards her the same +consideration which he had shown to his former favourites, although her +extraordinary personal perfections sufficed to render her society at +this period indispensable to him.</p> + +<p>It was not long ere the exiled favourite was apprised of this new +infidelity, yet such was her reliance upon her own power over the +passions of the King that she affected to treat it with contempt; but +although she scorned to admit that she could feel any dread of being +supplanted by a rival, after-events tended to prove that she was by no +means so indifferent to the circumstance as she endeavoured to appear, +and being as vindictive in her hate as she was unmeasured in her +ambition, she could not forgive the double insult which had been offered +to her pride. Forgetting the excesses of which she had been guilty, and +the forbearance of the King, not only towards her faults, but even +towards her vices, she determined on revenge, and unhappily she felt +that the means were within her reach.</p> + +<p>The Comte d'Auvergne, although he had been a second time pardoned by +Henry, who was ever too ready to receive him into favour, and was wont +to declare that although he was a <i>prodigal son</i> he could never make up +his mind to see the offspring of his King and brother-in-law perish upon +a scaffold,<a name="252r"></a><a href="#_252_">[252]</a> was devotedly attached to his sister, and of an +intriguing spirit which delighted in every species of +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page271"></a>[pg 271]</span> + cabal and +conspiracy; while François de Balzac d'Entragues, her father, +overlooking the fact that he had himself become the husband of a woman +whose reputation was lost before their marriage, talked loudly of the +dishonour which the King had brought upon his family, and moreover +resented, with great reason, an attempt made by Henry to seduce his +younger daughter, Marie de Balzac.</p> + +<p>For this lady, who subsequently became the mistress of Bassompierre, the +King conceived so violent a passion that, although at that period in his +fiftieth year, he did not hesitate to assume the disguise of a peasant +in order to meet her in the forest of Verneuil. The appointment had, +however, become known to M. d'Entragues, who, exasperated by this second +affront, and indignant at the persevering licentiousness of the monarch, +stationed himself with fifteen devoted adherents in different quarters +of the wood in order to take his life. Happily for Henry, he was well +mounted, and on being attacked, defended himself so resolutely that he +escaped almost by a miracle.</p> + +<p>The disappointment of M. d'Entragues at this failure was so great that +he compelled his daughter to propose another meeting in a solitary spot +which he indicated, and where he made every preparation to secure the +assassination of the imprudent monarch; but although she despatched the +letter containing the assignation, Marie de Balzac found means to +apprise her royal lover of the reception which awaited him, and he +consequently failed to keep +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page272"></a>[pg 272]</span> +the appointment.<a name="253r"></a><a href="#_253_">[253]</a> That the Comte +d'Entragues, twice foiled in his meditated vengeance, should lend +himself willingly to any conspiracy against the honour and life of his +sovereign, is consequently scarcely surprising, when we remember how +many nobles had in turn caballed against Henri IV with scarcely a +pretext for their disloyalty; and meanwhile Madame de Verneuil, fully +conscious of the hatred of Philip of Spain for the French King, had no +sooner resolved upon revenge than she at once turned her attention +towards that monarch, and by exciting his worst passions succeeded in +securing his support. She found an able and zealous coadjutor in Don +Balthazar de Zuñiga, the Spanish Ambassador at the Court of France; +while her step-brother, the Comte d'Auvergne, was no less successful +with the Duke of Savoy, who, like Philip III, was never more happy than +when he discovered and profited by an opportunity of harassing the +French sovereign.</p> + +<p>This conspiracy, as absurd as it was criminal, was, moreover, supported +by many of the discontented nobles who had never pardoned Henry for the +suppression of the League; and, wild as such a project cannot fail to +appear in these days, we have the authority of Amelot de la +Houssaye<a name="254r"></a><a href="#_254_">[254]</a> for the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page273"></a>[pg 273]</span> +fact that the Comte d'Auvergne had induced Philip +by a secret treaty to promise his assistance in placing Henri de +Bourbon, the son of Henri IV and Madame de Verneuil, on the throne of +France, to the detriment of the legitimate offspring of Marie +de Medicis.</p> + +<p>In the act by which Philip bound himself thus to recognise the pretended +claim of the Marquise, he also gave a pledge to furnish her with five +hundred thousand livres in money, and to despatch the Spanish troops +which at that moment occupied Catalonia to support the disaffected +French subjects who might be induced to join the cabal in Guienne and +Languedoc.</p> + +<p>Report also said that M. d'Auvergne, not satisfied with this attempt to +undermine the throne of Henri IV, had formed a design against his life, +but the rumour obtained no credit even from his enemies.<a name="255r"></a><a href="#_255_">[255]</a></p> + +<p>Whatever extenuation may be found for Madame de Verneuil in such an +attempt as this; whatever indulgence may be conceded to a woman baffled +in her ambition, misled by her confidence in a supposititious claim, and +urged on by a blind and uncalculating affection for her children, it is +difficult to find any excuse for the persevering ingratitude of her +step-brother. As regards M. d'Entragues, we have already shown that he +had more than sufficient cause for seeking revenge upon a monarch who +sacrificed every important consideration to the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page274"></a>[pg 274]</span> +passion of the moment; +but the Comte d'Auvergne had experienced nothing save indulgence from +Henry, and it was consequently in cold blood that he organized a +conspiracy, which, had it succeeded, must have plunged the whole nation +into civil war. He was, moreover, the more culpable that he had, in +order to secure a pardon for his previous participation in the crime of +Biron, assured the too-credulous monarch, that in the event of his +restoration to favour, he would, if permitted to continue his +intercourse with Philip of Spain as unrestrictedly as heretofore, profit +by the facility thus afforded to him to reveal to his Majesty all the +secrets of the Spanish Government.</p> + +<p>There can be no doubt that such a proposal must have startled and even +disgusted the frank nature of the French King; but it was nevertheless +too tempting to be rejected; and he himself avowed to Sully, when the +new conspiracy of D'Auvergne became known to him, that it was less by +the prayers of the culprit's sister, and by his own consideration for +the children whom she had borne to him, than in the hope that he might, +through the medium of the Count, be enabled to counteract the measures +of his most subtle and dangerous enemy, that he had been induced on that +occasion to pardon his disloyalty.<a name="256r"></a><a href="#_256_">[256]</a></p> + +<p>By this unwise and ill-calculated concession the King had afforded an +opportunity to the restless and disaffected noble of pursuing a +correspondence +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page275"></a>[pg 275]</span> +with Philip as dangerous as it was convenient. Couriers +were permitted to come and go unquestioned; and it was not long ere +every measure of the French Cabinet was as intimately known at Madrid as +it was in the Privy Council of Henry himself. This evil was, moreover, +increased by the unconditional pardon which had enabled M. d'Auvergne, +after his strange and degrading offer, to return to the Court; and he +profited so eagerly by the opportunity which was thus afforded to him +that he had little difficulty in convincing the false and vindictive +Philip that the moment was at length come in which he might overthrow +the power of the sovereign whom he hated.</p> + +<p>M. de Loménie, however, who, unaware of the promise made by the Count to +Henry, became uneasy at the constant communication which the former +maintained with the Court of Spain, at length determined to satisfy +himself as to its nature, and for this purpose he intercepted some +letters, by which he instantly became convinced of the treason meditated +against his royal master. Indignant at the discovery which supervened, +he suffered his displeasure to reach the ears of the culprit, who +forthwith quitted the capital, and hastened to secure himself from +arrest in Auvergne, of which province he was the governor, and where he +made instant preparations to leave the kingdom should such a step become +necessary.</p> + +<p>It was consequently in vain that the King, when informed of the +circumstance, despatched the Sieur +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page276"></a>[pg 276]</span> + d'Escures<a name="257r"></a><a href="#_257_">[257]</a> to summon the Count +to his presence in order that he might justify himself. D'Auvergne +resolutely refused to quit his retreat until he had received a formal +promise from the sovereign that he should be absolved from all blame of +whatever description, and received by his Majesty with his accustomed +favour, alleging as a pretext for making this demand, that he was on bad +terms with all the Princes of the Blood, with the Grand Equerry, and +even with his sister, Madame de Verneuil, and that he could not make +head against such a host of enemies except he were supported by +the King.</p> + +<p>The expostulations of the royal messenger were fruitless, the Count +being more fully alive to the danger of his position than M. d'Escures +himself; and to every argument and denegation of the anxious envoy he +consequently replied by saying that it was useless to urge him to +compromise his safety while he felt certain that his ruin had been +decided upon, a fact of which he was convinced from the circumstance of +his having received no letter from any of the intimate friends of the +King since he had withdrawn from the Court, while he was sufficiently +acquainted with the bad disposition of Madame de Verneuil to be assured +that in the event of her being enabled to effect a reconciliation with +the monarch at his expense, she would not scruple to sacrifice his +interests to her own.</p> + +<p>The embassy of M. d'Escures thus signally failed, and instead of +furthering the purpose for which it +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page277"></a>[pg 277]</span> +was intended, it produced a totally +opposite effect, as, warned by this attempt to regain possession of his +person, it induced M. d'Auvergne to adopt the most extraordinary +precautions. He from that moment not only refused to enter any town or +village where he might be surprised, but he also declined to hold any +intercourse even with his most familiar friends save on a highway, or in +some plain or forest where the means of escape were easy; and when +hunting, a sport to which he was passionately attached, and which was at +that period the only relaxation he could enjoy with safety, he caused +videttes to be stationed upon the surrounding heights, who were +instructed to apprise him by a concerted signal of the approach of +strangers.<a name="258r"></a><a href="#_258_">[258]</a></p> + +<p>All his caution was, however, vain, his capture being an object of too +much importance to the King, at the present conjuncture, to be readily +relinquished, and accordingly it was at length effected by a stratagem. +By the advice of the Duc de Sully, this enterprise was entrusted to M. +Murat,<a name="259r"></a><a href="#_259_">[259]</a> who associated with himself M. de Nérestan<a name="260r"></a><a href="#_260_">[260]</a> and the +Vicomte de Pont-Château, who, by his instructions, paid several visits +to the Count at his château of Borderon near +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page278"></a>[pg 278]</span> +Clermont, without, +however, inducing him to quit its walls.</p> + +<p>These gentlemen, nevertheless, made themselves so agreeable to the +self-exiled conspirator, and listened so patiently to his complaints, +that their society became at last necessary to him, and so thoroughly +did they succeed in gaining his confidence that they finally experienced +little difficulty in persuading him to be present at a review of the +light cavalry of the Duc de Vendôme, of which he was the +colonel-general, and which was about to take place in a little plain +between Clermont and Nonant. He accordingly proceeded to the spot with +only two attendants, and he was no sooner seen approaching than M. de +Nérestan and the Vicomte de Pont-Château advanced from the ranks, +apparently to welcome him, but on reaching his side, the latter seized +the bridle of his horse, while his companion arrested him in the name of +the King.<a name="261r"></a><a href="#_261_">[261]</a> Resistance was of course impossible, and thus the Comte +d'Auvergne, despite all his precautions, found himself a prisoner.</p> + +<p>L'Etoile,<a name="262r"></a><a href="#_262_">[262]</a> with a <i>naïveté</i> well calculated to provoke a smile of +pity, calls this a "brave" and subtle stratagem; on its subtlety we may +be silent, but we leave alike its courage and its honesty to the +judgment of our readers. Sully admits<a name="263r"></a><a href="#_263_">[263]</a> that not only the two +captors, but even Murat himself, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page279"></a>[pg 279]</span> +who had an ancient grudge against +D'Auvergne, spared no pains or deceit to insinuate themselves into his +confidence, while it is equally certain that it was to his perfect faith +in their professions that he owed his capture.</p> + +<p>Having secured their prisoner, M. Murat and his coadjutors caused him to +deliver up his sword, and to exchange the powerful charger upon which he +was mounted for a road-hack that had been prepared for him, upon which +he proceeded under a strong guard to Briare, whence he was conducted in +a carriage to Montargis, and, finally, conveyed in a boat to Paris. +During this enforced journey his gaiety never deserted him, nor did he +appear to entertain the slightest apprehension as to the result of his +imprisonment; throughout the whole of the way he jested, drank, and +laughed, as though his return to the capital had been voluntary; and +when he was finally met at the gates of the city by M. de la Chevalerie, +the lieutenant-governor of the Bastille, he was in such exuberant +spirits that the astounded official deemed it expedient to remind him +that they had not come together to dance a ballet, but for a totally +different purpose.<a name="264r"></a><a href="#_264_">[264]</a></p> + +<p>It was only when he found himself conducted to the very chamber which +had been occupied by the Maréchal de Biron previous to his execution, +that a shade of anguish passed over the features of the Count. He could +not but remember that the traitor-Duke, who had rendered great and good +service to +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page280"></a>[pg 280]</span> +his sovereign, had suffered for the same crime of which he +was in his turn accused without any such plea for mercy, and it is +therefore scarcely surprising that he should have been startled upon +finding himself installed as the successor of the condemned marshal.</p> + +<p>M. d'Auvergne was not, however, of a temperament long to yield to gloomy +ideas, and consequently, while his unhappy wife<a name="265r"></a><a href="#_265_">[265]</a> was lost in tears, +and endeavouring by every exertion in her power to save him from a fate +which appeared inevitable, he availed himself to the utmost of the +leniency of his jailors, and indulged in every luxury and amusement +which he was enabled to command. Agonised by her apprehensions, the +unhappy Countess at length resolved to throw herself at the feet of the +King, where, with a humility which contrasted strangely with the +unbending arrogance of her sister-in-law, Madame de Verneuil, she +besought in the most touching terms that Henry would spare the life of +her husband, and once more pardon his crime. Her earnest supplications +evidently affected the King, while Marie de Medicis, who was present, +wept with the heart-broken wife, and warmly seconded her petition, but +the monarch, who probably feared the result of such an act of mercy, +having raised her from her knees with a gentle kindness which made her +tears flow afresh, led her to the side of the Queen, upon whose arm he +placed his hand +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page281"></a>[pg 281]</span> +as he said firmly: "Deeply, Madame, do I pity you, and +sympathize in your suffering, but were I to grant what you ask, I must +necessarily admit my wife to be impure, my son a bastard, and my kingdom +the prey of my enemies."</p> + +<p>All, therefore, that the Countess could obtain was the royal permission +to communicate with her husband, a concession of which she hastened to +take advantage; when, in reply to her anxious inquiry as to what he +desired of her, she received by her messenger the heartless reply that +she might send him a good stock of cheese and mustard, and that she need +not trouble herself about anything else.<a name="266r"></a><a href="#_266_">[266]</a></p> + +<p>The intercepted letters of the Comte d'Auvergne having also implicated +his stepfather M. d'Entragues, and his sister Madame de Verneuil, both +were subsequently arrested; the former by the Provost Defunctis<a name="267r"></a><a href="#_267_">[267]</a> in +his castle of Marcoussis, and the latter at her residence in the +Faubourg St. Germain; while her children were taken from her, and sent, +under a proper escort, to the palace of St. Germain-en-Laye. So +important did it, moreover, appear to the French ministers to ascertain +the exact extent of the conspiracy, that the Provost was accompanied to +Marcoussis by M. de Loménie, in order that a search might be instituted +upon the premises; the result of which tended to prove, beyond all +possibility of doubt, that the original engagement +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page282"></a>[pg 282]</span> +delivered by the +father of the Marquise to the sovereign had, in fact, not been restored, +but had been skilfully copied by some able pen; while the importance +which was still attached to the real document by the family of Madame de +Verneuil may be gathered from the fact that it was discovered by the +Secretary of State in a glass bottle, carefully sealed and enclosed +within a second, which was laid upon a heap of cotton and built up in a +wall of one of the apartments. Nor was this the only object of +importance found in the possession of M. d'Entragues; as, together with +the promise of marriage which he had professed to restore to the King, +M. de Loménie likewise discovered, secreted with equal care, sundry +letters, the treaty between Philip of Spain and the conspirators, and +the cypher which had been employed in their correspondence.<a name="268r"></a><a href="#_268_">[268]</a></p> + +<p>From these documents it was ascertained that the King of Spain had +stipulated on oath that, on the condition of Madame de Verneuil +confiding her son to his guardianship, he should be immediately +recognized as Dauphin of France, and heir to the throne of that kingdom; +while five fortresses in the territory of Portugal should be placed at +his disposal, and subjected to his authority, as places of refuge should +such a precaution become necessary. A similar provision was, moreover, +made for the Marquise herself; and an income amounting to twenty +thousand pounds English was also promised +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page283"></a>[pg 283]</span> +to the quasi-Prince for the +support of his household.</p> + +<p>Nor was this domestic arrangement by any means the most important +feature of the conspiracy, as appointments, both civil and military, +involving considerable pecuniary advantages, were also promised to the +Comte d'Auvergne and his stepfather; and a simultaneous invasion was +arranged by the Duke of Savoy in Provence, the Condé de Fuentes<a name="269r"></a><a href="#_269_">[269]</a> in +Burgundy, and Spinola<a name="270r"></a><a href="#_270_">[270]</a> in Champagne.</p> + +<p>On the 11th of December M. d'Entragues was conveyed in a close carriage +to the prison of the Conciergerie at Paris, accompanied by his son M. de +Marcoussis on horseback, but without a single attendant; and he was in +confinement for a considerable time before he was allowed either fire or +light; while on the same day, Madame de Verneuil was placed under the +charge of M. d'Arques, the Lieutenant of Police, who was informed that +he must answer with his life for her safe-keeping, and who +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page284"></a>[pg 284]</span> +accordingly +garrisoned her residence with a strong body of his guards and archers.</p> + +<p>The Comte d'Entragues was no sooner incarcerated, than his wife,<a name="271r"></a><a href="#_271_">[271]</a> +following the example of her +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page285"></a>[pg 285]</span> +daughter-in-law, obtained an audience of +Henry, in order to implore the pardon of her husband; but it was +remarked that, earnest as she was in his behalf, she never once, during +the whole of the interview, made the slightest allusion either to the +Comte d'Auvergne or Madame de Verneuil; doubtless feeling that in the +one case the well-known respect of the King for the blood of the Valois, +and in the other his passion for the Marquise, would plead more +powerfully in their behalf than the most emphatic entreaties. Like that +of the Comtesse d'Auvergne, her attempt, however, proved abortive, save +that Henry accorded to her prayers a mitigation of the rigour with which +her husband had hitherto been treated.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile Madame de Verneuil, far from imitating the humility of her +relatives, openly declared that, whatever might be the result to +herself, she should never regret the measures which she had adopted to +obtain justice for herself and her children; and when on one occasion +she was urged to make the concessions by which alone she could hope for +pardon, she answered haughtily: "I have no fear of death; on the +contrary, I shall welcome it. If the King takes my life, it will at +least be allowed that he sacrificed his own wife, for I was Queen before +the Italian woman. I ask but three favours from his Majesty: pardon for +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page286"></a>[pg 286]</span> +my father, a rope for my brother, and justice for myself." <a name="272r"></a><a href="#_272_">[272]</a></p> + +<p>Her reason for this expression may be found in the fact that during +three examinations which he underwent the Comte d'Auvergne finally +acknowledged everything, and threw the whole blame upon the Marquise; +feeling convinced that, under every circumstance, her life was safe; +although he had previously (placing the most entire reliance on the +good-faith and secrecy of M. de Chevillard,<a name="273r"></a><a href="#_273_">[273]</a> to whom he had, in +conjunction with his sister, confided the original treaty with Spain, +and never apprehending the discovery of the documents deposited at +Marcoussis), declared his innocence in the most solemn manner; and he +even concluded his address to the commissioners by saying: "Gentlemen, +show me one line of writing by which I can be convicted of having +entered into any treaty, either with the King of Spain or his +ambassador, and I will immediately sign beneath it my own sentence of +death, and condemn myself to be quartered alive."</p> + +<p>Nor was the confidence placed by M. d'Auvergne in his friend misplaced; +for when Chevillard was in his turn taken to the Bastille as his +accomplice, he so carefully concealed the treaty in the skirt of his +doublet that it escaped the search of the officials; and on seeing +himself treated as a prisoner of state, he contrived by degrees to +swallow it in his soup, in +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page287"></a>[pg 287]</span> +order that it should not afterwards fall +into their hands in the event of his condemnation.<a name="274r"></a><a href="#_274_">[274]</a></p> + +<p>The indignation of the Marquise may consequently be imagined, when, +after such a declaration as that which he had originally made, she +ascertained that the Count had not only confessed his guilt, but that he +had, moreover, revealed the most minute details of the plot; and in +order to convince the King that he placed himself entirely at his mercy, +had even given up to him the mutual promise made between himself and the +Dues de Bouillon and de Biron on the occasion of the previous +conspiracy. Her arrogance was also encouraged by the fact that Henry, +anxious to find some pretext for pardoning her treachery, sent secretly +to inform her that if she would confess her fault and ask his +forgiveness, it should be granted in consideration of the past, and from +regard for their children; to which message the Marquise vouchsafed no +further reply than that those who had committed no crime required no +pardon; and in addition to this impertinence, on being informed that +some of her friends, anxious to save her in spite of her own obstinacy, +had asserted that she had solicited the clemency of the monarch, she +bitterly reproached them for their interference, declaring that they +were liars and traitors, and that she would die rather than submit to +such a humiliation.<a name="275r"></a><a href="#_275_">[275]</a></p> + +<p>During the exile of the Marquise, the King, whose passion for +Mademoiselle de Bueil had begun +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page288"></a>[pg 288]</span> +to decrease, and who discovered that +mere personal beauty offered no equivalent for the wit and fascinations +of his old favourite, resolved to provide for her, as he had previously +done for Mademoiselle de la Bourdaisière, by bestowing her upon a +husband; and he accordingly effected her marriage with Henri de Harlay, +Comte de Chésy, a young noble whose poverty, as well as his want of +Court influence, gave every security for his ready submission to all the +exactions of his royal master.<a name="276r"></a><a href="#_276_">[276]</a></p> + +<p>The monarch, whom absence had thus only sufficed to render more devoted +than ever to the Marquise, and who had resolved under all circumstances +to pardon her, continued to employ every method in his power to induce +her to avow her error, although in searching her papers numerous letters +had been discovered which revealed an amount of infidelity on her part +that should have awakened his pride, and induced him to abandon her to +her fate; and at length, despairing that any minor influence would +suffice to alter her resolution, and to lower her pride, he instructed +M. de Sully to see her, and if possible to convince her of the injury +which she was doing to her own cause by the obstinacy with which she +rejected the suggestions of the King.</p> + +<p>The minister had no alternative save obedience; and he consequently +presented himself at the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page289"></a>[pg 289]</span> +residence of Madame de Verneuil, whom he found +as self-possessed and as self-confident as in the palmiest days of her +prosperity. Instead of concessions she made conditions, and complained +loudly and arrogantly of the proceedings of the sovereign; by whom she +declared that she had been outraged in her honour, and from whom she +sought redress rather than indulgence. This tirade was seasoned by +professions of piety and repentance which were appreciated at their real +value by her listener; who, having suffered her to exhaust herself by +her own vehemence, instead of temporizing with her vanity as her friends +had previously done, took up the subject in his turn, and told her that +she would do well to remember that she was at that moment a prisoner +under suspicion of treason, and that she might consider herself very +fortunate if she were permitted to expiate her crime by self-exile to +any country except Spain; bidding her remark, moreover, that this lenity +could not now be exhibited towards her until she had undergone a +criminal examination, and demanded the pardon of the King for her +disobedience.</p> + +<p>M. de Sully next proceeded to upbraid her with her unbecoming conduct +towards the Queen; assuring her that every word or act of disrespect of +which any were guilty towards the wife of the sovereign was an offence +against his own person, and was likely to entail upon the culprit a very +severe penalty. He then reproached her for her indecent expressions; and +especially for her having +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page290"></a>[pg 290]</span> +more than once declared that had she not been +treated with injustice, she should have been in the place occupied by +"the fat banker's daughter;" <a name="277r"></a><a href="#_277_">[277]</a> and finally, he reprimanded her very +severely for the impertinent and absurd affectation with which she had +presumed to place herself upon a level with her royal mistress, and her +children upon a par with the Dauphin of France; reminding her, moreover, +that the perpetual disunion of their Majesties was to be solely +attributed to her malignant and malicious insinuations, and advising her +to lose no time in requesting permission to throw herself at the feet of +the Queen, to entreat her pardon for the past and her indulgence for +the future.</p> + +<p>To this harangue, so different from the conciliatory and obsequious +discourse of her partisans, Madame de Verneuil listened without any +display of impatience, but with an ostentatious weariness which was +intended to impress upon the minister the utter inutility of his +interference; and when he paused to take breath, she assured him with a +placid smile that she was obliged by his advice, but that she must have +time to reflect before she could decide upon such a measure. M. de +Sully, however, was not to be deceived by this well-acted composure; he +had not carefully studied the character of the Marquise without +perceiving how ill she brooked control or remonstrance; and, +accordingly, she had no sooner ceased speaking than he resumed the +conversation by expatiating upon the enormity of +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page291"></a>[pg 291]</span> +her conduct in +affecting the sudden devotion behind which she had seen fit to entrench +herself, while she was daily indulging alike her jealousy and her hatred +by endeavouring not only to ruin the domestic happiness of the monarch, +but even the interests of his kingdom; and when his offended listener +remarked, with chilling haughtiness, that he was in no position to +impugn her sincerity, he only answered the intended rebuke by persisting +that her assumed piety was a mere grimace, which could not impose upon +any man of sense; a fact which he forthwith proved by detailing all her +past career, and thus convincing her that no one incident of her +licentious life had remained a mystery to him.</p> + +<p>"Can you now tell me," he asked, "that these adventures existed only in +the jealous imagination of the King, as you have so often assured his +Majesty himself? And will you persist in denying that you have deceived +him in the most unblushing manner? Believe me, Madame, if you had indeed +become penitent for your past errors, and had, from a sincere return to +God, desired to withdraw from the Court, you would at once have obtained +permission to do so with honour to yourself; but you have simply acted a +part, and that so unskilfully as to have deceived no one."</p> + +<p>At this period of the interview Madame de Verneuil could not wholly +suppress her emotion, but she controlled it sufficiently to reply only +by a condescending bow, and the exclamation of, "Proceed, M. le +Ministre!"</p> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page292"></a>[pg 292]</span> +<p>"I will do so, Madame," said M. de Sully, "by a transition from +remonstrance to inquiry. Have you any legitimate subject of complaint +which you conceive to warrant your failure of respect towards their +Majesties?"</p> + +<p>"If this question was dictated to you by the King, Monsieur," was the +proud reply, "he was wrong to put it, as he, better than any other +person, could himself have decided; and if it be your own suggestion you +are no less so, since whatever may be its nature, it is beyond your +power to apply the remedy."</p> + +<p>"Then, Madame, it only remains for me to be informed of what you desire +from his Majesty."</p> + +<p>"That which I am aware will prove less acceptable to the King than to +myself, M. le Ministre; but which I nevertheless persist in demanding, +since I am authorized by your inquiry to repeat my request. I desire +immediate permission to leave France with my parents, my brother, and my +children, and to take up my permanent residence in some other country, +where I shall have excited less jealousy and less malevolence than in +this; and I include my brother in this voluntary expatriation because I +now have reason to believe that he is suffering entirely for my sake."</p> + +<p>Sully was startled: he could not place faith in her sincerity, and he +consequently induced her to repeat her request more than once; until she +at length added a condition which convinced him that she was indeed +perfectly serious in the desire that she expressed.</p> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page293"></a>[pg 293]</span> +<p>"Do not, however, imagine, Monsieur," she said, with a significant +smile, "that I have any intention of leaving the kingdom, and taking up +my abode with strangers, with the slightest prospect of dying by hunger. +I am by no means inclined to afford such a gratification to the Queen, +who would doubtlessly rejoice to learn that this had been the close of +my career. I must have an income of a hundred thousand francs, fully and +satisfactorily secured to me in land, before I leave France; and this is +a mere trifle compared with what I have a legal right to demand from +the King."</p> + +<p>"I shall submit your proposition to his Majesty, Madame," said the +minister as he rose to take his leave; "and will shortly acquaint you +with the result."</p> + +<p>Greatly to the disappointment of M. de Sully, however, he found Henry +decidedly averse to the departure of Madame de Verneuil; nor could all +the arguments by which he endeavoured to convince the infatuated monarch +that the self-exile of the Marquise was calculated to ensure his own +future tranquillity, avail to overcome his distaste to the +proposal.<a name="278r"></a><a href="#_278_">[278]</a> He was weary of his purely sensual intercourse with +Madame de Moret, whose extreme facility had caused him from the first to +attach but little value to her possession; while her total want of +intellect and knowledge of the world continually caused him to remember +with regret the dazzling although dangerous qualities of her +predecessor. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page294"></a>[pg 294]</span> +Marie de Medicis, moreover, who had originally looked with +complacency upon his <i>liaison</i> with Mademoiselle de Bueil, rejoicing in +any event which tended to estrange his affections from the Marquise, +had, since her melodramatic marriage and her accession of rank, begun to +entertain apprehensions that another formidable rival was about to +embitter her future life; while the reproaches which she constantly +addressed to the monarch, and to which he was compelled to submit, on +the subject of a woman who had merely pleased his fancy without touching +his heart, were another cause of irritation, and only tended to make him +look back upon the past with an ardent longing to repair it. Thus he +continued to employ all his most intimate associates in an attempt to +urge the Marquise to make such concessions as would enable him to pardon +her, with the earnestness of a repentant lover rather than the clemency +of an indulgent sovereign; and when the stern minister so signally +failed to convince her reason by his representations, the King +endeavoured to arouse her vanity and self-interest by the flatteries and +inferences of the more courtly Bassompierre, La Varenne,<a name="279r"></a><a href="#_279_">[279]</a> Sigogne, +and others in whom he placed +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page295"></a>[pg 295]</span> +confidence; but all this ill-disguised +anxiety only served to convince the wily favourite that she should prove +victorious in the struggle, for since Henry could not bring himself to +consent to her expatriation, there was no probability that he would ever +be induced to take her life.</p> + +<p>And the astute Marquise judged rightly: for she was not only safe +herself, but the palladium of her family. The King was no longer young; +he had become satiated with the tame and facile pleasures for which he +was indebted to his sovereign rank; and although opposition and +haughtiness in a wife angered and disgusted him, there was a piquancy +and novelty in the defiance of a mistress by which he was alike amused +and interested. He could calculate upon the extent to which the Queen +would venture to indulge her displeasure; but he found +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page296"></a>[pg 296]</span> +himself quite +unable to adjudge the limits of Madame de Verneuil's daring; and thus +his passion was constantly stimulated by curiosity. In her hours of +fascination she delighted his fancy, and in those of irritation she +excited his astonishment. Like the ocean, she assumed a new aspect every +hour; and to this "infinite variety" she was in all probability indebted +for the duration of her empire over the sensual and selfish affections +of her royal lover.</p> + +<p>Conscious of her power, the Marquise continued inexorable; and finally, +Henry found himself compelled to include her in the public accusation +brought against the other conspirators, and to issue an order to the +Parliament, as the supreme criminal tribunal of the kingdom, to commence +without further delay the prosecution of the delinquents.</p> + +<p>A new anxiety at this time divided the attention of the King with that +which he felt for the vindication of the favourite. His permission had +been asked by the Huguenots to hold a meeting at Châtellerault, and this +he had at once conceded; but circumstances having arisen which induced +the Council to apprehend that the intrigues of the Duc de Bouillon, +supported by MM. de la Trémouille, and du Plessis-Mornay,<a name="280r"></a><a href="#_280_">[280]</a> were +about to involve the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page297"></a>[pg 297]</span> +kingdom in new troubles, M. de Sully proceeded to +Poitou under pretext of taking possession of his new government, and by +his unexpected appearance on the scene of action counteracted the +project of the conspirators; while a short time subsequently the Duc de +la Trémouille fell into a rapid decline which terminated his existence +at the early age of thirty-four years, and deprived the reform party of +one of their most able and zealous leaders.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile, amid all the dissensions, both political and domestic, by +which Henri IV had latterly been harassed, his earnest desire to improve +and embellish his good city of Paris and its adjacent palaces had +continued unabated. Henri III, during whose reign the Pont Neuf had been +commenced, had only lived long enough to see two of its arches +constructed, and the piles destined to support the remainder raised +above the river; this undertaking was now completed, and numerous +workmen were also constantly employed on the galleries of the Louvre, +and at the châteaux of St. Germain-en-Laye, Fontainebleau, and Monceaux; +the latter of which, as we have already stated, the monarch had +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page298"></a>[pg 298]</span> +presented to the Queen on her arrival in Paris; while, emulating the +royal example, the great nobles and capitalists of the city were +building on all sides, and increasing alike the extent and splendour of +the metropolis.<a name="281r"></a><a href="#_281_">[281]</a> It was at this period that Henry joined the +Faubourg St. Germain to the city, and caused it to be paved; constructed +the Place Royale; repaired the Hôtel de St. Louis for the purpose of +converting it into a plague-hospital; and commenced building the Temple +Square.<a name="282r"></a><a href="#_282_">[282]</a></p> + +<p>Other great works were also undertaken throughout the kingdom; the +junction of the Garonne with the Aude, an attempt which presented +considerable difficulty and which was only terminated during the reign +of Louis XIV, was vigorously commenced; other rivers, hitherto +comparatively useless, were rendered navigable; and the canal of Briare, +with its two-and-thirty locks, although not more than half completed at +the death of Henry, had already cost the enormous sum of three hundred +thousand crowns. Numerous means of communication were established by +highways which had not previously existed; bridges were built, and roads +repaired; taxes which paralyzed the manufactures of the country were +remitted; the fabrication of tapestried hangings wrought in worsted, +silk, and gold, was earnestly encouraged; mulberry plantations were +formed, and the foundation laid for the production of the costly silks +and velvets for which Lyons has +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page299"></a>[pg 299]</span> +ever since been so famous. An imitation +of the celebrated Venetian glass was also introduced with great success; +and, above all, even in the midst of these expensive undertakings, a tax +of four annual millions of francs, hitherto raised by the customs upon +the different classes of citizens, was altogether abolished. Hope and +energy were alike aroused by so vigorous a measure; and thus the people +ceased to murmur, and were ready to acknowledge that the King had indeed +begun to verify his celebrated declaration that "if he were spared, +there should not exist a workman within his realm who was not enabled to +cook a fowl upon the Sunday." <a name="283r"></a><a href="#_283_">[283]</a></p> + +<p>FOOTNOTES:</p> + +<p><a name="_210_"></a><a href="#210r">[210]</a> Gabrielle-Angélique de Bourbon, who was declared legitimate as her +brother had previously been, married in 1622 Bernard de la Valette et de +Foix, Duc d'Epernon, and died in childbed in April 1627.</p> + +<p><a name="_211_"></a><a href="#211r">[211]</a> Matthieu, <i>Hist. de Henri IV</i>, vol. ii. book vi. p. 446.</p> + +<p><a name="_212_"></a><a href="#212r">[212]</a> Raimond de Comminge, Sieur de Sobole, and his brother, noblemen of +Gascony.</p> + +<p><a name="_213_"></a><a href="#213r">[213]</a> Antoine, Seigneur d'Arquien, was Governor of Calais, Sancerre, +etc.</p> + +<p><a name="_214_"></a><a href="#214r">[214]</a> Jean Henri, Duc de Deux-Ponts, who married Catherine de Rohan, was +descended from a branch of the royal house of Bavaria.</p> + +<p><a name="_215_"></a><a href="#215r">[215]</a> Christophe de Harlai, Comte de Beaumont, Governor of Orleans. He +died in 1615.</p> + +<p><a name="_216_"></a><a href="#216r">[216]</a> L'Etoile, vol. iii. p. 94.</p> + +<p><a name="_217_"></a><a href="#217r">[217]</a> Capefigue, vol. viii. p. 163.</p> + +<p><a name="_218_"></a><a href="#218r">[218]</a> Sully, <i>Mém</i>. vol. iv. pp. 197-199.</p> + +<p><a name="_219_"></a><a href="#219r">[219]</a> L'Etoile, vol. iii. pp. 88, 89.</p> + +<p><a name="_220_"></a><a href="#220r">[220]</a> Sully, <i>Mém</i>. vol. v. pp. 45-50.</p> + +<p><a name="_221_"></a><a href="#221r">[221]</a> Sully, <i>Mém</i>. vol. v. pp. 49-53. Dreux du Radier, vol. vi. pp. +90-92. Saint-Edmé, pp. 222, 223</p> + +<p><a name="_222_"></a><a href="#222r">[222]</a> Capefigue, vol. viii. p. 130.</p> + +<p><a name="_223_"></a><a href="#223r">[223]</a> Richelieu, <i>La Mère et le Fils</i>, vol. i. p. 17.</p> + +<p><a name="_224_"></a><a href="#224r">[224]</a> Sully, <i>Mém</i>. vol. v. pp. 54, 55.</p> + +<p><a name="_225_"></a><a href="#225r">[225]</a> Bernardin Gigault de Bellefonds.</p> + +<p><a name="_226_"></a><a href="#226r">[226]</a> Hercule de Rohan, Duc de Montbazon.</p> + +<p><a name="_227_"></a><a href="#227r">[227]</a> François d'Orléans-Longueville, Comte de St. Pol, Governor of +Picardy.</p> + +<p><a name="_228_"></a><a href="#228r">[228]</a> Arnaud de Sorbin, Bishop of Nevers, was justly celebrated both for +his piety and his learning. He was originally curate of the parish of +Ste. Foy, where he had been placed by Georges, Cardinal d'Armagnac, +Bishop of Toulouse, who afterwards removed him from that parish, in +order to keep him near his person. The Cardinal d'Este, aware of his +great worth and extraordinary talents, conferred upon him the rank of +doctor of divinity of the cathedral of Auch, the capital of his +archbishopric; but he did not retain it long, having been recalled by +his first patron to assume the same position in his church at Toulouse, +where he was universally loved and respected. He was successively +lecturer to Charles IX, Henri III, and Henri IV, and was consecrated, on +his elevation to the see of Nevers, by the Cardinal de Gondy, Bishop of +Paris. Monseigneur de Sorbin died in Nevers, on the 1st of May 1606.</p> + +<p><a name="_229_"></a><a href="#229r">[229]</a> L'Etoile, vol. iii. pp. 152-154.</p> + +<p><a name="_230_"></a><a href="#230r">[230]</a> Cayet, <i>Chron. Septen</i>., 1604.</p> + +<p><a name="_231_"></a><a href="#231r">[231]</a> Emeric Gobier, Sieur de Barrault, ambassador at the Court of +Spain.</p> + +<p><a name="_232_"></a><a href="#232r">[232]</a> Antoine de Silly, Damoiseau de Commercy, Comte de Rochepot, knight +of the Order of the Holy Ghost.</p> + +<p><a name="_233_"></a><a href="#233r">[233]</a> Antoine de Brienne de Loménie, Seigneur de la Ville-aux-Clercs, +ambassador-extraordinary to England in 1595, and secretary of state, was +the representative of a distinguished family of Berry, whose father, +Maréchal de Brienne, registrar of the council, fell a victim to the +massacre of St. Bartholomew. He himself died in 1628, bequeathing to the +royal library three hundred and forty manuscript volumes, known as the +<i>Manuscripts of Brienne</i>.</p> + +<p><a name="_234_"></a><a href="#234r">[234]</a> The Prévôts des Maréchaux were magistrates whose duties consisted +in trying vagrants and persons who could not prove their identity, +culprits previously sentenced to corporal punishment, banishment, or +fine, soldiers, highway robbers, and the members of illicit societies. +The Prévôts des Maréchaux took the title of Equerry-Councillors of the +King, and their place on the bench of the criminal court was immediately +after that of the presiding judge.</p> + +<p><a name="_235_"></a><a href="#235r">[235]</a> L'Etoile, vol. iii. pp. 185-193. Matthieu, <i>Hist, des Derniers +Troubles,</i> book ii. pp. 435-437. Sully, <i>Mém.</i> vol. v. pp. 109-121. +Mézeray, vol. x. pp. 254-257.</p> + +<p><a name="_236_"></a><a href="#236r">[236]</a> Sully, <i>Mém</i>. vol. v. p. 137.</p> + +<p><a name="_237_"></a><a href="#237r">[237]</a> Sully, <i>Mém</i>. vol. v. pp. 139-142.</p> + +<p><a name="_238_"></a><a href="#238r">[238]</a> The French term which I have ventured thus freely to translate is +<i>pot-de-vin</i>, and literally signifies a sum of money given to a third +party who is able to ensure the success of a bargain or negotiation of +whatever nature. Thus, for example, in the granting and acceptance of a +lease which has been effected by such means, the contracting parties +jointly pay down the stipulated amount, irrespective of the value of the +lease, for the benefit of the person through whose agency it has been +concluded; while so general is the system throughout the country, even +to this day, that domestic servants give a <i>pot-de-vin</i> to the +individual, to whom they are indebted for their situation, in which +instance, however, the bribe or recompense is also called a <i>denier +à Dieu</i>.</p> + +<p><a name="_239_"></a><a href="#239r">[239]</a> Florent d'Argouges, Treasurer of the Queen's Household. His son +was first president of the Parliament of Brittany, and subsequently +councillor of state and member of the Privy Council.</p> + +<p><a name="_240_"></a><a href="#240r">[240]</a> Sully, <i>Mém</i>. vol. v. pp. 144-146.</p> + +<p><a name="_241_"></a><a href="#241r">[241]</a> Sully, <i>Mém</i>. vol. v. pp. 147-149.</p> + +<p><a name="_242_"></a><a href="#242r">[242]</a> Sully, <i>Mém</i>. vol. v. p. 155.</p> + +<p><a name="_243_"></a><a href="#243r">[243]</a> Saint-Edmé, vol. ii. p. 223.</p> + +<p><a name="_244_"></a><a href="#244r">[244]</a> In order to convey some idea of the effect produced by the +ostensible devotion of Madame de Verneuil upon those who gave her credit +for sincerity, we need only quote a passage in the dedication of +D'Hemery d'Amboise to his translation of the works of Grégoire de Tours, +in which, addressing himself to the Marquise, he gravely says "that she +had deduced from the inspired writings of the fathers their salutary +doctrine; and that she practised it so faithfully, that her firmness had +triumphed over her adversities, and her merit exceeded her happiness." +"Your life," he adds, with the same unblushing sycophancy, "serves as a +mirror for the most pious, and compels the admiration of all who see so +holy and resolute a determination exerted at an age that has scarcely +attained its prime; and at which, despising mere personal beauty, and +the other precious advantages with which you have been richly endowed by +Heaven, you have devoted the course of your best years to the +contemplation of the marvels of God, joining spiritual meditation to +good works."--Dreux du Radier, vol. vi. pp. 94, 95.</p> + +<p><a name="_245_"></a><a href="#245r">[245]</a> Richelieu, <i>Hist. de la Mère et du Fils</i>, vol. i. pp. 8-11.</p> + +<p><a name="_246_"></a><a href="#246r">[246]</a> MSS. Dupuy, vol. 407.</p> + +<p><a name="_247_"></a><a href="#247r">[247]</a> André Hurault, Seigneur de Maisse, had been ambassador to Venice +under both Henri III and Henri IV, and in his official capacity had +frequent disputes with the nuncios of Sixtus V and Clement VIII, in +consequence of which those prelates exerted all their influence to +injure his interests at the Court of Rome. André Morosin mentions M. de +Maisse as an able and far-seeing man, <i>sagaci admodum ingenio</i>. In 1595 +Henri IV again sent him to Venice to offer his thanks to the Senate for +the extraordinary embassy which they had forwarded to him during the +previous year; and as M. de Maisse travelled on this occasion with +Cardinal Duperron, who was instructed to pass by that city on his way to +Rome, great alarm was created in the mind of the Pope that the French +ambassador was about to visit the Papal Court in his company, an event +which he deprecated from the distrust which he felt of the designs of an +individual who had already frustrated the measures of his accredited +agents. His Holiness was, however, <i>quitte pour la peur</i>, the +instructions of M. de Maisse having restricted him to his +Venetian mission.</p> + +<p><a name="_248_"></a><a href="#248r">[248]</a> Louis Potier de Gêvres, Secretary of State. It is from him that +the branch of his family still bearing the name of Gêvres is descended, +while that of Novion owes its origin to his elder brother, Nicolas +Potier de Blancménil.</p> + +<p><a name="_249_"></a><a href="#249r">[249]</a> Mézeray, vol. x. p. 261.</p> + +<p><a name="_250_"></a><a href="#250r">[250]</a> <i>Le Laboureur sur Castelnau</i>.</p> + +<p><a name="_251_"></a><a href="#251r">[251]</a> Jacqueline de Bueil, subsequently Comtesse de Moret, was the +daughter of Claude de Bueil, Seigneur de Courcillon and La Machère, and +of Catherine de Monteclu, who both died in 1596. The family of Bueil +traced their descent from Jean, the first of the name, Sieur de Bueil in +Touraine, who was equerry of honour to Charles-le-Bel in 1321.</p> + +<p><a name="_252_"></a><a href="#252r">[252]</a> Dreux du Radier, vol. vi. p. 97.</p> + +<p><a name="_253_"></a><a href="#253r">[253]</a> Wraxall, vol. v. pp. 356, 357.</p> + +<p><a name="_254_"></a><a href="#254r">[254]</a> Abraham-Nicolas Amelot de la Houssaye, was born at Orleans in the +year 1634, and passed nearly all his life in composing works of history +and in translating the historians by whom he had been preceded. His +principal productions are <i>A History of the Government of Venice; +Historical, Political, Critical, and Literary Memoirs</i>; and translations +of the <i>History of the Council of Trent</i>, by Fra Paolo; of the <i>Prince</i> +by Machiavelli; and of the <i>Annals of Tacitus</i>. He died in 1706.</p> + +<p><a name="_255_"></a><a href="#255r">[255]</a> Mézeray, vol. x. pp. 261, 262.</p> + +<p><a name="_256_"></a><a href="#256r">[256]</a> Sully, <i>Mém</i>. vol. iv. p. 125.</p> + +<p><a name="_257_"></a><a href="#257r">[257]</a> Pierre Fougeuse, Sieur d'Escures.</p> + +<p><a name="_258_"></a><a href="#258r">[258]</a> Daniel, vol. vii. pp. 453, 454.</p> + +<p><a name="_259_"></a><a href="#259r">[259]</a> Treasurer of the war department, and lieutenant-general at Riom.</p> + +<p><a name="_260_"></a><a href="#260r">[260]</a> Philibert de Nérestan, knight of Malta, and captain of the +bodyguard of Henri IV, was as celebrated for his admirable qualities of +mind and heart as for the antiquity of his birth. He was grand master of +the Orders of St. Lazarus and Notre-Dame du Mont Carmel, the latter of +which was instituted by the sovereign at his intercession.</p> + +<p><a name="_261_"></a><a href="#261r">[261]</a> Matthieu, <i>Hist, des Derniers Troubles</i>, book ii. p. 438. +Péréfixe, vol. ii. pp. 406, 407.</p> + +<p><a name="_262_"></a><a href="#262r">[262]</a> L'Etoile, vol. iii. p. 242.</p> + +<p><a name="_263_"></a><a href="#263r">[263]</a> <i>Mémoires,</i> vol. v. p. 185.</p> + +<p><a name="_264_"></a><a href="#264r">[264]</a> L'Etoile, vol. iii. p. 243.</p> + +<p><a name="_265_"></a><a href="#265r">[265]</a> Charlotte, eldest daughter of Henri, Duc de Montmorency, High +Constable of France.</p> + +<p><a name="_266_"></a><a href="#266r">[266]</a> L'Etoile, vol. iii. pp. 247-249.</p> + +<p><a name="_267_"></a><a href="#267r">[267]</a> Jean Defunctis, Lieutenant criminal of the Provost of +Paris.--<i>Hist. Chron. de la Chancell. de France</i>, p. 316.</p> + +<p><a name="_268_"></a><a href="#268r">[268]</a> Wraxall, Note quoted from <i>Le Laboureur sur Castelnau</i>, vol. v. p. +356.</p> + +<p><a name="_269_"></a><a href="#269r">[269]</a> Pedro Henriques Azevedo, Condé de Fuentes, succeeded to the +command of the Spanish army on the demise of the Archduke Ernest.</p> + +<p><a name="_270_"></a><a href="#270r">[270]</a> Ambroise Spinola, Marques de los Balbazez, one of the most +distinguished generals of the seventeenth century, was the descendant of +an illustrious family of Geneva, whose branches spread alike over Italy +and Spain. He was born in 1569, and first bore arms in Flanders. In +1604, being in command of the army, he took Ostend, and in consequence +of his important services was appointed General of the Spanish troops in +the Low Countries. When opposed to Prince Maurice of Nassau, he +counterbalanced alike his renown and his success; and in 1629, when +serving in Piedmont, he took the town of Casal, but died in the +following year of vexation at having failed to reduce the fortress of +that city.</p> + +<p><a name="_271_"></a><a href="#271r">[271]</a> Marie Touchet, Comtesse d'Entragues, was the daughter of an +apothecary at Orleans; who, on the occasion of a visit of Charles IX to +that city, obtained permission to see his Majesty dine in public, where +her extreme beauty so impressed the Monarch that he inquired her name, +and at the close of the repast despatched M. de Latour, the master of +his wardrobe, to desire her attendance in his closet. The negotiation +did not prove a difficult one; as the lady, although at the moment +strongly attached to M. de Monluc, the brother of the Bishop of Valence, +could not resist the prestige of royalty. Charles, anxious to retain her +near him, requested Madame Marguerite, his sister, to receive her into +her household as a waiting-woman; but as she shortly afterwards became +pregnant, he removed her from the Court and established her in Paris, +where she gave birth to Charles, Comte d'Auvergne. Although tenderly +beloved by the King, Marie Touchet still retained her attachment to +Monluc, with whom she carried on an active correspondence, which was at +length discovered by Charles; who, having on one occasion been apprised +that she had at the moment a letter from her former lover in her pocket, +instantly caused a number of the Court ladies to be invited to supper; +and they were no sooner assembled than he sent to desire a man named +Chambre, the chief of a band of gipsies, to disperse a dozen of his most +expert followers about the apartment, with orders to cut away the +pockets of all the guests and to bring them carefully to his closet when +he retired for the night. He then caused the faithless favourite to be +seated beside himself, in order that she might not have an opportunity +of disposing of the letter elsewhere; and the Bohemians having adroitly +obeyed his instructions, the King found himself a few hours afterwards +in possession of the booty. In the pocket of Marie Touchet he +discovered, as he had anticipated, the letter of M. de Monluc; which, on +the following morning, he placed, with the most bitter reproaches, in +the hands of its owner; who, on finding herself detected, declared that +the pocket in which the King had discovered it was not hers, a +subterfuge by which, as the letter bore no address, she hoped to escape +the anger and indignation of her royal lover. Unfortunately, however, +Charles recognized several of the trinkets by which it had been +accompanied; and she had, consequently, no alternative save to +acknowledge her fault and to entreat for pardon. Charles, who could not +resist her tears, was soon induced to promise this, provided she pledged +herself to relinquish all intercourse with Monluc; and in order to +render her performance of this pledge more sure, he shortly afterwards +married her to the Comte d'Entragues, whose complaisance he rewarded by +the government of Orleans.--L'Etoile, <i>Hist, de Henri IV,</i> vol. iii. +pp. 247-249.</p> + +<p><a name="_272_"></a><a href="#272r">[272]</a> Dreux du Radier, vol. vi. p. 98. Saint-Edmé, vol. ii. p. 227. +L'Etoile, vol. iii. p. 247.</p> + +<p><a name="_273_"></a><a href="#273r">[273]</a> Antoine Eugène Chevillard, general treasurer of the gendarmerie of +France.</p> + +<p><a name="_274_"></a><a href="#274r">[274]</a> Sully, <i>Mém</i>. vol. v. p. 161, quoted from Amelot de la Houssaye.</p> + +<p><a name="_275_"></a><a href="#275r">[275]</a> Dreux du Radier, vol. vi. p. 99.</p> + +<p><a name="_276_"></a><a href="#276r">[276]</a> Mademoiselle de Bueil became Comtesse de Chésy on the 5th of +October 1604, and two months later she obtained a divorce. M. de Chésy +died in 1652.</p> + +<p><a name="_277_"></a><a href="#277r">[277]</a> Péréfixe, vol. ii. p. 401.</p> + +<p><a name="_278_"></a><a href="#278r">[278]</a> Sully, <i>Mém</i>. vol. v. pp. 193-197.</p> + +<p><a name="_279_"></a><a href="#279r">[279]</a> Guillaume Fouquet, Sieur de la Varenne, was one of those +singularly-gifted individuals who by the unaided power of intellect are +raised from obscurity to fortune. On his first introduction to the Court +of France, his position was merely that of cloak-bearer to the King; but +his excessive acuteness and his genius for intrigue soon drew upon him +the attention of the Cabinet. The event that originally procured for him +the favour by which he so largely profited in the sequel was a voyage to +Spain, voluntarily undertaken under unusual difficulties. The courier +who was conveying to Philip the despatches of the Duc de Mayenne and the +other chiefs of the League, having been taken by the emissaries of Henri +IV, and the despatches opened by his ministers, it was decided that +copies should be made, and the originals resealed and forwarded to their +destination by some confidential person who might bring back the +replies, in order that a more perfect judgment might be formed by the +Council of their probable result. For such an undertaking as this, +however, it was obvious that a messenger must be found at once faithful, +expert, and courageous; and such an one offered himself in the person of +La Varenne, who without a moment's hesitation offered his services to +the King, and acquitted himself so dexterously of his self-imposed task +that he succeeded, not only in procuring two interviews with the Spanish +Council, but even an audience of Philip, without once exciting +suspicion; and his arrival at Madrid had been so well timed that +although a second courier was despatched in all haste by the League, to +announce the capture of his predecessor, he was enabled to effect his +return to France with the reply of the Spanish monarch, by which Henry +and his ministers were apprised of the plans and pretensions of that +potentate (Amelot de la Houssaye, <i>Lettres du Cardinal d'Ossat</i>, vol. +ii. p. 17 <i>note</i>.) La Varenne was subsequently Master-General of the +Post Office.</p> + +<p><a name="_280_"></a><a href="#280r">[280]</a> Philippe de Mornay, Seigneur de Plessis-Marly, Governor of Saumur, +was born in the year 1549, at Bussy, in the department of the Oise, of a +Catholic father and a Protestant mother (Françoise du Bec), the latter +of whom educated him in the reformed faith. Having escaped the massacre +of St. Bartholomew, he visited Germany, Italy, and England, and finally +entered the service of Henri IV, while he was still King of Navarre, who +sent him on a mission to Queen Elizabeth. His science, his valour, and +his high sense of honour, rendered him after the abjuration of the +monarch the chief of the Protestant party, and caused him to be called +<i>the Huguenot Pope</i>. He sustained against Duperron, Bishop of Evreux, +the famous conference of Fontainebleau, at whose close each of the two +parties claimed the victory. Louis XIII deprived him of his government +of Saumur; and he died in 1623. He had issue by his wife, Charlotte de +l'Arbalète, widow of the Marquis de Feuquières, one son (Plessis-Mornay, +Sieur de Bauves), who was killed in 1605 while serving under Prince +Maurice in the Low Countries, and three daughters, the younger of whom +married the Duc de la Force.</p> + +<p><a name="_281_"></a><a href="#281r">[281]</a> Mézeray, vol. x. pp. 254, 255.</p> + +<p><a name="_282_"></a><a href="#282r">[282]</a> Bonnechose, <i>Hist. de France</i>, vol. i. p. 438, seventh edition.</p> + +<p><a name="_283_"></a><a href="#283r">[283]</a> Bonnechose, vol. i. p. 438.</p> + + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page300"></a>[pg 300]</span> +<br><br><hr style="width: 35%;"><br><br> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V</h2> + +<h3>1605</h3> + +<p>Trial of the conspirators--Pusillanimity of the Comte +d'Auvergne--Arrogant attitude assumed by Madame de Verneuil--She refuses +to offer any defence--Defence of the Comte d'Entragues--The two nobles +are condemned to death--Madame de Verneuil is sentenced to imprisonment +for life in a convent--A mother's intercession--The King commutes the +sentence of death passed on the two nobles to exile from the Court and +imprisonment for life--Expostulations of the Privy Council--Madame de +Verneuil is permitted to retire to her estate--Disappointment of the +Queen--Marriage of the Duc de Rohan--Singular ceremony--A tilt at the +Louvre--Bassompierre is dangerously wounded--His convalescence--Death of +Clement VIII--Election of Leo XI--His sudden death--Election of Paul +V--The Comte d'Entragues is authorised to return to Marcoussis--Madame +de Verneuil is pardoned and recalled--Marriage of the Prince de +Conti--Mademoiselle de Guise--Marriage of the Prince of Orange--The +ex-Queen Marguerite--She arrives in Paris--Gratitude of the King--Her +reception--Murder at the Hôtel de Sens--Execution of the +criminal--Marguerite removes to the Faubourg St. Germain--The King +condoles with her on the loss of her favourite--Her dissolute +career--Her able policy--Death of M. de la Rivière--Execution of M. de +Merargues--Attempt to assassinate Henri IV--Magnanimity of the +monarch--Henry seeks to initiate the Queen into the mysteries of +government--<i>Madame la Régente</i>--A timely warning.</p><br> + +<p>The year 1605 commenced, as had been the case each year since the peace, +with a succession of Court-festivals; tilts and tournaments, balls and +masquerades, occupied the attention of the privileged; presents of value +were exchanged by the sovereigns and princes; and during all this +incessant dissipation the Parliament was diligently employed upon the +trial of the conspirators.</p> + +<p>On Saturday, the 29th of January, the Comte +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page301"></a>[pg 301]</span> +d'Auvergne was placed out +the sellette,<a name="284r"></a><a href="#_284_">[284]</a> where L'Etoile<a name="285r"></a><a href="#_285_">[285]</a> asserts that he communicated much +more than was required of him; while the Queen, anxious to secure the +condemnation of Madame de Verneuil, and at the same time to intimidate +the favourites by whom she might be succeeded, appeared in person as one +of the accusing witnesses. Nor did Henry, who had already decided upon +the pardon of the Marquise, attempt to dissuade her from this +extraordinary measure; and it is even probable that as the design of the +King was merely to humble the pride of the haughty Marquise, in order to +render her more submissive to his authority, he was by no means +disinclined to suffer Marie to give free vent to her indignation +and contempt.</p> + +<p>The Parliament had nominated as its commissaries Achille de Harlay, the +first president,<a name="286r"></a><a href="#_286_">[286]</a> and MM. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page302"></a>[pg 302]</span> +Etienne Dufour and Philibert Turin, +councillors, to whose interrogatories, however, the Comte d'Auvergne at +first refused to reply, alleging as his reason the pardon which had been +accorded to him by Henry during the past year. In this emergency M. +Louis Servin,<a name="287r"></a><a href="#_287_">[287]</a> the King's Advocate, was deputed to offer to his +Majesty the remonstrance of the commissaries, and to represent that as +the accused had already been convicted of conspiring, first with Maturin +Carterie, and subsequently with the Duc de Biron, he was unworthy of +pardon on this third occasion; while the most imperious necessity +existed that an example should be made, in order to secure the safety of +their Majesties and the Dauphin, which, moreover, as a natural +consequence, involved the tranquillity and welfare of the state.</p> + +<p>To this appeal the King replied that the abolition accorded to the +accused on the two former occasions had been granted with a view of +inducing him to return to his allegiance, but that since it had failed +to produce the desired result it could form no pretext for his escape +from the penalties of this new crime, and that should he persist in +refusing to reply to the questions put to him by his judges his silence +must be construed into an acknowledgment of treason; upon which M. +d'Auvergne immediately endeavoured +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page303"></a>[pg 303]</span> +to redeem his error by revealing all +the details of the past plots, as well as those of the one in which he +was now implicated.</p> + +<p>Madame de Verneuil, who had been summoned to appear at the same time, +excused herself upon the plea of indisposition; and it was asserted that +she had caused herself to be bled in order that the temporary delay in +her examination thus secured might enable her, ere she appeared before +the commissaries, to ascertain to what extent she had been implicated by +the revelations of her step-brother. She no sooner learnt, however, that +the Count had thrown all the odium of the conspiracy upon herself than +she hastened to obey a second summons, and presented herself with her +arm in a sling to undergo in her turn the necessary interrogatories. Her +manner was firm, and her delivery at once haughty and energetic. She +insisted upon the innocence of her father, declared that the whole cabal +had been organized by D'Auvergne, and admitted that feeling herself +wronged she had willingly entered into his views; but at the same time +she coupled with this admission the assurance that having nothing with +which to reproach herself she asked for no indulgence, and was quite +prepared to abide by the consequences of her attempt to do justice alike +to herself and to her children.</p> + +<p>When the Comte d'Entragues was in his turn examined, he did not seek to +deny his participation in the plot, but placed in the hands of his +judges a written document, setting forth the services which +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page304"></a>[pg 304]</span> +he had +rendered to the King since his accession, and which had merely been +recompensed by the government of Orleans, a dignity of which he was +moreover shortly afterwards deprived in order that it might be conferred +upon another, although in his zeal for the monarch he had not only +exhausted his own resources but had even raised considerable loans which +still remained unliquidated. Yet, as he stated, he had uttered no +complaint, although he was reduced to poverty and deprived of the means +of suitably establishing his children, for he still had faith in the +justice and generosity of his sovereign; and with this assurance he had +retired to his paternal home, old, sick, and poor, to await as best he +might the happy moment in which his claims should be remembered. And +then it was, as he emphatically declared, that the last and crowning +misfortune of a long life had overtaken him. Then it was that the King +conceived that unfortunate attachment for his younger daughter, which +deprived him of the greatest solace of his old age and exposed him to +the raillery and contempt of his fellow-nobles, coupled with sarcastic +congratulations upon the advantages which he was supposed to have +derived from the dishonour of his child; an event which had clouded his +remnant of existence with shame and despair. He had, as he asserted, +several times requested of his Majesty that he might be permitted to +withdraw entirely from the Court and finish his days in retirement and +in the bosom of his family, but this favour had constantly been denied. +As a last effort he had then +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page305"></a>[pg 305]</span> +represented the deplorable state of his +health, and entreated that he might be permitted to travel in order to +regain his strength, leaving his wife and children at Marcoussis; a +favour which also was not only refused, but the refusal rendered doubly +bitter by a prohibition either to see or correspond with his daughter, +whose safety was at that moment endangered by the menaces of the Queen. +He then entered briefly into the circumstances of the conspiracy, and +concluded by declaring that no attempt upon the life either of the +sovereign or the Dauphin had ever been contemplated by himself or by any +of his accomplices.<a name="288r"></a><a href="#_288_">[288]</a></p> + +<p>Such was the defence of the dishonoured old man who had placed himself +beyond the pale of sympathy by his own degrading marriage. Yet he was +still a father; and who shall decide that the shame which in his own +case had been silenced by the voice of passion, did not crush him with +double violence when it involved the reputation of his child? Who shall +say that he had not, in the throbbing recesses of his wrung heart, +mourned with an undying remorse the fault of which he had himself been +guilty, and felt that it was visited in vengeance upon the dearest +object of his paternal love? Contemporary historians waste not a word +upon the ruined noble, the disappointed partisan, and the disgraced +father; yet the scene must have been a pitiable one in the midst of +which he stood an attainted criminal, blighted in every +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page306"></a>[pg 306]</span> +affection and +in every hope, the creditor of his King, and the victim of his +paternal ambition.</p> + +<p>The sentence of the Parliament was pronounced on the 2nd of February. +The Comtes d'Auvergne and d'Entragues were condemned to death for the +crime of <i>lèse-majesté</i>, and Madame de Verneuil to imprisonment in the +convent of Beaumont, near Tours, until more ample information could be +obtained of the exact extent of her participation; and meanwhile she was +to be prohibited from holding any communication save with the +sisterhood.</p> + +<p>On the same day, the sentence having been instantly communicated to +Madame d'Entragues, with the information that the King was about to +repair to the chapel of the palace to attend mass, she hastened, +accompanied by her daughter Marie de Balzac,<a name="289r"></a><a href="#_289_">[289]</a> to the Tuileries, +where the two unfortunate women threw themselves on their knees before +Henry as he entered the grand gallery, and with tears and sobs entreated +mercy, the one for her husband, and the other for her father. The +monarch burst into tears as he saw them at his feet. He could not forget +that the mourners thus prostrate before him were the mother and the +sister of the woman whom he still loved, and as he raised them from the +ground he said soothingly: "You shall see that I am indulgent--I will +convene a council this very day. Go, and pray to God to inspire me with +right resolutions, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page307"></a>[pg 307]</span> +while I proceed in my turn to mass with the same +intention." <a name="290r"></a><a href="#_290_">[290]</a></p> + +<p>The King kept his word. In the afternoon the Council again met, when he +charged them upon their consciences to deliberate seriously before they +condemned two of their fellow-creatures to an ignominious death; but +they remained firm in their decision, declaring that by extending pardon +to crimes of so serious a nature as those upon which judgment had just +been passed, nothing but danger and disorder could ensue; and that after +the execution of the Duc de Biron, individuals convicted of the same +offence could not be suffered to escape with impunity without +endangering by such misplaced clemency the safety of the kingdom, while +a revocation of the sentence now pronounced would moreover tend to bring +contempt upon the judicial authority.</p> + +<p>Henry listened, but he would not yield; and before the close of the +meeting, contrary to the advice of all his Council, he announced that he +commuted the pain of death in both instances to perpetual imprisonment, +and revoked the sentence that condemned the Marquise to the cloister, +which he superseded by an order of exile to her own estate of Verneuil.</p> + +<p>To express the disappointment and mortification of the Queen when this +decision was announced to her would be impossible, as she instantly felt +that any further attempt to destroy the influence of the favourite must +prove ineffectual. She no longer +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page308"></a>[pg 308]</span> +exhibited any violence, but became a +prey to the deepest melancholy, weeping where she had formerly +reproached, and seeking her only consolation in prayer and in the +society of her chosen friends. Upon Henry, however, the effect of his +extraordinary and ill-judged leniency was far different. Although mercy, +and even indulgence, had been extended towards the Marquise without +eliciting one word either of entreaty or of acknowledgment, he felt +convinced that so marked an exhibition of his favour must be recompensed +by a return of affection on her part; and thus he continued to +participate in the gaieties of the Court with a zest which was strangely +contrasted by the gloom and sadness of his royal consort, and even +derived amusement from the epigrams and satires which were circulated at +his expense among the people.</p> + +<p>On the 13th of the month M. de Rohan<a name="291r"></a><a href="#_291_">[291]</a> was +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page309"></a>[pg 309]</span> +married at Ablon<a name="292r"></a><a href="#_292_">[292]</a> to +Marguerite de Béthune, the daughter of the Duc de Sully, whom Henry had +previously determined to bestow upon the Comte de Laval,<a name="293r"></a><a href="#_293_">[293]</a> and not +only did he confer the honour of his presence upon the well-dowered +bride, but he also signed her marriage contract and presented to her ten +thousand crowns for the purchase of her <i>trousseau</i>, with a similar sum +to her bridegroom to defray the expenses of the wedding-feast. A +singular ceremony followed upon the nuptial blessing, for M. de Rohan +had no sooner led his newly-made wife from the altar than his ducal +coronet was placed upon his brow, his ducal mantle flung upon his +shoulders, and in this pompous costume he was, at the close of the +banquet, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page310"></a>[pg 310]</span> +escorted to Paris by the princes and nobles who had been the +guests of M. de Sully.</p> + +<p>Seldom had the King evinced more gaiety of heart than at this particular +period, or appeared to derive greater amusement from the gossipry of the +Court and the gallantries of the courtiers; and he no sooner ascertained +that Mademoiselle d'Entragues had become the mistress of Bassompierre +than he said laughingly to the Duc de Guise: "D'Entragues despises us +all in her idolatry of Bassompierre. I have good grounds for what +I state."</p> + +<p>"Well, Sire," was the reply, "you can be at no loss to revenge the +affront; while for myself I know of no means so fitting as those of +knight-errantry, and I am consequently ready to break three lances with +him this afternoon at any hour and place which your Majesty may be +pleased to ordain."</p> + +<p>The preparations for this combat are so graphically described by +Bassompierre himself, and so characteristic of the manners of the time, +that we shall offer no apology for giving them in his own words.</p> + +<p>"The King acceded to our wishes, as such encounters were by no means +unusual, and told us that the tilting should take place in the great +court of the Louvre, which he would cause to be covered with sand. M. de +Guise selected as his seconds his brother the Prince de Joinville and M. +de Thermes;<a name="294r"></a><a href="#_294_">[294]</a> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page311"></a>[pg 311]</span> +while I chose M. de Saint-Luc<a name="295r"></a><a href="#_295_">[295]</a> and the Comte de +Sault.<a name="296r"></a><a href="#_296_">[296]</a> We all six dressed and armed ourselves at the house of +Saint-Luc, and as we had armour and liveries ready for every occasion, +my party wore silver-mail, with plumes of red and white, as were our +silk stockings; while M. de Guise and his troop, on account of the +imprisonment of Madame de Verneuil, of whom he was secretly the lover, +were dressed and armed in black and gold. In this equipage we +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page312"></a>[pg 312]</span> +arrived +at the Louvre, myself and my friends being the first upon the +ground." <a name="297r"></a><a href="#_297_">[297]</a></p> + +<p>Henry, with his whole Court, both male and female, was present on the +occasion, and the lists were placed immediately beneath the windows of +the Queen's apartments; but the diversion was not fated to be of long +duration, for at the first encounter the lance of M. de Guise entered +the body of his antagonist and inflicted so formidable a wound that he +was carried from the spot and laid upon the bed of the Duc de Vendôme, +apparently in a dying state. After his hurt had been dressed, the Queen +sent her sedan chair to convey him to his residence.</p> + +<p>Although Bassompierre, in the preceding column, assures his readers that +"such encounters were by no means unusual," he goes on to state that +directly he fell the King not only forbade the continuance of the +tourney, but would never permit another to take place, and that this was +the only one which had been held in France for the preceding +century.<a name="298r"></a><a href="#_298_">[298]</a></p> + +<p>"No one can imagine," says the wounded hero in continuation, "the +multitude of visits that I received, especially from the ladies. All the +Princesses came to see me, and the Queen on three occasions sent her +maids of honour, who were brought to me by Mademoiselle de Guise, and +stayed during the whole afternoon."</p> + +<p>These courtly diversions were abruptly terminated by the intelligence +which reached Paris of the death, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page313"></a>[pg 313]</span> +on the 3rd of March, of Pope Clement +VIII.<a name="299r"></a><a href="#_299_">[299]</a> The piety of this distinguished Pontiff, and the eminent +services which he had rendered to the French King, caused his loss to be +deeply felt by Henry; but when, on the 1st day of April, Alessandro de +Medicis, the cousin of the Queen, was unanimously elected as his +successor under the title of Leo XI, nothing could exceed the joy which +was manifested throughout the country. Paris was illuminated, bonfires +were lighted on the surrounding heights, and salvos of artillery rang +from the dark walls of the Bastille. This demonstration proved, however, +to be premature, as the next courier who arrived in the French capital +from Rome brought the fatal tidings of his death. On the day succeeding +his elevation he had made his solemn entry into St. Peter's; on Easter +Sunday the triple tiara was placed upon his brow, and the public +procession to St. John de Lateran took place on the 17th; but on +returning from this ceremony the new Pontiff complained of +indisposition, and on the 27th he breathed his last; and was in his turn +succeeded, on the Day of Pentecost (29th of May), by Paul V.<a name="300r"></a><a href="#_300_">[300]</a></p> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page314"></a>[pg 314]</span> +<p>About this time the King, wearied of the perpetual coldness of Madame +de Verneuil, which not even his excessive clemency had sufficed to +overcome, made a last attempt to compel her gratitude by forwarding +letters under the great seal, authorizing the Comte d'Entragues to +retire to his estate of Marcoussis, and re-establishing both himself and +his son-in-law in all their wealth and honours, save the posts which +they had held under the crown, and their respective governments. +D'Auvergne, however, was still a prisoner in the Bastille, where, after +lashing himself into fury for a few months, he adopted the more prudent +and manly alternative of study, and thus contrived to educe enjoyment +even from his privations.</p> + +<p>Yet still the haughty spirit of the Marquise scorned to yield. She was +indeed living in her own house, the gift of the monarch against whom she +exhibited this firm and calm defiance, and surrounded by luxuries, the +whole of which she owed to his uncalculating generosity; but she could +not, and would not, forget that she was, nevertheless, an exile from the +Court, and a prisoner within the boundary of her estate, while the +Queen, whom she had affected to despise, was triumphing in her +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page315"></a>[pg 315]</span> +disgrace. Nor was it until the month of September, when Henry, who was +pining for her return, finally declared that no proof of culpability +having been brought against her, she must be forthwith duly and fully +acquitted of the crime with which she had been charged, that the icy +barrier was at last broken down, and the haughty Marquise condescended +to acknowledge herself indebted to her sovereign. The King did not +satisfy himself with this mere declaration, though he had caused it to +be legally registered by the Parliament; but, fearful lest some further +revelations might be made, by which she might become once more involved, +he moreover strictly forbade his Attorney-general to take any new steps +whatever relating to the conspiracy, or tending further to incriminate +any of its presumed members.<a name="301r"></a><a href="#_301_">[301]</a></p> + +<p>The jealousy which existed between the two houses of Bourbon and +Lorraine, and which Henry was anxious if possible to terminate, coupled +perhaps with no small feeling of wounded vanity, determined him to +bestow the hand of Louise Marguerite de Lorraine, Demoiselle de Guise +(who, since she had been in the household of the Queen, had lent a less +willing ear than formerly to his renewed gallantries), upon François, +Prince de Conti; and accordingly the marriage was celebrated with great +pomp in the month of July, in the presence of their Majesties and the +whole Court. Madame de Conti herself asserts that the Queen first +suggested this union, and did everything in her power to effect it;<a name="302r"></a><a href="#_302_">[302]</a> +for +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page316"></a>[pg 316]</span> +which it is highly probable that Marie had a double motive, as the +antecedents of Mademoiselle de Guise might well excuse her jealousy.</p> + +<p>While besieging Paris, and before his public <i>liaison</i> with Gabrielle +d'Estrées, Henry had sent to demand the portrait of Mademoiselle de +Guise, giving her reason to believe that so soon as the war should be +terminated he was desirous of making her his wife; a prospect which, as +she very naively acknowledges, led her to despise the addresses of the +Comte de Giury,<a name="303r"></a><a href="#_303_">[303]</a> who was her declared suitor, as well as those of +the other nobles who sought her favour. One day, however, during a brief +truce of six hours, the Duchesse de Guise and herself, accompanied by +several other ladies, having ascended the rampart to converse with such +of their friends as were in the besieging army, all the young gallants +crowded to the foot of the walls to pay their respects to the fair being +whose presence offered so graceful a contrast to the objects by which +they were more immediately surrounded; and among the rest came Roger, +Duc de Bellegarde, at that period the handsomest man in France.</p> + +<p>It was the first occasion upon which Mademoiselle de Guise and the Duke +had met; and we have the authority of the lady for stating that the +attraction was mutual. M. de Bellegarde had long been the avowed lover +of <i>la belle Gabrielle</i>; but, inconstant +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page317"></a>[pg 317]</span> +as the fair D'Estrées herself, +he at once surrendered his previously-occupied heart to this new +goddess. His prior attachment was not, however, the only reason which +should have deterred Mademoiselle de Guise from thus suffering her fancy +to overcome her better feelings, as M. de Bellegarde was accused of +having been accessory to the assassination of her father; but neither of +these considerations appears to have had any weight with the young +Princess. According to her own version of the circumstance, Gabrielle +conceived so violent a jealousy that the Duke was compelled to +condescend to every imaginable subterfuge in order to conceal the truth; +while the King, who soon became aware of the secret intelligence which +subsisted between the lovers, ceased to feel any inclination to raise +Mademoiselle de Guise to the throne of France; although, as we have +seen, he was by no means insensible either to the charm of her wit or +the attraction of her beauty.</p> + +<p>In order to follow up his great design of pacification, Henry, after +having re-established Philip of Nassau in his principality of Orange, +also effected his marriage with Eléonore de Bourbon,<a name="304r"></a><a href="#_304_">[304]</a> by which union +he secured another desirable ally.<a name="305r"></a><a href="#_305_">[305]</a></p> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page318"></a>[pg 318]</span> +<p>During the development of the late conspiracy the monarch had been +indebted for much of the information which he had received relative to +the intrigues of the Comte d'Auvergne to the intelligence afforded by +the ex-Queen Marguerite, who, having come into possession of many facts +which could not otherwise have been known to the King, had assiduously +imparted to him every circumstance that she conceived to be of +importance; a service for which he had not failed to express his +gratitude. That Marguerite had, however, been in no small degree +actuated in this matter by feelings of self-interest, there can be no +doubt, D'Auvergne having long enjoyed the proprietorship of the county +from whence he derived his title, and which had been bestowed on him by +Henri III, as well as several other estates which that monarch had +inherited from his mother, Catherine de Medicis, the said territories +having formed a portion of her dowry on her union with Henri II. +Marguerite's memories of her brother, as the reader will readily +comprehend, were not sufficiently attaching to induce her to submit +patiently to such a substitution, as she was aware that, by the marriage +contract, the property in question was settled upon the female offspring +of Catherine in default of male issue; and her lavish expenditure and +errant adventures having exhausted her means, she resolved to exert +every effort to establish her claim. She had already upon several +occasions solicited permission to return to the French capital; and, +although it had never been +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page319"></a>[pg 319]</span> +distinctly refused, it was so coldly +conceded that her pride had hitherto prevented her from availing herself +of an indulgence thus reluctantly accorded; but aware at the present +moment that she could so materially serve the King as to ensure a more +gracious reception than she might previously have anticipated, she +resolved to seize the opportunity; and accordingly, greatly to the +surprise, not only of the whole Court, but of the monarch himself, she +arrived in Paris without having intimated her intention, lest the +permission should be revoked.</p> + +<p>For five-and-twenty years the last survivor of the illustrious house of +Valois had existed in obscurity and poverty among the mountains and +precipices of the inhospitable province of Auvergne, apparently +forgetting for a time that world by which she had been so readily +forgotten; but Marguerite began at length to yearn for a restoration of +her privileges as a member of the great human family. She could not have +chosen a more judicious moment in which to hazard so extreme a step; as +in addition to the respect which, despite all her vices, she could still +command as the descendant of a long line of sovereigns, she had latterly +established many claims upon the gratitude of the King. It was +impossible for him not to feel, and that deeply, the generous +self-abnegation with which she had lent herself to the dissolution of +their ill-omened marriage, when not only his own happiness, but that of +the whole nation, required the sacrifice; nor could he fail to remember +that while those upon whom he lavished +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page320"></a>[pg 320]</span> +alike his affection and his +treasure, had constantly laboured to embitter his domestic life, and to +undermine the dignity of his Queen, the repudiated wife had never once +evinced the slightest disposition to withhold from her the deference and +respect to which she was entitled.</p> + +<p>Thus then, when her near approach to the capital was suddenly announced +to him, Henry lost not a moment in hastening, with his royal consort and +a brilliant retinue, to receive her before she could reach the gates; +and gave orders that the palace of Madrid in the Bois de Boulogne should +immediately be prepared in a befitting manner for her residence. Nor was +Marie de Medicis less willing than himself to welcome the truant +Princess, to whom she was aware that she owed many obligations; and the +meeting was consequently a cordial one on both sides. After the usual +ceremonies had been observed, Marguerite, abandoning the litter in which +she had hitherto travelled, took her place in the state coach beside +their Majesties, by whom she was conducted to her appointed abode; nor +was it until repeated expressions of regard had been exchanged between +the ex-Queen and her successor, that the royal party returned to the +Tuileries.</p> + +<p>After a sojourn of six weeks in the palace of Madrid, during which time +Marguerite not only revealed to the monarch all the details of the +Verneuil conspiracy, but also the particulars of another still more +serious, as it involved the cession of Marseilles, Toulon, and other +cities to the Spaniards, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page321"></a>[pg 321]</span> +she became wearied of the forest villa, and +established herself in the archiepiscopal Hôtel de Sens<a name="306r"></a><a href="#_306_">[306]</a>; an +arrangement to which the King consented on condition that she should +make him two promises, one of which was that she would be more careful +of her health, "and not turn night into day, and day into night," as she +was accustomed to do; and the other, that she would restrain her +liberality, and endeavour to economize. To these requests the Princess +cheerfully answered that she would make an effort to obey his Majesty +upon the first point, although it would be a privation almost beyond +endurance, from the habit in which she had so long indulged of enjoying +the sunrise before she retired +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page322"></a>[pg 322]</span> +to rest; but with regard to the other +she must decline to give a pledge which she was certain to falsify, no +Valois having ever succeeded in such an attempt. It is probable that +Henry, from a consciousness of his own peculiar prodigalities, did not +feel himself authorized to insist upon a rigid observance of his +expressed wish, as although Marguerite had so frankly refused to +regulate her expenditure with more prudence, she was nevertheless +permitted to remain in the asylum which she had chosen; and this she +continued to do until the 5th of April 1606, when she was driven from it +by a tragedy that rendered it hateful to her.</p> + +<p>Slender as was her retinue, it unfortunately included a young favourite +named Saint-Julien,<a name="307r"></a><a href="#_307_">[307]</a> who, from some private pique, had induced her +to discharge from her service two attendants who had from their earliest +youth been members of her household, the one as page, and the other as +maid of honour; and who had ultimately married with her consent and +approbation, but upon being thus cast off, had found themselves ruined, +no noble house being willing to receive the dismissed attendants of the +dishonoured Queen. Of this union a son had been born, possessed, +however, of less patience and self-control than his unhappy parents, +who, after having clung to Marguerite through good and evil fortune, now +found themselves abandoned to all the miseries of poverty and neglect. +This youth, called by L'Etoile Vermond, and by +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page323"></a>[pg 323]</span> +Bassompierre Charmond, +made his way to Paris as best he might, and arrived in the capital after +Marguerite had taken up her residence as already stated in the Faubourg +St. Antoine. There can be no doubt that the utter destitution of his +parents had made him desperate, for he could not rationally indulge the +slightest hope of impunity; suffice it, that as the Princess was +alighting from her coach on her return from attending mass at the abbey +of the Celestines, between mid-day and one o'clock on the 5th of April, +while her favourite stood beside the steps to assist her to descend, the +unhappy Vermond shot him through the head, and then, turning his horse +towards the gate of St. Denis, endeavoured to make his escape. He was, +however, too ill-mounted to succeed in this attempt, the carriage of the +ex-Queen having been followed by many of the nobles who were anxious to +propitiate the favour of the King by so easy a display of respect to the +dethroned Marguerite; and ere he reached the barrier the wretched young +man found himself a prisoner.</p> + +<p>The body of his victim had, meanwhile, been conveyed to an apartment on +the ground floor of the hôtel, where on his arrival he was immediately +confronted with it; but no sign of remorse or regret was visible as he +gazed upon the corpse. "Turn it over," he said huskily, after he had +gazed for awhile upon the glazed eyes and the parted lips. "Let me see +if he be really dead." His request was complied with; and as he became +convinced that life had +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page324"></a>[pg 324]</span> +indeed departed from the already stiffening +form, he exclaimed joyfully: "It is well--I have not failed--my task is +accomplished. Had it been otherwise I could yet have repaired +the error."</p> + +<p>When this scene was reported to Marguerite, who, absorbed in the most +passionate grief, had retired to her appartment, she vowed that she +would not touch food until she had vengeance on the murderer; and she +kept her word, as she persisted in her resolution till, on the third day +after he had committed the crime, the unhappy young man was decapitated +in front of the house, and almost upon the very spot still reeking with +the blood of his victim. But the nerves of the ex-Queen could endure no +further tension; and on the morrow she removed to a new residence in the +Faubourg St. Germain, where she was shortly afterwards visited by +Bassompierre, who was charged with the condolences of the King on her +late loss.<a name="308r"></a><a href="#_308_">[308]</a></p> + +<p>This fact alone tends more fully to develop the manners and morals (?) +of the age than a thousand comments; and thus we have considered it our +duty to place it upon record.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile M. de Saint-Julien was far from having been the only favourite +of the profligate Marguerite, who divided her time between devotional +exercises and the indulgence of those guilty pleasures to which she was +so unhappily addicted; but while the citizens were not slow to remark +her excesses, she gained the love of the poor by a +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page325"></a>[pg 325]</span> +profuse alms-giving, +and enjoyed a perfect impunity of action from the real or feigned +ignorance of the King relative to the private arrangements of her +household. She was, moreover, the avowed patroness of men of letters, by +whom her table was constantly surrounded; and in whose society she took +so much delight that she acquired, by this constant intercourse with the +most learned individuals of the capital, a facility not only of +expression, but also of composition, very remarkable in one of her sex +at that period.<a name="309r"></a><a href="#_309_">[309]</a> Carefully avoiding all political intrigue, she made +no distinction of persons beyond that due to their rank; and thus, while +her intercourse with the Queen was marked by an affectionate respect +peculiarly gratifying to its object, she was no less urbane and +condescending to the Marquise de Verneuil; who had, as may have been +anticipated, already regained all her former influence over the mind of +the monarch, his passion even appearing to have derived new strength +from their temporary estrangement.</p> + +<p>The peculiar situation of the Queen, however, who was about once more to +become a mother, and whose tranquillity of mind he feared to disturb at +such a moment, rendered the monarch unusually anxious to conceal this +fact; and it was consequently not until some weeks afterwards that Marie +de Medicis was apprised of the new triumph of her rival.</p> + +<p>The month of December accordingly passed +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page326"></a>[pg 326]</span> +away without the domestic +discord which must have arisen had the Queen been less happily ignorant +of her real position; but it was nevertheless fated to be an eventful +one. The death of M. de la Rivière, the King's body-surgeon, a loss +which was severely felt by Henry, was succeeded by the execution of M. +de Merargues<a name="310r"></a><a href="#_310_">[310]</a>, whose conspiracy to deliver up Marseilles to the +Spaniards was revealed to the monarch by Marguerite; and who, tried and +convicted of <i>lèse-majesté</i>, was decapitated in the Place de Grève, his +body quartered and exposed at the four gates of the capital, and his +head carried to Marseilles, and stuck upon a pike over the principal +entrance to the city; while, on the very day of his execution, as the +King was returning from a hunt and riding slowly across the Pont Neuf, +at about five in the afternoon, a man suddenly sprang up behind him and +threw him backwards upon his horse, attempting at the same time to +plunge a dagger which he held into the body of his Majesty. Fortunately, +however, Henry was so closely muffled in a thick cloak that before the +assassin could effect his purpose the attendants were enabled to seize +him and liberate their royal master, who was perfectly +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page327"></a>[pg 327]</span> +uninjured. The +consternation was nevertheless universal; nor was it lessened by the +calmness with which, when interrogated, the assassin declared that his +intention had been to take the life of the sovereign. It was soon +discovered, however, by the incoherency of his language that he was a +maniac; and although many of the nobles urged that he should be put to +death as an example to others, the King resolutely resisted their +advice, declaring that the man's family, who had long been aware of his +infirmity, were more to blame than himself; and commanding that he +should be placed in security, and thus rendered unable to repeat any act +of violence. He was accordingly conveyed to prison, where he shortly +afterwards died.</p> + +<p>At this period, whether it were that the King hoped, by occupying her +attention with subjects of more moment, to be enabled to pursue his +<i>liaison</i> with Madame de Verneuil with less difficulty, or that his +advancing age rendered him in reality anxious to initiate her into the +mysteries of government, it is certain that he endeavoured to induce the +Queen to take more interest than she had hitherto done in questions of +national importance; and revealed to her many state secrets, not one of +which, as he afterwards declared to Sully, did she ever communicate, +even to her most confidential friends. But Marie de Medicis was far from +evincing the delight which he had anticipated at his avowed wish that +she should share with him in the hopes and disappointments of royalty; +her ambition had not then been thoroughly awakened; she still felt as +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page328"></a>[pg 328]</span> +a wife and as a woman rather than as a Queen; and an insolence from Madame +de Verneuil occupied her feelings more nearly than a threatened +conspiracy. So great, indeed, was her distaste to the new character in +which she was summoned to appear, that when the King occasionally +addressed her with a gay smile as <i>Madame la Régente</i>, a cloud +invariably gathered upon her brow. Upon one occasion, when the royal +couple were walking in the park at Fontainebleau, attended by all the +Court, and that the monarch, who led the Dauphin by the hand, vainly +endeavoured to induce him to jump across a little stream which ran +beside their path, Henry became so enraged by his cowardice and +obstinacy that he raised him in his arms to dip him into the pigmy +current, a punishment which was, however, averted by the entreaties of +his mother; and the King reluctantly consented that he should suffer +nothing more than the mortification of being compelled to exchange her +care for that of his governess, Madame de Montglat. As the child was led +away the King sighed audibly, but in a few seconds he resumed the +conversation which had been thus unpleasantly interrupted, and once more +he addressed the Queen as <i>Madame la Régente</i>.</p> + +<p>"I entreat of you, Sire, not to call me by that name," said Marie; "it +is full of associations which cannot fail to be painful to me."</p> + +<div class="fig" style="width:100%;"> +<a name="illus0498"></a> +<img src="images/illus0498.jpg" width="433" height="500" alt="[Illustration: ]"> +<p class="caption">MARIE DE MEDICIS.</p> +</div> + +<p>The King looked earnestly and even sadly upon her for a moment ere he +replied, and then it was in a tone as grave as that in which she uttered +her +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page329"></a>[pg 329]</span> +expostulation. "You are right," he said, "quite right not to wish +to survive me, for the close of my life will be the commencement of your +own troubles. You have occasionally shed tears when I have flogged your +son, but one day you will weep still more bitterly either over him or +yourself. My favourites have often excited your displeasure, but you +will find yourself some time hence more ill-used by those who obtain an +influence over the actions of Louis. Of one thing I can assure you, and +that is, knowing your temper so well as I do, and foreseeing that which +his will prove in after years--you, Madame, self-opinionated, not to say +headstrong, and he obstinate--you will assuredly break more than one +lance together." <a name="311r"></a><a href="#_311_">[311]</a></p> + +<p>Poor Marie! She was little aware at that moment how soon so mournful a +prophecy was to become a still more mournful reality.</p> + +<p>FOOTNOTES:</p> + +<p><a name="_284_"></a><a href="#284r">[284]</a> A very low wooden stool upon which accused persons were formerly +seated during their trial; an arrangement deemed so great a degradation +by persons of condition that many attainted nobles indignantly appealed +against it.</p> + +<p><a name="_285_"></a><a href="#285r">[285]</a> L'Etoile, vol. iii. p. 256.</p> + +<p><a name="_286_"></a><a href="#286r">[286]</a> Achille de Harlay was the representative of a distinguished +family, many of whose members were celebrated during four centuries both +as magistrates and ecclesiastics. He was born on the 7th of May 1536, +and was the son of Christophe de Harlay, President <i>de Mortier</i> of the +Parliament of Paris, one of the most learned and upright magistrates of +his time. Achille was a parliamentary councillor at the age of +twenty-two years, president of the Parliament of Paris at thirty-six, +and succeeded his father-in-law, Christophe de Thou, as first president +in 1582. During the time of the League under Henri III he made to the +Duc de Guise the celebrated answer which covered him with glory and +paralyzed the strength of the malcontents: "My soul belongs to my God +and my heart to my King, although my body is in the power of rebels." He +was imprisoned for a time by the chiefs of the League, after which he +returned to the service of the King. He resigned his office in favour of +Nicolas de Verdun, and died on the 23rd of October 1616 at the age of +eighty years.</p> + +<p><a name="_287_"></a><a href="#287r">[287]</a> Louis Servin distinguished himself from an early age by his +extraordinary learning and his extreme attachment to his sovereign. He +was indebted for the rank of King's Advocate to the Cardinal de Vendôme, +and acquitted himself so admirably of the duties of his office as to +justify the confidence of his patron.</p> + +<p><a name="_288_"></a><a href="#288r">[288]</a> L'Etoile, vol. iii. pp. 255-257. Mézeray, vol. x. pp. 277-279. +Daniel, vol. vii. p. 456.</p> + +<p><a name="_289_"></a><a href="#289r">[289]</a> Marie de Balzac d'Entragues, in pursuit of whom the King incurred +the risk of assassination.</p> + +<p><a name="_290_"></a><a href="#290r">[290]</a> Richer, <i>Mercure Français,</i> Paris, 1611, year 1605, pp. 9-11.</p> + +<p><a name="_291_"></a><a href="#291r">[291]</a> Henri, Duc de Rohan, Prince de Léon, was the eldest son of Réné, +second Vicomte de Rohan, and was born at Blein, in Brittany, in 1579. He +made his first campaign under Henri IV, by whom he had been adopted, and +who had declared his intention of making him his successor on the French +throne should Marie de Medicis fail to give him a son. Henry created him +duke and peer in 1603, and Colonel-general of the Swiss Guards in 1605; +but after the death of the King he entered into a struggle with the +Court, declared himself the head of the Protestant party, and sustained +three campaigns against Louis XIII, the last of which was terminated by +his compelling that monarch (in 1629) to sign for the second time a +confirmation and re-establishment of the Edict of Nantes. He next +entered into a negotiation with the Porte for the purchase of the island +of Cyprus, and subsequently became Generalissimo of the Venetians +against the Imperialists, then General of the Grisons, and finally, +displeased and disgusted with the French Court, he withdrew to the +territories of the Duke of Saxe Weimar, in whose service he was killed +in 1638. He left an only child, Marguerite, who married Henri de Chabot, +and whose descendants took the name of Rohan-Chabot.</p> + +<p><a name="_292_"></a><a href="#292r">[292]</a> Ablon was a small village upon the Seine, distant about three +leagues from the capital, where the Protestants celebrated their worship +before they built the church at Charenton, which was subsequently +destroyed.</p> + +<p><a name="_293_"></a><a href="#293r">[293]</a> Guy, Comte de Laval, was one of the richest and most accomplished +noblemen of his time. He not only inherited all the wealth of his +father, but also that of his grandfather François de Coligny, a fact +which, after his death, caused a lawsuit between the family of La +Trémouille and the Duc d'Elboeuf. His qualities, both physical and +mental, were worthy of his extraordinary fortune, and his devotion to +literature and the fine arts was unwearied. M. de Laval had been reared +in the Protestant faith, but to the great regret of the reformed party, +who had hoped to find in him as zealous a defender as they had found in +his ancestors, he embraced the Romish religion. His valour as a soldier +was as remarkable as his attainments, and he had scarcely reached his +twentieth year when he asked and obtained from the King the royal +permission to serve under the Archduke Matthias in Hungary against the +Turks. Accompanied by fifteen or sixteen gentlemen, and attended by a +retinue befitting his rank and wealth, he eminently distinguished +himself by the manner in which he effected the retreat after the siege +of Strigonia; but his first triumph was fated to be his last, as during +the struggle he received a gunshot wound of which he died a few days +subsequently, deeply regretted by the Prince in whose cause he had +fallen and by the troops, to whom he had already endeared himself by his +noble qualities.</p> + +<p><a name="_294_"></a><a href="#294r">[294]</a> César Auguste de St. Larry, Baron de Thermes, was the son of Jean +de St. Larry and of Anne de Villemur, and was the younger brother of +Roger de St. Larry, Duc de Bellegarde, Grand Equerry of France. He was +first created Knight of Malta and Grand Prior of Auvergne, and +subsequently, on the dismissal of the Duc de Bellegarde, Grand Equerry +in his stead. Having incurred the displeasure of Marie de Medicis he was +compelled to leave the Court, when he proceeded to Holland, where he was +warmly welcomed by Prince Maurice, a welcome which was not lessened by +the fact of his being accompanied by forty gentlemen. The anger of the +Queen having subsided he returned to France, where, as previously +stated, he succeeded to the honours of his brother, was made Knight of +St. Michael and the Holy Ghost, and died of a wound which he had +received at the siege of Clérac in July 1621.</p> + +<p><a name="_295_"></a><a href="#295r">[295]</a> François d'Espinay, second of the name, was the son of François +d'Espinay, Seigneur de Saint-Luc, Knight of St. Michael and of the Holy +Ghost, and Grand Master of Artillery, who was killed at the siege of +Amiens in 1597. In the preceding year, at the early age of fourteen, the +young Saint-Luc had a quarrel with Emmanuel-Monsieur, the son of the Duc +de Mayenne, by whom he conceived that he had been insulted, and who, +upon his demanding whether the affront were intended as a jest or +designed as an insult, replied that he might interpret it as he pleased, +inquiring at the same time if he were not aware who he was. "Yes, I know +you," was the reply of the high-spirited boy; "you are the son of the +Duc de Mayenne, and you are in your turn aware that I am the son of +Saint-Luc, a loyal gentleman who has always served his country with +fidelity and never borne arms against his lawful sovereign." This +quarrel between two mere youths having reached the ears of the King, he +forbade the disputants to proceed further; but the young Saint-Luc had +thus already, alike by his courage and his ready wit, given ample +promise of his future loyalty and prowess.</p> + +<p><a name="_296_"></a><a href="#296r">[296]</a> Guillaume de Sault (or Saulx) was the son of the celebrated +Gaspard de Saulx, Maréchal de Travannes. He married Chrétienne +d'Aguirre, the daughter of Michel d'Aguirre, a celebrated jurisconsult +of the diocese of Pampeluna, was created Lieutenant-Governor of +Burgundy, and died in 1633.</p> + +<p><a name="_297_"></a><a href="#297r">[297]</a> Bassompierre, <i>Mém</i>. p. 43.</p> + +<p><a name="_298_"></a><a href="#298r">[298]</a> <i>Idem</i>.</p> + +<p><a name="_299_"></a><a href="#299r">[299]</a> Ippolito Aldobrandini, subsequently Clement VIII, was a Florentine +by birth, who, in the year 1585, was made Grand Penitentiary and +Cardinal by Pope Sixtus V. His diplomatic talents caused him to be sent +as legate to Poland to arrange the difficulties between Sigismund of +Sweden and the Archduke Maximilian, who had both been elected King of +Poland by their several partisans. On the death of Innocent IX, +Aldobrandini was raised to the pontifical chair (1592), which he +occupied during thirteen years.</p> + +<p><a name="_300_"></a><a href="#300r">[300]</a> Camillo Borghese was a native of Rome, whose family were +originally from Sienna. Clement VIII called him to a seat in the +conclave in 1598. After his elevation to the pontifical chair he +quarrelled with the republic of Venice, the result of the difference +between the two states being the expulsion of the Jesuits from the +Venetian territories. He succeeded in effecting the union of the +Nestorians of Chaldea with the Church of Rome, and in appeasing for a +time several controversial differences between members of his own +communion. Paul V greatly embellished the city of Rome; and also +completed the façade of St. Peter's, and the palace of the Quirinal. He +died in 1621, at the age of sixty-nine years.</p> + +<p><a name="_301_"></a><a href="#301r">[301]</a> Mézeray, vol. x. p. 280.</p> + +<p><a name="_302_"></a><a href="#302r">[302]</a> <i>Amours du Grand Alcandre</i>, p. 47.</p> + +<p><a name="_303_"></a><a href="#303r">[303]</a> Anne d'Anglure, Seigneur de Giury, who subsequently married +Marguerite Hurault, daughter of Philippe Hurault, Comte de Chiverny, +Chancellor of France under Henri III and Henri IV.</p> + +<p><a name="_304_"></a><a href="#304r">[304]</a> Eléonore de Bourbon was the daughter of Henri I. de Bourbon, +Prince de Condé, who succeeded his father in the command of the +Calvinist party, conjointly with the King of Navarre, afterwards Henri +IV. This prince raised a body of foreign troops in 1575, and +distinguished himself greatly at Coutras in 1587. He died in the +following year, having, as was asserted, been poisoned by his wife, +Charlotte de la Trémouille, at St-Jean-d'Angély.</p> + +<p><a name="_305_"></a><a href="#305r">[305]</a> Montfaucon, vol. v. p. 418.</p> + +<p><a name="_306_"></a><a href="#306r">[306]</a> This hôtel was the property of the Bishop of Bourges, known as M. +de Sens, who died in September 1606 at the age of seventy-nine years, +and who was interred at Notre-Dame, at his own request, without pomp or +ceremony of any description. This prelate had been involved in so many +delicate, but withal conspicuous affairs, that he had become the object +of very general curiosity and slander. At the commencement of the reign +of Henri IV a satire made its appearance, entitled, "Library of Madame +de Montpensier, brought to light by the advice of Cornac, and with the +consent of the Sieur de Beaulieu, her equerry," in which mention was +made of a supposititious work called, "The Art of not Believing in God," +by M. de Bourges, in which an attempt was made to convict the prelate of +atheism. This book was attributed to the reformed party; while the libel +was strengthened by the indignation felt by the Court of Rome at the +circumstance of M. de Bourges having taken upon himself to absolve Henri +IV without the Papal authority, on his conversion to the Roman Catholic +faith. The manner of his death, however, gainsayed the calumny; although +so slight had been the respect felt for his sacred office, that the +ex-Queen Marguerite had no sooner taken possession of his hôtel, than +the following placard was found affixed to the entrance-gate:</p> + +<blockquote> +"Comme Reine, tu devais être<br> + En ta royale maison;<br> + Comme ----, c'est bien raison<br> + Que tu loge an logis d'un prêtre."<br> +</blockquote> + +<p><a name="_307_"></a><a href="#307r">[307]</a> Bassompierre calls him Saint-Sulliendat, <i>Mém</i>. p. 46.</p> + +<p><a name="_308_"></a><a href="#308r">[308]</a> L'Etoile, vol. iii. pp. 353, 354. Bassompierre, <i>Mém</i>. p. 46.</p> + +<p><a name="_309_"></a><a href="#309r">[309]</a> Richelieu, <i>La Mère et le Fils</i>, vol. i. p. 326.</p> + +<p><a name="_310_"></a><a href="#310r">[310]</a> Louis de Lagon de Merargues was a nobleman of Provence, who +claimed to descend from the Princes of Catalonia or Aragon. His position +of procureur-syndic of the province, and the importance of the relatives +of his wife, who was closely connected with the Duc de Montpensier, +together with the command of two galleys which he held from the King, +enabled him at any moment to possess himself of the port; while his +office of <i>Viguier</i>, or royal provost, gave him great authority over +the citizens.</p> + +<p><a name="_311_"></a><a href="#311r">[311]</a> Richelieu, <i>La Mère et le Fils</i>, vol. i. pp. 19, 20.</p> + + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page330"></a>[pg 330]</span> +<br><br><hr style="width: 35%;"><br><br> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI</h2> + +<h3>1606</h3> + +<p>New Year's Day at Court--The royal tokens--A singular audience--A +proposition--Birth of the Princess Christine--Public festivities--A +ballet on horseback--The King resolves to humble the Duc de +Bouillon--Arguments of the Queen--Policy of Henry--The Court proceeds to +Torcy--Surrender of Bouillon--The sovereigns enter Sedan--Rejoicings of +the citizens--State entry into Paris--The High Court of Justice assigns +to the ex-Queen Marguerite the county of Auvergne--The "Te +Deum"--Marguerite makes a donation of her recovered estates to the +Dauphin--Inconsistencies of Marguerite--Jealousy of the Queen of Madame +de Moret--Increasing coldness of the King towards that lady--The frail +rivals--Princely beacons---Indignation of the Queen--Narrow escape of +the King and Queen--Gratitude of the Queen to her preserver--Insolent +pleasantry of the Marquise de Verneuil--A disappointment +compensated--Marriage of the Duc de Bar--The King invites the Duchess of +Mantua to become sponsor to the Dauphin, and the Duc de Lorraine to the +younger Princess--<i>The Mantuan suite</i>--Preparations at Notre-Dame--The +plague in Paris--The Court removes to Fontainebleau--The royal +christenings--Increase of the plague--Royal disappointments--The +Duchesse de Nevers--Discourtesy of the King--Dignity of the Duchess.</p><br> + +<p>The description given by M. de Sully of his interview with their +Majesties on the morning of the 1st of January 1606 is so characteristic +of the time that we cannot conscientiously pass it over, although the +feeling of the present day compels us to exclude many of its details. +Early in the forenoon the Duke proceeded to the Louvre to pay his +respects to the august couple, and to present the customary offerings; +but on reaching the apartment of the King, he was +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page331"></a>[pg 331]</span> +informed by MM. +d'Armagnac and l'Oserai, the two valets-de-chambre on duty, that his +Majesty was in the chamber of the Queen, who had been seriously +indisposed during the night. He consequently proceeded to the ante-room +of his royal mistress, and as he found it vacant, advanced to the door +of the chamber itself, against which he scratched gently, in order to +attract the attention of Caterina Selvaggio or Mademoiselle de la +Renouillère, her favourite attendants, and to ascertain the state of her +health without awakening her. He had no sooner done so, however, than +several voices loudly inquired who was there, and among them the Duke +recognized those of Roquelaure, Frontenac, and Beringhen.</p> + +<p>Having declared his identity, and been announced to the King, he was +immediately summoned in a cheerful voice by Henry himself: "Come in, +come in, Sully," cried the monarch; "you will think us very idle until +you learn what has kept us in bed so late. My wife has been ill all +night; but I will tell you all about it when there are not so many +people present, and meanwhile let us see what you have brought for us as +New Year's gifts, for I observe that your three secretaries are with you +laden each with a velvet bag."</p> + +<p>"It is true, Sire," answered the Duke. "I remembered that the last +occasion upon which I had seen your Majesties together you were both in +excellent spirits, and trusting to find it the case today, when we are +all anticipating the birth of a +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page332"></a>[pg 332]</span> +second Prince, I have brought you some +offerings which are sure to please you, as they cannot fail to gratify +those to whom they are distributed in your name, a distribution which I +trust may take place this evening in your presence and that of +the Queen."</p> + +<p>"Although she says nothing to you," laughed the King, "according to her +custom of pretending to be asleep, she is as thoroughly awake as myself, +but she is very angry with both of us. However, we will talk of that +some other time. And now let us see your presents."</p> + +<p>"They are not perhaps, Sire," said the Grand Master, "such as might be +expected from the treasurer of a wealthy and powerful monarch; but such +as they are, I feel convinced that they will afford more real +gratification to those for whom they are intended, and excite more +gratitude towards your own person, than all the costly gifts which you +lavish upon individuals who, as I well know, only repay your profuse +liberality by ingratitude and murmurs."</p> + +<p>"I understand you," exclaimed the King; "it is useless to explain +yourself further; rather show us what you have brought."</p> + +<p>The Duke made a signal to his secretaries to approach the bed. "Here, +Sire," he said, "in my despatch-bag, are three purses filled with gold +tokens, with a device expressive of the love borne towards your Majesty +by your people. One of these I offer to yourself, another to the Queen, +and the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page333"></a>[pg 333]</span> +third to Monseigneur le Dauphin, or rather I ought to say to +Mamanga,<a name="312r"></a><a href="#_312_">[312]</a> if her Majesty does not retain it, as she has always done +on similar occasions. In the same bag are eight purses of silver tokens +with the same device--two for yourself, two for the Queen, and four for +La Renouillère, Caterina Selvaggio, and any other of the ladies who +sleep in the chamber of her Majesty. The second bag contains twenty-five +purses of tokens in silver, to be distributed among Monseigneur le +Dauphin, Madame de Montglat, Madame de Drou,<a name="313r"></a><a href="#_313_">[313]</a> Mademoiselle de +Piolant,<a name="314r"></a><a href="#_314_">[314]</a> the nurses and other attendants of Monseigneur and his +sister, and the waiting-maids of the Queen. In the third bag there are +thirty sacks, each containing a hundred crowns in half-franc pieces, +coined expressly for the purpose, and so large that they appear to be of +twice the value. These are intended for all the attendants of +subordinate rank attached to the household of her Majesty and the royal +children, according to your orders. I have left, moreover, in my +carriage below, in the charge of my people, two great bags, each +containing a hundred crowns in twelve sous pieces, making the sum of +twelve thousand sous, for division among the poor and sick upon the +quays of the river near the Louvre, which are, as I am told, already +crowded; and I have in consequence sent twelve citizens upon whom I can +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page334"></a>[pg 334]</span> +rely to distribute the money conscientiously according to the +necessities of each applicant. All these poor people, and even the +waiting-women of her Majesty, exhibit more delight on receiving these +trifling coins, Sire, than you can well believe. They all say that it is +not so much for the value of the gift, as because it proves that you +remember and regard them; and, moreover, the attendants of the Queen +prize them in consequence of their being free to appropriate them as +they think fit, while they are compelled to employ their respective +salaries according to the instructions which they receive, as they thus +have a hundred crowns to expend in any finery for which they may take +a fancy."</p> + +<p>"And do you bestow all this happiness upon them without being rewarded +even by a kiss?" asked Henry gaily.</p> + +<p>"Truly, Sire," answered the Duke, "since the day when your Majesty +commanded them to recognize their obligation in that manner, I have +never found it necessary to remind them of your royal pleasure, for they +come voluntarily to tender their acknowledgments according to order; +while Madame de Drou, devout as she is, only laughs during the +performance of the ceremony."</p> + +<p>"Come now, M. le Grand Maître," persisted the King, "tell me the truth; +which do you consider to be the handsomest, and consequently the most +welcome among them?"</p> + +<p>"On my word, Sire," replied M. de Sully, "that is a question which I am +unable to answer, for I +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page335"></a>[pg 335]</span> +have other things to think of besides love and +beauty, and I firmly believe that they, each and all, pay as little +attention to my handsome nose as I do to theirs. I kiss them as we do +relics, when I am making my offering."</p> + +<p>Henry laughed heartily. "How say you, gentlemen," he exclaimed, +addressing the courtiers who thronged the chamber; "have we not here a +prodigal treasurer, who makes such presents as these at the expense of +his master, and all for a kiss?"</p> + +<p>Of course the royal hilarity found a general and an immediate echo, +which had no sooner subsided than the King exclaimed: "And now, +gentlemen, to your breakfasts, and leave us to discuss affairs of +greater importance."</p> + +<p>In a few minutes all had left the room save Sully himself and the two +waiting-women of the Queen, and he had no sooner ascertained that such +was the case than Henry said affectionately: "And now, sleeper, awake, +and do not scold any longer, for I have, on my part, resolved not to +think any more of what has passed, particularly at such a time as this. +You fancy that Sully blames you whenever we have a difference, but you +are quite wrong, as you would be aware could you only know how freely he +gives me his opinion on my own faults, and although I am occasionally +angry with him, I like him none the less; on the contrary, I believe +that if he ceased to love me, he would be more indifferent to all that +touches my welfare and honour, as well as the good of my +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page336"></a>[pg 336]</span> +people; for do +you see, <i>ma mie</i>, the best-intentioned among us require at times to be +supported by the wise advice of faithful and prudent friends, and he is +constantly reminding me of the expediency of indulgence towards +yourself, and of the necessity of keeping your mind at peace, in order +that neither you nor the Prince whom you are about to give to +France--for the Duke feels satisfied that it will be a Prince--may +suffer from contradiction, or annoyance of any kind."</p> + +<p>"I thank M. le Grand Maître," said the Queen at length, in a voice of +great exhaustion; "but it is impossible for me to feel either calm or +happy while you persist in preferring the society of persons who are +obnoxious to me, to my own. My very dreams are embittered by this +consciousness, and doubly so because I have reason to know that while I +am their victim, they are false even to yourself and, moreover, detest +you in their hearts. You may doubt this," she added with greater energy, +"but I appeal to the Duke himself, and he will tell you if this is not +the case."</p> + +<p>M. de Sully, however, felt no inclination to offer his testimony to the +truth of an assertion of this nature--the position involved too great a +responsibility to be agreeable even to the experienced statesman +himself; and he accordingly, with his accustomed prudence, generalized +the subject by declaring that he experienced a heartfelt satisfaction in +perceiving that their Majesties had at length yielded to a feeling of +mutual confidence, which could +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page337"></a>[pg 337]</span> +not fail to put an end to all their +domestic discomfort; adding that if he might presume to offer his +advice, he would suggest that should any new subject of difference arise +between them, they should immediately refer it to the arbitration of a +third person, upon whose probity and attachment they could severally +rely, and resolve to leave the whole affair totally in his hands, +without aggravating the evil by any personal interference, or even +considering themselves aggrieved by the remedy which he might suggest.</p> + +<p>He then offered, should they place sufficient confidence in his own +judgment and affection, to become himself the arbitrator whom he +recommended; and he had no sooner done so than the King eagerly declared +himself ready to comply with his advice, and to sign a pledge to that +effect, but Marie de Medicis, who was as well aware as her royal consort +that the first step adopted by Sully would be the exile of her Italian +followers, was less willing to bind herself by such an engagement, and +she therefore merely remarked that the proposition had come upon her so +suddenly that she must have time to reflect before she thus placed +herself entirely in the hands of a third party. She then, as if anxious +to terminate the discussion, summoned her women, and the Duke, by no +means reluctantly, withdrew.<a name="315r"></a><a href="#_315_">[315]</a></p> + +<p>At this period the King made a journey into Limousin, at the head of a +body of troops, in order to overawe the malcontents in that province; +and +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page338"></a>[pg 338]</span> +while at Orleans he withdrew the seals from Pomponne de Bellièvre, +in order to bestow them upon Sillery, the former, however, retaining the +empty title of Chief of the Privy Council. The pretext for this +substitution was the failing health of the Chancellor, but it was +generally attributed to the influence of Madame de Verneuil, in whose +fortunes M. de Sillery had always exhibited as lively an interest as he +had previously done in those of the Duchesse de Beaufort. Let it, +however, have arisen from whatever cause it might, it is certain that +the veteran statesman deeply felt the indignity which had been offered +to him. Thus Bassompierre asserts that when he shortly afterwards +visited M. de Bellièvre at Artenay, and that the indignant minister +commented with considerable bitterness upon his recent deprivation, he +vainly endeavoured to reconcile him to the affront by reminding him that +he was still in office, and would preside at all the councils as +chancellor, but Bellièvre immediately replied with emphasis: "My friend, +a chancellor without seals is an apothecary without sugar." <a name="316r"></a><a href="#_316_">[316]</a></p> + +<p>On the 10th of February the Queen gave birth to a second daughter<a name="317r"></a><a href="#_317_">[317]</a> +in the palace of the Louvre, to her extreme mortification, the +astrologers whom she had consulted having assured her that she was about +to become the mother of a Prince. The citizens of Paris were, however, +delighted, as no +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page339"></a>[pg 339]</span> +royal child had been born in the capital for a great +length of time;<a name="318r"></a><a href="#_318_">[318]</a> while the princes and nobles, throughout the whole +of the following month, vied with each other in their efforts to +entertain their Majesties, and to cause them to forget their +disappointment. It would appear, indeed, that Marie herself soon became +reconciled to the sex of the infant Princess, as Bassompierre has left +it upon record that even before she was sufficiently recovered to leave +her room she used to send for him to play cards with her, an invitation +which was always welcome to the handsome and dissipated courtier.<a name="319r"></a><a href="#_319_">[319]</a> +She no sooner appeared in public, however, than other and more brilliant +amusements were provided for her, consisting of jousts and banquets, +Italian comedies and Court balls; but all these were exceeded in +interest by a ballet that was performed on horseback in the great court +of the Louvre, which had been thickly strewn with sand and surrounded by +barriers, save at one opening opposite the seats prepared for their +Majesties, through which the four nobles by whom the entertainment had +been devised were to enter with their respective trains from the Hôtel +de Bourbon.</p> + +<p>The balconies and windows of the palace were crowded with splendidly +dressed nobles and courtiers of both sexes, while a dense mass of people +occupied every available spot of ground beyond the enclosure, where +platforms had also been erected for the more respectable of the citizens +and their families. The +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page340"></a>[pg 340]</span> +King and Queen were seated in the balcony of +the centre window, which was draped with crimson velvet, having on their +right and left several of the Princes of the Blood and ladies of the +highest rank, while immediately behind them were placed the great +officers of the Crown and the captains of the bodyguard. The hour +selected for this novel and extraordinary exhibition was ten at night, +and hundreds of lamps and double the number of torches were affixed to +the <i>façade</i> of the palace, towards which every eye was upturned from +the compact crowd below. The ballet was designed to represent the four +primary Elements, and the appointed moment had no sooner arrived than a +flourish of trumpets announced the approach of the Duc de Bellegarde, +who with his party were to personate Water. The procession was opened by +twenty-four pages habited in cloth of silver, each attended by two +torch-bearers; these were followed by twelve Syrens playing on hautboys, +who were in their turn succeeded by a pyramid whose summit was crowned +by a gigantic figure of Neptune, surrounded by water-gods and marine +divinities and insignia of every description. This stupendous machine +paused for a moment beneath the window of their Majesties, and the +aquatic deities having made their obeisance, it passed on, and gave +place to twenty-four other pages, habited and attended like the former +ones. These preceded the Duke himself at the head of twelve young and +brilliant nobles, all clad in cloth of silver, with plumes +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page341"></a>[pg 341]</span> +of white +feathers in their jewelled caps, and their horses richly caparisoned in +white and silver. Having made the tour of the court, the whole party +drew closely together in one angle of the enclosure, in order to make +way for the second troop, but not before they had exhibited their +equestrian skill, and elicited not only the approving comments of the +courtly groups who contemplated them from above, but also the vociferous +acclamations of the admiring thousands by whom they were hemmed in. The +Duc de Bellegarde and his train had no sooner taken up their station +than a second <i>fanfare</i> greeted the approach of the powers of Fire, who +were ushered in by twenty-four pages dressed in scarlet, closely +followed by four blacksmiths dragging an anvil, upon which, when they +reached the centre of the court, they began to strike with great +violence, and at every blow discharged such a shower of rockets into the +air that many a fair dame crouched behind her neighbour for protection +from the falling sparks; while the lamps and torches which lit up the +palace walls were momentarily eclipsed. As the last rush of rockets +burst, and fell back in a Danaëan shower, a train of salamanders, +phoenix, and other anti-inflammable creatures appeared in their turn, +and were followed by the Duc de Rohan, attired as Vulcan, with his +twelve companions in the garb of Parthians, all similarly dressed, and +armed with lances, swords, and shields, on which their arms were +splendidly emblazoned. Renewed feats of dexterous horsemanship were +exhibited by this +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page342"></a>[pg 342]</span> +brilliant band, after which, as their predecessors +had previously done, they established themselves in an angle of the +lists, and made way for the representatives of Air. First came the +pages, forming an escort to the goddess Juno, with her attendant eagle +and a multitude of other birds, all skilfully imitated and grouped; and +when the feathered pageant had passed on, appeared the Comte de +Sommerive<a name="320r"></a><a href="#_320_">[320]</a> and his noble band, all wearing the same costume and +bearing the same arms. Lastly came Earth, in which the pages were +succeeded by two enormous elephants, artistically constructed, and +bearing upon their backs small towers filled with musicians, who, as +they advanced, poured out a volume of sweet sound, to which several +horses, draped with cloth of gold and led by Moors, moved in cadence +like the grooms by whom they were conducted. Then followed more pages, +and a band of trumpeters whose occasional flourishes overpowered the +softer instruments of those who marched in front; and finally, twelve +Moorish knights, led by the Duc de Nevers,<a name="321r"></a><a href="#_321_">[321]</a> all resplendent with +gold and jewels, closed the procession, and fell back to the remaining +extremity of the enclosure. A combat then commenced between the knights +of Earth and those of Water, first single-handed, then in couples, and +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page343"></a>[pg 343]</span> +finally troop against troop, and so soon as this had terminated, the +cavaliers of Air and Fire went through the same evolutions; when each +having exhibited his dexterity in the <i>manège</i> and his skill in arms, +the whole of the four bands joined in the <i>mêlée</i>, shivering their +lances, their arrows, and their shields, and then each of the combatants +seized a torch which had been prepared for him, and after having ridden +round and round each other, making the wandering lights assume the +appearance of meteors, the entire company formed once more into order +and returned to the Hôtel de Bourbon like a long line of fire.<a name="322r"></a><a href="#_322_">[322]</a></p> + +<p>These were precisely the entertainments that Henri IV was eager to +encourage, as they involved an expenditure which frequently crippled the +means of those by whom they were exhibited for several years; and he was +accustomed to declare that it was frequently to the poverty of his +nobles that he was indebted for their fidelity, as they no sooner found +themselves in a position to arm a few retainers and assume the +offensive, than they forthwith began to organize a cabal.</p> + +<p>The King having, in the month of March of this year, determined upon +proceeding in person to quell the disturbances in the provinces, and to +compel the Duc de Bouillon, who was known as the instigator of these +disorders, to obedience, made preparations on an extensive scale for +this purpose, and raised a powerful army in order to prove his +resolution to +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page344"></a>[pg 344]</span> +terminate all similar attempts. In this project he was +warmly encouraged by the Queen, who was to accompany him in his journey, +the Duc de Sully having urged her with the most earnest arguments to +suggest to his Majesty that although he was able personally, from his +prowess and authority, to resist the insidious aggressions of M. de +Bouillon, the case would be widely different were the infant Prince, by +any sudden dispensation of Providence, to be called upon to supply his +place. "The rebel Duke, Madame," said the prudent and upright minister, +"would prove a formidable enemy to a woman and a child; and this should +be looked to while your royal consort is still in the plenitude of +health and strength."</p> + +<p>Marie de Medicis at once felt the force of this reasoning; and although +the caution might probably appear to her as somewhat premature, she +nevertheless lost no time in entreating the King to make such an example +of the restless and ambitious Bouillon as might deter others from +following in his track.</p> + +<p>"You are at once right and wrong, <i>ma mie</i>" replied Henry with his usual +promptitude. "There can be no doubt that the temper and projects of this +man tend to disturb the peace of the kingdom, and that were he to lose +his head a great peril would be escaped; but we must not forget that he +is a Prince of the Blood, and that he may be severely punished through +his pride. I have resolved to take Sedan out of his hands, and to humble +him upon the very +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page345"></a>[pg 345]</span> +threshold of his power; and this vengeance upon his +rebellion will be ample, as he has taught himself to believe that I dare +not attack him in his stronghold. Once subdued he will be undeceived, +and I shall then be enabled to pardon him without having my clemency +mistaken for fear, and I will take such measures as shall ensure his +future submission." <a name="323r"></a><a href="#_323_">[323]</a></p> + +<p>On the 15th of the month, the Court of Parliament, on a summons from the +sovereign, proceeded to the Louvre, where Henry explained to them his +reasons for besieging the Maréchal de Bouillon in Sedan, and possessing +himself of the town and citadel. "A failure," he concluded, "is +impossible; and as an earnest of success the Queen will accompany me. +To-morrow we commence our journey; but do not conceive that I set forth +against the Duke with any preconceived design of vengeance. My arms will +be open to him should he acknowledge his error, for I have been his +benefactor, and have made him what he is. But should he decline to offer +his submission and to recognize my authority, I trust that God will +favour my arms. Above all things, during my absence, I entreat of you to +administer the strictest justice; and I leave in your hands the Dauphin, +my son, whom I have caused to be removed from St. Germain to Paris, in +order to place him under your protection; and I do so with the most +entire confidence, as next to myself he should be to you the most sacred +trust on earth." <a name="324r"></a><a href="#_324_">[324]</a></p> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page346"></a>[pg 346]</span> +<p>On the morrow, accordingly; the King and Queen set forth, accompanied +by a brilliant retinue, and closely followed by the Duc de Sully with +fifty pieces of ordnance and twenty-five thousand men; a fact which was +no sooner ascertained than the rebel Marshal despatched messengers to +Torcy, the frontier village of France, who were authorized to pledge +themselves that the Duke was willing to deliver up the citadel of Sedan +for the space of ten years, if at the termination of that period his +Majesty would consent to restore it, should he, in the interim, have +become satisfied of his loyalty and devotion. He, however, annexed +another condition to his surrender, which was that an act of oblivion +should be passed, and that he should never thenceforward be subjected to +any injury, either of property or person, for whatever acts of +disobedience to the royal authority he might have previously been +considered responsible, and should be left in untroubled possession of +all his honours, estates, and offices under the Crown.</p> + +<p>Having carefully perused this treaty, the King at once consented to the +proposed terms, on the understanding that the Marshal should on the +following morning present himself at Donchéry, where the Court were to +halt that night, before their Majesties should have risen. This he +accordingly did on the 21st, when upon his knees beside the royal couch +he repeated and ratified the pledges of fidelity contained in his appeal +for pardon, and had the honour of kissing hands with both sovereigns; +the King +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page347"></a>[pg 347]</span> +assuring him as he did so that he valued the citadel of Sedan +far less than the recovery of so valued a friend and subject.</p> + +<p>Their Majesties then made a solemn entry into the city, attended by a +train of princes and nobles, and were received with loud and +long-continued shouts of "Long live the King!" "Long live the Queen and +the Dauphin!" Salvos of artillery were fired from the ramparts of the +town and the citadel, and the whole progress of the royal <i>cortège</i> +through the streets resembled a triumphal procession. In the evening the +entire city was illuminated; and the vociferous cheering of the excited +people testified their delight at the bloodless and peaceful termination +of an expedition from which they had anticipated for themselves only +danger and distress.</p> + +<p>The whole population was in a state of delirium; the royal equipages as +they traversed the streets were followed by admiring crowds; the gay and +gaudy nobles were watched by bright eyes, and welcomed by rosy lips; the +civic authorities dreamt only of balls and banquets; and, in short, the +rock-seated city, bristling as it was with cannon, and frowning with +fortifications, appeared to have become suddenly transformed into the +chosen abode of the Loves and Graces.</p> + +<p>Having remained five days at Sedan, the King appointed a new governor +and returned to Paris, whither he was accompanied by the whole of the +royal party, which was moreover augmented by the presence of the Duc de +Bouillon, who, according to +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page348"></a>[pg 348]</span> +Bassompierre, was as much at his ease, and +as arrogant in his deportment, as though he had never incurred the risk +of the headsman as a rebel and a traitor. The Court dined at La +Roquette, and it was near dusk when they reached the Barrière St. +Antoine, where they were met by the corporate bodies. Henry himself rode +on horseback, preceded by eight hundred nobles in full dress, and +followed by four Princes of the Blood, in whose train came other +princes, dukes, and officers of the Court, among whom were the Maréchal +de Bouillon and Prince Juan de Medicis. The Queen occupied her state +coach, having beside her the Duchesses de Guise and de Nevers, and the +Princesse de Conti. As the royal party halted at the barrier, the Civil +Lieutenant, M. de Miron, provost of the merchants, delivered a +congratulatory address to the King in the name of the city; but this +loyal effusion was rendered inaudible by the booming of the cannon from +the Bastille, and the crashing and whizzing of the rockets and other +fireworks, which, by order of the Duc de Sully, were let off immediately +that the monarch had passed the gates.<a name="325r"></a><a href="#_325_">[325]</a> So soon as the address was +terminated, the gorgeous procession resumed its march, Sully riding on +the left hand of the King, by whom this enthusiastic reception had been +deeply felt; nor did his gratification suffer any decrease on observing +as he passed on that every window upon his way was crowded with fair and +animated faces. As he glanced towards the Bastille, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page349"></a>[pg 349]</span> +the minister +attracted his attention to the Comtesse d'Auvergne, who had latterly +been permitted to visit her husband, and who was gazing wistfully from +one of the narrow casements. As Henry recognized her, he withdrew his +plumed cap, and bent his head with a courtesy and kindness which was +remarked and commented upon by those around him; but his most gracious +recognition was vouchsafed to the Comtesse de Moret, who was seated at a +window in the Rue St. Antoine, surrounded by a bevy of beauties, who +only served to render her own loveliness the more conspicuous.<a name="326r"></a><a href="#_326_">[326]</a></p> + +<p>Thus, amid the deafening report of the artillery and the enthusiastic +plaudits of the people, Henry and his Queen at length reached the +Louvre, and terminated their bloodless campaign.</p> + +<p>On the 30th of May the law courts, after three long and patient +sittings, declared the ex-Queen Marguerite to be the lawful heir to the +counties of Auvergne and Clermont, the barony of La Tour, and other +estates which had appertained to the late Queen Catherine de Medicis; +asserting that they had hitherto been unjustly possessed by Charles de +Valois, who had also wrongfully derived his title of Comte d'Auvergne +from one of them; and directed that the said territories should +forthwith be transferred to the ex-Queen Marguerite, to whom they +rightfully belonged. When this decision was pronounced, the Princess was +assisting at the celebration of mass in the church of St. Saviour, +whither +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page350"></a>[pg 350]</span> +M. Drieux, her chancellor, at once proceeded with the glad +tidings, which he had no sooner imparted, than, overjoyed by the +intelligence, she rose from her knees before the service was concluded, +and leaving the church, hastened to the monastery of the Cordeliers, +where she caused a "Te Deum" to be chanted in gratitude for her success.</p> + +<p>A few days subsequently, while at the Louvre, the ex-Queen, in the +presence of Marie de Medicis, made a donation of the recovered estates +to the Dauphin, on condition that they should be annexed to the Crown, +and never under any consideration, or upon any pretext, alienated. +Marguerite, however, reserved to herself the income derivable from these +possessions during her life; and she no sooner found her means adequate +to the undertaking than she commenced the enlargement of the hotel which +she had previously purchased in the Faubourg St. Germain, near the Pré +aux Clercs, and the embellishment of the spacious gardens which swept +down to the bank of the river opposite the Louvre.</p> + +<p>Here it was, under the very shadow of the palace which should have been +her home, that Marguerite held her little court; passing from her +oratory to scenes of vice and voluptuousness which, happily, are +unparalleled in these times; one day doing penance with bare feet and a +robe of serge, and the next reposing upon velvet cushions and pillowed +on down--now fasting like an anchorite, and now feasting like a +bacchante; one hour dispensing charity so lavishly as to call down the +blessings of +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page351"></a>[pg 351]</span> +hundreds on her head, and the next causing her lacqueys to +chase with ignominious words and blows from beneath her roof the honest +creditors who claimed their hard-earned gains. Extreme in everything, +she gave a tithe of all that she possessed to the monks, although she +did not shrink from confessing that her favourites cost her a still +larger annual sum; and while she encouraged and appreciated the society +of men of letters, and profited largely by their companionship, she +condescended to the most frivolous follies, and abandoned herself to the +most licentious pleasures.<a name="327r"></a><a href="#_327_">[327]</a></p> + +<p>The insipidity of Madame de Moret soon counteracted the spell of her +beauty; and although on his return from Sedan the King had appeared to +be more fascinated by her extraordinary loveliness than even at the +first period of their acquaintance, it was not long ere he listened with +a patience very unusual to him to the indignant remonstrances of the +Queen on this new infidelity, and even assured her that her reproaches +were misplaced. Marie, who perceived the prodigality with which the King +lavished upon the frail fair one the most costly gifts, and who saw her, +through the mock marriage which she had contracted, assume a place at +Court which occasionally even brought her into contact with herself, +could not so readily lay aside her suspicions; and although she had at +first rejoiced to find that the fancy of the monarch could be diverted +from Madame de Verneuil, she had never anticipated that +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page352"></a>[pg 352]</span> +the <i>liaison</i> +would have endured so long. Henry, however, profited by this mistake; +and while the Queen was still jealously watching the proceedings of +Madame de Moret, he renewed with less secrecy his commerce with the +witty and seductive Marquise, unconscious that she was at that period +encouraging the addresses of the Duc de Guise. Nor did this partial +desertion tend to wound the vanity of Madame de Moret, or to excite her +ire against her rival; for once more the Prince de Joinville, who +appeared to take a reckless pleasure in braving the anger of the +monarch, had found favour in the eyes of one of his mistresses, and was +established as the admitted lover of the facile Countess. Thus deceived +on both sides, Henry had no annoyance to apprehend from either of the +frail rivals; but such could not long remain the case with the Queen. +There were too many eyes and ears about her ever open to discover and to +retain the gossipry of the Court, and too many tongues ready to reveal +all which might at the moment appear acceptable to her wounded feelings +and insatiable desire to dwell upon the details of her unhappiness.</p> + +<p>Princes should pause before they err, for they are a world's beacon. +Every eye turns towards them for example and for support; and thus, +where the one is evil, and the other wanting, the results of the failure +may prove incalculable. The flaw in the diamond, the alloy in the gold, +the stain in the purple, the blot upon the ermine--all these are +detected upon the instant; the value of the jewel is +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page353"></a>[pg 353]</span> +decreased, the +price of the metal is deteriorated, the glory of the hue is tarnished, +the purity of the mantle is sullied; and where minor imperfections may +pass unperceived, a mighty social lens is for ever bearing upon +the great.</p> + +<p>Angered and disappointed, the Queen, who had passed a short time in +comparative tranquillity, once more found herself a prey to +mortification and neglect; and so greatly did she resent the renewed +intercourse between Henry and his favourite, that for upwards of a +fortnight not a word was exchanged between the royal pair.<a name="328r"></a><a href="#_328_">[328]</a> At +length, however, through the intervention of Sully, Sillery, and the +other ministers, a sort of hollow peace was effected, and the Court +removed to St. Germain, where the royal children constantly resided. +Here they remained until the 9th of June, on which day, notwithstanding +the unfavourable state of the weather, they set forth on their return to +the capital. Their Majesties occupied a coach, in which, together with +themselves, were the Princesse de Conti and the Dues de Vendôme and de +Montpensier;<a name="329r"></a><a href="#_329_">[329]</a> other +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page354"></a>[pg 354]</span> +carriages followed with the ladies of the +Queen's retinue; and a numerous train of nobles and attendants on +horseback preceded the bodyguard. At that period no bridge existed at +Neuilly, where the river was crossed in a ferry-boat which was waiting +to receive the royal party, who, in consequence of the heavy rain, were +driven on board; but unfortunately the beating of the water against the +side of the frail bark, occasioned by the swollen state of the stream +and the violence of the wind, so terrified the leaders of the royal +coach, that it had no sooner left the land than they swerved so +violently as to destroy the equilibrium of the boat, which instantly +capsized, when the carriage was upset into the water, and immediately +filled. The King, who was an excellent swimmer, was soon rescued by the +attendants, a score of whom threw themselves from their horses into the +river to afford assistance; but he no sooner reached the bank than he +once more swam back to the rescue of the Queen and her companions. +Marie, however, was already in safety, having been with considerable +difficulty carried to land by the Baron de la Châtaigneraie,<a name="330r"></a><a href="#_330_">[330]</a> who +was compelled to seize her by her hair, to prevent her from being +carried down by the current, and who, having placed her under the care +of her ladies, returned to the assistance of the Duc de Vendôme, whom he +also succeeded in saving. The Princesse +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page355"></a>[pg 355]</span> +de Conti and M. de Montpensier, +having been immersed on the landward side of the carriage, were rescued +with comparative ease; but the peril had nevertheless been great, and +the consternation general. Marie de Medicis, when brought on shore, was +in a state of insensibility, and it was a considerable time before she +recovered consciousness; nor had she yet opened her eyes when she +gasped out an agitated inquiry for the King.<a name="331r"></a><a href="#_331_">[331]</a> Finally, however, all +the party were enabled to take possession of one of the carriages of the +suite, and to pursue their journey; but not before the Queen had desired +that the person by whom she had been saved should be requested to attend +her; upon which M. de la Châtaigneraie presented himself, with the water +pouring from his embroidered mantle; and it was with no little surprise +and gratification that their Majesties ascertained that not only the +gallant La Châtaigneraie, but also several other members of the royal +escort, had flung themselves into the river without waiting to throw off +either their cloaks or swords.<a name="332r"></a><a href="#_332_">[332]</a> Marie made her acknowledgments to +the gallant young noble with an earnest courtesy which would in itself +have been a sufficient recompense for his exertions; but while speaking, +she also detached from her dress a magnificent diamond cluster, valued +at four thousand crowns, which she tendered to him with the intelligence +that he was +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page356"></a>[pg 356]</span> +from that moment the captain of her bodyguard, and that she +should thenceforward further his fortunes.</p> + +<p>"And now, gentlemen," said the King gaily, as the agitated and grateful +young courtier knelt to kiss the hand which was extended towards him, +"let us resume our journey. When we left St. Germain I was, as you all +know, suffering agonies from toothache, which is now cured; this bath +has been the best remedy I have ever applied; and if any of us dined too +heartily upon salt provisions, we have at least the satisfaction of +feeling that we have been enabled to drink freely since." <a name="333r"></a><a href="#_333_">[333]</a></p> + +<p>A few hours after his arrival in the capital, the King paid a visit to +the Marquise de Verneuil, to whom he related the escape of himself and +his companions;<a name="334r"></a><a href="#_334_">[334]</a> but even on so serious an occasion as this, and one +which had threatened such tragical consequences to the Queen, the +insolent favourite could not comment without indulging in the sarcastic +and bitter pleasantry which she always affected in making any allusion +to her royal mistress. After feeling or feigning great anxiety on the +subject of Henry's own escape, she said with malicious gaiety: "Had I +been there, when once I had seen you safe, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page357"></a>[pg 357]</span> +I should have exclaimed with +great composure, 'The Queen drinks.'" <a name="335r"></a><a href="#_335_">[335]</a></p> + +<p>Unfortunately the King, taken by surprise, laughed heartily at this +sally, a circumstance which was duly reported to Marie de Medicis, and +which greatly increased her irritation. This new cause of offence was so +grave that she could not forgive the levity of the King more readily +than the heartless insolence of his mistress; and she carried her +resentment to so extreme a pitch that she refused to receive him in her +apartments. Such a determination was naturally productive of serious +confusion in the palace, as it infringed upon all the accustomed +etiquette of the Court, and created great perplexity among the officers +of state; but remonstrances were vain. Marie, stung to the soul by the +insult to which she had been subjected, and which her royal consort had +not only suffered to pass unrebuked, but to which he had in some degree +contributed, would not rescind her resolution; while the King was, in +his turn, equally violent. In vain did the Duc de Villeroy, Sully, and +others of the great nobles, endeavour to mediate between them: reason +was lost in passion on both sides; and once more Henry declared his +determination to exile the Queen to one of his palaces. From this +extreme measure he +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page358"></a>[pg 358]</span> +was, however, dissuaded by his ministers; and at +length, after the estrangement between the royal couple had lasted +nearly three weeks, a partial reconciliation was effected; but Marie, +although she was induced by the representations of her advisers to +restrain her indignation, was from that hour alienated in heart from her +husband, by whom she felt that her dignity had been compromised both as +a Queen and as a wife.</p> + +<p>Profiting, however, by this partial calm, several of the nobility +proposed to add to the amusements of the Carnival, in commemoration of +the recent escape of their Majesties, a ballet in which the Queen +consented to appear; and the preparations were already far advanced when +the King solicited her permission to include Madame de Moret among the +performers, but Marie, who had previously condescended to associate +herself in a similar exhibition with the Marquise de Verneuil, had been +rendered less amenable by recent circumstances, and she peremptorily +refused to appear in such intimate association with another of her +husband's mistresses. The concession was not one upon which Henry could +insist with any propriety, a fact of which the Queen was so well aware, +that in order to terminate the affair as gracefully as possible she +declined altogether either to assist in the entertainment or even to +witness it, a decision which caused it to be abandoned altogether.<a name="336r"></a><a href="#_336_">[336]</a> +This mortification was, however, compensated to the Countess by a +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page359"></a>[pg 359]</span> +donation from the King of eighty-five thousand five hundred +francs.<a name="337r"></a><a href="#_337_">[337]</a></p> + +<p>At the commencement of July the King had accredited the Maréchal de +Bassompierre as his ambassador-extraordinary to Lorraine, to be present +at the marriage of the Duc de Bar, his brother-in-law, with the daughter +of the Duke of Mantua, the Queen's niece; and had also furnished him +with instructions to invite the Duchess of Mantua<a name="338r"></a><a href="#_338_">[338]</a> to become the +godmother of the Dauphin, and the Duc de Lorraine to act as sponsor to +the younger Princess. The marriage took place at Nancy, where M. de +Bassompierre, as the representative of his sovereign, was magnificently +and gratuitously entertained.<a name="339r"></a><a href="#_339_">[339]</a> Numerous balls were given, and a +joust concluded the festivities; which were no sooner terminated than +the courtly envoy communicated the royal invitation, which was received +"with proper respect and honour"; and he then hastened his return to +Paris in order to prepare the gorgeous dress already alluded to +elsewhere as having been defrayed by his gains at play.</p> + +<p>Towards the close of the month, the two illustrious sponsors reached +Villers-Cotterets, where they were met by the King and Queen, with the +whole Court, and thence conducted to Paris. The Duchess arrived in a +state coach of such extreme magnificence as to attract immediate notice, +but +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page360"></a>[pg 360]</span> +with so slender a retinue as to provoke the sarcasms of the +courtiers, who declared that they recognized her rank only by the +carriage in which she rode; and <i>the Mantuan suite</i> accordingly became a +favourite topic with the idle and the censorious. Great preparations +were made at Notre-Dame for the ceremony, which was to take place on the +14th of September, and meanwhile nothing was thought of save pleasure +and preparation. Bassompierre gives an amusing account of the distress +of the tailors and embroiderers of the capital, who were unable to +comply with the demands of their employers, and many of whom were +kidnapped and carried off by persons of the highest rank in order to +secure themselves against disappointment. All Paris was in turmoil; the +great were busy in devising costumes which were to transcend all that +had previously been seen at the French Court, and the operatives were +equally occupied in executing the orders which they received.</p> + +<p>In the midst of this excitement, however, the plague, which had long +existed in the capital, declared itself more fatally; several officers +of Queen Marguerite's household died under her roof, and the alarm +became so great that the King removed his Court to Fontainebleau, where +the baptismal ceremonies were performed with great magnificence on the +day previously appointed.</p> + +<p>These ceremonies were so curious and characteristic that we shall offer +no apology to our readers for giving them in detail.</p> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page361"></a>[pg 361]</span> +<p>Each of the royal children had been privately baptized a few days after +its birth, but the public christening had been hitherto deferred in +order that it might be celebrated with becoming splendour. The desire of +the King had always been that the Sovereign-Pontiff should act as +sponsor to the Dauphin, the eldest son of France being, as he declared, +the eldest son of the Church, and the successive deaths of Clement +VIII<a name="340r"></a><a href="#_340_">[340]</a> and Leo XI<a name="341r"></a><a href="#_341_">[341]</a> had accordingly delayed the celebration of the +ceremony. Paul V was, however, no sooner apprised of the wishes of the +French monarch than he despatched a brief to the Cardinal de Joyeuse for +registration in the Court of Parliament, by which that prelate was +constituted Papal Legate and representative, and instructed in all +things to support the holiness and dignity of the Apostolical See.</p> + +<p>The turret-court at Fontainebleau was selected as the most appropriate +spot for the construction of the temporary chapel, the great hall of the +palace being totally inadequate to contain the thousands who had +collected from every part of the country to witness the ceremony.</p> + +<p>This immense area was completely enclosed by the costly gold-woven +tapestry of which the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page362"></a>[pg 362]</span> +manufacture had been, as we have stated, +introduced and encouraged by the King, and had in its centre a square +space, thirty feet in extent, surrounded by barriers, and similarly hung +and carpeted with tapestry. In the front of this enclosure stood an +altar magnificently ornamented with the symbols of the Order of the Holy +Ghost, and a table gorgeously draped, both being surmounted by canopies. +Behind the table stood a platform raised three steps from the floor, and +in the midst of this was placed a column covered with cloth of silver, +upon which rested the font, protected by a superb christening-cloth and +a lofty canopy. On each side of the altar a gallery had been erected +which was filled with musicians, and beneath that upon the right hand +was a tapestried bench for the archbishops, bishops, and members of the +Council, while immediately in front of the shrine were placed the seats +of the Cardinal de Gondy, who was to perform the baptismal ceremonies, +and the almoners and chaplains of his suite. The whole of the court was +lined by the Swiss Guards, each holding a lighted torch, whose rays were +reflected by the myriad jewels that adorned the persons of the courtly +spectators. All the Princes of the Blood and great nobles wore their +mantles clasped and embroidered with precious stones, their plumed caps +looped with diamonds, and their sword-hilts encrusted with gems. That of +the Duc d'Epernon was estimated at more than thirty thousand crowns, and +several others were of almost equal value. The attire of the Princesses +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page363"></a>[pg 363]</span> +and ladies of the Court was, however, still more splendid, many of them +standing with difficulty under the weight of the closely-jewelled +brocade of which their dresses were composed, and wearing upon their +heads masses of brilliants which might have ransomed a province. The +Queen, whose dowry, as we have elsewhere shown, in a great measure +consisted of costly ornaments, appeared on this occasion with a +magnificence almost fabulous, her robe of cloth of gold and velvet being +studded with no less than thirty-two thousand pearls and three +thousand diamonds.</p> + +<p>While their Majesties and their illustrious guests took possession of +their respective seats, the prescribed ceremonial of preparation was in +progress with the royal children, who had all been placed in state beds +covered with ermined draperies under canopies of crimson velvet. Madame +Elisabeth, the elder Princess, being surrounded by the ladies who were +privileged to assist at her levée, the outer coverlet of her bed was +withdrawn by the Comtesse de Sault and the Comtesse de Guissen; she was +then lifted from it by Madame de Lavardin, undressed by Madame de +Randan, and robed in her state costume by the Marquise de Montlor.</p> + +<p>Madame Christine, the younger Princess, was meanwhile uncovered by the +Duchesse de Guise and Mademoiselle de Mayenne, lifted in the arms of +Mademoiselle de Vendôme, undressed by the Duchesse de Rohan, and robed +by the Duchesse de Sully.</p> + +<p>The Dauphin underwent the same ceremonies, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page364"></a>[pg 364]</span> +but he was attended only by +Princesses of the Blood. It was the Princesses de Conti and de Soissons +who drew off the ermined quilt, the Princesse de Condé and the Duchesse +de Montpensier by whom he was undressed, and Mademoiselle de Bourbon who +adjusted his state robes.</p> + +<p>When all the royal children were attired, the procession was formed. The +Swiss Guards moved first, each carrying a lighted torch, and on arriving +within the court they defiled, and, as before mentioned, lined the +walls; the hundred gentlemen on duty in the palace followed, and these +were succeeded by the ordinary members of the household and the +gentlemen of the bedchamber all carrying tapers of white wax. After them +came the drums, fifes, hautboys, and trumpets, together with nine +heralds, behind whom walked the Grand Provost of the palace, the Knights +of the Holy Ghost, and finally, the Children of France with their +respective retinues. The first group consisted of the train of the +younger Princess, in which the Baron de la Châtre<a name="342r"></a><a href="#_342_">[342]</a> bore the vase, M. +de Montigny<a name="343r"></a><a href="#_343_">[343]</a> the basin, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page365"></a>[pg 365]</span> +the Comte de la Rochepot the cushion, M. de +Chemerault the taper, M. de Liancourt<a name="344r"></a><a href="#_344_">[344]</a> the christening-cap, and the +Maréchal de Fervaques<a name="345r"></a><a href="#_345_">[345]</a> the salt-cellar. The Marquis de +Bois-Dauphin<a name="346r"></a><a href="#_346_">[346]</a> carried the infant in his arms, and Madame de +Chemerault bore her train. She was followed by a suite of twelve nobles, +each bearing a flambeau in his hand; and after these came the Duc de +Lorraine as godfather, with Don Juan de Medicis, son of the Grand Duke +Ferdinand of Tuscany, as proxy for the Grand Duchess of Florence, the +other sponsor, the ladies who had assisted at the Princess's levée +closing the train.</p> + +<p>This party had no sooner taken possession of the place assigned to them +than the second group began to enter the enclosure. First came the +Maréchal de +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page366"></a>[pg 366]</span> +Lavardin<a name="347r"></a><a href="#_347_">[347]</a> with the ewer, then the Duc de Sully with the +cushion, next the Duc de Montbazon<a name="348r"></a><a href="#_348_">[348]</a> with the taper, then the Duc +d'Epernon with the christening-cap, and finally, the Duc d'Aiguillon +with the salt-cellar. The Prince de Joinville carried the Princess, +whose ermine train was borne by Mademoiselle de Rohan. There was no +godfather, and the Duchesse d'Angoulême<a name="349r"></a><a href="#_349_">[349]</a> walked alone as the proxy +of the Archduchess Elisabeth of Flanders, immediately behind <i>Madame</i>, +followed by Mademoiselle de Montmorency as her train-bearer, and the +ladies who had assisted at the levée.</p> + +<p>Finally appeared the third and last division of +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page367"></a>[pg 367]</span> +the procession, headed +by the Prince de Vaudemont,<a name="350r"></a><a href="#_350_">[350]</a> carrying the taper; and then followed +in succession the Chevalier de Vendôme with the christening-cap, the Duc +de Vendôme with the salt-cellar, the Duc de Montpensier with the ewer, +the Comte de Soissons with the basin, and the Prince de Conti with the +cushion; the Sieur Gilles de Souvry carried the Dauphin, whose right +hand was held by the Prince de Conti, while the train of his velvet +mantle, edged with ermine, was borne by the Duc de Guise, behind whom +followed twenty great nobles holding lighted flambeaux. These were +succeeded by the Cardinal-Legate de Joyeuse, who represented Paul V as +sponsor, and the Duchess of Mantua, the godmother, the Princesses of the +Blood who had assisted at the levée closing the procession.</p> + +<p>The Dauphin having been placed upon the table, the Cardinal approached +him and demanded: "Sir, what do you ask?"</p> + +<p>"The sacramental ceremonies of baptism," replied the little Prince, +according to the instructions which he had received from the Almoner +of Boulogne.</p> + +<p>"Have you already been baptized?" again inquired the prelate.</p> + +<p>"Yes, thank God," said the Dauphin firmly. To +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page368"></a>[pg 368]</span> +all the other +interrogations of the Cardinal he simply answered, "<i>Ab renuncio</i>"</p> + +<p>After the unction, when questioned on his belief according to the +ordinary form, the little Prince responded audibly, "<i>Credo</i>"; and +finally, he recited without error or hesitation the Lord's Prayer, the +Hail Mary, and the Creed.</p> + +<p>The Princesses were then successively placed upon the table, when the +elder was named Elisabeth, after her illustrious godmother the +Archduchess of Flanders, and the younger Christine.</p> + +<p>The baptismal ceremonies were followed by a grand banquet served upon +four different tables. The attendants at that of the King were the +Princes de Condé, de Conti, and de Montpensier; while the Queen was +waited on by the Dues de Vendôme, de Guise, and de Vaudemont; the Legate +by the Comte de Candale and the Marquis de Rosny;<a name="351r"></a><a href="#_351_">[351]</a> and the Duchess +of Mantua by the Baron de Bassompierre and the Comte de Sault.</p> + +<p>On the following day the morning was occupied by the courtiers in +tilting at the ring, the prizes being distributed by the Queen and the +Duchess of Mantua; and at dusk the whole of the royal party proceeded to +the wide plain which lies to the east of Fontainebleau, in the centre of +which the Duc de Sully had caused a castellated building to be erected, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page369"></a>[pg 369]</span> +which was filled with rockets and other artificial fireworks, and which +was besieged, stormed, and taken by an army of satyrs and savages. This +spectacle greatly delighted the Court, while not the least interesting +feature of the exhibition was presented by the immense concourse of +people (estimated at upwards of twelve thousand) who had collected to +witness the magnificent pyrotechnic display, and who rent the air with +their acclamations of loyalty.<a name="352r"></a><a href="#_352_">[352]</a></p> + +<p>All further rejoicings were, however, rendered unseasonable by the rapid +increase of the plague, which having declared itself with great +virulence at Fontainebleau, induced the hasty departure of the Court; +and the illustrious guests having taken leave of the King and Queen +laden with rich presents, their Majesties, with a limited retinue, +repaired for a time to Montargis.</p> + +<p>These baptismal festivities had not, meanwhile, been without alloy to +the dissipated monarch. Despite the fascination of the wily Marquise, +and the charms of the Comtesse de Moret, Henry was by no means +insensible to the attractions of the many beautiful women who followed +in the suite of the Queen at the august ceremony just described; and, +among others, he especially honoured with his notice the Duchesses de +Montpensier<a name="353r"></a><a href="#_353_">[353]</a> and de Nevers.</p> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page370"></a>[pg 370]</span> +<p>In neither case, however, was he destined to be successful, both these +ladies possessing too much self-respect to accord any attention to his +illicit gallantries; and this failure, especially with the latter, of +whom he had become seriously enamoured, only tended to re-engage him +with Madame de Verneuil. Throughout all the period occupied by the +christening festivities, Madame de Nevers<a name="354r"></a><a href="#_354_">[354]</a> had been the object of +his special pursuit; but so carefully did she avoid all occasions of +private conversation, that the King, unaccustomed to so decided a +resistance, became irritated to a degree which induced her to escape +from the Court as soon as the found it practicable; and accordingly, on +the very day after the festivities, she left Fontainebleau without any +previous intimation of such a design, resisting all the efforts made by +the sovereign to detain her. Nor did she yield to his subsequent +endeavours for her recall, but on the appointment of her husband during +the following year to the embassy at Rome, she accompanied him thither; +and several months elapsed ere she reappeared in France, where her duty +having compelled her to pay her respects to the Queen on her return, +Henry was so little master of himself as to display his +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page371"></a>[pg 371]</span> +mortification +by inquiring who she was, and on her name being announced, to exclaim +loud enough for her to hear his reply: "Ha! Madame la Duchesse de +Nevers! She is terribly altered."</p> + +<p>The shaft fell harmless. The lady evinced the most perfect composure +under the royal criticism, and having fulfilled her duties as a subject +towards her sovereigns, she once more withdrew from the Court, and +terminated her life as she had commenced it, without scandal or +reproach.<a name="355r"></a><a href="#_355_">[355]</a></p> + +<p>FOOTNOTES:</p> + +<p><a name="_312_"></a><a href="#312r">[312]</a> Mamanga was the name given in playfulness by the Dauphin to Madame +de Montglat.</p> + +<p><a name="_313_"></a><a href="#313r">[313]</a> Madame de Drou was the governess of the infant Princess.</p> + +<p><a name="_314_"></a><a href="#314r">[314]</a> Mademoiselle de Piolant, femme-de-chambre to the royal children.</p> + +<p><a name="_315_"></a><a href="#315r">[315]</a> Sully, <i>Mém</i>. vol. vi. pp. 151-161.</p> + +<p><a name="_316_"></a><a href="#316r">[316]</a> Bassompierre, <i>Mém</i>. p. 45.</p> + +<p><a name="_317_"></a><a href="#317r">[317]</a> Madame Christine de France, who subsequently became Duchess of +Savoy.</p> + +<p><a name="_318_"></a><a href="#318r">[318]</a> L'Etoile, vol. iii. p. 36;</p> + +<p><a name="_319_"></a><a href="#319r">[319]</a> <i>Mémoires</i>, p. 46.</p> + +<p><a name="_320_"></a><a href="#320r">[320]</a> Charles Emmanuel de Lorraine, Comte de Sommerive, second son of +the Duc de Mayenne, who restored the city of Laon to the King in 1594, +and died at Naples in 1609.</p> + +<p><a name="_321_"></a><a href="#321r">[321]</a> Charles de Gonzaga de Clèves, Duc de Nevers, was the son of Louis +de Gonzaga, Prince of Mantua, Duc de Nevers, and Governor of Champagne +(who died in 1601, and to whose title he succeeded), and of Henriette de +Clèves, Duchesse de Nevers et de Réthel.</p> + +<p><a name="_322_"></a><a href="#322r">[322]</a> <i>Mercure Français</i>, 1606, pp. 100, 101.</p> + +<p><a name="_323_"></a><a href="#323r">[323]</a> Richelieu, <i>La Mère et le Fils</i>, vol. i. p. 14.</p> + +<p><a name="_324_"></a><a href="#324r">[324]</a> <i>Mercure Français</i>, 1606, p. 102.</p> + +<p><a name="_325_"></a><a href="#325r">[325]</a> <i>Mercure Français,</i> 1606, p. 106.</p> + +<p><a name="_326_"></a><a href="#326r">[326]</a> L'Etoile, vol. iii. p. 358.</p> + +<p><a name="_327_"></a><a href="#327r">[327]</a> Mézeray, vol. x. p. 282.</p> + +<p><a name="_328_"></a><a href="#328r">[328]</a> Dreux du Radier, vol. vi. pp. 102, 103.</p> + +<p><a name="_329_"></a><a href="#329r">[329]</a> Henri de Bourbon, Duc de Montpensier, Governor of Normandy, peer +of France, Prince of La Roche-sur-Yon, Dauphin d'Auvergne, etc., was +born in Touraine in 1573. During the lifetime of his father he bore the +title of Prince de Dombes. The King confided to him the command of the +army which he despatched to Brittany against the Duc de Mercoeur. He +subsequently became Governor of Normandy, and reduced that revolted +province, which still held out for the League, to obedience. He was +present at the memorable siege of Amiens in 1597, where he led the +vanguard of the army, and accompanied Henry on his expedition against +Savoy and Brescia. He was a knight of all the King's Orders, and +presided at the assembly of the nobles of Rouen. He died in Paris, of +lingering consumption, in 1608.</p> + +<p><a name="_330_"></a><a href="#330r">[330]</a> The Baron de la Châtaigneraie was an officer of the Queen's guard.</p> + +<p><a name="_331_"></a><a href="#331r">[331]</a> Richelieu, <i>La Mère et le Fils</i> vol. i. p. 18. <i>Mercure Français</i> +1606, p. 107. L'Etoile, vol. iii. p. 370 <i>note</i>.</p> + +<p><a name="_332_"></a><a href="#332r">[332]</a> <i>Mercure Français</i>, 1606, p. 107.</p> + +<p><a name="_333_"></a><a href="#333r">[333]</a> L'Etoile, vol. iii. p. 370.</p> + +<p><a name="_334_"></a><a href="#334r">[334]</a> It had frequently been foretold to the King that he would die in a +carriage, and the prophecy had made so great an impression upon his +mind, that he always endeavoured to conceal it under a show of gaiety, +particularly when any accident occurred by which it appeared likely to +be verified. In the year 1597, while he was travelling near Mouy, in +Picardy, the coach in which he rode was tumbled down a precipice; while +the danger incurred at Neuilly was scarcely less great; and the +prediction was fatally accomplished in 1610.--<i>Lettres de Nicolas +Pasquier</i>, book i. letter i.</p> + +<p><a name="_335_"></a><a href="#335r">[335]</a> In order to render this impertinence intelligible, it is necessary +to explain that anciently, when the sovereigns of France were about to +swallow their first draught at table, the cup-bearer announced in a loud +voice, "The King drinks"; upon which a flourish of trumpets, at a given +signal, announced the important fact to those who were not present.</p> + +<p><a name="_336_"></a><a href="#336r">[336]</a> Saint-Edmé, vol. ii. pp. 237, 238.</p> + +<p><a name="_337_"></a><a href="#337r">[337]</a> Sully, <i>Mém</i>. vol. vi. p. 233.</p> + +<p><a name="_338_"></a><a href="#338r">[338]</a> Eleonora de Medicis, wife of Vincent I, Duke of Mantua, and sister +to the French Queen.</p> + +<p><a name="_339_"></a><a href="#339r">[339]</a> Bassompierre, <i>Mém</i>. p. 50.</p> + +<p><a name="_340_"></a><a href="#340r">[340]</a> Ippolito Aldobrandini, subsequently Pope Clement VIII, was born at +Fano. He was created a cardinal in 1585, and in 1592 succeeded Innocent +IX. He reconciled Henri IV to the Church of Rome, attached the duchy of +Ferrara to the Holy See, organized the famous congregations <i>de +auxiliis</i> on grace and free-will, and contributed to the Peace of +Vervins. He died in 1605.</p> + +<p><a name="_341_"></a><a href="#341r">[341]</a> Alessandro de Medicis, who succeeded Clement VIII in 1605, and +died the same year.</p> + +<p><a name="_342_"></a><a href="#342r">[342]</a> Claude de la Châtre, Marshal of France, was the son of Claude de +la Châtre, Baron de Nancy, Besigny, and Baune de la Maisonfort. He was +created Knight of St. Michael and of the Holy Ghost by Henri III in +1588, and was Governor of Berry and Orleans. He distinguished himself in +several engagements; and his own valour, combined with the protection of +the Connétable de Montmorency, of whom he had been a page in his youth, +rapidly acquired for him both fortune and renown. After the death of +Henri III, M. de la Châtre embraced the cause of the League, when the +Duc de Mayenne, at the solicitation of M. de Guise, created him Marshal +of France, in which character he assisted at what were called by the +Leaguers the States of Paris.</p> + +<p><a name="_343_"></a><a href="#343r">[343]</a> François de la Grange, Seigneur de Montigny and de Sery, was a +member of the Court of Henri III, and was one of his <i>mignons</i>. He was, +under that monarch, successively gentleman of the bedchamber, captain of +the palace-guard, head-steward of the household, and Governor of Berry, +Blois, etc. He acquired great distinction by his bravery at the battle +of Coutras, and at the sieges of Aubigny, Rouen, and Fontaine-Française, +and was admitted a knight of the King's Orders the same year (1595). +Finally, in 1616, he was created Marshal of France.</p> + +<p><a name="_344_"></a><a href="#344r">[344]</a> Nicolas du Plessis, Comte de Liancourt, Comte de Beaumont, first +equerry to the King, and Governor of Paris. He married Antoinette de +Pons, Marquise de Guercheville, the widow of Henri de Silly, Comte de la +Rocheguyon, a lady of extraordinary beauty who had been reared in the +Court of Henri III.</p> + +<p><a name="_345_"></a><a href="#345r">[345]</a> Guillaume de Hautemer, Comte de Grancy, Seigneur de Fervaques, +knight of the King's Orders, and Marshal of France.</p> + +<p><a name="_346_"></a><a href="#346r">[346]</a> Urbain de Laval, Marquis de Bois-Dauphin, Comte de Bresteau, +Seigneur de Persigny, etc., was the son of Réné de Laval, second of the +name, Seigneur de Bois-Dauphin, and of Jeanne de Lénoncourt-Monteuil, +his second wife. He was taken prisoner at the battle of Ivry, and was +created Marshal of France by the Duc de Mayenne. Henri IV confirmed him +in this dignity, and restored to him his estates of Sably and +Château-Gontier.</p> + +<p><a name="_347_"></a><a href="#347r">[347]</a> Jean de Beaumanoir, Marquis de Lavardin, was the son of Charles de +Beaumanoir, who was killed at the massacre of St. Bartholomew. He had +been brought up a Protestant at the Court of Henri IV, when that monarch +was King of Navarre; but after the death of his father he embraced the +Catholic religion, and at the age of eighteen commenced the career of +arms, in which profession he acquired so much celebrity that he +commanded the armies of the King during the absence of the Duc de +Joyeuse. In 1595 he was honoured with the cordon of St. Michael, was +created a Marshal of France, and his estate of Lavardin was erected into +a marquisate. At the coronation of Louis XIII he officiated as Grand +Master, was subsequently ambassador-extraordinary in England, and died +at Paris in 1614.</p> + +<p><a name="_348_"></a><a href="#348r">[348]</a> Hercule de Rohan, Duc de Montbazon, and Prince de Guémenée, was +born in 1568, and was the father, by his first marriage, of Marie de +Rohan, who married Louis Charles d'Albert, Duc de Luynes, from whom she +was divorced in 1621, and who subsequently became the wife of Claude de +Lorraine, Duc de Chevreuse. The Duc de Montbazon had issue by his second +marriage with Marie d'Avaugour of Brittany in 1628, François, a branch +of the house of Soubise, which became extinct in 1787; Marie Eléonore, +abbess of the convent of the Trinity at Caen; and Anne, who became the +second wife of Louis Charles d'Albert, Duc de Luynes. M. de Montbazon +died in 1654.</p> + +<p><a name="_349_"></a><a href="#349r">[349]</a> Diane de France, Duchesse d'Angoulême, born in 1538, was the +legitimated daughter of Henri II and Philippa Duco, a Piedmontese lady. +She was first married (in 1553)to Horatio Farnese, Duc de Castro, who +only survived their union six months; and subsequently to the Maréchal +de Montmorency, the son of the Connétable, in 1557, of whom she became +the widow in 1579. Her firmness and prudence were conspicuous during the +civil wars, and it was through her exertions that the reconciliation was +effected between Henri III and Henri IV, when the latter was King of +Navarre. She died in 1619.</p> + +<p><a name="_350_"></a><a href="#350r">[350]</a> The Prince de Vaudemont was the brother of the Duc de Lorraine.</p> + +<p><a name="_351_"></a><a href="#351r">[351]</a> Maximilien de Béthune, Marquis de Rosny, was the elder son of the +Duc de Sully and of Anne de Courtenay, his first wife. He was +Superintendent of Fortifications, Governor of Mantes and Gergeau, and +was destined to succeed his father as Grand Master had he survived him. +He died in 1634.</p> + +<p><a name="_352_"></a><a href="#352r">[352]</a> <i>Mercure Français</i>, 1606, pp. 110-113.</p> + +<p><a name="_353_"></a><a href="#353r">[353]</a> Henriette Catherine, Duchesse de Joyeuse, daughter and heiress of +Henri de Joyeuse, Comte de Bouchage, Marshal of France, who died a +Capuchin under the name of Père Ange, and of Catherine de la Valette. +She had, in 1597, become the wife of Henri de Bourbon, Duc de +Montpensier, etc., the last Prince of his line, who dying in 1608 left +her a widow. After the death of Henri IV (1611), she re-married with +Charles de Lorraine, Duc de Guise, and died in 1656, at the age of +seventy-one years.</p> + +<p><a name="_354_"></a><a href="#354r">[354]</a> Catherine de Lorraine, daughter of Charles, Duc de Mayenne, and +niece of Guise <i>le Balafré</i>. She married (in 1599) Charles de Gonzaga, +Duc de Nevers, who subsequently became, by the death of Vincent I, Duke +of Mantua. She died on the 8th of March 1618, at the early age of +thirty-three years.</p> + +<p><a name="_355_"></a><a href="#355r">[355]</a> <i>Amours du Grand Alcandre</i>, p. 48. Dreux du Radier, vol. vi. pp. +88-90.</p> + + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page372"></a>[pg 372]</span> +<br><br><hr style="width: 35%;"><br><br> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII</h2> + +<h3>1607</h3> + +<p>Profuse expenditure of the French nobles--Prevalence of duelling under +Henri IV--Meeting of the Prince de Condé and the Duc de Nevers--They are +arrested by the King's guard--Reconciliation of the two nobles--The Duc +de Soubise is wounded in a duel--Profligacy of Madame de Moret--The King +insists upon her marriage with the Prince de Joinville--Indignation of +the Duchesse de Guise--A dialogue with Majesty--The Prince de Joinville +is exiled--Madame de Moret intrigues with the Comte de Sommerive--He +promises her marriage--He attempts to assassinate M. de Balagny--He is +exiled to Lorraine--Mademoiselle des Essarts--Birth of the Duc +d'Orléans--Peace between the Pope and the Venetians--The Queen and her +confidants--Death of the Chancellor of France--Death of the Cardinal de +Lorraine--Royal rejoicings--The last ballet of a dying Prince--Betrothal +of Mademoiselle de Montpensier to the infant Duc d'Orléans--Sully as a +theatrical manager--The Court gamester--Death of the Duc de +Montpensier--The ex-Queen Marguerite founds a monastery--Influence of +Concini and Leonora over the Queen--Arrogance of Concini--Indignation of +the King--A royal rupture--The King leaves Paris for Chantilly--Sully +and the Queen--The letter--Anger of the King--Sully reconciles the King +and Queen--Madame de Verneuil and the Duc de Guise---Court +gambling--Birth of the Duc d'Anjou--Betrothal of the Duc de Vendôme and +Mademoiselle de Mercoeur--Reluctance of the lady's family--Celebration +of the marriage--Munificence of Henry--Arrival of Don Pedro de +Toledo--His arrogance--Admirable rejoinder of the King--Object of the +embassy--Passion of Henry for hunting--Embellishment of Paris--Eduardo +Fernandez--The King's debts of honour--Despair of Madame de +Verneuil--Defective policy--A bold stroke for a coronet--The fallen +favourite.</p><br> + +<p>Despite the presence of the pestilence the gaieties of the past winter +had surpassed, alike in the Court and in the capital, all that had +hitherto been witnessed in France. The profusion of the nobles, whom no +foreign war compelled to disburse their revenues in arming their +retainers, and in preparing +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page373"></a>[pg 373]</span> +themselves to maintain their dignity and +rank in the eyes of a hostile nation, was unchecked and excessive; +while, as we have already shown, the monarch felt no inclination to +control an outlay by which they thus voluntarily crippled their +resources.</p> + +<p>The year 1607 commenced, with the exception of the fatal scourge which +still existed in and about Paris, in the greatest abundance, and the +most perfect peace. The Court celebrated the New Year at St. +Germain-en-Laye, and on the following day proceeded to Fontainebleau, +where during the <i>carême-prenant</i><p><a name="356r"></a><a href="#_356_">[356]</a> a ballet was danced, and several +magnificent entertainments were given to their Majesties by the great +nobles of the household. These festivities were, however, unfortunately +interrupted by an event which created universal consternation and +anxiety. The most glaring evil of the reign of Henri IV had long been +the prevalence of duelling, which he had in the first instance neglected +to discountenance; and which had, in consequence, reached an extreme +that threatened the most serious results, not only to the principal +personages of the kingdom, but even to those whose comparative +insignificance in society should have shielded them from all +participation in so iniquitous and senseless a practice. L'Etoile +computes the number of individuals who lost their lives in these illicit +encounters at several thousands; nor did the tardy +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page374"></a>[pg 374]</span> +edicts issued by the +King produce a cessation of the custom. On the 4th of February, the +Prince de Condé, conceiving himself aggrieved by some expression used by +the Duc de Nevers, sent him a challenge, to which the Duke instantly +responded; and he was already on the ground watching the approach of his +antagonist, when a company of the King's bodyguard arrived, who, in the +name of his Majesty, forbade the conflict, and escorted the two +quasi-combatants to the royal presence, where, "more in sorrow than in +anger," Henry reprimanded both Princes; reminding them of their +disobedience to his expressed commands, of the fatal example which their +want of self-government would afford to their inferiors, and of the loss +which the death of either party would have inflicted upon himself. He +then more particularly addressed M. de Nevers, and reproached him +severely for having evinced so little respect for the Blood Royal of +France as to accept, under any circumstances, a challenge from a +relative of his sovereign, who should have been sacred in his eyes.<p><a name="357r"></a><a href="#_357_">[357]</a></p> + +<p>Whether the arguments of the King convinced the two nobles, or their +loyalty sufficed to render them conscious of their error, is +unimportant. Henry had the satisfaction of removing the misunderstanding +between them, and from the royal closet they proceeded to the apartments +of the Queen, in order to allay an anxiety which, from her friendship +and affection for Madame de Nevers who +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page375"></a>[pg 375]</span> +was then absent on one of her +estates, had been painfully great.</p> + +<p>The expressed displeasure of the King at these encounters did not, +however, as we have already stated, suffice to prevent their frequent +occurrence; and on the 22d of the same month another hostile meeting +took place between the Duc de Soubise<p><a name="358r"></a><a href="#_358_">[358]</a> and M. de Boccal, which had +nearly proved fatal to the former; but it having been explained to the +monarch that the antagonist of M. de Soubise had long withstood the +provocation of the Duke, declaring that he dare not raise his hand +against one so nearly connected with the throne, and that he had not +yielded until the impetuous and intemperate violence of his antagonist +had left him no other resource, Henry, with his usual clemency, forgave +the crime.<p><a name="359r"></a><a href="#_359_">[359]</a></p> + +<p>In addition to these occurrences, which were moreover succeeded by +others of the same description during the month, the anger of the King +was excited by a discovery which he made of the infidelity of Madame de +Moret. Indulgent to his own profligacy to a degree which rendered him +insensible to his self-abasement, Henry was peculiarly +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page376"></a>[pg 376]</span> +alive to the +degradation of sharing with a rival the affections, or perhaps it were +more fitting to say the favours, of his mistresses. He readily forgot +the fact that he had himself been the first to initiate them into the +rudiments of vice--to induce them to abnegate their self-respect, and to +brave the opinion of the world and their own reproaches--while he could +not brook that they should reduce him to a level with one of his own +subjects, and that they should so far emancipate themselves as to feel a +preference for younger and more attractive men when they had been +honoured by his notice. The dissolute monarch did not pause to reflect +that with women the national proverb, <i>il n'y a que le premier pas qui +coûte</i>, is but too often realized, and that he was, in fact, the +architect of his own mortification.</p> + +<p>Madame de Moret had long been attached to the Prince de Joinville; who, +young, reckless, and impetuous, returned her passion, and scarcely made +any effort to conceal his rivalry with the monarch. Courtiers have, +moreover, sharp eyes, and it was not long ere the King was apprised of +the intrigue. Bassompierre relates that he hastened to warn the +imprudent lovers of their danger, but that believing him to have some +personal motive for his interference, they disregarded the caution;<p><a name="360r"></a><a href="#_360_">[360]</a> +and the fact of their mutual passion at length became so well +authenticated, that Henry, whose pride rather than his heart was wounded +by the levity of the Countess, reproached her in the most insulting +terms with her +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page377"></a>[pg 377]</span> +misconduct.<a name="361r"></a><a href="#_361_">[361]</a> Madame de Moret did not attempt to deny +her attachment to the Prince, but excused herself by reminding the +monarch that, honoured as she was by his preference, she could not +forget that she was merely his mistress, and could anticipate no higher +destiny, while M. de Joinville was prepared to make her his wife.</p> + +<p>"In that case, Madame," said the King, "you are forgiven. I can permit +my subjects to espouse my mistresses, but I cannot allow them to play +the gallants to those ladies whom I have distinguished by my own favour. +You shall not be disappointed in your expectations, and this marriage +shall have my sanction without delay."</p> + +<p>It can scarcely be doubted that this ready assent must have been no +slight mortification to the vanity of Madame de Moret, while it is +equally certain that it was perfectly sincere on the part of the King, +although from a cause altogether independent of the Countess herself. In +fact, the Prince de Joinville having previously rendered himself +obnoxious to the monarch by his marked attentions to the Marquise de +Verneuil, the latter was anxious to see him married, and thus to rid +himself of a dangerous rival. Such an alliance must, moreover, as he at +once felt, deeply wound the pride of the Guises, whom it was his +interest to humble by every means in his power; and accordingly he +hastened upon leaving Madame de Moret to summon the young Prince to his +presence, and to insist upon the fulfilment of his promise.</p> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page378"></a>[pg 378]</span> +<p>Startled by so unexpected an order, M. de Joinville feigned a ready +compliance, but on his dismissal from the royal closet he expressed his +indignation in no measured terms, declaring that had any other than the +sovereign proposed to him so disgraceful an alliance, whatever might +have been his rank, he would have resented the insult upon the instant; +while no sooner did the Duchess his mother become apprised of the +circumstance, than she hastened to throw herself at the feet of the +King, beseeching him rather to take her life than to subject her son to +such dishonour.</p> + +<p>"Rise, Madame," said Henry gravely; "yours is a petition which I cannot +grant, as I never yet took the life of any woman, and have still to +learn the possibility of doing so."</p> + +<p>"A Guise, Sire," pursued the haughty Duchess, as she once more stood +erect before him, "cannot marry the mistress of any man, even although +that man should chance to be his monarch."</p> + +<p>"Every man, Madame," retorted the King, "must pay the penalty of seeking +to humiliate his sovereign, even although that man be a Guise."</p> + +<p>"M. de Joinville, Sire, shall never become the husband of Jacqueline de +Bueil."</p> + +<p>"Neither, Madame," said the King angrily, "shall he ever become her +gallant. This is not the first occasion upon which he has had the +insolence to interpose between me and my favourites. I have not yet +forgotten his intrigue with Madame de Verneuil; and if I pardoned him +upon that occasion, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page379"></a>[pg 379]</span> +it was not on his own account, but from respect for +the relationship which exists between us. Neither, Madame, has it +escaped my memory that the House of Guise endeavoured to wrest from me +the crown of France; and, in short, finding myself so ill-requited for +my indulgence, I am weary of exercising a lenity which has degenerated +into weakness. Your son is at perfect liberty to marry my mistress, +since he has seen fit to desire it, and he shall do so, or repent his +obduracy in the Bastille, where he will have time and leisure to learn +the respect which he owes to his sovereign."</p> + +<p>"It is your Majesty who is wanting in respect to yourself," said the +Duchess haughtily.</p> + +<p>"Madame!" exclaimed the King; "do not give me cause to forget that you +are my aunt. I can hear no more until you assume a tone better suited to +our relative positions. You have heard my resolve, and may retire."</p> + +<p>Thus abruptly dismissed, Madame de Guise withdrew, and hastened to +apprise her son of the impending peril, upon which he escaped from the +capital before the order issued for his arrest could be put into +execution; while his relatives endeavoured by humility and submission to +obtain his forgiveness. Henry, however, had been too deeply wounded, +alike by the levity of the son and the overbearing haughtiness of the +mother, to yield to their entreaties, and the only concession which he +could be induced to make was a conditional +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page380"></a>[pg 380]</span> +pardon involving the +perpetual exile of the culprit.<a name="362r"></a><a href="#_362_">[362]</a></p> + +<p>Nor was the King, who at once discovered that he had been duped, less +inclined to visit upon Madame de Moret the consequences of her +falsehood, and he openly declared that she should also have been +compelled to quit the country had she not been on the eve of becoming a +mother.<a name="363r"></a><a href="#_363_">[363]</a></p> + +<p>This event shortly afterwards took place, but, although during the +following year Henry legitimated her son,<a name="364r"></a><a href="#_364_">[364]</a> he ever afterwards +treated her with the greatest coldness; nor did the birth of the child +in any way affect her position, as had been the case with the Duchesse +de Beaufort and the Marquise de Verneuil, the King contenting himself by +sending to her a present of money and jewels, but evincing no +disposition to raise her rank.</p> + +<p>It would appear, moreover, that the indifference was mutual, as only a +short time subsequently she encouraged the assiduities of the Comte de +Sommerive, from whom, according to Sully, there could be no doubt that +she did actually obtain a written promise of marriage; and the King was +no sooner apprised of the circumstance than he expressed, as he had +previously done in the case of the Prince de Joinville, his perfect +willingness to consent to the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page381"></a>[pg 381]</span> +alliance, merely desiring M. de +Balagny,<a name="365r"></a><a href="#_365_">[365]</a> a gentleman of his household upon whom he could rely, to +watch the proceedings of the lovers, and to acquaint him with every +particular, should he have cause to suspect that the intentions of the +Count were equivocal. M. de Sommerive, however, who soon discovered that +he was an object of <i>espionnage</i>, became so much exasperated that, +having on one occasion encountered the royal confidant at a convenient +moment for the purpose, he drew his sword and attacked him so vigorously +that his intended victim was compelled to save himself by flight.</p> + +<p>In this instance Henry, who had ceased to feel any interest in Madame de +Moret, contented himself by reprimanding the culprit, branding him with +the name of assassin, and finally exiling him to Lorraine, with strict +orders not to leave that province without his express permission.</p> + +<p>We will here terminate the history of the ex-favourite, who has already +occupied only too much space. After this last adventure she ceased to +make any figure at Court, her influence over the monarch having entirely +ceased; and seven years subsequent to his death she became the wife of +Réné du Bec, Marquis de Vardes, and the mother of two sons, the elder of +whom, François Réné, Comte de Moret, was afterwards famous during the +reign of Louis XIV under the title of Marquis de Vardes.<a name="366r"></a><a href="#_366_">[366]</a></p> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page382"></a>[pg 382]</span> +<p>The estrangement of the monarch from Madame de Moret, coupled with his +increasing coldness towards the Marquise de Verneuil, once more at this +period restored the unhappy Queen to a comparative peace of mind, which +she was not, however, long fated to enjoy; as at the close of the year a +new candidate for the royal favour presented herself in the person of +Mademoiselle des Essarts.<a name="367r"></a><a href="#_367_">[367]</a> This lady, who was a member of the +household of the Comtesse de Beaumont-Harlay, had accompanied her +mistress to England, whither M. de Beaumont-Harlay<a name="368r"></a><a href="#_368_">[368]</a> had been +accredited as ambassador; and on the return of her patroness to France +she appeared in her suite at Court, where she instantly attracted the +attention of the dissolute King. Her reign was happily a short one, and +at the close of two years she retired with the title of Comtesse de +Romorantin, having previously been privately married to the Archbishop +of Rheims.<a name="369r"></a><a href="#_369_">[369]</a></p> + +<p>We shall pass over in silence the other <i>liaisons</i> of the monarch, as +they were too transitory greatly to affect the tranquillity of the +Queen, until we are once more compelled to return to them in order to +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page383"></a>[pg 383]</span> +record his unhappy passion for the beautiful Princesse de Condé--a +passion which at one period threatened to involve a European war.</p> + +<p>On the 6th of April Marie de Medicis gave birth to her second son, who +received the title of Duc d'Orléans, that duchy having always since the +time of Philip VI been the appanage of a Prince of the Blood, or one of +the first nobles of the kingdom. The public rejoicings were universal, +and the satisfaction of the King without bounds. The little Prince was +privately baptized by the Cardinal de Gondy, until the state ceremonies +of his christening could take place; and on the 22d of the month he was +invested by the sovereign with the insignia of St. Michael and the Holy +Ghost, in the presence of the Cardinals, and the Commanders and Knights +of those Orders, with great pomp; after which a banquet was given by the +King in the great hall at Fontainebleau, and at nightfall the park was +illuminated in all directions by immense bonfires, and a pyrotechnic +display, which was witnessed by admiring and exulting thousands.</p> + +<p>The intelligence which reached Paris on the following day that peace had +been restored between the Pope and the Venetians, through the +intervention of the French monarch; that the Papal excommunication which +had been fulminated against that republic had been repealed, and a +general absolution accorded, excited the enthusiasm of the French people +to its greatest height. They augured from this fact a brilliant future +for the little Prince, who +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page384"></a>[pg 384]</span> +had come into the world at the very moment +when the great work had been achieved; and this feeling was shared by +the august parents of the royal infant. So little can human foresight +fathom the designs of the Almighty Disposer of all things! Men +congratulated each other in the public street; and, forgetting the +Huguenot origin of Henry, considered him only as the champion of the +Romish faith; while they coupled his name and that of the Queen with +every endearing epithet of which they were susceptible.</p> + +<p>The remainder of the summer was occupied by the monarch in the +embellishment of the capital, in high play,<a name="370r"></a><a href="#_370_">[370]</a> and in his +rapidly-waning passion for Madame de Verneuil; while the Court resided +alternately at Fontainebleau and St. Germain; the Queen confining +herself more and more to the society of her children and her immediate +favourites, listening with jealous avidity to every rumour of infidelity +on the part of her royal consort, and occasionally renewing those +unhappy differences by which the whole of their married life had been +embittered.</p> + +<p>The kingdom was at peace, but anarchy still reigned within the walls of +the palace. It is true that the advancing age of the monarch appeared to +offer a sufficient guarantee for his moral reformation, but the daily +experience of the Queen sufficed to convince her that she must never +hope for domestic happiness; and this conviction doubtless tended +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page385"></a>[pg 385]</span> +to place her more thoroughly in the power of those treacherous advisers +who, in order to strengthen their own influence, did not hesitate to +exaggerate (where exaggeration was possible) the painful errors of her +husband. She saw herself idolized by the people, who regarded her with +earnest affection as the mother of two Princes whom they looked upon as +pledges for the safety and prosperity of France, while she found herself +at the same time an object of indifference to the monarch whom they were +destined to succeed; and who, while he lavished upon his children +incessant tokens of tenderness, sacrificed her personal happiness to +every passing fancy, even at the time when he affected to reproach her +with a coldness of which he was himself the cause.</p> + +<p>Again we fearlessly repeat that the historians of the time have not done +Marie de Medicis justice. They expatiate upon her faults, they enlarge +upon her weaknesses, they descant upon her errors; but they touch +lightly and carelessly upon the primary influences which governed her +after-life. She arrived in her new kingdom young, hopeful, and +happy--young, and her youth was blighted by neglect; hopeful, and her +hopes were crushed by unkindness; happy, and her happiness was marred by +inconstancy and insult. Her woman-nature, plastic as it might have been +under more fortunate circumstances, became indurated to harshness; and +it is not they who strive to work upon the most solid marble who should +complain if the chisel with +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page386"></a>[pg 386]</span> +which they pursue their purpose become +blunted in the process.</p> + +<p>On the 5th of September of this year died M. de Bellièvre, the +Chancellor of France, whose probity and justice had rendered him dear to +the people, in whose eyes the withdrawal of his Court favour only tended +to enhance his valuable qualities. He was, as a natural consequence, +succeeded by Brulart de Sillery, who had already superseded him as +Keeper of the Seals; and his body was attended to the church of St. +Germain-l'Auxerrois by a vast concourse of the citizens.</p> + +<p>His demise was, in November, followed by that of the Cardinal de +Lorraine,<a name="371r"></a><a href="#_371_">[371]</a> who, with the usual superstition of the age, was declared +to have been bewitched because his malady had baffled the skill of his +physicians; while that which renders the circumstance the more +melancholy, is the fact that the individual accused of his destruction +was burned alive at Nancy, after having been previously subjected to a +course of lingering torture.<a name="372r"></a><a href="#_372_">[372]</a></p> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page387"></a>[pg 387]</span> +<p>The Court meanwhile, according to Sully,<a name="373r"></a><a href="#_373_">[373]</a> was more dissipated than +it had been during any previous winter since the arrival of Marie de +Medicis in France; while the account given of the state of morals +throughout the capital by L'Etoile, is one which will not bear +transcription. The new year (1608) commenced in the same manner. Ballets +were danced both at the Louvre and at the residences of the great +nobles. The ex-Queen Marguerite gave an entertainment in honour of the +birth of the young Prince, which terminated with a running at the ring, +where the prizes were distributed by herself and her successor; and, +finally, the King commanded that an especial ballet for the amusement of +the Duc de Montpensier, to whose daughter he was about to affiance the +infant Duc d'Orléans, should be executed by the Duc de Vendôme, the +Marquis de Bassompierre, the Baron de Thermes, and M. de Carmail, the +four nobles of the Court who were distinguished by the appellation of +"les Dangereux." The august party accordingly proceeded to the hotel of +that Prince, who was then nearly at the point of death, having +languished throughout two years in a low decline which had gradually +sapped his existence; but notwithstanding the state of debility to which +he was reduced, the Duke left his bed, and received his royal and noble +guests in the hall wherein the ballet was performed.<a name="374r"></a><a href="#_374_">[374]</a> It may be +doubted, however, whether M. de +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page388"></a>[pg 388]</span> +Montpensier did not make this supreme +effort in consequence of the proposed alliance, and his anxiety to +evince to their Majesties his sense of the honour which was about to be +conferred upon himself and his family, rather than from any amusement +which he could hope to derive from such an exhibition. Be that, however, +as it may, the most magnificent preparations had been made for the +reception of Henry and his Queen, who were met at the foot of the great +staircase by the Duchess, followed by her women, and escorted by a score +of pages bearing lighted tapers, and thus conducted to the canopied dais +beneath which their ponderous chairs, covered with cloth of gold, had +been placed, with low stools behind and on either side of the throne, +for the use of such of the other guests as were privileged to seat +themselves in the presence of the sovereign.</p> + +<p>The ballet, save as regarded the dying condition of the ducal host, was +executed under the happiest auspices. The King, to whom the proposed +marriage of the two children was agreeable under every aspect, was in +one of his most condescending and complacent moods; while Marie de +Medicis, whose affection for all her offspring amounted to passion, was +radiant with delight as she remembered that by the will of the Duke all +his property and estates devolved upon the young Prince, even should his +betrothed bride<a name="375r"></a><a href="#_375_">[375]</a> not live to become his wife.<a name="376r"></a><a href="#_376_">[376]</a></p> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page389"></a>[pg 389]</span> +<p>On the following day the affiancing, of which this entertainment had +been the prelude, took place with great solemnity. The most costly +presents were exchanged, not only by the betrothed children, but also by +their royal and noble relatives. This ceremony, owing to the failing +health of the Duke, was also performed at the Hôtel Montpensier, and was +succeeded by amusements of every description; among which those prepared +for the occasion at the Arsenal by Sully afforded the most marked +gratification to their Majesties. The minister had caused a spacious +theatre to be constructed, in which the Italian actors who had been +summoned to France by the Queen gave their representations. This pit or +<i>salle de spectacle</i> was, as he himself informs us, arranged +amphitheatrically, while above were galleries divided into separate +boxes, each approached by a different staircase and entered by a +different door. Two of these galleries were reserved entirely for the +ladies who were admitted to the performance, and no man, upon any +pretext whatever, was permitted to enter them; an arrangement which +appears to be strikingly at variance with the lax morality of the time. +So resolved, nevertheless, was Sully to enforce this restriction, that +he adds with a gravity curious enough upon such a subject: "This was one +of my regulations which I would not suffer to be violated, and of which +I did not consider it beneath me personally to compel the +observance." <a name="377r"></a><a href="#_377_">[377]</a></p> + +<p>To impress, moreover, upon his readers the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page390"></a>[pg 390]</span> +strength of this +determination, he relates an anecdote of which we cannot resist the +transcription:</p> + +<p>"One day," he says, "when a very fine ballet was represented in this +hall, I perceived a man leading a lady by the hand, with whom he was +about to enter the women's gallery. He was a foreigner, and I moreover +easily recognized by his sallow complexion to what country he belonged. +'Monsieur,' I said to him, 'you will be good enough to look for another +door; for I do not think that with your skin you can hope to pass for a +lady.' 'My lord,' replied he in very bad French, 'when you ascertain who +I am, you will not, I can assure you, refuse to have the politeness of +permitting me to enter with these fair and lovely ladies, however dark I +may be. My name is Pimentello; I am well received by his Majesty, and +have frequently the honour of playing with him.' This was true, and too +true. This foreigner, of whom I had frequently heard, had won immense +sums from the King. 'How, <i>ventre de ma vie!</i> I exclaimed, affecting +extreme anger; 'you are then, I perceive, that great glutton of a +Portuguese who daily wins the money of the King. <i>Pardieu</i>, you are by +no means welcome here, as I neither affect nor will receive such +guests.' He was about to reply, but I thrust him back, saying at the +same time, 'Go, go; find another entrance, for your jargon will fail to +make any impression upon me.' The King having subsequently inquired of +him if he had not thought the ballet magnificent and admirably executed, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page391"></a>[pg 391]</span> +Pimentello replied that he was anxious to have witnessed it, but that +he had been encountered at the door by his finance minister, who had met +him with a negative and shut him out; an adventure which so much amused +the monarch that he not only laughed heartily himself, but made the +whole Court participators in his amusement." <a name="378r"></a><a href="#_378_">[378]</a></p> + +<p>Banquets, running at the ring, and balls in which the Queen occasionally +condescended to join, varied the entertainments; which were, however, +suddenly terminated by the death of the Duc de Montpensier, which +occurred on the 28th of the month; and so much was the King affected by +his demise, that he forbade all the customary diversions during the +ensuing Carnival.</p> + +<p>Nothing could exceed, save in the case of a sovereign, the splendour of +the funeral ceremonies observed after the Duke's decease. He had no +sooner expired than his body was carried into a hall richly hung with +tapestry, and surrounded by seats and benches covered with cloth of +gold, elaborately embroidered with <i>fleurs-de-lis,</i> intended for the +accommodation of the prelates, nobles, knights, and gentlemen of the +Duke's household who were appointed to watch beside the corpse. The body +lay upon a state bed covered with cloth of gold which swept the floor, +and was bordered with ermine. He wore his ducal robes, with a coronet, +and the great collar of St. Michael; and had his white-gloved hands +crossed upon his breast. At the foot +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page392"></a>[pg 392]</span> +of the bier stood a small table +upon which was a massive silver crucifix; and near it a second +supporting a vase of holy water. In this state the deceased Duke +remained during eight days; the officers of his household waiting upon +him in the same manner, and with the same ceremonies as when he was +alive. A prelate said the grace; the water, in which while in existence +the Prince had been accustomed to lave his hands previously to +commencing a meal, was presented to his vacant chair; the different +courses were placed upon the table by the proper officers; a silver +goblet was prepared at the same moment in which he had formerly been in +the habit of taking his first draught; and, finally, the same prelate +uttered a thanksgiving, to which he added a "De profundis," and the +prayer for the dead; when the food that had been served up was +distributed to the poor.</p> + +<p>At the termination of the eight days the funeral service was performed +at Notre Dame, in the presence of the Knights of the Holy Ghost, all +wearing their collars. The chief mourners were the Prince de Condé and +the Comte de Soissons, the cousins of the deceased Duke; and his funeral +oration was delivered by M. de Fenouillet, Bishop of Montpellier. The +body was then conveyed to Champigny in Poitou, where the Duke was laid +to rest with his ancestors.<a name="379r"></a><a href="#_379_">[379]</a></p> + +<p>Having strictly forbidden all public festivities, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page393"></a>[pg 393]</span> +Henry removed the +Court to Fontainebleau; and Marguerite, whose unblushing libertinism was +a byword in Paris, seized the moment to erect an almshouse and convent +upon a portion of the grounds of her hotel. It was stated that the +ex-Queen during her residence at Usson, where, as we have already seen, +her career was one of the most degrading profligacy, had made a vow that +should she ever be permitted to revisit Paris, she would support a +certain number of monks who should daily sing the praises of the Deity; +and she accordingly gave to the chapel attached to the convent the name +of the Chapel of Praise, while the house itself was designated the +Monastery of the Holy Trinity. It was no sooner built than it was given +by the foundress to the reformed and bare-footed Fathers of St. +Augustine; but after having solicited in their favour various privileges +which were accorded by the Sovereign-Pontiff, she dispossessed them in +the year 1613, and established in their place the Augustine Fathers of +the Congregation of Bourges.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile the influence of Concini and his wife over the mind of the +Queen unhappily increased with time, until the arrogance of the former +became so great that he had the insolence to enter the lists at a grand +tilting at the ring which was publicly held in the Rue St. Antoine in +the presence of the monarch and his Court; a piece of presumption which +was rendered still more unpalatable to Henry by the fact that the +Italian, who was well skilled in +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page394"></a>[pg 394]</span> +such exercises, bore away the prize +for which the whole of his own nobility had contended.</p> + +<p>So arrogant, indeed, had he become, and so inflated with the +consciousness of wealth--Marie de Medicis having been lavish even beyond +her means both to his wife and himself--that he entered into a +negotiation for the purchase of La Ferté, a property estimated at +between two and three hundred thousand crowns; and he no sooner +ascertained that the Duchesse de Sully had waited upon the Queen to +entreat of her Majesty to forbid the transfer, as such an acquisition +made by an individual who was generally known to be penniless only a few +years previously would necessarily excite the public disaffection +towards herself, than he had the audacity to proceed to the Arsenal and +to upbraid that lady for her interference in the most unmeasured and +insulting terms, declaring that he was independent both of the King of +France and of his subjects, whatever might be their sex and rank; and +that whoever thwarted him in his projects might live to rue the day in +which they braved his anger.</p> + +<p>This intemperance having come to the ears of the King, his indignation +was excessive; but, as on previous occasions, he lacked the moral +courage to assert his dignity; and satisfied himself by bitter +complaints to Sully of the fatal hold which her two Italian attendants +had secured upon the affections of the Queen, and by replying to the +reproaches of Marie upon the subject of his new attachment for Charlotte +des Essarts, and the continued insolence +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page395"></a>[pg 395]</span> +of Madame de Verneuil, with +vehement upbraidings on the vassalage in which she lived to the indecent +caprices and shameless extortions of a waiting-woman and her husband.</p> + +<p>Marie de Medicis, who had hoped that the rank in her household which had +been conceded to Leonora would protect her for the future against +allusions to the obscurity of her origin, was greatly incensed by the +tone of contempt still maintained by the King whenever he made any +allusion either to Leonora or Concini; and eventually these +recriminations attained to such a height that Henry abruptly quitted the +Louvre (where the delicate health of his royal consort had induced him +to establish his temporary residence), and proceeded to Chantilly, +without taking leave of her. On his way, however, he alighted at the +Arsenal, where he informed Sully of the reason of his sudden departure; +and the minister became so much alarmed at this unequivocal +demonstration of displeasure on the part of the monarch, that he +resolved not to lose a moment in advising the Queen to some concession +which might cause the King to return to the capital. After the mid-day +meal he accordingly repaired to the Louvre, accompanied only by a +secretary who was to await him in an antechamber, and made his way to +the apartments of Marie. On reaching the saloon adjoining the private +closet of the Queen, he found Madame Concini seated at the door with her +head buried in her hands, evidently absorbed in thought. She started up, +however, when he addressed her; +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page396"></a>[pg 396]</span> +and in reply to his request that she +would announce him to her royal mistress, she replied that she would do +so willingly, although she apprehended that her Majesty would not +receive him, as she had refused entrance to herself. She had, however, +no sooner raised the tapestry, and scratched upon the door, than Marie, +on learning who was without, desired that M. de Sully should be +instantly admitted. When the Duke entered he found the Queen seated at a +table, busily engaged in writing; and as he approached her with the +customary obeisance, she hastily motioned to him to place himself upon a +stool immediately in front of her.</p> + +<p>"You are right welcome, M. le Ministre," she said in a tone that was not +altogether steady, although she struggled to suppress all outward +emotion. "You are doubtless already apprised that the King has withdrawn +from the capital in anger, but you have yet to learn that he has left me +no whit more satisfied than himself. I was unprepared for so abrupt a +departure; and as I had still much to say to him on the subject of our +disagreement, I find myself compelled to the exercise of my clerkly +skill, and am now occupied in telling him in writing all that I had left +unsaid. There is the letter," she continued with a bitter smile, as she +threw the ample scroll across the table; "read it, and tell me if I have +not more than sufficient cause to consider myself both aggrieved and +outraged."</p> + +<p>"Madame," said the incorruptible minister, when +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page397"></a>[pg 397]</span> +he had perused the +document thus submitted to him, "you must pardon me if I venture to +declare that you must never suffer that letter to meet the eye of your +royal consort: it contains matter to induce your eternal separation."</p> + +<p>"Can you deny one assertion which I have made?" demanded the Queen +impatiently.</p> + +<p>"I sympathize in all the trials and troubles of your Majesty," was the +evasive reply. "I would leave no effort untried to terminate them; a +fact of which you have long, I trust, Madame, felt convinced; and thus I +cannot see you about to wilfully destroy every chance of happiness, +without imploring of you to reflect deeply and calmly before you take so +extreme a measure as that which you now contemplate. The King is already +incensed against you; and if spoken words have thus angered him, I dare +not contemplate the consequences of such as these before me, written +hours after your contention. I therefore beseech you to suppress this +letter; and both for your own sake, and for that of the French nation, +rather to seek a reconciliation with His Grace your husband than to +increase the ill-feeling which so unhappily exists."</p> + +<p>"You make no allowance for me, Monsieur, as a woman and a wife; you only +argue with the Queen."</p> + +<p>"Madame," persisted Sully, "in this instance it is rather to the woman +and the wife that I address myself than to the Queen. As a woman, the +bitterness and invective of this missive," and he laid his spread hand +emphatically upon the paper, "would +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page398"></a>[pg 398]</span> +suffice to cover you with blame and +to deprive you of sympathy, while as a mother it would authorize your +separation from your children. Let me entreat of you therefore to forego +your purpose."</p> + +<p>Marie de Medicis sat silent for a few moments, and then making a violent +effort over herself, she said slowly: "I will in so far follow your +counsel, M. le Duc, that I will destroy this letter, although the saints +bear witness that it has cost me both time and care to prepare it, but I +will yield no further. I am weary of being made the puppet of an +unfaithful husband and his band of unblushing favourites, who receive, +each in succession, some high-sounding title by which they are enabled +to thrust themselves and their shame upon me in the very halls of the +palace. I must and will tell the King this."</p> + +<p>"Then, Madame, if such be unfortunately your decision," said her +listener, "at least let me urge you to do it in gentler terms."</p> + +<p>"I am in no humour to temporize."</p> + +<p>Sully made no reply.</p> + +<p>"Do not wrap yourself up in silence, Monsieur," exclaimed the Queen +after waiting in vain for his reply. "I believe that you wish to serve +me, and you cannot better do so than by putting these unpalatable truths +into a less repulsive form. Here are the means at hand, but, mark me, I +will not suffer one particular to be omitted."</p> + +<p>Under this somewhat difficult restriction the minister proceeded to obey +her command, but she +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page399"></a>[pg 399]</span> +argued upon every sentence, and cavilled at every +paragraph, which tended to soften the harsher features of the letter. At +length, however, the task was completed, and nothing remained to be +effected save its transcription by the Queen. The letter was long and +elaborate, as Sully had skilfully contrived to terminate every reproach +by some reasoning which could not fail to touch the feelings of the +King. Thus, after upbraiding her husband with his perpetual +infidelities, Marie was made to say that if she complained, it was less +for herself, than because, in addition to her anxiety to be the sole +possessor of his heart, she could not coldly contemplate the injury +which he inflicted upon his person and dignity by becoming the rival of +his own subjects, and thus compromising his kingly character; and that +if she insisted with vehemence upon the exile of Madame de Verneuil, her +excuse must be found in the fact that in no other way could her peace +and honour be secured, or the welfare of her children be rendered +sure--those children of whom he was the father as well as the sovereign, +and whom she would cause to fall at his feet to implore compassion for +their mother. She then reminded him of the numerous promises which he +had made to her that he would cease to give her cause of complaint, and +terminated the missive by calling God to witness that should he still be +willing to fulfil them, she would, on her side, renounce all desire for +vengeance upon those by whom she had been so deeply, wronged.</p> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page400"></a>[pg 400]</span> +<p>Certain, however, it is that, even with these modifications, the letter +gave serious offence to Henry, who, shortly after its receipt, wrote to +apprise Sully of what he denominated the <i>impertinence</i> of his wife, but +declared that he was less incensed against her than against the +individual by whom the epistle had been dictated, as the style was not +hers, and that he had consequently discovered the agency of a third +person, whose identity he left it to Sully to ascertain, as he had +resolved never again either to serve or even to see him, be he whom he +might, so long as he had life.</p> + +<p>With a truth and frankness which did him honour, the finance minister, +despite this threat, did not hesitate when subsequently urged upon the +subject by the King to admit the authorship of the obnoxious document, +and in support of his assertion to place in the hands of Henry the +original draft which he had retained. On comparing this with the +autograph letter of the Queen, however, Sully at once perceived that she +had been unable to repress her anger sufficiently to adhere to his +advice, and that the interpolations were by no means calculated to +advance her interests.<a name="380r"></a><a href="#_380_">[380]</a> It was evident, nevertheless, that much of +the King's indignation had subsided, and that the delicate health of his +royal consort was not without its influence over his mind. Sully +adroitly profited by this circumstance to impress upon Henry the danger +of any agitation to the Queen, whose impressionable nature occasioned +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page401"></a>[pg 401]</span> +constant solicitude to her physicians, and reminded him that her late +violence had been principally induced by the rumours which had reached +her of a <i>liaison</i> between Madame de Verneuil and the Duc de Guise, an +indignity to his own person which she had declared herself unable to +brook with patience. In short, so zealously and so successfully did +Sully exert himself, that he at length induced the monarch to return to +the Louvre, and the Queen to disclaim all intention of exciting his +displeasure, in which latter attempt he was greatly aided by being +enabled to confide to her that instant measures were to be taken for the +disgrace of the Marquise, could it be proved that her friendship with +the Duc de Guise had exceeded the limits of propriety.</p> + +<p>In the beginning of March the Court removed to Fontainebleau, where, +while awaiting the accouchement of the Queen, Henry indulged in the most +reckless gaming; nor did he pursue this vice in a kingly spirit, for +even his devoted panegyrist Péréfixe informs us that at this period he +knew not how to answer those who reproached his royal pupil with too +great a love for cards and dice, of itself a taste little suited to a +great and powerful sovereign; and that, moreover, he was an unpleasant +player, eager for gain, timid when the stake was a high one, and +ill-tempered when he was a loser.<a name="381r"></a><a href="#_381_">[381]</a> In support of this reluctant +testimony, Bassompierre relates that, being anxious to assist at the +opening of the States of Lorraine in compliance with the invitation of +the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page402"></a>[pg 402]</span> +Duke, he solicited the permission of Henry to that effect on two or +three different occasions, but as he always played on the side of the +King, and universally with great success, he was constantly refused.</p> + +<p>Resolved to carry his point, however, the spoiled courtier at length set +forth without any leave-taking; a fact which was no sooner ascertained +by the monarch than he despatched two of the <i>exempts</i> of his guard to +arrest him and bring him back. This they did without difficulty, as +Bassompierre did not travel at night; but as the gallant Marquis had no +ambition to be conveyed to Fontainebleau in the guise of a prisoner, he +despatched a letter to M. de Villeroy requesting to be liberated from +the presence of his captors, and pledging himself to return instantly to +Court. On his arrival the King laughed heartily at the idea of his +disappointment, which he, however, lightened by pledging himself that in +ten days he should be left at liberty to depart.<a name="382r"></a><a href="#_382_">[382]</a></p> + +<p>On the 25th of April Marie de Medicis became the mother of a third son, +upon whom, after some contestation between his illustrious parents, was +bestowed the title of Duc d'Anjou. The Queen was desirous that he should +be called Prince of Navarre, but Henry preferred the former designation, +from the fact that it had been that of many of the French Princes who +had been sovereigns of Jerusalem and Sicily.<a name="383r"></a><a href="#_383_">[383]</a> The birth of another +Prince +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page403"></a>[pg 403]</span> +to their beloved sovereign filled up the measure of joy in +France; the citizens of Paris made costly gifts to the Queen, and the +circumstance of the infant having come into the world on the anniversary +of St. Louis increased the general enthusiasm.<a name="384r"></a><a href="#_384_">[384]</a> As the convalescence +of the royal invalid was less rapid upon this than on previous +occasions, the Court remained during the spring and a portion of the +summer at Fontainebleau, where every species of amusement was exhausted +by the courtiers. Once only, at the beginning of May, the King resided +for a few days in the capital, and on his return Marie manifested such +undisguised satisfaction that he accorded to her the sum of twelve +thousand crowns for the embellishment of her château at Monceaux.</p> + +<p>So early as the year 1598, during the journey of the sovereign to +Brittany, a marriage had been arranged between his' son, the Duc de +Vendôme, and Mademoiselle de Mercoeur,<a name="385r"></a><a href="#_385_">[385]</a> but the mother and +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page404"></a>[pg 404]</span> +grandmother of the young lady had succeeded in inspiring her with such a +hatred of the legitimated Prince, that she would not allow his name to +be mentioned in her presence; and when she ascertained that the monarch +had resolved upon the fulfilment of the contract, she withdrew to the +Capuchin Convent, declaring that sooner than become the wife of M. de +Vendôme she would take the veil. The Duchesse de Mercoeur and her mother +had been anxious to marry the young heiress to the Prince de Condé, or +failing in this project, to some relative of their own, in order to +retain her large possessions in the family; but the King had resolved +upon securing them to his son by enforcing the promise made by the +deceased Duke. He accordingly adopted conciliatory measures by which he +succeeded in effecting his object, and before the conclusion of the +rejoicings on the birth of the infant Prince, the marriage was finally +celebrated in the chapel of Fontainebleau with all the pomp and +magnificence of which the ceremony was susceptible, while the King +appeared beside his son at the altar blazing with jewels of inestimable +price, and joined in the festivities consequent upon the alliance with a +zest and enjoyment which were the theme of general comment.</p> + +<p>The arrival of Don Pedro de Toledo,<a name="386r"></a><a href="#_386_">[386]</a> the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page405"></a>[pg 405]</span> +ambassador of Philip III +of Spain, at this precise juncture gave further occasion for that +display of splendour in which Henry had latterly delighted, and after +his public reception at Fontainebleau the Court removed to Paris, where +the ambassador had been sumptuously lodged at the Hôtel de Gondy. His +arrogance, however, soon disgusted the French King; nor did he hesitate +to exhibit the same unbecoming hauteur towards his kinswoman the Queen, +who having despatched a nobleman of her household to welcome him to +France in that character, was informed by her envoy that the only answer +which he returned to the compliment was conveyed in the remark that +crowned heads had no relatives; they had only subjects.</p> + +<p>The sole occasion upon which he laid aside his <i>morgue</i>, and then to all +appearance involuntarily, was while driving through the streets of the +capital in the carriage of the King. He had previously visited Paris, +and as he contrasted its present magnificence with the squalor, filth, +and disorder which it had formerly exhibited, he could not suppress an +exclamation of astonishment. "Why should you be surprised, Monsieur?" +demanded Henry; "when you last saw my good city of Paris, the father of +the family did not inhabit it; and now that he is here to watch over his +children, they prosper as you see." <a name="387r"></a><a href="#_387_">[387]</a></p> + +<p>The object of this embassy was kept a profound secret; some historians +assert that it was undertaken with a view to effect a marriage between +the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page406"></a>[pg 406]</span> +Dauphin and the Infanta of Spain, while others lean to the belief +that Philip had instructed Don Pedro to endeavour to prevail upon Henry +to abandon his alliance with the Dutch. Whatever were its motive, the +ambassador, who had reached Paris on the 7th of July, quitted the +capital on the 22nd of the same month, having only succeeded in +irritating the King by his overbearing and supercilious demeanour.<a name="388r"></a><a href="#_388_">[388]</a></p> + +<p>It would appear that during the present year Henri IV indulged his +passion for field sports to such an excess as tended seriously to alarm +those who were anxious for his preservation; and it indeed seems as +though, at this period, his leisure hours were nearly divided between +his two favourite diversions of hunting and high play. Sully informs us, +however, that the King busied himself with the embellishments of +Fontainebleau, and in erecting the Place Dauphine at Paris; but adds +that these great works, which were necessary to the convenience of the +people, might have been carried much further if the monarch would have +followed his advice and been less profuse in his personal expenditure, +particularly as regarded his gambling transactions. He advances, as a +proof of this assertion, that he was called upon on one occasion to +deliver to Eduardo Fernandez, a Portuguese banker (who, according to +Bassompierre, had made a visit of speculation to the French Court, and +who unhesitatingly provided the nobles with large sums, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page407"></a>[pg 407]</span> +either on +security or at immense interest), the enormous amount of thirty-four +thousand pistoles, for which the reckless monarch had become his debtor. +"I frequently received similar orders," he proceeds to say, "for two or +three thousand pistoles, and a great many others for less considerable +sums." <a name="389r"></a><a href="#_389_">[389]</a></p> + +<p>It is scarcely doubtful that the <i>ennui</i> occasioned by the waning +passion of Henri IV for Madame de Verneuil at this period induced him, +even more than formerly, to seek amusement and occupation at the +gaming-table, where he was emulated by his profuse and licentious +nobles, while even his Queen and the ladies of the Court entered with +avidity into the exciting pastime. We have frequent record of the +habitual high play of Marie de Medicis, who found in it a solace for her +sick-room and a diversion from her domestic annoyances, and thus the +dangerous propensity of the monarch was heightened by the presence of +the loveliest women of the land and the charm and fascination of wit and +intellect.</p> + +<p>Madame de Verneuil was in despair; the coveted sceptre was sliding from +within her grasp, and with the ill-judged hope of regaining the +affections of her royal lover by exciting his jealousy, she encouraged +the attention of the Duc de Guise, who, undismayed by the previous +attempt of his brother to divert the affections of another of the royal +favourites and its unfortunate result, at length openly avowed himself +the suitor of the brilliant Marquise, and even +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page408"></a>[pg 408]</span> +promised to make her his +wife; while the scandalous chroniclers of the time do not hesitate to +affirm that the Prince de Joinville himself had previously done the +same, but that his proverbial fickleness had protected him from so gross +a <i>mésalliance</i>.</p> + +<p>In the case of the Duke, however, the affair wore a more serious aspect; +and so earnest did he appear in his professions that Madame de Verneuil, +anxious at once to secure an illustrious alliance and to revenge herself +upon the monarch, caused the banns of marriage between the Prince and +herself to be published with some slight alteration in their respective +names, which did not, however, suffice to deceive those who had an +interest in subverting her project; and the fact was accordingly +communicated to the King, upon whom it produced an effect entirely +opposite to that which had been contemplated by the vanity of the lady, +who had been clever enough to procure from M. de Guise a written promise +similar to that which she had formerly extorted from the monarch. Four +years previously the knowledge of such a perfidy on her part would have +overwhelmed Henry with anxiety, jealousy, and grief, but his passion for +the Marquise had, as we have seen, long been on the decline, and his +only feeling was one of indignation and displeasure. To the Marquise +herself he simply expressed his determined and unalterable opposition to +the alliance, but to the Duke he was far less lenient, reminding him of +the former offences of himself and his family, and forbidding him to +pursue +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page409"></a>[pg 409]</span> +a purpose so distasteful to all those who had his honour at +heart This was a fatal blow to Madame de Verneuil, and one which she was +never destined to overcome. Clever as she was, she had suffered herself +to forget that youth is not eternal, and that passion is even more +evanescent than time; and thus, by a last impotent effort to assert a +supremacy to which she could no longer advance any claim, she only +succeeded in extinguishing in the heart of the King the last embers of a +latent and expiring attachment.<a name="390r"></a><a href="#_390_">[390]</a></p> + +<p>FOOTNOTES:</p> + +<p><a name="_356_"></a><a href="#356r">[356]</a> The <i>carême-prenant</i> includes the three days which precede +Ash-Wednesday.</p> + +<p><a name="_357_"></a><a href="#357r">[357]</a> L'Etoile, vol. iii. pp. 411, 412.</p> + +<p><a name="_358_"></a><a href="#358r">[358]</a> Benjamin de Rohan, Duc de Soubise, was the grandson of Jean de +Parthenay-Soubise, and the son of Réné-Rohan. He was a zealous supporter +of the reformed faith, and was present at several sieges; but becoming +dissatisfied with the citizens of La Rochelle, with whom he took refuge +in 1622, he passed over to England, to solicit assistance; a proceeding +which compelled the French Court to declare him guilty of +<i>lèse-majesté</i>, and he subsequently refused to return to his own country +when a general amnesty was proclaimed.</p> + +<p><a name="_359_"></a><a href="#359r">[359]</a> L'Etoile, vol. iii. pp. 414, 415.</p> + +<p><a name="_360_"></a><a href="#360r">[360]</a> <i>Mémoires</i>, p. 57.</p> + +<p><a name="_361_"></a><a href="#361r">[361]</a> Saint-Edmé, vol. ii. p. 238.</p> + +<p><a name="_362_"></a><a href="#362r">[362]</a> Saint-Edmé, vol. ii. pp. 239, 240. L'Etoile, vol. iii. p. 360. +<i>Amours du Grand Alcandre</i>, p. 49.</p> + +<p><a name="_363_"></a><a href="#363r">[363]</a> Bassompierre, <i>Mém</i>. p. 51.</p> + +<p><a name="_364_"></a><a href="#364r">[364]</a> Antoine de Bourbon, Comte de Moret, the son of Henri IV and Madame +de Moret, was legitimated in 1608, and was killed during the subsequent +reign at the battle of Castelnaudary, while serving under the Duc de +Montmorency.</p> + +<p><a name="_365_"></a><a href="#365r">[365]</a> Damin de Montluc, Seigneur de Balagny, son of Jean, Prince de +Cambray, and of Rénée de Clermont de Bussy d'Amboise. He was one of the +most confidential friends of the King.</p> + +<p><a name="_366_"></a><a href="#366r">[366]</a> Saint-Edmé, vol. ii. pp. 241, 242.</p> + +<p><a name="_367_"></a><a href="#367r">[367]</a> Charlotte, daughter of François des Essarts, Seigneur de Sautour, +Equerry of the King's Stable, and of his second wife, Charlotte de +Harlay de Chanvallon.</p> + +<p><a name="_368_"></a><a href="#368r">[368]</a> The Comte Christophe de Beaumont-Harlay, Governor of Orleans. He +died in 1615.</p> + +<p><a name="_369_"></a><a href="#369r">[369]</a> Louis de Lorraine, Cardinal de Guise, son of Henri, Duc de Guise, +who was killed at the States of Blois. He obtained a dispensation from +the Pope to effect his marriage with Mademoiselle des Essarts. He was a +warlike prelate; and his death, which took place at Saintes in 1621, was +caused by the extreme fatigue that he underwent during the campaign of +Guienne, and at the siege of Saint-Jean-d'Angély, whither he accompanied +Louis XIII.</p> + +<p><a name="_370_"></a><a href="#370r">[370]</a> Bassompierre, <i>Mém</i>. p. 50.</p> + +<p><a name="_371_"></a><a href="#371r">[371]</a> Charles, Cardinal de Lorraine, Bishop of Metz and Strasbourg, and +Abbot of St. Victor-lès-Paris. The Cardinal de Givry succeeded him in +the see of Metz, having the Marquis de Verneuil as his coadjutor, and +Leopold of Austria replaced him as Bishop of Strasbourg, having been +elected to that dignity by the chapter; while the Protestants named +George, Margrave of Brandenburg, administrator to that see, which caused +great dissension between the two concurrents, until a conciliation was +effected through the good offices of Duke Frederic of Würtemberg, who +induced them to enter into a truce for fifteen years, during which +period they divided between them the revenues of the benefice, Leopold +of Austria retaining the title of bishop.</p> + +<p><a name="_372_"></a><a href="#372r">[372]</a> <i>Mercure Français,</i> 1607, P-228. L'Etoile, vol. iii. pp. 437, +438.</p> + +<p><a name="_373_"></a><a href="#373r">[373]</a> <i>Mémoires,</i> vol. vii. p. 7. L'Etoile, vol. iii. pp. 417, 418.</p> + +<p><a name="_374_"></a><a href="#374r">[374]</a> Bassompierre, <i>Mém</i>. p. 51.</p> + +<p><a name="_375_"></a><a href="#375r">[375]</a> Marie de Bourbon, Mademoiselle de Montpensier, who, after the +decease of the Duc d'Orléans, married (in 1626) Gaston Jean Baptiste +de France.</p> + +<p><a name="_376_"></a><a href="#376r">[376]</a> Bassompierre, <i>Mém</i>. p. 51.</p> + +<p><a name="_377_"></a><a href="#377r">[377]</a> Sully, <i>Mém</i>. vol. vii. p. 8.</p> + +<p><a name="_378_"></a><a href="#378r">[378]</a> Sully, <i>Mém</i>. vol. vii. pp. 8, 9.</p> + +<p><a name="_379_"></a><a href="#379r">[379]</a> <i>Mercure Français</i>, 1608, p. 231. L'Etoile, vol. iii. pp. 444, +445.</p> + +<p><a name="_380_"></a><a href="#380r">[380]</a> Sully, <i>Mém</i>. vol. vii. pp. 25-28.</p> + +<p><a name="_381_"></a><a href="#381r">[381]</a> Péréfixe, vol. ii. pp. 463, 464.</p> + +<p><a name="_382_"></a><a href="#382r">[382]</a> Bassompierre, <i>Mém</i>. pp. 50, 51.</p> + +<p><a name="_383_"></a><a href="#383r">[383]</a> Gaston Jean Baptiste de France, originally named Duc d'Anjou, and +subsequently Duc d'Orléans, died in 1660. Before his birth, Henri IV +declared his intention of making him a churchman, and causing him to be +entitled Cardinal de France.</p> + +<p><a name="_384_"></a><a href="#384r">[384]</a> <i>Mercure Français,</i> 1608, p. 231. Sully, <i>Mém</i>. vol. vii. p. 37. +L'Etoile, vol. iii. p. 471.</p> + +<p><a name="_385_"></a><a href="#385r">[385]</a> Mademoiselle de Mercocur was the only daughter and heiress of +Philippe Emmanuel de Lorraine, Duc de Mercocur, the brother of Louise de +Lorraine, Queen of Henri III. By that monarch he was appointed Governor +of Brittany, but in 1589 he revolted against him, and persisted in his +rebellion until 1598, when he entered into a treaty with Henri IV, by +which he bound himself to bestow the hand of his daughter, and the +reversion of his government, upon César de Vendôme, a condescension by +which he subsequently felt himself so much disgraced that he withdrew +from the Court and engaged in the war of Hungary. Pining, however, to +see once more his wife and daughter, he was on his way to France for +that purpose, when he was attacked by fever at Nuremberg, where he +expired in March 1602, at the age of forty-three years.</p> + +<p><a name="_386_"></a><a href="#386r">[386]</a> Don Pedro de Toledo, Constable of Castile, and general of the +galleys of Naples, was a relative of Marie de Medicis, whose +grandfather, the Comte de Medicis, had married Eleonora de Toledo, the +daughter of the Viceroy of Naples. He was, moreover, a grandee of Spain, +and one of the most confidential friends of Philip III.</p> + +<p><a name="_387_"></a><a href="#387r">[387]</a> Bonnechose, vol. i. p. 445. Péréfixe, vol. ii. p. 564.</p> + +<p><a name="_388_"></a><a href="#388r">[388]</a> L'Etoile, vol. iii. pp. 474-477. <i>Mercure Français,</i> 1608, p. 232. +Daniel, vol. vii. p. 488.</p> + +<p><a name="_389_"></a><a href="#389r">[389]</a> <i>Mémoires,</i> vol. vii. pp. 72-74.</p> + +<p><a name="_390_"></a><a href="#390r">[390]</a> Dreux du Radier, vol. vi, p. 104.</p> + + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page410"></a>[pg 410]</span> +<br><br><hr style="width: 35%;"><br><br> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII</h2> + +<h3>1609</h3> + +<p>Death of the Grand Duke of Tuscany--The Queen's ballet--Mademoiselle de +Montmorency--Description of her person--She is betrothed to +Bassompierre--Indignation of the Duc de Bouillon--Contrast between the +rivals--The Duc de Bellegarde excites the curiosity of the King--The +nymph of Diana--The rehearsal--Passion of the King for Mademoiselle de +Montmorency--The royal gout--Interposition of the Duc de +Roquelaure--Firmness of the Connétable--The ducal gout--Postponement of +the marriage--Diplomacy of Henry--The sick-room--An obedient +daughter--Henry resolves to prevent the marriage--The King and the +courtier--Lip-deep loyalty--Henry offers the hand of Mademoiselle de +Montmorency to the Prince de Condé--The regal pledge--The Prince de +Condé consents to espouse Mademoiselle de Montmorency--Invites +Bassompierre to his betrothal--Royal tyranny--A cruel pleasantry--The +betrothal--Court festivities--Happiness of the Queen--Royal presents to +the bride--The ex-Queen's ball--Jealousy of the Prince de +Condé--Indignation of the Queen--Henry revenges himself upon M. de +Condé--Madame de Condé retires from the Court--The King insists on her +return--The Prince de Condé feigns compliance--The Prince and Princess +escape to the Low Countries--The news of their evasion reaches +Fontainebleau--Birth of a Princess--Unpleasant surprise--Henry betrays +his annoyance to the Queen--He assembles his ministers--He resolves to +compel the return of the Princess to France--Conflicting counsels--M. de +Praslin is despatched to Brussels--Embarrassment of the Archduke +Albert--He refuses an asylum to M. de Condé, who proceeds to +Milan--The Princess remains at Brussels--She is honourably +entertained--Interference of the Queen--Philip of Spain promises his +protection to the Prince de Condé--He is invited to return to +Brussels--The Marquis de Coeuvres endeavours to effect the return of the +Prince to France--His negotiation fails--Madame de Condé is placed under +surveillance--Her weariness of the Court of Brussels--The Duc de +Montmorency desires her return to Paris--M. de Coeuvres is authorized to +effect her escape from Brussels--The plot prospers--Indiscretion of the +King--The Queen informs the Spanish minister of the conspiracy--Madame +de Condé is removed to the Archducal palace--Mortification of the +King--The French envoys expostulate with the Archduke, who remains +firm--Henry resolves to declare war against Spain and Flanders--Fresh +negotiations--The King determines to head the army in person--Marie de +Medicis becomes Regent of France--She +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page411"></a>[pg 411]</span> +is counselled by Concini to urge +her coronation--Reluctance of the King to accede to her request--He +finally consents--"The best husband in the world"--Fatal +prognostics--Signs in the heavens--The Curé of Montargis--The Papal +warning--The Cardinal Barberino--The Sultan's message--Suspicious +circumstances--Supineness of the Austrian Cabinet--Prophecy of Anne de +Comans--Her miserable fate--The astrologer Thomassin--The Béarnais +noble--The Queen's dream--Royal presentiments--The hawthorn of the +Louvre--Distress of Bassompierre--Expostulation of the King--Melancholy +forebodings.</p><br> + +<p>In the year upon which we are now about to enter the subject of our +biography occupies, unfortunately, but a small space, destined as it was +to give birth to the most violent and the most dangerous passion of the +whole life of Henri IV, and that which left the most indelible stain +upon his memory, both as a man and as a monarch.</p> + +<p>On the 7th of February the Court went into mourning for the Grand Duke +of Tuscany, the uncle of the Queen, to whom she was ardently attached, +and all the Carnival amusements were consequently suspended, but not +before the Queen had resolved upon the performance of the ballet which +she had previously refused to sanction, when her royal consort had +proposed as one of its performers the Comtesse de Moret, his late +favourite. The rehearsal of this entertainment took place on the 16th of +January, and the nymphs of Diana were represented by the twelve reigning +beauties of the Court, among whom the most lovely was Charlotte +Marguerite de Montmorency<a name="391r"></a><a href="#_391_">[391]</a>. So extraordinary, indeed, were her +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page412"></a>[pg 412]</span> +personal attractions, combined with a modesty of demeanour more than +unusual at the Court in that age, that even the most experienced of the +great nobles were compelled to confess that they had never heretofore +seen any person who could compete with her. "The purity of her +complexion," says Dreux du Radier, quoting from one of the old +chroniclers, "was admirable; her eyes, lively and full of tenderness, +inspired passion in the most careless hearts; she had not a feature in +her face which was not gracefully moulded. The tones of her voice, her +bearing, her slightest movements, had a charm which compelled +admiration, and it was yielded the more willingly that it was elicited +by no artifice on her part, but was a tribute to her natural merits. +Nature had, indeed, done everything for her, and she had no occasion to +resort to any adventitious aid however innocent." <a name="392r"></a><a href="#_392_">[392]</a></p> + +<p>This lady, thus richly gifted with youth, beauty, and high birth, had +been, even before her appearance at Court, promised in marriage by her +father to the Maréchal de Bassompierre, to whom indeed he had himself +offered her hand,<a name="393r"></a><a href="#_393_">[393]</a> but she was no sooner seen by Henry in the circle +of the Queen than he became violently enamoured of her person, and +resolved to prevent the alliance; a +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page413"></a>[pg 413]</span> +determination in which he found +himself strengthened by the remonstrances of the Duc de Bouillon, the +nephew of the Connétable, and consequently the cousin of the young +beauty, whose favour Bassompierre had, in the excess of his happiness, +neglected to conciliate, and who represented to the King that he could +not conceal his astonishment on ascertaining that his Majesty was about +to permit the union of Mademoiselle de Montmorency with a mere noble, +however deserving of such distinction, when the Prince de Condé had +attained to a marriageable age, and that it would be imprudent to +countenance his alliance with a foreign princess; while as regards +himself, he could not discover another eligible match save his cousin or +Mademoiselle du Maine; and he was inclined to believe that none of the +advisers of his Majesty would counsel him to authorize his own marriage +with the latter, while the remnant of the League continued so formidable +as to threaten a still more forcible and dangerous demonstration should +they once find themselves under a leader with the power which he +possessed to further their cause. He then represented that his alliance +with Mademoiselle de Montmorency would involve no such results, as the +allies and interests of the Connétable were his own, and concluded by +entreating that his Majesty, before he sanctioned the marriage of +Bassompierre with his cousin, would give the matter ample +reflection.<a name="394r"></a><a href="#_394_">[394]</a></p> + +<p>This contention, there can be no doubt, piqued +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page414"></a>[pg 414]</span> +the curiosity of the +King, who in the course of the day mentioned the circumstance to the Duc +de Bellegarde. The chance of the rivals in the favour of the lady +herself could scarcely be doubtful, as the Duc de Bouillon, Prince of +the Blood though he was, possessed few personal attractions, while the +gay, the gallant, the magnificent Bassompierre was the cynosure of all +eyes; superb in person, he was moreover of high birth, great wealth +(although his profusion occasionally fettered his means), in high favour +with the monarch, and celebrated alike for his wit and his attainments. +Unfortunately, however, for his interests, M. le Grand had already seen +Mademoiselle de Montmorency, and the animated description which he +volunteered to the King of the coveted beauty was far from proving +favourable to the views of Bassompierre, as Henry, before he came to any +decision upon so important a question, resolved to decide for himself +the value of the prize which he was about to adjudge to one or other of +the contending parties. For this purpose he therefore joined the evening +circle of the Queen, where he first saw the daughter of the Connétable, +but apparently without the effect which had been anticipated by the Duc +de Bellegarde.</p> + +<p>On the morrow, however, he proved less insensible to the surpassing +loveliness of the young maid of honour; her modest dignity in a private +<i>salon</i> offering, in all probability, little attraction to the +licentious monarch who was accustomed to see every eye turned towards +himself, and every art +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page415"></a>[pg 415]</span> +exerted to fascinate his notice; but on the day +of the rehearsal, when the graceful and blushing nymph of Diana was +presented to him in her classic garb, her quiver at her back and her +spear in her hand, he at once acknowledged the potency of the spell by +which others had been previously subjugated. The rehearsal took place in +the great hall of the Louvre, where Henry was attended only by the Duc +de Bellegarde, and Montespan,<a name="395r"></a><a href="#_395_">[395]</a> the captain of his bodyguard.</p> + +<p>The extraordinary loveliness of the young Princess, combined with her +exquisite grace and dignified bearing, at once fascinated the King, who +declared to the Duc de Bellegarde that he had never before beheld so +faultless a face and form; to which assurance M. le Grand replied, says +Bassompierre, "according to his usual manner of extolling everything +that was novel, and particularly Mademoiselle de Montmorency, who was +indeed worthy of all admiration; and thus infused into the mind of the +King, always ready to yield to a new fancy, the passion which +subsequently caused him to commit so many extravagances." <a name="396r"></a><a href="#_396_">[396]</a></p> + +<p>For the moment, however, Henry was unable to pursue his unworthy +purpose, being attacked the same evening by a violent fit of the gout, +to which he +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page416"></a>[pg 416]</span> +had been occasionally subject for the last four years, and +which declared itself on this occasion with so much acuteness that +during fifteen days he was compelled to keep his bed. Meanwhile, the Duc +de Bouillon was not idle. Considering himself aggrieved by the +Connétable in not having been selected as the husband of his daughter, +he complained loudly and bitterly of the slight, and even induced the +Duc de Roquelaure to exert his influence with M. de Montmorency to +withdraw his promise from Bassompierre, and to bestow the hand of the +Princess upon himself. The Connétable, however, remained firm, declaring +that he had already the honour to be the great-uncle of M. de Bouillon, +a degree of kindred which quite satisfied his ambition; and that his +daughter, being pledged to Bassompierre, could no longer be an object of +pursuit with any prospect of success to any other noble, however great +might be his rank; while, in pursuance of this resolution, the Duke +caused preparations to be made for the celebration of the marriage in +the chapel of his palace at Chantilly. Bassompierre was consequently at +the summit of happiness; his ambition and his heart were alike +satisfied, and he received the congratulations of those around him with +an undisguised delight, which, in so proverbially gay and gallant a +cavalier, could not fail to prove highly flattering to the object of his +attachment.</p> + +<p>Unfortunately, before the ceremony could be performed, M. de Montmorency +was in his turn +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page417"></a>[pg 417]</span> +attacked by gout, and, greatly to the mortification of +the expectant bridegroom, the marriage was necessarily deferred. Still, +relying on the assurance of the Connétable that nothing should induce +him to rescind his resolution, Bassompierre endeavoured to await with +what patience he might the termination of the inopportune illness of the +generous Prince; and in the interim he shared with M. le Grand and the +Duc de Grammont the honour of passing the night in the royal chamber, +where the three nobles alternately read or conversed with the King +during his sleepless hours. Throughout the day the monarch received the +visits of the Queen and the Princesses of the Blood, among whom the most +welcome was the Duchesse d'Angoulême, who was on every occasion +accompanied by her niece Mademoiselle de Montmorency, whom Henry did not +fail to engross whenever the Duchess was engaged in conversation with +the members of the Court circle. Still, however, the King was careful +not to betray to the young lady herself the peculiar feeling with which +she had inspired him, but treated her with a kindness which was almost +paternal, alluding without any apparent reluctance to her betrothal to +Bassompierre, and assuring her that she should be as dear to him as a +daughter, and that during the tour of duty of her husband, as First Lord +of the Bedchamber, she should have a suite of apartments appropriated to +her use in the Louvre; but in a few days, when he had accustomed her to +converse freely with him upon the subject, Henry put a +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page418"></a>[pg 418]</span> +leading question +which must, after all these gracious promises, have tended to startle +Mademoiselle de Montmorency, by demanding to know if she personally +desired the marriage, as, should it be otherwise, she need only confess +the truth with frankness, when he would break off the match, and procure +for her an alliance more to her taste; adding that he was even willing +to bestow her hand upon his own nephew the Prince de Condé. In reply the +Princess modestly but firmly assured his Majesty that as her union with +M. de Bassompierre was the wish of her father, she felt convinced that +her destiny would be a happy one; and there can be no doubt that she +said this more emphatically than she had intended, as, from that moment, +Henry became convinced that she really loved her intended husband, and +he resolved in consequence to prevent the marriage.</p> + +<p>Unhappily for all parties, the monarch appeared to have forgotten that +he had reached his fifty-sixth year, that he was rapidly becoming a +martyr to the gout, and that he was no longer calculated to enter into a +successful rivalry with his younger and more attractive nobility; a +delusion which was unfortunately encouraged, according to Mézeray, by +his confidential friends, the relatives of the lady, and even the +members of the Queen's household, who, in the hope of at length +triumphing over his former favourites, exerted themselves to increase +his passion for the daughter of the Connétable;<a name="397r"></a><a href="#_397_">[397]</a> a passion which +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page419"></a>[pg 419]</span> +they moreover doubtless imagined could not, from the high rank and +peculiar position of Mademoiselle de Montmorency, exceed the limits of +propriety. The intentions of Henry himself were, however, as was +subsequently proved, of a far less innocuous tendency than those for +which others so erroneously gave him credit. At eight o'clock on the +following morning he sent for Bassompierre, and having caused the +attendants to leave the room, he motioned him to kneel down upon the +cushion beside his bed, when he assured him that he had been thinking +seriously of the propriety of his taking a wife.</p> + +<p>"Ah! Sire," said the delighted courtier, perfectly unsuspicious of the +real meaning of the monarch, "had not the same unlucky disease under +which your Majesty is also suffering attacked the Connétable, I should +ere this have been a husband."</p> + +<p>"No," was the hurried reply, as the King looked steadfastly at his +intended victim, "such is not my meaning. What I desire is to bestow +upon you the hand of Mademoiselle d'Aumale, and by this means to revive +the duchy of Aumale in your favour."</p> + +<p>"But I am betrothed, Sire, and cannot take a second wife!"</p> + +<p>"Bassompierre," said Henry with an emotion which he was unable to +conceal, "I have become passionately attached to Mademoiselle de +Montmorency. If you marry her and she loves you, you will be the object +of my hatred; while should I, under such circumstances, induce her to +love me, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page420"></a>[pg 420]</span> +you would hate me in your turn. You are aware of my attachment +towards yourself, and it will be far better to avoid this risk by not +placing either party in so trying a position. As regards the lady, I +have resolved upon uniting her to my nephew the Prince de Condé, and +keeping her at Court. Her presence and intercourse will be the charm and +amusement of the old age which is fast creeping upon me. I shall give to +my nephew, who is young and who prefers a thousand times a hunt to a +lady's love, a hundred thousand francs a year with which to amuse +himself, and all that I shall ask of his wife in return will be the +affection of a child."</p> + +<p>The habits and manners of the Court at that age admitted but of one +reply to this cold and selfish declaration. Bassompierre pressed his +lips upon the hand which lay upon the velvet coverlet, and assured the +King that it had ever been the desire of his life to find an opportunity +of sacrificing his own happiness to that of his Majesty; that he did not +seek to deny the extent of his disappointment; but that he nevertheless +voluntarily pledged himself never again to renew a suit which +counteracted the views and wishes of his sovereign, and trusted that +this new passion might be productive of as much delight to his Majesty +as the loss of such a bride must have grieved himself, had he not been +amply consoled by the consciousness of having merited the confidence +of his King.</p> + +<p>"Then," he says, with a <i>naïveté</i> at which it is impossible to suppress +a smile, "the King embraced +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page421"></a>[pg 421]</span> +me, and wept, assuring me that he would +further my fortunes as though I were one of his natural children, that +he loved me dearly, as I must be well assured, and that he would reward +my frankness and friendship." <a name="398r"></a><a href="#_398_">[398]</a></p> + +<p>On quitting the royal presence, the discomfited courtier hastened to +confide his sorrows to M. d'Epernon, who endeavoured to console him with +the assurance that the King's passion for Mademoiselle de Montmorency +was a mere passing caprice, as well as his declared intention of +marrying her to the Prince de Condé; reminding him, moreover, that as +the admiration of the monarch for the young lady had already become +matter of notoriety, it was highly improbable that M. de Condé would, +under the circumstances, accept her as a wife. The worthy minister had, +however, forgotten that the Prince was entirely dependent upon his royal +relative; that he had not yet been invested with any government or +official post; and that he was young, ambitious, and high-spirited. +Bassompierre bears testimony to his possession of the latter quality by +his assurance that, important as the favour of the monarch could not +fail to be to the young Prince in his peculiar position, he did not +finally give his personal consent to the alliance until he had obtained +a solemn declaration from Henry of the perfect purity of his +proffered bride.</p> + +<p>It is very singular that throughout all the details given of this affair +by contemporary writers, no +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page422"></a>[pg 422]</span> +mention is made of the measures adopted by +the King to induce or to enforce the violation of the plighted word of +the Connétable to Bassompierre. Even he himself is totally silent upon +the subject, whence we are compelled to infer that the will of the +sovereign was considered to be beyond appeal, and that his sole pleasure +exonerated the Duc de Montmorency from his voluntary engagement. The +whole transaction, indeed, is so entangled and incomprehensible, +particularly when the high rank of all the persons concerned in it is +considered, that it betrays an amount of recklessness and tyranny on the +part of the King which it is difficult to realize in our own times.</p> + +<p>Mézeray asserts that it was in order to compel the affections of +Mademoiselle de Montmorency through her gratitude, that Henry resolved +to unite her to the first Prince of the Blood, and thus elevate her to +the highest rank at Court save that of the Queen.<a name="399r"></a><a href="#_399_">[399]</a> Be this as it +may, it is certain that he prevailed over the reluctance of both +parties, and that a week subsequently to the interview described the +Prince de Condé declared his willingness to accept the bride proposed to +him by the sovereign; while having a short time afterwards met a number +of the great nobles at the levée of the King, he personally invited them +to assist at his betrothal that same evening. Among others he thus +addressed Bassompierre, who replied only by a low and ceremonious +salutation. Henry had, however, remarked +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page423"></a>[pg 423]</span> +the circumstance, and +beckoning the Marquis to his side, he inquired what had passed +between them.</p> + +<p>"Monseigneur suggested, Sire, a step which I am not inclined to take."</p> + +<p>"And what was that?" demanded the King.</p> + +<p>"That I should accompany him to witness his betrothal. Is he not old +enough to go alone? and can he not be affianced without my presence? For +thus much I can answer, that if he have no other companion than myself, +his suite will be a small one."</p> + +<p>"Nevertheless, Bassompierre, you must be there," said Henry imperiously.</p> + +<p>"I cannot, Sire," expostulated his companion. "I entreat of you not to +insist on my compliance, as I shall be driven to disobey you. Let it +suffice that I have sacrificed a passion which had become the very +principle of my existence in order to secure your peace and happiness, +and do not ask me to become the witness of my own bitter +disappointment."</p> + +<p>"The King, who was the best of men," pursues the chronicler, "simply +replied: 'I plainly see, Bassompierre, that you are angry, but I feel +sure that you will not fail when you remember that it was my nephew, the +first Prince of the Blood, by whom you were invited.'"</p> + +<p>Further expostulation was impossible, and Bassompierre saw himself +compelled to drain even to the very dregs his cup of mortification. The +ceremony took place in the gallery of the Louvre with almost fabulous +pomp. Mademoiselle de Montmorency was attended by all the Princesses of +the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page424"></a>[pg 424]</span> +Blood, and took her place immediately beside the Queen, while the +Prince stood upon the right hand of the King; who, being still feeble, +with a refinement of cruelty which it is equally difficult to explain +and to justify, selected Bassompierre upon whom to lean, and thus kept +him throughout the whole of the ceremonial in the immediate vicinity of +the affianced pair.</p> + +<p>A few days after the ceremony a ballet was danced at the Arsenal in +honour of the event, at which their Majesties and all the Court were +present; and on Shrove Tuesday a tilting at the ring took place, where +Mademoiselle de Montmorency delivered the prize to the victor. The +Queen, who had remarked with apprehension the growing passion of her +royal consort for the young Princess, was overjoyed at the contemplated +marriage, believing as she did that she must have been self-deluded, as +it was beyond credibility that, had she been correct in her surmises, +Henry would have sought to unite the object of his preference to his own +nephew. Thus, therefore, she overwhelmed the bride-elect with the most +condescending kindness, and even arranged a ballet in her honour in +which she herself appeared. "It was," says Bassompierre, "at once the +most beautiful and the last in which she ever danced." <a name="400r"></a><a href="#_400_">[400]</a></p> + +<p>On Tuesday the 10th of March the marriage took place at Chantilly in the +presence of their Majesties and the whole Court; and if the cheek of the +bride were pale, and the lip of the gallant +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page425"></a>[pg 425]</span> +Bassompierre trembled, +during the ceremony which made Charlotte de Montmorency the wife of +another, all the other actors in the brilliant drama were too fully +occupied with their respective parts to heed the silent emotion of the +sufferers. The King presented as his offering to the lady two thousand +crowns for the purchase of her <i>trousseau</i>, and jewels of the value of +eighteen thousand livres; while he gave to the Prince a large amount +both in plate and money.<a name="401r"></a><a href="#_401_">[401]</a> The Queen was also profuse in her +generosity, and several days were spent in the most splendid +festivities, after which the royal party returned to Paris, whither they +were shortly followed by the Prince and Princesse de Condé, on whose +arrival a grand ball was given by the ex-Queen Marguerite, where Henry +was once more enthralled by the exquisite dancing of the graceful bride, +and so unequivocally betrayed his admiration as to renew all the +slumbering apprehensions of the unfortunate Queen.</p> + +<p>It was soon evident, however, that M. de Condé was by no means prepared +to lend-himself to the licentious views of the King, and he maintained +so strict a guard over his beautiful young wife that neither sarcasm nor +reproach could induce him to relax his vigilance. This opposition only +served to aggravate the unhappy passion of the monarch, while the +indignation of the Prince and the anger of the Queen were, although from +a different motive, similarly excited; and in the month of July, during +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page426"></a>[pg 426]</span> +the festivities which took place on the marriage of the Duc de Vendôme +with Mademoiselle de Mercoeur, the advances of the monarch to the wife +of his nephew became so undisguised that the latter openly resented so +great an insult to his honour; a crime for which he was immediately +punished by the revocation of all the grants made to him on the occasion +of his marriage, and he was thus reduced to comparative poverty.<a name="402r"></a><a href="#_402_">[402]</a> +This extreme and wanton severity produced a diametrically opposite +effect to that which had been anticipated by the King, the Prince +instantly feeling that he had been wronged as well as insulted; while +the Queen, alarmed by the evident progress of this new and fatal +passion, which must, should it ultimately prove successful, overwhelm +the monarch with disgrace and remorse from the near consanguinity of the +parties, did not fail to urge upon M. de Condé in the most energetic +manner the necessity of preserving alike his own honour and that of the +King by removing his wife from the Court. This advice found support on +all sides, as those who made it a matter of conscience trembled at the +idea of the scandal which must ensue; while others, who merely sought to +annoy the sovereign without any regard for his reputation, still saw +their purpose answered by the proposed departure of the Princess.</p> + +<p>Difficult as it was for the Prince to consent to a separation from his +beautiful young bride, the perseverance of Henry soon convinced him that +he had +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page427"></a>[pg 427]</span> +no other alternative, and he accordingly caused her to quit the +capital, and to take up her temporary abode at Saint-Valery; but the +remonstrances of the monarch were so earnest, and he succeeded so +thoroughly in concealing his indignation against M. de Condé personally, +that for a time he flattered himself that he should be enabled to effect +her recall. Upon this point, however, the Prince was firm; and as day +after day went by without eliciting the obedience which he had +anticipated, the entreaties of the King were exchanged for threats. Nor +did Henry rest satisfied even with this show of displeasure towards his +young kinsman, for, resolved to ascertain if he should not be more +favourably received by the Princess herself, he assumed a disguise, and +proceeded with a few attendants to the place of her retreat in order to +obtain an interview. On ascertaining this fact M. de Condé removed her +to Muret, but the pursuit of the King was so resolute that the harassed +bridegroom ultimately found himself compelled to choose between his ruin +and his dishonour.<a name="403r"></a><a href="#_403_">[403]</a></p> + +<p>His first measure was to change the residence of the Princess from +Saint-Valery to his château at Breteuil, and to expostulate with her +upon the encouragement which she gave by her levity to the advances of +the monarch; but as some time passed without any further cause for +alarm, the Prince at length began to feel greater confidence, and in the +month of November joined a hunting expedition +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page428"></a>[pg 428]</span> +which compelled him to +absent himself from his wife, a circumstance that was forthwith +communicated to Henry, who immediately assumed a second disguise and +proceeded to Breteuil. M. de Condé had, however, been careful to +establish a strict watch over his household, and being apprised in his +turn of the royal visit, he suddenly returned, and the disappointed +monarch was compelled to leave the château.</p> + +<p>Madame de Verneuil, to whom the adventure was soon made known, and who, +despite the extreme precariousness of her position, never failed to +revenge herself upon the King whenever an opportunity presented itself, +related the whole story in his presence during a Court reception, only +suppressing the name of the adventurous lover; an indiscretion which so +offended and alarmed the Prince that he determined to emancipate himself +from the threatened disgrace.<a name="404r"></a><a href="#_404_">[404]</a></p> + +<p>He felt that he had but one alternative, for he was too high-spirited to +condescend to disgrace, whatever might be the penalty of his resistance; +and driven at length to an expedient which wounded his pride, but which +he found it impossible to reject, he affected to be determined by the +anger of the monarch, and requested permission to go in person to +conduct the Princess back to Court. This was instantly and joyfully +conceded, and M. de Condé no sooner found himself free to act than he +set forth; but, instead of returning to Paris as Henry +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page429"></a>[pg 429]</span> +had anxiously +anticipated, he took the precaution to have relays of post-horses +secretly secured all along the road to the Low Countries.<a name="405r"></a><a href="#_405_">[405]</a></p> + +<p>On his arrival at Muret the Prince lost not a moment in causing the +Princess to enter a carriage drawn by eight horses which he had provided +for the purpose, and at once proceeded to Flanders by way of Artois. The +dread of dishonour, coupled with the fear of arrest upon the road, lent +wings to his speed; and without once alighting the Prince and his fair +companion reached Landrecies;<a name="406r"></a><a href="#_406_">[406]</a> the entire suite of the first Prince +and Princess of the Blood comprising on this occasion only Messieurs de +Rochefort and de Tournay, and Mademoiselle de Certeau, with a valet and +a femme-de-chambre, who followed on horseback.</p> + +<p>The news of their flight reached Fontainebleau on the following evening, +while the Queen was still convalescent (having given birth to her third +and last daughter, Henriette Marie, on the 26th of November), and the +King was endeavouring to employ the interval which must ensue before the +arrival of the Princess by pursuing with renewed ardour his favourite +pastime. Pimentello, the hated of Sully, had returned to Court, and the +play was consequently "fast and furious." It was in the very height of +this maddening excitement, when he was surrounded by piles of gold, and +devotees as earnest as himself at the same shrine discreetly assembled +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page430"></a>[pg 430]</span> +in his private closet, that Henry, whose spirits were exalted by his +hopes, and who was risking sum after sum with a recklessness which would +have taken away the breath of his finance minister, received from M. +d'Elbène,<a name="407r"></a><a href="#_407_">[407]</a> and subsequently from his lieutenant of police, the +important and mortifying intelligence that his destined prey had escaped +him. The agitation which the King exhibited when convinced of the truth +of this report exceeded any that he had hitherto evinced even upon the +most important occasions, and hastily rising from the table, he murmured +in the ear of Bassompierre who was seated next to him, "Ah! my friend, I +am lost. The man has taken his wife into the depths of a forest. I know +not if it be to escape with her from France, or to put her to death. +Take care of my money, and keep up the play until I have procured more +certain and detailed information." <a name="408r"></a><a href="#_408_">[408]</a></p> + +<p>From his closet Henry proceeded to the last place on earth which might, +under the circumstances, have been anticipated. He went straight to the +chamber of the Queen, where her Majesty was still unable to leave her +bed, and there he gave full scope to the anguish under which he was +labouring. "Never," says Bassompierre, "did I see a man so lost or so +overcome." In the room were also assembled the Marquis de Coeuvres,<a name="409r"></a><a href="#_409_">[409]</a> +the Comte de +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page431"></a>[pg 431]</span> +Cramail, and MM. d'Elbène and de Loménie, with whom he +unscrupulously discussed, in the presence of his outraged wife, the +readiest means of compelling the immediate return of the fugitives. As +may naturally be anticipated, the advice likely to prove the most +flattering to his wishes was offered on all sides, and a thousand +expedients were suggested and discussed only to be found unfeasible, +until the King, in despair, notwithstanding the lateness of the hour, +resolved upon summoning his ministers. Accordingly MM. de Sillery, de +Villeroy, de Jeannin, and de Sully soon joined the party, which had, +moreover, been augmented by the presence of several of the most +confidential friends of the monarch, among others by De Gêvres,<a name="410r"></a><a href="#_410_">[410]</a> De +la Force,<a name="411r"></a><a href="#_411_">[411]</a> and La Varenne; and once more the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page432"></a>[pg 432]</span> +King sought a solution +of the difficulty. Here, however, the judgment and policy of the several +councillors differed upon every point. The Chancellor gave it as his +opinion that a strong declaration should be made against the step taken +by the Prince himself, and another equally stringent against those by +whom he should be aided and abetted in his evasion; M. de Villeroy +advised that despatches should forthwith be forwarded to the several +ambassadors of the French King at foreign Courts to warn the sovereigns +of those states against receiving the fugitive Prince within their +territories, and to exhort them to take measures for enforcing his +return to France; M. de Jeannin declared that the most expeditious +method of compelling obedience, and forestalling the inconvenience and +scandal of the self-expatriation of the first Prince of the Blood, would +be to cause him to be immediately followed by a captain of the +bodyguard, instructed to expostulate with him on his disloyalty and +imprudence, and to threaten instant war against any state by whom he +should be harboured; while when Sully at length spoke it was only to +deprecate each and all of these measures, by which he insisted that the +monarch would give an importance to the departure of the Prince that his +enemies would but too gladly turn to their own account; whereas, if he +made no +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page433"></a>[pg 433]</span> +comment upon the flight of M. de Condé, and treated it as a +matter without importance, he would at once render him insignificant in +the eyes of those sovereigns who would fain look upon him as a martyr, +and use him as a means to harass and annoy his own monarch.</p> + +<p>Henry was, however, too much excited to defer to the sober reasonings of +his finance minister, and declared that he would suffer no petty prince +to harbour the first noble of his kingdom without resenting so gross an +affront. The advice of Jeannin suited his views far better, and he +accordingly despatched M. de Praslin on the following day to Landrecies +with a peremptory order for the return of the fugitives. His messenger +was met by a firm refusal on the part of the Prince; upon which, finding +that his expostulations were of no avail, he proceeded, as he had been +ordered, to Brussels, where, in an interview with the Archduke +Albert,<a name="412r"></a><a href="#_412_">[412]</a> he delivered to him the message of his sovereign, and +explained the danger of the position in which he would personally be +placed should he venture to oppose the royal will.</p> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page434"></a>[pg 434]</span> +<p>This intelligence greatly embarrassed the Archduke, who had already +given to M. de Rochefort an assurance of the readiness with which he +would offer an asylum to the princely fugitives; but as M. de Praslin +continued to press upon him the certain indignation of the French +monarch should he venture to receive them at his Court, his previous +resolution gave way; and he hastened to despatch a messenger to +Landrecies to decline the honour proffered to him by M. de Condé, but at +the same time to assure him of a safe passage through his territories. +On the receipt of this unexpected prohibition the self-exiled Prince, +who had gone too far to recede, had no other alternative than to proceed +through the duchy of Juliers to Cologne; in which, being a free city, +and perfectly neuter in the affairs of France and Spain, the chief +magistrate granted him permission to reside.</p> + +<p>Although the Prince de Condé had been refused a retreat in Flanders, the +Archduke willingly yielded to the request of the Princess that she might +be permitted to reside for a time in Brussels, until the final abode of +her husband should be decided; and she accordingly arrived in that city +under his escort, where the illustrious couple were received with great +ceremony and cordiality by the Papal Nuncio and the other dignitaries of +the town. Their arrival was no sooner known than Philip of Orange and +his Princess (the sister of M. de Condé) hastened from Breda to welcome +them; and they were followed a few days afterwards by the Archduke and +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page435"></a>[pg 435]</span> +Archduchess, by whom the royal fugitives were entertained with all the +honour due to their exalted rank, and their unmerited misfortunes. The +Prince then took his departure for Cologne, while the fair cause of his +flight remained in the Flemish capital under the protection of her +new friends.</p> + +<p>Marie de Medicis had, meanwhile, no sooner ascertained that the embassy +of M. de Praslin had been successful, and that the self-expatriated pair +had been denied a refuge in the Low Countries, than she addressed a +letter to the Marquis de Spinola, entreating him to cause a revocation +of the denial, and representing how entirely her domestic peace depended +upon the absence of the Princesse de Condé; an absence which could not +fail to be abridged by the necessity of residing in a city like Cologne, +where the ardent spirit of the Prince could not but revolt at the tedium +around him. The effect of her appeal was all that she had anticipated, +strengthening as it did the preconceived measures of the confidential +minister of Philip III, who hastened to represent to that monarch the +gross error into which the Archduke had fallen, and the favourable +opportunity which he had thus lost of retorting upon Henry the +protection that he had accorded to Don Antonio Perez, a traitor to his +sovereign and to his country; and of securing to the Court of Spain the +advantage which it must have derived from having in its power, and +securing to its interests, the first Prince of the Blood in France. His +arguments proved conclusive, the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page436"></a>[pg 436]</span> +jealousy of Philip always prompting +him to lend a willing ear to every project by which he might be enabled +to accomplish any triumph over the French monarch; and accordingly +instructions were forwarded to the Archduke to repair his fault without +delay, by inviting the Prince to rejoin his bride at Brussels. Little as +the sovereign of the Low Countries was disposed to involve himself in a +war with France, he did not hesitate to comply with the injunction. He +placed so firm a reliance on the support of Spain in the event of +hostilities, and had been so long accustomed to conform to her counsels, +that he immediately made known to M. de Condé his change of resolution, +and declared himself ready to receive him whenever he should see fit to +return to his territories; while at the same time he wrote to apprise +the French King of what he had done, assuring him that the permission +granted to the fugitive Prince involved no want of respect for himself +or of deference to his wishes, but had been accorded in the full +persuasion of his ultimate approval.</p> + +<p>The Spanish minister also despatched a messenger to the Prince, +declaring that he was at liberty to take up his abode in the Low +Countries, where he would be treated in a manner worthy of his birth and +dignity, and, under the protection of the King his master, be assured of +safety and respect. M, de Condé gladly availed himself of this +permission, and a short time subsequently established himself in the +palace of his sister, the Princess of Orange.</p> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page437"></a>[pg 437]</span> +<p>Enraged at this open violation of his wishes, and still reluctant to +commence a war which he was conscious would rather owe its origin to +private feeling than to national expediency, Henry resolved, as a last +resource, to invest M. de Coeuvres with full powers to treat with the +revolted Prince; and for this purpose he furnished him with an autograph +letter, in which he assured the fugitive of an unreserved pardon in the +event of his immediate return to France; but threatened, should he +persist in his contumacy, to declare him guilty of the crime of +<i>lèse-majesté.</i> M. de Condé simply replied to this missive by a +declaration of his innocence, and his respect for the person of the +King, and by protesting against all that might be done to prejudice his +interests; nor did the interviews which took place between himself and +the royal envoy prove more satisfactory, although the Marquis exerted +all his eloquence to induce him to comply with the will of the +sovereign. Moreover, the letter of Henry, instead of exciting his +confidence, had rendered the Prince more suspicious than ever of the +designs of the monarch; and he accordingly left Brussels, where he no +longer considered himself safe, at the end of February (1610), and took +refuge at Milan with the Condé de Fuentes, the governor of that city.</p> + +<p>More than one rumour had meanwhile reached the Archduchess that Madame +de Condé was by no means so indifferent to the degrading passion of the +King as was befitting to her honour, and the Princess was accordingly +soon made sensible that +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page438"></a>[pg 438]</span> +her sojourn at Brussels had degenerated into a +species of ceremonious imprisonment. Naturally vain and volatile, +dazzled by the consciousness that she had become a sort of heroine, and +moreover saddened by her memories of the brilliant existence from which +she had been so suddenly shut out, the widowed bride would gladly have +followed her husband to the gayer city of Milan, even wounded as she was +by his indifference and coldness, rather than remain at the austere +Court of the pious Infanta, where she was aware that her words and +actions were subjected to the closest scrutiny; but the will of her +father compelled her to remain at Brussels, the Connétable being +apprehensive, from the marked neglect and suspicion evinced towards her +by the Prince, that this latter might endeavour to remove her beyond the +reach of her friends in order to hold her more completely in his power. +Under this impression her father had consequently insisted upon her +residence at the Archducal Court, and had instructed her to solicit the +influence of the Infanta, and to employ every means in her own power, to +prevent M. de Condé from effecting her removal in the event of his +finding it himself expedient to leave Flanders.</p> + +<p>Not satisfied with this precaution, moreover, M. de Montmorency also +demanded an audience of the King, in which he laid before him the +apprehensions that he entertained; and finally he entreated his +Majesty's permission to compel his daughter to return to France, and to +take up her residence with the Duchesse d'Angoulême, her aunt. + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page439"></a>[pg 439]</span> +Henry +made a ready and gracious reply to this request, and before he finally +retired from the royal closet, the Connétable asked and obtained the +royal sanction to authorize the Marquis de Coeuvres to concert with him +some scheme for carrying off the Princess.</p> + +<p>M. de Coeuvres had no sooner received these instructions than he +admitted to his confidence Madame de Berny, the wife of the French +Ambassador at the Flemish Court (who from political reasons was himself +kept in ignorance of the plot), and M. de Châteauneuf,<a name="413r"></a><a href="#_413_">[413]</a> who was at +that period residing in Brussels on a special mission from his +Government; and the quasi-conspirators were not long ere they flattered +themselves that their success was certain.</p> + +<p>Near the palace of the Prince of Orange, in which Madame de Condé had +taken up her residence, was a breach in the city wall by which it was +easy to descend into the moat; and it was decided that the Princess +should effect her escape from this point during the night. Saddled +horses were to be prepared for herself and her retinue near the outer +bank of the ditch, and nothing remained undecided save the moment of her +evasion. She was to proceed at all speed to Pontarmé, where a relay of +fresh horses and an armed escort were to await her arrival, and similar +arrangements were to be made throughout the whole of the route to +Rocroy. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page440"></a>[pg 440]</span> +Finally, the precise night of her flight was decided on; and +this had no sooner been determined than M. de Coeuvres despatched a +courier to the Connétable, informing him that there now remained no +doubt of the immediate return of the Princess to his protection.</p> + +<p>This intelligence reached Paris on the Wednesday, and the following +Saturday was the period fixed for the projected evasion, a fact which M. +de Montmorency had no sooner ascertained than he hastened to communicate +the success of M. de Coeuvres to the King. Henry was overjoyed, and in +the fulness of his satisfaction was guilty of an indiscretion which was +fated to overthrow his hopes; for, believing that in so short a time no +effectual measures could be taken to frustrate the plot, he was +incautious enough to confide the whole conspiracy to the Queen, who was +still an invalid, not having yet recovered from the birth of her third +daughter.<a name="414r"></a><a href="#_414_">[414]</a> Agitated and alarmed, Marie listened to the narrative +with an earnest attention, which only tended to render her royal consort +more communicative than he might otherwise have been; and, in the excess +of his self-gratulation, he moreover exhibited such unequivocal proofs +of the interest which he personally felt in the result of the evasion, +that she at once resolved to prevent the reappearance of the Princess in +France. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page441"></a>[pg 441]</span> +The King had accordingly no sooner quitted her apartment than +she desired Madame Concini to bring her kinsman the Nuncio Ubaldini to +her private closet without losing an instant, a command which was so +zealously obeyed by her favourite that she was enabled, after a +prolonged conference with this ecclesiastic, to despatch a courier +secretly to Spinola the same night to acquaint him with the projected +design, and to entreat him to frustrate it should there yet be time.</p> + +<p>The royal messenger travelled so rapidly that he reached Brussels at +eleven o'clock on the morning of Saturday, and Spinola had no sooner +read the despatch than he hastened to communicate its contents to the +Archduke and the Infanta, who instantly sent a company of the light +horse of the bodyguard to possess themselves of all the approaches to +the palace of the Prince of Orange. This done, their Imperial Highnesses +next caused several state carriages to be prepared, which were placed +under the charge of one of the principal officers of their household, +who received directions to invite Madame de Condé in their joint names +to take immediate possession of a suite of rooms in the Archducal palace +which they desired to appropriate to her use and that of her suite, as +better suited to the dignity of her high rank than those which she then +inhabited. He was, moreover, instructed to accept no denial, but to +insist upon the compliance of the Princess; and thus armed the courtier +proceeded to the Hôtel d'Orange, where he communicated the subject of +his mission +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page442"></a>[pg 442]</span> +to Madame de Condé in the presence of her two confidants. +The consternation of the whole party may be imagined when, just as they +conceived themselves secure of success, they thus discovered that their +design had been betrayed; nor was it until the Princess had exhausted +every subterfuge she could invent that she found herself compelled to +accompany the Archducal envoy. It was in vain that she represented the +greater propriety of her residence under the roof of her husband's +sister during that husband's absence; she was assured that she would +find the palace equally eligible and far more worthy of her occupation. +She then pleaded her reluctance to intrude further upon the splendid +hospitality of her princely hosts; her objection was met by an assurance +that so eager were the sovereigns to receive her as a guest that they +were even at that moment waiting in the greatest anxiety to bid her +welcome, an intimation which served to convince Madame de Condé that she +had no alternative save to submit to this polite tyranny, and that upon +the instant. She accordingly summoned her attendants, and without having +been permitted to hold any private communication with her equally +discomfited friends, she entered the carriage assigned to her, and was +rapidly driven-to the palace.<a name="415r"></a><a href="#_415_">[415]</a></p> + +<p>The indignation of the Prince de Condé equalled the mortification of the +King when he learnt the failure of the projected evasion; while the +Marquis de +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page443"></a>[pg 443]</span> +Coeuvres and M. de Berny demanded an audience of the +Archduke, at which they loudly complained of the insults to which the +Princess had been subjected, and which were, as they alleged, calculated +to strengthen the odious suspicions that had already been generated +against the King their master. M. de Berny, who was entirely ignorant of +the plot, was naturally the loudest in his denunciations of the violence +offered to Madame de Condé, and the species of captivity to which she +was condemned, when she had been led to expect nothing but consideration +for her rank and sympathy for her misfortunes. He, moreover, assured the +Archduke that nothing could be more wild and absurd than the idea of her +flight, warmly demanding wherefore she was likely to leave a capital +wherein she had hitherto been so well and so generously received.</p> + +<p>The genuine indignation of the Ambassador produced as little effect upon +the Archduke as the laboured arguments of M. de Coeuvres, and he +contented himself by courteously regretting that an attention, intended +to convey to the Princess the extent of the respect and friendship with +which she had inspired him, should have been so ill-interpreted, adding, +moreover, that far from disapproving the step which he had taken, he +felt convinced that the French King would recognize in it only his +earnest desire to do honour to the first Princess of the Blood. Further +argument was useless, the imperturbable composure of the Archduke +totally overpowering the wordy violence of his interlocutors, who were +eventually +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page444"></a>[pg 444]</span> +compelled to withdraw without having effected the +restoration of Madame de Condé. On the return of the Marquis de Coeuvres +to Paris, Henry, still believing that the Archduke would not venture to +brave his displeasure by any further opposition to his will, accredited +M. de Preau<a name="416r"></a><a href="#_416_">[416]</a> to the Court of Brussels, with instructions to demand +the immediate return of the Princess in the joint names of the Duke her +father and Madame d'Angoulême her aunt; but this new procuration was met +by the Austrian Prince with the announcement that he had pledged himself +to M. de Condé not to permit the Princess to leave Brussels without his +consent, and that he consequently could not without dishonour forfeit +his plighted word.</p> + +<p>Exasperated by a firmness for which he was unprepared, and satisfied +that the support of the Spanish Cabinet could alone have induced the +Archduke thus to drive him to extremities, Henry at once resolved no +longer to delay the hostilities which he had long meditated against +Spain, and to which he was now urged as much by private feeling as by +state policy. A sufficient pretext offered itself, moreover, in the +efforts which had been made by several of the German Princes to possess +themselves of the duchies of Clèves and Juliers; the death of Jean +Guillaume, Duc de Clèves, Juliers, and Bergh, Comte de la Mark, and Lord +of Ravenstein, which had occurred on the 25th of March, and the +numerous +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page445"></a>[pg 445]</span> +claims made upon his succession, having rendered the ultimate +disposition of his duchy a matter of extreme importance to Henry, who +was reluctant to strengthen the power of Austria by permitting this +increase of territory to pass definitely into her hands,<a name="417r"></a><a href="#_417_">[417]</a> as it had +already partially done, the Emperor having hastened to place the duchy +under sequestration.</p> + +<p>The petty sovereigns thus despoiled protested energetically against such +an usurpation, and several among them had even entreated the protection +of France, to the great gratification of Henri IV, who thus found +himself doubly armed, as his interference on behalf of the aggrieved +Princes assured their cooperation in his own project of recovering from +the Emperor the provinces of Franche-Comté and Flanders, which had been +in the possession of Spain since the time of Charles V, and which had +formed, as we have elsewhere stated, the dowry of the Infanta on her +marriage with the Archduke Albert. Thus in the eyes of Europe the French +King was about to engage in this new war simply to enforce justice to +himself and his allies; but it was so evident to all who considered the +subject that these pretensions might have been put down at once by the +slightest show of resistance on his own part, and that so comparatively +unimportant a campaign might prudently have been entrusted to one of his +many able generals, that when it became known that an army of forty +thousand infantry, six thousand Swiss, the bodyguard, and a corps of +four +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page446"></a>[pg 446]</span> +thousand mounted nobles, together with a strong park of artillery, +were about to take the field under the command of the King in person, +there were few individuals acquainted with the circumstances which we +have just narrated who did not feel convinced that the monarch was +rather about to undertake a crusade for the deliverance of the Princesse +de Condé than a war for the preservation of his territories.</p> + +<p>This opinion was, moreover, strengthened by the fact that throughout all +these hostile preparations Henry did not discontinue his negotiations +for the return of Madame de Condé to France. He pleaded the authority of +her father, the anxiety of her more than mother the Duchesse +d'Angoulême, his own authority over his subjects, the inclination of the +Princess herself to be once more under the protection of her family; but +all these pretexts signally failed. Yet neither Henry nor his agent M. +de Preau would yield to discouragement; passion on the one hand, and +ambition on the other, lent them strength to persevere; and having +exhausted their first scheme of attack, they next represented the +necessity of her presence at the approaching coronation of the Queen, +where it was important that she should occupy the position suited to her +rank as first Princess of the Blood; and next they alleged the +impossibility of furthering her views in the separation from her husband +which she was about to demand, unless she were enabled personally to +expose her reasons to the Parliament. Moreover, Madame de Condé had +written to the French ministers to +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page447"></a>[pg 447]</span> +complain of violence and +imprisonment, and the King insisted upon the necessity of her +liberation.</p> + +<p>De Preau, however, zealous as he was, made no impression upon the +firmness of the Archduke. The Spanish Cabinet had rendered itself +responsible for his opposition, and he defied the menaces of France, a +circumstance which decided Henry upon immediate war. The resolution +which he had taken of heading the army in person determined him, before +his departure from France, solemnly to invest the Queen with the title +of Regent during his absence; but the precautions which he took to name +an efficient Council by whom she was to be assisted in the government of +the kingdom excited the indignation and resentment of her personal +favourites, especially of Concini, who thus saw himself rendered +powerless when he had hoped to assert his influence and to improve his +fortunes; and under the pressure of this disappointment he hastened to +represent to his royal mistress the utter emptiness of the dignity with +which Henry proposed to invest her.</p> + +<p>"You are an uncrowned Queen," he said, "and you are about to become a +powerless Regent. Thus, Madame, you will be known by two high-sounding +titles, neither of which will in reality appertain to you. Cause +yourself to be crowned, and then you will indeed possess the authority +which is your due and the honour of which you have heretofore been +unjustly deprived. Cease to be a puppet in the hands of a faithless +husband, and at least compel this coming war, undertaken for the +recovery of a +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page448"></a>[pg 448]</span> +new mistress, to be the means of establishing your own +rightful position."</p> + +<p>This advice was eagerly accepted by Marie, whose ambition had at length +been aroused by a consideration of the failing health and advanced age +of the King and the prospect afforded by the extreme youth of the +Dauphin of a protracted minority, and she consequently hastened to +express to Henry her earnest desire to feel herself in reality Queen of +France before his departure from the kingdom, in order that she might +not have to apprehend any neglect of her legitimate authority upon the +part of the ministers whom he had selected to share with her the burthen +of state affairs. The monarch, who had hitherto refused to listen to +every suggestion which had been made to him of the propriety of showing +this mark of consideration to his royal consort, was even less inclined +to make the concession at this particular moment, when the expenses of +his meditated campaign had been estimated at twelve hundred and fifty +livres a month for the support of his own troops and an equal sum for +those of his allies;<a name="418r"></a><a href="#_418_">[418]</a> and he replied with considerable warmth that +she had chosen her time for such a request most injudiciously, since she +must be aware that he had neither the time nor the funds necessary to +the indulgence of so puerile a vanity. The Queen, however, urged by her +advisers, resolutely returned to the charge, declaring that she could +assume no prominent position in the temporary government of +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page449"></a>[pg 449]</span> +the kingdom +while her own remained so vague and undefined. She reminded him, +moreover, of the uncomplaining patience with which she had awaited his +pleasure upon this particular; a patience which, as she asserted, she +could still have exercised had he not been about to cross the frontier, +but which, under existing circumstances, she now considered as weak and +pusillanimous in the mother of three princes.<a name="419r"></a><a href="#_419_">[419]</a></p> + +<p>"At length, however," says Bassompierre, whose own more than +questionable morality did not permit him to enact the censor upon his +sovereign, "as he was the best husband in the world, he finished by +giving his consent, and delayed his departure until she should have made +her public entry into the capital." <a name="420r"></a><a href="#_420_">[420]</a></p> + +<p>On retiring to his closet the King declared to one or two of his +confidential friends, as he had already done on former occasions when +the same question had been mooted, that the actual cause of the +repugnance which he felt to accede to the wishes of the Queen arose from +a firm conviction that her coronation would cost him his life, and that +he should never leave Paris in safety, as his enemies could only hope to +triumph by depriving him of existence.<a name="421r"></a><a href="#_421_">[421]</a></p> + +<p>"Assuredly," pursues the quaint old chronicler from whom we have just +quoted, "heaven and earth had given us only too many prognostics of what +was to happen to him: it was in the year 1608 that a +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page450"></a>[pg 450]</span> +great eclipse +nearly covered the whole body of the sun; in the preceding year 1607 +that the terrible comet appeared; after which some three months or +thereabout we had two earthquakes; then several monsters born in divers +provinces of France; bloody rains that fell at Orleans and at Troyes; +the great plague that afflicted Paris in the past year 1609; the furious +overflowing of the Loire; next the Curé of Montargis found upon the +altar, when he went to celebrate the mass, a scroll by which he was +informed that his Majesty would be killed by a determined blow, and the +said Curé of Montargis carried the paper to the Duc de Sully. Several +conspiracies," he goes on to say, "must have been formed against the +life of this good King, since from twenty quarters he received notice of +it. The Pope Paul V sent him a courier express to warn him to be upon +his guard, as very high and powerful ladies and some of the greatest +nobles of his Court were involved in a plot against his life." <a name="422r"></a><a href="#_422_">[422]</a></p> + +<p>What reason the King may have supposed himself to possess for +considering his own death to be consequent upon the coronation of Marie, +or whether he did actually so combine the two events in his own mind, it +were impossible for posterity to decide; but it is at least certain that +Rambure himself is not singular in adducing extraordinary coincidences +and in lending his support to these superstitious terrors, for it is on +record that Cardinal Barberino, who subsequently (in 1623) became Pope +under the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page451"></a>[pg 451]</span> +title of Urban VIII, and who was, at the period of which we +now write, celebrated for his acquaintance with the occult sciences, as +well as for his skill in astrology, sent a message to the King in the +month of January, by which he cautioned him not to sojourn in any large +city throughout the whole of the year, but more especially during the +months of March, April, May, June, and July; declaring that, should he +disregard the warning, he would be assassinated by an unfrocked monk of +saturnine temperament born in his own kingdom; and adding that he would +do well carefully to ascertain whether any individual answering to this +description were then residing within his dominions, in order that +should such an one be discovered, he might be closely watched; and he, +moreover, concluded by assuring the monarch that if he would submit to +absent himself from all the great cities of his kingdom during the +months specified, he (the Cardinal) would answer with his life that he +should escape the threatened peril.</p> + +<p>This intimation, extraordinary as it seems, was, however, insignificant +beside another which reached Henry at the same period through the +Marquis Dufresne, his ambassador at the Court of Constantinople, who was +instructed by the Sultan to desire him to take off the heads of the six +principal nobles of his nation immediately on the receipt of his letter, +and to be upon his guard against the greatest lady in his dominions, as +well as against three persons who were in her confidence, whom he +advised +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page452"></a>[pg 452]</span> +him to imprison during their lives, the whole of them being +implicated in the plot.<a name="423r"></a><a href="#_423_">[423]</a></p> + +<p>Both these communications may, however, find a probable solution in the +circumstance of their having been made by individuals who had obtained +information of a conspiracy against the life of the French King, a +supposition rendered the more rational by the fact that although aware +of the formidable army then organized in France, the Austrians made no +preparation to resist a force which they were conscious was to be used +against themselves; an inertness which could only be accounted for by +the supposition that they were about to employ other and surer methods +of evading the threatened evil.<a name="424r"></a><a href="#_424_">[424]</a> But in addition to these probably +political prophecies, others of a still more singular nature were made +to Henry of his approaching fate. A young female named Anne de Comans +voluntarily declared that a fatal conspiracy had been organized, whose +avowed object was to terminate the existence of the monarch by violence, +and even after his death she persisted in maintaining the truth of her +assertion, not only orally but in writing; for which persistence she was +pronounced to be insane, and so closely confined in an asylum for +lunatics as actually to become in a few months the madwoman which she +had been represented, although it would appear that great doubts were +entertained as to her previous hallucination.<a name="425r"></a><a href="#_425_">[425]</a> Six months before his +death the King being in the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page453"></a>[pg 453]</span> +house of Zamet retired immediately that he +had dined to a private apartment, whence he sent to summon Thomassin, +one of the most celebrated astrologers of the time, whom he interrogated +respecting his own future destiny and that of his kingdom. In reply he +was warned as usual to beware of the approaching month of May, and at +length, irritated by his scepticism, the professor of the black art +predicted to him not only the day but the very hour which was to +terminate his existence.<a name="426r"></a><a href="#_426_">[426]</a></p> + +<p>A short time subsequently a nobleman of Béarn arrived in Paris and +requested an audience of the King, which he had no sooner obtained than +he informed him that he had been instructed in a vision to seek his +presence in order to warn him of his approaching death. Henry, however, +who piqued himself in public upon denying credence to these supernatural +revelations, and who, moreover, imagined that the object of his +countryman was to obtain a recompense for his zeal, treated the matter +lightly and ordered three hundred crowns to be presented to the stranger +to defray his travelling expenses. This present he, however, +respectfully refused, protesting that he had acted only upon a principle +of duty, and that he should be amply recompensed should his warning +suffice to induce the monarch to adopt such precautions as would enable +him to escape the threatened peril.<a name="427r"></a><a href="#_427_">[427]</a></p> + +<p>Only a few nights previous to her coronation the Queen suddenly awoke +from a profound slumber +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page454"></a>[pg 454]</span> +uttering a piercing shriek and trembling in +every limb. Alarmed by her evident state of agony, the monarch, having +at length succeeded in restoring her to a state of comparative +composure, urged her to explain the cause of her terror, but for a +considerable time she refused to yield to his entreaties. Overcome at +last, however, by his evident anxiety and uneasiness, she informed him +that she had just had a frightful dream, in which she had seen him fall +under the knife of an assassin.<a name="428r"></a><a href="#_428_">[428]</a></p> + +<p>Two remarkable coincidences also demand mention, particularly as they +occurred at a distance from the capital. On the day of the King's +assassination his shield, bearing his blazon, which was attached to the +principal entrance of the château of Pau in Béarn, fell heavily to the +ground and broke to pieces; while immediately afterwards the cows of the +royal herd, which had previously been grazing quietly in the park, began +to low in a frightful manner, and suddenly the bull known as <i>the king</i> +rushed violently against the gate whence the trophy had fallen and then +sprang into the moat, where it was drowned. The effect produced upon the +inhabitants of the district was instantaneous; loud and lamentable +shouts of "The King is dead!" arose on all sides, and within two hours +every Béarnais felt convinced that his beloved monarch had ceased to +exist.<a name="429r"></a><a href="#_429_">[429]</a></p> + +<p>It is useless to multiply these strange tales; but it is certain that +they did not fail in their effect upon the mind of the monarch, however +he might struggle +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page455"></a>[pg 455]</span> +to conceal the feelings which they excited, for +Bassompierre relates that during the preparations which were making for +the coronation of the Queen, Henry repeatedly alluded to his approaching +death with a sadness which evinced his entire belief in the predictions +that had reached him.</p> + +<p>"I know not wherefore, Bassompierre," he said on one occasion, "but I am +persuaded that I shall never again see Germany, nor do I believe that +you will go to Italy. I shall not live much longer."</p> + +<p>On the 1st of May, when returning from the Tuileries by the great +gallery to the Louvre, supported in consequence of his gout by the Duc +de Guise and the narrator himself, he said on reaching the door of the +Queen's closet to his two attendants, "Wait for me here. I will hasten +the toilet of my wife that she may not keep my dinner waiting." He was +of course obeyed, and the Duke and Bassompierre, in order to while away +the time, walked to the balcony that overhung the court of the Louvre, +against which they leant watching what passed below, when suddenly the +great hawthorn which occupied the centre of the area swayed for an +instant and then fell to the earth with a loud crash in the direction of +the King's private staircase without any apparent agency, as not a +breath of air was stirring, nor was any one near it at the time.</p> + +<p>The impressionable imagination of Bassompierre was deeply moved. +"Would," he exclaimed to his companion, "that any sacrifice on my part +could +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page456"></a>[pg 456]</span> +have averted so dire a presage as this. God preserve the King!"</p> + +<p>"You are mad," was the reply of the Duke, "to connect the fortunes of +the King with the fall of a tree."</p> + +<p>"It may be so," was the melancholy rejoinder; "but neither in Italy nor +in Germany would this circumstance fail to produce alarm. Heaven guard +the monarch, and all who are near and dear to him!"</p> + +<p>"You are two fools to amuse yourselves with these absurd prognostics," +said Henry, who had approached them unheard during their momentary +excitement. "For the last thirty years all the astrologers and +mountebanks in the kingdom, as well as a host of other impostors, have +predicted at given intervals that I was about to die, so that when the +time comes some of these prophecies must prove correct and will be +quoted as miracles, while all the false ones will be studiously +forgotten."</p> + +<p>The young nobles received the rebuke in silence; but the inexplicable +accident which had just occurred was sufficient in so superstitious an +age to arouse the liveliest forebodings in the minds of those by whom it +was witnessed.<a name="430r"></a><a href="#_430_">[430]</a></p> + +<p>FOOTNOTES:</p> + +<p><a name="_391_"></a><a href="#391r">[391]</a> Mademoiselle de Montmorency was the daughter of Henri, first of +the name, Duc de Montmorency, Marshal and Constable of France, +celebrated in the history of the civil wars under the name of Damville, +who died on the 2nd of April 1614, and of Louise de Budos, his second +wife, who had, on her appearance at Court, attracted the attention of +the King. This lady, who became the wife of the Connétable in 1593, died +in 1598. Charlotte Marguerite was born in 1594, and was consequently but +fifteen years of age when she entered the household of the Queen.</p> + +<p><a name="_392_"></a><a href="#392r">[392]</a> Bentivoglio, <i>Della Fuga del Principe di Condé</i>.</p> + +<p><a name="_393_"></a><a href="#393r">[393]</a> Bassompierre, <i>Mém</i>. p. 53.</p> + +<p><a name="_394_"></a><a href="#394r">[394]</a> Bassompierre, <i>Mém</i>. p. 55.</p> + +<p><a name="_395_"></a><a href="#395r">[395]</a> Hector de Pardaillan, Seigneur de Montespan, who died in 1611, at +the advanced age of eighty years. He was the father of Antoine-Arnauld +de Pardaillan, first Marquis d'Antin, grandfather of Roger-Hector, +Marquis d'Antin, great-grandfather of Louis-Henri, Marquis de Montespan, +the husband of Franchise Athenais de Rochechouart-Mortemart, the +celebrated favourite of Louis XIV.</p> + +<p><a name="_396_"></a><a href="#396r">[396]</a> <i>Mémoires</i>, p. 55.</p> + +<p><a name="_397_"></a><a href="#397r">[397]</a> Mézeray, vol. x. p. 369.</p> + +<p><a name="_398_"></a><a href="#398r">[398]</a> <i>Mémoires</i>, p. 56.</p> + +<p><a name="_399_"></a><a href="#399r">[399]</a> Mézeray, vol. x. p. 365.</p> + +<p><a name="_400_"></a><a href="#400r">[400]</a> <i>Mémoires</i>, p. 58.</p> + +<p><a name="_401_"></a><a href="#401r">[401]</a> Sully, <i>Mém</i>. vol. vii. p. 189.</p> + +<p><a name="_402_"></a><a href="#402r">[402]</a> Sully, <i>Mém</i>. vol. vii. pp. 191, 192.</p> + +<p><a name="_403_"></a><a href="#403r">[403]</a> Mézeray, vol. x. pp. 370, 371.</p> + +<p><a name="_404_"></a><a href="#404r">[404]</a> Montfaucon, vol. v. p. 425.</p> + +<p><a name="_405_"></a><a href="#405r">[405]</a> Daniel, vol. vii. p. 498.</p> + +<p><a name="_406_"></a><a href="#406r">[406]</a> Dreux du Radier, vol. vii. pp. 115, 116.</p> + +<p><a name="_407_"></a><a href="#407r">[407]</a> Alexandre, Comte d'Elbène, celebrated for his military talent and +prowess under Henri III and Henri IV.</p> + +<p><a name="_408_"></a><a href="#408r">[408]</a> <i>Mémoires</i>, p. 67.</p> + +<p><a name="_409_"></a><a href="#409r">[409]</a> François Annibal d'Estrées, Marquis de Coeuvres, subsequently +duke, peer, and Marshal of France, was the son of Jean d'Estrées, Grand +Master of Artillery, and the representative of an ancient and +illustrious family. He was born in 1563, originally entered the Church, +and became Bishop of Laon, to which see he was promoted by Henri IV +himself. He, however, some time afterwards, abandoned the ecclesiastical +profession and embraced that of arms. In this new career he soon +distinguished himself. In 1626 he relieved the Duke of Mantua, took +Trèves, and made himself conspicuous alike by his valour and his talent. +When appointed, in 1636, ambassador-extraordinary to Rome, he maintained +the interests of his sovereign with energy and perseverance, and his +frankness and decision caused a misunderstanding between himself and +Urban VIII. On his recall to France he refused to explain or to palliate +his conduct, and died, leaving behind him the <i>Memoirs of the Regency of +Marie de Medicis.</i></p> + +<p><a name="_410_"></a><a href="#410r">[410]</a> Louis Potier, Marquis de Gêvres, was killed at the siege of +Thionville in 1643.</p> + +<p><a name="_411_"></a><a href="#411r">[411]</a> Jacques Nompar de Caumont, Duc de la Force, was the representative +of a family which traced its descent from the eleventh century, and was +the son of François, Seigneur de la Force, who fell during the massacre +of St. Bartholomew. He bore arms in the Protestant army of Henri IV, and +also placed himself at the head of the reformed party under Louis XIII, +to whom, however, he surrendered in 1622, and subsequently became +Marshal of France, and lieutenant-general of the army in Piedmont. He +took Pignerol, defeated the Spaniards at Carignano in 1603, and +possessed himself of several towns in Germany. He then returned to +France, where he died in 1652.</p> + +<p><a name="_412_"></a><a href="#412r">[412]</a> Albert, Archduke of Austria, was the sixth son of Maximilian II, +and was born in 1559. In 1583 he was appointed Viceroy of Portugal, and +in 1596 became Governor of the Low Countries under Philip II. He made +himself master of Calais, Ardres, and Amiens, and married Isabel Clara +Eugenia, the daughter of the Spanish King, who brought him as her dowry +the Catholic Low Countries and Franche-Comté, and thus renewed the war +with Holland. Defeated at Nieuwpoort by Maurice of Nassau in 1600, he +possessed himself of Ostend in 1604, after a siege of three years, three +months, and three days; but he was nevertheless compelled to conclude a +truce of eight months in 1607, and another of twelve years in 1609. He +died in 1621.</p> + +<p><a name="_413_"></a><a href="#413r">[413]</a> Réné de Sainte Marthe de Châteauneuf, who became Keeper of the +Seals under the regency of Marie de Medicis.</p> + +<p><a name="_414_"></a><a href="#414r">[414]</a> Madame Henrietta Marie de France, who was married by procuration, +by the Cardinal de la Rochefoucauld, in the cathedral of Notre Dame, on +the 11th of May 1625, to Charles I of England. This unfortunate Queen +died suddenly at her country-house at Colombes in 1669.</p> + +<p><a name="_415_"></a><a href="#415r">[415]</a> Daniel, vol. vii. pp. 502, 503, by whom these details were +obtained from manuscript letters in the library of the Abbé d'Estrées.</p> + +<p><a name="_416_"></a><a href="#416r">[416]</a> Hector de Preau was a Calvinist nobleman and Governor of +Châtellerault.</p> + +<p><a name="_417_"></a><a href="#417r">[417]</a> Mézeray, vol. x. p. 374.</p> + +<p><a name="_418_"></a><a href="#418r">[418]</a> Mézeray, vol. x. p. 384.</p> + +<p><a name="_419_"></a><a href="#419r">[419]</a> Mézeray, vol. x. p. 387. L'Etoile, vol. iv. p. 16.</p> + +<p><a name="_420_"></a><a href="#420r">[420]</a> <i>Mémoires</i>, p. 70.</p> + +<p><a name="_421_"></a><a href="#421r">[421]</a> Rambure, MS. <i>Mém</i>. vol. vi. pp. 27, 28.</p> + +<p><a name="_422_"></a><a href="#422r">[422]</a> Rambure, <i>MS. Mém</i>. vol. vi. pp. 28, 29.</p> + +<p><a name="_423_"></a><a href="#423r">[423]</a> Rambure, MS. <i>Mém</i>. vol. vi. pp. 29, 30.</p> + +<p><a name="_424_"></a><a href="#424r">[424]</a> Mézeray, vol. x. p. 385.</p> + +<p><a name="_425_"></a><a href="#425r">[425]</a> Mézeray, vol. x. pp. 376, 385.</p> + +<p><a name="_426_"></a><a href="#426r">[426]</a> <i>Mém. pour l'Hist. de France</i>, vol. ii. p. 309.</p> + +<p><a name="_427_"></a><a href="#427r">[427]</a> Dupleix, p. 411.</p> + +<p><a name="_428_"></a><a href="#428r">[428]</a> L'Etoile, vol. iv. p. 31 <i>n</i>.</p> + +<p><a name="_429_"></a><a href="#429r">[429]</a> Mézeray, vol. x. pp. 390, 391.</p> + +<p><a name="_430_"></a><a href="#430r">[430]</a> Bassompierre, <i>Mém</i>. p. 70. Rambure, MS. <i>Mém</i>. vol. vi. p. 33.</p> +<br> + +<p>END OF VOL. I</p> +<br> + +<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 11531 ***</div> +</body> +</html> diff --git a/11531-h/images/002.jpg b/11531-h/images/002.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..ca802f9 --- /dev/null +++ b/11531-h/images/002.jpg diff --git a/11531-h/images/022.jpg b/11531-h/images/022.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..402977c --- /dev/null +++ b/11531-h/images/022.jpg diff --git a/11531-h/images/029.jpg b/11531-h/images/029.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..c6becec --- /dev/null +++ b/11531-h/images/029.jpg diff --git a/11531-h/images/illus0492.jpg b/11531-h/images/illus0492.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..b2867b3 --- /dev/null +++ b/11531-h/images/illus0492.jpg diff --git a/11531-h/images/illus0493.jpg b/11531-h/images/illus0493.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..483db35 --- /dev/null +++ b/11531-h/images/illus0493.jpg diff --git a/11531-h/images/illus0494.jpg b/11531-h/images/illus0494.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..0de8509 --- /dev/null +++ b/11531-h/images/illus0494.jpg diff --git a/11531-h/images/illus0495.jpg b/11531-h/images/illus0495.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..1e3c6c0 --- /dev/null +++ b/11531-h/images/illus0495.jpg diff --git a/11531-h/images/illus0496.jpg b/11531-h/images/illus0496.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..86f2892 --- /dev/null +++ b/11531-h/images/illus0496.jpg diff --git a/11531-h/images/illus0497.jpg b/11531-h/images/illus0497.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..82a5472 --- /dev/null +++ b/11531-h/images/illus0497.jpg diff --git a/11531-h/images/illus0498.jpg b/11531-h/images/illus0498.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..1c678b1 --- /dev/null +++ b/11531-h/images/illus0498.jpg |
