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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/467-h.zip b/467-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..6ea0350 --- /dev/null +++ b/467-h.zip diff --git a/467-h/467-h.htm b/467-h/467-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a180832 --- /dev/null +++ b/467-h/467-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,6355 @@ +<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> +<HTML> +<HEAD> + +<META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> + +<TITLE> +The Project Gutenberg E-text of The Princess of Cleves, by Madame de Lafayette +</TITLE> + +<STYLE TYPE="text/css"> +BODY { color: Black; + background: White; + margin-right: 10%; + margin-left: 10%; + font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; + text-align: justify } + +P {text-indent: 4% } + +P.noindent {text-indent: 0% } + +P.poem { text-indent: 0%; + margin-left: 10%; + font-size: small } + +P.letter { text-indent: 0%; + font-size: small ; + margin-left: 10% ; + margin-right: 10% } + +P.finis { text-align: center ; + text-indent: 0% ; + margin-left: 0% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +</STYLE> + +</HEAD> + +<BODY> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Princess of Cleves, by Madame de Lafayette + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Princess of Cleves + +Author: Madame de Lafayette + +Posting Date: September 27, 2008 [EBook #467] +Release Date: March, 1996 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PRINCESS OF CLEVES *** + + + + + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<BR><BR> + +<H1 ALIGN="center"> +THE PRINCESS OF CLEVES +</H1> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +by +</H3> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +Madame de Lafayette +</H2> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H4> + <A HREF="#chap01">PART I</A> + <A HREF="#chap02">PART II</A> + <A HREF="#chap03">PART III</A> + <A HREF="#chap04">PART IV</A> +</H4> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap01"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE PRINCESS OF CLEVES +</H3> + +<P> +Grandeur and gallantry never appeared with more lustre in France, than +in the last years of Henry the Second's reign. This Prince was amorous +and handsome, and though his passion for Diana of Poitiers Duchess of +Valentinois, was of above twenty years standing, it was not the less +violent, nor did he give less distinguishing proofs of it. +</P> + +<P> +As he was happily turned to excel in bodily exercises, he took a +particular delight in them, such as hunting, tennis, running at the +ring, and the like diversions. Madam de Valentinois gave spirit to all +entertainments of this sort, and appeared at them with grace and beauty +equal to that of her grand-daughter, Madam de la Marke, who was then +unmarried; the Queen's presence seemed to authorise hers. +</P> + +<P> +The Queen was handsome, though not young; she loved grandeur, +magnificence and pleasure; she was married to the King while he was +Duke of Orleans, during the life of his elder brother the Dauphin, a +prince whose great qualities promised in him a worthy successor of his +father Francis the First. +</P> + +<P> +The Queen's ambitious temper made her taste the sweets of reigning, and +she seemed to bear with perfect ease the King's passion for the Duchess +of Valentinois, nor did she express the least jealousy of it; but she +was so skilful a dissembler, that it was hard to judge of her real +sentiments, and policy obliged her to keep the duchess about her +person, that she might draw the King to her at the same time. This +Prince took great delight in the conversation of women, even of such as +he had no passion for; for he was every day at the Queen's court, when +she held her assembly, which was a concourse of all that was beautiful +and excellent in either sex. +</P> + +<P> +Never were finer women or more accomplished men seen in any Court, and +Nature seemed to have taken pleasure in lavishing her greatest graces +on the greatest persons. The Princess Elizabeth, since Queen of Spain, +began now to manifest an uncommon wit, and to display those beauties, +which proved afterwards so fatal to her. Mary Stuart, Queen of +Scotland, who had just married the Dauphin, and was called the +Queen-Dauphin, had all the perfections of mind and body; she had been +educated in the Court of France, and had imbibed all the politeness of +it; she was by nature so well formed to shine in everything that was +polite, that notwithstanding her youth, none surpassed her in the most +refined accomplishments. The Queen, her mother-in-law, and the King's +sister, were also extreme lovers of music, plays and poetry; for the +taste which Francis the First had for the Belles Lettres was not yet +extinguished in France; and as his son was addicted to exercises, no +kind of pleasure was wanting at Court. But what rendered this Court so +splendid, was the presence of so many great Princes, and persons of the +highest quality and merit: those I shall name, in their different +characters, were the admiration and ornament of their age. +</P> + +<P> +The King of Navarre drew to himself the respect of all the world both +by the greatness of his birth, and by the dignity that appeared in his +person; he was remarkable for his skill and courage in war. The Duke +of Guise had also given proofs of extraordinary valour, and had, been +so successful, that there was not a general who did not look upon him +with envy; to his valour he added a most exquisite genius and +understanding, grandeur of mind, and a capacity equally turned for +military or civil affairs. His brother, the Cardinal of Loraine, was a +man of boundless ambition, and of extraordinary wit and eloquence, and +had besides acquired a vast variety of learning, which enabled him to +make himself very considerable by defending the Catholic religion, +which began to be attacked at that time. The Chevalier de Guise, +afterwards called Grand Prior, was a prince beloved by all the world, +of a comely person, full of wit and address, and distinguished through +all Europe for his valour. The Prince of Conde, though little indebted +to Nature in his person, had a noble soul, and the liveliness of his +wit made him amiable even in the eyes of the finest women. The Duke of +Nevers, distinguished by the high employments he had possessed, and by +the glory he had gained in war, though in an advanced age, was yet the +delight of the Court: he had three sons very accomplished; the second, +called the Prince of Cleves, was worthy to support the honour of his +house; he was brave and generous, and showed a prudence above his +years. The Viscount de Chartres, descended of the illustrious family +of Vendome, whose name the Princes of the blood have thought it no +dishonour to wear, was equally distinguished for gallantry; he was +genteel, of a fine mien, valiant, generous, and all these qualities he +possessed in a very uncommon degree; in short, if anyone could be +compared to the Duke de Nemours, it was he. The Duke de Nemours was a +masterpiece of Nature; the beauty of his person, inimitable as it was, +was his least perfection; what placed him above other men, was a +certain agreeableness in his discourse, his actions, his looks, which +was observable in none beside himself: he had in his behaviour a gaiety +that was equally pleasing to men and women; in his exercises he was +very expert; and in dress he had a peculiar manner, which was followed +by all the world, but could never be imitated: in fine, such was the +air of his whole person, that it was impossible to fix one's eye on +anything else, wherever he was. There was not a lady at Court, whose +vanity would not have been gratified by his address; few of those whom +he addressed, could boast of having resisted him; and even those for +whom he expressed no passion, could not forbear expressing one for him: +his natural gaiety and disposition to gallantry was so great, that he +could not refuse some part of his cares and attention to those who made +it their endeavour to please him; and accordingly he had several +mistresses, but it was hard to guess which of them was in possession of +his heart: he made frequent visits to the Queen-Dauphin; the beauty of +this princess, the sweetness of her temper, the care she took to oblige +everybody, and the particular esteem she expressed for the Duke de +Nemours, gave ground to believe that he had raised his views even to +her. Messieurs de Guise, whose niece she was, had so far increased +their authority and reputation by this match, that their ambition +prompted them to aspire at an equality with the Princes of the blood, +and to share in power with the Constable Montmorency. The King +entrusted the Constable with the chief share in the administration of +the Government, and treated the Duke of Guise and the Mareschal de St. +Andre as his favourites; but whether favour or business admitted men to +his presence, they could not preserve that privilege without the +good-liking of the Duchess of Valentinois; for though she was no longer +in possession of either of youth or beauty, she yet reigned so +absolutely in his heart, that his person and state seemed entirely at +her disposal. +</P> + +<P> +The King had such an affection for the Constable, that he was no sooner +possessed of the Government, but he recalled him from the banishment he +had been sent into by Francis the First: thus was the Court divided +between Messieurs de Guise, and the Constable, who was supported by the +Princes of the blood, and both parties made it their care to gain the +Duchess of Valentinois. The Duke d'Aumale, the Duke of Guise's +brother, had married one of her daughters, and the Constable aspired to +the fame alliance; he was not contented with having married his eldest +son with Madam Diana, the King's daughter by a Piemontese lady, who +turned nun as soon as she was brought to bed. This marriage had met +with a great many obstacles from the promises which Monsieur +Montmorency had made to Madam de Piennes, one of the maids of honour to +the Queen; and though the King had surmounted them with extreme +patience and goodness, the Constable did not think himself sufficiently +established, unless he secured Madam de Valentinois in his interest, +and separated her from Messieurs de Guise, whose greatness began to +give her uneasiness. The Duchess had obstructed as much as she could +the marriage of the Dauphin with the Queen of Scotland; the beauty and +forward wit of that young Queen, and the credit which her marriage gave +to Messieurs de Guise, were insupportable to her; she in particular +hated the Cardinal of Loraine, who had spoken to her with severity, and +even with contempt; she was sensible he took the party of the Queen, so +that the Constable found her very well disposed to unite her interests +with his and to enter into alliance with him, by marrying her +granddaughter Madam de la Marke with Monsieur d'Anville, his second +son, who succeeded him in his employment under the reign of Charles the +Ninth. The Constable did not expect to find the same disinclination to +marriage in his second son which he had found in his eldest, but he +proved mistaken. The Duke d'Anville was desperately in love with the +Dauphin-Queen, and how little hope soever he might have of succeeding +in his passion, he could not prevail with himself to enter into an +engagement that would divide his cares. The Mareschal de St. Andre was +the only person in the Court that had not listed in either party: he +was a particular favourite, and the King had a personal affection for +him; he had taken a liking to him ever since he was Dauphin, and +created him a Mareschal of France at an age in which others rarely +obtain the least dignities. His favour with the King gave him a lustre +which he supported by his merit and the agreeableness of his person, by +a splendour in his table and furniture, and by the most profuse +magnificence that ever was known in a private person, the King's +liberality enabling him to bear such an expense. This Prince was +bounteous even to prodigality to those he favoured, and though he had +not all the great qualities, he had very many; particularly he took +delight and had great skill in military affairs; he was also +successful, and excepting the Battle of St. Quintin, his reign had been +a continued series of victory; he won in person the Battle of Renti, +Piemont was conquered, the English were driven out of France, and the +Emperor Charles V found his good fortune decline before the walls of +Mets, which he besieged in vain with all the forces of the Empire, and +of Spain: but the disgrace received at St. Quintin lessened the hopes +we had of extending our conquests, and as fortune seemed to divide +herself between two Kings, they both found themselves insensibly +disposed to peace. +</P> + +<P> +The Duchess Dowager of Loraine had made some overtures about the time +of the Dauphin's marriage, since which a secret negotiation had been +constantly carried on; in fine, Coran in Artois was the place appointed +for the treaty; the Cardinal of Loraine, the Constable Montmorency, and +the Mareschal de St. Andre were plenipotentaries for the King; the Duke +of Alva, and the Prince of Orange for Philip the II, and the Duke and +Duchess of Loraine were mediators. The principal articles were the +marriage of the Princess Elizabeth of France with Don Carlos the +Infanta of Spain, and that of his majesty's sister with the Duke of +Savoy. +</P> + +<P> +The King, during the Treaty, continued on the frontiers, where he +received the news of the death of Queen Mary of England; his Majesty +dispatched forthwith the Count de Randan to Queen Elizabeth, to +congratulate her on her accession to the Crown, and they received him +with great distinction; for her affairs were so precarious at that +time, that nothing could be more advantageous to her, than to see her +title acknowledged by the King. The Count found she had a thorough +knowledge of the interests of the French Court, and of the characters +of those who composed it; but in particular, she had a great idea of +the Duke of Nemours: she spoke to him so often, and with so much +ernestness concerning him, that the Ambassador upon his return declared +to the King, that there was nothing which the Duke of Nemours might not +expect from that Princess, and that he made no question she might even +be brought to marry him. The King communicated it to the Duke the same +evening, and caused the Count de Randan to relate to him all the +conversations he had had with Queen Elizabeth, and in conclusion +advised him to push his fortune: the Duke of Nemours imagined at first +that the King was not in earnest, but when he found to the contrary, +"If, by your advice, Sir," said he, "I engage in this chimerical +undertaking for your Majesty's service, I must entreat your Majesty to +keep the affair secret, till the success of it shall justify me to the +public; I would not be thought guilty of the intolerable vanity, to +think that a Queen, who has never seen me, would marry me for love." +The King promised to let nobody into the design but the Constable, +secrecy being necessary, he knew, to the success of it. The Count de +Randan advised the Duke to go to England under pretence of travelling; +but the Duke disapproving this proposal, sent Mr. Lignerol, a sprightly +young gentleman, his favourite, to sound the Queen's inclinations, and +to endeavour to make some steps towards advancing that affair: in the +meantime, he paid a visit to the Duke of Savoy, who was then at +Brussels with the King of Spain. The death of Queen Mary brought great +obstructions to the Treaty; the Congress broke up at the end of +November, and the King returned to Paris. +</P> + +<P> +There appeared at this time a lady at Court, who drew the eyes of the +whole world; and one may imagine she was a perfect beauty, to gain +admiration in a place where there were so many fine women; she was of +the same family with the Viscount of Chartres, and one of the greatest +heiresses of France, her father died young, and left her to the +guardianship of Madam de Chartres his wife, whose wealth, virtue, and +merit were uncommon. After the loss of her husband she retired from +Court, and lived many years in the country; during this retreat, her +chief care was bestowed in the education of her daughter; but she did +not make it her business to cultivate her wit and beauty only, she took +care also to inculcate virtue into her tender mind, and to make it +amiable to her. The generality of mothers imagine, that it is +sufficient to forbear talking of gallantries before young people, to +prevent their engaging in them; but Madam de Chartres was of a +different opinion, she often entertained her daughter with descriptions +of love; she showed her what there was agreeable in it, that she might +the more easily persuade her wherein it was dangerous; she related to +her the insincerity, the faithlessness, and want of candour in men, and +the domestic misfortunes that flow from engagements with them; on the +other hand she made her sensible, what tranquillity attends the life of +a virtuous woman, and what lustre modesty gives to a person who +possesses birth and beauty; at the same time she informed her, how +difficult it was to preserve this virtue, except by an extreme distrust +of one's self, and by a constant attachment to the only thing which +constitutes a woman's happiness, to love and to be loved by her husband. +</P> + +<P> +This heiress was, at that time, one of the greatest matches in France, +and though she was very young several marriages had been proposed to +her mother; but Madam de Chartres being ambitious, hardly thought +anything worthy of her daughter, and when she was sixteen years of age +she brought her to Court. The Viscount of Chartres, who went to meet +her, was with reason surprised at the beauty of the young lady; her +fine hair and lovely complexion gave her a lustre that was peculiar to +herself; all her features were regular, and her whole person was full +of grace. +</P> + +<P> +The day after her arrival, she went to choose some jewels at a famous +Italian's; this man came from Florence with the Queen, and had acquired +such immense riches by his trade, that his house seemed rather fit for +a Prince than a merchant; while she was there, the Prince of Cleves +came in, and was so touched with her beauty, that he could not +dissemble his surprise, nor could Mademoiselle de Chartres forbear +blushing upon observing the astonishment he was in; nevertheless, she +recollected herself, without taking any further notice of him than she +was obliged to do in civility to a person of his seeming rank; the +Prince of Cleves viewed her with admiration, and could not comprehend +who that fine lady was, whom he did not know. He found by her air, and +her retinue, that she was of the first quality; by her youth he should +have taken her to be a maid, but not seeing her mother, and hearing the +Italian call her madam, he did not know what to think; and all the +while he kept his eyes fixed upon her, he found that his behaviour +embarrassed her, unlike to most young ladies, who always behold with +pleasure the effect of their beauty; he found too, that he had made her +impatient to be going, and in truth she went away immediately: the +Prince of Cleves was not uneasy at himself on having lost the view of +her, in hopes of being informed who she was; but when he found she was +not known, he was under the utmost surprise; her beauty, and the modest +air he had observed in her actions, affected him so, that from that +moment he entertained a passion for her. In the evening he waited on +his Majesty's sister. +</P> + +<P> +This Princess was in great consideration by reason of her interest with +the King her brother; and her authority was so great, that the King, on +concluding the peace, consented to restore Piemont, in order to marry +her with the Duke of Savoy. Though she had always had a disposition to +marry, yet would she never accept of anything beneath a sovereign, and +for this reason she refused the King of Navarre, when he was Duke of +Vendome, and always had a liking for the Duke of Savoy; which +inclination for him she had preserved ever since she saw him at Nice, +at the interview between Francis I, and Pope Paul III. As she had a +great deal of wit, and a fine taste of polite learning, men of +ingenuity were always about her, and at certain times the whole Court +resorted to her apartments. +</P> + +<P> +The Prince of Cleves went there according to his custom; he was so +touched with the wit and beauty of Mademoiselle de Chartres, that he +could talk of nothing else; he related his adventure aloud, and was +never tired with the praises of this lady, whom he had seen, but did +not know; Madame told him, that there was nobody like her he described, +and that if there were, she would be known by the whole world. Madam +de Dampiere, one of the Princess's ladies of honour, and a friend of +Madam de Chartres, overhearing the conversation, came up to her +Highness, and whispered her in the ear, that it was certainly +Mademoiselle de Chartres whom the Prince had seen. Madame, returning +to her discourse with the Prince, told him, if he would give her his +company again the next morning, he should see the beauty he was so much +touched with. Accordingly Mademoiselle de Chartres came the next day +to Court, and was received by both Queens in the most obliging manner +that can be imagined, and with such admiration by everybody else, that +nothing was to be heard at Court but her praises, which she received +with so agreeable a modesty, that she seemed not to have heard them, or +at least not to be moved with them. She afterwards went to wait upon +Madame; that Princess, after having commended her beauty, informed her +of the surprise she had given the Prince of Cleves; the Prince came in +immediately after; "Come hither," said she to him, "see, if I have not +kept my word with you, and if at the same time that I show you +Mademoiselle de Chartres, I don't show you the lady you are in search +of. You ought to thank me, at least, for having acquainted her how +much you are her admirer." +</P> + +<P> +The Prince of Cleves was overjoyed to find that the lady he admired was +of quality equal to her beauty; he addressed her, and entreated her to +remember that he was her first lover, and had conceived the highest +honour and respect for her, before he knew her. +</P> + +<P> +The Chevalier de Guise, and the Prince, who were two bosom friends, +took their leave of Madame together. They were no sooner gone but they +began to launch out into the praises of Mademoiselle de Chartres, +without bounds; they were sensible at length that they had run into +excess in her commendation, and so both gave over for that time; but +they were obliged the next day to renew the subject, for this new-risen +beauty long continued to supply discourse to the whole Court; the Queen +herself was lavish in her praise, and showed her particular marks of +favour; the Queen-Dauphin made her one of her favourites, and begged +her mother to bring her often to her Court; the Princesses, the King's +daughters, made her a party in all their diversions; in short, she had +the love and admiration of the whole Court, except that of the Duchess +of Valentinois: not that this young beauty gave her umbrage; long +experience convinced her she had nothing to fear on the part of the +King, and she had to great a hatred for the Viscount of Chartres, whom +she had endeavoured to bring into her interest by marrying him with one +of her daughters, and who had joined himself to the Queen's party, that +she could not have the least favourable thought of a person who bore +his name, and was a great object of his friendship. +</P> + +<P> +The Prince of Cleves became passionately in love with Mademoiselle de +Chartres, and ardently wished to marry her, but he was afraid the +haughtiness of her mother would not stoop to match her with one who was +not the head of his family: nevertheless his birth was illustrious, and +his elder brother, the Count d'En, had just married a lady so nearly +related to the Royal family, that this apprehension was rather the +effect of his love, than grounded on any substantial reason. He had a +great number of rivals; the most formidable among them, for his birth, +his merit, and the lustre which Royal favour cast upon his house, was +the Chevalier de Guise; this gentleman fell in love with Mademoiselle +de Chartres the first day he saw her, and he discovered the Prince of +Cleves's passion as the Prince of Cleves discovered his. Though they +were intimate friends, their having the same pretentions gradually +created a coolness between them, and their friendship grew into an +indifference, without their being able to come to an explanation on the +matter. The Prince of Cleves's good fortune in having seen +Mademoiselle de Chartres first seemed to be a happy presage, and gave +him some advantage over his rivals, but he foresaw great obstructions +on the part of the Duke of Nevers his father: the Duke was strictly +attached to the Duchess of Valentinois, and the Viscount de Chartres +was her enemy, which was a sufficient reason to hinder the Duke from +consenting to the marriage of his son, with a niece of the Viscount's. +</P> + +<P> +Madam de Chartres, who had taken so much care to inspire virtue into +her daughter, did not fail to continue the same care in a place where +it was so necessary, and where there were so many dangerous examples. +Ambition and gallantry were the soul of the Court, and employed both +sexes equally; there were so many different interests and so many +cabals, and the ladies had so great a share in them, that love was +always mixed with business, and business with love: nobody was easy, or +indifferent; their business was to raise themselves, to be agreeable, +to serve or disserve; and intrigue and pleasure took up their whole +time. The care of the ladies was to recommend themselves either to the +Queen, the Dauphin-Queen, or the Queen of Navarre, or to Madame, or the +Duchess of Valentinois. Inclination, reasons of decorum, resemblance +of temper made their applications different; those who found the bloom +worn off, and who professed an austerity of virtue, were attached to +the Queen; the younger sort, who loved pleasure and gallantry, made +their Court to the Queen-Dauphin; the Queen of Navarre too had her +favourites, she was young, and had great power with the King her +husband, who was in the interest of the Constable, and by that means +increased his authority; Madame was still very beautiful, and drew many +ladies into her party. And as for the Duchess of Valentinois, she +could command as many as she would condescend to smile upon; but very +few women were agreeable to her, and excepting some with whom she lived +in confidence and familiarity, and whose humour was agreeable to her +own, she admitted none but on days when she gratified her vanity in +having a Court in the same manner the Queen had. +</P> + +<P> +All these different cabals were full of emulation and envy towards one +another; the ladies, who composed them, had their jealousies also among +themselves, either as to favour or lovers: the interests of ambition +were often blended with concerns of less importance, but which did not +affect less sensibly; so that in this Court there was a sort of tumult +without disorder, which made it very agreeable, but at the same time +very dangerous for a young lady. Madam de Chartres perceived the +danger, and was careful to guard her daughter from it; she entreated +her, not as a mother, but as her friend, to impart to her all the +gallantry she should meet withal, promising her in return to assist her +in forming her conduct right, as to things in which young people are +oftentimes embarrassed. +</P> + +<P> +The Chevalier de Guise was so open and unguarded with respect to his +passion for Mademoiselle de Chartres, that nobody was ignorant of it: +nevertheless he saw nothing but impossibilities in what he desired; he +was sensible that he was not a proper match for Mademoiselle de +Chartres, by reason of the narrowness of his fortune, which was not +sufficient to support his dignity; and he was sensible besides, that +his brothers would not approve of his marrying, the marriages of +younger brothers being looked upon as what tends to the lessening great +families; the Cardinal of Loraine soon convinced him, that he was not +mistaken; he condemned his attachment to Mademoiselle de Chartres with +warmth, but did not inform him of his true reasons for so doing; the +Cardinal, it seems, had a hatred to the Viscount, which was not known +at that time, but afterwards discovered itself; he would rather have +consented to any other alliance for his brother than to that of the +Viscount; and he declared his aversion to it in so public a manner, +that Madam de Chartres was sensibly disgusted at it. She took a world +of pains to show that the Cardinal of Loraine had nothing to fear, and +that she herself had no thoughts of this marriage; the Viscount +observed the same conduct, and resented that of the Cardinal more than +Madam de Chartres did, being better apprised of the cause of it. +</P> + +<P> +The Prince of Cleves had not given less public proofs of his love, than +the Chevalier de Guise had done, which made the Duke of Nevers very +uneasy; however he thought that he needed only to speak to his son, to +make him change his conduct; but he was very much surprised to find him +in a settled design of marrying Mademoiselle de Chartres, and flew out +into such excesses of passion on that subject, that the occasion of it +was soon known to the whole Court, and among others to Madam de +Chartres: she never imagined that the Duke of Nevers would not think +her daughter a very advantageous match for his son, nor was she a +little astonished to find that the houses both of Cleves and Guise +avoided her alliance, instead of courting it. Her resentment on this +account put her upon finding out a match for her daughter, which would +raise her above those that imagined themselves above her; after having +looked about, she fixed upon the Prince Dauphin, son of the Duke de +Montpensier, one of the most considerable persons then at Court. As +Madam de Chartres abounded in wit, and was assisted by the Viscount, +who was in great consideration, and as her daughter herself was a very +considerable match, she managed the matter with so much dexterity and +success, that Monsieur de Montpensier appeared to desire the marriage, +and there was no appearance of any difficulties in it. +</P> + +<P> +The Viscount, knowing the power the Dauphin-Queen had over Monsieur +d'Anville, thought it not amiss to employ the interest of that Princess +to engage him to serve Mademoiselle de Chartres, both with the King and +the Prince de Montpensier, whose intimate friend he was: he spoke to +the Dauphin-Queen about it, and she entered with joy into an affair +which concerned the promotion of a lady for whom she had a great +affection; she expressed as much to the Viscount, and assured him, that +though she knew she should do what was disagreeable to the Cardinal of +Loraine her uncle, she would pass over that consideration with +pleasure, because she had reasons of complaint against him, since he +every day more and more espoused the interest of the Queen against hers. +</P> + +<P> +Persons of gallantry are always glad of an opportunity of speaking to +those who love them. No sooner was the Viscount gone, but the +Queen-Dauphin sent Chatelart to Monsieur d'Anville, to desire him from +her to be at Court that evening. Chatelart was his favourite, and +acquainted with his passion for this Princess, and therefore received +her commands with great pleasure and respect. He was a gentleman of a +good family in Dauphiny; but his wit and merit distinguished him more +than his birth: he was well received at Court. He was graceful in his +person, perfect at all sorts of exercises; he sung agreeably, he wrote +verses, and was of so amorous and gallant a temper, as endeared him to +Monsieur d'Anville in such a degree, that he made him the confidant of +his amours between the Queen-Dauphin and him; this confidence gave him +access to that Princess, and it was owing to the frequent opportunities +he had of seeing her, that he commenced that unhappy passion which +deprived him of his reason, and at last cost him his life. +</P> + +<P> +Monsieur d'Anville did not fail to be at Court in the evening; he +thought himself very happy, that the Queen-Dauphin had made choice of +him to manage an affair she had at heart, and he promised to obey her +commands with the greatest exactness. But the Duchess of Valentinois +being warned of the design in view, had traversed it with so much care, +and prepossessed the King so much against it, that when Monsieur +d'Anville came to speak to his Majesty about it, he plainly showed he +did not approve of it, and commanded him to signify as much to the +Prince de Montpensier. One may easily judge what the sentiments of +Madam de Chartres were, upon the breaking off of an affair which she +had set her mind so much upon, and the ill success of which gave such +an advantage to her enemies, and was so great a prejudice to her +daughter. +</P> + +<P> +The Queen-Dauphin declared to Mademoiselle de Chartres, in a very +friendly manner, the uneasiness she was in for not having been able to +serve her: "You see, Madam," said she to her, "that my interest is +small; I am upon so ill terms with the Queen and the Duchess of +Valentinois, that it is no wonder if they or their dependents still +succeed in disappointing my desires; nevertheless, I have constantly +used my endeavours to please them. Indeed, they hate me not for my own +sake, but for my mother's; she formerly gave them some jealousy and +uneasiness; the King was in love with her before he was in love with +the Duchess; and in the first years of his marriage, when he had no +issue, he appeared almost resolved to be divorced from the Queen, in +order to make room for my mother, though at the same time he had some +affection for the Duchess. Madam de Valentinois being jealous of a +lady whom he had formerly loved, and whose wit and beauty were capable +of lessening her interest, joined herself to the Constable, who was no +more desirous than herself that the King should marry a sister of the +Duke of Guise; they possessed the deceased King with their sentiments; +and though he mortally hated the Duchess of Valentinois, and loved the +Queen, he joined his endeavours with theirs to prevent the divorce; but +in order to take from the King all thoughts of marrying the Queen my +mother, they struck up a marriage between her and the King of Scotland, +who had had for his first wife the King's sister, and they did this +because it was the easiest to be brought to a conclusion, though they +failed in their engagements to the King of England, who was very +desirous of marrying her; and that failure wanted but little of +occasioning a rupture between the two Crowns: for Henry the Eighth was +inconsolable, when he found himself disappointed in his expectations of +marrying my mother; and whatever other Princess of France was proposed +to him, he always said, nothing could make him amends for her he had +been deprived of. It is certainly true, that my mother was a perfect +beauty; and what is very remarkable, is, that being the widow of the +Duke of Longueville, three Kings should court her in marriage. Her ill +fortune gave her to the least of them, and placed her in a kingdom +where she meets with nothing but trouble. They say I resemble her, but +I fear I shall resemble her only in her unhappy destiny; and whatever +fortune may seem to promise me at present, I can never think I shall +enjoy it." +</P> + +<P> +Mademoiselle de Chartres answered the Queen, that these melancholy +presages were so ill-grounded, that they would not disturb her long, +and that she ought not to doubt but her good fortune would accomplish +whatever it promised. +</P> + +<P> +No one now entertained any further thoughts of Mademoiselle de +Chartres, either fearing to incur the King's displeasure, or despairing +to succeed with a lady, who aspired to an alliance with a Prince of the +blood. The Prince of Cleves alone was not disheartened at either of +these considerations; the death of the Duke of Nevers his father, which +happened at that time, set him at entire liberty to follow his +inclination, and no sooner was the time of mourning expired, but he +wholly applied himself to the gaining of Mademoiselle de Chartres. It +was lucky for him that he addressed her at a time when what had +happened had discouraged the approaches of others. What allayed his +joy was his fear of not being the most agreeable to her, and he would +have preferred the happiness of pleasing to the certainty of marrying +her without being beloved. +</P> + +<P> +The Chevalier de Guise had given him some jealousy, but as it was +rather grounded on the merit of that Prince than on any action of +Mademoiselle de Chartres, he made it his whole endeavour to discover, +if he was so happy as to have his addresses admitted and approved: he +had no opportunity of seeing her but at Court or public assemblies, so +that it was very difficult for him to get a private conversation with +her; at last he found means to do it, and informed her of his intention +and of his love, with all the respect imaginable. He urged her to +acquaint him what the sentiments were which she had for him, assuring +her, that those which he had for her were of such a nature as would +render him eternally miserable, if she resigned herself wholly up to +the will of her mother. +</P> + +<P> +As Mademoiselle de Chartres had a noble and generous heart, she was +sincerely touched with gratitude for the Prince of Cleves's behaviour; +this gratitude gave a certain sweetness to her words and answers, +sufficient to furnish hopes to a man so desperately enamoured as the +Prince was, so that he flattered himself in some measure that he should +succeed in what he so much wished for. +</P> + +<P> +She gave her mother an account of this conversation; and Madam de +Chartres told her, that the Prince of Cleves had so many good +qualities, and discovered a discretion so much above his years, that if +her inclination led her to marry him, she would consent to it with +pleasure. Mademoiselle de Chartres made answer, that she observed in +him the same good qualities; that she should have less reluctance in +marrying him than any other man, but that she had no particular +affection to his person. +</P> + +<P> +The next day the Prince caused his thoughts to be communicated to Madam +de Chartres, who gave her consent to what was proposed to her; nor had +she the least distrust but that in the Prince of Cleves she provided +her daughter a husband capable of securing her affections. The +articles were concluded; the King was acquainted with it, and the +marriage made public. +</P> + +<P> +The Prince of Cleves found himself happy, but yet not entirely +contented: he saw with a great deal of regret, that the sentiments of +Mademoiselle de Chartres did not exceed those of esteem and respect, +and he could not flatter himself that she concealed more obliging +thoughts of him, since the situation they were in permitted her to +discover them without the least violence done to modesty. It was not +long before he expostulated with her on this subject: "Is it +possible," says he, "that I should not be happy in marrying you? and +yet it is certain, I am not. You only show me a sort of civility which +is far from giving me satisfaction; you express none of those pretty +inquietudes, the concern, and impatience, which are the soul of love; +you are no further affected with my passion, than you would be with one +which flowed only from the advantage of your fortune, and not from the +beauty of your person." "It is unjust in you to complain," replied the +Princess, "I don't know what you can desire of me more; I think decency +will not allow me to go further than I do." "It's true," replied he, +"you show some appearances I should be satisfied with, were there +anything beyond; but instead of being restrained by decency, it is that +only which makes you act as you do; I am not in your heart and +inclinations, and my presence neither gives you pain nor pleasure." +"You can't doubt," replied she, "but it is a sensible pleasure to me to +see you, and when I do see you, I blush so often, that you can't doubt, +but the seeing you gives me pain also." "Your blushes, Madam," replied +he, "cannot deceive me; they are signs of modesty, but do not prove the +heart to be affected, and I shall conclude nothing more from hence than +what I ought." +</P> + +<P> +Mademoiselle de Chartres did not know what to answer; these +distinctions were above her comprehension. The Prince of Cleves +plainly saw she was far from having that tenderness of affection for +him, which was requisite to his happiness; it was manifest she could +not feel a passion which she did not understand. +</P> + +<P> +The Chevalier de Guise returned from a journey a few days before the +marriage. He saw so many insuperable difficulties in his design of +marrying Mademoiselle de Chartres, that he gave over all hopes of +succeeding in it; and yet he was extremely afflicted to see her become +the wife of another: his grief however did not extinguish his passion; +and his love was as great as ever. Mademoiselle de Chartres was not +ignorant of it; and he made her sensible at his return, that she was +the cause of that deep melancholy which appeared in his countenance. +He had so much merit and so much agreeableness, that it was almost +impossible to make him unhappy without pitying him, nor could she +forbear pitying him; but her pity did not lead to love. She acquainted +her mother with the uneasiness which the Chevalier's passion gave her. +</P> + +<P> +Madam de Chartres admired the honour of her daughter, and she admired +it with reason, for never was anyone more naturally sincere; but she +was surprised, at the same time, at the insensibility of her heart, and +the more so, when she found that the Prince of Cleves had not been able +to affect her any more than others: for this reason, she took great +pains to endear her husband to her, and to make her sensible how much +she owed to the affection he had for her before he knew her, and to the +tenderness he since expressed for her, by preferring her to all other +matches, at a time when no one else durst entertain the least thoughts +of her. +</P> + +<P> +The marriage was solemnised at the Louvre; and in the evening the King +and the two Queens, with the whole Court, supped at Madam de Chartres's +house, where they were entertained with the utmost magnificence. The +Chevalier de Guise durst not distinguish himself by being absent from +the ceremony, but he was so little master of himself that it was easy +to observe his concern. +</P> + +<P> +The Prince of Cleves did not find that Mademoiselle de Chartres had +changed her mind by changing her name; his quality of a husband +entitled him to the largest privileges, but gave him no greater share +in the affections of his wife: hence it was, that though he was her +husband, he did not cease to be her lover, because he had always +something to wish beyond what he possessed; and though she lived +perfectly easy with him, yet he was not perfectly happy. He preserved +for her a passion full of violence and inquietude, but without +jealousy, which had no share in his griefs. Never was husband less +inclined to it, and never was wife farther from giving the least +occasion for it. She was nevertheless constantly in view of the Court; +she frequented the Courts of the two Queens, and of Madame: all the +people of gallantry saw her both there and at her brother-in-law the +Duke of Never's, whose house was open to the whole world; but she had +an air which inspired so great respect, and had in it something so +distant from gallantry, that the Mareschal de St. Andre, a bold man and +supported by the King's favour, became her lover without daring to let +her know it any otherwise than by his cares and assiduities. A great +many others were in the same condition: and Madam de Chartres had added +to her daughter's discretion so exact a conduct with regard to +everything of decorum, that everybody was satisfied she was not to be +come at. +</P> + +<P> +The Duchess of Loraine, while she was employed in negotiating the +peace, had applied herself to settle the marriage of the Duke her son: +a marriage was agreed upon between him and Madam Claude of France, the +King's second daughter; and the month of February was appointed for the +nuptials. +</P> + +<P> +In the meantime the Duke of Nemours continued at Brussels, his thoughts +being wholly employed on his design in England; he was continually +sending or receiving couriers from thence; his hopes increased every +day, and at last Lignerolly sent him word that it was time to finish by +his presence what was so well begun; he received this news with all the +joy a young ambitious man is capable of, who sees himself advanced to a +throne merely by the force of his personal merit; his mind insensibly +accustomed itself to the grandeur of a Royal State; and whereas he had +at first rejected this undertaking as an impracticable thing, the +difficulties of it were now worn out of his imagination, and he no +longer saw anything to obstruct his way. +</P> + +<P> +He sent away in haste to Paris to give the necessary orders for +providing a magnificent equipage, that he might make his appearance in +England with a splendour suitable to the design he was to conduct; and +soon after he followed himself, to assist at the marriage of the Duke +of Loraine. +</P> + +<P> +He arrived the evening before the espousals, and that very evening +waited on the King to give him an account of his affair, and to receive +his orders and advice how to govern himself in it. Afterwards he waited +on the Queens; but the Princess of Cleves was not there, so that she +did not see him, nor so much as know of his arrival. She had heard +everybody speak of this celebrated Prince, as of the handsomest and +most agreeable man at Court; and the Queen-Dauphin had described him in +such a manner, and spoke of him to her so often, that she had raised in +her a curiosity and even impatience to see him. +</P> + +<P> +The Princess employed the day of the wedding in dressing herself, that +she might appear with the greater advantage at the ball and royal +banquet that were to be at the Louvre. When she came, everyone admired +both her beauty and her dress. The ball began, and while she was +dancing with the Duke of Guise, a noise was heard at the door of the +hall, as if way was making for some person of uncommon distinction. +She had finished her dance, and as she was casting her eyes round to +single out some other person, the King desired her to take him who came +in last; she turned about, and viewing him as he was passing over the +seats to come to the place where they danced, she immediately concluded +he was the Duke of Nemours. The Duke's person was turned in so +delicate a manner, that it was impossible not to express surprise at +the first sight of him, particularly that evening, when the care he had +taken to adorn himself added much to the fine air of his carriage. It +was as impossible to behold the Princess of Cleves without equal +admiration. +</P> + +<P> +The Duke de Nemours was struck with such surprise at her beauty, that +when they approached and paid their respects to each other, he could +not forbear showing some tokens of his admiration. When they begun to +dance, a soft murmur of praises ran through the whole company. The +King and the two Queens, remembering that the Duke and Princess had +never seen one another before, found something very particular in +seeing them dance together without knowing each other; they called +them, as soon as they had ended their dance, without giving them time +to speak to anybody, and asked them if they had not a desire to know +each other, and if they were not at some loss about it. "As for me, +Madam," said the Duke to the Queen, "I am under no uncertainty in this +matter; but as the Princess of Cleves has not the same reasons to lead +her to guess who I am, as I have to direct me to know her, I should be +glad if your Majesty would be pleased to let her know my name." "I +believe," said the Queen-Dauphin, "that she knows your name as well as +you know hers." "I assure you, Madam," replied the Princess a little +embarrassed, "that I am not so good a guesser as you imagine." "Yes, +you guess very well," answered the Queen-Dauphin; "and your +unwillingness to acknowledge that you know the Duke of Nemours, without +having seen him before, carries in it something very obliging to him." +The Queen interrupted them, that the ball might go on; and the Duke de +Nemours took out the Queen-Dauphin. This Princess was a perfect +beauty, and such she appeared in the eyes of the Duke de Nemours, +before he went to Flanders; but all this evening he could admire +nothing but Madam de Cleves. +</P> + +<P> +The Chevalier de Guise, whose idol she still was, sat at her feet, and +what had passed filled him with the utmost grief; he looked upon it as +ominous for him, that fortune had destined the Duke of Nemours to be in +love with the Princess of Cleves. And whether there appeared in +reality any concern in the Princess's face, or whether the Chevalier's +jealousy only led him to suspect it, he believed that she was touched +with the sight of the Duke, and could not forbear telling her, that +Monsieur de Nemours was very happy to commence an acquaintance with her +by an incident which had something very gallant and extraordinary in it. +</P> + +<P> +Madam de Cleves returned home with her thoughts full of what had passed +at the ball; and though it was very late, she went into her mother's +room to give her a relation of it; in doing which she praised the Duke +of Nemours with a certain air, that gave Madam de Chartres the same +suspicion the Chevalier de Guise had entertained before. +</P> + +<P> +The day following the ceremony of the Duke of Loraine's marriage was +performed; and there the Princess of Cleves observed so inimitable a +grace, and so fine a mien in the Duke of Nemours, that she was yet more +surprised. +</P> + +<P> +She afterwards saw him at the Court of the Queen-Dauphin; she saw him +play at tennis with the King; she saw him run the ring; she heard him +discourse; still she found he far excelled everybody else, and drew the +attention of the company to him wherever he was; in short, the +gracefulness of his person, and the agreeableness of his wit soon made +a considerable impression on her heart. +</P> + +<P> +The Duke de Nemours had an inclination no less violent for her; and +hence flowed all that gaiety and sweetness of behaviour, which the +first desires of pleasing ordinarily inspire a man with: hence he +became more amiable than ever he was before; so that by often seeing +one another, and by seeing in each other whatever was most accomplished +at Court, it could not be but that they must mutually receive the +greatest pleasure from such a commerce. +</P> + +<P> +The Duchess of Valentinois made one in all parties of pleasure; and the +King was still as passionately fond of her as in the beginning of his +love. The Princess of Cleves being at those years, wherein people +think a woman is incapable of inciting love after the age of +twenty-five, beheld with the utmost astonishment the King's passion for +the Duchess, who was a grandmother, and had lately married her +granddaughter: she often spoke on this subject to Madam de Chartres. +"Is it possible, Madam," said she, "that the King should still continue +to love? How could he take a fancy to one, who was so much older than +himself, who had been his father's mistress, and who, as I have heard, +is still such to many others?" "'Tis certain," answered Madam de +Chartres," it was neither the merit nor the fidelity of the Duchess of +Valentinois, which gave birth to the King's passion, or preserved it; +and this is what he can't be justified in; for if this lady had had +beauty and youth suitable to her birth; and the merit of having had no +other lover; if she had been exactly true and faithful to the King; if +she had loved him with respect only to his person, without the +interested views of greatness and fortune, and without using her power +but for honourable purposes and for his Majesty's interest; in this +case it must be confessed, one could have hardly forbore praising his +passion for her. If I was not afraid," continued Madam de Chartres, +"that you would say the same thing of me which is said of most women of +my years, that they love to recount the history of their own times, I +would inform you how the King's passion for this Duchess began, and of +several particulars of the Court of the late King, which have a great +relation to things that are acted at present." "Far from blaming you," +replied the Princess of Cleves, "for repeating the histories of past +times, I lament, Madam, that you have not instructed me in those of the +present, nor informed me as to the different interests and parties of +the Court. I am so entirely ignorant of them, that I thought a few +days ago, the Constable was very well with the Queen." "You was +extremely mistaken," answered Madam de Chartres, "the Queen hates the +Constable, and if ever she has power, he'll be but too sensible of it; +she knows, he has often told the King, that of all his children none +resembled him but his natural ones." "I should never have suspected +this hatred," said the Princess of Cleves, "after having seen her +assiduity in writing to the Constable during his imprisonment, the joy +she expressed at his return, and how she always calls him Compere, as +well as the King." "If you judge from appearances in a Court," replied +Madam de Chartres, "you will often be deceived; truth and appearances +seldom go together. +</P> + +<P> +"But to return to the Duchess of Valentinois, you know her name is +Diana de Poitiers; her family is very illustrious, she is descended +from the ancient Dukes of Aquitaine, her grandmother was a natural +daughter of Lewis the XI, and in short she possesses everything that is +great in respect of birth. St. Valier, her father, had the unhappiness +to be involved in the affair of the Constable of Bourbon, which you +have heard of; he was condemned to lose his head, and accordingly was +conducted to the scaffold: his daughter, viz., the Duchess, who was +extremely beautiful, and who had already charmed the late King, managed +so well, I don't know by what means, that she obtained her father's +life; the pardon was brought him at the moment he was expecting the +fatal blow; but the pardon availed little, for fear had seized him so +deeply, that it bereft him of his senses, and he died a few days after. +His daughter appeared at Court as the King's mistress; but the Italian +expedition, and the imprisonment of the present Prince, were +interruptions to his love affair. When the late King returned from +Spain, and Madam the Regent went to meet him at Bayonne, she brought +all her maids of honour with her, among whom was Mademoiselle de +Pisselen, who was since Duchess d'Etampes; the King fell in love with +her, though she was inferior in birth, wit and beauty to the Duchess of +Valentinois, and had no advantage above her but that of being very +young. I have heard her say several times, that she was born the same +day Diana de Poitiers was married, but she spoke this in the malice of +her heart, and not as what she knew to be true; for I am much mistaken, +if the Duchess of Valentinois did not marry Monsieur de Breze, at the +same time that the King fell in love with Madam d'Etampes. Never was a +greater hatred than that between these two ladies; the Duchess could +not pardon Madam d'Etampes for having taken from her the title of the +King's mistress; and Madam d'Etampes was violently jealous of the +Duchess, because the King still kept correspondence with her. That +Prince was by no means constant to his mistresses; there was always one +among them that had the title and honours of mistress, but the ladies +of the small band, as they were styled, shared his favour by turns. +The loss of the Dauphin, his son, who died at Tournon, and was thought +to be poisoned, extremely afflicted him; he had not the same affection +and tenderness for his second son, the present King; he imagined he did +not see in him spirit and vivacity enough, and complained of it one day +to the Duchess of Valentinois, who told him she would endeavour to +raise a passion in him for her, in order to make him more sprightly and +agreeable. She succeeded in it, as you see, and this passion is now of +above twenty years' duration, without being changed either by time or +incidents. +</P> + +<P> +"The late King at first opposed it; and whether he had still love +enough left for the Duchess of Valentinois to be jealous, or whether he +was urged on by the Duchess d'Etampes, who was in despair upon seeing +the Dauphin so much attached to her enemy, it is certain he beheld this +passion with an indignation and resentment, that showed itself every +day by something or other. The Dauphin neither valued his anger or his +hatred, nor could anything oblige him either to abate or conceal his +flame, so that the King was forced to accustom himself to bear it with +patience. This opposition of his to his father's will, withdrew his +affections from him more and more, and transferred them to his third +son, the Duke of Orleans, who was a Prince of a fine person full of +fire and ambition, and of a youthful heat which wanted to be moderated; +however, he would have made a very great Prince, had he arrived to a +more ripened age. +</P> + +<P> +"The rank of eldest, which the Dauphin held, and the King's favour +which the Duke of Orleans was possessed of, created between them a sort +of emulation, that grew by degrees to hatred. This emulation began from +their infancy, and was still kept up in its height. When the Emperor +passed through France, he gave the preference entirely to the Duke of +Orleans, which the Dauphin resented so bitterly, that while the Emperor +was at Chantilli, he endeavoured to prevail with the Constable to +arrest him without waiting for the King's orders, but the Constable +refused to do it: however, the King afterwards blamed him for not +following his son's advice, and when he banished him the Court, that +was one of the principal reasons for it. +</P> + +<P> +"The discord between the two brothers put Madam d'Etampes upon the +thought of strengthening herself with the Duke of Orleans, in order to +support her power with the King against the Duchess of Valentinois; +accordingly she succeeded in it, and that young Prince, though he felt +no emotions of love for her, entered no less into her interest, than +the Dauphin was in that of Madam de Valentinois. Hence rose two +factions at Court, of such a nature as you may imagine, but the +intrigues of them were not confined to the quarrels of women. +</P> + +<P> +"The Emperor, who continued to have a great friendship for the Duke of +Orleans, had offered several times to make over to him the Duchy of +Milan. In the propositions which were since made for the peace, he +gave hopes of assigning him the seventeen provinces, with his daughter +in marriage. The Dauphin neither approved of the peace or the +marriage, and in order to defeat both he made use of the Constable, for +whom he always had an affection, to remonstrate to the King of what +importance it was not to give his successor a brother so powerful as +the Duke of Orleans would be with the alliance of the Emperor and those +countries; the Constable came the more easily into the Dauphin's +sentiments, as they were opposite to those of Madam d'Etampes, who was +his declared enemy, and who vehemently wished for the promotion of the +Duke of Orleans. +</P> + +<P> +"The Dauphin commanded at that time the King's Army in Champaign, and +had reduced that of the Emperor to such extremities, that it must have +entirely perished, had not the Duchess d'Etampes, for fear too great +successes should make us refuse peace, and the Emperor's alliance in +favour of the Duke of Orleans, secretly advised the enemy to surprise +Espemai and Cheteau-Thieni, in which places were great magazines of +provisions; they succeeded in the attempt, and by that means saved +their whole army. +</P> + +<P> +"This Duchess did not long enjoy the success of her treason. A little +after the Duke of Orleans died at Farmontiers of a kind of contagious +distemper: he was in love with one of the finest women of the Court, +and was beloved by her. I will not mention her name, because she has +since lived with so much discretion, and has so carefully concealed the +passion she had for that Prince, that one ought to be tender of her +reputation. It happened she received the news of her husband's death +at the same time as she heard of the Duke's, so that she had that +pretext to enable her to conceal her real sorrow, without being at the +trouble of putting any constraint upon herself. +</P> + +<P> +"The King did not long survive the Prince his son; he died two years +after; he recommended to the Dauphin to make use of the Cardinal de +Tournon and the Admiral d'Annebault, but said nothing at all of the +Constable, who was then in banishment at Chantilli. Nevertheless the +first thing the King his son did was to recall him, and make him his +Prime Minister. +</P> + +<P> +"Madam d'Etampes was discarded, and received all the ill treatment she +could possibly expect from an enemy so very powerful; the Duchess of +Valentinois amply revenged herself both of that lady, and all those who +had disobliged her; she seemed to reign more absolute in the King's +heart than she did even when he was Dauphin. During the twelve years' +reign of this Prince she has been absolute in everything; she disposes +of all governments and offices of trust and power; she has disgraced +the Cardinal de Tournon, the Chancellor, and Villeroy; those who have +endeavoured to open the King's mind with respect to her conduct, have +been undone in the attempt; the Count de Taix, great Master of the +Ordnance, who had no kindness for her, could not forbear speaking of +her gallantries, and particularly of that with the Count de Brissac, of +whom the King was already very jealous. Nevertheless she contrived +things so well, that the Count de Taix was disgraced, and his +employment taken from him; and what is almost incredible, she procured +it to be given to the Count de Brissac, and afterwards made him a +Mareschal of France. Notwithstanding, the King's jealousy increased to +such a height, that lie could no longer suffer him to continue at +Court: this passion of jealousy, which is fierce and violent in other +men, is gentle and moderate in him through the great respect he has for +his mistress, and therefore he did not go about to remove his rival, +but under the pretext of giving him the Government of Piemont. He has +lived there several years; last winter he returned to Paris, under +pretence of demanding troops and other necessaries for the Army he +commands; the desire of seeing the Duchess of Valentinois again, and +the fear of being forgotten by her, was perhaps the principal motive of +this journey. The King received him very coldly; Messieurs de Guise, +who have no kindness for him, but dare not show it on account of the +Duchess, made use of Monsieur the Viscount, her declared enemy, to +prevent his obtaining what he came to demand. It was no difficult +matter to do him hurt. The King hated him, and was uneasy at his +presence, so that he was obliged to return to Piemont without any +benefit from his journey, except perhaps that of rekindling in the +heart of the Duchess the flame which absence began to extinguish. The +King has had a great many other subjects of jealousy, but either he has +not been informed of them, or has not dared to complain of them. +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know, daughter," added Madam de Chartres, "if I have not +already told you more of these things, than you desired to know." "I +am far, Madam, from complaining of that," replied the Princess of +Cleves, "and if it was not for fear of being importunate, I should yet +desire to be informed of several circumstances I am ignorant of." +</P> + +<P> +The Duke de Nemours' passion for Madam de Cleves was at first so +violent, that he had no relish left for any of the ladies he paid his +addresses to before, and with whom he kept a correspondence during his +absence; he even lost all remembrance of his engagements with them, and +not only made it his business to find out excuses to break with them, +but had not the patience to hear their complaints, or make any answer +to the reproaches they laid upon him. The Queen-Dauphin herself, for +whom his regards had been very tender, could no longer preserve a place +in that heart which was now devoted to the Princess of Cleves. His +impatience of making a tour to England began to abate, and he showed no +earnestness in hastening his equipage. He frequently went to the +Queen-Dauphin's Court, because the Princess of Cleves was often there, +and he was very easy in leaving people in the opinion they had of his +passion for that Queen; he put so great a value on Madam de Cleves, +that he resolved to be rather wanting in giving proofs of his love, +than to hazard its being publicly known; he did not so much as speak of +it to the Viscount de Chartres, who was his intimate friend, and from +whom he concealed nothing; the truth is, he conducted this affair with +so much discretion, that nobody suspected he was in love with Madam de +Cleves, except the Chevalier de Guise; and she would scarcely have +perceived it herself, if the inclination she had for him had not led +her into a particular attention to all his actions, but which she was +convinced of it. +</P> + +<P> +She no longer continued to have the same disposition to communicate to +her mother what she thought concerning the Duke de Nemours, as she had +to talk to her about her other lovers; though she had no settled design +of concealing it from her, yet she did not speak of it. Madam de +Chartres, however, plainly perceived the Duke's attachment to her +daughter, as well as her daughter's inclination for him; the knowledge +of this could not but sensibly afflict her, nor could she be ignorant +of the danger this young lady was in, in being beloved by, and loving +so accomplished a person as the Duke de Nemours: she was entirely +confirmed in the suspicion she had of this business, by an incident +which fell out a few days after. +</P> + +<P> +The Mareschal de St. Andre, who took all opportunities to show his +magnificence, desired the King, under pretence of showing him his house +which was just finished, to do him the honour to sup there with the two +Queens. The Mareschal was also very glad to display, in the sight of +the Princess of Cleves, that splendid and expensive manner of life, +which he carried to so great a profusion. +</P> + +<P> +Some days before that appointed for the entertainment, the Dauphin, who +had an ill state of health, found himself indisposed, and saw nobody; +the Queen-Dauphin had spent all that day with him; and in the evening, +upon his growing better, all the persons of quality that were in the +anti-chamber were admitted; the Queen-Dauphin returned to her own +apartment, where she found Madam de Cleves and some other ladies, with +whom she lived in familiarity. +</P> + +<P> +It being already very late, and not being dressed, she did not wait +upon the Queen, but gave out that she was not to be seen, and ordered +her jewels to be brought, in order to choose out some for the Mareschal +de St. Andre's Ball, and present the Princess of Cleves with some, as +she had promised her. While they were thus employed, the Prince of +Conde entered; his great quality gave him free access everywhere. +"Doubtless," said the Queen-Dauphin, "you come from the King my +husband, what are they doing there?" +</P> + +<P> +"Madam," said he, "they are maintaining a dispute against the Duke of +Nemours, and he defends the argument he undertook with so much warmth, +that he must needs be very much interested in it; I believe he has some +mistress that gives him uneasiness by going to balls, so well satisfied +he is that it is a vexatious thing to a lover to see the person he +loves in those places." +</P> + +<P> +"How," replied the Queen-Dauphin, "would not the Duke de Nemours have +his mistress go to a ball? I thought that husbands might wish their +wives would not go there; but as for lovers, I never imagined they were +of that opinion." "The Duke de Nemours finds," answered the Prince of +Conde, "that nothing is so insupportable to lovers as balls, whether +they are beloved again, or whether they are not. He says, if they are +beloved they have the chagrin to be loved the less on this account for +several days; that there is no woman, whom her anxiety for dress does +not divert from thinking on her lover; that they are entirely taken up +with that one circumstance, that this care to adorn themselves is for +the whole world, as well as for the man they favour; that when they are +at a ball, they are desirous to please all who look at them; and that +when they triumph in their beauty, they experience a joy to which their +lovers very little contribute. He argues further, that if one is not +beloved, it is a yet greater torment to see one's mistress at an +assembly; that the more she is admired by the public, the more unhappy +one is not to be beloved, and that the lover is in continual fear lest +her beauty should raise a more successful passion than his own; lastly +he finds, there is no torment equal to that of seeing one's mistress at +a ball, unless it be to know that she is there, and not to be there +one's self." +</P> + +<P> +Madam de Cleves pretended not to hear what the Prince of Conde said, +though she listened very attentively; she easily saw what part she had +in the Duke of Nemours's opinion, and particularly as to what he said +of the uneasiness of not being at a ball where his mistress was, +because he was not to be at that of the Mareschal de St. Andre, the +King having sent him to meet the Duke of Ferrara. +</P> + +<P> +The Queen-Dauphin, and the Prince of Conde, not going into the Duke's +opinion, were very merry upon the subject. "There is but one occasion, +Madam," said the Prince to her, "in which the Duke will consent his +mistress should go to a ball, and that is when he himself gives it. He +says, that when he gave your Majesty one last year, his mistress was so +kind as to come to it, though seemingly only to attend you; that it is +always a favour done to a lover, to partake of an entertainment which +he gives; that it is an agreeable circumstance for him to have his +mistress see him preside in a place where the whole Court is, and see +him acquit himself well in doing the honours of it." "The Duke de +Nemours was in the right," said the Queen-Dauphin, smiling, "to approve +of his mistress's being at his own ball; there was then so great a +number of ladies, whom he honoured with the distinction of that name, +that if they had not come, the assembly would have been very thin." +</P> + +<P> +The Prince of Conde had no sooner begun to relate the Duke de Nemours's +sentiments concerning assemblies, but Madam de Cleves felt in herself a +strong aversion to go to that of the Mareschal de St. Andre. She +easily came into the opinion, that a woman ought not to be at an +entertainment given by one that professed love to her, and she was very +glad to find out a reason of reservedness for doing a thing which would +oblige the Duke of Nemours. However, she carried away with her the +ornaments which the Queen-Dauphin had given her; but when she showed +them her mother, she told her that she did not design to make use of +them; that the Mareschal de St. Andre took a great deal of pains to +show his attachment to her, and she did not doubt he would be glad to +have it believed that a compliment was designed her in the +entertainment he gave the King, and that under the pretence of doing +the honours of his house, he would show her civilities which would be +uneasy to her. +</P> + +<P> +Madam de Chartres for some time opposed her daughter's opinion, as +thinking it very singular; but when she saw she was obstinate in it, +she gave way, and told her, that in that case she ought to pretend an +indisposition as an excuse for not going to the ball, because the real +reasons which hindered her would not be approved of; and care ought to +be taken that they should not be suspected. +</P> + +<P> +Madam de Cleves voluntarily consented to pass some days at her +mother's, in order not to go to any place where the Duke of Nemours was +not to be. However the Duke set out, without the pleasure of knowing +she would not be at the ball. +</P> + +<P> +The day after the ball he returned, and was informed that she was not +there; but as he did not know the conversation he had at the Dauphin's +Court had been repeated to her, he was far from thinking himself happy +enough to have been the reason of her not going. +</P> + +<P> +The day after, while he was at the Queen's apartments, and talking to +the Queen-Dauphin, Madam de Chartres and Madam de Cleves came in. +Madam de Cleves was dressed a little negligently, as a person who had +been indisposed, but her countenance did not at all correspond with her +dress. "You look so pretty," says the Queen-Dauphin to her, "that I +can't believe you have been ill; I think the Prince of Conde, when he +told us the Duke de Nemours's opinion of the ball, persuaded you, that +to go there would be doing a favour to the Mareschal de St. Andre, and +that that's the reason which hindered you from going." Madam de Cleves +blushed, both because the Queen-Dauphin had conjectured right, and +because she spoke her conjecture in the presence of the Duke de Nemours. +</P> + +<P> +Madam de Chartres immediately perceived the true reason, why her +daughter refused to go to the ball; and to prevent the Duke de Nemours +discovering it, as well as herself, she took up the discourse after a +manner that gave what she said an air of truth. +</P> + +<P> +"I assure you, Madam," said she to the Queen-Dauphin, "that your +Majesty has done my daughter more honour than she deserves; she was +really indisposed, but I believe, if I had not hindered her, she would +not have failed to wait on you, and to show herself under any +disadvantages, for the pleasure of seeing what there was extraordinary +at yesterday's entertainment." The Queen-Dauphin gave credit to what +Madam de Chartres said but the Duke de Nemours was sorry to find so +much probability in it nevertheless, the blushes of the Princess of +Cleves made him suspect, that what the Queen-Dauphin had said was not +altogether false. The Princess of Cleves at first was concerned the +Duke had any room to believe it was he who had hindered her from going +to the Mareschal de St. Andre; but afterwards she was a little +chagrined that her mother had entirely taken off the suspicion of it. +</P> + +<P> +Though the Congress of Cercamp had been broken off, the negotiations +for the peace were continued, and things were so disposed, that towards +the latter end of February the conferences were reassumed at +Chateau-Cambresis; the same plenipotentiaries were sent as before, and +the Mareschal de St. Andre being one, his absence freed the Duke de +Nemours from a rival, who was formidable rather from his curiosity in +observing those who addressed to Madam de Cleves, than from any +advances he was capable of making himself in her favour. +</P> + +<P> +Madam de Chartres was not willing to let her daughter see that she knew +her sentiments for the Duke, for fear of making herself suspected in +some things which she was very desirous to tell her. +</P> + +<P> +One day she set herself to talk about him, and a great deal of good she +said of him, but mixed with it abundance of sham praises, as the +prudence he showed in never falling in love, and how wise he was to +make the affair of women and love an amusement instead of a serious +business: "It is not," added she, "that he is not suspected to have a +very uncommon passion for the Queen-Dauphin; I observe he visits her +very often; and I advise you to avoid, as much as possible, speaking to +him, and especially in private; because, since the Queen-Dauphin treats +you as she does, it would be said, that you are their confidant; and +you know how disagreeable that sort of reputation is: I'm of opinion, +if this report continues, that you should not visit the Queen-Dauphin +so often, in order to avoid involving yourself in adventures of +gallantry." +</P> + +<P> +The Princess of Cleves had never heard before of the amour between the +Duke de Nemours and the Queen-Dauphin; she was so much surprised at +what her mother had told her, and seemed to see so plainly how she had +been mistaken in her thoughts about the Duke, that she changed +countenance. Madam de Chartres perceived it. Visitors came in that +moment; and the Princess of Cleves retired to her own apartment, and +shut herself up in her closet. +</P> + +<P> +One can't express the grief she felt to discover, by what her mother +had been just saying, the interest her heart had in the Duke de +Nemours; she had not dared as yet to acknowledge it to her secret +thoughts; she then found, that the sentiments she had for him were such +as the Prince of Cleves had required of her; she perceived how shameful +it was to entertain them for another, and not for a husband that +deserved them; she found herself under the utmost embarrassment, and +was dreadfully afraid lest the Duke should make use of her only as a +means to come at the Queen-Dauphin, and it was this thought determined +her to impart to her mother something she had not yet told her. +</P> + +<P> +The next morning she went into her mother's chamber to put her resolves +in execution, but she found Madam de Chartres had some touches of a +fever, and therefore did not think proper to speak to her: this +indisposition however appeared to insignificant, that Madam de Cleves +made no scruple after dinner to visit the Queen-Dauphin; she was in her +closet with two or three ladies of her most familiar acquaintance. "We +were speaking," said she to her, as soon as she saw her, "of the Duke +de Nemours, and were admiring how much he's changed since his return +from Brussels; before he went there, he had an infinite number of +mistresses, and it was his own fault, for he showed an equal regard to +those who had merit, and to those who had none; since his return he +neither knows the one nor the other; there never was so great a change; +I find his humour is changed too, and that he is less gay than he used +to be." +</P> + +<P> +The Princess of Cleves made no answer; and it shocked her to think she +should have taken all that they said of the change in the Duke for +proofs of his passion for her, had she not been undeceived; she felt in +herself some little resentment against the Queen-Dauphin, for +endeavouring to find out reasons, and seeming surprised at a thing, +which she probably knew more of than anyone else; she could not forbear +showing something of it; and when the other ladies withdrew, she came +up and told her in a low voice, "And is it I, Madam, you have been +pointing at, and have you a mind to conceal, that you are she who has +made such an alteration in the conduct of the Duke of Nemours?" "You +do me injustice," answered the Queen-Dauphin, "you know I conceal +nothing from you; it is true the Duke of Nemours, before he went to +Brussels, had, I believe, an intention to let me know he did not hate +me; but since his return, it has not so much as appeared that he +remembers anything of what he has done; and I acknowledge I have a +curiosity to know what it is has changed him so: it would not be very +difficult for me to unravel this affair," added she; "the Viscount de +Chartres, his intimate friend, is in love with a lady with whom I have +some power, and I'll know by that means the occasion of this +alteration." The Queen-Dauphin spoke with an air of sincerity which +convinced the Princess of Cleves, and in spite of herself she found her +mind in a more calm and pleasing situation than it had been in before. +</P> + +<P> +When she returned to her mother, she heard she was a great deal worse +than she had left her; her fever was redoubled, and the days following +it increased to so great a degree, that she was thought to be in +danger. Madam de Cleves was in extreme grief on this occasion, and +never stirred out of her mother's chamber. The Prince of Cleves was +there too almost every day and all day long, partly out of affection to +Madam de Chartres, and partly to hinder his lady from abandoning +herself to sorrow, but chiefly that he might have the pleasure of +seeing her, his passion not being at all diminished. +</P> + +<P> +The Duke de Nemours, who had always had a great friendship for the +Prince of Cleves, had not failed to show it since his return from +Brussels; during the illness of Madam de Chartres he frequently found +means to see the Princess of Cleves, pretending to want her husband, or +to come to take him out to walk; he enquired for him at such hours as +he knew very well he was not at home, and under pretence of waiting for +him stayed in Madam de Cleves's anti-chamber, where there were always a +great many people of quality; Madam de Cleves often came there, and her +grief did not make her seem less handsome in the eyes of the Duke de +Nemours; he made her sensible what interest he had in her affliction, +and spoke to her with so submissive an air, that he easily convinced +her, that the Queen-Dauphin was not the person he was in love with. +</P> + +<P> +The seeing him at once gave her grief and pleasure; but when she no +longer saw him, and reflected that the charm he carried about him when +present, was an introduction to love, she was very near imagining she +hated him, out of the excessive grief which that thought gave her. +</P> + +<P> +Madam de Chartres still grew worse and worse, so that they began to +despair of her life; she heard what the physicians told her concerning +the danger she was in with a courage worthy her virtue, and her piety. +After they were gone, she caused everybody to retire, and sent for +Madam de Cleves. +</P> + +<P> +"We must part, my dear daughter," said she, stretching out her hand to +her; "the danger I leave you in, and the occasion you have for me, adds +to the regret I have to leave you: you have a passion for the Duke de +Nemours; I do not desire you to confess it; I am no longer in a +condition to make use of that sincerity for your good; I have perceived +this inclination a great while, but was not willing to speak to you of +it at first, for fear of making you discover it yourself; you know it +at present but too well; you are upon the brink of a precipice; great +efforts must be used, and you must do great violence to your heart to +save yourself: reflect what you owe to your husband; reflect what you +owe to yourself, and think that you are going to lose that reputation +which you have gained, and which I have so much at heart; call up, my +dear daughter, all your courage and constancy; retire from Court; +oblige your husband to carry you away; do not be afraid of taking such +resolutions, as being too harsh and difficult; however frightful they +may appear at first, they will become more pleasant in time, than the +misfortunes that follow gallantry: if any other motives than those of +duty and virtue could have weight with you, I should tell you that if +anything were capable of disturbing the happiness I hope for in the +next world, it would be to see you fall like other women; but if this +calamity must necessarily happen, I shall meet death with joy, as it +will hinder me from being a witness of it." +</P> + +<P> +Madam de Cleves bathed with tears her mother's hand, which she held +fast locked in her own; nor was Madam de Chartres less moved. "Adieu, +dear daughter," said she, "let us put an end to a conversation which +melts us both; and remember, if you are able, all that I have been +saying to you." +</P> + +<P> +When she had spoke this, she turned herself on the other side, and +ordered her daughter to call her women, being unwilling either to hear +her reply, or to speak any more. Madam de Cleves went out of her +presence in a condition one need not describe; and Madam de Chartres +thought of nothing but preparing herself for death: she lived two days +longer, during which she would not see her daughter again; her daughter +was the only thing she had reluctance to part with. +</P> + +<P> +Madam de Cleves was in the utmost affliction; her husband did not leave +her, and no sooner was her mother expired, but he carried her into the +country, that she might not have in her eye a place which could serve +only to sharpen her sorrow, which was scarce to be equalled. Though +tenderness and gratitude had the greatest share in her griefs, yet the +need which she found she had of her mother to guard her against the +Duke of Nemours added no small weight to them; she found she was +unhappy in being left to herself, at a time when she was so little +mistress of her own affections, and when she so much wished for +somebody to pity and encourage her. The Prince of Cleves's behaviour +to her on this occasion, made her wish more ardently than ever, never +to fail in her duty to him; she also expressed more friendship and +affection for him than she had done before; she would not suffer him to +leave her, and she seemed to think that his being constantly with her +could defend her against the Duke of Nemours. +</P> + +<P> +The Duke came to see the Prince of Cleves in the country; he did what +he could to pay a visit also to Madam de Cleves, but she refused to +receive him; and being persuaded she could not help finding something +dangerously lovely in him, she made a strong resolution to forbear +seeing him, and to avoid all occasions of it that were in her power. +</P> + +<P> +The Prince of Cleves went to Paris to make his Court, and promised his +lady to return the next day, but however he did not return till the day +after. "I expected you yesterday," said Madam de Cleves to him on his +arrival, "and I ought to chide you for not having come as you promised; +you know, if I was capable of feeling a new affliction in the condition +I am in, it would be the death of Madam de Tournon, and I have heard of +it this morning; I should have been concerned, though I had not known +her; it is a melting consideration to think that a lady so young and +handsome as she, should be dead in two days; but besides, she was the +person in the world that pleased me most, and who appeared to have +discretion equal to her beauty." +</P> + +<P> +"I am sorry I could not return yesterday," replied the Prince of +Cleves, "but my presence was so necessary to the consolation of an +unhappy man, that it was impossible for me to leave him. As for Madam +de Tournon, I do not advise you not to be concerned for her, if you +lament her as a woman full of discretion, and worthy of your esteem." +"You surprise me," answered Madam de Cleves, "I have heard you say +several times, that there was not a lady at Court you had a greater +respect for." "It is true," replied he, "but women are +incomprehensible, and when I have seen them all, I think myself so +happy in having you, that I cannot enough admire my good fortune." +"You esteem me more than I deserve," answered Madam de Cleves, "you +have not had experience enough yet to pronounce me worthy of you; but +tell me, I beseech you, what it is has undeceived you with respect to +Madam de Tournon." "I have been undeceived a great while," replied he, +"and I know that she was in love with the Count de Sancerre, and that +she gave him room to hope she would marry him." "I can't believe," +said Madam de Cleves, "that Madam de Tournon, after so extraordinary an +aversion as she has shown to marriage from the time she became a widow, +and after the public declarations she has made that she would never +marry again, should give hopes to Sancerre." "If she had given hopes +to him only," replied the Prince of Cleves, "the wonder had not been so +great; but what is surprising is, that she gave hopes likewise to +Etouteville at the same time: I'll let you know the whole history of +this matter." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap02"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +II +</H3> + +<P> +"You know the friendship, there is betwixt Sancerre and me. +Nevertheless about two years ago he fell in love with Madam de Tournon, +and concealed it from me with as much care as from the rest of the +world; I had not the least suspicion of it. Madam de Tournon as yet +appeared inconsolable for the death of her husband, and lived in +retirement with great austerity. Sancerre's sister was in a manner the +only person she saw, and it was at her lodgings he became in love with +her. +</P> + +<P> +"One evening there was to be play at the Louvre, and the actors only +waited for the coming of the King and Madam de Valentinois, when word +was brought that she was indisposed, and that the King would not come. +It was easy to see that the Duchess's indisposition was nothing but +some quarrel with the King; everyone knew the jealousy he had had of +the Mareschal de Brisac during his continuance at Court, but he had +been set out some days on his return to Piemont, and one could not +imagine what was the occasion of this falling out. +</P> + +<P> +"While I was speaking of this to Sancerre, Monsieur d'Anville came into +the room, and told me in a whisper, that the King was so exasperated +and so afflicted at the same time, that one would pity him; that upon a +late reconciliation between him and the Duchess, after the quarrel they +had had about the Mareschal de Brisac, he had given her a ring, and +desired her to wear it; and that as she was dressing herself to come to +the play, he had missed it on her finger, and asked what was become of +it; upon which she seemed in surprise that she had it not, and called +to her women for it, who unfortunately, or for want of being better +instructed, made answer they had not seen it four or five days. +</P> + +<P> +"It was," continued Monsieur d'Anville, "precisely so long, since the +Mareschal de Brisac left the Court, and the King made no doubt but she +gave him the ring when she took her leave of him. The thought of this +awaked in so lively a manner that jealousy which was not yet +extinguished, that he fell into uncommon transports, and loaded her +with a thousand reproaches; he is just gone into her apartment again in +great concern, but whether the reason is a more confirmed opinion that +the Duchess had made a sacrifice of the ring, or for fear of having +disobliged her by his anger, I can't tell. +</P> + +<P> +"As soon as Monsieur d'Anville had told me this news, I acquainted +Sancerre with it; I told it him as a secret newly entrusted with me, +and charged him to say nothing of it. +</P> + +<P> +"The next day I went early in the morning to my sister-in-law's, and +found Madam de Tournon at her bedside, who had no great kindness for +the Duchess of Valentinois, and knew very well that my sister-in-law +had no reason to be satisfied with her. Sancerre had been with her, +after he went from the play, and had acquainted her with the quarrel +between the King and the Duchess; and Madam de Tournon was come to tell +it to my sister-in-law, without knowing or suspecting that it was I +from whom her lover had it. +</P> + +<P> +"As soon as I advanced toward my sister-in-law, she told Madam de +Tournon, that they might trust me with what she had been telling her; +and without waiting Madam de Tournon's leave she related to me word by +word all I had told Sancerre the night before. You may judge what +surprise I was in; I looked hard at Madam de Tournon, and she seemed +disordered; her disorder gave me a suspicion. I had told the thing to +nobody but Sancerre; he left me when the comedy was done, without +giving any reason for it; I remembered to have heard him speak much in +praise of Madam de Tournon; all these things opened my eyes, and I +easily discerned there was an intrigue between them, and that he had +seen her since he left me. +</P> + +<P> +"I was so stung to find he had concealed this adventure from me, that I +said several things which made Madam de Tournon sensible of the +imprudence she had been guilty of; I led her back to her coach, and +assured her, I envied the happiness of him who informed her of the +King's quarrel with the Duchess of Valentinois. +</P> + +<P> +"I went immediately in search of Sancerre, and severely reproached him; +I told him I knew of his passion for Madam de Tournon, without saying +how I came by the discovery; he was forced to acknowledge it; I +afterwards informed him what led me into the knowledge of it, and he +acquainted me with the detail of the whole affair; he told me, that +though he was a younger brother, and far from being able to pretend to +so good a match, nevertheless she was determined to marry him. I can't +express the surprise I was in; I told Sancerre he would do well to +hasten the conclusion of the marriage, and that there was nothing he +had not to fear from a woman who had the artifice to support, in the +eye of the public, appearances so distant from truth; he gave me in +answer that she was really concerned for the loss of her husband, but +that the inclination she had for him had surmounted that affliction, +and that she could not help discovering all on a sudden so great a +change; he mentioned besides several other reasons in her excuse, which +convinced me how desperately he was in love; he assured me he would +bring her to consent that I should know his passion for her, especially +since it was she herself who had made me suspect it; in a word, he did +oblige her to it, though with a great deal of difficulty, and I grew +afterwards very deep in their confidence. +</P> + +<P> +"I never knew a lady behave herself in so genteel and agreeable a +manner to her lover, but yet I was always shocked at the affectation +she showed in appearing so concerned for the loss of her husband. +Sancerre was so much in love, and so well pleased with the treatment he +received from her, that he scarce durst press her to conclude the +marriage, for fear she should think he desired it rather out of +interest than love; however he spoke to her of it, and she seemed fully +bent on marrying him; she began also to abandon her reserved manner of +life, and to appear again in public; she visited my sister-in-law at +hours when some of the Court were usually there; Sancerre came there +but seldom, but those who came every night, and frequently saw her +there, thought her extremely beautiful. +</P> + +<P> +"She had not long quitted her solitude, when Sancerre imagined that her +passion for him was cooled; he spoke of it several times to me: but I +laid no great stress on the matter; but at last, when he told me, that +instead of forwarding the marriage, she seemed to put it off, I began +to think he was not to blame for being uneasy: I remonstrated to him, +that if Madam de Tournon's passion was abated after having continued +two years, he ought not to be surprised at it, and that even supposing +it was not abated, possibly it might not be strong enough to induce her +to marry him; that he ought not to complain of it; that such a marriage +in the judgment of the public would draw censures upon her, not only +because he was not a suitable match for her, but also on account of the +prejudice it would do her reputation; that therefore all he could +desire was, that she might not deceive him, nor lead him into false +expectations; I told him further, that if she had not resolution enough +to marry him, or if she confessed she liked some other person better, +he ought not to resent or be angry at it, but still continue his esteem +and regard for her. +</P> + +<P> +"I give you," said I, "the advice which I would take myself; for +sincerity has such charms to me, that I believe if my mistress, or even +my wife ingenuously confessed, she had a greater affection for another +than for me, I might be troubled, but not exasperated; I would lay +aside the character of a lover or a husband, to bestow my advice and my +pity." +</P> + +<P> +This discourse made Madam de Cleves blush, and she found in it a +certain similitude of her own condition, which very much surprised her, +and gave her a concern, from which she could not recover in a great +while. +</P> + +<P> +"Sancerre spoke to Madam de Tournon," continued Monsieur de Cleves, +"and told her all I had advised him; but she encouraged him with so +many fresh assurances, and seemed so displeased at his suspicions, that +she entirely removed them; nevertheless she deferred the marriage until +after a pretty long journey he was to make; but she behaved herself so +well until his departure, and appeared so concerned at it, that I +believed as well as he, that she sincerely loved him. He set out about +three months ago; during his absence I have seldom seen Madam de +Tournon; you have entirely taken me up, and I only knew that he was +speedily expected. +</P> + +<P> +"The day before yesterday, on my arrival at Paris, I heard she was +dead; I sent to his lodgings to enquire if they had any news of him, +and word was brought me he came to town the night before, which was +precisely the day that Madam de Tournon died; I immediately went to see +him, concluding in what condition I should find him, but his affliction +far surpassed what I had imagined. +</P> + +<P> +"Never did I see a sorrow so deep and so tender; the moment he saw me +he embraced me with tears; 'I shall never see her more,' said he, 'I +shall never see her more, she is dead, I was not worthy of her, but I +shall soon follow her.' +</P> + +<P> +"After this he was silent; and then, from time to time, continually +repeating 'She is dead, I shall never see her more,' he returned to +lamentations and tears, and continued as a man bereft of reason. He +told me he had not often received letters from her during his absence, +but that he knew her too well to be surprised at it, and was sensible +how shy and timorous she was of writing; he made no doubt but she would +have married him upon his return; he considered her as the most amiable +and constant of her sex; he thought himself tenderly beloved by her; he +lost her the moment he expected to be united to her for ever; all these +thoughts threw him into so violent an affliction, that I own I was +deeply touched with it. +</P> + +<P> +"Nevertheless I was obliged to leave him to go to the King, but +promised to return immediately; accordingly I did, and I was never so +surprised as I was to find him entirely changed from what I had left +him; he was standing in his chamber, his face full of fury, sometimes +walking, sometimes stopping short, as if he had been distracted; +'Come,' says he, 'and see the most forlorn wretch in the world; I am a +thousand times more unhappy than I was a while ago, and what I have +just heard of Madam de Tournon is worse than her death.' +</P> + +<P> +"I took what he said to be wholly the effect of grief, and could not +imagine that there could be anything worse than the death of a mistress +one loves and is beloved by; I told him, that so far as he kept his +grief within bounds, I approved of it, and bore a part in it; but that +I should no longer pity him, if he abandoned himself to despair and +flew from reason. 'I should be too happy if I had lost both my reason +and my life,' cried he; 'Madam de Tournon was false to me, and I am +informed of her unfaithfulness and treachery the very day after I was +informed of her death; I am informed of it at a time when my soul is +filled with the most tender love, and pierced with the sharpest grief +that ever was; at a time when the idea of her in my heart, is that of +the most perfect woman who ever lived, and the most perfect with +respect to me; I find I am mistaken, and that she does not deserve to +be lamented by me; nevertheless I have the same concern for her death, +as if she had been true to me, and I have the same sensibility of her +falsehood, as if she were yet living; had I heard of her falsehood +before her death, jealousy, anger, and rage would have possessed me, +and in some measure hardened me against the grief for her loss; but now +my condition is such, that I am incapable of receiving comfort, and yet +know not how to hate her.' +</P> + +<P> +"You may judge of the surprise I was in at what Sancerre told me; I +asked him how he came by the knowledge of it, and he told me that the +minute I went away from him, Etouteville, who is his intimate friend, +but who nevertheless knew nothing of his love for Madam de Tournon, +came to see him; that as soon as he was sat down, he fell a-weeping, +and asked his pardon for having concealed from him what he was going to +tell him, that he begged him to have compassion of him, that he was +come to open his heart to him, and that he was the person in the world +the most afflicted for the death of Madam de Tournon. +</P> + +<P> +"'That name,' said Sancerre, 'so astonished me, that though my first +intention was to tell him I was more afflicted than he, I had not the +power to speak: he continued to inform me, that he had been in love +with her six months, that he was always desirous to let me know it, but +she had expressly forbid him; and in so authoritative a manner, that he +durst not disobey her; that he gained her in a manner as soon as he +courted her, that they concealed their mutual passion for each other +from the whole world, that he never visited her publicly, that he had +the pleasure to remove her sorrow for her husband's death, and that +lastly he was to have married her at the very juncture in which she +died; but that this marriage, which was an effect of love, would have +appeared in her an effect of duty and obedience, she having prevailed +upon her father to lay his commands on her to marry him, in order to +avoid the appearance of too great an alteration in her conduct, which +had seemed so averse to a second marriage.' +</P> + +<P> +"'While Etouteville was speaking to me,' said Sancerre, 'I believed all +he said, because I found so much probability in it, and because the +time when he told me his passion for Madam de Tournon commenced, is +precisely the same with that when she appeared changed towards me; but +the next morning I thought him a liar, or at least an enthusiast, and +was upon the point of telling him so. Afterwards I came into an +inclination of clearing up the matter, and proposed several questions, +and laid my doubts before him, in a word, I proceeded so far to +convince myself of my misfortune, that he asked me if I knew Madam de +Tournon's handwriting, and with that threw upon my bed four letters of +hers and her picture; my brother came in that minute; Etouteville's +face was so full of tears, that he was forced to withdraw to avoid +being observed, and said he would come again in the evening to fetch +what he left with me; and as for me, I sent my brother away under +pretence of being indisposed, so impatient was I to see the letters he +had left, and so full of hopes to find something there that might make +me disbelieve what Etouteville had been telling me; but alas! What did +I not find there? What tenderness! what assurances of marriage! what +letters! She never wrote the like to me. Thus,' continued he, 'am I +at once pierced with anguish for her death and for her falsehood, two +evils which have been often compared, but never felt before by the same +person at the same time; I confess, to my shame, that still I am more +grieved for her loss than for her change; I cannot think her guilty +enough, to consent to her death: were she living, I should have the +satisfaction to reproach her, and to revenge myself on her by making +her sensible of her injustice; but I shall see her no more, I shall see +her no more; this is the greatest misfortune of all others; would I +could restore her to life, though with the loss of my own! Yet what do +I wish! If she were restored to life, she would live for Etouteville: +how happy was I yesterday,' cried he, 'how happy! I was the most +afflicted man in the world; but my affliction was reasonable, and there +was something pleasing in the very thought that I was inconsolable; +today all my sentiments are unjust; I pay to a feigned passion the +tribute of my grief, which I thought I owed to a real one; I can +neither hate nor love her memory; I am incapable of consolation, and +yet don't know how to grieve for her; take care, I conjure you, that I +never see Etouteville; his very name raises horror in me; I know very +well I have no reason of complaint against him; I was to blame in +concealing from him my love for Madam de Tournon; if he had known it, +perhaps he would not have pursued her, perhaps she would not have been +false to me; he came to me to impart his sorrows, and I cannot but pity +him; alas! he had reason to love Madam de Tournon, he was beloved by +her, and will never see her more: notwithstanding I perceive I can't +help hating him; once more I conjure you take care I may not see him.' +</P> + +<P> +"Sancerre burst afterwards into tears, began again to regret Madam de +Tournon, and to speak to her, as if she were present, and say the +softest things in the world; from these transports he passed to hatred, +to complaints, to reproaches and imprecations against her. When I saw +him in so desperate a condition, I found I should want somebody to +assist me in appeasing his mind; accordingly I sent for his brother, +whom I had left with the King; I met him in the anti-chamber, and +acquainted him with Sancerre's condition: we gave the necessary orders +to prevent his seeing Etouteville, and employed part of the night in +endeavouring to make him capable of reason; this morning I found him +yet more afflicted; his brother continued with him, and I returned to +you." +</P> + +<P> +"'Tis impossible to be more surprised than I am," said Madam de Cleves; +"I thought Madam de Tournon equally incapable of love and falsehood." +"Address and dissimulation," replied Monsieur de Cleves, "cannot go +further than she carried them; observe, that when Sancerre thought her +love to him was abated, it really was, and she began to love +Etouteville; she told the last that he removed her sorrow for her +husband's death, and that he was the cause of her quitting her +retirement; Sancerre believed the cause was nothing but a resolution +she had taken not to seem any longer to be in such deep affliction; she +made a merit to Etouteville of concealing her correspondence with him, +and of seeming forced to marry him by her father's command, as if it +was an effect of the care she had of her reputation; whereas it was +only an artifice to forsake Sancerre, without his having reason to +resent it: I must return," continued Monsieur de Cleves, "to see this +unhappy man, and I believe you would do well to go to Paris too; it is +time for you to appear in the world again, and receive the numerous +visits which you can't well dispense with." +</P> + +<P> +Madam de Cleves agreed to the proposal, and returned to Paris the next +day; she found herself much more easy with respect to the Duke de +Nemours than she had been; what her mother had told her on her +death-bed, and her grief for her death, created a sort of suspension in +her mind as to her passion for the Duke, which made her believe it was +quite effaced. +</P> + +<P> +The evening of her arrival the Queen-Dauphin made her a visit, and +after having condoled with her, told her that in order to divert her +from melancholy thoughts, she would let her know all that had passed at +Court in her absence; upon which she related to her a great many +extraordinary things; "but what I have the greatest desire to inform +you of," added she, "is that it is certain the Duke de Nemours is +passionately in love; and that his most intimate friends are not only +not entrusted in it, but can't so much as guess who the person is he is +in love with; nevertheless this passion of his is so strong as to make +him neglect, or to speak more properly, abandon the hopes of a Crown." +</P> + +<P> +The Queen-Dauphin afterwards related whatever had passed in England; +"What I have just told you," continued she, "I had from Monsieur +d'Anville; and this morning he informed me, that last night the King +sent for the Duke de Nemours upon the subject of Lignerol's letters, +who desires to return, and wrote to his Majesty that he could no longer +excuse to the Queen of England the Duke of Nemours's delay; that she +begins to be displeased at it; and though she has not positively given +her promise, she has said enough to encourage him to come over; the +King showed this letter to the Duke of Nemours, who instead of speaking +seriously as he had done at the beginning of this affair, only laughed +and trifled, and made a jest of Lignerol's expectations: He said, 'The +whole world would censure his imprudence, if he ventured to go to +England, with the pretensions of marrying the Queen, without being +secure of success; I think,' added he, 'I should time my business very +ill to go to England now, when the King of Spain uses such pressing +instances to obtain the Queen in marriage; the Spanish King perhaps +would not be a very formidable rival in matters of gallantry, but in a +treaty of marriage I believe your Majesty would not advise me to be his +competitor.' 'I would advise you to it upon this occasion,' replied the +King; 'but however you will have no competitor in him; I know he has +quite other thoughts; and though he had not, Queen Mary found herself +so uneasy under the weight of the Spanish Crown, that I can't believe +her sister will be very desirous of it.' 'If she should not,' replied +the Duke of Nemours, 'it is probable she will seek her happiness in +love; she has been in love with my Lord Courtenay for several years; +Queen Mary too was in love with him, and would have married him with +consent of the states of her kingdom, had not she known that the youth +and beauty of her sister Elizabeth had more charms for him than her +crown; your Majesty knows, that the violence of her jealousy carried +her so far, as to imprison them both, and afterwards to banish my Lord +Courtenay, and at last determined her to marry the King of Spain; I +believe Queen Elizabeth will soon recall that Lord, and make choice of +a man whom she loves, who deserves her love, and who has suffered so +much for her, in preference to another whom she never saw.' 'I should +be of that opinion,' replied the King, 'if my Lord Courtenay were +living, but I received advice some days ago, that he died at Padua, +whither he was banished: I plainly see,' added the King, as he left the +Duke, 'that your marriage must be concluded the same way the Dauphin's +was, and that ambassadors must be sent to marry the Queen of England +for you.' +</P> + +<P> +"Monsieur d'Anville and the Viscount, who were with the King when he +spoke to the Duke of Nemours, are persuaded that it is the passion he +is so deeply engaged in, which diverts him from so great a design; the +Viscount, who sees deeper into him than anybody, told Madam de Martigny +that he was so changed he did not know him again; and what astonishes +him more is, that he does not find he has any private interviews, or +that he is ever missing at particular times, so that he believes he has +no correspondence with the person he is in love with; and that which +surprises him in the Duke is to see him in love with a woman who does +not return his love." +</P> + +<P> +What poison did this discourse of the Queen-Dauphin carry in it for +Madam de Cleves? How could she but know herself to be the person whose +name was not known, and how could she help being filled with tenderness +and gratitude, when she learned, by a way not in the least liable to +suspicion, that the Duke, who had already touched her heart, concealed +his passion from the whole world, and neglected for her sake the hopes +of a Crown? It is impossible to express what she felt, or to describe +the tumult that was raised in her soul. Had the Queen-Dauphin observed +her closely, she might easily have discerned, that what she had been +saying was not indifferent to her; but as she had not the least +suspicion of the truth, she continued her discourse without minding +her: "Monsieur d'Anville," added she, "from whom, as I just told you, +I had all this, believes I know more of it than himself, and he has so +great an opinion of my beauty, that he is satisfied I am the only +person capable of creating so great a change in the Duke of Nemours." +</P> + +<P> +These last words of the Queen-Dauphin gave Madam de Cleves a sort of +uneasiness very different from that which she had a few minutes before. +"I can easily come into Monsieur d'Anville's opinion," answered she; +"and 'tis very probable, Madam, that nothing less than a Princess of +your merit could make him despise the Queen of England." "I would own +it to you, if I knew it," replied the Queen-Dauphin, "and I should know +it, if it were true; such passions as these never escape the sight of +those who occasion them; they are the first to discern them; the Duke +of Nemours has never showed me anything but slight complaisances; and +yet I find so great a difference betwixt his present and former +behaviour to me, that I can assure you, I am not the cause of the +indifference he expresses for the Crown of England. +</P> + +<P> +"But I forget myself in your company," added the Queen-Dauphin, "and +don't remember that I am to wait upon Madame: you know the peace is as +good as concluded, but perhaps you don't know that the King of Spain +has refused to sign it, but on condition of marrying this Princess, +instead of the Prince Don Carlos, his son: the King was with great +difficulty brought to allow it, but at last he has consented, and is +gone to carry the news to Madame; I believe she will be inconsolable. +To marry a man of the King of Spain's age and temper can never be +pleasing, especially to her who has all the gaiety which the bloom of +youth joined with beauty inspires, and was in expectation of marrying a +young Prince for whom she has an inclination without having seen him. +I do not know whether the King will find in her all the obedience he +desires; he has charged me to see her, because he knows she loves me, +and believes I shall be able to influence her. From thence I shall +make a visit of a very different nature, to congratulate the King's +sister. All things are ready for her marriage with the Prince of +Savoy, who is expected in a few days. Never was a woman of her age so +entirely pleased to be married; the Court will be more numerous and +splendid than ever, and notwithstanding your grief, you must come among +us, in order to make strangers see that we are furnished with no mean +beauties." +</P> + +<P> +Having said this, the Queen-Dauphin took her leave of Madam de Cleves, +and the next day Madame's marriage was publicly known; some days after +the King and the Queens went to visit the Princess of Cleves; the Duke +de Nemours, who had expected her return with the utmost impatience, and +languished for an opportunity of speaking to her in private, contrived +to wait upon her at an hour, when the company would probably be +withdrawing, and nobody else come in; he succeeded in his design, and +came in when the last visitors were going away. +</P> + +<P> +The Princess was sitting on her bed, and the hot weather, together with +the sight of the Duke de Nemours, gave her a blush that added to her +beauty; he sat over against her with a certain timorous respect, that +flows from a real love; he continued some minutes without speaking; nor +was she the less at a loss, so that they were both silent a good while: +at last the Duke condoled with her for her mother's death; Madam de +Cleves was glad to give the conversation that turn, spoke a +considerable time of the great loss she had had, and at last said, that +though time had taken off from the violence of her grief, yet the +impression would always remain so strong, that it would entirely change +her humour. "Great troubles and excessive passions," replied the Duke, +"make great alterations in the mind; as for me, I am quite another man +since my return from Flanders; abundance of people have taken notice of +this change, and the Queen-Dauphin herself spoke to me of it +yesterday." "It is true," replied the Princess, "she has observed it, +and I think I remember to have heard her say something about it." "I'm +not sorry, Madam," replied the Duke, "that she has discerned it, but I +could wish some others in particular had discerned it too; there are +persons to whom we dare give no other evidences of the passion we have +for them, but by things which do not concern them; and when we dare not +let them know we love them, we should be glad at least to have them see +we are not desirous of being loved by any other; we should be glad to +convince them, that no other beauty, though of the highest rank, has +any charms for us, and that a Crown would be too dear, if purchased +with no less a price than absence from her we adore: women ordinarily," +continued he, "judge of the passion one has for them, by the care one +takes to oblige, and to be assiduous about them; but it's no hard +matter to do this, though they be ever so little amiable; not to give +oneself up to the pleasure of pursuing them, to shun them through fear +of discovering to the public, and in a manner to themselves, the +sentiments one has for them, here lies the difficulty; and what still +more demonstrates the truth of one's passion is, the becoming entirely +changed from what one was, and the having no longer a gust either for +ambition or pleasure, after one has employed one's whole life in +pursuit of both." +</P> + +<P> +The Princess of Cleves readily apprehended how far she was concerned in +this discourse; one while she seemed of opinion that she ought not to +suffer such an address; another, she thought she ought not to seem to +understand it, or show she supposed herself meant by it; she thought +she ought to speak, and she thought she ought to be silent; the Duke of +Nemours's discourse equally pleased and offended her; she was convinced +by it of the truth of all the Queen-Dauphin had led her to think; she +found in it somewhat gallant and respectful, but also somewhat bold and +too intelligible; the inclination she had for the Duke gave her an +anxiety which it was not in her power to control; the most obscure +expressions of a man that pleases, move more than the most open +declaration of one we have no liking for; she made no answer; the Duke +de Nemours took notice of her silence, which perhaps would have proved +no ill-presage, if the coming in of the Prince of Cleves had not ended +at once the conversation and the visit. +</P> + +<P> +The Prince was coming to give his wife a further account of Sancerre, +but she was not over curious to learn the sequel of that adventure; she +was so much taken up with what had just passed, that she could hardly +conceal the embarrassment she was in. When she was at liberty to muse +upon it, she plainly saw she was mistaken, when she thought she was +indifferent as to the Duke de Nemours; what he had said to her had made +all the impression he could desire, and had entirely convinced her of +his passion; besides the Duke's actions agreed too well with his words +to leave her the least doubt about it; she no longer flattered herself +that she did not love him; all her care was not to let him discover it, +a task of which she had already experienced the difficulty; she knew +the only way to succeed in it was to avoid seeing him; and as her +mourning gave her an excuse for being more retired than usual, she made +use of that pretence not to go to places where he might see her; she +was full of melancholy; her mother's death was the seeming cause of it, +and no suspicion was had of any other. +</P> + +<P> +The Duke de Nemours, not seeing her any more, fell into desperation and +knowing he should not meet with her in any public assembly, or at any +diversions the Court joined in, he could not prevail upon himself to +appear there, and therefore he pretended a great love for hunting, and +made matches for that sport on the days when the Queens kept their +assemblies; a slight indisposition had served him a good while as an +excuse for staying at home, and declining to go to places where he knew +very well that Madam de Cleves would not be. +</P> + +<P> +The Prince of Cleves was ill almost at the same time, and the Princess +never stirred out of his room during his illness; but when he grew +better, and received company, and among others the Duke de Nemours, who +under pretence of being yet weak, stayed with him the greatest part of +the day, she found she could not continue any longer there; and yet in +the first visits he made she had not the resolution to go out; she had +been too long without seeing him, to be able to resolve to see him no +more; the Duke had the address, by discourses that appeared altogether +general, but which she understood very well by the relation they had to +what he had said privately to her, to let her know that he went +a-hunting only to be more at liberty to think of her, and that the +reason of his not going to the assemblies was her not being there. +</P> + +<P> +At last she executed the resolution she had taken to go out of her +husband's room, whenever he was there, though this was doing the utmost +violence to herself: the Duke perceived she avoided him, and the +thought of it touched him to the heart. +</P> + +<P> +The Prince of Cleves did not immediately take notice of his wife's +conduct in this particular, but at last he perceived she went out of +the room when there was company there; he spoke to her of it, and she +told him that she did not think it consistent with decency to be every +evening among the gay young courtiers; that she hoped he would allow +her to live in a more reserved manner than she had done hitherto, that +the virtue and presence of her mother authorised her in many liberties +which could not otherwise be justified in a woman of her age. +</P> + +<P> +Monsieur de Cleves, who had a great deal of facility and complaisance +for his wife, did not show it on this occasion, but told her he would +by no means consent to her altering her conduct; she was upon the point +of telling him, it was reported that the Duke de Nemours was in love +with her, but she had not the power to name him; besides she thought it +disingenuous to disguise the truth, and make use of pretences to a man +who had so good an opinion of her. +</P> + +<P> +Some days after the King was with the Queen at the assembly hour, and +the discourse turned upon nativities and predictions; the company were +divided in their opinion as to what credit ought to be given to them; +the Queen professed to have great faith in them, and maintained that +after so many things had come to pass as they had been foretold, one +could not doubt but there was something of certainty in that science; +others affirmed, that of an infinite number of predictions so very few +proved true, that the truth of those few ought to be looked upon as an +effect of chance. +</P> + +<P> +"I have formerly been very curious and inquisitive as to futurity," +said the King, "but I have seen so many false and improbable things, +that I am satisfied there is no truth in that pretended art. Not many +years since there came hither a man of great reputation in astrology; +everybody went to see him; I went among others, but without saying who +I was, and I carried with me the Duke of Guise and Descars, and made +them go in first; nevertheless the astrologer addressed himself first +to me, as if he had concluded me to be their master; perhaps he knew +me, and yet he told me one thing that was very unsuitable to my +character, if he had known me; his prediction was that I should be +killed in a duel; he told the Duke of Guise, that he should die of a +wound received behind; and he told Descars he should be knocked of the +head by the kick of a horse; the Duke of Guise was a little angry at +the prediction, as if it imported he should run away; nor was Descars +better pleased to find he was to make his exit by so unfortunate an +accident; in a word, we went away all three of us very much out of +humour with the astrologer; I don't know what will happen to the Duke +of Guise and Descars, but there is not much probability of my being +killed in a duel; the King of Spain and I have just made peace, and if +we had not, I question whether we should have fought, or if I should +have challenged him, as the King my father did Charles the Fifth." +</P> + +<P> +After the King had related the misfortune that was foretold him, those +who had defended astrology abandoned the argument, and agreed there was +no credit to be given to it: "For my part," said the Duke de Nemours +aloud, "I have the least reason of any man in the world to credit it"; +and then turning himself to Madam de Cleves, near whom he stood, "it +has been foretold me," says he very softly, "that I should be happy in +a person for whom I should have the most violent and respectful +passion; you may judge, Madam, if I ought to believe in predictions." +</P> + +<P> +The Queen-Dauphin, who believed, from what the Duke had spoke aloud, +that what he whispered was some false prediction that had been told +him, asked him what it was he said to Madam de Cleves; had he had a +less ready wit, he would have been surprised at this question; but +without any hesitation, "What I said to her, Madam," answered he, "was, +that it had been predicted to me, that I should be raised to a higher +fortune than my most sanguine hopes could lead me to expect." "If +nothing have been foretold you but this," replied the Queen-Dauphin, +smiling, and thinking of the affair of England, "I would not advise you +to decry astrology; you may have reasons hereafter to offer in defence +of it." Madam de Cleves apprehended the Queen-Dauphin's meaning, but +knew withal, that the fortune the Duke of Nemours spoke of was not that +of being King of England. +</P> + +<P> +The time of her mourning being expired, the Princess of Cleves was +obliged to make her appearance again, and go to Court as usual; she saw +the Duke de Nemours at the Queen-Dauphin's apartment; she saw him at +the Prince of Cleves's, where he often came in company of other young +noblemen, to avoid being remarked; yet she never once saw him, but it +gave her a pain that could not escape his observation. +</P> + +<P> +However industrious she was to avoid being looked at by him, and to +speak less to him than to any other, some things escaped her in an +unguarded moment, which convinced him he was not indifferent to her; a +man of less discernment than he would not have perceived it, but he had +already so often been the object of love, that it was easy for him to +know when he was loved; he found the Chevalier de Guise was his rival, +and the Chevalier knew that the Duke de Nemours was his; Monsieur de +Guise was the only man in the Court that had unravelled this affair, +his interest having made him more clear-sighted than others; the +knowledge they had of each other's sentiments created an opposition +between them in everything, which, however, did not break out into an +open quarrel; they were always of different parties at the running, at +the ring, at tournaments, and all diversions the King delighted in, and +their emulation was so great it could not be concealed. +</P> + +<P> +Madam de Cleves frequently revolved in her mind the affair of England; +she believed the Duke de Nemours could not resist the advice of the +King, and the instances of Lignerolles; she was very much concerned to +find that Lignerolles was not yet returned, and she impatiently +expected him; her inclinations strongly swayed her to inform herself +exactly of the state of this affair; but the same reasons, which raised +in her that curiosity, obliged her to conceal it, and she only enquired +of the beauty, the wit, and the temper of Queen Elizabeth. A picture +of that Princess had been brought the King, which Madam de Cleves found +much handsomer than she could have wished for, and she could not +forbear saying, the picture flattered. "I don't think so," replied the +Queen-Dauphin; "that Princess has the reputation of being very +handsome, and of having a very exalted genius, and I know she has +always been proposed to me as a model worthy my imitation; she can't +but be very handsome, if she resembles her mother, Anne Boleyn; never +had woman so many charms and allurements both in her person and her +humour; I have heard say she had something remarkably lively in her +countenance, very different from what is usually found in other English +beauties." "I think," replied Madam de Cleves, "'tis said she was born +in France." "Those who imagine so are mistaken," replied the +Queen-Dauphin; "I'll give you her history in a few words. +</P> + +<P> +"She was of a good family in England; Henry the Eighth was in love with +her sister and her mother, and it has been even suspected by some, that +she was his daughter; she came to France with Henry the Seventh's +sister, who married Louis XII that Princess, who was full of youth and +gallantry, left the Court of France with great reluctance after her +husband's death; but Anne Boleyn, who had the same inclinations as her +mistress, could not prevail with herself to go away; the late King was +in love with her, and she continued maid of honour to Queen Claude; +that Queen died, and Margaretta, the King's sister, Duchess of Alenson, +and since Queen of Navarre, whose story you know, took her into her +service, where she imbibed the principles of the new religion; she +returned afterwards to England, and there charmed all the world; she +had the manners of France, which please in all countries; she sung +well, she danced finely; she was a maid of honour to Queen Catherine, +and Henry the Eighth fell desperately in love with her. +</P> + +<P> +"Cardinal Wolsey, his favourite and first minister, being dissatisfied +with the Emperor for not having favoured his pretensions to the Papacy, +in order to revenge himself of him, contrived an alliance between +France and the King his master; he put it into the head of Henry the +Eighth, that his marriage with the Emperor's aunt was null, and advised +him to marry the Duchess of Alenson, whose husband was just dead; Anne +Boleyn, who was not without ambition, considered Queen Catherine's +divorce as a means that would bring her to the Crown; she began to give +the King of England impressions of the Lutheran religion, and engaged +the late King to favour at Rome Henry the Eighth's divorce, in hopes of +his marrying the Duchess of Alenson; Cardinal Wolsey, that he might +have an opportunity of treating this affair, procured himself to be +sent to France upon other pretences; but his master was so far from +permitting him to propose this marriage, that he sent him express +orders to Calais not to speak of it. +</P> + +<P> +"Cardinal Wolsey, at his return from France, was received with as great +honours as could have been paid to the King himself; never did any +favourite carry his pride and vanity to so great a height; he managed +an interview between the two Kings at Boulogne, when Francis the First +would have given the upperhand to Henry the Eighth, but he refused to +accept it; they treated one another by turns with the utmost +magnificence, and presented to each habits of the same sort with those +they wore themselves. I remember to have heard say, that those the late +King sent to the King of England were of crimson satin beset all over +with pearls and diamonds, and a robe of white velvet embroidered with +gold; after having stayed some time at Boulogne, they went to Calais. +Anne Boleyn was lodged in Henry the Eighth's Court with the train of a +Queen; and Francis the First made her the same presents, and paid her +the same honours as if she had been really so: in a word, after a +passion of nine year's continuance King Henry married her, without +waiting for the dissolving of his first marriage. The Pope +precipitately thundered out excommunications against him, which so +provoked King Henry, that he declared himself head of the Church, and +drew after him all England into the unhappy change in which you see it. +</P> + +<P> +"Anne Boleyn did not long enjoy her greatness; for when she thought +herself most secure of it by the death of Queen Catherine, one day as +she was seeing a match of running at the ring made by the Viscount +Rochefort her brother, the King was struck with such a jealousy, that +he abruptly left the show, went away to London, and gave orders for +arresting the Queen, the Viscount Rochefort, and several others whom he +believed to be the lovers or confidants of that Princess. Though this +jealousy in appearance had its birth that moment, the King had been +long possessed with it by the Viscountess Rochefort, who not being able +to bear the strict intimacy between her husband and the Queen, +represented it to the King as a criminal commerce; so that that Prince, +who was besides in love with Jane Seymour, thought of nothing but +ridding himself of Anne Boleyn; and in less than three weeks he caused +the Queen and her brother to be tried, had them both beheaded, and, +married Jane Seymour. He had afterwards several wives, whom he +divorced or put to death; and among others Catherine Howard, whose +confidant the Viscountess Rochefort was, and who was beheaded with her: +thus was she punished for having falsely accused Anne Boleyn. And +Henry the Eighth died, being become excessive fat." +</P> + +<P> +All the ladies, that were present when the Queen-Dauphin made this +relation, thanked her for having given them so good an account of the +Court of England; and among the rest Madam de Cleves, who could not +forbear asking several questions concerning Queen Elizabeth. +</P> + +<P> +The Queen-Dauphin caused pictures in miniature to be drawn of all the +beauties of the Court, in order to send them to the Queen her mother. +One day, when that of Madam de Cleves was finishing, the Queen-Dauphin +came to spend the afternoon with her; the Duke de Nemours did not fail +to be there; he let slip no opportunities of seeing Madam de Cleves, +yet without appearing to contrive them. She looked so pretty that day, +that he would have fell in love with her, though he had not been so +before: however he durst not keep his eyes fixed upon her, while she +was sitting for her picture, for fear of showing too much the pleasure +he took in looking at her. +</P> + +<P> +The Queen-Dauphin asked Monsieur de Cleves for a little picture he had +of his wife's, to compare it with that which was just drawn; everybody +gave their judgment of the one and the other; and Madam de Cleves +ordered the painter to mend something in the headdress of that which +had been just brought in; the painter in obedience to her took the +picture out of the case in which it was, and having mended it laid it +again on the table. +</P> + +<P> +The Duke de Nemours had long wished to have a picture of Madam de +Cleves; when he saw that which Monsieur de Cleves had, he could not +resist the temptation of stealing it from a husband, who, he believed, +was tenderly loved; and he thought that among so many persons as were +in the same room he should be no more liable to suspicion than another. +</P> + +<P> +The Queen-Dauphin was sitting on the bed, and whispering to Madam de +Cleves, who was standing before her. Madam de Cleves, through one of +the curtains that was but half-drawn, spied the Duke de Nemours with +his back to the table, that stood at the bed's feet, and perceived that +without turning his face he took something very dextrously from off the +table; she presently guessed it was her picture, and was in such +concern about it, that the Queen-Dauphin observed she did not attend to +what she said, and asked her aloud what it was she looked at. At those +words, the Duke de Nemours turned about, and met full the eyes of Madam +de Cleves that were still fixed upon him; he thought it not impossible +but she might have seen what he had done. +</P> + +<P> +Madam de Cleves was not a little perplexed; it was reasonable to demand +her picture of him; but to demand it publicly was to discover to the +whole world the sentiments which the Duke had for her, and to demand it +in private would be to engage him to speak of his love; she judged +after all it was better to let him keep it, and she was glad to grant +him a favour which she could do without his knowing that she granted +it. The Duke de Nemours, who observed her perplexity, and partly +guessed the cause of it, came up, and told her softly, "If you have +seen what I have ventured to do, be so good, Madam, as to let me +believe you are ignorant of it; I dare ask no more"; having said this +he withdrew, without waiting for her answer. +</P> + +<P> +The Queen-Dauphin went to take a walk, attended with the rest of the +ladies; and the Duke de Nemours went home to shut himself up in his +closet, not being able to support in public the ecstasy he was in on +having a picture of Madam de Cleves; he tasted everything that was +sweet in love; he was in love with the finest woman of the Court; he +found she loved him against her will, and saw in all her actions that +sort of care and embarrassment which love produces in young and +innocent hearts. +</P> + +<P> +At night great search was made for the picture; and having found the +case it used to be kept in, they never suspected it had been stolen but +thought it might have fallen out by chance. The Prince of Cleves was +very much concerned for the loss of it; and after having searched for +it a great while to no purpose, he told his wife, but with an air that +showed he did not think so, that without doubt she had some secret +lover, to whom she had given the picture, or who had stole it, and that +none but a lover would have been contented with the picture without the +case. +</P> + +<P> +These words, though spoke in jest, made a lively impression in the mind +of Madam de Cleves; they gave her remorse, and she reflected on the +violence of her inclination which hurried her on to love the Duke of +Nemours; she found she was no longer mistress of her words or +countenance; she imagined that Lignerolles was returned, that she had +nothing to fear from the affair of England, nor any cause to suspect +the Queen-Dauphin; in a word, that she had no refuge or defence against +the Duke de Nemours but by retiring; but as she was not at her liberty +to retire, she found herself in a very great extremity and ready to +fall into the last misfortune, that of discovering to the Duke the +inclination she had for him: she remembered all that her mother had +said to her on her death-bed, and the advice which she gave her, to +enter on any resolutions, however difficult they might be, rather than +engage in gallantry; she remembered also what Monsieur de Cleves had +told her, when he gave an account of Madam de Tournon; she thought she +ought to acknowledge to him the inclination she had for the Duke de +Nemours, and in that thought she continued a long time; afterwards she +was astonished to have entertained so ridiculous a design, and fell +back again into her former perplexity of not knowing what to choose. +</P> + +<P> +The peace was signed; and the Lady Elizabeth, after a great deal of +reluctance, resolved to obey the King her father. The Duke of Alva was +appointed to marry her in the name of the Catholic King, and was very +soon expected. The Duke of Savoy too, who was to marry the King's +sister, and whose nuptials were to be solemnised at the same time, was +expected every day. The King thought of nothing but how to grace these +marriages with such diversions as might display the politeness and +magnificence of his Court. Interludes and comedies of the best kind +were proposed, but the King thought those entertainments too private, +and desired to have somewhat of a more splendid nature: he resolved to +make a solemn tournament, to which strangers might be invited, and of +which the people might be spectators. The princes and young lords very +much approved the King's design, especially the Duke of Ferrara, +Monsieur de Guise, and the Duke de Nemours, who surpassed the rest in +these sorts of exercises. The King made choice of them to be together +with himself the four champions of the tournament. +</P> + +<P> +Proclamation was made throughout the kingdom, that on the 15th of June +in the City of Paris, his most Christian Majesty, and the Princes +Alphonso d'Ete Duke of Ferrara, Francis of Loraine Duke of Guise, and +James of Savoy Duke of Nemours would hold an open tournament against +all comers. The first combat to be on horse-back in the lists, with +double armour, to break four lances, and one for the ladies; the second +combat with swords, one to one, or two to two, as the judges of the +field should direct; the third combat on foot, three pushes of pikes, +and six hits with the sword. The champions to furnish lances, swords, +and pikes, at the choice of the combatants. Whoever did not manage his +horse in the carreer to be put out of the lists; four judges of the +field to give orders. The combatants who should break most lances and +perform best to carry the prize, the value whereof to be at the +discretion of the judges; all the combatants, as well French as +strangers, to be obliged to touch one or more, at their choice, of the +shields that should hang on the pillar at the end of the lists, where a +herald at arms should be ready to receive them, and enroll them +according to their quality, and the shields they had touched; the +combatants to be obliged to cause their shields and arms to be brought +by a gentleman and hung up at the pillar three days before the +tournament, otherwise not to be admitted without leave of the champions. +</P> + +<P> +A spacious list was made near the Bastille, which begun from the +Chateau des Tournelles and crossed the street of St. Anthony, and +extended as far as the King's stables; on both sides were built +scaffolds and amphitheatres, which formed a sort of galleries that made +a very fine sight, and were capable of containing an infinite number of +people. The princes and lords were wholly taken up in providing what +was necessary for a splendid appearance, and in mingling in their +cyphers and devices somewhat of gallantry that had relation to the +ladies they were in love with. +</P> + +<P> +A few days before the Duke of Alva's arrival, the King made a match at +tennis with the Duke de Nemours, the Chevalier de Guise, and the +Viscount de Chartres. The Queens came to see them play, attended with +the ladies of the Court, and among others Madam de Cleves. After the +game was ended, as they went out of the tennis court, Chatelart came up +to the Queen-Dauphin, and told her fortune had put into his hands a +letter of gallantry, that dropped out of the Duke de Nemours's pocket. +This Queen, who was always very curious in what related to the Duke, +bid Chatelart give her the letter; he did so, and she followed the +Queen her mother-in-law, who was going with the King to see them work +at the lists. After they had been there some time, the King caused +some horses to be brought that had been lately taken in, and though +they were not as yet thoroughly managed, he was for mounting one of +them, and ordered his attendants to mount others; the King and the Duke +de Nemours hit upon the most fiery and high mettled of them. The +horses were ready to fall foul on one another, when the Duke of +Nemours, for fear of hurting the King, retreated abruptly, and ran back +his horse against a pillar with so much violence that the shock of it +made him stagger. The company ran up to him, and he was thought +considerably hurt; but the Princess of Cleves thought the hurt much +greater than anyone else. The interest she had in it gave her an +apprehension and concern which she took no care to conceal; she came up +to him with the Queens, and with a countenance so changed, that one +less concerned than the Chevalier de Guise might have perceived it: +perceive it he immediately did, and was much more intent upon the +condition Madam de Cleves was in, than upon that of the Duke de +Nemours. The blow the Duke had given himself had so stunned him, that +he continued some time leaning his head on those who supported him; +when he raised himself up, he immediately viewed Madam de Cleves, and +saw in her face the concern she was in for him, and he looked upon her +in a manner which made her sense how much he was touched with it: +afterwards he thanked the Queens for the goodness they had expressed to +him, and made apologies for the condition he had been in before them; +and then the King ordered him to go to rest. +</P> + +<P> +Madam de Cleves, after she was recovered from the fright she had been +in, presently reflected on the tokens she had given of it. The +Chevalier de Guise did not suffer her to continue long in the hope that +nobody had perceived it, but giving her his hand to lead her out of the +lists: "I have more cause to complain, Madam," said he, "than the Duke +de Nemours; pardon me, if I forget for a moment that profound respect I +have always had for you, and show you how much my heart is grieved for +what my eyes have just seen; this is the first time I have ever been so +bold as to speak to you, and it will be the last. Death or at least +eternal absence will remove me from a place where I can live no longer, +since I have now lost the melancholy comfort I had of believing that +all who behold you with love are as unhappy as myself." +</P> + +<P> +Madam de Cleves made only a confused answer, as if she had not +understood what the Chevalier's words meant: at another time she would +have been offended if he had mentioned the passion he had for her; but +at this moment she felt nothing but the affliction to know that he had +observed the passion she had for the Duke de Nemours. The Chevalier de +Guise was so well convinced of it, and so pierced with grief, that from +that moment he took a resolution never to think of being loved by Madam +de Cleves; but that he might the better be able to quit a passion which +he had thought so difficult and so glorious, it was necessary to make +choice of some other undertaking worthy of employing him; he had his +view on Rhodes: the taking of which he had formerly had some idea of; +and when death snatched him away, in the flower of his youth, and at a +time when he had acquired the reputation of one of the greatest Princes +of his age, the only regret he had to part with life was, that he had +not been able to execute so noble a resolution, the success whereof he +thought infallible from the great care he had taken about it. +</P> + +<P> +Madam de Cleves, when she came out of the lists, went to the Queen's +apartment, with her thoughts wholly taken up with what had passed. The +Duke de Nemours came there soon after, richly dressed, and like one +wholly unsensible of the accident that had befallen him; he appeared +even more gay than usual, and the joy he was in for what he had +discovered, gave him an air that very much increased his natural +agreeableness. The whole Court was surprised when he came in; and +there was nobody but asked him how he did, except Madam de Cleves, who +stayed near the chimney pretending not to see him. The King coming out +of his closet, and seeing him among others called him to talk to him +about his late accident. The Duke passed by Madam de Cleves, and said +softly to her, "Madam, I have received this day some marks of your +pity, but they were not such as I am most worthy of." Madam de Cleves +suspected that he had taken notice of the concern she had been in for +him, and what he now said convinced her she was not mistaken; it gave +her a great deal of concern to find she was so little mistress of +herself as not to have been able to conceal her inclinations from the +Chevalier de Guise; nor was she the less concerned to see that the Duke +de Nemours was acquainted with them; yet this last grief was not so +entire, but there was a certain mixture of pleasure in it. +</P> + +<P> +The Queen-Dauphin, who was extremely impatient to know what there was +in the letter which Chatelart had given her, came up to Madam de +Cleves. "Go read this letter," says she; "'tis addressed to the Duke +de Nemours, and was probably sent him by the mistress for whom he has +forsaken all others; if you can't read it now, keep it, and bring it me +about bedtime and inform me if you know the hand." Having said this, +the Queen-Dauphin went away from Madam de Cleves, and left her in such +astonishment, that she was not able for some time to stir out of the +place. The impatience and grief she was in not permitting her to stay +at Court, she went home before her usual hour of retirement; she +trembled with the letter in her hand, her thoughts were full of +confusion, and she experienced I know not what of insupportable grief, +that she had never felt before. No sooner was she in her closet, but +she opened the letter and found it as follows: +</P> + +<P CLASS="letter"> +I have loved you too well to leave you in a belief that the change you +observe in me is an effect of lightness; I must inform you that your +falsehood is the cause of it; you will be surprised to hear me speak of +your falsehood; you have dissembled it with so much skill, and I have +taken so much care to conceal my knowledge of it from you, that you +have reason to be surprised at the discovery; I am myself in wonder, +that I have discovered nothing of it to you before; never was grief +equal to mine; I thought you had the most violent passion for me, I did +not conceal that which I had for you, and at the time that I +acknowledged it to you without reserve, I found that you deceived me, +that you loved another, and that in all probability I was made a +sacrifice to this new mistress. I knew it the day you run at the ring, +and this was the reason I was not there; at first I pretended an +indisposition in order to conceal my sorrow, but afterwards I really +fell into one, nor could a constitution delicate like mine support so +violent a shock. When I began to be better, I still counterfeited +sickness, that I might have an excuse for not seeing and for not +writing to you; besides I was willing to have time to come to a +resolution in what manner to deal with you; I took and quitted the same +resolution twenty times; but at last I concluded you deserved not to +see my grief, and I resolved not to show you the least mark of it. I +had a desire to bring down your pride, by letting you see, that my +passion for you declined of itself: I thought I should by this lessen +the value of the sacrifice you had made of me, and was loth you should +have the pleasure of appearing more amiable in the eyes of another, by +showing her how much I loved you; I resolved to write to you in a cold +and languishing manner, that she, to whom you gave my letters, might +perceive my love was at an end: I was unwilling she should have the +satisfaction of knowing I was sensible that she triumphed over me, or +that she should increase her triumph by my despair and complaints. I +thought I should punish you too little by merely breaking with you, and +that my ceasing to love you would give you but a slight concern, after +you had first forsaken me; I found it was necessary you should love me, +to feel the smart of not being loved, which I so severely experienced +myself; I was of opinion that if anything could rekindle that flame, it +would be to let you see that mine was extinguished, but to let you see +it through an endeavour to conceal it from you, as if I wanted the +power to acknowledge it to you: this resolution I adhered to; I found +it difficult to take, and when I saw you again I thought it impossible +to execute. I was ready a hundred times to break out into tears and +complaints; my ill state of health, which still continued, served as a +disguise to hide from you the affliction and trouble I was in; +afterward I was supported by the pleasure of dissembling with you, as +you had done with me; however it was doing so apparent a violence to +myself to tell you or to write to you that I loved you, that you +immediately perceived I had no mind to let you see my affection was +altered; you was touched with this, you complained of it; I endeavoured +to remove your fears, but it was done in so forced a manner, that you +were still more convinced by it, I no longer loved you; in short, I did +all I intended to do. The fantasticalness of your heart was such, that +you advanced towards me in proportion as you saw I retreated from you. +I have enjoyed all the pleasure which can arise from revenge; I plainly +saw, that you loved me more than you had ever done, and I showed you I +had no longer any love for you. I had even reason to believe that you +had entirely abandoned her, for whom you had forsaken me; I had ground +too to be satisfied you had never spoken to her concerning me; but +neither your discretion in that particular, nor the return of your +affection can make amends for your inconstancy; your heart has been +divided between me and another, and you have deceived me; this is +sufficient wholly to take from me the pleasure I found in being loved +by you, as I thought I deserved to be, and to confirm me in the +resolution I have taken never to see you more, which you are so much +surprised at. +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +Madam de Cleves read this letter, and read it over again several times, +without knowing at the same time what she had read; she saw only that +the Duke de Nemours did not love her as she imagined and that he loved +others who were no less deceived by him than she. What a discovery was +this for a person in her condition, who had a violent passion, who had +just given marks of it to a man whom she judged unworthy of it, and to +another whom she used ill for his sake! Never was affliction so +cutting as hers; she imputed the piercingness of it to what had +happened that day, and believed that if the Duke de Nemours had not had +ground to believe she loved him she should not have cared whether he +loved another or not; but she deceived herself, and this evil which she +found so insupportable was jealousy with all the horrors it can be +accompanied with. This letter discovered to her a piece of gallantry +the Duke de Nemours had been long engaged in; she saw the lady who +wrote it was a person of wit and merit, and deserved to be loved; she +found she had more courage than herself, and envied her the power she +had had of concealing her sentiments from the Duke de Nemours; by the +close of the letter, she saw this lady thought herself beloved, and +presently suspected that the discretion the Duke had showed in his +addresses to her, and which she had been so much taken with, was only +an effect of his passion for this other mistress, whom he was afraid of +disobliging; in short, she thought of everything that could add to her +grief and despair. What reflections did she not make on herself, and +on the advices her mother had given her I how did she repent, that she +had not persisted in her resolution of retiring, though against the +will of Monsieur de Cleves, or that she had not pursued her intentions +of acknowledging to him the inclination she had for the Duke of +Nemours! She was convinced, she would have done better to discover it +to a husband, whose goodness she was sensible of, and whose interest it +would have been to conceal it, than to let it appear to a man who was +unworthy of it, who deceived her, who perhaps made a sacrifice of her, +and who had no view in being loved by her but to gratify his pride and +vanity; in a word, she found, that all the calamities that could befall +her, and all the extremities she could be reduced to, were less than +that single one of having discovered to the Duke de Nemours that she +loved him, and of knowing that he loved another: all her comfort was to +think, that after the knowledge of this she had nothing more to fear +from herself, and that she should be entirely eased of the inclination +she had for the Duke. +</P> + +<P> +She never thought of the orders the Queen-Dauphin had given her, to +come to her when she went to rest: she went to bed herself, and +pretended to be ill; so that when Monsieur de Cleves came home from the +King, they told him she was asleep. But she was far from that +tranquillity which inclines to sleep; all the night she did nothing but +torment herself, and read over and over the letter in her hand. +</P> + +<P> +Madam de Cleves was not the only person whom this letter disturbed. +The Viscount de Chartres, who had lost it and not the Duke de Nemours, +was in the utmost inquietude about it. He had been that evening with +the Duke of Guise, who had given a great entertainment to the Duke of +Ferrara his brother-in-law, and to all the young people of the Court: +it happened that the discourse turned upon ingenious letters; and the +Viscount de Chartres said he had one about him the finest that ever was +writ: they urged him to show it, and on his excusing himself, the Duke +de Nemours insisted he had no such letter, and that what he said was +only out of vanity; the Viscount made him answer, that he urged his +discretion to the utmost, that nevertheless he would not show the +letter; but he would read some parts of it, which would make it appear +few men received the like. Having said this, he would have taken out +the letter, but could not find it; he searched for it to no purpose. +The company rallied him about it; but he seemed so disturbed, that they +forbore to speak further of it; he withdrew sooner than the others, and +went home with great impatience, to see if he had not left the letter +there. While he was looking for it, one of the Queen's pages came to +tell him, that the Viscountess d'Usez had thought it necessary to give +him speedy advice, that it was said at the Queen's Court, that he had +dropped a letter of gallantry out of his pocket while he was playing at +tennis; that great part of what the letter contained had been related, +that the Queen had expressed a great curiosity to see it, and had sent +to one of her gentlemen for it, but that he answered, he had given it +to Chatelart. +</P> + +<P> +The page added many other particulars which heightened the Viscount's +concern; he went out that minute to go to a gentleman who was an +intimate friend of Chatelart's; and though it was a very unseasonable +hour, made him get out of bed to go and fetch the letter, without +letting him know who it was had sent for it, or who had lost it. +Chatelart, who was prepossessed with an opinion that it belonged to the +Duke of Nemours, and that the Duke was in love with the Queen-Dauphin, +did not doubt but it was he who had sent to redemand it, and so +answered with a malicious sort of joy, that he had put the letter into +the Queen-Dauphin's hands. The gentleman brought this answer back to +the Viscount de Chartres, which increased the uneasiness he was under +already, and added new vexations to it: after having continued some +time in an irresolution what to do, he found that the Duke de Nemours +was the only person whose assistance could draw him out of this +intricate affair. +</P> + +<P> +Accordingly he went to the Duke's house, and entered his room about +break of day. What the Duke had discovered the day before with respect +to the Princess of Cleves had given him such agreeable ideas, that he +slept very sweetly; he was very much surprised to find himself waked by +the Viscount de Chartres, and asked him if he came to disturb his rest +so early, to be revenged of him for what he had said last night at +supper. The Viscount's looks soon convinced him, that he came upon a +serious business; "I am come," said he, "to entrust you with the most +important affair of my life; I know very well, you are not obliged to +me for the confidence I place in you, because I do it at a time when I +stand in need of your assistance; but I know likewise, that I should +have lost your esteem, if I had acquainted you with all I am now going +to tell you, without having been forced to it by absolute necessity: I +have dropped the letter I spoke of last night; it is of the greatest +consequence to me, that nobody should know it is addressed to me; it +has been seen by abundance of people, who were at the tennis court +yesterday when I dropped it; you was there too, and the favour I have +to ask you, is, to say it was you who lost it." "Sure you think," +replied the Duke de Nemours smiling, "that I have no mistress, by +making such a proposal, and that I have no quarrels or inconveniences +to apprehend by leaving it to be believed that I receive such letters." +"I beg you," said the Viscount, "to hear me seriously; if you have a +mistress, as I doubt not you have, though I do not know who she is, it +will be easy for you to justify yourself, and I'll put you into an +infallible way of doing it. As for you, though you should fail in +justifying yourself, it can cost you nothing but a short falling out; +but for my part, this accident affects me in a very different manner, I +shall dishonour a person who has passionately loved me, and is one of +the most deserving women in the world; on the other side, I shall draw +upon myself an implacable hatred that will ruin my fortune, and perhaps +proceed somewhat further." "I do not comprehend what you say," replied +the Duke de Nemours, "but I begin to see that the reports we have had +of your interest in a great Princess are not wholly without ground." +"They are not," replied the Viscount, "but I would to God they were: +you would not see me in the perplexity I am in; but I must relate the +whole affair to you, to convince you how much I have to fear. +</P> + +<P> +"Ever since I came to Court, the Queen has treated me with a great deal +of favour and distinction, and I had grounds to believe that she was +very kindly disposed towards me: there was nothing, however, particular +in all this, and I never presumed to entertain any thoughts of her but +what were full of respect; so far from it, that I was deeply in love +with Madam de Themines; anyone that sees her may easily judge, 'tis +very possible for one to be greatly in love with her, when one is +beloved by her, and so I was. About two years ago, the Court being at +Fontainebleau, I was two or three times in conversation with the Queen, +at hours when there were very few people in her apartment: it appeared +to me, that my turn of wit was agreeable to her, and I observed she +always approved what I said. One day among others she fell into a +discourse concerning confidence. I said there was nobody in whom I +entirely confided, that I found people always repented of having done +so, and that I knew a great many things of which I had never spoke: the +Queen told me, she esteemed me the more for it, that she had not found +in France anyone that could keep a secret, and that this was what had +embarrassed her more than anything else, because it had deprived her of +the pleasure of having a confidant; that nothing was so necessary in +life as to have somebody one could open one's mind to with safety, +especially for people of her rank. Afterwards she frequently resumed +the same discourse, and acquainted me with very particular +circumstances; at last I imagined she was desirous to learn my secrets, +and to entrust me with her own; this thought engaged me strictly to +her. I was so pleased with this distinction that I made my court to +her with greater assiduity than usual. One evening the King and the +ladies of the Court rode out to take the air in the forest, but the +Queen, being a little indisposed did not go; I stayed to wait upon her, +and she walked down to the pond-side, and dismissed her gentlemen +ushers, that she might be more at liberty. After she had taken a few +turns she came up to me, and bid me follow her; 'I would speak with +you,' says she, 'and by what I shall say you will see I am your +friend.' She stopped here, and looking earnestly at me; 'You are in +love,' continued she, 'and because perhaps you have made nobody your +confidant, you think that your love is not known; but it is known, and +even by persons who are interested in it: you are observed, the place +where you see your mistress is discovered, and there's a design to +surprise you; I don't know who she is, nor do I ask you to tell me, I +would only secure you from the misfortunes into which you may fall.' +See, I beseech you, what a snare the Queen laid for me, and how +difficult it was for me not to fall into it; she had a mind to know if +I was in love, and as she did not ask me who I was in love with, but +let me see her intention was only to serve me, I had no suspicion that +she spoke either out of curiosity or by design. +</P> + +<P> +"Nevertheless, contrary to all probability, I saw into the bottom of +the matter; I was in love with Madam de Themines, but though she loved +me again, I was not happy enough to have private places to see her in +without danger of being discovered there, and so I was satisfied she +could not be the person the Queen meant; I knew also, that I had an +intrigue with another woman less handsome and less reserved than Madam +de Themines, and that it was not impossible but the place where I saw +her might be discovered; but as this was a business I little cared for, +it was easy for me to guard against all sorts of danger by forbearing +to see her; I resolved therefore to acknowledge nothing of it to the +Queen, but to assure her on the contrary that I had a long time laid +aside the desire of gaining women's affections, even where I might hope +for success, because I found them all in some measure unworthy of +engaging the heart of an honourable man, and that it must be something +very much above them which could touch me. 'You do not answer me +ingenuously,' replied the Queen; 'I am satisfied of the contrary; the +free manner in which I speak to you ought to oblige you to conceal +nothing from me; I would have you,' continued she, 'be of the number of +my friends; but I would not, after having admitted you into that rank, +be ignorant of your engagements; consider, whether you think my +friendship will be too dear at the price of making me your confidant; I +give you two days to think on it; but then, consider well of the answer +you shall make me, and remember that if ever I find hereafter you have +deceived me, I shall never forgive you as long as I live.' +</P> + +<P> +"Having said this, the Queen left me without waiting for my answer; you +may imagine how full my thoughts were of what she had said to me; the +two days she had given me to consider of it I did not think too long a +time to come to a resolution; I found she had a mind to know if I was +in love, and that her desire was I should not be so; I foresaw the +consequences of what I was going to do, my vanity was flattered with +the thought of having a particular interest with the Queen, and a Queen +whose person is still extremely amiable; on the other hand, I was in +love with Madam de Themines, and though I had committed a petty treason +against her by my engagement with the other woman I told you of, I +could not find in my heart to break with her; I foresaw also the danger +I should expose myself to, if I deceived the Queen, and how hard it +would be to do it; nevertheless I could not resolve to refuse what +fortune offered me, and was willing to run the hazard of anything my +ill conduct might draw upon me; I broke with her with whom I kept a +correspondence that might be discovered, and was in hopes of concealing +that I had with Madam de Themines. +</P> + +<P> +"At the two days' end, as I entered the room where the Queen was with +all the ladies about her, she said aloud to me, and with a grave air +that was surprising enough, 'Have you thought of the business I charged +you with, and do you know the truth of it?' 'Yes, Madam,' answered I, +'and 'tis as I told your Majesty.' 'Come in the evening, when I am +writing,' replied she, 'and you shall have further orders.' I made a +respectful bow without answering anything, and did not fail to attend +at the hour she had appointed me. I found her in the gallery, with her +secretary and one of her women. As soon as she saw me she came to me, +and took me to the other end of the gallery; 'Well,' says she, 'after +having considered thoroughly of this matter, have you nothing to say to +me, and as to my manner of treating you, does not it deserve that you +should deal sincerely with me?' 'It is, Madam,' answered I, 'because I +deal sincerely, that I have nothing more to say, and I swear to your +Majesty with all the respect I owe you, that I have no engagement with +any woman of the Court.' 'I will believe it,' replied the Queen, +'because I wish it; and I wish it, because I desire to have you +entirely mine, and because it would be impossible for me to be +satisfied with your friendship, if you were in love; one cannot confide +in those who are; one cannot be secure of their secrecy; they are too +much divided, and their mistresses have always the first place in their +thoughts, which does not suit at all with the manner in which I would +have you live with me: remember then, it is upon your giving me your +word that you have no engagement, that I choose you for my confidant; +remember, I insist on having you entirely to myself, and that you shall +have no friend of either sex but such as I shall approve, and that you +abandon every care but that of pleasing me; I'll not desire you to +neglect any opportunity for advancing your fortune; I'll conduct your +interests with more application than you can yourself, and whatever I +do for you, I shall think myself more than recompensed, if you answer +my expectations; I make choice of you, to open my heart's griefs to +you, and to have your assistance in softening them; you may imagine +they are not small; I bear in appearance without much concern the +King's engagement with the Duchess of Valentinois, but it is +insupportable to me; she governs the King, she imposes upon him, she +slights me, all my people are at her beck. The Queen, my +daughter-in-law, proud of her beauty, and the authority of her uncles, +pays me no respect. The Constable Montmorency is master of the King and +kingdom; he hates me, and has given proofs of his hatred, which I shall +never forget. The Mareschal de St. Andre is a bold young favourite, +who uses me no better than the others. The detail of my misfortunes +would move your pity; hitherto I have not dared to confide in anybody, +I confide in you, take care that I never repent it, and be my only +consolation.' The Queen blushed, when she had ended this discourse, +and I was so truly touched with the goodness she had expressed to me, +that I was going to throw myself at her feet: from that day she has +placed an entire confidence in me, she has done nothing without +advising with me, and the intimacy and union between us still subsists. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap03"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +III +</H3> + +<P> +"In the meantime, however busy and full I was of my new engagement with +the Queen, I still kept fair with Madam de Themines by a natural +inclination which it was not in my power to conquer; I thought she +cooled in her love to me, and whereas, had I been prudent, I should +have made use of the change I observed in her for my cure, my love +redoubled upon it, and I managed so ill that the Queen got some +knowledge of this intrigue. Jealousy is natural to persons of her +nation, and perhaps she had a greater affection for me than she even +imagined herself; at least the report of my being in love gave her so +much uneasiness, that I thought myself entirely ruined with her; +however I came into favour again by virtue of submissions, false oaths, +and assiduity; but I should not have been able to have deceived her +long, had not Madam de Themines's change disengaged me from her against +my will; she convinced me she no longer loved me, and I was so +thoroughly satisfied of it, that I was obliged to give her no further +uneasiness, but to let her be quiet. Some time after she wrote me this +letter which I have lost; I learned from it, she had heard of the +correspondence I had with the other woman I told you of, and that that +was the reason of her change. As I had then nothing further left to +divide me, the Queen was well enough satisfied with me; but the +sentiments I have for her not being of a nature to render me incapable +of other engagements, and love not being a thing that depends on our +will, I fell in love with Madam de Martigues, of whom I was formerly a +great admirer, while she was with Villemontais, maid of honour to the +Queen-Dauphin; I have reason to believe she does not hate me; the +discretion I observe towards her, and which she does not wholly know +the reasons of, is very agreeable to her; the Queen has not the least +suspicion on her account, but she has another jealousy which is not +less troublesome; as Madam de Martigues is constantly with the +Queen-Dauphin, I go there much oftener than usual; the Queen imagines +that 'tis this Princess I am in love with; the Queen-Dauphin's rank, +which is equal to her own, and the superiority of her youth and beauty, +create a jealousy that rises even to fury, and fills her with a hatred +against her daughter-in-law that cannot be concealed. The Cardinal of +Loraine, who, I believe has been long aspiring to the Queen's favour, +and would be glad to fill the place I possess, is, under pretence of +reconciling the two Queens, become master of the differences between +them; I doubt not but he has discovered the true cause of the Queen's +anger, and I believe he does me all manner of ill offices, without +letting her see that he designs it. This is the condition my affairs +are in at present; judge what effect may be produced by the letter +which I have lost, and which I unfortunately put in my pocket with +design to restore it to Madam de Themines: if the Queen sees this +letter, she will know I have deceived her; and that almost at the very +same time that I deceived her for Madam de Themines, I deceived Madam +de Themines for another; judge what an idea this will give her of me, +and whether she will ever trust me again. If she does not see the +letter, what shall I say to her? She knows it has been given to the +Queen-Dauphin; she will think Chatelart knew that Queen's hand, and +that the letter is from her; she will fancy the person of whom the +letter expresses a jealousy, is perhaps herself; in short, there is +nothing which she may not think, and there is nothing which I ought not +to fear from her thoughts; add to this, that I am desperately in love +with Madam de Martigues, and that the Queen-Dauphin will certainly show +her this letter, which she will conclude to have been lately writ. +Thus shall I be equally embroiled both with the person I love most, and +with the person I have most cause to fear. Judge, after this, if I +have not reason to conjure you to say the letter is yours, and to beg +of you to get it out of the Queen-Dauphin's hands." +</P> + +<P> +"I am very well satisfied," answered the Duke de Nemours, "that one +cannot be in a greater embarrassment than that you are in, and it must +be confessed you deserve it; I have been accused of being inconstant in +my amours, and of having had several intrigues at the same time, but +you out-go me so far, that I should not so much as have dared to +imagine what you have undertaken; could you pretend to keep Madam de +Themines, and be at the same engaged with the Queen? did you hope to +have an engagement with the Queen, and be able to deceive her? she is +both an Italian and a Queen, and by consequence full of jealousy, +suspicion, and pride. As soon as your good fortune, rather than your +good conduct, had set you at liberty from an engagement you was +entangled in, you involved yourself in new ones, and you fancied that +in the midst of the Court you could be in love with Madam de Martigues +without the Queen's perceiving it: you could not have been too careful +to take from her the shame of having made the first advances; she has a +violent passion for you; you have more discretion than to tell it me, +and I than to ask you to tell it; it is certain she is jealous of you, +and has truth on her side." "And does it belong to you," interrupted +the Viscount, "to load me with reprimands, and ought not your own +experience to make you indulgent to my faults? However I grant I am to +blame; but think, I conjure you, how to draw me out of this +difficulty"; "I think you must go to the Queen-Dauphin as soon as she +is awake, and ask her for the letter, as if you had lost it." "I have +told you already," replied the Duke de Nemours, "that what you propose +is somewhat extraordinary, and that there are difficulties in it which +may affect my own particular interest; but besides, if this letter has +been seen to drop out of your pocket, I should think it would be hard +to persuade people that it dropped out of mine." "I thought I had told +you," replied the Viscount, "that the Queen-Dauphin had been informed +that you dropped it." "How," said the Duke de Nemours hastily, +apprehending the ill consequence this mistake might be of to him with +Madam de Cleves, "has the Queen-Dauphin been told I dropped the +letter?" "Yes," replied the Viscount, "she has been told so; and what +occasioned the mistake was, that there were several gentlemen of the +two Queens in a room belonging to the tennis court, where our clothes +were put up, when your servants and mine went together to fetch them; +then it was the letter fell out of the pocket; those gentlemen took it +up, and read it aloud; some believed it belonged to you, and others to +me; Chatelart, who took it, and to whom I have just sent for it, says, +he gave it to the Queen-Dauphin as a letter of yours; and those who +have spoken of it to the Queen have unfortunately told her it was mine; +so that you may easily do what I desire of you, and free me from this +perplexity." +</P> + +<P> +The Duke de Nemours had always had a great friendship for the Viscount +de Chartres, and the relation he bore to Madam de Cleves still made him +more dear to him; nevertheless he could not prevail with himself to run +the risk of her having heard of this letter, as of a thing in which he +was concerned; he fell into a deep musing, and the Viscount guessed +pretty near what was the subject of his meditations; "I plainly see," +said he, "that you are afraid of embroiling yourself with your +mistress, and I should almost fancy the Queen-Dauphin was she, if the +little jealousy you seem to have of Monsieur d'Anville did not take me +off from that thought; but be that as it will, it is not reasonable you +should sacrifice your repose to mine, and I'll put you in a way of +convincing her you love, that this letter is directed to me, and not to +you; here is a billet from Madam d'Amboise, who is a friend of Madam de +Themines, and was her confidant in the amour between her and me; in +this she desires me to send her Madam de Themines's letter, which I +have lost; my name is on the superscription, and the contents of the +billet prove, without question, that the letter she desires is the same +with that which has been found; I'll leave this billet in your hands, +and agree that you may show it to your mistress in your justification; +I conjure you not to lose a moment, but to go this morning to the +Queen-Dauphin." +</P> + +<P> +The Duke de Nemours promised the Viscount he would, and took Madam +d'Amboise's billet; nevertheless his design was not to see the +Queen-Dauphin; he thought more pressing business required his care; he +made no question, but she had already spoke of the letter to Madam de +Cleves, and could not bear that a person he loved so desperately, +should have ground to believe he had engagements with any other. +</P> + +<P> +He went to the Princess of Cleves as soon as he thought she might be +awake; and ordered her to be told, that, if he had not business of the +last consequence, he would not have desired the honour to see her at so +extraordinary an hour. Madam de Cleves was in bed, and her mind was +tossed to and fro by a thousand melancholy thoughts that she had had +during the night; she was extremely surprised to hear the Duke de +Nemours asked for her; the anxiety she was in made her presently +answer, that she was ill, and could not speak with him. +</P> + +<P> +The Duke was not at all shocked at this refusal; he thought it presaged +him no ill, that she expressed a little coldness at a time when she +might be touched with jealousy. He went to the Prince of Cleves's +apartment, and told him he came from that of his lady, and that he was +very sorry he could not see her, because he had an affair to +communicate to her of great consequence to the Viscount de Chartres; he +explained in few words to the Prince the importance of this business, +and the Prince immediately introduced him into his lady's chamber. Had +she not been in the dark, she would have found it hard to have +concealed the trouble and astonishment she was in to see the Duke de +Nemours introduced by her husband. Monsieur de Cleves told her the +business was about a letter, wherein her assistance was wanting for the +interest of the Viscount, that she was to consult with Monsieur de +Nemours what was to be done; and that as for him he was going to the +King, who had just sent for him. +</P> + +<P> +The Duke de Nemours had his heart's desire, in being alone with Madam +de Cleves; "I am come to ask you, Madam," said he, "if the +Queen-Dauphin has not spoke to you of a letter which Chatelart gave her +yesterday." "She said something to me of it," replied Madam de Cleves, +"but I don't see what relation this letter his to the interests of my +uncle, and I can assure you that he is not named in it." "It is true, +Madam," replied the Duke de Nemours, "he is not named in it but yet it +is addressed to him, and it very much imports him that you should get +it out of the Queen-Dauphin's hands." "I cannot comprehend," replied +the Princess, "how it should be of any consequence to him, if this +letter should be seen, nor what reason there is to redemand it in his +name." "If you please to be at leisure to hear me, Madam," said +Monsieur de Nemours, "I'll presently make you acquainted with the true +state of the thing, and inform you of matters of so great importance to +the Viscount, that I would not even have trusted the Prince of Cleves +with them, had I not stood in need of his assistance to have the honour +to see you." "I believe," said Madam de Cleves in a very unconcerned +manner, "that anything you may give yourself the trouble of telling me, +will be to little purpose; you had better go to the Queen-Dauphin, and +plainly tell her, without using these roundabout ways, the interest you +have in that letter, since she has been told, as well as I, that it +belongs to you." +</P> + +<P> +The uneasiness of mind which Monsieur de Nemours observed in Madam de +Cleves gave him the most sensible pleasure he ever knew, and lessened +his impatience to justify himself: "I don't know, Madam," replied he, +"what the Queen-Dauphin may have been told; but I am not at all +concerned in that letter; it is addressed to the Viscount." "I believe +so," replied Madam de Cleves, "but the Queen-Dauphin has heard to the +contrary, and she won't think it very probable that the Viscount's +letters should fall out of your pocket; you must therefore have some +reason, that I don't know of, for concealing the truth of this matter +from the Queen-Dauphin; I advise you to confess it to her." "I have +nothing to confess to her," says he, "the letter is not directed to me, +and if there be anyone that I would have satisfied of it, it is not the +Queen-Dauphin; but, Madam, since the Viscount's interest is nearly +concerned in this, be pleased to let me acquaint you with some matters +that are worthy of your curiosity." Madam de Cleves by her silence +showed her readiness to hear him, and he as succinctly as possible +related to her all he had just heard from the Viscount. Though the +circumstances were naturally surprising, and proper to create +attention, yet Madam de Cleves heard them with such coldness, that she +seemed either not to believe them true, or to think them indifferent to +her; she continued in this temper until the Duke de Nemours spoke of +Madam d'Amboise's billet, which was directed to the Viscount, and was a +proof of all he had been saying; as Madam de Cleves knew that this lady +was a friend of Madam de Themines, she found some probability in what +the Duke de Nemours had said, which made her think, that the letter +perhaps was not addressed to him; this thought suddenly, and in spite +of herself, drew her out of the coldness and indifferency she had until +then been in. The Duke having read the billet, which fully justified +him, presented it to her to read, and told her she might possibly know +the hand. She could not forbear taking it, and examining the +superscription to see if it was addressed to the Viscount de Chartres, +and reading it all over, that she might the better judge, if the letter +which was redemanded was the same with that she had in her hand. The +Duke de Nemours added whatever he thought proper to persuade her of it; +and as one is easily persuaded of the truth of what one wishes, he soon +convinced Madam de Cleves that he had no concern in the letter. +</P> + +<P> +She began now to reason with him concerning the embarrassment and +danger the Viscount was in, to blame his ill conduct, and to think of +means to help him: she was astonished at the Queen's proceedings, and +confessed to the Duke that she had the letter; in short, she no sooner +believed him innocent, but she discoursed with him with greater ease +and freedom, concerning what she would scarce before vouchsafe to hear; +they agreed that the letter should not be restored to the +Queen-Dauphin, for fear she should show it to Madam de Martigues, who +knew Madam de Themines's hand, and would easily guess, by the interest +she had in the Viscount, that it was addressed to him; they agreed +also, that they ought not to entrust the Queen-Dauphin with all that +concerned the Queen her mother-in-law. Madam de Cleves, under pretence +of serving her uncle, was pleased to be the Duke de Nemours's confidant +in the secrets he had imparted to her. +</P> + +<P> +The Duke would not have confined his discourse to the Viscount's +concerns, but from the liberty he had of free conversation with her, +would have assumed a boldness he had never yet done, had not a message +been brought in to Madam de Cleves, that the Queen-Dauphin had sent for +her. The Duke was forced to withdraw; he went to the Viscount to +inform him, that after he had left him, he thought it more proper to +apply to Madam de Cleves, his niece, than to go directly to the +Queen-Dauphin; he did not want reasons to make him approve what he had +done, and to give him hopes of good success. +</P> + +<P> +In the meantime Madam de Cleves dressed herself in all haste to go to +the Queen-Dauphin; she was no sooner entered her chamber, but she +called her to her, and whispered her, "I have been waiting for you +these two hours, and was never so perplexed about disguising a truth as +I have been this morning: the Queen has heard of the letter I gave you +yesterday, and believes it was the Viscount de Chartres that dropped +it; you know, she has some interest to be satisfied in it; she has been +in search for the letter, and has caused Chatelart to be asked for it; +who said he had given it to me; they have been to ask me for it, under +pretence it was an ingenious letter which the Queen had a curiosity to +see; I durst not say that you had it, for fear she should think I had +given it you on your uncle the Viscount's account, and that there was a +correspondence between him and me. I was already satisfied that his +seeing me so often gave her uneasiness, so that I said the letter was +in the clothes I had on yesterday, and that those who had them in +keeping were gone abroad; give me the letter immediately," added she, +"that I may send it her, and that I may read it before I send it to see +if I know the hand." +</P> + +<P> +Madam de Cleves was harder put to it than she expected; "I don't know, +Madam, what you will do," answered she, "for Monsieur de Cleves, to +whom I gave it to read, returned it to the Duke of Nemours, who came +early this morning to beg him to get it of you. Monsieur de Cleves had +the imprudence to tell him he had it, and the weakness to yield to the +entreaties the Duke de Nemours made that he would restore it him." +"You throw me into the greatest embarrassment I can possibly be in," +replied the Queen-Dauphin; "and you have given this letter to the Duke +de Nemours. Since it was I that gave it you, you ought not to have +restored it without my leave; what would you have me say to the Queen, +and what can she imagine? She will think, and not without reason, that +this letter concerns myself, and that there is something between the +Viscount and me; she will never be persuaded the letter belonged to the +Duke de Nemours." "I am very much concerned," replied Madam de Cleves, +"for the misfortune I have occasioned, and I believe the difficulty I +have brought you into is very great; but 'twas Monsieur de Cleves's +fault, and not mine." "You are in fault," replied the Queen-Dauphin, +"for having given him the letter; and I believe you are the only woman +in the world that acquaints her husband with all she knows." "I +acknowledge myself in fault, Madam," replied the Princess of Cleves, +"but let us rather think of preventing the consequences of what I have +done, than insist on the fault itself." "Do you remember, pretty near, +what the letter contains?" says the Queen-Dauphin. "Yes, Madam, I do," +replied she, "for I have read it over more than once." "If so," said +the Queen-Dauphin, "you must immediately get it written out in an +unknown hand, and I'll send it to the Queen; she'll not show it those +who have seen it already; and though she should, I'll stand in it, that +it is the same Chatelart gave me; and he'll not dare to say otherwise." +</P> + +<P> +Madam de Cleves approved of this expedient, and the more because it +gave her an opportunity of sending for the Duke de Nemours, to have the +letter itself again, in order to have it copied word for word, +imitating as near as may be the hand it was written in, and she thought +this would effectually deceive the Queen. As soon as she was got home, +she informed her husband of what had passed between her and the +Queen-Dauphin, and begged him to send for the Duke de Nemours. The +Duke was sent for, and came immediately; Madam de Cleves told him all +she had told her husband, and asked for the letter; but the Duke +answered, that he had already returned it to the Viscount de Chartres, +who was so overjoyed upon having it again, and being freed from the +danger he was in, that he sent it immediately to Madam de Themines's +friend. Madam de Cleves was in a new embarrassment on this occasion: +in short, after having consulted together, they resolved to form the +letter by memory; and, in order to go about it, they locked themselves +up, and left orders that nobody should be admitted, and that all the +Duke de Nemours's attendants should be sent away. Such an appearance +of secret confidence was no small charm to Monsieur de Nemours, and +even to Madam de Cleves; her husband's presence, and the interests of +her uncle the Viscount de Chartres, were considerations which in great +measure removed her scruples, and made this opportunity of seeing and +being with the Duke de Nemours so agreeable to her, that she never +before experienced a joy so pure and free from allay; this threw her +into a freedom and gaiety of spirit which the Duke had never observed +in her till now, and which made him still more passionately in love +with her: as he had never known such agreeable moments, his vivacity +was much heightened; and whenever Madam de Cleves was beginning to +recollect and write the letter, instead of assisting her seriously, did +nothing but interrupt her with wit and pleasantry. Madam de Cleves was +as gay as he, so that they had been locked up a considerable time, and +two messages had come from the Queen-Dauphin to hasten Madam de Cleves, +before they had half finished the letter. +</P> + +<P> +The Duke de Nemours was glad to prolong the time that was so agreeable +to him, and neglected the concerns of his friend; Madam de Cleves was +not at all tired, and neglected also the concerns of her uncle: at +last, with much ado, about four o'clock the letter was finished, and +was so ill done, and the copy so unlike the original, as to the +handwriting, that the queen must have taken very little care to come at +the truth of the matter, if she had been imposed on by so ill a +counterfeit. Accordingly she was not deceived; and however industrious +they were to persuade her, that this letter was addressed to the Duke +de Nemours, she remained satisfied not only that it was addressed to +the Viscount de Chartres, but that the Queen-Dauphin was concerned in +it, and that there was a correspondence between them; this heightened +her hatred against that Princess to such a degree, that she never +forgave her, and never ceased persecuting her till she had driven her +out of France. +</P> + +<P> +As for the Viscount de Chartres, his credit was entirely ruined with +her; and whether the Cardinal of Loraine had already insinuated himself +so far into her esteem as to govern her, or whether the accident of +this letter, which made it appear that the Viscount had deceived her, +enabled her to discover the other tricks he had played her, it is +certain he could never after entirely reconcile himself to her; their +correspondence was broke off, and at length she ruined him by means of +the conspiracy of Amboise, in which he was involved. +</P> + +<P> +After the letter was sent to the Queen-Dauphin, Monsieur de Cleves and +Monsieur de Nemours went away; Madam de Cleves continued alone, and +being no longer supported by the joy which the presence of what one +loves gives one, she seemed like one newly waked from a dream; she +beheld, with astonishment, the difference between the condition she was +in the night before, and that she was in at this time: she called to +mind, how cold and sullen she was to the Duke de Nemours, while she +thought Madam de Themines's letter was addressed to him, and how calm +and sweet a situation of mind succeeded that uneasiness, as soon as he +was satisfied he was not concerned in that letter; when she reflected, +that she reproached herself as guilty for having given him the +foregoing day only some marks of sensibility, which mere compassion +might have produced, and that by her peevish humour this morning, she +had expressed such a jealousy as was a certain proof of passion, she +thought she was not herself; when she reflected further, that the Duke +de Nemours saw plainly that she knew he was in love with her, and that, +notwithstanding her knowing it, she did not use him the worse for it, +even in her husband's presence; but that, on the contrary, she had +never behaved so favourably to him; when she considered, she was the +cause of Monsieur de Cleves's sending for him, and that she had just +passed an afternoon in private with him; when she considered all this, +she found, there was something within her that held intelligence with +the Duke de Nemours, and that she deceived a husband who least deserved +it; and she was ashamed to appear so little worthy of esteem, even in +the eyes of her lover; but what she was able to support less than all +the rest was, the remembrance of the condition in which she spent the +last night, and the pricking griefs she felt from a suspicion that the +Duke de Nemours was in love with another, and that she was deceived by +him. +</P> + +<P> +Never till then was she acquainted with the dreadful inquietudes that +flow from jealousy and distrust; she had applied all her cares to +prevent herself from falling in love with the Duke de Nemours, and had +not before had any fear of his being in love with another: though the +suspicions which this letter had given her were effaced, yet they left +her sensible of the hazard there was of being deceived, and gave her +impressions of distrust and jealousy which she had never felt till that +time; she was surprised that she had never yet reflected how improbable +it was that a man of the Duke de Nemours's turn, who had showed so much +inconstancy towards women, should be capable of a lasting and sincere +passion; she thought it next to impossible for her to be convinced of +the truth of his love; "But though I could be convinced of it," says +she, "what have I to do in it? Shall I permit it? Shall I make a +return? Shall I engage in gallantry, be false to Monsieur de Cleves, +and be false to myself? In a word, shall I go to expose myself to the +cruel remorses and deadly griefs that rise from love? I am subdued and +vanquished by a passion, which hurries me away in spite of myself; all +my resolutions are vain; I had the same thoughts yesterday that I have +today, and I act today contrary to what I resolved yesterday; I must +convey myself out of the sight of the Duke de Nemours; I must go into +the country, however fantastical my journey may appear; and if Monseur +de Cleves is obstinately bent to hinder me, or to know my reasons for +it, perhaps I shall do him and myself the injury to acquaint him with +them." She continued in this resolution, and spent the whole evening +at home, without going to the Queen-Dauphin to enquire what had +happened with respect to the counterfeited letter. +</P> + +<P> +When the Prince of Cleves returned home, she told him she was resolved +to go into the country; that she was not very well, and had occasion to +take the air. Monsieur de Cleves, to whom she appeared so beautiful +that he could not think her indisposition very considerable, at first +made a jest of her design, and answered that she had forgot that the +nuptials of the Princesses and the tournament were very near, and that +she had not too much time to prepare matters so as to appear there as +magnificently as other ladies. What her husband said did not make her +change her resolution, and she begged he would agree, that while he was +at Compiegne with the King, she might go to Colomiers, a pretty house +then building, within a day's journey of Paris. Monsieur de Cleves +consented to it; she went thither with a design of not returning so +soon, and the King set out for Compiegne, where he was to stay but few +days. +</P> + +<P> +The Duke de Nemours was mightily concerned he had not seen Madam de +Cleves since that afternoon which he had spent so agreeably with her, +and which had increased his hopes; he was so impatient to see her again +that he could not rest; so that when the King returned to Paris, the +Duke resolved to go to see his sister the Duchess de Mercoeur, who was +at a country seat of hers very near Colomiers; he asked the Viscount to +go with him, who readily consented to it. The Duke de Nemours did this +in hopes of visiting Madam de Cleves, in company of the Viscount. +</P> + +<P> +Madam de Mercoeur received them with a great deal of joy, and thought +of nothing but giving them all the pleasures and diversions of the +country; one day, as they were hunting a stag, the Duke de Nemours lost +himself in the forest, and upon enquiring his way was told he was near +Colomiers; at that word, Colomiers, without further reflection, or so +much as knowing what design he was upon, he galloped on full speed the +way that had been showed him; as he rode along he came by chance to the +made-ways and walks, which he judged led to the castle: at the end of +these walks he found a pavilion, at the lower end of which was a large +room with two closets, the one opening into a flower-garden, and the +other looking into a spacious walk in the park; he entered the +pavilion, and would have stopped to observe the beauty of it, if he had +not seen in the walk the Prince and Princess of Cleves, attended with a +numerous train of their domestics. As he did not expect to meet +Monsieur de Cleves there, whom he had left with the King, he thought at +first of hiding himself; he entered the closet which looked into the +flower-garden, with design to go out that way by a door which opened to +the forest; but observing Madam de Cleves and her husband were sat down +under the pavilion, and that their attendants stayed in the park, and +could not come to him without passing by the place where Monsieur and +Madam de Cleves were, he could not deny himself the pleasure of seeing +this Princess, nor resist the curiosity he had to hear her conversation +with a husband, who gave him more jealousy than any of his rivals. He +heard Monsieur de Cleves say to his wife, "But why will you not return +to Paris? What can keep you here in the country? You have of late +taken a fancy for solitude, at which I am both surprised and concerned, +because it deprives me of your company: I find too, you are more +melancholy than usual, and I am afraid you have some cause of grief." +"I have nothing to trouble my mind," answered she with an air of +confusion, "but there is such a bustle at Court, and such a multitude +of people always at your house, that it is impossible but both body and +mind should be fatigued, and one cannot but desire repose." "Repose," +answered he, "is not very proper for one of your age; you are at home, +and at Court, in such a manner as cannot occasion weariness, and I am +rather afraid you desire to live apart from me." "You would do me +great wrong to think so," replied she with yet more confusion, "but I +beg you to leave me here; if you could stay here, and without company, +I should be very glad of it; nothing would be more agreeable to me than +your conversation in this retirement, provided you would approve not to +have about you that infinite number of people, who in a manner never +leave you." "Ah! Madam," cries Monsieur de Cleves, "both your looks +and words convince me that you have reasons to desire to be alone, +which I don't know; I conjure you to tell them me." He urged her a +great while to inform him, without being able to oblige her to it; and +after she had excused herself in a manner which still increased her +husband's curiosity, she continued in a deep silence, with her eyes +cast down then, taking up the discourse on a sudden, and looking upon +him, "Force me not," said she, "to confess a thing to you which I have +not the power to confess, though I have often designed it; remember +only, that it is not prudent a woman of my years, and mistress of her +own conduct, should remain exposed in the midst of a Court." "What is +it, Madam," cried Monsieur de Cleves, "that you lead me to imagine? I +dare not speak it, for fear of offending you." Madam de Cleves making +no answer, her silence confirmed her husband in what he thought; "You +say nothing to me," says he, "and that tells me clearly, that I am not +mistaken." "Alas, sir," answered she, falling on her knees, "I am +going to make a confession to you, such as no woman ever yet made to +her husband; but the innocence of my intentions, and of my conduct, +give me power to do it; it is true, I have reasons to absent myself +from Court, and I would avoid the dangers persons of my age are +sometimes liable to; I have never shown any mark of weakness, and I +cannot apprehend I ever shall, if you will permit me to retire from +Court, since now I have not Madam de Chartres to assist me in my +conduct; however dangerous a step I am taking, I take it with pleasure +to preserve myself worthy of you; I ask you a thousand pardons, if I +have sentiments which displease you, at least I will never displease +you by my actions; consider, that to do what I do, requires more +friendship and esteem for a husband than ever wife had; direct my +conduct, have pity on me, and if you can still love me." +</P> + +<P> +Monsieur de Cleves, all the while she spoke, continued leaning his head +on his hand, almost beside himself, and never thought of raising her +up. When she had done speaking, and he cast his eyes upon her, and saw +her on her knees with her face drowned in tears, inimitably beautiful, +he was ready to die for grief, and taking her up in his arms, "Have you +pity on me, Madam," says he, "for I deserve it, and pardon me, if in +the first moments of an affliction so violent as mine, I do not answer +as I ought to so generous a proceeding as yours; I think you more +worthy of esteem and admiration than any woman that ever was, but I +find myself also the most unfortunate of men: you inspired me with +passion the first moment I saw you, and that passion has never decayed; +not your coldness, nor even enjoyment itself, has been able to +extinguish it; it still continues in its first force, and yet it has +not been in my power to kindle in your breast any spark of love for me, +and now I find you fear you have an inclination for another; and who is +he, Madam, this happy man that gives you such apprehensions? How long +has he charmed you? What has he done to charm you? What method has he +taken to get into your heart? When I could not gain your affections +myself, it was some comfort to me to think, that no other could gain +them; in the meantime, another has effected what I could not, and I +have at once the jealousy of a husband and lover. But it is impossible +for me to retain that of a husband after such a proceeding on your +part, which is too noble and ingenuous not to give me an entire +security; it even comforts me as a lover; the sincerity you have +expressed, and the confidence you have placed in me are of infinite +value: you have esteem enough for me to believe I shall not abuse the +confession you have made to me; you are in the right, Madam, I will not +abuse it, or love you the less for it; you make me unhappy by the +greatest mark of fidelity ever woman gave her husband; but go on, +Madam, and inform me who he is whom you would avoid." "I beg you not +to ask me," replied she; "I am resolved not to tell you, nor do I think +it prudent to name him." "Fear not, Madam," replied Monsieur de +Cleves, "I know the world too well to be ignorant that a woman's having +a husband does not hinder people from being in love with her; such +lovers may be the objects of one's hatred, but we are not to complain +of it; once again, Madam, I conjure you to tell me what I so much +desire to know." "It is in vain to press me," replied she, "I have the +power to be silent in what I think I ought not to tell; the confession +I made to you was not owing to any weakness, and it required more +courage to declare such a truth than it would have done to conceal it." +</P> + +<P> +The Duke de Nemours did not lose a word of this conversation, and what +Madam de Cleves had said gave him no less jealousy than her husband; he +was so desperately in love with her, that he believed all the world was +so too; it is true, he had many rivals, yet he fancied them still more, +and his thoughts wandered to find out who it was Madam de Cleves meant: +he had often thought he was not disagreeable to her, but the grounds of +his judgment on this occasion appeared so slight, that he could not +imagine he had raised in her heart a passion violent enough to oblige +her to have recourse to so extraordinary a remedy; he was so +transported, that he scarce knew what he saw, and he could not pardon +Monsieur de Cleves for not having pressed his wife enough to tell him +the name of the person she concealed from him. +</P> + +<P> +Monsieur de Cleves nevertheless used his utmost endeavours to know it; +and having urged her very much on the subject; "I think," answered she, +"that you ought to be satisfied with my sincerity; ask me no more about +it, and don't give me cause to repent of what I have done; content +yourself with the assurance which I once more give you, that my +sentiments have never appeared by any of my actions, and that no +address hath been made to me that could give me offence." "Ah! Madam," +replied Monsieur de Cleves on a sudden, "I cannot believe it; I +remember the confusion you was in when your picture was lost; you have +given away, Madam, you have given away that picture, which was so dear +to me, and which I had so just a right to; you have not been able to +conceal your inclinations, you are in love; it is known; your virtue +has hitherto saved you from the rest." "Is it possible," cried Madam +de Cleves, "you can imagine there was any reserve or disguise in a +confession like mine, which I was no way obliged to? Take my word, I +purchase dearly the confidence I desire of you; I conjure you to +believe I have not given away my picture; it is true, I saw it taken, +but I would not seem to see it, for fear of subjecting myself to hear +such things as no one has yet dared to mention to me." "How do you +know then that you are loved," said Monsieur de Cleves? "What mark, +what proof of it has been given you?" "Spare me the pain," replied +she, "of repeating to you circumstances which I am ashamed to have +observed, and which have convinced me but too much of my own weakness." +"You are in the right, Madam," answered he, "I am unjust; always refuse +me when I ask you such things, and yet don't be angry with me for +asking them." +</P> + +<P> +Just then several of the servants, who had stayed in the walks, came to +acquaint Monsieur de Cleves, that a gentleman was arrived from the +King, with orders for him to be at Paris that evening. Monsieur de +Cleves was obliged to go, and had only time to tell his wife that he +desired her to come to Paris the next day; and that he conjured her to +believe, that however afflicted he was, he had a tenderness and esteem +for her, with which she ought to be satisfied. +</P> + +<P> +When he was gone, and Madam de Cleves being alone, considered what she +had done, she was so frightened at the thought of it, she could hardly +believe it to be true. She found she had deprived herself of the heart +and esteem of her husband, and was involved in a labyrinth she should +never get out of; she asked herself why she had ventured on so +dangerous a step, and perceived she was engaged in it almost without +having designed it; the singularity of such a confession, for which she +saw no precedent, made her fully sensible of her danger. +</P> + +<P> +But on the other hand, when she came to think that this remedy, however +violent it was, was the only effectual one she could make use of +against Monsieur de Nemours, she found she had no cause to repent, or +to believe she had ventured too far; she passed the whole night full of +doubts, anxiety and fear; but at last her spirits grew calm again; she +even felt a pleasure arise in her mind, from a sense of having given +such a proof of fidelity to a husband who deserved it so well, who had +so great a friendship and esteem for her, and had so lately manifested +it by the manner in which he received the confession she had made him. +</P> + +<P> +In the meantime Monsieur de Nemours was gone away from the place, in +which he had overheard a conversation which so sensibly affected him, +and was got deep into the forest; what Madam de Cleves said of her +picture had revived him, since it was certain from thence that he was +the person she had an inclination for; at first he gave a leap of joy, +but his raptures were at an end as soon as he began to reflect, that +the same thing that convinced him he had touched the heart of Madam de +Cleves, ought to convince him also that he should never receive any +marks of it, and that it would be impossible to engage a lady who had +recourse to so extraordinary a remedy; and yet he could not but be +sensibly pleased to have reduced her to that extremity; he thought it +glorious for him to have gained the affections of a woman so different +from the rest of her sex; in a word, he thought himself very happy and +very unhappy at the same time. He was benighted in the forest, and was +very much put to it to find his way again to his sister's the Duchess +of Mercoeur; he arrived there at break of day, and was extremely at a +loss what account to give of his absence, but he made out the matter as +well as he could, and returned that very day to Paris with the Viscount. +</P> + +<P> +The Duke was so taken up with his passion, and so surprised at the +conversation he had heard, that he fell into an indiscretion very +common, which is, to speak one's own particular sentiments in general +terms, and to relate one's proper adventures under borrowed names. As +they were travelling he began to talk of love, and exaggerated the +pleasure of being in love with a person that deserved it; he spoke of +the fantastical effects of this passion, and at last not being able to +contain within himself the admiration he was in at the action of Madam +de Cleves, he related it to the Viscount without naming the person, or +owning he had any share in it; but he told it with so much warmth and +surprise, that the Viscount easily suspected the story concerned +himself. The Viscount urged him very much to confess it, and told him +he had known a great while that he was violently in love, and that it +was unjust in him to show a distrust of a man who had committed to him +a secret on which his life depended. The Duke de Nemours was too much +in love to own it, and had always concealed it from the Viscount, +though he valued him the most of any man at Court; he answered that one +of his friends had told him this adventure, and made him promise not to +speak of it; and he also conjured the Viscount to keep the secret: the +Viscount assured him he would say nothing of it but notwithstanding +Monsieur de Nemours repented that he had told him so much. +</P> + +<P> +In the meantime Monsieur de Cleves was gone to the King, with a heart +full of sorrow and affliction. Never had husband so violent a passion +for his wife, or so great an esteem; what she had told him did not take +away his esteem of her, but made it of a different nature from that he +had had before; what chiefly employed his thoughts, was a desire to +guess who it was that had found out the secret to win her heart; the +Duke de Nemours was the first person he thought of on this occasion, as +being the handsomest man at Court; and the Chevalier de Guise, and the +Mareschal de St. Andre occurred next, as two persons who had made it +their endeavour to get her love, and who were still very assiduous in +courting her, so that he was fully persuaded it must be one of the +three. He arrived at the Louvre, and the King carried him into his +closet to inform him he had made choice of him to conduct Madame into +Spain, and that he believed nobody could acquit himself better of that +charge, nor that any lady would do France greater honour than Madam de +Cleves. Monsieur de Cleves received the honour the King had done him +by this choice with the respect he ought, and he considered it also as +what would take his wife from Court, without leaving room to suspect +any change in her conduct; but the embarrassment he was under required +a speedier remedy than that journey, which was to be deferred a great +while, could afford; he immediately wrote to Madam de Cleves to +acquaint her with what the King had told him, and gave her to +understand he absolutely expected she should return to Paris. She +returned according to his orders, and when they met, they found one +another overwhelmed with melancholy. +</P> + +<P> +Monsieur de Cleves spoke to her, as a man of the greatest honour in the +world, and the best deserving the confidence she had reposed in him; "I +am not alarmed as to your conduct," said he, "you have more strength +and virtue than you imagine; I am not alarmed with fears of what may +happen hereafter; what troubles me is that I see you have those +sentiments for another which you want for me." "I don't know what to +answer you," said she, "I die with shame when I speak of this subject +spare me, I conjure you, such cruel conversations; regulate my conduct, +and never let me see anybody; this is all I desire of you; but take it +not ill of me, if I speak no more of a thing which makes me appear so +little worthy of you, and which I think so unbecoming me." "You are in +the right, Madam;" replied he, "I abuse your goodness and your +confidence in me; but have some compassion also on the condition you +have brought me to, and think that whatever you have told me, you +conceal from me a name, which creates in me a curiosity I cannot live +without satisfying; and yet I ask you not to satisfy it; I cannot, +however, forbear telling you, that I believe the man I am to envy is +the Mareschal de St. Andre, the Duke de Nemours, or the Chevalier de +Guise." "I shall make you no answer," says she blushing, "nor give you +any ground from what I say, either to lessen or strengthen your +suspicions; but if you endeavour to inform yourself by observing me, +you will throw me into a confusion all the world will take notice of, +for God's sake," continued she, "allow me under pretence of an +indisposition to see nobody." "No, Madam," said he, "it will quickly +be discovered to be a feigned business; and besides, I am unwilling to +trust you to anything but yourself; my heart tells me this is the best +way I can take, and my reason tells me so also, considering the temper +of mind you are in, I cannot put a greater restraint upon you than by +leaving you to your liberty." +</P> + +<P> +Monsieur de Cleves was not mistaken; the confidence he showed he had in +his wife, fortified her the more against Monsieur de Nemours, and made +her take more severe resolutions than any restraint could have brought +her to. She went to wait on the Queen-Dauphin at the Louvre as she +used to do, but avoided the presence and eyes of Monsieur de Nemours +with so much care, that she deprived him of almost all the joy he had +in thinking she loved him; he saw nothing in her actions but what +seemed to show the contrary; he scarcely knew if what he had heard was +not a dream, so very improbable it seemed to him; the only thing which +assured him that he was not mistaken, was Madam de Cleves's extreme +melancholy, which appeared, whatever pains she took to hide it; and +perhaps kind words and looks would not have increased the Duke of +Nemours's love so much as this severe conduct did. +</P> + +<P> +One evening, as Monsieur and Madam de Cleves were at the Queen's +apartment, it was said there was a report that the King would name +another great lord to wait on Madame into Spain. Monsieur de Cleves +had his eye fixed on his wife, when it was further said, the Chevalier +de Guise, or the Mareschal de St. Andre, was the person; he observed +she was not at all moved at either of those names, nor the discourse of +their going along with her; this made him believe, it was not either of +them whose presence she feared. In order to clear up his suspicions, +he went into the Queen's closet, where the King then was, and after +having stayed there some time came back to his wife, and whispered her, +that he had just heard the Duke de Nemours was the person designed to +go along with them to Spain. +</P> + +<P> +The name of the Duke de Nemours, and the thought of being exposed to +see him every day, during a very long journey, in her husband's +presence, so affected Madam de Cleves, that she could not conceal her +trouble: and being willing to give other reasons for it, "No choice," +says she, "could have been made more disagreeable for you; he will +share all honours with you, and I think you ought to endeavour to get +some other chosen." "It is not honour, Madam," replied Monsieur de +Cleves, "that makes you apprehensive of the Duke de Nemours's going +with me, the uneasiness you are in proceeds from another cause; and +from this uneasiness of yours I learn, that which I should have +discovered in another woman, by the joy she would have expressed on +such an occasion; but be not afraid; what I have told you is not true, +it was an invention of mine to assure myself of a thing which I already +believed but too much." +</P> + +<P> +Having said this, he went out, being unwilling to increase, by his +presence, the concern he saw his wife in. +</P> + +<P> +The Duke de Nemours came in that instant, and presently observed Madam +de Cleves's condition; he came up to her, and told her softly, he had +that respect for her, he durst not ask what it was made her more +pensive than usual. The voice of the Duke de Nemours brought her to +herself again, and looking at him, without having heard what he had +said to her, full of her own thoughts, and afraid lest her husband +should see him with her, "For God's sake," says she, "leave me to +myself in quiet." "Alas, Madam," answered he, "I disturb you too +little; what is it you can complain of? I dare not speak to you, I +dare not look upon you, I tremble whenever I approach you. How have I +drawn upon myself what you have said to me, and why do you show me that +I am in part the cause of the trouble I see you in?" Madam de Cleves +was very sorry to have given the Duke an opportunity of explaining +himself more clearly than ever he had done before; she left him without +making any answer, and went home with her mind more agitated than ever. +Her husband perceived her concern was increased, and that she was +afraid he would speak to her of what had passed, and followed her into +her closet; "Do not shun me, Madam," says he, "I will say nothing to +you that shall displease you; I ask pardon for the surprise I gave you +a while ago; I am sufficiently punished by what I have learnt from it; +the Duke de Nemours was of all men he whom I most feared; I see the +danger you are in; command yourself for your own sake, and, if it is +possible, for mine; I do not ask this of you as a husband, but as a man +whose happiness wholly depends on you, and who loves you more violently +and more tenderly than he whom your heart prefers to me." Monsieur de +Cleves was melted upon speaking these words, and could scarce make an +end of them; his wife was so moved, she burst into tears, and embraced +him with a tenderness and sorrow that put him into a condition not very +different from her own; they continued silent a while, and parted +without having the power to speak to one another. +</P> + +<P> +All things were ready for the marriage of Madame, and the Duke of Alva +was arrived to espouse her; he was received with all the ceremony and +magnificence that could be displayed on such an occasion; the King sent +to meet him the Prince of Conde, the Cardinals of Loraine and Guise, +the Dukes of Loraine and Ferrara, d'Aumale, de Bouillon, de Guise, and +de Nemours; they had a great number of gentlemen, and a great many +pages in livery; the King himself, attended with two hundred gentlemen, +and the Constable at their head, received the Duke of Alva at the first +gate of the Louvre; the Duke would have kneeled down, but the King +refused it, and made him walk by his side to the Queen's apartment, and +to Madame's, to whom the Duke of Alva had brought a magnificent present +from his master; he went thence to the apartment of Madam Margaret the +King's sister, to compliment her on the part of the Duke of Savoy, and +to assure her he would arrive in a few days; there were great +assemblies at the Louvre, the show the Duke of Alva, and the Prince of +Orange who accompanied him, the beauties of the Court. +</P> + +<P> +Madam de Cleves could not dispense with going to these assemblies, +however desirous she was to be absent, for fear of disobliging her +husband, who absolutely commanded her to be there; and what yet more +induced her to it, was the absence of the Duke de Nemours; he was gone +to meet the Duke of Savoy, and after the arrival of that Prince, he was +obliged to be almost always with him, to assist him in everything +relating to the ceremonies of the nuptials; for this reason Madam de +Cleves did not meet him so often as she used to do, which gave her some +sort of ease. +</P> + +<P> +The Viscount de Chartres had not forgot the conversation he had had +with the Duke de Nemours: it still ran in his mind that the adventure +the Duke had related to him was his own; and he observed him so +carefully that it is probable he would have unravelled the business, if +the arrival of the Duke of Alva and of the Duke of Savoy had not made +such an alteration in the Court, and filled it with so much business, +as left no opportunities for a discovery of that nature; the desire he +had to get some information about it, or rather the natural disposition +one has to relate all one knows to those one loves, made him acquaint +Madam de Martigues with the extraordinary action of that person who had +confessed to her husband the passion she had for another; he assured +her the Duke de Nemours was the man who had inspired so violent a love, +and begged her assistance in observing him. Madam de Martigues was +glad to hear what the Viscount told her, and the curiosity she had +always observed in the Queen-Dauphin for what concerned the Duke de +Nemours made her yet more desirous to search into the bottom of the +affair. +</P> + +<P> +A few days before that which was fixed for the ceremony of the +marriage, the Queen-Dauphin entertained at supper the King her +father-in-law, and the Duchess of Valentinois. Madam de Cleves, who +had been busy in dressing herself, went to the Louvre later than +ordinary; as she was going, she met a gentleman that was coming from +the Queen-Dauphin to fetch her; as soon as she entered the room, that +Princess, who was sitting upon her bed, told her aloud, that she had +expected her with great impatience. "I believe, Madam," answered she, +"that I am not obliged to you for it, and that your impatience was +caused by something else, and not your desire to see me." "You are in +the right," answered the Queen-Dauphin, "but, nevertheless, you are +obliged to me; for I'll tell you an adventure, which I am sure you'll +be glad to know." +</P> + +<P> +Madam de Cleves kneeled at her bedside, and, very luckily for her, with +her face from the light: "You know," said the Queen, "how desirous we +have been to find out what had caused so great a change in the Duke de +Nemours; I believe I know it, and it is what will surprise you; he is +desperately in love with, and as much beloved by, one of the finest +ladies of the Court." It is easy to imagine the grief Madam de Cleves +felt upon hearing these words, which she could not apply to herself, +since she thought nobody knew anything of her passion for the Duke; "I +see nothing extraordinary in that," replied she, "considering how young +and handsome a man the Duke de Nemours is." "No," replied the +Queen-Dauphin, "there is nothing extraordinary in it; but what will +surprise you is, that this lady, who is in love with the Duke de +Nemours, has never given him any mark of it, and that the fear she was +in lest she should not always be mistress of her passion, has made her +confess it to her husband, that he may take her away from Court; and it +is the Duke de Nemours himself who has related what I tell you." +</P> + +<P> +If Madam de Cleves was grieved at first through the thought that she +had no concern in this adventure, the Queen-Dauphin's last words threw +her into an agony, by making it certain she had too much in it; she +could not answer, but continued leaning her head on the bed; meanwhile +the Queen went on, and was so intent on what she was saying, that she +took no notice of her embarrassment. When Madam de Cleves was a little +come to herself, "This story, Madam," says she, "does not seem very +probable to me, and I should be glad to know who told it you." "It was +Madam de Martigues," replied the Queen-Dauphin, "and she heard it from +the Viscount de Chartres; you know the Viscount is in love with her; he +entrusted this matter to her as a secret, and he was told it by the +Duke de Nemours himself; it is true the Duke did not tell the lady's +name, nor acknowledge that he was the person she was in love with, but +the Viscount makes no manner of question of it." When the +Queen-Dauphin had done speaking, somebody came up to the bed; Madam de +Cleves was so placed that she could not see who it was, but she was +presently convinced, when the Queen-Dauphin cried out with an air of +gaiety and surprise, "Here he is himself, I'll ask him what there is in +it." Madam de Cleves knew very well it was the Duke de Nemours, +without turning herself, as it really was; upon which she went up +hastily to the Queen-Dauphin, and told her softly, that she ought to be +cautious of speaking to him of this adventure, which he had entrusted +to the Viscount de Chartres as a secret, and that it was a thing which +might create a quarrel between them. "You are too wise," said the +Queen-Dauphin smiling, and turned to the Duke de Nemours. He was +dressed for the evening assembly, and taking up the discourse with that +grace which was natural to him, "I believe, Madam," says he, "I may +venture to think you were speaking of me as I came in, that you had a +design to ask me something, and that Madam de Cleves is against it." +"It is true," replied the Queen-Dauphin, "but I shall not be so +complaisant to her on this occasion as I was used to be; I would know +of you, whether a story I have been told is true, and whether you are +not the person who is in love with, and beloved by a lady of the Court, +who endeavours to conceal her passion from you, and has confessed it to +her husband." +</P> + +<P> +The concern and confusion Madam de Cleves was in was above all that can +be imagined, and if death itself could have drawn her out of this +condition, she would have gladly embraced it; but the Duke de Nemours +was yet more embarrassed if possible: the discourse of the +Queen-Dauphin, by whom he had reason to believe he was not hated, in +the presence of Madam de Cleves, who was confided in by her more than +anybody of the Court, and who confided more in her, threw him into such +confusion and extravagance of thought, that it was impossible for him +to be master of his countenance: the concern he saw Madam de Cleves in +through his fault, and the thought of having given her just cause to +hate him, so shocked him he could not speak a word. The Queen-Dauphin, +seeing how thunderstruck she was, "Look upon him, look upon him," said +she to Madam de Cleves, "and judge if this adventure be not his own." +</P> + +<P> +In the meantime the Duke de Nemours, finding of what importance it was +to him to extricate himself out of so dangerous a difficulty, recovered +himself from his first surprise, and became at once master of his wit +and looks. "I acknowledge, Madam," said he, "it is impossible to be +more surprised and concerned than I was at the treachery of the +Viscount de Chartres, in relating an adventure of a friend of mine, +which I had in confidence imparted to him. I know how to be revenged +of him," continued he, smiling with a calm air, which removed the +suspicions the Queen-Dauphin had entertained of him: "He has entrusted +me with things of no very small importance; but I don't know, Madam, +why you do me the honour to make me a party in this affair. The +Viscount can't say I am concerned in it, for I told him the contrary; I +may very well be taken to be a man in love, but I cannot believe, +Madam, you will think me of the number of those who are loved again." +The Duke was glad to say anything to the Queen-Dauphin, which alluded +to the inclination he had expressed for her formerly, in order to +divert her thoughts from the subject in question. She imagined she +understood well enough the drift of what he said, but without making +any answer to it, she continued to rally him upon the embarrassment he +was in. "I was concerned, Madam," said he, "for the interest of my +friend, and on account of the just reproaches he might make me for +having told a secret which is dearer to him than life. He has +nevertheless entrusted me but with one half of it, and has not told me +the name of the person he loves; all I know is, that he's the most +deeply in love of any man in the world, and has the most reason to +complain." "Do you think he has reason to complain," replied the +Queen-Dauphin, "when he is loved again?" "Do you believe he is, +Madam," replied he, "and that a person who had a real passion could +discover it to her husband? That lady, doubtless, is not acquainted +with love, and has mistaken for it a slight acknowledgment of the +fondness her lover had for her. My friend can't flatter himself with +the lent hopes; but, unfortunate as he is, he thinks himself happy at +least in having made her afraid of falling in love with him, and he +would not change his condition for that of the happiest lover in the +world." "Your friend has a passion very easy to be satisfied," said +the Queen-Dauphin, "and I begin to believe it is not yourself you are +speaking of; I am almost," continued she, "of the opinion of Madam de +Cleves, who maintains that this story cannot be true." "I don't really +believe it can be true," answered Madam de Cleves, who had been silent +hitherto; "and though it were possible to be true, how should it have +been known? It is very unlikely that a woman, capable of so +extraordinary a resolution, would have the weakness to publish it; and +surely her husband would not have told it neither, or he must be a +husband very unworthy to have been dealt with in so generous a manner." +The Duke de Nemours, who perceived the suspicions Madam de Cleves had +of her husband, was glad to confirm her in them, knowing he was the +most formidable rival he had to overcome. "Jealousy," said he, "and a +curiosity perhaps of knowing more than a wife has thought fit to +discover, may make a husband do a great many imprudent things." +</P> + +<P> +Madam de Cleves was put to the last proof of her power and courage, and +not being able to endure the conversation any longer, she was going to +say she was not well, when by good fortune for her the Duchess of +Valentinois came in, and told the Queen-Dauphin that the King was just +coming; the Queen-Dauphin went into the closet to dress herself, and +the Duke de Nemours came up to Madam de Cleves as she was following +her. "I would give my life, Madam," said he, "to have a moment's +conversation with you; but though I have a world of important things to +say to you, I think nothing is more so, than to entreat you to believe, +that if I have said anything in which the Queen-Dauphin may seem +concerned, I did it for reasons which do not relate to her." Madam de +Cleves pretended not to hear him, and left him without giving him a +look, and went towards the King, who was just come in. As there were +abundance of people there, she trod upon her gown, and made a false +step, which served her as an excuse to go out of a place she had not +the power to stay in, and so pretending to have received some hurt she +went home. +</P> + +<P> +Monsieur de Cleves came to the Louvre, and was surprised not to find +his wife there; they told him of the accident that had befallen her, +and he went immediately home to enquire after her; he found her in bed, +and perceived her hurt was not considerable. When he had been some time +with her, he found her so excessive melancholy that he was surprised at +it; "What ails you, Madam?" says he; "you seem to have some other grief +than that which you complain of." "I feel the most sensible grief I +can ever experience," answered she; "what use have you made of that +extraordinary, or rather foolish confidence which I placed in you? Did +not I deserve to have my secret kept? and though I had not deserved it, +did not your own interest engage you to it? Should your curiosity to +know a name it was not reasonable for me to tell you have obliged you +to make a confidant to assist you in the discovery? Nothing but that +curiosity could have made you guilty of so cruel an indiscretion; the +consequences of it are as bad as they possibly can be. This adventure +is known, and I have been told it by those who are not aware that I am +principally concerned in it." "What do you say, Madam?" answered he; +"you accuse me of having told what passed between you and me, and you +inform me that the thing is known; I don't go about to clear myself +from this charge, you can't think me guilty of it; without doubt you +have applied to yourself what was told you of some other." "Ah! Sir," +replied she, "the world has not an adventure like mine, there is not +another woman capable of such a thing. The story I have heard could +not have been invented by chance; nobody could imagine any like it; an +action of this nature never entered any thoughts but mine. The +Queen-Dauphin has just told me the story; she had it from the Viscount +de Chartres, and the Viscount from the Duke de Nemours." "The Duke de +Nemours!" cried Monsieur de Cleves, like a man transported and +desperate: "How! does the Duke de Nemours know that you are in love +with him, and that I am acquainted with it?" "You are always for +singling out the Duke de Nemours rather than any other," replied she; +"I have told you I will never answer you concerning your suspicions: I +am ignorant whether the Duke de Nemours knows the part I have in this +adventure, and that which you have ascribed to him; but he told it to +the Viscount de Chartres, and said he had it from one of his friends, +who did not name the lady: this friend of the Duke de Nemours must +needs be one of yours, whom you entrusted the secret to, in order to +clear up your suspicions." "Can one have a friend in the world, in +whom one would repose such a confidence," replied Monsieur de Cleves, +"and would a man clear his suspicions at the price of informing another +with what one would wish to conceal from oneself? Think rather, Madam, +to whom you have spoken; it is more probable this secret should have +escaped from you than from me; you was not able alone to support the +trouble you found yourself in, and you endeavoured to comfort yourself +by complaining to some confidant who has betrayed you." +</P> + +<P> +"Do not wholly destroy me," cried she, "and be not so hard-hearted as +to accuse me of a fault you have committed yourself: can you suspect me +of it? and do you think, because I was capable of informing you of this +matter, I was therefore capable of informing another?" +</P> + +<P> +The confession which Madam de Cleves had made to her husband was so +great a mark of her sincerity, and she so strongly denied that she had +entrusted it to any other, that Monsieur de Cleves did not know what to +think. On the other hand he was sure he had never said anything of it; +it was a thing that could not have been guessed, and yet it was known; +it must therefore come from one of them two; but what grieved him most +was to know that this secret was in the hands of somebody else, and +that in all probability it would be soon divulged. +</P> + +<P> +Madam de Cleves thought much after the same manner; she found it +equally impossible that her husband should, or should not have spoken +of it. What the Duke de Nemours had said to her, that curiosity might +make a husband do indiscreet things, seemed so justly applicable to +Monsieur de Cleves's condition, that she could not think he said it by +chance, and the probability of this made her conclude that Monsieur de +Cleves had abused the confidence she had placed in him. They were so +taken up, the one and the other, with their respective thoughts, that +they continued silent a great while; and when they broke from this +silence, they only repeated the same things they had already said very +often; their hearts and affections grew more and more estranged from +each other. +</P> + +<P> +It is easy to imagine how they passed the night; Monsieur de Cleves +could no longer sustain the misfortune of seeing a woman whom he adored +in love with another; he grew quite heartless, and thought he had +reason to be so in an affair where his honour and reputation were so +deeply wounded: he knew not what to think of his wife, and was at a +loss what conduct he should prescribe to her, or what he should follow +himself; he saw nothing on all sides but precipices and rocks; at last, +after having been long tossed to and fro in suspense, he considered he +was soon to set out for Spain, and resolved to do nothing which might +increase the suspicion or knowledge of his unfortunate condition. He +went to his wife, and told her that what they had to do was not to +debate between themselves who had discovered the secret; but to make it +appear that the story which was got abroad was a business in which she +had no concern; that it depended upon her to convince the Duke de +Nemours and others of it; that she had nothing to do but to behave +herself to him with that coldness and reserve which she ought to have +for a man who professed love to her; that by this proceeding she would +easily remove the opinion he entertained of her being in love with him; +and therefore she needed not to trouble herself as to what he might +hitherto have thought, since if for the future she discovered no +weakness, his former thoughts would vanish of themselves; and that +especially she ought to frequent the Louvre and the assemblies as usual. +</P> + +<P> +Having said this, Monsieur de Cleves left his wife without waiting her +answer; she thought what he said very reasonable, and the resentment +she had against the Duke de Nemours made her believe she should be able +to comply with it with a great deal of ease; but it seemed a hard task +to her to appear at the marriage with that freedom and tranquillity of +spirit as the occasion required. Nevertheless as she was to carry the +Queen-Dauphin's train, and had been distinguished with that honour in +preference to a great many other Princesses, it was impossible to +excuse herself from it without making a great deal of noise and putting +people upon enquiring into the reasons of it. She resolved therefore +to do her utmost, and employed the rest of the day in preparing herself +for it, and in endeavouring to forget the thoughts that gave her so +much uneasiness; and to this purpose she locked herself up in her +closet. Of all her griefs the most violent was that she had reason to +complain of the Duke de Nemours, and could find no excuse to urge in +his favour; she could not doubt but he had related this adventure to +the Viscount de Chartres; he had owned it himself, nor could she any +more doubt from his manner of speaking of it, but that he knew the +adventure related to her; how could she excuse so great an imprudence? +and what was become of that extreme discretion which she had so much +admired in this Prince? "He was discreet," said she, "while he was +unhappy; but the thought of being happy, though on uncertain grounds, +has put an end to his discretion; he could not consider that he was +beloved, without desiring to have it known; he said everything he could +say; I never acknowledged it was he I was in love with; he suspected +it, and has declared his suspicions; if he had been sure of it, he +might have acted as he has; I was to blame for thinking him a man +capable of concealing what flattered his vanity; and yet it is for this +man, whom I thought so different from other men, that I am become like +other women, who was so unlike them before. I have lost the heart and +esteem of a husband who ought to have been my happiness; I shall soon +be looked upon by all the world as a person led away by an idle and +violent passion; he for whom I entertain this passion is no longer +ignorant of it; and it was to avoid these misfortunes that I hazarded +my quiet, and even my life." These sad reflections were followed by a +torrent of tears; but however great her grief was, she plainly +perceived she should be able to support it, were she but satisfied in +the Duke de Nemours. +</P> + +<P> +The Duke was no less uneasy than she; the indiscretion he had been +guilty of in telling what he did to the Viscount de Chartres, and the +mischievous consequences of it, vexed him to the heart; he could not +represent to himself the affliction and sorrow he had seen Madam de +Cleves in without being pierced with anguish; he was inconsolable for +having said things to her about this adventure, which, though gallant +enough in themselves, seemed on this occasion too gross and impolite, +since they gave Madam de Cleves to understand he was not ignorant that +she was the woman who had that violent passion, and that he was the +object of it. It was before the utmost of his wishes to have a +conversation with her, but now he found he ought rather to fear than +desire it. "What should I say to her!" says he; "should I go to +discover further to her what I have made her too sensible of already! +Shall I tell how I know she loves me; I, who have never dared to say I +loved her? Shall I begin with speaking openly of my passion, that she +may see my hopes have inspired me with boldness? Can I even think of +approaching her, and of giving her the trouble to endure my sight? +Which way could I justify myself? I have no excuse, I am unworthy of +the least regard from Madam de Cleves, and I even despair of her ever +looking upon me: I have given her by my own fault better means of +defending herself against me than any she was searching for, and +perhaps searching for to no purpose. I lose by my imprudence the glory +and happiness of being loved by the most beautiful and deserving lady +in the world; but if I had lost this happiness, without involving her +in the most extreme grief and sufferings at the same time, I should +have had some comfort; for at this moment I am more sensible of the +harm I have done her, than of that I have done myself in forfeiting her +favour." +</P> + +<P> +The Duke de Nemours continued turning the same thoughts over and over, +and tormenting himself a great while; the desire he had to speak to +Madam de Cleves came constantly into his mind; he thought of the means +to do it; he thought of writing to her; but at last he found, +considering the fault he had committed and the temper she was in, his +best way was to show her a profound respect by his affliction and his +silence, to let her see he durst not present himself before her, and to +wait for what time, chance, and the inclination she had for him might +produce to his advantage. He resolved also not to reproach the +Viscount de Chartres for his unfaithfulness, for fear of confirming his +suspicions. +</P> + +<P> +The preparations for the espousals and marriage of Madame on the next +day so entirely took up the thoughts of the Court, that Madam de Cleves +and the Duke de Nemours easily concealed from the public their grief +and uneasiness. The Queen-Dauphin spoke but slightly to Madam de +Cleves of the conversation they had had with the Duke de Nemours; and +Monsieur de Cleves industriously shunned speaking to his wife of what +was past; so that she did not find herself under so much embarrassment +as she had imagined. +</P> + +<P> +The espousals were solemnised at the Louvre; and after the feast and +ball all the Royal family went to lie at the Bishop's Palace, according +to custom. In the morning, the Duke of Alva, who always had appeared +very plainly dressed, put on a habit of cloth of gold, mixed with +flame-colour, yellow and black, all covered over with jewels, and wore +a close crown on his head. The Prince of Orange very richly dressed +also, with his liveries, and all the Spaniards with theirs, came to +attend the Duke of Alva from the Hotel de Villeroy where he lodged, and +set out, marching four by four, till they came to the Bishop's Palace. +As soon as he was arrived, they went in order to the Church; the King +led Madame, who wore also a close crown, her train being borne by +Mademoiselles de Montpensier and Longueville; the Queen came next, but +without a crown; after her followed the Queen-Dauphin, Madame the +King's sister, the Duchess of Loraine, and the Queen of Navarre, their +trains being home by the Princesses; the Queens and the Princesses were +all of them attended with their maids of honour, who were richly +dressed in the same colour which they wore themselves; so that it was +known by the colour of their habits whose maids they were: they mounted +the place that was prepared in the Church, and there the marriage +ceremonies were performed; they returned afterwards to dine at the +Bishop's Palace, and went from thence about five o'clock to the Palace +where the feast was, and where the Parliament, the Sovereign Courts, +and the Corporation of the City were desired to assist. The King, the +Queens, the Princes and Princesses sat at the marble table in the great +hall of the Palace; the Duke of Alva sat near the new Queen of Spain, +below the steps of the marble table, and at the King's right hand was a +table for the ambassadors, the archbishops, and the Knights of the +Order, and on the other side one for the Parliament. +</P> + +<P> +The Duke of Guise, dressed in a robe of cloth of gold frieze, served +the King as Great Chamberlain; the Prince of Conde as Steward of the +Household, and the Duke de Nemours as Cup-bearer. After the tables were +removed the ball began, and was interrupted by interludes and a great +deal of extraordinary machinery; then the ball was resumed, and after +midnight the King and the whole Court returned to the Louvre. However +full of grief Madam de Cleves was, she appeared in the eyes of all +beholders, and particularly in those of the Duke de Nemours, +incomparably beautiful. He durst not speak to her, though the hurry of +the ceremony gave him frequent opportunities; but he expressed so much +sorrow and so respectful a fear of approaching her, that she no longer +thought him to blame, though he had said nothing in his justification; +his conduct was the same the following days, and wrought the same +effect on the heart of Madam de Cleves. +</P> + +<P> +At last the day of the tournament came; the Queens were placed in the +galleries that were prepared for them; the four champions appeared at +the end of the lists with a number of horses and liveries, the most +magnificent sight that ever was seen in France. +</P> + +<P> +The King's colours were white and black, which he always wore in honour +of the Duchess of Valentinois, who was a widow. The Duke of Ferrara +and his retinue had yellow and red. Monsieur de Guise's carnation and +white. It was not known at first for what reason he wore those +colours, but it was soon remembered that they were the colours of a +beautiful young lady whom he had been in love with, while she was a +maid, and whom he yet loved though he durst not show it. The Duke de +Nemours had yellow and black; why he had them could not be found out: +Madam de Cleves only knew the reason of it; she remembered to have said +before him she loved yellow, and that she was sorry her complexion did +not suit that colour. As for the Duke, he thought he might take that +colour without any indiscretion, since not being worn by Madam de +Cleves it could not be suspected to be hers. +</P> + +<P> +The four champions showed the greatest address that can be imagined; +though the King was the best horseman in his kingdom, it was hard to +say which of them most excelled. The Duke de Nemours had a grace in +all his actions which might have inclined to his favour persons less +interested than Madam de Cleves. She no sooner saw him appear at the +end of the lists, but her heart felt uncommon emotions, and every +course he made she could scarce hide her joy when he had successfully +finished his career. +</P> + +<P> +In the evening, when all was almost over, and the company ready to +break up, so it was for the misfortune of the State, that the King +would needs break another lance; he sent orders to the Count de +Montgomery, who was a very dextrous combatant, to appear in the lists. +The Count begged the King to excuse him, and alleged all the reasons +for it he could think of; but the King, almost angry, sent him word he +absolutely commanded him to do it. The Queen conjured the King not to +run any more, told him he had performed so well that he ought to be +satisfied, and desired him to go with her to her apartments; he made +answer, it was for her sake that he would run again; and entered the +barrier; she sent the Duke of Savoy to him to entreat him a second time +to return, but to no purpose; he ran; the lances were broke, and a +splinter of the Count de Montgomery's lance hit the King's eye, and +stuck there. The King fell; his gentlemen and Monsieur de Montmorency, +who was one of the Mareschals of the field, ran to him; they were +astonished to see him wounded, but the King was not at all +disheartened; he said, that it was but a slight hurt, and that he +forgave the Count de Montgomery. One may imagine what sorrow and +affliction so fatal an accident occasioned on a day set apart to mirth +and joy. The King was carried to bed, and the surgeons having examined +his wound found it very considerable. The Constable immediately called +to mind the prediction which had been told the King, that he should be +killed in single fight; and he made no doubt but the prediction would +be now accomplished. The King of Spain, who was then at Brussels, being +advertised of this accident, sent his physician, who was a man of great +reputation, but that physician judged the King past hope. +</P> + +<P> +A Court so divided, and filled with so many opposite interests, could +not but be in great agitation on the breaking out of so grand an event; +nevertheless all things were kept quiet, and nothing was seen but a +general anxiety for the King's health. The Queens, the Princes and +Princesses hardly ever went out of his anti-chamber. +</P> + +<P> +Madam de Cleves, knowing that she was obliged to be there, that she +should see there the Duke de Nemours, and that she could not conceal +from her husband the disorder she should be in upon seeing him, and +being sensible also that the mere presence of that Prince would justify +him in her eyes and destroy all her resolutions, thought proper to +feign herself ill. The Court was too busy to give attention to her +conduct, or to enquire whether her illness was real or counterfeit; her +husband alone was able to come at the truth of the matter, but she was +not at all averse to his knowing it. Thus she continued at home, +altogether heedless of the great change that was soon expected, and +full of her own thoughts, which she was at full liberty to give herself +up to. Everyone went to Court to enquire after the King's health, and +Monsieur de Cleves came home at certain times to give her an account of +it; he behaved himself to her in the same manner he used to do, except +when they were alone, and then there appeared something of coldness and +reserve: he had not spoke to her again concerning what had passed, nor +had she power, nor did she think it convenient to resume the discourse +of it. +</P> + +<P> +The Duke de Nemours, who had waited for an opportunity of speaking to +Madam de Cleves, was surprised and afflicted not to have had so much as +the pleasure to see her. The King's illness increased so much, that +the seventh day he was given over by the physicians; he received the +news of the certainty of his death with an uncommon firmness of mind; +which was the more to be admired, considering that he lost his life by +so unfortunate an accident, that he died in the flower of his age, +happy, adored by his people, and beloved by a mistress he was +desperately in love with. The evening before his death he caused +Madame his sister to be married to the Duke of Savoy without ceremony. +One may judge what condition the Duchess of Valentinois was in; the +Queen would not permit her to see the King, but sent to demand of her +the King's signets, and the jewels of the crown which she had in her +custody. The Duchess enquired if the King was dead, and being +answered, "No"; "I have then as yet no other matter," said she, "and +nobody can oblige me to restore what he has trusted in my hands." As +soon as the King expired at Chateau de Toumelles, the Duke of Ferrara, +the Duke of Guise, and the Duke de Nemours conducted the Queen-Mother, +the New King and the Queen-Consort to the Louvre. The Duke de Nemours +led the Queen-Mother. As they began to march, she stepped back a +little, and told the Queen her daughter-in-law, it was her place to go +first; but it was easy to see, that there was more of spleen than +decorum in this compliment. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap04"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +IV +</H3> + +<P> +The Queen-mother was now wholly governed by the Cardinal of Loraine; +the Viscount de Chartres had no interest with her, and the passion he +had for Madam de Martigues and for liberty hindered him from feeling +this loss as it deserved to be felt. The Cardinal, during the ten days' +illness of the King, was at leisure to form his designs, and lead the +Queen into resolutions agreeable to what he had projected; so that the +King was no sooner dead but the Queen ordered the Constable to stay at +Tournelles with the corpse of the deceased King in order to perform the +usual ceremonies. This commission kept him at a distance and out of +the scene of action; for this reason the Constable dispatched a courier +to the King of Navarre, to hasten him to Court that they might join +their interest to oppose the great rise of the House of Guise. The +command of the Army was given to the Duke of Guise and the care of the +finances to the Cardinal of Loraine. The Duchess of Valentinois was +driven from Court; the Cardinal de Tournon, the Constable's declared +enemy, and the Chancellor Olivier, the declared enemy of the Duchess of +Valentinois, were both recalled. In a word, the complexion of the +Court was entirely changed; the Duke of Guise took the same rank as the +Princes of the blood, in carrying the King's mantle at the funeral +ceremonies: He and his brothers carried all before them at Court, not +only by reason of the Cardinal's power with the Queen-Mother, but +because she thought it in her power to remove them should they give her +umbrage; whereas she could not so easily remove the Constable, who was +supported by the Princes of the blood. +</P> + +<P> +When the ceremonial of the mourning was over, the Constable came to the +Louvre, and was very coldly received by the King; he desired to speak +with him in private, but the King called for Messieurs de Guise, and +told him before them, that he advised him to live at ease; that the +finances and the command of the Army were disposed of, and that when he +had occasion for his advice, he would send for him to Court. The Queen +received him in a yet colder manner than the King, and she even +reproached him for having told the late King, that his children by her +did not resemble him. The King of Navarre arrived, and was no better +received; the Prince of Conde, more impatient than his brother, +complained aloud, but to no purpose: he was removed from Court, under +pretence of being sent to Flanders to sign the ratification of the +peace. They showed the King of Navarre a forged letter from the King +of Spain, which charged him with a design of seizing that King's +fortresses; they put him in fear for his dominions, and made him take a +resolution to go to Bearn; the Queen furnished him with an opportunity, +by appointing him to conduct Madam Elizabeth, and obliged him to set +out before her, so that there remained nobody at Court that could +balance the power of the House of Guise. +</P> + +<P> +Though it was a mortifying circumstance for Monsieur de Cleves not to +conduct Madam Elizabeth, yet he could not complain of it, by reason of +the greatness of the person preferred before him; he regretted the loss +of this employment not so much on account of the honour he should have +received from it, as because it would have given him an opportunity of +removing his wife from Court without the appearance of design in it. +</P> + +<P> +A few days after the King's death, it was resolved the new King should +go to Rheims to be crowned. As soon as this journey was talked of, +Madam de Cleves, who had stayed at home all this while under pretence +of illness, entreated her husband to dispense with her following the +Court, and to give her leave to go to take the air at Colomiers for her +health: he answered, that whether her health was the reason or not of +her desire, however he consented to it: nor was it very difficult for +him to consent to a thing he had resolved upon before: as good an +opinion as he had of his wife's virtue, he thought it imprudent to +expose her any longer to the sight of a man she was in love with. +</P> + +<P> +The Duke de Nemours was soon informed that Madam de Cleves was not to +go along with the Court; he could not find in his heart to set out +without seeing her, and therefore the night before his journey he went +to her house as late as decency would allow him, in order to find her +alone. Fortune favoured his intention; and Madam de Nevers and Madam +de Martigues, whom he met in the Court as they were coming out, +informed him they had left her alone. He went up in a concern and +ferment of mind to be paralleled only by that which Madam de Cleves was +under, when she was told the Duke de Nemours was come to see her; the +fear lest he should speak to her of his passion, and lest she should +answer him too favourably, the uneasiness this visit might give her +husband, the difficulty of giving him an account of it, or of +concealing it from him, all these things presented themselves to her +imagination at once, and threw her into so great an embarrassment, that +she resolved to avoid the thing of the world which perhaps she wished +for the most. She sent one of her women to the Duke de Nemours, who +was in her anti-chamber, to tell him that she had lately been very ill, +and that she was sorry she could not receive the honour which he +designed her. What an affliction was it to the Duke, not to see Madam +de Cleves, and therefore not to see her, because she had no mind he +should! He was to go away the next morning, and had nothing further to +hope from fortune. He had said nothing to her since that conversation +at the Queen-Dauphin's apartments, and he had reason to believe that +his imprudence in telling the Viscount his adventure had destroyed all +his expectations; in a word, he went away with everything that could +exasperate his grief. +</P> + +<P> +No sooner was Madam de Cleves recovered from the confusion which the +thought of receiving a visit from the Duke had given her, but all the +reasons which had made her refuse it vanished; she was even satisfied +she had been to blame; and had she dared, or had it not been too late, +she would have had him called back. +</P> + +<P> +Madam de Nevers and Madam de Martigues went from the Princess of Cleves +to the Queen-Dauphin's, where they found Monsieur de Cleves: the +Queen-Dauphin asked them from whence they came; they said they came +from Madam de Cleves, where they had spent part of the afternoon with a +great deal of company, and that they had left nobody there but the Duke +de Nemours. These words, which they thought so indifferent, were not +such with Monsieur de Cleves: though he might well imagine the Duke de +Nemours had frequent opportunities of speaking to his wife, yet the +thought that he was now with her, that he was there alone, and that he +might speak to her of his life, appeared to him at this time a thing so +new and insupportable, that jealousy kindled in his heart with greater +violence than ever. It was impossible for him to stay at the Queen's; +he returned from thence, without knowing why he returned, or if he +designed to go and interrupt the Duke de Nemours: he was no sooner come +home, but he looked about him to see if there was anything by which he +could judge if the Duke was still there; it was some comfort to him to +find he was gone, and it was a pleasure to reflect that he could not +have been long there: he fancied, that, perhaps, it was not the Duke de +Nemours of whom he had reason to be jealous; and though he did not +doubt of it, yet he endeavoured to doubt of it; but he was convinced of +it by so many circumstances, that he continued not long in that +pleasing uncertainty. He immediately went into his wife's room, and +after having talked to her for some time about indifferent matters, he +could not forbear asking her what she had done, and who she had seen, +and accordingly she gave him an account: when he found she did not name +the Duke de Nemours he asked her trembling, if those were all she had +seen, in order to give her an occasion to name the Duke, and that he +might not have the grief to see she made use of any evasion. As she +had not seen him, she did not name him; when Monsieur de Cleves with +accents of sorrow, said, "And have you not seen the Duke de Nemours, or +have you forgot him?" "I have not seen him indeed," answered she; "I +was ill, and I sent one of my women to make my excuses." "You was ill +then only for him," replied Monsieur de Cleves, "since you admitted the +visits of others: why this distinction with respect to the Duke de +Nemours? Why is not he to you as another man? Why should you be +afraid of seeing him? Why do you let him perceive that you are so? Why +do you show him that you make use of the power which his passion gives +you over him? Would you dare refuse to see him, but that you knew he +distinguishes your rigour from incivility? But why should you exercise +that rigour towards him? From a person like you, all things are +favours, except indifference." "I did not think," replied Madam de +Cleves, "whatever suspicions you have of the Duke de Nemours, that you +could reproach me for not admitting a visit from him." "But I do +reproach you, Madam," replied he, "and I have good ground for so doing; +why should you not see him, if he has said nothing to you? but Madam, +he has spoke to you; if his passion had been expressed only by silence, +it would not have made so great an impression upon you; you have not +thought fit to tell me the whole truth; you have concealed the greatest +part from me; you have repented even of the little you have +acknowledged, and you have not the resolution to go on; I am more +unhappy than I imagined, more unhappy than any other man in the world: +you are my wife, I love you as my mistress, and I see you at the same +time in love with another, with the most amiable man of the Court, and +he sees you every day, and knows you are in love with him: Alas! I +believed that you would conquer your passion for him, but sure I had +lost my reason when I believed it was possible." "I don't know," +replied Madam de Cleves very sorrowfully, "whether you was to blame in +judging favourably of so extraordinary a proceeding as mine; nor do I +know if I was not mistaken when I thought you would do me justice." +"Doubt it not, Madam," replied Monsieur de Cleves, "you was mistaken; +you expected from me things as impossible as those I expected from you: +how could you hope I should continue master of my reason? Had you +forgot that I was desperately in love with you, and that I was your +husband? Either of these two circumstances is enough to hurry a man +into extremities; what may they not do both together? Alas! What do +they not do? My thoughts are violent and uncertain, and I am not able +to control them; I no longer think myself worthy of you, nor do I think +you are worthy of me; I adore you, I hate you, I offend you, I ask your +pardon, I admire you, I blush for my admiration: in a word, I have +nothing of tranquillity or reason left about me: I wonder how I have +been able to live since you spoke to me at Colomiers, and since you +learned, from what the Queen-Dauphin told you, that your adventure was +known; I can't discover how it came to be known, nor what passed +between the Duke de Nemours and you upon the subject; you will never +explain it to me, nor do I desire you to do it; I only desire you to +remember that you have made me the most unfortunate, the most wretched +of men." +</P> + +<P> +Having spoke these words, Monsieur de Cleves left his wife, and set out +the next day without seeing her; but he wrote her a letter full of +sorrow, and at the same time very kind and obliging: she gave an answer +to it so moving and so full of assurances both as to her past and +future conduct, that as those assurances were grounded in truth, and +were the real effect of her sentiments, the letter made great +impressions on Monsieur de Cleves, and gave him some tranquillity; add +to this that the Duke de Nemours going to the King as well as himself, +he had the satisfaction to know that he would not be in the same place +with Madam de Cleves. Everytime that lady spoke to her husband, the +passion he expressed for her, the handsomeness of his behaviour, the +friendship she had for him, and the thought of what she owed him, made +impressions in her heart that weakened the idea of the Duke de Nemours; +but it did not continue long, that idea soon returned more lively than +before. +</P> + +<P> +For a few days after the Duke was gone, she was hardly sensible of his +absence; afterwards it tortured her; ever since she had been in love +with him, there did not pass a day, but she either feared or wished to +meet him, and it was a wounding thought to her to consider that it was +no more in the power of fortune to contrive their meeting. +</P> + +<P> +She went to Colomiers, and ordered to be carried thither the large +pictures she had caused to be copied from the originals which the +Duchess of Valentinois had procured to be drawn for her fine house of +Annett. All the remarkable actions that had passed in the late King's +reign were represented in these pieces, and among the rest was the +Siege of Mets, and all those who had distinguished themselves at that +Siege were painted much to the life. The Duke de Nemours was of this +number, and it was that perhaps which had made Madam de Cleves desirous +of having the pictures. +</P> + +<P> +Madam de Martigues not being able to go along with the Court, promised +her to come and pass some days at Colomiers. Though they divided the +Queen's favour, they lived together without envy or coldness; they were +friends, but not confidants; Madam de Cleves knew that Madam de +Martigues was in love with the Viscount, but Madam de Martigues did not +know that Madam de Cleves was in love with the Duke de Nemours, nor +that she was beloved by him. The relation Madam de Cleves had to the +Viscount made her more dear to Madam de Martigues, and Madam de Cleves +was also fond of her as a person who was in love as well as herself, +and with an intimate friend of her own lover. +</P> + +<P> +Madam de Martigues came to Colomiers according to her promise, and +found Madam de Cleves living in a very solitary manner: that Princess +affected a perfect solitude, and passed the evenings in her garden +without being accompanied even by her domestics; she frequently came +into the pavilion where the Duke de Nemours had overheard her +conversation with her husband; she delighted to be in the bower that +was open to the garden, while her women and attendants waited in the +other bower under the pavilion, and never came to her but when she +called them. Madam de Martigues having never seen Colomiers was +surprised at the extraordinary beauty of it, and particularly with the +pleasantness of the pavilion. Madam de Cleves and she usually passed +the evenings there. The liberty of being alone in the night in so +agreeable a place would not permit the conversation to end soon between +two young ladies, whose hearts were enflamed with violent passions, and +they took great pleasure in conversing together, though they were not +confidants. +</P> + +<P> +Madam de Martigues would have left Colomiers with great reluctance had +she not quitted it to go to a place where the Viscount was; she set out +for Chambort, the Court being there. +</P> + +<P> +The King had been anointed at Rheims by the Cardinal of Loraine, and +the design was to pass the rest of the summer at the castle of +Chambort, which was newly built; the Queen expressed a great deal of +joy upon seeing Madam de Martigues again at Court, and after having +given her several proofs of it, she asked her how Madam de Cleves did, +and in what manner she passed her time in the country. The Duke de +Nemours and the Prince of Cleves were with the Queen at that time. +Madam de Martigues, who had been charmed with Colomiers, related all +the beauties of it, and enlarged extremely on the description of the +pavilion in the forest, and on the pleasure Madam de Cleves took in +walking there alone part of the night. The Duke de Nemours, who knew +the place well enough to understand what Madam de Martigues said of it, +thought it was not impossible to see Madam de Cleves there, without +being seen by anybody but her. He asked Madam de Martigues some +questions to get further lights; and the Prince of Cleves, who had eyed +him very strictly while Madam de Martigues was speaking, thought he +knew what his design was. The questions the Duke asked still more +confirmed him in that thought, so that he made no doubt but his +intention was to go and see his wife; he was not mistaken in his +suspicions: this design entered so deeply into the Duke de Nemours's +mind, that after having spent the night in considering the proper +methods to execute it, he went betimes the next morning to ask the +King's leave to go to Paris, on some pretended occasion. +</P> + +<P> +Monsieur de Cleves was in no doubt concerning the occasion of his +journey; and he resolved to inform himself as to his wife's conduct, +and to continue no longer in so cruel an uncertainty; he had a desire +to set out the same time as the Duke de Nemours did, and to hide +himself where he might discover the success of the journey; but fearing +his departure might appear extraordinary, and lest the Duke, being +advertised of it, might take other measures, he resolved to trust this +business to a gentleman of his, whose fidelity and wit he was assured +of; he related to him the embarrassment he was under, and what the +virtue of his wife had been till that time, and ordered him to follow +the Duke de Nemours, to watch him narrowly, to see if he did not go to +Colomiers, and if he did not enter the garden in the night. +</P> + +<P> +The gentleman, who was very capable of this commission, acquitted +himself of it with all the exactness imaginable. He followed the Duke +to a village within half a league of Colomiers, where the Duke stopped +and the gentleman easily guessed his meaning was to stay there till +night. He did not think it convenient to wait there, but passed on, +and placed himself in that part of the forest where he thought the Duke +would pass: he took his measures very right; for it was no sooner night +but he heard somebody coming that way, and though it was dark, he +easily knew the Duke de Nemours; he saw him walk round the garden, as +with a design to listen if he could hear anybody, and to choose the +most convenient place to enter: the palisades were very high and +double, in order to prevent people from coming in, so that it was very +difficult for the Duke to get over, however he made a shift to do it. +He was no sooner in the garden but he discovered where Madam de Cleves +was; he saw a great light in the bower, all the windows of it were +open; upon this, slipping along by the side of the palisades, he came +up close to it, and one may easily judge what were the emotions of his +heart at that instant: he took his station behind one of the windows, +which served him conveniently to see what Madam de Cleves was doing. +He saw she was alone; he saw her so inimitably beautiful, that he could +scarce govern the transports which that sight gave him: the weather was +hot, her head and neck were uncovered, and her hair hung carelessly +about her. She lay on a couch with a table before her, on which were +several baskets full of ribbons, out of which she chose some, and he +observed she chose those colours which he wore at the tournament; he +saw her make them up into knots for an Indian cane, which had been his, +and which he had given to his sister; Madam de Cleves took it from her, +without seeming to know it had belonged to the Duke. After she had +finished her work with the sweetest grace imaginable, the sentiments of +her heart showing themselves in her countenance, she took a wax candle +and came to a great table over against the picture of the Siege of +Mets, in which was the portrait of the Duke de Nemours; she sat down +and set herself to look upon that portrait, with an attention and +thoughtfulness which love only can give. +</P> + +<P> +It is impossible to express what Monsieur de Nemours felt at this +moment; to see, at midnight, in the finest place in the world, a lady +he adored, to see her without her knowing that he saw her, and to find +her wholly taken up with things that related to him, and to the passion +which she concealed from him; this is what was never tasted nor +imagined by any other lover. +</P> + +<P> +The Duke was so transported and beside himself, that he continued +motionless, with his eyes fixed on Madam de Cleves, without thinking +how precious his time was; when he was a little recovered, he thought +it best not to speak to her till she came into the garden, and he +imagined he might do it there with more safety, because she would be at +a greater distance from her women; but finding she stayed in the bower, +he resolved to go in: when he was upon the point of doing it, what was +his confusion; how fearful was he of displeasing her, and of changing +that countenance, where so much sweetness dwelt, into looks of anger +and resentment! +</P> + +<P> +To come to see Madam de Cleves without being seen by her had no +impudence in it, but to think of showing himself appeared very unwise; +a thousand things now came into his mind which he had not thought of +before; it carried in it somewhat extremely bold and extravagant, to +surprise in the middle of the night a person to whom he had never yet +spoke of his passion. He thought he had no reason to expect she would +hear him, but that she would justly resent the danger to which he +exposed her, by accidents which might rise from this attempt; all his +courage left him, and he was several times upon the point of resolving +to go back again without showing himself; yet urged by the desire of +speaking to her, and heartened by the hopes which everything he had +seen gave him, he advanced some steps, but in such disorder, that a +scarf he had on entangled in the window, and made a noise. Madam de +Cleves turned about, and whether her fancy was full of him, or that she +stood in a place so directly to the light that she might know him, she +thought it was he, and without the least hesitation or turning towards +the place where he was, she entered the bower where her women were. On +her entering she was in such disorder, that to conceal it she was +forced to say she was ill; she said it too in order to employ her +people about her, and to give the Duke time to retire. When she had +made some reflection, she thought she had been deceived, and that her +fancying she saw Monsieur de Nemours was only the effect of +imagination. She knew he was at Chambort; she saw no probability of +his engaging in so hazardous an enterprise; she had a desire several +times to re-enter the bower, and to see if there was anybody in the +garden. She wished perhaps as much as she feared to find the Duke de +Nemours there; but at last reason and prudence prevailed over her other +thoughts, and she found it better to continue in the doubt she was in, +than to run the hazard of satisfying herself about it; she was a long +time ere she could resolve to leave a place to which she thought the +Duke was so near, and it was almost daybreak when she returned to the +castle. +</P> + +<P> +The Duke de Nemours stayed in the garden, as long as there was any +light; he was not without hopes of seeing Madam de Cleves again, though +he was convinced that she knew him, and that she went away only to +avoid him; but when he found the doors were shut, he knew he had +nothing more to hope; he went to take horse near the place where +Monsieur de Cleves's gentleman was watching him; this gentleman +followed him to the same village, where he had left him in the evening. +The Duke resolved to stay there all the day, in order to return at +night to Colomiers, to see if Madam de Cleves would yet have the +cruelty to shun him or not expose herself to view: though he was very +much pleased to find himself so much in her thoughts, yet was he +extremely grieved at the same time to see her so naturally bent to +avoid him. +</P> + +<P> +Never was passion so tender and so violent as that of Monsieur de +Nemours; he walked under the willows, along a little brook which ran +behind the house, where he lay concealed; he kept himself as much out +of the way as possible, that he might not be seen by anybody; he +abandoned himself to the transports of his love, and his heart was so +full of tenderness, that he was forced to let fall some tears, but +those tears were such as grief alone could not shed; they had a mixture +of sweetness and pleasure in them which is to be found only in love. +</P> + +<P> +He set himself to recall to mind all the actions of Madam de Cleves +ever since he had been in love with her; her cruelty and rigour, and +that modesty and decency of behaviour she had always observed towards +him, though she loved him; "For, after all, she loves me," said he, +"she loves me, I cannot doubt of it, the deepest engagements and the +greatest favours are not more certain proofs than those I have had. In +the meantime, I am treated with the same rigour as if I were hated; I +hoped something from time, but I have no reason to expect it any +longer; I see her always equally on her guard against me and against +herself; if I were not loved, I should make it my business to please; +but I do please; she loves me, and tries to hide it from me. What have +I then to hope, and what change am I to expect in my fortune? though I +am loved by the most amiable person in the world, I am under that +excess of passion which proceeds from the first certainty of being +loved by her, only to make me more sensible of being ill used; let me +see that you love me, fair Princess," cried he, "make me acquainted +with your sentiments; provided I know them once in my life from you, I +am content that you resume for ever the cruelties with which you +oppress me; look upon me at least with the same eyes with which I saw +you look that night upon my picture; could you behold that with such +sweet complacency, and yet avoid me with so much cruelty? What are you +afraid of? Why does my love appear so terrible to you? You love me, +and you endeavour in vain to conceal it; you have even given me +involuntary proofs of it; I know my happiness, permit me to enjoy it, +and cease to make me unhappy. Is it possible I should be loved by the +Princess of Cleves, and yet be unhappy? how beautiful was she last +night? how could I forbear throwing myself at her feet? If I had done +it, I might perhaps have hindered her from shunning me, my respectful +behaviour would have removed her fears; but perhaps, after all, she did +not know it was I; I afflict myself more than I need; she was only +frightened to see a man at so unseasonable an hour." +</P> + +<P> +These thoughts employed the Duke de Nemours all the day; he wished +impatiently for the night, and as soon as it came he returned to +Colomiers. Monsieur de Cleves's gentleman, who was disguised that he +might be less observed, followed him to the place to which he had +followed him the evening before, and saw him enter the garden again. +The Duke soon perceived that Madam de Cleves had not run the risk of +his making another effort to see her, the doors being all shut; he +looked about on all sides to see if he could discover any light, but he +saw none. +</P> + +<P> +Madam de Cleves, suspecting he might return, continued in her chamber; +she had reason to apprehend she should not always have the power to +avoid him, and she would not submit herself to the hazard of speaking +to him in a manner that would have been unsuitable to the conduct she +had hitherto observed. +</P> + +<P> +Monsieur de Nemours, though he had no hopes of seeing her, could not +find in his heart soon to leave a place where she so often was; he +passed the whole night in the garden, and found some pleasure at least +in seeing the same objects which she saw every day; it was near sunrise +before he thought of retiring; but as last the fear of being discovered +obliged him to go away. +</P> + +<P> +It was impossible for him to return to Court without seeing Madam de +Cleves; he made a visit to his sister the Duchess of Mercoeur, at her +house near Colomiers. She was extremely surprised at her brother's +arrival; but he invented so probable a pretence for his journey, and +conducted his plot so skilfully, that he drew her to make the first +proposal herself of visiting Madam de Cleves. This proposal was +executed that very day, and Monsieur de Nemours told his sister, that +he would leave her at Colomiers, in order to go directly to the King; +he formed this pretence of leaving her at Colomiers in hopes she would +take her leave before him, and he thought he had found out by that +means an infallible way of speaking to Madam de Cleves. +</P> + +<P> +The Princess of Cleves, when they arrived, was walking in her garden +the sight of Monsieur de Nemours gave her no small uneasiness, and put +her out of doubt that it was he she had seen the foregoing night. The +certainty of his having done so bold and imprudent a thing gave her +some little resentment against him, and the Duke observed an air of +coldness in her face, which sensibly grieved him; the conversation +turned upon indifferent matters, and yet he had the skill all the while +to show so much wit, complaisance, and admiration for Madam de Cleves, +that part of the coldness she expressed towards him at first left her +in spite of herself. +</P> + +<P> +When his fears were over and he began to take heart, he showed an +extreme curiosity to see the pavilion in the forest; he spoke of it as +of the most agreeable place in the world, and gave so exact a +description of it, that Madam de Mercoeur said he must needs have been +there several times to know all the particular beauties of it so well. +"And yet, I don't believe," replied Madam de Cleves, "that the Duke de +Nemours was ever there; it has been finished but a little while." "It +is not long since I was there," replied the Duke, looking upon her, +"and I don't know if I ought not to be glad you have forgot you saw me +there." Madam de Mercoeur, being taken up in observing the beauties of +the gardens, did not attend to what her brother said; Madam de Cleves +blushed, and with her eyes cast down, without looking on Monsieur de +Nemours, "I don't remember," said she, "to have seen you there; and if +you have been there, it was without my knowledge." "It is true, +Madam," replied he, "I was there without your orders, and I passed +there the most sweet and cruel moments of my life." +</P> + +<P> +Madam de Cleves understood very well what he said, but made him no +answer; her care was to prevent Madam de Mercoeur from going into the +bower, because the Duke de Nemours's picture was there, and she had no +mind she should see it; she managed the matter so well, that the time +passed away insensibly, and Madam de Mercoeur began to talk of going +home: but when Madam de Cleves found that the Duke and his sister did +not go together, she plainly saw to what she was going to be exposed; +she found herself under the same embarrassment she was in at Paris, and +took also the same resolution; her fear, lest this visit should be a +further confirmation of her husband's suspicions, did not a little +contribute to determine her; and to the end Monsieur de Nemours might +not remain alone with her, she told Madam de Mercoeur she would wait +upon her to the borders of the forest, and ordered her chariot to be +got ready. The Duke was struck with such a violent grief to find that +Madam de Cleves still continued to exercise the same rigours towards +him, that he turned pale that moment. Madam de Mercoeur asked him if he +was ill, but he looked upon Madam de Cleves without being perceived by +anybody else, and made her sensible by his looks that he had no other +illness besides despair: however, there was no remedy but he must let +them go together without daring to follow them; after what he had told +his sister, that he was to go directly to Court, he could not return +with her, but went to Paris, and set out from thence the next day. +</P> + +<P> +Monsieur de Cleves's gentleman had observed him all the while; he +returned also to Paris, and when he found Monsieur de Nemours was set +out for Chambort, he took post to get thither before him, and to give +an account of his journey; his master expected his return with +impatience, as if the happiness or unhappiness of his life depended +upon it. +</P> + +<P> +As soon as he saw him, he judged from his countenance and his silence, +that the news he brought was very disagreeable; he was struck with +sorrow, and continued some time with his head hung down, without being +able to speak; at last he made signs with his hand to him to withdraw; +"Go," says he, "I see what you have to say to me, but I have not the +power to hear it." "I can acquaint you with nothing," said the +gentleman, "upon which one can form any certain judgment; it is true, +the Duke de Nemours went two nights successively into the garden in the +forest, and the day after he was at Colomiers with the Duchess of +Mercoeur." "'Tis enough," replied Monsieur de Cleves, still making +signs to him to withdraw, "'tis enough; I want no further information." +The gentleman was forced to leave his master, abandoned to his despair; +nor ever was despair more violent. Few men of so high a spirit, and so +passionately in love, as the Prince of Cleves, have experienced at the +same time the grief arising from the falsehood of a mistress, and the +shame of being deceived by a wife. +</P> + +<P> +Monsieur de Cleves could set no bounds to his affliction; he felt ill +of a fever that very night, and his distemper was accompanied with such +ill symptoms that it was thought very dangerous. Madam de Cleves was +informed of it, and came in all haste to him; when she arrived, he was +still worse; besides, she observed something in him so cold and +chilling with respect to her, that she was equally surprised and +grieved at it; he even seemed to receive with pain the services she did +him in his sickness, but at last she imagined it was perhaps only the +effect of his distemper. +</P> + +<P> +When she was come to Blois where the Court then was, the Duke de +Nemours was overjoyed to think she was at the same place where he was; +he endeavoured to see her, and went every day to the Prince of Cleves's +under pretence of enquiring how he did, but it was to no purpose; she +did not stir out of her husband's room, and was grieved at heart for +the condition he was in. It vexed Monsieur de Nemours to see her under +such affliction, an affliction which he plainly saw revived the +friendship she had for Monsieur de Cleves, and diverted the passion +that lay kindling in her heart. The thought of this shocked him +severely for some time; but the extremity, to which Monsieur de +Cleves's sickness was grown, opened to him a scene of new hopes; he saw +it was probable that Madam de Cleves would be at liberty to follow her +own inclinations, and that he might expect for the future a series of +happiness and lasting pleasures; he could not support the ecstasy of +that thought, a thought so full of transport! he banished it out of his +mind for fear of becoming doubly wretched, if he happened to be +disappointed in his hopes. +</P> + +<P> +In the meantime Monsieur de Cleves was almost given over by his +physicians. One of the last days of his illness, after having had a +very bad night, he said in the morning, he had a desire to sleep; but +Madam de Cleves, who remained alone in his chamber, found that instead +of taking repose he was extremely restless; she came to him, and fell +on her knees by his bedside, her face all covered with tears; and +though Monsieur de Cleves had taken a resolution not to show her the +violent displeasure he had conceived against her, yet the care she took +of him, and the sorrow she expressed, which sometimes he thought +sincere, and at other times the effect of her dissimulation and +perfidiousness, distracted him so violently with opposite sentiments +full of woe, that he could not forbear giving them vent. +</P> + +<P> +"You shed plenty of tears, Madam," said he, "for a death which you are +the cause of, and which cannot give you the trouble you pretend to be +in; I am no longer in a condition to reproach you," added he with a +voice weakened by sickness and grief; "I die through the dreadful grief +and discontent you have given me; ought so extraordinary an action, as +that of your speaking to me at Colomiers, to have had so little +consequences? Why did you inform me of your passion for the Duke de +Nemours, if your virtue was no longer able to oppose it? I loved you +to that extremity, I would have been glad to have been deceived, I +confess it to my shame; I have regretted that pleasing false security +out of which you drew me; why did not you leave me in that blind +tranquillity which so many husbands enjoy? I should perhaps have been +ignorant all my life, that you was in love with Monsieur de Nemours; I +shall die," added he, "but know that you make death pleasing to me, and +that, after you have taken from me the esteem and affection I had for +you, life would be odious to me. What should I live for? to spend my +days with a person whom I have loved so much, and by whom I have been +so cruelly deceived; or to live apart from her and break out openly +into violences so opposite to my temper, and the love I had for you? +That love, Madam, was far greater than it appeared to you; I concealed +the greatest part of it from you, for fear of being importunate, or of +losing somewhat in your esteem by a behaviour not becoming a husband: +in a word, I deserved your affection more than once, and I die without +regret, since I have not been able to obtain it, and since I can no +longer desire it. Adieu, Madam; you will one day regret a man who +loved you with a sincere and virtuous passion; you will feel the +anxiety which reasonable persons meet with in intrigue and gallantry, +and you will know the difference between such a love as I had for you, +and the love of people who only profess admiration for you to gratify +their vanity in seducing you; but my death will leave you at liberty, +and you may make the Duke de Nemours happy without guilt: what +signifies anything that can happen when I am no more, and why should I +have the weakness to trouble myself about it?" +</P> + +<P> +Madam de Cleves was so far from imagining that her husband suspected +her virtue, that she heard all this discourse without comprehending the +meaning of it, and without having any other notion about it, except +that he reproached her for her inclination for the Duke de Nemours; at +last, starting all of a sudden out of her blindness, "I guilty!" cried +she, "I am a stranger to the very thought of guilt; the severest virtue +could not have inspired any other conduct than that which I have +followed, and I never acted anything but what I could have wished you +to have been witness to." "Could you have wished," replied Monsieur de +Cleves, looking on her with disdain, "I had been a witness of those +nights you passed with Monsieur de Nemours? Ah! Madam; is it you I +speak of, when I speak of a lady that has passed nights with a man, not +her husband?" "No, sir," replied she, "it is not me you speak of; I +never spent a night nor a moment with the Duke de Nemours; he never saw +me in private, I never suffered him to do it, nor would give him a +hearing. I'll take all the oaths . . ." "Speak no more of it," said +he interrupting her, "false oaths or a confession would perhaps give me +equal pain." +</P> + +<P> +Madam de Cleves could not answer him; her tears and her grief took away +her speech; at last, struggling for utterance, "Look on me at least, +hear me," said she; "if my interest only were concerned I would suffer +these reproaches, but your life is at stake; hear me for your own sake; +I am so innocent, truth pleads so strongly for me, it is impossible but +I must convince you." "Would to God you could!" cried he; "but what can +you say? the Duke de Nemours, has not he been at Colomiers with his +sister? And did not he pass the two foregoing nights with you in the +garden in the forest?" "If that be my crime," replied she, "it is easy +to justify myself; I do not desire you to believe me, believe your +servants and domestics; ask them if I went into the garden the evening +before Monsieur de Nemours came to Colomiers, and if I did not go out, +of it the night before two hours sooner than I used to do." After this +she told him how she imagined she had seen somebody in the garden, and +acknowledged that she believed it to be the Duke de Nemours; she spoke +to him with so much confidence, and truth so naturally persuades, even +where it is not probable, that Monsieur de Cleves was almost convinced +of her innocence. "I don't know," said he, "whether I ought to believe +you; I am so near death, that I would not know anything that might make +me die with reluctance; you have cleared your innocence too late; +however it will be a comfort to me to go away with the thought that you +are worthy of the esteem I have had for you; I beg you I may be assured +of this further comfort, that my memory will be dear to you, and that +if it had been in your power you would have had for me the same passion +which you had for another." He would have gone on, but was so weak +that his speech failed him. Madam de Cleves sent for the physicians, +who found him almost lifeless; yet he languished some days, and died at +last with admirable constancy. +</P> + +<P> +Madam de Cleves was afflicted to so violent a degree, that she lost in +a manner the use of her reason; the Queen was so kind as to come to see +her, and carried her to a convent without her being sensible whither +she was conducted; her sisters-in-law brought her back to Paris, before +she was in a condition to feel distinctly even her griefs: when she was +restored to her faculty of thinking, and reflected what a husband she +had lost, and considered that she had caused his death by the passion +which she had for another, the horror she had for herself and the Duke +de Nemours was not to be expressed. +</P> + +<P> +The Duke in the beginning of her mourning durst pay her no other +respects but such as decency required; he knew Madam de Cleves enough +to be sensible that great importunities and eagerness would be +disagreeable to her; but what he learned afterwards plainly convinced +him that he ought to observe the same conduct a great while longer. +</P> + +<P> +A servant of the Duke's informed him that Monsieur de Cleves's +gentleman, who was his intimate friend, had told him, in the excess of +his grief for the loss of his master, that Monsieur de Nemours's +journey to Colomiers was the occasion of his death. The Duke was +extremely surprised to hear this; but after having reflected upon it, +he guessed the truth in part, and rightly judged what Madam de Cleves's +sentiments would be at first, and what a distance it would throw him +from her, if she thought her husband's illness was occasioned by his +jealousy; he was of opinion that he ought not so much as to put her in +mind of his name very soon, and he abided by that conduct, however +severe it appeared to him. +</P> + +<P> +He took a journey to Paris, nor could he forbear calling at her house +to enquire how she did. He was told, that she saw nobody, and that she +had even given strict orders that they should not trouble her with an +account of any that might come to see her; those very strict orders, +perhaps, were given with a view to the Duke, and to prevent her hearing +him spoken of; but he was too much in love to be able to live so +absolutely deprived of the sight of Madam de Cleves; he resolved to +find the means, let the difficulty be what it would, to get out of a +condition which was so insupportable to him. +</P> + +<P> +The grief of that Princess exceeded the bounds of reason; a husband +dying, and dying on her account, and with so much tenderness for her, +never went out of her mind: she continually revolved in her thoughts +what she owed him, and she condemned herself for not having had a +passion for him, as if that had been a thing which depended on herself; +she found no consolation but in the thought that she lamented him as he +deserved to be lamented, and that she would do nothing during the +remainder of her life, but what he would have been glad she should have +done, had he lived. +</P> + +<P> +She had often been thinking how he came to know, that the Duke de +Nemours had been at Colomiers; she could not suspect that the Duke +himself had told it; though it was indifferent to her whether he had or +no, she thought herself so perfectly cured of the passion she had had +for him; and yet she was grieved at the heart to think that he was the +cause of her husband's death; and she remembered with pain the fear +Monsieur de Cleves expressed, when dying, lest she should marry the +Duke; but all these griefs were swallowed up in that for the loss of +her husband, and she thought she had no other but that one. +</P> + +<P> +After several months the violence of her grief abated, and she fell +into a languishing kind of melancholy. Madam de Martigues made a +journey to Paris, and constantly visited her during the time she stayed +there: she entertained her with an account of the Court, and what +passed there; and though Madam de Cleves appeared unconcerned, yet +still she continued talking on that subject in hopes to divert her. +</P> + +<P> +She talked to her of the Viscount, of Monsieur de Guise, and of all +others that were distinguished either in person or merit. "As for the +Duke de Nemours," says she, "I don't know if State affairs have not +taken possession of his heart in the room of gallantry; he is +abundantly less gay than he used to be, and seems wholly to decline the +company of women; he often makes journeys to Paris, and I believe he is +there now." The Duke de Nemours's name surprised Madam de Cleves, and +made her blush; she changed the discourse, nor did Madam de Martigues +take notice of her concern. +</P> + +<P> +The next day Madam de Cleves, who employed herself in things suitable +to the condition she was in, went to a man's house in her +neighbourhood, that was famous for working silk after a particular +manner, and she designed to bespeak some pieces for herself; having +seen several kinds of his work, she spied a chamber door, where she +thought there were more, and desired it might be opened: the master +answered, he had not the key, and that the room was taken by a man, who +came there sometimes in the daytime to draw the plans and prospects of +the fine houses and gardens that were to be seen from his windows; "he +is one of the handsomest men I ever saw," added he, "and does not look +much like one that works for his living; whenever he comes here, I +observe he always looks towards the gardens and houses, but I never see +him work." +</P> + +<P> +Madam de Cleves listened to this story very attentively, and what Madam +de Martigues had told her of Monsieur de Nemours's coming now and then +to Paris, she applied in her fancy to that handsome man, who came to a +place so near her house; and this gave her an idea of Monsieur de +Nemours endeavouring to see her; which raised a disorder in her, of +which she did not know the cause: she went towards the windows to see +where they looked into, and she found they overlooked all her gardens, +and directly faced her apartment: and when she was in her own room, she +could easily see that very window where she was told the man came to +take his prospects. The thought that it was the Duke de Nemours, +entirely changed the situation of her mind; she no longer found herself +in that pensive tranquillity which she had begun to enjoy, her spirits +were ruffled again as with a tempest: at last, not being able to stay +at home, she went abroad to take the air in a garden without the +suburbs, where she hoped to be alone; she walked about a great while, +and found no likelihood of anyone's being there. +</P> + +<P> +Having crossed a little wilderness she perceived at the end of the +walk, in the most remote part of the garden, a kind of a bower, open on +all sides, and went towards it; when she was near, she saw a man lying +on the benches, who seemed sunk into a deep contemplation, and she +discovered it was the Duke de Nemours. Upon this she stopped short: but +her attendants made some noise, which roused the Duke out of his +musing: he took no notice who the persons were that disturbed him, but +got up in order to avoid the company that was coming towards him, and +making a low bow, which hindered him from seeing those he saluted, he +turned into another walk. +</P> + +<P> +If he had known whom he avoided, with what eagerness would he have +returned? But he walked down the alley, and Madam de Cleves saw him go +out at a back door, where his coach waited for him. What an effect did +this transient view produce in the heart of Madam de Cleves? What a +flame rekindled out of the embers of her love, and with what violence +did it burn? She went and sat down in the same place from which +Monsieur de Nemours was newly risen, and seemed perfectly overwhelmed; +his image immediately possessed her fancy, and she considered him as +the most amiable person in the world, as one who had long loved her +with a passion full of veneration and sincerity, slighting all for her, +paying respect even to her grief, to his own torture, labouring to see +her without a thought of being seen by her, quitting the Court (though +the Court's delight) to come and look on the walls where she was shut +up, and to pass his melancholy hours in places where he could not hope +to meet her; in a word, a man whose attachment to her alone merited +returns of love, and for whom she had so strong an inclination, that +she should have loved him, though she had not been beloved by him; and +besides, one whose quality was suitable to hers: all the obstacles that +could rise from duty and virtue were now removed, and all the trace +that remained on her mind of their former condition was the passion the +Duke de Nemours had for her, and that which she had for him. +</P> + +<P> +All these ideas were new to her; her affliction for the death of her +husband had left her no room for thoughts of this kind, but the sight +of Monsieur de Nemours revived them, and they crowded again into her +mind; but when she had taken her fill of them, and remembered that this +very man, whom she considered as a proper match for her, was the same +she had loved in her husband's lifetime, and was the cause of his +death, and that on his death-bed he had expressed a fear of her +marrying him, her severe virtue was so shocked at the imagination, that +she thought it would be as criminal in her to marry Monsieur de Nemours +now, as it was to love him before: in short, she abandoned herself to +these reflections so pernicious to her happiness, and fortified herself +in them by the inconveniency which she foresaw would attend such a +marriage. After two hours' stay in this place she returned home, +convinced that it was indispensably her duty to avoid the sight of the +man she loved. +</P> + +<P> +But this conviction, which was the effect of reason and virtue, did not +carry her heart along with it; her heart was so violently fixed on the +Duke de Nemours, that she became even an object of compassion, and was +wholly deprived of rest. Never did she pass a night in so uneasy a +manner; in the morning, the first thing she did was to see if there was +anybody at the window which looked towards her apartment; she saw there +Monsieur de Nemours, and was so surprised upon it, and withdrew so +hastily, as made him judge she knew him; he had often wished to be seen +by her, ever since he had found out that method of seeing her, and when +he had no hopes of obtaining that satisfaction, his way was to go to +muse in the garden where she found him. +</P> + +<P> +Tired at last with so unfortunate and uncertain a condition, he +resolved to attempt something to determine his fate: "What should I +wait for?" said he. "I have long known she loves me; she is free; she +has no duty now to plead against me; why should I submit myself to the +hardship of seeing her, without being seen by her or speaking to her? +Is it possible for love so absolutely to have deprived me of reason and +courage, and to have rendered me so different from what I have been in +all my other amours? It was fit I should pay a regard to Madam de +Cleves's grief; but I do it too long, and I give her leisure to +extinguish the inclination she had for me." +</P> + +<P> +After these reflections, he considered what measures he ought to take +to see her; he found he had no longer any reason to conceal his passion +from the Viscount de Chartres; he resolved to speak to him of it, and +to communicate to him his design with regard to his niece. +</P> + +<P> +The Viscount was then at Paris, the town being extremely full, and +everybody busy in preparing equipages and dresses to attend the King of +Navarre, who was to conduct the Queen of Spain: Monsieur de Nemours, +went to the Viscount, and made an ingenuous confession to him of all he +had concealed hitherto, except Madam de Cleves's sentiments, which he +would not seem to know. +</P> + +<P> +The Viscount received what he told him with a great deal of pleasure, +and assured him, that though he was not acquainted with his sentiments +on that subject, he had often thought, since Madam de Cleves had been a +widow, that she was the only lady that deserved him. Monsieur de +Nemours entreated him to give him an opportunity of speaking to her, +and learning what disposition she was in. +</P> + +<P> +The Viscount proposed to carry him to her house, but the Duke was of +opinion she would be shocked at it, because as yet she saw nobody; so +that they agreed, it would be better for the Viscount to ask her to +come to him, under some pretence, and for the Duke to come to them by a +private staircase, that he might not be observed. Accordingly this was +executed; Madam de Cleves came, the Viscount went to receive her, and +led her into a great closet at the end of his apartment; some time +after Monsieur de Nemours came in, as by chance: Madam de Cleves was +in great surprise to see him; she blushed and endeavoured to hide it; +the Viscount at first spoke of indifferent matters, and then went out, +as if he had some orders to give, telling Madam de Cleves he must +desire her to entertain the Duke in his stead, and that he would return +immediately. +</P> + +<P> +It is impossible to express the sentiments of Monsieur de Nemours, and +Madam de Cleves, when they saw themselves alone, and at liberty to +speak to one another, as they had never been before: they continued +silent a while; at length, said Monsieur de Nemours, "Can you, Madam, +pardon the Viscount for giving me an opportunity of seeing you, and +speaking to you, an opportunity which you have always so cruelly denied +me?" "I ought not to pardon him," replied she, "for having forgot the +condition I am in, and to what he exposes my reputation." Having spoke +these words, she would have gone away; but Monsieur de Nemours stopping +her, "Fear not, Madam," said he; "you have nothing to apprehend; nobody +knows I am here; hear me, Madam, hear me, if not out of goodness, yet +at least for your own sake, and to free yourself from the +extravagancies which a passion I am no longer master of will infallibly +hurry me into." Madam de Cleves now first yielded to the inclination +she had for the Duke de Nemours, and beholding him with eyes full of +softness and charms, "But what can you hope for," says she, "from the +complaisance you desire of me? You will perhaps repent that you have +obtained it, and I shall certainly repent that I have granted it. You +deserve a happier fortune than you have hitherto had, or than you can +have for the future, unless you seek it elsewhere." "I, Madam," said +he, "seek happiness anywhere else? Or is there any happiness for me, +but in your love? Though I never spoke of it before, I cannot believe, +Madam, that you are not acquainted with my passion, or that you do not +know it to be the greatest and most sincere that ever was; what trials +has it suffered in things you are a stranger to? What trials have you +put it to by your rigour?" +</P> + +<P> +"Since you are desirous I should open myself to you," answered Madam de +Cleves, "I'll comply with your desire, and I'll do it with a sincerity +that is rarely to be met with in persons of my sex: I shall not tell +you that I have not observed your passion for me; perhaps you would not +believe me if I should tell you so; I confess therefore to you, not +only that I have observed it, but that I have observed it in such +lights as you yourself could wish it might appear to me in." "And if +you have seen my passion, Madam," said he, "is it possible for you not +to have been moved by it? And may I venture to ask, if it has made no +impression on your heart?" "You should have judged of that from my +conduct," replied she; "but I should be glad to know what you thought +of it." "I ought to be in a happier condition," replied he, "to +venture to inform you; my fortune would contradict what I should say; +all I can tell you, Madam, is that I heartily wished you had not +acknowledged to Monsieur de Cleves what you concealed from me, and that +you had concealed from him what you made appear to me." "How came you +to discover," replied she blushing, "that I acknowledged anything to +Monsieur de Cleves?" "I learned it from yourself, Madam," replied he; +"but that you may the better pardon the boldness I showed in listening +to what you said, remember if I have made an ill use of what I heard, +if my hopes rose upon it, or if I was the more encouraged to speak to +you." +</P> + +<P> +Here he began to relate how he had overheard her conversation with +Monsieur de Cleves; but she interrupted him before he had finished; +"Say no more of it," said she, "I see how you came to be so well +informed; I suspected you knew the business but too well at the +Queen-Dauphin's, who learned this adventure from those you had +entrusted with it." +</P> + +<P> +Upon this Monsieur de Nemours informed her in what manner the thing +came to pass; "No excuses," says she; "I have long forgiven you, +without being informed how it was brought about; but since you have +learned from my ownself what I designed to conceal from you all my +life, I will acknowledge to you that you have inspired me with +sentiments I was unacquainted with before I saw you, and of which I had +so slender an idea, that they gave me at first a surprise which still +added to the pain that constantly attends them: I am the less ashamed +to make you this confession, because I do it at a time when I may do it +without a crime, and because you have seen that my conduct has not been +governed by my affections." +</P> + +<P> +"Can you believe, Madam," said Monsieur de Nemours, falling on his +knees, "but I shall expire at your feet with joy and transport?" "I +have told you nothing," said she smiling, "but what you knew too well +before." "Ah! Madam," said he, "what a difference is there between +learning it by chance, and knowing it from yourself, and seeing withal +that you are pleased I know it." "It is true," answered she, "I would +have you know it, and I find a pleasure in telling it you; I don't even +know if I do not tell it you more for my own sake, than for yours; for, +after all, this confession will have no consequences, and I shall +follow the austere rules which my duty imposes upon me." "How! Madam; +you are not of this opinion," replied Monsieur de Nemours; "you are no +longer under any obligation of duty; you are at liberty; and if I +durst, I should even tell you, that it is in your power to act so, that +your duty shall one day oblige you to preserve the sentiments you have +for me." "My duty," replied she, "forbids me to think of any man, but +of you the last in the world, and for reasons which are unknown to +you." "Those reasons perhaps are not unknown to me," answered he, "but +they are far from being good ones. I believe that Monsieur de Cleves +thought me happier than I was, and imagined that you approved of those +extravagancies which my passion led me into without your approbation." +"Let us talk no more of that adventure," said she; "I cannot bear the +thought of it, it giving me shame, and the consequences of it have been +such that it is too melancholy a subject to be spoken of; it is but too +true that you were the cause of Monsieur de Cleves's death; the +suspicions which your inconsiderate conduct gave him, cost him his life +as much as if you had taken it away with your own hands: judge what I +ought to have done, had you two fought a duel, and he been killed; I +know very well, it is not the same thing in the eye of the world, but +with me there's no difference, since I know that his death was owing to +you, and that it was on my account." "Ah! Madam," said Monsieur de +Nemours, "what phantom of duty do you oppose to my happiness? What! +Madam, shall a vain and groundless fancy hinder you from making a man +happy, for whom you have an inclination? What, have I had some ground +to hope I might pass my life with you? has my fate led me to love the +most deserving lady in the world? have I observed in her all that can +make a mistress adorable? Has she had no disliking to me? Have I +found in her conduct everything which perhaps I could wish for in a +wife? For in short, Madam, you are perhaps the only person in whom +those two characters have ever concurred to the degree they are in you; +those who marry mistresses, by whom they are loved, tremble when they +marry them, and cannot but fear lest they should observe the same +conduct towards others which they observed towards them; but in you, +Madam, I can fear nothing, I see nothing in you but matter of +admiration: have I had a prospect of so much felicity for no other end +but to see it obstructed by you? Ah! Madam, you forget, that you have +distinguished me above other men; or rather, you have not distinguished +me; you have deceived yourself, and I have flattered myself." +</P> + +<P> +"You have not flattered yourself," replied she; "the reasons of my duty +would not perhaps appear so strong to me without that distinction of +which you doubt, and it is that which makes me apprehend unfortunate +consequences from your alliance." "I have nothing to answer, Madam," +replied he, "when you tell me you apprehend unfortunate consequences; +but I own, that after all you have been pleased to say to me, I did not +expect from you so cruel a reason." "The reason you speak of," replied +Madam de Cleves, "is so little disobliging as to you, that I don't know +how to tell it you." "Alas! Madam," said he, "how can you fear I +should flatter myself too much after what you have been saying to me?" +"I shall continue to speak to you," says she, "with the same sincerity +with which I begun, and I'll lay aside that delicacy and reserve that +modesty obliges one to in a first conversation, but I conjure you to +hear me without interruption. +</P> + +<P> +"I think I owe the affection you have for me, the poor recompsense not +to hide from you any of my thoughts, and to let you see them such as +they really are; this in all probability will be the only time I shall +allow myself the freedom to discover them to you; and I cannot confess +without a blush, that the certainty of not being loved by you, as I am, +appears to me so dreadful a misfortune, that if I had not invincible +reasons grounded on my duty, I could not resolve to subject myself to +it; I know that you are free, that I am so too, and that circumstances +are such, that the public perhaps would have no reason to blame either +you or me, should we unite ourselves forever; but do men continue to +love, when under engagements for life? Ought I to expect a miracle in +my favour? And shall I place myself in a condition of seeing certainly +that passion come to an end, in which I should place all my felicity? +Monsieur de Cleves was perhaps the only man in the world capable of +continuing to love after marriage; it was my ill fate that I was not +able to enjoy that happiness, and perhaps his passion had not lasted +but that he found none, in me; but I should not have the same way of +preserving yours; I even think your constancy is owing to the obstacles +you have met with; you have met with enough to animate you to conquer +them; and my unguarded actions, or what you learned by chance, gave you +hopes enough not to be discouraged." "Ah! Madam," replied Monsieur de +Nemours, "I cannot keep the silence you enjoined me; you do me too much +injustice, and make it appear too clearly that you are far from being +prepossessed in my favour." "I confess," answered she, "that my +passions may lead me, but they cannot blind me; nothing can hinder me +from knowing that you are born with a disposition for gallantry, and +have all the qualities proper to give success; you have already had a +great many amours, and you will have more; I should no longer be she +you placed your happiness in; I should see you as warm for another as +you had been for me; this would grievously vex me, and I am not sure I +should not have the torment of jealousy; I have said too much to +conceal from you that you have already made me know what jealousy is, +and that I suffered such cruel inquietudes the evening the Queen gave +me Madam de Themines's letter, which it was said was addressed to you, +that to this moment I retain an idea of it, which makes me believe it +is the worst of all ills. +</P> + +<P> +"There is scarce a woman but out of vanity or inclination desires to +engage you; there are very few whom you do not please, and my own +experience would make me believe, that there are none whom it is not in +your power to please; I should think you always in love and beloved, +nor should I be often mistaken; and yet in this case I should have no +remedy but patience, nay I question if I should dare to complain: a +lover may be reproached; but can a husband be so, when one has nothing +to urge, but that he loves one no longer? But admit I could accustom +myself to bear a misfortune of this nature, yet how could I bear that +of imagining I constantly saw Monsieur de Cleves, accusing you of his +death, reproaching me with having loved you, with having married you, +and showing me the difference betwixt his affection and yours? It is +impossible to over-rule such strong reasons as these; I must continue +in the condition I am in, and in the resolution I have taken never to +alter it." "Do you believe you have the power to do it, Madam?" cried +the Duke de Nemours. "Do you think your resolution can hold out +against a man who adores, and who has the happiness to please you? It +is more difficult than you imagine, Madam, to resist a person who +pleases and loves one at the same time; you have done it by an +austerity of virtue, which is almost without example; but that virtue +no longer opposes your inclinations, and I hope you will follow them in +spite of yourself." "I know nothing can be more difficult than what I +undertake," replied Madam de Cleves; "I distrust my strength in the +midst of my reasons; what I think I owe to the memory of Monsieur de +Cleves would be a weak consideration, if not supported by the interest +of my ease and repose; and the reasons of my repose have need to be +supported by those of my duty; but though I distrust myself, I believe +I shall never overcome my scruples, nor do I so much as hope to +overcome the inclination I have for you; that inclination will make me +unhappy, and I will deny myself the sight of you, whatever violence it +is to me: I conjure you, by all the power I have over you, to seek no +occasion of seeing me; I am in a condition which makes that criminal +which might be lawful at another time; decency forbids all commerce +between us." Monsieur de Nemours threw himself at her feet, and gave a +loose to all the violent motions with which he was agitated; he +expressed both by his words and tears the liveliest and most tender +passion that ever heart was touched with; nor was the heart of Madam de +Cleves insensible; she looked upon him with eyes swelled with tears: +"Why was it," cries she, "that I can charge you with Monsieur de +Cleves's death? Why did not my first acquaintance with you begin since +I have been at liberty, or why did not I know you before I was engaged? +Why does fate separate us by such invincible obstacles?" "There are no +obstacles, Madam," replied Monsieur de Nemours; "it is you alone oppose +my happiness; you impose on yourself a law which virtue and reason do +not require you to obey." "'Tis true," says she, "I sacrifice a great +deal to a duty which does not subsist but in my imagination; have +patience, and expect what time may produce; Monsieur de Cleves is but +just expired, and that mournful object is too near to leave me clear +and distinct views; in the meantime enjoy the satisfaction to know you +have gained the heart of a person who would never have loved anyone, +had she not seen you: believe the inclination I have for you will last +forever, and that it will be uniform and the same, whatever becomes of +me: Adieu," said she; "this is a conversation I ought to blush for; +however, give an account of it to the Viscount; I agree to it, and +desire you to do it." +</P> + +<P> +With these words she went away, nor could Monsieur de Nemours detain +her. In the next room she met with the Viscount, who seeing her under +so much concern would not speak to her, but led her to her coach +without saying a word; he returned to Monsieur de Nemours, who was so +full of joy, grief, admiration, and of all those affections that attend +a passion full of hope and fear, that he had not the use of his reason. +It was a long time ere the Viscount could get from him an account of +the conversation; at last the Duke related it to him, and Monsieur de +Chartres, without being in love, no less admired the virtue, wit and +merit of Madam de Cleves, than did Monsieur de Nemours himself; they +began to examine what issue could reasonably be hoped for in this +affair; and however fearful the Duke de Nemours was from his love, he +agreed with the Viscount, that it was impossible Madam de Cleves should +continue in the resolution she was in; they were of opinion +nevertheless that it was necessary to follow her orders, for fear, upon +the public's perceiving the inclination he had for her, she should make +declarations and enter into engagements with respect to the world, that +she would afterwards abide by, lest it should be thought she loved him +in her husband's lifetime. +</P> + +<P> +Monsieur de Nemours determined to follow the King; it was a journey he +could not well excuse himself from, and so he resolved to go without +endeavouring to see Madam de Cleves again from the window out of which +he had sometimes seen her; he begged the Viscount to speak to her; and +what did he not desire him to say in his behalf? What an infinite +number of reasons did he furnish him with, to persuade her to conquer +her scruples? In short, great part of the night was spent before he +thought of going away. +</P> + +<P> +As for Madam de Cleves, she was in no condition to rest; it was a thing +so new to her to have broke loose from the restraints she had laid on +herself, to have endured the first declarations of love that ever were +made to her, and to have confessed that she herself was in love with +him that made them, all this was so new to her, that she seemed quite +another person; she was surprised at what she had done; she repented of +it; she was glad of it; all her thoughts were full of anxiety and +passion; she examined again the reasons of her duty, which obstructed +her happiness; she was grieved to find them so strong, and was sorry +that she had made them out so clear to Monsieur de Nemours: though she +had entertained thoughts of marrying him, as soon as she beheld him in +the garden of the suburbs, yet her late conversation with him made a +much greater impression on her mind; at some moments she could not +comprehend how she could be unhappy by marrying him, and she was ready +to say in her heart, that her scruples as to what was past, and her +fears for the future, were equally groundless: at other times, reason +and her duty prevailed in her thoughts, and violently hurried her into +a resolution not to marry again, and never to see Monsieur de Nemours; +but this was a resolution hard to be established in a heart so softened +as hers, and so lately abandoned to the charms of love. At last, to +give herself a little ease, she concluded that it was not yet necessary +to do herself the violence of coming to any resolution, and decency +allowed her a considerable time to determine what to do: however she +resolved to continue firm in having no commerce with Monsieur de +Nemours. The Viscount came to see her, and pleaded his friend's cause +with all the wit and application imaginable, but could not make her +alter her conduct, or recall the severe orders she had given to +Monsieur de Nemours; she told him her design was not to change her +condition; that she knew how difficult it was to stand to that design, +but that she hoped she should be able to do it; she made him so +sensible how far she was affected with the opinion that Monsieur de +Nemours was the cause of her husband's death, and how much she was +convinced that it would be contrary to her duty to marry him, that the +Viscount was afraid it would be very difficult to take away those +impressions; he did not, however, tell the Duke what he thought, when +he gave him an account of his conversation with her, but left him as +much hope as a man who is loved may reasonably have. +</P> + +<P> +They set out the next day, and went after the King; the Viscount wrote +to Madam de Cleves at Monsieur de Nemours's request, and in a second +letter, which soon followed the first, the Duke wrote a line or two in +his own hand; but Madam de Cleves determined not to depart from the +rules she had prescribed herself, and fearing the accidents that might +happen from letters, informed the Viscount that she would receive his +letters no more, if he continued to speak of Monsieur de Nemours, and +did it in so peremptory a manner, that the Duke desired him not to +mention him. +</P> + +<P> +During the absence of the Court, which was gone to conduct the Queen of +Spain as far as Poitou, Madam de Cleves continued at home; and the more +distant she was from Monsieur de Nemours, and from everything that +could put her in mind of him, the more she recalled the memory of the +Prince of Cleves, which she made it her glory to preserve; the reasons +she had not to marry the Duke de Nemours appeared strong with respect +to her duty, but invincible with respect to her quiet; the opinion she +had, that marriage would put an end to his love, and the torments of +jealousy, which she thought the infallible consequences of marriage, +gave her the prospect of a certain unhappiness if she consented to his +desires; on the other hand, she thought it impossible, if he were +present, to refuse the most amiable man in the world, the man who loved +her, and whom she loved, and to oppose him in a thing that was neither +inconsistent with virtue nor decency: she thought that nothing but +absence and distance could give her the power to do it; and she found +she stood in need of them, not only to support her resolution not to +marry, but even to keep her from seeing Monsieur de Nemours; she +resolved therefore to take a long journey, in order to pass away the +time which decency obliged her to spend in retirement; the fine estate +she had near the Pyrenees seemed the most proper place she could make +choice of; she set out a few days before the Court returned, and wrote +at parting to the Viscount to conjure him not to think of once +enquiring after her, or of writing to her. +</P> + +<P> +Monsieur de Nemours was as much troubled at this journey as another +would have been for the death of his mistress; the thought of being +deprived so long a time of the sight of Madam de Cleves grieved him to +the soul, especially as it happened at a time when he had lately +enjoyed the pleasure of seeing her, and of seeing her moved by his +passion; however he could do nothing but afflict himself, and his +affliction increased every day. Madam de Cleves, whose spirits had been +so much agitated, was no sooner arrived at her country seat, but she +fell desperately ill; the news of it was brought to Court; Monsieur de +Nemours was inconsolable; his grief proceeded even to despair and +extravagance; the Viscount had much a-do to hinder him from discovering +his passion in public, and as much a-do to keep him from going in +person to know how she did; the relation and friendship between her and +the Viscount served as an excuse for sending frequent messengers; at +last they heard she was out of the extremity of danger she had been in, +but continued in a languishing malady that left but little hopes of +life. +</P> + +<P> +The nature of her disease gave her a prospect of death both near, and +at a distance, and showed her the things of this life in a very +different view from that in which they are seen by people in health; +the necessity of dying, to which she saw herself so near, taught her to +wean herself from the world, and the lingeringness of her distemper +brought her to a habit in it; yet when she was a little recovered, she +found that Monsieur de Nemours was not effaced from her heart; but to +defend herself against him, she called to her aid all the reasons which +she thought she had never to marry him; after a long conflict in +herself, she subdued the relics of that passion which had been weakened +by the sentiments her illness had given her; the thoughts of death had +reproached her with the memory of Monsieur de Cleves, and this +remembrance was so agreeable to her duty, that it made deep impressions +in her heart; the passions and engagements of the world appeared to her +in the light, in which they appear to persons who have more great and +more distant views. The weakness of her body, which was brought very +low, aided her in preserving these sentiments; but as she knew what +power opportunities have over the wisest resolutions, she would not +hazard the breach of those she had taken, by returning into any place +where she might see him she loved; she retired, under pretence of +change of air, into a convent, but without declaring a settled +resolution of quitting the Court. +</P> + +<P> +Upon the first news of it, Monsieur de Nemours felt the weight of this +retreat, and saw the importance of it; he presently thought he had +nothing more to hope, but omitted not anything that might oblige her to +return; he prevailed with the Queen to write; he made the Viscount not +only write, but go to her, but all to no purpose; the Viscount saw her, +but she did not tell him she had fixed her resolution; and yet he +judged, she would never return to Court; at last Monsieur de Nemours +himself went to her, under pretence of using the waters; she was +extremely grieved and surprised to hear he was come, and sent him word +by a person of merit about her, that she desired him not to take it ill +if she did not expose herself to the danger of seeing him, and of +destroying by his presence those sentiments she was obliged to +preserve; that she desired he should know, that having found it both +against her duty and peace of mind to yield to the inclination she had +to be his, all things else were become so indifferent to her, that she +had renounced them for ever; that she thought only of another life, and +had no sentiment remaining as to this, but the desire of seeing him in +the same dispositions she was in. +</P> + +<P> +Monsieur de Nemours was like to have expired in the presence of the +lady who told him this; he begged her a thousand times to return to +Madam de Cleves, and to get leave for him to see her; but she told him +the Princess had not only forbidden her to come back with any message +from him, but even to report the conversation that should pass between +them. At length Monsieur de Nemours was obliged to go back, oppressed +with the heaviest grief a man is capable of, who has lost all hopes of +ever seeing again a person, whom he loved not only with the most +violent, but most natural and sincere passion that ever was; yet still +he was not utterly discouraged, but used all imaginable methods to make +her alter her resolution; at last, after several years, time and +absence abated his grief, and extinguished his passion. Madam de Cleves +lived in a manner that left no probability of her ever returning to +Court; she spent one part of the year in that religious house, and the +other at her own, but still continued the austerity of retirement, and +constantly employed herself in exercises more holy than the severest +convents can pretend to; and her life, though it was short, left +examples of inimitable virtues. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR><BR> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Princess of Cleves, by Madame de Lafayette + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PRINCESS OF CLEVES *** + +***** This file should be named 467-h.htm or 467-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/4/6/467/ + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Princess of Cleves + +Author: Madame de Lafayette + +Posting Date: September 27, 2008 [EBook #467] +Release Date: March, 1996 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PRINCESS OF CLEVES *** + + + + + + + + + + + + + +THE PRINCESS OF CLEVES + + +by + +Madame de Lafayette + + + + +THE PRINCESS OF CLEVES + +Grandeur and gallantry never appeared with more lustre in France, than +in the last years of Henry the Second's reign. This Prince was amorous +and handsome, and though his passion for Diana of Poitiers Duchess of +Valentinois, was of above twenty years standing, it was not the less +violent, nor did he give less distinguishing proofs of it. + +As he was happily turned to excel in bodily exercises, he took a +particular delight in them, such as hunting, tennis, running at the +ring, and the like diversions. Madam de Valentinois gave spirit to all +entertainments of this sort, and appeared at them with grace and beauty +equal to that of her grand-daughter, Madam de la Marke, who was then +unmarried; the Queen's presence seemed to authorise hers. + +The Queen was handsome, though not young; she loved grandeur, +magnificence and pleasure; she was married to the King while he was +Duke of Orleans, during the life of his elder brother the Dauphin, a +prince whose great qualities promised in him a worthy successor of his +father Francis the First. + +The Queen's ambitious temper made her taste the sweets of reigning, and +she seemed to bear with perfect ease the King's passion for the Duchess +of Valentinois, nor did she express the least jealousy of it; but she +was so skilful a dissembler, that it was hard to judge of her real +sentiments, and policy obliged her to keep the duchess about her +person, that she might draw the King to her at the same time. This +Prince took great delight in the conversation of women, even of such as +he had no passion for; for he was every day at the Queen's court, when +she held her assembly, which was a concourse of all that was beautiful +and excellent in either sex. + +Never were finer women or more accomplished men seen in any Court, and +Nature seemed to have taken pleasure in lavishing her greatest graces +on the greatest persons. The Princess Elizabeth, since Queen of Spain, +began now to manifest an uncommon wit, and to display those beauties, +which proved afterwards so fatal to her. Mary Stuart, Queen of +Scotland, who had just married the Dauphin, and was called the +Queen-Dauphin, had all the perfections of mind and body; she had been +educated in the Court of France, and had imbibed all the politeness of +it; she was by nature so well formed to shine in everything that was +polite, that notwithstanding her youth, none surpassed her in the most +refined accomplishments. The Queen, her mother-in-law, and the King's +sister, were also extreme lovers of music, plays and poetry; for the +taste which Francis the First had for the Belles Lettres was not yet +extinguished in France; and as his son was addicted to exercises, no +kind of pleasure was wanting at Court. But what rendered this Court so +splendid, was the presence of so many great Princes, and persons of the +highest quality and merit: those I shall name, in their different +characters, were the admiration and ornament of their age. + +The King of Navarre drew to himself the respect of all the world both +by the greatness of his birth, and by the dignity that appeared in his +person; he was remarkable for his skill and courage in war. The Duke +of Guise had also given proofs of extraordinary valour, and had, been +so successful, that there was not a general who did not look upon him +with envy; to his valour he added a most exquisite genius and +understanding, grandeur of mind, and a capacity equally turned for +military or civil affairs. His brother, the Cardinal of Loraine, was a +man of boundless ambition, and of extraordinary wit and eloquence, and +had besides acquired a vast variety of learning, which enabled him to +make himself very considerable by defending the Catholic religion, +which began to be attacked at that time. The Chevalier de Guise, +afterwards called Grand Prior, was a prince beloved by all the world, +of a comely person, full of wit and address, and distinguished through +all Europe for his valour. The Prince of Conde, though little indebted +to Nature in his person, had a noble soul, and the liveliness of his +wit made him amiable even in the eyes of the finest women. The Duke of +Nevers, distinguished by the high employments he had possessed, and by +the glory he had gained in war, though in an advanced age, was yet the +delight of the Court: he had three sons very accomplished; the second, +called the Prince of Cleves, was worthy to support the honour of his +house; he was brave and generous, and showed a prudence above his +years. The Viscount de Chartres, descended of the illustrious family +of Vendome, whose name the Princes of the blood have thought it no +dishonour to wear, was equally distinguished for gallantry; he was +genteel, of a fine mien, valiant, generous, and all these qualities he +possessed in a very uncommon degree; in short, if anyone could be +compared to the Duke de Nemours, it was he. The Duke de Nemours was a +masterpiece of Nature; the beauty of his person, inimitable as it was, +was his least perfection; what placed him above other men, was a +certain agreeableness in his discourse, his actions, his looks, which +was observable in none beside himself: he had in his behaviour a gaiety +that was equally pleasing to men and women; in his exercises he was +very expert; and in dress he had a peculiar manner, which was followed +by all the world, but could never be imitated: in fine, such was the +air of his whole person, that it was impossible to fix one's eye on +anything else, wherever he was. There was not a lady at Court, whose +vanity would not have been gratified by his address; few of those whom +he addressed, could boast of having resisted him; and even those for +whom he expressed no passion, could not forbear expressing one for him: +his natural gaiety and disposition to gallantry was so great, that he +could not refuse some part of his cares and attention to those who made +it their endeavour to please him; and accordingly he had several +mistresses, but it was hard to guess which of them was in possession of +his heart: he made frequent visits to the Queen-Dauphin; the beauty of +this princess, the sweetness of her temper, the care she took to oblige +everybody, and the particular esteem she expressed for the Duke de +Nemours, gave ground to believe that he had raised his views even to +her. Messieurs de Guise, whose niece she was, had so far increased +their authority and reputation by this match, that their ambition +prompted them to aspire at an equality with the Princes of the blood, +and to share in power with the Constable Montmorency. The King +entrusted the Constable with the chief share in the administration of +the Government, and treated the Duke of Guise and the Mareschal de St. +Andre as his favourites; but whether favour or business admitted men to +his presence, they could not preserve that privilege without the +good-liking of the Duchess of Valentinois; for though she was no longer +in possession of either of youth or beauty, she yet reigned so +absolutely in his heart, that his person and state seemed entirely at +her disposal. + +The King had such an affection for the Constable, that he was no sooner +possessed of the Government, but he recalled him from the banishment he +had been sent into by Francis the First: thus was the Court divided +between Messieurs de Guise, and the Constable, who was supported by the +Princes of the blood, and both parties made it their care to gain the +Duchess of Valentinois. The Duke d'Aumale, the Duke of Guise's +brother, had married one of her daughters, and the Constable aspired to +the fame alliance; he was not contented with having married his eldest +son with Madam Diana, the King's daughter by a Piemontese lady, who +turned nun as soon as she was brought to bed. This marriage had met +with a great many obstacles from the promises which Monsieur +Montmorency had made to Madam de Piennes, one of the maids of honour to +the Queen; and though the King had surmounted them with extreme +patience and goodness, the Constable did not think himself sufficiently +established, unless he secured Madam de Valentinois in his interest, +and separated her from Messieurs de Guise, whose greatness began to +give her uneasiness. The Duchess had obstructed as much as she could +the marriage of the Dauphin with the Queen of Scotland; the beauty and +forward wit of that young Queen, and the credit which her marriage gave +to Messieurs de Guise, were insupportable to her; she in particular +hated the Cardinal of Loraine, who had spoken to her with severity, and +even with contempt; she was sensible he took the party of the Queen, so +that the Constable found her very well disposed to unite her interests +with his and to enter into alliance with him, by marrying her +granddaughter Madam de la Marke with Monsieur d'Anville, his second +son, who succeeded him in his employment under the reign of Charles the +Ninth. The Constable did not expect to find the same disinclination to +marriage in his second son which he had found in his eldest, but he +proved mistaken. The Duke d'Anville was desperately in love with the +Dauphin-Queen, and how little hope soever he might have of succeeding +in his passion, he could not prevail with himself to enter into an +engagement that would divide his cares. The Mareschal de St. Andre was +the only person in the Court that had not listed in either party: he +was a particular favourite, and the King had a personal affection for +him; he had taken a liking to him ever since he was Dauphin, and +created him a Mareschal of France at an age in which others rarely +obtain the least dignities. His favour with the King gave him a lustre +which he supported by his merit and the agreeableness of his person, by +a splendour in his table and furniture, and by the most profuse +magnificence that ever was known in a private person, the King's +liberality enabling him to bear such an expense. This Prince was +bounteous even to prodigality to those he favoured, and though he had +not all the great qualities, he had very many; particularly he took +delight and had great skill in military affairs; he was also +successful, and excepting the Battle of St. Quintin, his reign had been +a continued series of victory; he won in person the Battle of Renti, +Piemont was conquered, the English were driven out of France, and the +Emperor Charles V found his good fortune decline before the walls of +Mets, which he besieged in vain with all the forces of the Empire, and +of Spain: but the disgrace received at St. Quintin lessened the hopes +we had of extending our conquests, and as fortune seemed to divide +herself between two Kings, they both found themselves insensibly +disposed to peace. + +The Duchess Dowager of Loraine had made some overtures about the time +of the Dauphin's marriage, since which a secret negotiation had been +constantly carried on; in fine, Coran in Artois was the place appointed +for the treaty; the Cardinal of Loraine, the Constable Montmorency, and +the Mareschal de St. Andre were plenipotentaries for the King; the Duke +of Alva, and the Prince of Orange for Philip the II, and the Duke and +Duchess of Loraine were mediators. The principal articles were the +marriage of the Princess Elizabeth of France with Don Carlos the +Infanta of Spain, and that of his majesty's sister with the Duke of +Savoy. + +The King, during the Treaty, continued on the frontiers, where he +received the news of the death of Queen Mary of England; his Majesty +dispatched forthwith the Count de Randan to Queen Elizabeth, to +congratulate her on her accession to the Crown, and they received him +with great distinction; for her affairs were so precarious at that +time, that nothing could be more advantageous to her, than to see her +title acknowledged by the King. The Count found she had a thorough +knowledge of the interests of the French Court, and of the characters +of those who composed it; but in particular, she had a great idea of +the Duke of Nemours: she spoke to him so often, and with so much +ernestness concerning him, that the Ambassador upon his return declared +to the King, that there was nothing which the Duke of Nemours might not +expect from that Princess, and that he made no question she might even +be brought to marry him. The King communicated it to the Duke the same +evening, and caused the Count de Randan to relate to him all the +conversations he had had with Queen Elizabeth, and in conclusion +advised him to push his fortune: the Duke of Nemours imagined at first +that the King was not in earnest, but when he found to the contrary, +"If, by your advice, Sir," said he, "I engage in this chimerical +undertaking for your Majesty's service, I must entreat your Majesty to +keep the affair secret, till the success of it shall justify me to the +public; I would not be thought guilty of the intolerable vanity, to +think that a Queen, who has never seen me, would marry me for love." +The King promised to let nobody into the design but the Constable, +secrecy being necessary, he knew, to the success of it. The Count de +Randan advised the Duke to go to England under pretence of travelling; +but the Duke disapproving this proposal, sent Mr. Lignerol, a sprightly +young gentleman, his favourite, to sound the Queen's inclinations, and +to endeavour to make some steps towards advancing that affair: in the +meantime, he paid a visit to the Duke of Savoy, who was then at +Brussels with the King of Spain. The death of Queen Mary brought great +obstructions to the Treaty; the Congress broke up at the end of +November, and the King returned to Paris. + +There appeared at this time a lady at Court, who drew the eyes of the +whole world; and one may imagine she was a perfect beauty, to gain +admiration in a place where there were so many fine women; she was of +the same family with the Viscount of Chartres, and one of the greatest +heiresses of France, her father died young, and left her to the +guardianship of Madam de Chartres his wife, whose wealth, virtue, and +merit were uncommon. After the loss of her husband she retired from +Court, and lived many years in the country; during this retreat, her +chief care was bestowed in the education of her daughter; but she did +not make it her business to cultivate her wit and beauty only, she took +care also to inculcate virtue into her tender mind, and to make it +amiable to her. The generality of mothers imagine, that it is +sufficient to forbear talking of gallantries before young people, to +prevent their engaging in them; but Madam de Chartres was of a +different opinion, she often entertained her daughter with descriptions +of love; she showed her what there was agreeable in it, that she might +the more easily persuade her wherein it was dangerous; she related to +her the insincerity, the faithlessness, and want of candour in men, and +the domestic misfortunes that flow from engagements with them; on the +other hand she made her sensible, what tranquillity attends the life of +a virtuous woman, and what lustre modesty gives to a person who +possesses birth and beauty; at the same time she informed her, how +difficult it was to preserve this virtue, except by an extreme distrust +of one's self, and by a constant attachment to the only thing which +constitutes a woman's happiness, to love and to be loved by her husband. + +This heiress was, at that time, one of the greatest matches in France, +and though she was very young several marriages had been proposed to +her mother; but Madam de Chartres being ambitious, hardly thought +anything worthy of her daughter, and when she was sixteen years of age +she brought her to Court. The Viscount of Chartres, who went to meet +her, was with reason surprised at the beauty of the young lady; her +fine hair and lovely complexion gave her a lustre that was peculiar to +herself; all her features were regular, and her whole person was full +of grace. + +The day after her arrival, she went to choose some jewels at a famous +Italian's; this man came from Florence with the Queen, and had acquired +such immense riches by his trade, that his house seemed rather fit for +a Prince than a merchant; while she was there, the Prince of Cleves +came in, and was so touched with her beauty, that he could not +dissemble his surprise, nor could Mademoiselle de Chartres forbear +blushing upon observing the astonishment he was in; nevertheless, she +recollected herself, without taking any further notice of him than she +was obliged to do in civility to a person of his seeming rank; the +Prince of Cleves viewed her with admiration, and could not comprehend +who that fine lady was, whom he did not know. He found by her air, and +her retinue, that she was of the first quality; by her youth he should +have taken her to be a maid, but not seeing her mother, and hearing the +Italian call her madam, he did not know what to think; and all the +while he kept his eyes fixed upon her, he found that his behaviour +embarrassed her, unlike to most young ladies, who always behold with +pleasure the effect of their beauty; he found too, that he had made her +impatient to be going, and in truth she went away immediately: the +Prince of Cleves was not uneasy at himself on having lost the view of +her, in hopes of being informed who she was; but when he found she was +not known, he was under the utmost surprise; her beauty, and the modest +air he had observed in her actions, affected him so, that from that +moment he entertained a passion for her. In the evening he waited on +his Majesty's sister. + +This Princess was in great consideration by reason of her interest with +the King her brother; and her authority was so great, that the King, on +concluding the peace, consented to restore Piemont, in order to marry +her with the Duke of Savoy. Though she had always had a disposition to +marry, yet would she never accept of anything beneath a sovereign, and +for this reason she refused the King of Navarre, when he was Duke of +Vendome, and always had a liking for the Duke of Savoy; which +inclination for him she had preserved ever since she saw him at Nice, +at the interview between Francis I, and Pope Paul III. As she had a +great deal of wit, and a fine taste of polite learning, men of +ingenuity were always about her, and at certain times the whole Court +resorted to her apartments. + +The Prince of Cleves went there according to his custom; he was so +touched with the wit and beauty of Mademoiselle de Chartres, that he +could talk of nothing else; he related his adventure aloud, and was +never tired with the praises of this lady, whom he had seen, but did +not know; Madame told him, that there was nobody like her he described, +and that if there were, she would be known by the whole world. Madam +de Dampiere, one of the Princess's ladies of honour, and a friend of +Madam de Chartres, overhearing the conversation, came up to her +Highness, and whispered her in the ear, that it was certainly +Mademoiselle de Chartres whom the Prince had seen. Madame, returning +to her discourse with the Prince, told him, if he would give her his +company again the next morning, he should see the beauty he was so much +touched with. Accordingly Mademoiselle de Chartres came the next day +to Court, and was received by both Queens in the most obliging manner +that can be imagined, and with such admiration by everybody else, that +nothing was to be heard at Court but her praises, which she received +with so agreeable a modesty, that she seemed not to have heard them, or +at least not to be moved with them. She afterwards went to wait upon +Madame; that Princess, after having commended her beauty, informed her +of the surprise she had given the Prince of Cleves; the Prince came in +immediately after; "Come hither," said she to him, "see, if I have not +kept my word with you, and if at the same time that I show you +Mademoiselle de Chartres, I don't show you the lady you are in search +of. You ought to thank me, at least, for having acquainted her how +much you are her admirer." + +The Prince of Cleves was overjoyed to find that the lady he admired was +of quality equal to her beauty; he addressed her, and entreated her to +remember that he was her first lover, and had conceived the highest +honour and respect for her, before he knew her. + +The Chevalier de Guise, and the Prince, who were two bosom friends, +took their leave of Madame together. They were no sooner gone but they +began to launch out into the praises of Mademoiselle de Chartres, +without bounds; they were sensible at length that they had run into +excess in her commendation, and so both gave over for that time; but +they were obliged the next day to renew the subject, for this new-risen +beauty long continued to supply discourse to the whole Court; the Queen +herself was lavish in her praise, and showed her particular marks of +favour; the Queen-Dauphin made her one of her favourites, and begged +her mother to bring her often to her Court; the Princesses, the King's +daughters, made her a party in all their diversions; in short, she had +the love and admiration of the whole Court, except that of the Duchess +of Valentinois: not that this young beauty gave her umbrage; long +experience convinced her she had nothing to fear on the part of the +King, and she had to great a hatred for the Viscount of Chartres, whom +she had endeavoured to bring into her interest by marrying him with one +of her daughters, and who had joined himself to the Queen's party, that +she could not have the least favourable thought of a person who bore +his name, and was a great object of his friendship. + +The Prince of Cleves became passionately in love with Mademoiselle de +Chartres, and ardently wished to marry her, but he was afraid the +haughtiness of her mother would not stoop to match her with one who was +not the head of his family: nevertheless his birth was illustrious, and +his elder brother, the Count d'En, had just married a lady so nearly +related to the Royal family, that this apprehension was rather the +effect of his love, than grounded on any substantial reason. He had a +great number of rivals; the most formidable among them, for his birth, +his merit, and the lustre which Royal favour cast upon his house, was +the Chevalier de Guise; this gentleman fell in love with Mademoiselle +de Chartres the first day he saw her, and he discovered the Prince of +Cleves's passion as the Prince of Cleves discovered his. Though they +were intimate friends, their having the same pretentions gradually +created a coolness between them, and their friendship grew into an +indifference, without their being able to come to an explanation on the +matter. The Prince of Cleves's good fortune in having seen +Mademoiselle de Chartres first seemed to be a happy presage, and gave +him some advantage over his rivals, but he foresaw great obstructions +on the part of the Duke of Nevers his father: the Duke was strictly +attached to the Duchess of Valentinois, and the Viscount de Chartres +was her enemy, which was a sufficient reason to hinder the Duke from +consenting to the marriage of his son, with a niece of the Viscount's. + +Madam de Chartres, who had taken so much care to inspire virtue into +her daughter, did not fail to continue the same care in a place where +it was so necessary, and where there were so many dangerous examples. +Ambition and gallantry were the soul of the Court, and employed both +sexes equally; there were so many different interests and so many +cabals, and the ladies had so great a share in them, that love was +always mixed with business, and business with love: nobody was easy, or +indifferent; their business was to raise themselves, to be agreeable, +to serve or disserve; and intrigue and pleasure took up their whole +time. The care of the ladies was to recommend themselves either to the +Queen, the Dauphin-Queen, or the Queen of Navarre, or to Madame, or the +Duchess of Valentinois. Inclination, reasons of decorum, resemblance +of temper made their applications different; those who found the bloom +worn off, and who professed an austerity of virtue, were attached to +the Queen; the younger sort, who loved pleasure and gallantry, made +their Court to the Queen-Dauphin; the Queen of Navarre too had her +favourites, she was young, and had great power with the King her +husband, who was in the interest of the Constable, and by that means +increased his authority; Madame was still very beautiful, and drew many +ladies into her party. And as for the Duchess of Valentinois, she +could command as many as she would condescend to smile upon; but very +few women were agreeable to her, and excepting some with whom she lived +in confidence and familiarity, and whose humour was agreeable to her +own, she admitted none but on days when she gratified her vanity in +having a Court in the same manner the Queen had. + +All these different cabals were full of emulation and envy towards one +another; the ladies, who composed them, had their jealousies also among +themselves, either as to favour or lovers: the interests of ambition +were often blended with concerns of less importance, but which did not +affect less sensibly; so that in this Court there was a sort of tumult +without disorder, which made it very agreeable, but at the same time +very dangerous for a young lady. Madam de Chartres perceived the +danger, and was careful to guard her daughter from it; she entreated +her, not as a mother, but as her friend, to impart to her all the +gallantry she should meet withal, promising her in return to assist her +in forming her conduct right, as to things in which young people are +oftentimes embarrassed. + +The Chevalier de Guise was so open and unguarded with respect to his +passion for Mademoiselle de Chartres, that nobody was ignorant of it: +nevertheless he saw nothing but impossibilities in what he desired; he +was sensible that he was not a proper match for Mademoiselle de +Chartres, by reason of the narrowness of his fortune, which was not +sufficient to support his dignity; and he was sensible besides, that +his brothers would not approve of his marrying, the marriages of +younger brothers being looked upon as what tends to the lessening great +families; the Cardinal of Loraine soon convinced him, that he was not +mistaken; he condemned his attachment to Mademoiselle de Chartres with +warmth, but did not inform him of his true reasons for so doing; the +Cardinal, it seems, had a hatred to the Viscount, which was not known +at that time, but afterwards discovered itself; he would rather have +consented to any other alliance for his brother than to that of the +Viscount; and he declared his aversion to it in so public a manner, +that Madam de Chartres was sensibly disgusted at it. She took a world +of pains to show that the Cardinal of Loraine had nothing to fear, and +that she herself had no thoughts of this marriage; the Viscount +observed the same conduct, and resented that of the Cardinal more than +Madam de Chartres did, being better apprised of the cause of it. + +The Prince of Cleves had not given less public proofs of his love, than +the Chevalier de Guise had done, which made the Duke of Nevers very +uneasy; however he thought that he needed only to speak to his son, to +make him change his conduct; but he was very much surprised to find him +in a settled design of marrying Mademoiselle de Chartres, and flew out +into such excesses of passion on that subject, that the occasion of it +was soon known to the whole Court, and among others to Madam de +Chartres: she never imagined that the Duke of Nevers would not think +her daughter a very advantageous match for his son, nor was she a +little astonished to find that the houses both of Cleves and Guise +avoided her alliance, instead of courting it. Her resentment on this +account put her upon finding out a match for her daughter, which would +raise her above those that imagined themselves above her; after having +looked about, she fixed upon the Prince Dauphin, son of the Duke de +Montpensier, one of the most considerable persons then at Court. As +Madam de Chartres abounded in wit, and was assisted by the Viscount, +who was in great consideration, and as her daughter herself was a very +considerable match, she managed the matter with so much dexterity and +success, that Monsieur de Montpensier appeared to desire the marriage, +and there was no appearance of any difficulties in it. + +The Viscount, knowing the power the Dauphin-Queen had over Monsieur +d'Anville, thought it not amiss to employ the interest of that Princess +to engage him to serve Mademoiselle de Chartres, both with the King and +the Prince de Montpensier, whose intimate friend he was: he spoke to +the Dauphin-Queen about it, and she entered with joy into an affair +which concerned the promotion of a lady for whom she had a great +affection; she expressed as much to the Viscount, and assured him, that +though she knew she should do what was disagreeable to the Cardinal of +Loraine her uncle, she would pass over that consideration with +pleasure, because she had reasons of complaint against him, since he +every day more and more espoused the interest of the Queen against hers. + +Persons of gallantry are always glad of an opportunity of speaking to +those who love them. No sooner was the Viscount gone, but the +Queen-Dauphin sent Chatelart to Monsieur d'Anville, to desire him from +her to be at Court that evening. Chatelart was his favourite, and +acquainted with his passion for this Princess, and therefore received +her commands with great pleasure and respect. He was a gentleman of a +good family in Dauphiny; but his wit and merit distinguished him more +than his birth: he was well received at Court. He was graceful in his +person, perfect at all sorts of exercises; he sung agreeably, he wrote +verses, and was of so amorous and gallant a temper, as endeared him to +Monsieur d'Anville in such a degree, that he made him the confidant of +his amours between the Queen-Dauphin and him; this confidence gave him +access to that Princess, and it was owing to the frequent opportunities +he had of seeing her, that he commenced that unhappy passion which +deprived him of his reason, and at last cost him his life. + +Monsieur d'Anville did not fail to be at Court in the evening; he +thought himself very happy, that the Queen-Dauphin had made choice of +him to manage an affair she had at heart, and he promised to obey her +commands with the greatest exactness. But the Duchess of Valentinois +being warned of the design in view, had traversed it with so much care, +and prepossessed the King so much against it, that when Monsieur +d'Anville came to speak to his Majesty about it, he plainly showed he +did not approve of it, and commanded him to signify as much to the +Prince de Montpensier. One may easily judge what the sentiments of +Madam de Chartres were, upon the breaking off of an affair which she +had set her mind so much upon, and the ill success of which gave such +an advantage to her enemies, and was so great a prejudice to her +daughter. + +The Queen-Dauphin declared to Mademoiselle de Chartres, in a very +friendly manner, the uneasiness she was in for not having been able to +serve her: "You see, Madam," said she to her, "that my interest is +small; I am upon so ill terms with the Queen and the Duchess of +Valentinois, that it is no wonder if they or their dependents still +succeed in disappointing my desires; nevertheless, I have constantly +used my endeavours to please them. Indeed, they hate me not for my own +sake, but for my mother's; she formerly gave them some jealousy and +uneasiness; the King was in love with her before he was in love with +the Duchess; and in the first years of his marriage, when he had no +issue, he appeared almost resolved to be divorced from the Queen, in +order to make room for my mother, though at the same time he had some +affection for the Duchess. Madam de Valentinois being jealous of a +lady whom he had formerly loved, and whose wit and beauty were capable +of lessening her interest, joined herself to the Constable, who was no +more desirous than herself that the King should marry a sister of the +Duke of Guise; they possessed the deceased King with their sentiments; +and though he mortally hated the Duchess of Valentinois, and loved the +Queen, he joined his endeavours with theirs to prevent the divorce; but +in order to take from the King all thoughts of marrying the Queen my +mother, they struck up a marriage between her and the King of Scotland, +who had had for his first wife the King's sister, and they did this +because it was the easiest to be brought to a conclusion, though they +failed in their engagements to the King of England, who was very +desirous of marrying her; and that failure wanted but little of +occasioning a rupture between the two Crowns: for Henry the Eighth was +inconsolable, when he found himself disappointed in his expectations of +marrying my mother; and whatever other Princess of France was proposed +to him, he always said, nothing could make him amends for her he had +been deprived of. It is certainly true, that my mother was a perfect +beauty; and what is very remarkable, is, that being the widow of the +Duke of Longueville, three Kings should court her in marriage. Her ill +fortune gave her to the least of them, and placed her in a kingdom +where she meets with nothing but trouble. They say I resemble her, but +I fear I shall resemble her only in her unhappy destiny; and whatever +fortune may seem to promise me at present, I can never think I shall +enjoy it." + +Mademoiselle de Chartres answered the Queen, that these melancholy +presages were so ill-grounded, that they would not disturb her long, +and that she ought not to doubt but her good fortune would accomplish +whatever it promised. + +No one now entertained any further thoughts of Mademoiselle de +Chartres, either fearing to incur the King's displeasure, or despairing +to succeed with a lady, who aspired to an alliance with a Prince of the +blood. The Prince of Cleves alone was not disheartened at either of +these considerations; the death of the Duke of Nevers his father, which +happened at that time, set him at entire liberty to follow his +inclination, and no sooner was the time of mourning expired, but he +wholly applied himself to the gaining of Mademoiselle de Chartres. It +was lucky for him that he addressed her at a time when what had +happened had discouraged the approaches of others. What allayed his +joy was his fear of not being the most agreeable to her, and he would +have preferred the happiness of pleasing to the certainty of marrying +her without being beloved. + +The Chevalier de Guise had given him some jealousy, but as it was +rather grounded on the merit of that Prince than on any action of +Mademoiselle de Chartres, he made it his whole endeavour to discover, +if he was so happy as to have his addresses admitted and approved: he +had no opportunity of seeing her but at Court or public assemblies, so +that it was very difficult for him to get a private conversation with +her; at last he found means to do it, and informed her of his intention +and of his love, with all the respect imaginable. He urged her to +acquaint him what the sentiments were which she had for him, assuring +her, that those which he had for her were of such a nature as would +render him eternally miserable, if she resigned herself wholly up to +the will of her mother. + +As Mademoiselle de Chartres had a noble and generous heart, she was +sincerely touched with gratitude for the Prince of Cleves's behaviour; +this gratitude gave a certain sweetness to her words and answers, +sufficient to furnish hopes to a man so desperately enamoured as the +Prince was, so that he flattered himself in some measure that he should +succeed in what he so much wished for. + +She gave her mother an account of this conversation; and Madam de +Chartres told her, that the Prince of Cleves had so many good +qualities, and discovered a discretion so much above his years, that if +her inclination led her to marry him, she would consent to it with +pleasure. Mademoiselle de Chartres made answer, that she observed in +him the same good qualities; that she should have less reluctance in +marrying him than any other man, but that she had no particular +affection to his person. + +The next day the Prince caused his thoughts to be communicated to Madam +de Chartres, who gave her consent to what was proposed to her; nor had +she the least distrust but that in the Prince of Cleves she provided +her daughter a husband capable of securing her affections. The +articles were concluded; the King was acquainted with it, and the +marriage made public. + +The Prince of Cleves found himself happy, but yet not entirely +contented: he saw with a great deal of regret, that the sentiments of +Mademoiselle de Chartres did not exceed those of esteem and respect, +and he could not flatter himself that she concealed more obliging +thoughts of him, since the situation they were in permitted her to +discover them without the least violence done to modesty. It was not +long before he expostulated with her on this subject: "Is it +possible," says he, "that I should not be happy in marrying you? and +yet it is certain, I am not. You only show me a sort of civility which +is far from giving me satisfaction; you express none of those pretty +inquietudes, the concern, and impatience, which are the soul of love; +you are no further affected with my passion, than you would be with one +which flowed only from the advantage of your fortune, and not from the +beauty of your person." "It is unjust in you to complain," replied the +Princess, "I don't know what you can desire of me more; I think decency +will not allow me to go further than I do." "It's true," replied he, +"you show some appearances I should be satisfied with, were there +anything beyond; but instead of being restrained by decency, it is that +only which makes you act as you do; I am not in your heart and +inclinations, and my presence neither gives you pain nor pleasure." +"You can't doubt," replied she, "but it is a sensible pleasure to me to +see you, and when I do see you, I blush so often, that you can't doubt, +but the seeing you gives me pain also." "Your blushes, Madam," replied +he, "cannot deceive me; they are signs of modesty, but do not prove the +heart to be affected, and I shall conclude nothing more from hence than +what I ought." + +Mademoiselle de Chartres did not know what to answer; these +distinctions were above her comprehension. The Prince of Cleves +plainly saw she was far from having that tenderness of affection for +him, which was requisite to his happiness; it was manifest she could +not feel a passion which she did not understand. + +The Chevalier de Guise returned from a journey a few days before the +marriage. He saw so many insuperable difficulties in his design of +marrying Mademoiselle de Chartres, that he gave over all hopes of +succeeding in it; and yet he was extremely afflicted to see her become +the wife of another: his grief however did not extinguish his passion; +and his love was as great as ever. Mademoiselle de Chartres was not +ignorant of it; and he made her sensible at his return, that she was +the cause of that deep melancholy which appeared in his countenance. +He had so much merit and so much agreeableness, that it was almost +impossible to make him unhappy without pitying him, nor could she +forbear pitying him; but her pity did not lead to love. She acquainted +her mother with the uneasiness which the Chevalier's passion gave her. + +Madam de Chartres admired the honour of her daughter, and she admired +it with reason, for never was anyone more naturally sincere; but she +was surprised, at the same time, at the insensibility of her heart, and +the more so, when she found that the Prince of Cleves had not been able +to affect her any more than others: for this reason, she took great +pains to endear her husband to her, and to make her sensible how much +she owed to the affection he had for her before he knew her, and to the +tenderness he since expressed for her, by preferring her to all other +matches, at a time when no one else durst entertain the least thoughts +of her. + +The marriage was solemnised at the Louvre; and in the evening the King +and the two Queens, with the whole Court, supped at Madam de Chartres's +house, where they were entertained with the utmost magnificence. The +Chevalier de Guise durst not distinguish himself by being absent from +the ceremony, but he was so little master of himself that it was easy +to observe his concern. + +The Prince of Cleves did not find that Mademoiselle de Chartres had +changed her mind by changing her name; his quality of a husband +entitled him to the largest privileges, but gave him no greater share +in the affections of his wife: hence it was, that though he was her +husband, he did not cease to be her lover, because he had always +something to wish beyond what he possessed; and though she lived +perfectly easy with him, yet he was not perfectly happy. He preserved +for her a passion full of violence and inquietude, but without +jealousy, which had no share in his griefs. Never was husband less +inclined to it, and never was wife farther from giving the least +occasion for it. She was nevertheless constantly in view of the Court; +she frequented the Courts of the two Queens, and of Madame: all the +people of gallantry saw her both there and at her brother-in-law the +Duke of Never's, whose house was open to the whole world; but she had +an air which inspired so great respect, and had in it something so +distant from gallantry, that the Mareschal de St. Andre, a bold man and +supported by the King's favour, became her lover without daring to let +her know it any otherwise than by his cares and assiduities. A great +many others were in the same condition: and Madam de Chartres had added +to her daughter's discretion so exact a conduct with regard to +everything of decorum, that everybody was satisfied she was not to be +come at. + +The Duchess of Loraine, while she was employed in negotiating the +peace, had applied herself to settle the marriage of the Duke her son: +a marriage was agreed upon between him and Madam Claude of France, the +King's second daughter; and the month of February was appointed for the +nuptials. + +In the meantime the Duke of Nemours continued at Brussels, his thoughts +being wholly employed on his design in England; he was continually +sending or receiving couriers from thence; his hopes increased every +day, and at last Lignerolly sent him word that it was time to finish by +his presence what was so well begun; he received this news with all the +joy a young ambitious man is capable of, who sees himself advanced to a +throne merely by the force of his personal merit; his mind insensibly +accustomed itself to the grandeur of a Royal State; and whereas he had +at first rejected this undertaking as an impracticable thing, the +difficulties of it were now worn out of his imagination, and he no +longer saw anything to obstruct his way. + +He sent away in haste to Paris to give the necessary orders for +providing a magnificent equipage, that he might make his appearance in +England with a splendour suitable to the design he was to conduct; and +soon after he followed himself, to assist at the marriage of the Duke +of Loraine. + +He arrived the evening before the espousals, and that very evening +waited on the King to give him an account of his affair, and to receive +his orders and advice how to govern himself in it. Afterwards he waited +on the Queens; but the Princess of Cleves was not there, so that she +did not see him, nor so much as know of his arrival. She had heard +everybody speak of this celebrated Prince, as of the handsomest and +most agreeable man at Court; and the Queen-Dauphin had described him in +such a manner, and spoke of him to her so often, that she had raised in +her a curiosity and even impatience to see him. + +The Princess employed the day of the wedding in dressing herself, that +she might appear with the greater advantage at the ball and royal +banquet that were to be at the Louvre. When she came, everyone admired +both her beauty and her dress. The ball began, and while she was +dancing with the Duke of Guise, a noise was heard at the door of the +hall, as if way was making for some person of uncommon distinction. +She had finished her dance, and as she was casting her eyes round to +single out some other person, the King desired her to take him who came +in last; she turned about, and viewing him as he was passing over the +seats to come to the place where they danced, she immediately concluded +he was the Duke of Nemours. The Duke's person was turned in so +delicate a manner, that it was impossible not to express surprise at +the first sight of him, particularly that evening, when the care he had +taken to adorn himself added much to the fine air of his carriage. It +was as impossible to behold the Princess of Cleves without equal +admiration. + +The Duke de Nemours was struck with such surprise at her beauty, that +when they approached and paid their respects to each other, he could +not forbear showing some tokens of his admiration. When they begun to +dance, a soft murmur of praises ran through the whole company. The +King and the two Queens, remembering that the Duke and Princess had +never seen one another before, found something very particular in +seeing them dance together without knowing each other; they called +them, as soon as they had ended their dance, without giving them time +to speak to anybody, and asked them if they had not a desire to know +each other, and if they were not at some loss about it. "As for me, +Madam," said the Duke to the Queen, "I am under no uncertainty in this +matter; but as the Princess of Cleves has not the same reasons to lead +her to guess who I am, as I have to direct me to know her, I should be +glad if your Majesty would be pleased to let her know my name." "I +believe," said the Queen-Dauphin, "that she knows your name as well as +you know hers." "I assure you, Madam," replied the Princess a little +embarrassed, "that I am not so good a guesser as you imagine." "Yes, +you guess very well," answered the Queen-Dauphin; "and your +unwillingness to acknowledge that you know the Duke of Nemours, without +having seen him before, carries in it something very obliging to him." +The Queen interrupted them, that the ball might go on; and the Duke de +Nemours took out the Queen-Dauphin. This Princess was a perfect +beauty, and such she appeared in the eyes of the Duke de Nemours, +before he went to Flanders; but all this evening he could admire +nothing but Madam de Cleves. + +The Chevalier de Guise, whose idol she still was, sat at her feet, and +what had passed filled him with the utmost grief; he looked upon it as +ominous for him, that fortune had destined the Duke of Nemours to be in +love with the Princess of Cleves. And whether there appeared in +reality any concern in the Princess's face, or whether the Chevalier's +jealousy only led him to suspect it, he believed that she was touched +with the sight of the Duke, and could not forbear telling her, that +Monsieur de Nemours was very happy to commence an acquaintance with her +by an incident which had something very gallant and extraordinary in it. + +Madam de Cleves returned home with her thoughts full of what had passed +at the ball; and though it was very late, she went into her mother's +room to give her a relation of it; in doing which she praised the Duke +of Nemours with a certain air, that gave Madam de Chartres the same +suspicion the Chevalier de Guise had entertained before. + +The day following the ceremony of the Duke of Loraine's marriage was +performed; and there the Princess of Cleves observed so inimitable a +grace, and so fine a mien in the Duke of Nemours, that she was yet more +surprised. + +She afterwards saw him at the Court of the Queen-Dauphin; she saw him +play at tennis with the King; she saw him run the ring; she heard him +discourse; still she found he far excelled everybody else, and drew the +attention of the company to him wherever he was; in short, the +gracefulness of his person, and the agreeableness of his wit soon made +a considerable impression on her heart. + +The Duke de Nemours had an inclination no less violent for her; and +hence flowed all that gaiety and sweetness of behaviour, which the +first desires of pleasing ordinarily inspire a man with: hence he +became more amiable than ever he was before; so that by often seeing +one another, and by seeing in each other whatever was most accomplished +at Court, it could not be but that they must mutually receive the +greatest pleasure from such a commerce. + +The Duchess of Valentinois made one in all parties of pleasure; and the +King was still as passionately fond of her as in the beginning of his +love. The Princess of Cleves being at those years, wherein people +think a woman is incapable of inciting love after the age of +twenty-five, beheld with the utmost astonishment the King's passion for +the Duchess, who was a grandmother, and had lately married her +granddaughter: she often spoke on this subject to Madam de Chartres. +"Is it possible, Madam," said she, "that the King should still continue +to love? How could he take a fancy to one, who was so much older than +himself, who had been his father's mistress, and who, as I have heard, +is still such to many others?" "'Tis certain," answered Madam de +Chartres," it was neither the merit nor the fidelity of the Duchess of +Valentinois, which gave birth to the King's passion, or preserved it; +and this is what he can't be justified in; for if this lady had had +beauty and youth suitable to her birth; and the merit of having had no +other lover; if she had been exactly true and faithful to the King; if +she had loved him with respect only to his person, without the +interested views of greatness and fortune, and without using her power +but for honourable purposes and for his Majesty's interest; in this +case it must be confessed, one could have hardly forbore praising his +passion for her. If I was not afraid," continued Madam de Chartres, +"that you would say the same thing of me which is said of most women of +my years, that they love to recount the history of their own times, I +would inform you how the King's passion for this Duchess began, and of +several particulars of the Court of the late King, which have a great +relation to things that are acted at present." "Far from blaming you," +replied the Princess of Cleves, "for repeating the histories of past +times, I lament, Madam, that you have not instructed me in those of the +present, nor informed me as to the different interests and parties of +the Court. I am so entirely ignorant of them, that I thought a few +days ago, the Constable was very well with the Queen." "You was +extremely mistaken," answered Madam de Chartres, "the Queen hates the +Constable, and if ever she has power, he'll be but too sensible of it; +she knows, he has often told the King, that of all his children none +resembled him but his natural ones." "I should never have suspected +this hatred," said the Princess of Cleves, "after having seen her +assiduity in writing to the Constable during his imprisonment, the joy +she expressed at his return, and how she always calls him Compere, as +well as the King." "If you judge from appearances in a Court," replied +Madam de Chartres, "you will often be deceived; truth and appearances +seldom go together. + +"But to return to the Duchess of Valentinois, you know her name is +Diana de Poitiers; her family is very illustrious, she is descended +from the ancient Dukes of Aquitaine, her grandmother was a natural +daughter of Lewis the XI, and in short she possesses everything that is +great in respect of birth. St. Valier, her father, had the unhappiness +to be involved in the affair of the Constable of Bourbon, which you +have heard of; he was condemned to lose his head, and accordingly was +conducted to the scaffold: his daughter, viz., the Duchess, who was +extremely beautiful, and who had already charmed the late King, managed +so well, I don't know by what means, that she obtained her father's +life; the pardon was brought him at the moment he was expecting the +fatal blow; but the pardon availed little, for fear had seized him so +deeply, that it bereft him of his senses, and he died a few days after. +His daughter appeared at Court as the King's mistress; but the Italian +expedition, and the imprisonment of the present Prince, were +interruptions to his love affair. When the late King returned from +Spain, and Madam the Regent went to meet him at Bayonne, she brought +all her maids of honour with her, among whom was Mademoiselle de +Pisselen, who was since Duchess d'Etampes; the King fell in love with +her, though she was inferior in birth, wit and beauty to the Duchess of +Valentinois, and had no advantage above her but that of being very +young. I have heard her say several times, that she was born the same +day Diana de Poitiers was married, but she spoke this in the malice of +her heart, and not as what she knew to be true; for I am much mistaken, +if the Duchess of Valentinois did not marry Monsieur de Breze, at the +same time that the King fell in love with Madam d'Etampes. Never was a +greater hatred than that between these two ladies; the Duchess could +not pardon Madam d'Etampes for having taken from her the title of the +King's mistress; and Madam d'Etampes was violently jealous of the +Duchess, because the King still kept correspondence with her. That +Prince was by no means constant to his mistresses; there was always one +among them that had the title and honours of mistress, but the ladies +of the small band, as they were styled, shared his favour by turns. +The loss of the Dauphin, his son, who died at Tournon, and was thought +to be poisoned, extremely afflicted him; he had not the same affection +and tenderness for his second son, the present King; he imagined he did +not see in him spirit and vivacity enough, and complained of it one day +to the Duchess of Valentinois, who told him she would endeavour to +raise a passion in him for her, in order to make him more sprightly and +agreeable. She succeeded in it, as you see, and this passion is now of +above twenty years' duration, without being changed either by time or +incidents. + +"The late King at first opposed it; and whether he had still love +enough left for the Duchess of Valentinois to be jealous, or whether he +was urged on by the Duchess d'Etampes, who was in despair upon seeing +the Dauphin so much attached to her enemy, it is certain he beheld this +passion with an indignation and resentment, that showed itself every +day by something or other. The Dauphin neither valued his anger or his +hatred, nor could anything oblige him either to abate or conceal his +flame, so that the King was forced to accustom himself to bear it with +patience. This opposition of his to his father's will, withdrew his +affections from him more and more, and transferred them to his third +son, the Duke of Orleans, who was a Prince of a fine person full of +fire and ambition, and of a youthful heat which wanted to be moderated; +however, he would have made a very great Prince, had he arrived to a +more ripened age. + +"The rank of eldest, which the Dauphin held, and the King's favour +which the Duke of Orleans was possessed of, created between them a sort +of emulation, that grew by degrees to hatred. This emulation began from +their infancy, and was still kept up in its height. When the Emperor +passed through France, he gave the preference entirely to the Duke of +Orleans, which the Dauphin resented so bitterly, that while the Emperor +was at Chantilli, he endeavoured to prevail with the Constable to +arrest him without waiting for the King's orders, but the Constable +refused to do it: however, the King afterwards blamed him for not +following his son's advice, and when he banished him the Court, that +was one of the principal reasons for it. + +"The discord between the two brothers put Madam d'Etampes upon the +thought of strengthening herself with the Duke of Orleans, in order to +support her power with the King against the Duchess of Valentinois; +accordingly she succeeded in it, and that young Prince, though he felt +no emotions of love for her, entered no less into her interest, than +the Dauphin was in that of Madam de Valentinois. Hence rose two +factions at Court, of such a nature as you may imagine, but the +intrigues of them were not confined to the quarrels of women. + +"The Emperor, who continued to have a great friendship for the Duke of +Orleans, had offered several times to make over to him the Duchy of +Milan. In the propositions which were since made for the peace, he +gave hopes of assigning him the seventeen provinces, with his daughter +in marriage. The Dauphin neither approved of the peace or the +marriage, and in order to defeat both he made use of the Constable, for +whom he always had an affection, to remonstrate to the King of what +importance it was not to give his successor a brother so powerful as +the Duke of Orleans would be with the alliance of the Emperor and those +countries; the Constable came the more easily into the Dauphin's +sentiments, as they were opposite to those of Madam d'Etampes, who was +his declared enemy, and who vehemently wished for the promotion of the +Duke of Orleans. + +"The Dauphin commanded at that time the King's Army in Champaign, and +had reduced that of the Emperor to such extremities, that it must have +entirely perished, had not the Duchess d'Etampes, for fear too great +successes should make us refuse peace, and the Emperor's alliance in +favour of the Duke of Orleans, secretly advised the enemy to surprise +Espemai and Cheteau-Thieni, in which places were great magazines of +provisions; they succeeded in the attempt, and by that means saved +their whole army. + +"This Duchess did not long enjoy the success of her treason. A little +after the Duke of Orleans died at Farmontiers of a kind of contagious +distemper: he was in love with one of the finest women of the Court, +and was beloved by her. I will not mention her name, because she has +since lived with so much discretion, and has so carefully concealed the +passion she had for that Prince, that one ought to be tender of her +reputation. It happened she received the news of her husband's death +at the same time as she heard of the Duke's, so that she had that +pretext to enable her to conceal her real sorrow, without being at the +trouble of putting any constraint upon herself. + +"The King did not long survive the Prince his son; he died two years +after; he recommended to the Dauphin to make use of the Cardinal de +Tournon and the Admiral d'Annebault, but said nothing at all of the +Constable, who was then in banishment at Chantilli. Nevertheless the +first thing the King his son did was to recall him, and make him his +Prime Minister. + +"Madam d'Etampes was discarded, and received all the ill treatment she +could possibly expect from an enemy so very powerful; the Duchess of +Valentinois amply revenged herself both of that lady, and all those who +had disobliged her; she seemed to reign more absolute in the King's +heart than she did even when he was Dauphin. During the twelve years' +reign of this Prince she has been absolute in everything; she disposes +of all governments and offices of trust and power; she has disgraced +the Cardinal de Tournon, the Chancellor, and Villeroy; those who have +endeavoured to open the King's mind with respect to her conduct, have +been undone in the attempt; the Count de Taix, great Master of the +Ordnance, who had no kindness for her, could not forbear speaking of +her gallantries, and particularly of that with the Count de Brissac, of +whom the King was already very jealous. Nevertheless she contrived +things so well, that the Count de Taix was disgraced, and his +employment taken from him; and what is almost incredible, she procured +it to be given to the Count de Brissac, and afterwards made him a +Mareschal of France. Notwithstanding, the King's jealousy increased to +such a height, that lie could no longer suffer him to continue at +Court: this passion of jealousy, which is fierce and violent in other +men, is gentle and moderate in him through the great respect he has for +his mistress, and therefore he did not go about to remove his rival, +but under the pretext of giving him the Government of Piemont. He has +lived there several years; last winter he returned to Paris, under +pretence of demanding troops and other necessaries for the Army he +commands; the desire of seeing the Duchess of Valentinois again, and +the fear of being forgotten by her, was perhaps the principal motive of +this journey. The King received him very coldly; Messieurs de Guise, +who have no kindness for him, but dare not show it on account of the +Duchess, made use of Monsieur the Viscount, her declared enemy, to +prevent his obtaining what he came to demand. It was no difficult +matter to do him hurt. The King hated him, and was uneasy at his +presence, so that he was obliged to return to Piemont without any +benefit from his journey, except perhaps that of rekindling in the +heart of the Duchess the flame which absence began to extinguish. The +King has had a great many other subjects of jealousy, but either he has +not been informed of them, or has not dared to complain of them. + +"I don't know, daughter," added Madam de Chartres, "if I have not +already told you more of these things, than you desired to know." "I +am far, Madam, from complaining of that," replied the Princess of +Cleves, "and if it was not for fear of being importunate, I should yet +desire to be informed of several circumstances I am ignorant of." + +The Duke de Nemours' passion for Madam de Cleves was at first so +violent, that he had no relish left for any of the ladies he paid his +addresses to before, and with whom he kept a correspondence during his +absence; he even lost all remembrance of his engagements with them, and +not only made it his business to find out excuses to break with them, +but had not the patience to hear their complaints, or make any answer +to the reproaches they laid upon him. The Queen-Dauphin herself, for +whom his regards had been very tender, could no longer preserve a place +in that heart which was now devoted to the Princess of Cleves. His +impatience of making a tour to England began to abate, and he showed no +earnestness in hastening his equipage. He frequently went to the +Queen-Dauphin's Court, because the Princess of Cleves was often there, +and he was very easy in leaving people in the opinion they had of his +passion for that Queen; he put so great a value on Madam de Cleves, +that he resolved to be rather wanting in giving proofs of his love, +than to hazard its being publicly known; he did not so much as speak of +it to the Viscount de Chartres, who was his intimate friend, and from +whom he concealed nothing; the truth is, he conducted this affair with +so much discretion, that nobody suspected he was in love with Madam de +Cleves, except the Chevalier de Guise; and she would scarcely have +perceived it herself, if the inclination she had for him had not led +her into a particular attention to all his actions, but which she was +convinced of it. + +She no longer continued to have the same disposition to communicate to +her mother what she thought concerning the Duke de Nemours, as she had +to talk to her about her other lovers; though she had no settled design +of concealing it from her, yet she did not speak of it. Madam de +Chartres, however, plainly perceived the Duke's attachment to her +daughter, as well as her daughter's inclination for him; the knowledge +of this could not but sensibly afflict her, nor could she be ignorant +of the danger this young lady was in, in being beloved by, and loving +so accomplished a person as the Duke de Nemours: she was entirely +confirmed in the suspicion she had of this business, by an incident +which fell out a few days after. + +The Mareschal de St. Andre, who took all opportunities to show his +magnificence, desired the King, under pretence of showing him his house +which was just finished, to do him the honour to sup there with the two +Queens. The Mareschal was also very glad to display, in the sight of +the Princess of Cleves, that splendid and expensive manner of life, +which he carried to so great a profusion. + +Some days before that appointed for the entertainment, the Dauphin, who +had an ill state of health, found himself indisposed, and saw nobody; +the Queen-Dauphin had spent all that day with him; and in the evening, +upon his growing better, all the persons of quality that were in the +anti-chamber were admitted; the Queen-Dauphin returned to her own +apartment, where she found Madam de Cleves and some other ladies, with +whom she lived in familiarity. + +It being already very late, and not being dressed, she did not wait +upon the Queen, but gave out that she was not to be seen, and ordered +her jewels to be brought, in order to choose out some for the Mareschal +de St. Andre's Ball, and present the Princess of Cleves with some, as +she had promised her. While they were thus employed, the Prince of +Conde entered; his great quality gave him free access everywhere. +"Doubtless," said the Queen-Dauphin, "you come from the King my +husband, what are they doing there?" + +"Madam," said he, "they are maintaining a dispute against the Duke of +Nemours, and he defends the argument he undertook with so much warmth, +that he must needs be very much interested in it; I believe he has some +mistress that gives him uneasiness by going to balls, so well satisfied +he is that it is a vexatious thing to a lover to see the person he +loves in those places." + +"How," replied the Queen-Dauphin, "would not the Duke de Nemours have +his mistress go to a ball? I thought that husbands might wish their +wives would not go there; but as for lovers, I never imagined they were +of that opinion." "The Duke de Nemours finds," answered the Prince of +Conde, "that nothing is so insupportable to lovers as balls, whether +they are beloved again, or whether they are not. He says, if they are +beloved they have the chagrin to be loved the less on this account for +several days; that there is no woman, whom her anxiety for dress does +not divert from thinking on her lover; that they are entirely taken up +with that one circumstance, that this care to adorn themselves is for +the whole world, as well as for the man they favour; that when they are +at a ball, they are desirous to please all who look at them; and that +when they triumph in their beauty, they experience a joy to which their +lovers very little contribute. He argues further, that if one is not +beloved, it is a yet greater torment to see one's mistress at an +assembly; that the more she is admired by the public, the more unhappy +one is not to be beloved, and that the lover is in continual fear lest +her beauty should raise a more successful passion than his own; lastly +he finds, there is no torment equal to that of seeing one's mistress at +a ball, unless it be to know that she is there, and not to be there +one's self." + +Madam de Cleves pretended not to hear what the Prince of Conde said, +though she listened very attentively; she easily saw what part she had +in the Duke of Nemours's opinion, and particularly as to what he said +of the uneasiness of not being at a ball where his mistress was, +because he was not to be at that of the Mareschal de St. Andre, the +King having sent him to meet the Duke of Ferrara. + +The Queen-Dauphin, and the Prince of Conde, not going into the Duke's +opinion, were very merry upon the subject. "There is but one occasion, +Madam," said the Prince to her, "in which the Duke will consent his +mistress should go to a ball, and that is when he himself gives it. He +says, that when he gave your Majesty one last year, his mistress was so +kind as to come to it, though seemingly only to attend you; that it is +always a favour done to a lover, to partake of an entertainment which +he gives; that it is an agreeable circumstance for him to have his +mistress see him preside in a place where the whole Court is, and see +him acquit himself well in doing the honours of it." "The Duke de +Nemours was in the right," said the Queen-Dauphin, smiling, "to approve +of his mistress's being at his own ball; there was then so great a +number of ladies, whom he honoured with the distinction of that name, +that if they had not come, the assembly would have been very thin." + +The Prince of Conde had no sooner begun to relate the Duke de Nemours's +sentiments concerning assemblies, but Madam de Cleves felt in herself a +strong aversion to go to that of the Mareschal de St. Andre. She +easily came into the opinion, that a woman ought not to be at an +entertainment given by one that professed love to her, and she was very +glad to find out a reason of reservedness for doing a thing which would +oblige the Duke of Nemours. However, she carried away with her the +ornaments which the Queen-Dauphin had given her; but when she showed +them her mother, she told her that she did not design to make use of +them; that the Mareschal de St. Andre took a great deal of pains to +show his attachment to her, and she did not doubt he would be glad to +have it believed that a compliment was designed her in the +entertainment he gave the King, and that under the pretence of doing +the honours of his house, he would show her civilities which would be +uneasy to her. + +Madam de Chartres for some time opposed her daughter's opinion, as +thinking it very singular; but when she saw she was obstinate in it, +she gave way, and told her, that in that case she ought to pretend an +indisposition as an excuse for not going to the ball, because the real +reasons which hindered her would not be approved of; and care ought to +be taken that they should not be suspected. + +Madam de Cleves voluntarily consented to pass some days at her +mother's, in order not to go to any place where the Duke of Nemours was +not to be. However the Duke set out, without the pleasure of knowing +she would not be at the ball. + +The day after the ball he returned, and was informed that she was not +there; but as he did not know the conversation he had at the Dauphin's +Court had been repeated to her, he was far from thinking himself happy +enough to have been the reason of her not going. + +The day after, while he was at the Queen's apartments, and talking to +the Queen-Dauphin, Madam de Chartres and Madam de Cleves came in. +Madam de Cleves was dressed a little negligently, as a person who had +been indisposed, but her countenance did not at all correspond with her +dress. "You look so pretty," says the Queen-Dauphin to her, "that I +can't believe you have been ill; I think the Prince of Conde, when he +told us the Duke de Nemours's opinion of the ball, persuaded you, that +to go there would be doing a favour to the Mareschal de St. Andre, and +that that's the reason which hindered you from going." Madam de Cleves +blushed, both because the Queen-Dauphin had conjectured right, and +because she spoke her conjecture in the presence of the Duke de Nemours. + +Madam de Chartres immediately perceived the true reason, why her +daughter refused to go to the ball; and to prevent the Duke de Nemours +discovering it, as well as herself, she took up the discourse after a +manner that gave what she said an air of truth. + +"I assure you, Madam," said she to the Queen-Dauphin, "that your +Majesty has done my daughter more honour than she deserves; she was +really indisposed, but I believe, if I had not hindered her, she would +not have failed to wait on you, and to show herself under any +disadvantages, for the pleasure of seeing what there was extraordinary +at yesterday's entertainment." The Queen-Dauphin gave credit to what +Madam de Chartres said but the Duke de Nemours was sorry to find so +much probability in it nevertheless, the blushes of the Princess of +Cleves made him suspect, that what the Queen-Dauphin had said was not +altogether false. The Princess of Cleves at first was concerned the +Duke had any room to believe it was he who had hindered her from going +to the Mareschal de St. Andre; but afterwards she was a little +chagrined that her mother had entirely taken off the suspicion of it. + +Though the Congress of Cercamp had been broken off, the negotiations +for the peace were continued, and things were so disposed, that towards +the latter end of February the conferences were reassumed at +Chateau-Cambresis; the same plenipotentiaries were sent as before, and +the Mareschal de St. Andre being one, his absence freed the Duke de +Nemours from a rival, who was formidable rather from his curiosity in +observing those who addressed to Madam de Cleves, than from any +advances he was capable of making himself in her favour. + +Madam de Chartres was not willing to let her daughter see that she knew +her sentiments for the Duke, for fear of making herself suspected in +some things which she was very desirous to tell her. + +One day she set herself to talk about him, and a great deal of good she +said of him, but mixed with it abundance of sham praises, as the +prudence he showed in never falling in love, and how wise he was to +make the affair of women and love an amusement instead of a serious +business: "It is not," added she, "that he is not suspected to have a +very uncommon passion for the Queen-Dauphin; I observe he visits her +very often; and I advise you to avoid, as much as possible, speaking to +him, and especially in private; because, since the Queen-Dauphin treats +you as she does, it would be said, that you are their confidant; and +you know how disagreeable that sort of reputation is: I'm of opinion, +if this report continues, that you should not visit the Queen-Dauphin +so often, in order to avoid involving yourself in adventures of +gallantry." + +The Princess of Cleves had never heard before of the amour between the +Duke de Nemours and the Queen-Dauphin; she was so much surprised at +what her mother had told her, and seemed to see so plainly how she had +been mistaken in her thoughts about the Duke, that she changed +countenance. Madam de Chartres perceived it. Visitors came in that +moment; and the Princess of Cleves retired to her own apartment, and +shut herself up in her closet. + +One can't express the grief she felt to discover, by what her mother +had been just saying, the interest her heart had in the Duke de +Nemours; she had not dared as yet to acknowledge it to her secret +thoughts; she then found, that the sentiments she had for him were such +as the Prince of Cleves had required of her; she perceived how shameful +it was to entertain them for another, and not for a husband that +deserved them; she found herself under the utmost embarrassment, and +was dreadfully afraid lest the Duke should make use of her only as a +means to come at the Queen-Dauphin, and it was this thought determined +her to impart to her mother something she had not yet told her. + +The next morning she went into her mother's chamber to put her resolves +in execution, but she found Madam de Chartres had some touches of a +fever, and therefore did not think proper to speak to her: this +indisposition however appeared to insignificant, that Madam de Cleves +made no scruple after dinner to visit the Queen-Dauphin; she was in her +closet with two or three ladies of her most familiar acquaintance. "We +were speaking," said she to her, as soon as she saw her, "of the Duke +de Nemours, and were admiring how much he's changed since his return +from Brussels; before he went there, he had an infinite number of +mistresses, and it was his own fault, for he showed an equal regard to +those who had merit, and to those who had none; since his return he +neither knows the one nor the other; there never was so great a change; +I find his humour is changed too, and that he is less gay than he used +to be." + +The Princess of Cleves made no answer; and it shocked her to think she +should have taken all that they said of the change in the Duke for +proofs of his passion for her, had she not been undeceived; she felt in +herself some little resentment against the Queen-Dauphin, for +endeavouring to find out reasons, and seeming surprised at a thing, +which she probably knew more of than anyone else; she could not forbear +showing something of it; and when the other ladies withdrew, she came +up and told her in a low voice, "And is it I, Madam, you have been +pointing at, and have you a mind to conceal, that you are she who has +made such an alteration in the conduct of the Duke of Nemours?" "You +do me injustice," answered the Queen-Dauphin, "you know I conceal +nothing from you; it is true the Duke of Nemours, before he went to +Brussels, had, I believe, an intention to let me know he did not hate +me; but since his return, it has not so much as appeared that he +remembers anything of what he has done; and I acknowledge I have a +curiosity to know what it is has changed him so: it would not be very +difficult for me to unravel this affair," added she; "the Viscount de +Chartres, his intimate friend, is in love with a lady with whom I have +some power, and I'll know by that means the occasion of this +alteration." The Queen-Dauphin spoke with an air of sincerity which +convinced the Princess of Cleves, and in spite of herself she found her +mind in a more calm and pleasing situation than it had been in before. + +When she returned to her mother, she heard she was a great deal worse +than she had left her; her fever was redoubled, and the days following +it increased to so great a degree, that she was thought to be in +danger. Madam de Cleves was in extreme grief on this occasion, and +never stirred out of her mother's chamber. The Prince of Cleves was +there too almost every day and all day long, partly out of affection to +Madam de Chartres, and partly to hinder his lady from abandoning +herself to sorrow, but chiefly that he might have the pleasure of +seeing her, his passion not being at all diminished. + +The Duke de Nemours, who had always had a great friendship for the +Prince of Cleves, had not failed to show it since his return from +Brussels; during the illness of Madam de Chartres he frequently found +means to see the Princess of Cleves, pretending to want her husband, or +to come to take him out to walk; he enquired for him at such hours as +he knew very well he was not at home, and under pretence of waiting for +him stayed in Madam de Cleves's anti-chamber, where there were always a +great many people of quality; Madam de Cleves often came there, and her +grief did not make her seem less handsome in the eyes of the Duke de +Nemours; he made her sensible what interest he had in her affliction, +and spoke to her with so submissive an air, that he easily convinced +her, that the Queen-Dauphin was not the person he was in love with. + +The seeing him at once gave her grief and pleasure; but when she no +longer saw him, and reflected that the charm he carried about him when +present, was an introduction to love, she was very near imagining she +hated him, out of the excessive grief which that thought gave her. + +Madam de Chartres still grew worse and worse, so that they began to +despair of her life; she heard what the physicians told her concerning +the danger she was in with a courage worthy her virtue, and her piety. +After they were gone, she caused everybody to retire, and sent for +Madam de Cleves. + +"We must part, my dear daughter," said she, stretching out her hand to +her; "the danger I leave you in, and the occasion you have for me, adds +to the regret I have to leave you: you have a passion for the Duke de +Nemours; I do not desire you to confess it; I am no longer in a +condition to make use of that sincerity for your good; I have perceived +this inclination a great while, but was not willing to speak to you of +it at first, for fear of making you discover it yourself; you know it +at present but too well; you are upon the brink of a precipice; great +efforts must be used, and you must do great violence to your heart to +save yourself: reflect what you owe to your husband; reflect what you +owe to yourself, and think that you are going to lose that reputation +which you have gained, and which I have so much at heart; call up, my +dear daughter, all your courage and constancy; retire from Court; +oblige your husband to carry you away; do not be afraid of taking such +resolutions, as being too harsh and difficult; however frightful they +may appear at first, they will become more pleasant in time, than the +misfortunes that follow gallantry: if any other motives than those of +duty and virtue could have weight with you, I should tell you that if +anything were capable of disturbing the happiness I hope for in the +next world, it would be to see you fall like other women; but if this +calamity must necessarily happen, I shall meet death with joy, as it +will hinder me from being a witness of it." + +Madam de Cleves bathed with tears her mother's hand, which she held +fast locked in her own; nor was Madam de Chartres less moved. "Adieu, +dear daughter," said she, "let us put an end to a conversation which +melts us both; and remember, if you are able, all that I have been +saying to you." + +When she had spoke this, she turned herself on the other side, and +ordered her daughter to call her women, being unwilling either to hear +her reply, or to speak any more. Madam de Cleves went out of her +presence in a condition one need not describe; and Madam de Chartres +thought of nothing but preparing herself for death: she lived two days +longer, during which she would not see her daughter again; her daughter +was the only thing she had reluctance to part with. + +Madam de Cleves was in the utmost affliction; her husband did not leave +her, and no sooner was her mother expired, but he carried her into the +country, that she might not have in her eye a place which could serve +only to sharpen her sorrow, which was scarce to be equalled. Though +tenderness and gratitude had the greatest share in her griefs, yet the +need which she found she had of her mother to guard her against the +Duke of Nemours added no small weight to them; she found she was +unhappy in being left to herself, at a time when she was so little +mistress of her own affections, and when she so much wished for +somebody to pity and encourage her. The Prince of Cleves's behaviour +to her on this occasion, made her wish more ardently than ever, never +to fail in her duty to him; she also expressed more friendship and +affection for him than she had done before; she would not suffer him to +leave her, and she seemed to think that his being constantly with her +could defend her against the Duke of Nemours. + +The Duke came to see the Prince of Cleves in the country; he did what +he could to pay a visit also to Madam de Cleves, but she refused to +receive him; and being persuaded she could not help finding something +dangerously lovely in him, she made a strong resolution to forbear +seeing him, and to avoid all occasions of it that were in her power. + +The Prince of Cleves went to Paris to make his Court, and promised his +lady to return the next day, but however he did not return till the day +after. "I expected you yesterday," said Madam de Cleves to him on his +arrival, "and I ought to chide you for not having come as you promised; +you know, if I was capable of feeling a new affliction in the condition +I am in, it would be the death of Madam de Tournon, and I have heard of +it this morning; I should have been concerned, though I had not known +her; it is a melting consideration to think that a lady so young and +handsome as she, should be dead in two days; but besides, she was the +person in the world that pleased me most, and who appeared to have +discretion equal to her beauty." + +"I am sorry I could not return yesterday," replied the Prince of +Cleves, "but my presence was so necessary to the consolation of an +unhappy man, that it was impossible for me to leave him. As for Madam +de Tournon, I do not advise you not to be concerned for her, if you +lament her as a woman full of discretion, and worthy of your esteem." +"You surprise me," answered Madam de Cleves, "I have heard you say +several times, that there was not a lady at Court you had a greater +respect for." "It is true," replied he, "but women are +incomprehensible, and when I have seen them all, I think myself so +happy in having you, that I cannot enough admire my good fortune." +"You esteem me more than I deserve," answered Madam de Cleves, "you +have not had experience enough yet to pronounce me worthy of you; but +tell me, I beseech you, what it is has undeceived you with respect to +Madam de Tournon." "I have been undeceived a great while," replied he, +"and I know that she was in love with the Count de Sancerre, and that +she gave him room to hope she would marry him." "I can't believe," +said Madam de Cleves, "that Madam de Tournon, after so extraordinary an +aversion as she has shown to marriage from the time she became a widow, +and after the public declarations she has made that she would never +marry again, should give hopes to Sancerre." "If she had given hopes +to him only," replied the Prince of Cleves, "the wonder had not been so +great; but what is surprising is, that she gave hopes likewise to +Etouteville at the same time: I'll let you know the whole history of +this matter." + + + +II + +"You know the friendship, there is betwixt Sancerre and me. +Nevertheless about two years ago he fell in love with Madam de Tournon, +and concealed it from me with as much care as from the rest of the +world; I had not the least suspicion of it. Madam de Tournon as yet +appeared inconsolable for the death of her husband, and lived in +retirement with great austerity. Sancerre's sister was in a manner the +only person she saw, and it was at her lodgings he became in love with +her. + +"One evening there was to be play at the Louvre, and the actors only +waited for the coming of the King and Madam de Valentinois, when word +was brought that she was indisposed, and that the King would not come. +It was easy to see that the Duchess's indisposition was nothing but +some quarrel with the King; everyone knew the jealousy he had had of +the Mareschal de Brisac during his continuance at Court, but he had +been set out some days on his return to Piemont, and one could not +imagine what was the occasion of this falling out. + +"While I was speaking of this to Sancerre, Monsieur d'Anville came into +the room, and told me in a whisper, that the King was so exasperated +and so afflicted at the same time, that one would pity him; that upon a +late reconciliation between him and the Duchess, after the quarrel they +had had about the Mareschal de Brisac, he had given her a ring, and +desired her to wear it; and that as she was dressing herself to come to +the play, he had missed it on her finger, and asked what was become of +it; upon which she seemed in surprise that she had it not, and called +to her women for it, who unfortunately, or for want of being better +instructed, made answer they had not seen it four or five days. + +"It was," continued Monsieur d'Anville, "precisely so long, since the +Mareschal de Brisac left the Court, and the King made no doubt but she +gave him the ring when she took her leave of him. The thought of this +awaked in so lively a manner that jealousy which was not yet +extinguished, that he fell into uncommon transports, and loaded her +with a thousand reproaches; he is just gone into her apartment again in +great concern, but whether the reason is a more confirmed opinion that +the Duchess had made a sacrifice of the ring, or for fear of having +disobliged her by his anger, I can't tell. + +"As soon as Monsieur d'Anville had told me this news, I acquainted +Sancerre with it; I told it him as a secret newly entrusted with me, +and charged him to say nothing of it. + +"The next day I went early in the morning to my sister-in-law's, and +found Madam de Tournon at her bedside, who had no great kindness for +the Duchess of Valentinois, and knew very well that my sister-in-law +had no reason to be satisfied with her. Sancerre had been with her, +after he went from the play, and had acquainted her with the quarrel +between the King and the Duchess; and Madam de Tournon was come to tell +it to my sister-in-law, without knowing or suspecting that it was I +from whom her lover had it. + +"As soon as I advanced toward my sister-in-law, she told Madam de +Tournon, that they might trust me with what she had been telling her; +and without waiting Madam de Tournon's leave she related to me word by +word all I had told Sancerre the night before. You may judge what +surprise I was in; I looked hard at Madam de Tournon, and she seemed +disordered; her disorder gave me a suspicion. I had told the thing to +nobody but Sancerre; he left me when the comedy was done, without +giving any reason for it; I remembered to have heard him speak much in +praise of Madam de Tournon; all these things opened my eyes, and I +easily discerned there was an intrigue between them, and that he had +seen her since he left me. + +"I was so stung to find he had concealed this adventure from me, that I +said several things which made Madam de Tournon sensible of the +imprudence she had been guilty of; I led her back to her coach, and +assured her, I envied the happiness of him who informed her of the +King's quarrel with the Duchess of Valentinois. + +"I went immediately in search of Sancerre, and severely reproached him; +I told him I knew of his passion for Madam de Tournon, without saying +how I came by the discovery; he was forced to acknowledge it; I +afterwards informed him what led me into the knowledge of it, and he +acquainted me with the detail of the whole affair; he told me, that +though he was a younger brother, and far from being able to pretend to +so good a match, nevertheless she was determined to marry him. I can't +express the surprise I was in; I told Sancerre he would do well to +hasten the conclusion of the marriage, and that there was nothing he +had not to fear from a woman who had the artifice to support, in the +eye of the public, appearances so distant from truth; he gave me in +answer that she was really concerned for the loss of her husband, but +that the inclination she had for him had surmounted that affliction, +and that she could not help discovering all on a sudden so great a +change; he mentioned besides several other reasons in her excuse, which +convinced me how desperately he was in love; he assured me he would +bring her to consent that I should know his passion for her, especially +since it was she herself who had made me suspect it; in a word, he did +oblige her to it, though with a great deal of difficulty, and I grew +afterwards very deep in their confidence. + +"I never knew a lady behave herself in so genteel and agreeable a +manner to her lover, but yet I was always shocked at the affectation +she showed in appearing so concerned for the loss of her husband. +Sancerre was so much in love, and so well pleased with the treatment he +received from her, that he scarce durst press her to conclude the +marriage, for fear she should think he desired it rather out of +interest than love; however he spoke to her of it, and she seemed fully +bent on marrying him; she began also to abandon her reserved manner of +life, and to appear again in public; she visited my sister-in-law at +hours when some of the Court were usually there; Sancerre came there +but seldom, but those who came every night, and frequently saw her +there, thought her extremely beautiful. + +"She had not long quitted her solitude, when Sancerre imagined that her +passion for him was cooled; he spoke of it several times to me: but I +laid no great stress on the matter; but at last, when he told me, that +instead of forwarding the marriage, she seemed to put it off, I began +to think he was not to blame for being uneasy: I remonstrated to him, +that if Madam de Tournon's passion was abated after having continued +two years, he ought not to be surprised at it, and that even supposing +it was not abated, possibly it might not be strong enough to induce her +to marry him; that he ought not to complain of it; that such a marriage +in the judgment of the public would draw censures upon her, not only +because he was not a suitable match for her, but also on account of the +prejudice it would do her reputation; that therefore all he could +desire was, that she might not deceive him, nor lead him into false +expectations; I told him further, that if she had not resolution enough +to marry him, or if she confessed she liked some other person better, +he ought not to resent or be angry at it, but still continue his esteem +and regard for her. + +"I give you," said I, "the advice which I would take myself; for +sincerity has such charms to me, that I believe if my mistress, or even +my wife ingenuously confessed, she had a greater affection for another +than for me, I might be troubled, but not exasperated; I would lay +aside the character of a lover or a husband, to bestow my advice and my +pity." + +This discourse made Madam de Cleves blush, and she found in it a +certain similitude of her own condition, which very much surprised her, +and gave her a concern, from which she could not recover in a great +while. + +"Sancerre spoke to Madam de Tournon," continued Monsieur de Cleves, +"and told her all I had advised him; but she encouraged him with so +many fresh assurances, and seemed so displeased at his suspicions, that +she entirely removed them; nevertheless she deferred the marriage until +after a pretty long journey he was to make; but she behaved herself so +well until his departure, and appeared so concerned at it, that I +believed as well as he, that she sincerely loved him. He set out about +three months ago; during his absence I have seldom seen Madam de +Tournon; you have entirely taken me up, and I only knew that he was +speedily expected. + +"The day before yesterday, on my arrival at Paris, I heard she was +dead; I sent to his lodgings to enquire if they had any news of him, +and word was brought me he came to town the night before, which was +precisely the day that Madam de Tournon died; I immediately went to see +him, concluding in what condition I should find him, but his affliction +far surpassed what I had imagined. + +"Never did I see a sorrow so deep and so tender; the moment he saw me +he embraced me with tears; 'I shall never see her more,' said he, 'I +shall never see her more, she is dead, I was not worthy of her, but I +shall soon follow her.' + +"After this he was silent; and then, from time to time, continually +repeating 'She is dead, I shall never see her more,' he returned to +lamentations and tears, and continued as a man bereft of reason. He +told me he had not often received letters from her during his absence, +but that he knew her too well to be surprised at it, and was sensible +how shy and timorous she was of writing; he made no doubt but she would +have married him upon his return; he considered her as the most amiable +and constant of her sex; he thought himself tenderly beloved by her; he +lost her the moment he expected to be united to her for ever; all these +thoughts threw him into so violent an affliction, that I own I was +deeply touched with it. + +"Nevertheless I was obliged to leave him to go to the King, but +promised to return immediately; accordingly I did, and I was never so +surprised as I was to find him entirely changed from what I had left +him; he was standing in his chamber, his face full of fury, sometimes +walking, sometimes stopping short, as if he had been distracted; +'Come,' says he, 'and see the most forlorn wretch in the world; I am a +thousand times more unhappy than I was a while ago, and what I have +just heard of Madam de Tournon is worse than her death.' + +"I took what he said to be wholly the effect of grief, and could not +imagine that there could be anything worse than the death of a mistress +one loves and is beloved by; I told him, that so far as he kept his +grief within bounds, I approved of it, and bore a part in it; but that +I should no longer pity him, if he abandoned himself to despair and +flew from reason. 'I should be too happy if I had lost both my reason +and my life,' cried he; 'Madam de Tournon was false to me, and I am +informed of her unfaithfulness and treachery the very day after I was +informed of her death; I am informed of it at a time when my soul is +filled with the most tender love, and pierced with the sharpest grief +that ever was; at a time when the idea of her in my heart, is that of +the most perfect woman who ever lived, and the most perfect with +respect to me; I find I am mistaken, and that she does not deserve to +be lamented by me; nevertheless I have the same concern for her death, +as if she had been true to me, and I have the same sensibility of her +falsehood, as if she were yet living; had I heard of her falsehood +before her death, jealousy, anger, and rage would have possessed me, +and in some measure hardened me against the grief for her loss; but now +my condition is such, that I am incapable of receiving comfort, and yet +know not how to hate her.' + +"You may judge of the surprise I was in at what Sancerre told me; I +asked him how he came by the knowledge of it, and he told me that the +minute I went away from him, Etouteville, who is his intimate friend, +but who nevertheless knew nothing of his love for Madam de Tournon, +came to see him; that as soon as he was sat down, he fell a-weeping, +and asked his pardon for having concealed from him what he was going to +tell him, that he begged him to have compassion of him, that he was +come to open his heart to him, and that he was the person in the world +the most afflicted for the death of Madam de Tournon. + +"'That name,' said Sancerre, 'so astonished me, that though my first +intention was to tell him I was more afflicted than he, I had not the +power to speak: he continued to inform me, that he had been in love +with her six months, that he was always desirous to let me know it, but +she had expressly forbid him; and in so authoritative a manner, that he +durst not disobey her; that he gained her in a manner as soon as he +courted her, that they concealed their mutual passion for each other +from the whole world, that he never visited her publicly, that he had +the pleasure to remove her sorrow for her husband's death, and that +lastly he was to have married her at the very juncture in which she +died; but that this marriage, which was an effect of love, would have +appeared in her an effect of duty and obedience, she having prevailed +upon her father to lay his commands on her to marry him, in order to +avoid the appearance of too great an alteration in her conduct, which +had seemed so averse to a second marriage.' + +"'While Etouteville was speaking to me,' said Sancerre, 'I believed all +he said, because I found so much probability in it, and because the +time when he told me his passion for Madam de Tournon commenced, is +precisely the same with that when she appeared changed towards me; but +the next morning I thought him a liar, or at least an enthusiast, and +was upon the point of telling him so. Afterwards I came into an +inclination of clearing up the matter, and proposed several questions, +and laid my doubts before him, in a word, I proceeded so far to +convince myself of my misfortune, that he asked me if I knew Madam de +Tournon's handwriting, and with that threw upon my bed four letters of +hers and her picture; my brother came in that minute; Etouteville's +face was so full of tears, that he was forced to withdraw to avoid +being observed, and said he would come again in the evening to fetch +what he left with me; and as for me, I sent my brother away under +pretence of being indisposed, so impatient was I to see the letters he +had left, and so full of hopes to find something there that might make +me disbelieve what Etouteville had been telling me; but alas! What did +I not find there? What tenderness! what assurances of marriage! what +letters! She never wrote the like to me. Thus,' continued he, 'am I +at once pierced with anguish for her death and for her falsehood, two +evils which have been often compared, but never felt before by the same +person at the same time; I confess, to my shame, that still I am more +grieved for her loss than for her change; I cannot think her guilty +enough, to consent to her death: were she living, I should have the +satisfaction to reproach her, and to revenge myself on her by making +her sensible of her injustice; but I shall see her no more, I shall see +her no more; this is the greatest misfortune of all others; would I +could restore her to life, though with the loss of my own! Yet what do +I wish! If she were restored to life, she would live for Etouteville: +how happy was I yesterday,' cried he, 'how happy! I was the most +afflicted man in the world; but my affliction was reasonable, and there +was something pleasing in the very thought that I was inconsolable; +today all my sentiments are unjust; I pay to a feigned passion the +tribute of my grief, which I thought I owed to a real one; I can +neither hate nor love her memory; I am incapable of consolation, and +yet don't know how to grieve for her; take care, I conjure you, that I +never see Etouteville; his very name raises horror in me; I know very +well I have no reason of complaint against him; I was to blame in +concealing from him my love for Madam de Tournon; if he had known it, +perhaps he would not have pursued her, perhaps she would not have been +false to me; he came to me to impart his sorrows, and I cannot but pity +him; alas! he had reason to love Madam de Tournon, he was beloved by +her, and will never see her more: notwithstanding I perceive I can't +help hating him; once more I conjure you take care I may not see him.' + +"Sancerre burst afterwards into tears, began again to regret Madam de +Tournon, and to speak to her, as if she were present, and say the +softest things in the world; from these transports he passed to hatred, +to complaints, to reproaches and imprecations against her. When I saw +him in so desperate a condition, I found I should want somebody to +assist me in appeasing his mind; accordingly I sent for his brother, +whom I had left with the King; I met him in the anti-chamber, and +acquainted him with Sancerre's condition: we gave the necessary orders +to prevent his seeing Etouteville, and employed part of the night in +endeavouring to make him capable of reason; this morning I found him +yet more afflicted; his brother continued with him, and I returned to +you." + +"'Tis impossible to be more surprised than I am," said Madam de Cleves; +"I thought Madam de Tournon equally incapable of love and falsehood." +"Address and dissimulation," replied Monsieur de Cleves, "cannot go +further than she carried them; observe, that when Sancerre thought her +love to him was abated, it really was, and she began to love +Etouteville; she told the last that he removed her sorrow for her +husband's death, and that he was the cause of her quitting her +retirement; Sancerre believed the cause was nothing but a resolution +she had taken not to seem any longer to be in such deep affliction; she +made a merit to Etouteville of concealing her correspondence with him, +and of seeming forced to marry him by her father's command, as if it +was an effect of the care she had of her reputation; whereas it was +only an artifice to forsake Sancerre, without his having reason to +resent it: I must return," continued Monsieur de Cleves, "to see this +unhappy man, and I believe you would do well to go to Paris too; it is +time for you to appear in the world again, and receive the numerous +visits which you can't well dispense with." + +Madam de Cleves agreed to the proposal, and returned to Paris the next +day; she found herself much more easy with respect to the Duke de +Nemours than she had been; what her mother had told her on her +death-bed, and her grief for her death, created a sort of suspension in +her mind as to her passion for the Duke, which made her believe it was +quite effaced. + +The evening of her arrival the Queen-Dauphin made her a visit, and +after having condoled with her, told her that in order to divert her +from melancholy thoughts, she would let her know all that had passed at +Court in her absence; upon which she related to her a great many +extraordinary things; "but what I have the greatest desire to inform +you of," added she, "is that it is certain the Duke de Nemours is +passionately in love; and that his most intimate friends are not only +not entrusted in it, but can't so much as guess who the person is he is +in love with; nevertheless this passion of his is so strong as to make +him neglect, or to speak more properly, abandon the hopes of a Crown." + +The Queen-Dauphin afterwards related whatever had passed in England; +"What I have just told you," continued she, "I had from Monsieur +d'Anville; and this morning he informed me, that last night the King +sent for the Duke de Nemours upon the subject of Lignerol's letters, +who desires to return, and wrote to his Majesty that he could no longer +excuse to the Queen of England the Duke of Nemours's delay; that she +begins to be displeased at it; and though she has not positively given +her promise, she has said enough to encourage him to come over; the +King showed this letter to the Duke of Nemours, who instead of speaking +seriously as he had done at the beginning of this affair, only laughed +and trifled, and made a jest of Lignerol's expectations: He said, 'The +whole world would censure his imprudence, if he ventured to go to +England, with the pretensions of marrying the Queen, without being +secure of success; I think,' added he, 'I should time my business very +ill to go to England now, when the King of Spain uses such pressing +instances to obtain the Queen in marriage; the Spanish King perhaps +would not be a very formidable rival in matters of gallantry, but in a +treaty of marriage I believe your Majesty would not advise me to be his +competitor.' 'I would advise you to it upon this occasion,' replied the +King; 'but however you will have no competitor in him; I know he has +quite other thoughts; and though he had not, Queen Mary found herself +so uneasy under the weight of the Spanish Crown, that I can't believe +her sister will be very desirous of it.' 'If she should not,' replied +the Duke of Nemours, 'it is probable she will seek her happiness in +love; she has been in love with my Lord Courtenay for several years; +Queen Mary too was in love with him, and would have married him with +consent of the states of her kingdom, had not she known that the youth +and beauty of her sister Elizabeth had more charms for him than her +crown; your Majesty knows, that the violence of her jealousy carried +her so far, as to imprison them both, and afterwards to banish my Lord +Courtenay, and at last determined her to marry the King of Spain; I +believe Queen Elizabeth will soon recall that Lord, and make choice of +a man whom she loves, who deserves her love, and who has suffered so +much for her, in preference to another whom she never saw.' 'I should +be of that opinion,' replied the King, 'if my Lord Courtenay were +living, but I received advice some days ago, that he died at Padua, +whither he was banished: I plainly see,' added the King, as he left the +Duke, 'that your marriage must be concluded the same way the Dauphin's +was, and that ambassadors must be sent to marry the Queen of England +for you.' + +"Monsieur d'Anville and the Viscount, who were with the King when he +spoke to the Duke of Nemours, are persuaded that it is the passion he +is so deeply engaged in, which diverts him from so great a design; the +Viscount, who sees deeper into him than anybody, told Madam de Martigny +that he was so changed he did not know him again; and what astonishes +him more is, that he does not find he has any private interviews, or +that he is ever missing at particular times, so that he believes he has +no correspondence with the person he is in love with; and that which +surprises him in the Duke is to see him in love with a woman who does +not return his love." + +What poison did this discourse of the Queen-Dauphin carry in it for +Madam de Cleves? How could she but know herself to be the person whose +name was not known, and how could she help being filled with tenderness +and gratitude, when she learned, by a way not in the least liable to +suspicion, that the Duke, who had already touched her heart, concealed +his passion from the whole world, and neglected for her sake the hopes +of a Crown? It is impossible to express what she felt, or to describe +the tumult that was raised in her soul. Had the Queen-Dauphin observed +her closely, she might easily have discerned, that what she had been +saying was not indifferent to her; but as she had not the least +suspicion of the truth, she continued her discourse without minding +her: "Monsieur d'Anville," added she, "from whom, as I just told you, +I had all this, believes I know more of it than himself, and he has so +great an opinion of my beauty, that he is satisfied I am the only +person capable of creating so great a change in the Duke of Nemours." + +These last words of the Queen-Dauphin gave Madam de Cleves a sort of +uneasiness very different from that which she had a few minutes before. +"I can easily come into Monsieur d'Anville's opinion," answered she; +"and 'tis very probable, Madam, that nothing less than a Princess of +your merit could make him despise the Queen of England." "I would own +it to you, if I knew it," replied the Queen-Dauphin, "and I should know +it, if it were true; such passions as these never escape the sight of +those who occasion them; they are the first to discern them; the Duke +of Nemours has never showed me anything but slight complaisances; and +yet I find so great a difference betwixt his present and former +behaviour to me, that I can assure you, I am not the cause of the +indifference he expresses for the Crown of England. + +"But I forget myself in your company," added the Queen-Dauphin, "and +don't remember that I am to wait upon Madame: you know the peace is as +good as concluded, but perhaps you don't know that the King of Spain +has refused to sign it, but on condition of marrying this Princess, +instead of the Prince Don Carlos, his son: the King was with great +difficulty brought to allow it, but at last he has consented, and is +gone to carry the news to Madame; I believe she will be inconsolable. +To marry a man of the King of Spain's age and temper can never be +pleasing, especially to her who has all the gaiety which the bloom of +youth joined with beauty inspires, and was in expectation of marrying a +young Prince for whom she has an inclination without having seen him. +I do not know whether the King will find in her all the obedience he +desires; he has charged me to see her, because he knows she loves me, +and believes I shall be able to influence her. From thence I shall +make a visit of a very different nature, to congratulate the King's +sister. All things are ready for her marriage with the Prince of +Savoy, who is expected in a few days. Never was a woman of her age so +entirely pleased to be married; the Court will be more numerous and +splendid than ever, and notwithstanding your grief, you must come among +us, in order to make strangers see that we are furnished with no mean +beauties." + +Having said this, the Queen-Dauphin took her leave of Madam de Cleves, +and the next day Madame's marriage was publicly known; some days after +the King and the Queens went to visit the Princess of Cleves; the Duke +de Nemours, who had expected her return with the utmost impatience, and +languished for an opportunity of speaking to her in private, contrived +to wait upon her at an hour, when the company would probably be +withdrawing, and nobody else come in; he succeeded in his design, and +came in when the last visitors were going away. + +The Princess was sitting on her bed, and the hot weather, together with +the sight of the Duke de Nemours, gave her a blush that added to her +beauty; he sat over against her with a certain timorous respect, that +flows from a real love; he continued some minutes without speaking; nor +was she the less at a loss, so that they were both silent a good while: +at last the Duke condoled with her for her mother's death; Madam de +Cleves was glad to give the conversation that turn, spoke a +considerable time of the great loss she had had, and at last said, that +though time had taken off from the violence of her grief, yet the +impression would always remain so strong, that it would entirely change +her humour. "Great troubles and excessive passions," replied the Duke, +"make great alterations in the mind; as for me, I am quite another man +since my return from Flanders; abundance of people have taken notice of +this change, and the Queen-Dauphin herself spoke to me of it +yesterday." "It is true," replied the Princess, "she has observed it, +and I think I remember to have heard her say something about it." "I'm +not sorry, Madam," replied the Duke, "that she has discerned it, but I +could wish some others in particular had discerned it too; there are +persons to whom we dare give no other evidences of the passion we have +for them, but by things which do not concern them; and when we dare not +let them know we love them, we should be glad at least to have them see +we are not desirous of being loved by any other; we should be glad to +convince them, that no other beauty, though of the highest rank, has +any charms for us, and that a Crown would be too dear, if purchased +with no less a price than absence from her we adore: women ordinarily," +continued he, "judge of the passion one has for them, by the care one +takes to oblige, and to be assiduous about them; but it's no hard +matter to do this, though they be ever so little amiable; not to give +oneself up to the pleasure of pursuing them, to shun them through fear +of discovering to the public, and in a manner to themselves, the +sentiments one has for them, here lies the difficulty; and what still +more demonstrates the truth of one's passion is, the becoming entirely +changed from what one was, and the having no longer a gust either for +ambition or pleasure, after one has employed one's whole life in +pursuit of both." + +The Princess of Cleves readily apprehended how far she was concerned in +this discourse; one while she seemed of opinion that she ought not to +suffer such an address; another, she thought she ought not to seem to +understand it, or show she supposed herself meant by it; she thought +she ought to speak, and she thought she ought to be silent; the Duke of +Nemours's discourse equally pleased and offended her; she was convinced +by it of the truth of all the Queen-Dauphin had led her to think; she +found in it somewhat gallant and respectful, but also somewhat bold and +too intelligible; the inclination she had for the Duke gave her an +anxiety which it was not in her power to control; the most obscure +expressions of a man that pleases, move more than the most open +declaration of one we have no liking for; she made no answer; the Duke +de Nemours took notice of her silence, which perhaps would have proved +no ill-presage, if the coming in of the Prince of Cleves had not ended +at once the conversation and the visit. + +The Prince was coming to give his wife a further account of Sancerre, +but she was not over curious to learn the sequel of that adventure; she +was so much taken up with what had just passed, that she could hardly +conceal the embarrassment she was in. When she was at liberty to muse +upon it, she plainly saw she was mistaken, when she thought she was +indifferent as to the Duke de Nemours; what he had said to her had made +all the impression he could desire, and had entirely convinced her of +his passion; besides the Duke's actions agreed too well with his words +to leave her the least doubt about it; she no longer flattered herself +that she did not love him; all her care was not to let him discover it, +a task of which she had already experienced the difficulty; she knew +the only way to succeed in it was to avoid seeing him; and as her +mourning gave her an excuse for being more retired than usual, she made +use of that pretence not to go to places where he might see her; she +was full of melancholy; her mother's death was the seeming cause of it, +and no suspicion was had of any other. + +The Duke de Nemours, not seeing her any more, fell into desperation and +knowing he should not meet with her in any public assembly, or at any +diversions the Court joined in, he could not prevail upon himself to +appear there, and therefore he pretended a great love for hunting, and +made matches for that sport on the days when the Queens kept their +assemblies; a slight indisposition had served him a good while as an +excuse for staying at home, and declining to go to places where he knew +very well that Madam de Cleves would not be. + +The Prince of Cleves was ill almost at the same time, and the Princess +never stirred out of his room during his illness; but when he grew +better, and received company, and among others the Duke de Nemours, who +under pretence of being yet weak, stayed with him the greatest part of +the day, she found she could not continue any longer there; and yet in +the first visits he made she had not the resolution to go out; she had +been too long without seeing him, to be able to resolve to see him no +more; the Duke had the address, by discourses that appeared altogether +general, but which she understood very well by the relation they had to +what he had said privately to her, to let her know that he went +a-hunting only to be more at liberty to think of her, and that the +reason of his not going to the assemblies was her not being there. + +At last she executed the resolution she had taken to go out of her +husband's room, whenever he was there, though this was doing the utmost +violence to herself: the Duke perceived she avoided him, and the +thought of it touched him to the heart. + +The Prince of Cleves did not immediately take notice of his wife's +conduct in this particular, but at last he perceived she went out of +the room when there was company there; he spoke to her of it, and she +told him that she did not think it consistent with decency to be every +evening among the gay young courtiers; that she hoped he would allow +her to live in a more reserved manner than she had done hitherto, that +the virtue and presence of her mother authorised her in many liberties +which could not otherwise be justified in a woman of her age. + +Monsieur de Cleves, who had a great deal of facility and complaisance +for his wife, did not show it on this occasion, but told her he would +by no means consent to her altering her conduct; she was upon the point +of telling him, it was reported that the Duke de Nemours was in love +with her, but she had not the power to name him; besides she thought it +disingenuous to disguise the truth, and make use of pretences to a man +who had so good an opinion of her. + +Some days after the King was with the Queen at the assembly hour, and +the discourse turned upon nativities and predictions; the company were +divided in their opinion as to what credit ought to be given to them; +the Queen professed to have great faith in them, and maintained that +after so many things had come to pass as they had been foretold, one +could not doubt but there was something of certainty in that science; +others affirmed, that of an infinite number of predictions so very few +proved true, that the truth of those few ought to be looked upon as an +effect of chance. + +"I have formerly been very curious and inquisitive as to futurity," +said the King, "but I have seen so many false and improbable things, +that I am satisfied there is no truth in that pretended art. Not many +years since there came hither a man of great reputation in astrology; +everybody went to see him; I went among others, but without saying who +I was, and I carried with me the Duke of Guise and Descars, and made +them go in first; nevertheless the astrologer addressed himself first +to me, as if he had concluded me to be their master; perhaps he knew +me, and yet he told me one thing that was very unsuitable to my +character, if he had known me; his prediction was that I should be +killed in a duel; he told the Duke of Guise, that he should die of a +wound received behind; and he told Descars he should be knocked of the +head by the kick of a horse; the Duke of Guise was a little angry at +the prediction, as if it imported he should run away; nor was Descars +better pleased to find he was to make his exit by so unfortunate an +accident; in a word, we went away all three of us very much out of +humour with the astrologer; I don't know what will happen to the Duke +of Guise and Descars, but there is not much probability of my being +killed in a duel; the King of Spain and I have just made peace, and if +we had not, I question whether we should have fought, or if I should +have challenged him, as the King my father did Charles the Fifth." + +After the King had related the misfortune that was foretold him, those +who had defended astrology abandoned the argument, and agreed there was +no credit to be given to it: "For my part," said the Duke de Nemours +aloud, "I have the least reason of any man in the world to credit it"; +and then turning himself to Madam de Cleves, near whom he stood, "it +has been foretold me," says he very softly, "that I should be happy in +a person for whom I should have the most violent and respectful +passion; you may judge, Madam, if I ought to believe in predictions." + +The Queen-Dauphin, who believed, from what the Duke had spoke aloud, +that what he whispered was some false prediction that had been told +him, asked him what it was he said to Madam de Cleves; had he had a +less ready wit, he would have been surprised at this question; but +without any hesitation, "What I said to her, Madam," answered he, "was, +that it had been predicted to me, that I should be raised to a higher +fortune than my most sanguine hopes could lead me to expect." "If +nothing have been foretold you but this," replied the Queen-Dauphin, +smiling, and thinking of the affair of England, "I would not advise you +to decry astrology; you may have reasons hereafter to offer in defence +of it." Madam de Cleves apprehended the Queen-Dauphin's meaning, but +knew withal, that the fortune the Duke of Nemours spoke of was not that +of being King of England. + +The time of her mourning being expired, the Princess of Cleves was +obliged to make her appearance again, and go to Court as usual; she saw +the Duke de Nemours at the Queen-Dauphin's apartment; she saw him at +the Prince of Cleves's, where he often came in company of other young +noblemen, to avoid being remarked; yet she never once saw him, but it +gave her a pain that could not escape his observation. + +However industrious she was to avoid being looked at by him, and to +speak less to him than to any other, some things escaped her in an +unguarded moment, which convinced him he was not indifferent to her; a +man of less discernment than he would not have perceived it, but he had +already so often been the object of love, that it was easy for him to +know when he was loved; he found the Chevalier de Guise was his rival, +and the Chevalier knew that the Duke de Nemours was his; Monsieur de +Guise was the only man in the Court that had unravelled this affair, +his interest having made him more clear-sighted than others; the +knowledge they had of each other's sentiments created an opposition +between them in everything, which, however, did not break out into an +open quarrel; they were always of different parties at the running, at +the ring, at tournaments, and all diversions the King delighted in, and +their emulation was so great it could not be concealed. + +Madam de Cleves frequently revolved in her mind the affair of England; +she believed the Duke de Nemours could not resist the advice of the +King, and the instances of Lignerolles; she was very much concerned to +find that Lignerolles was not yet returned, and she impatiently +expected him; her inclinations strongly swayed her to inform herself +exactly of the state of this affair; but the same reasons, which raised +in her that curiosity, obliged her to conceal it, and she only enquired +of the beauty, the wit, and the temper of Queen Elizabeth. A picture +of that Princess had been brought the King, which Madam de Cleves found +much handsomer than she could have wished for, and she could not +forbear saying, the picture flattered. "I don't think so," replied the +Queen-Dauphin; "that Princess has the reputation of being very +handsome, and of having a very exalted genius, and I know she has +always been proposed to me as a model worthy my imitation; she can't +but be very handsome, if she resembles her mother, Anne Boleyn; never +had woman so many charms and allurements both in her person and her +humour; I have heard say she had something remarkably lively in her +countenance, very different from what is usually found in other English +beauties." "I think," replied Madam de Cleves, "'tis said she was born +in France." "Those who imagine so are mistaken," replied the +Queen-Dauphin; "I'll give you her history in a few words. + +"She was of a good family in England; Henry the Eighth was in love with +her sister and her mother, and it has been even suspected by some, that +she was his daughter; she came to France with Henry the Seventh's +sister, who married Louis XII that Princess, who was full of youth and +gallantry, left the Court of France with great reluctance after her +husband's death; but Anne Boleyn, who had the same inclinations as her +mistress, could not prevail with herself to go away; the late King was +in love with her, and she continued maid of honour to Queen Claude; +that Queen died, and Margaretta, the King's sister, Duchess of Alenson, +and since Queen of Navarre, whose story you know, took her into her +service, where she imbibed the principles of the new religion; she +returned afterwards to England, and there charmed all the world; she +had the manners of France, which please in all countries; she sung +well, she danced finely; she was a maid of honour to Queen Catherine, +and Henry the Eighth fell desperately in love with her. + +"Cardinal Wolsey, his favourite and first minister, being dissatisfied +with the Emperor for not having favoured his pretensions to the Papacy, +in order to revenge himself of him, contrived an alliance between +France and the King his master; he put it into the head of Henry the +Eighth, that his marriage with the Emperor's aunt was null, and advised +him to marry the Duchess of Alenson, whose husband was just dead; Anne +Boleyn, who was not without ambition, considered Queen Catherine's +divorce as a means that would bring her to the Crown; she began to give +the King of England impressions of the Lutheran religion, and engaged +the late King to favour at Rome Henry the Eighth's divorce, in hopes of +his marrying the Duchess of Alenson; Cardinal Wolsey, that he might +have an opportunity of treating this affair, procured himself to be +sent to France upon other pretences; but his master was so far from +permitting him to propose this marriage, that he sent him express +orders to Calais not to speak of it. + +"Cardinal Wolsey, at his return from France, was received with as great +honours as could have been paid to the King himself; never did any +favourite carry his pride and vanity to so great a height; he managed +an interview between the two Kings at Boulogne, when Francis the First +would have given the upperhand to Henry the Eighth, but he refused to +accept it; they treated one another by turns with the utmost +magnificence, and presented to each habits of the same sort with those +they wore themselves. I remember to have heard say, that those the late +King sent to the King of England were of crimson satin beset all over +with pearls and diamonds, and a robe of white velvet embroidered with +gold; after having stayed some time at Boulogne, they went to Calais. +Anne Boleyn was lodged in Henry the Eighth's Court with the train of a +Queen; and Francis the First made her the same presents, and paid her +the same honours as if she had been really so: in a word, after a +passion of nine year's continuance King Henry married her, without +waiting for the dissolving of his first marriage. The Pope +precipitately thundered out excommunications against him, which so +provoked King Henry, that he declared himself head of the Church, and +drew after him all England into the unhappy change in which you see it. + +"Anne Boleyn did not long enjoy her greatness; for when she thought +herself most secure of it by the death of Queen Catherine, one day as +she was seeing a match of running at the ring made by the Viscount +Rochefort her brother, the King was struck with such a jealousy, that +he abruptly left the show, went away to London, and gave orders for +arresting the Queen, the Viscount Rochefort, and several others whom he +believed to be the lovers or confidants of that Princess. Though this +jealousy in appearance had its birth that moment, the King had been +long possessed with it by the Viscountess Rochefort, who not being able +to bear the strict intimacy between her husband and the Queen, +represented it to the King as a criminal commerce; so that that Prince, +who was besides in love with Jane Seymour, thought of nothing but +ridding himself of Anne Boleyn; and in less than three weeks he caused +the Queen and her brother to be tried, had them both beheaded, and, +married Jane Seymour. He had afterwards several wives, whom he +divorced or put to death; and among others Catherine Howard, whose +confidant the Viscountess Rochefort was, and who was beheaded with her: +thus was she punished for having falsely accused Anne Boleyn. And +Henry the Eighth died, being become excessive fat." + +All the ladies, that were present when the Queen-Dauphin made this +relation, thanked her for having given them so good an account of the +Court of England; and among the rest Madam de Cleves, who could not +forbear asking several questions concerning Queen Elizabeth. + +The Queen-Dauphin caused pictures in miniature to be drawn of all the +beauties of the Court, in order to send them to the Queen her mother. +One day, when that of Madam de Cleves was finishing, the Queen-Dauphin +came to spend the afternoon with her; the Duke de Nemours did not fail +to be there; he let slip no opportunities of seeing Madam de Cleves, +yet without appearing to contrive them. She looked so pretty that day, +that he would have fell in love with her, though he had not been so +before: however he durst not keep his eyes fixed upon her, while she +was sitting for her picture, for fear of showing too much the pleasure +he took in looking at her. + +The Queen-Dauphin asked Monsieur de Cleves for a little picture he had +of his wife's, to compare it with that which was just drawn; everybody +gave their judgment of the one and the other; and Madam de Cleves +ordered the painter to mend something in the headdress of that which +had been just brought in; the painter in obedience to her took the +picture out of the case in which it was, and having mended it laid it +again on the table. + +The Duke de Nemours had long wished to have a picture of Madam de +Cleves; when he saw that which Monsieur de Cleves had, he could not +resist the temptation of stealing it from a husband, who, he believed, +was tenderly loved; and he thought that among so many persons as were +in the same room he should be no more liable to suspicion than another. + +The Queen-Dauphin was sitting on the bed, and whispering to Madam de +Cleves, who was standing before her. Madam de Cleves, through one of +the curtains that was but half-drawn, spied the Duke de Nemours with +his back to the table, that stood at the bed's feet, and perceived that +without turning his face he took something very dextrously from off the +table; she presently guessed it was her picture, and was in such +concern about it, that the Queen-Dauphin observed she did not attend to +what she said, and asked her aloud what it was she looked at. At those +words, the Duke de Nemours turned about, and met full the eyes of Madam +de Cleves that were still fixed upon him; he thought it not impossible +but she might have seen what he had done. + +Madam de Cleves was not a little perplexed; it was reasonable to demand +her picture of him; but to demand it publicly was to discover to the +whole world the sentiments which the Duke had for her, and to demand it +in private would be to engage him to speak of his love; she judged +after all it was better to let him keep it, and she was glad to grant +him a favour which she could do without his knowing that she granted +it. The Duke de Nemours, who observed her perplexity, and partly +guessed the cause of it, came up, and told her softly, "If you have +seen what I have ventured to do, be so good, Madam, as to let me +believe you are ignorant of it; I dare ask no more"; having said this +he withdrew, without waiting for her answer. + +The Queen-Dauphin went to take a walk, attended with the rest of the +ladies; and the Duke de Nemours went home to shut himself up in his +closet, not being able to support in public the ecstasy he was in on +having a picture of Madam de Cleves; he tasted everything that was +sweet in love; he was in love with the finest woman of the Court; he +found she loved him against her will, and saw in all her actions that +sort of care and embarrassment which love produces in young and +innocent hearts. + +At night great search was made for the picture; and having found the +case it used to be kept in, they never suspected it had been stolen but +thought it might have fallen out by chance. The Prince of Cleves was +very much concerned for the loss of it; and after having searched for +it a great while to no purpose, he told his wife, but with an air that +showed he did not think so, that without doubt she had some secret +lover, to whom she had given the picture, or who had stole it, and that +none but a lover would have been contented with the picture without the +case. + +These words, though spoke in jest, made a lively impression in the mind +of Madam de Cleves; they gave her remorse, and she reflected on the +violence of her inclination which hurried her on to love the Duke of +Nemours; she found she was no longer mistress of her words or +countenance; she imagined that Lignerolles was returned, that she had +nothing to fear from the affair of England, nor any cause to suspect +the Queen-Dauphin; in a word, that she had no refuge or defence against +the Duke de Nemours but by retiring; but as she was not at her liberty +to retire, she found herself in a very great extremity and ready to +fall into the last misfortune, that of discovering to the Duke the +inclination she had for him: she remembered all that her mother had +said to her on her death-bed, and the advice which she gave her, to +enter on any resolutions, however difficult they might be, rather than +engage in gallantry; she remembered also what Monsieur de Cleves had +told her, when he gave an account of Madam de Tournon; she thought she +ought to acknowledge to him the inclination she had for the Duke de +Nemours, and in that thought she continued a long time; afterwards she +was astonished to have entertained so ridiculous a design, and fell +back again into her former perplexity of not knowing what to choose. + +The peace was signed; and the Lady Elizabeth, after a great deal of +reluctance, resolved to obey the King her father. The Duke of Alva was +appointed to marry her in the name of the Catholic King, and was very +soon expected. The Duke of Savoy too, who was to marry the King's +sister, and whose nuptials were to be solemnised at the same time, was +expected every day. The King thought of nothing but how to grace these +marriages with such diversions as might display the politeness and +magnificence of his Court. Interludes and comedies of the best kind +were proposed, but the King thought those entertainments too private, +and desired to have somewhat of a more splendid nature: he resolved to +make a solemn tournament, to which strangers might be invited, and of +which the people might be spectators. The princes and young lords very +much approved the King's design, especially the Duke of Ferrara, +Monsieur de Guise, and the Duke de Nemours, who surpassed the rest in +these sorts of exercises. The King made choice of them to be together +with himself the four champions of the tournament. + +Proclamation was made throughout the kingdom, that on the 15th of June +in the City of Paris, his most Christian Majesty, and the Princes +Alphonso d'Ete Duke of Ferrara, Francis of Loraine Duke of Guise, and +James of Savoy Duke of Nemours would hold an open tournament against +all comers. The first combat to be on horse-back in the lists, with +double armour, to break four lances, and one for the ladies; the second +combat with swords, one to one, or two to two, as the judges of the +field should direct; the third combat on foot, three pushes of pikes, +and six hits with the sword. The champions to furnish lances, swords, +and pikes, at the choice of the combatants. Whoever did not manage his +horse in the carreer to be put out of the lists; four judges of the +field to give orders. The combatants who should break most lances and +perform best to carry the prize, the value whereof to be at the +discretion of the judges; all the combatants, as well French as +strangers, to be obliged to touch one or more, at their choice, of the +shields that should hang on the pillar at the end of the lists, where a +herald at arms should be ready to receive them, and enroll them +according to their quality, and the shields they had touched; the +combatants to be obliged to cause their shields and arms to be brought +by a gentleman and hung up at the pillar three days before the +tournament, otherwise not to be admitted without leave of the champions. + +A spacious list was made near the Bastille, which begun from the +Chateau des Tournelles and crossed the street of St. Anthony, and +extended as far as the King's stables; on both sides were built +scaffolds and amphitheatres, which formed a sort of galleries that made +a very fine sight, and were capable of containing an infinite number of +people. The princes and lords were wholly taken up in providing what +was necessary for a splendid appearance, and in mingling in their +cyphers and devices somewhat of gallantry that had relation to the +ladies they were in love with. + +A few days before the Duke of Alva's arrival, the King made a match at +tennis with the Duke de Nemours, the Chevalier de Guise, and the +Viscount de Chartres. The Queens came to see them play, attended with +the ladies of the Court, and among others Madam de Cleves. After the +game was ended, as they went out of the tennis court, Chatelart came up +to the Queen-Dauphin, and told her fortune had put into his hands a +letter of gallantry, that dropped out of the Duke de Nemours's pocket. +This Queen, who was always very curious in what related to the Duke, +bid Chatelart give her the letter; he did so, and she followed the +Queen her mother-in-law, who was going with the King to see them work +at the lists. After they had been there some time, the King caused +some horses to be brought that had been lately taken in, and though +they were not as yet thoroughly managed, he was for mounting one of +them, and ordered his attendants to mount others; the King and the Duke +de Nemours hit upon the most fiery and high mettled of them. The +horses were ready to fall foul on one another, when the Duke of +Nemours, for fear of hurting the King, retreated abruptly, and ran back +his horse against a pillar with so much violence that the shock of it +made him stagger. The company ran up to him, and he was thought +considerably hurt; but the Princess of Cleves thought the hurt much +greater than anyone else. The interest she had in it gave her an +apprehension and concern which she took no care to conceal; she came up +to him with the Queens, and with a countenance so changed, that one +less concerned than the Chevalier de Guise might have perceived it: +perceive it he immediately did, and was much more intent upon the +condition Madam de Cleves was in, than upon that of the Duke de +Nemours. The blow the Duke had given himself had so stunned him, that +he continued some time leaning his head on those who supported him; +when he raised himself up, he immediately viewed Madam de Cleves, and +saw in her face the concern she was in for him, and he looked upon her +in a manner which made her sense how much he was touched with it: +afterwards he thanked the Queens for the goodness they had expressed to +him, and made apologies for the condition he had been in before them; +and then the King ordered him to go to rest. + +Madam de Cleves, after she was recovered from the fright she had been +in, presently reflected on the tokens she had given of it. The +Chevalier de Guise did not suffer her to continue long in the hope that +nobody had perceived it, but giving her his hand to lead her out of the +lists: "I have more cause to complain, Madam," said he, "than the Duke +de Nemours; pardon me, if I forget for a moment that profound respect I +have always had for you, and show you how much my heart is grieved for +what my eyes have just seen; this is the first time I have ever been so +bold as to speak to you, and it will be the last. Death or at least +eternal absence will remove me from a place where I can live no longer, +since I have now lost the melancholy comfort I had of believing that +all who behold you with love are as unhappy as myself." + +Madam de Cleves made only a confused answer, as if she had not +understood what the Chevalier's words meant: at another time she would +have been offended if he had mentioned the passion he had for her; but +at this moment she felt nothing but the affliction to know that he had +observed the passion she had for the Duke de Nemours. The Chevalier de +Guise was so well convinced of it, and so pierced with grief, that from +that moment he took a resolution never to think of being loved by Madam +de Cleves; but that he might the better be able to quit a passion which +he had thought so difficult and so glorious, it was necessary to make +choice of some other undertaking worthy of employing him; he had his +view on Rhodes: the taking of which he had formerly had some idea of; +and when death snatched him away, in the flower of his youth, and at a +time when he had acquired the reputation of one of the greatest Princes +of his age, the only regret he had to part with life was, that he had +not been able to execute so noble a resolution, the success whereof he +thought infallible from the great care he had taken about it. + +Madam de Cleves, when she came out of the lists, went to the Queen's +apartment, with her thoughts wholly taken up with what had passed. The +Duke de Nemours came there soon after, richly dressed, and like one +wholly unsensible of the accident that had befallen him; he appeared +even more gay than usual, and the joy he was in for what he had +discovered, gave him an air that very much increased his natural +agreeableness. The whole Court was surprised when he came in; and +there was nobody but asked him how he did, except Madam de Cleves, who +stayed near the chimney pretending not to see him. The King coming out +of his closet, and seeing him among others called him to talk to him +about his late accident. The Duke passed by Madam de Cleves, and said +softly to her, "Madam, I have received this day some marks of your +pity, but they were not such as I am most worthy of." Madam de Cleves +suspected that he had taken notice of the concern she had been in for +him, and what he now said convinced her she was not mistaken; it gave +her a great deal of concern to find she was so little mistress of +herself as not to have been able to conceal her inclinations from the +Chevalier de Guise; nor was she the less concerned to see that the Duke +de Nemours was acquainted with them; yet this last grief was not so +entire, but there was a certain mixture of pleasure in it. + +The Queen-Dauphin, who was extremely impatient to know what there was +in the letter which Chatelart had given her, came up to Madam de +Cleves. "Go read this letter," says she; "'tis addressed to the Duke +de Nemours, and was probably sent him by the mistress for whom he has +forsaken all others; if you can't read it now, keep it, and bring it me +about bedtime and inform me if you know the hand." Having said this, +the Queen-Dauphin went away from Madam de Cleves, and left her in such +astonishment, that she was not able for some time to stir out of the +place. The impatience and grief she was in not permitting her to stay +at Court, she went home before her usual hour of retirement; she +trembled with the letter in her hand, her thoughts were full of +confusion, and she experienced I know not what of insupportable grief, +that she had never felt before. No sooner was she in her closet, but +she opened the letter and found it as follows: + +I have loved you too well to leave you in a belief that the change you +observe in me is an effect of lightness; I must inform you that your +falsehood is the cause of it; you will be surprised to hear me speak of +your falsehood; you have dissembled it with so much skill, and I have +taken so much care to conceal my knowledge of it from you, that you +have reason to be surprised at the discovery; I am myself in wonder, +that I have discovered nothing of it to you before; never was grief +equal to mine; I thought you had the most violent passion for me, I did +not conceal that which I had for you, and at the time that I +acknowledged it to you without reserve, I found that you deceived me, +that you loved another, and that in all probability I was made a +sacrifice to this new mistress. I knew it the day you run at the ring, +and this was the reason I was not there; at first I pretended an +indisposition in order to conceal my sorrow, but afterwards I really +fell into one, nor could a constitution delicate like mine support so +violent a shock. When I began to be better, I still counterfeited +sickness, that I might have an excuse for not seeing and for not +writing to you; besides I was willing to have time to come to a +resolution in what manner to deal with you; I took and quitted the same +resolution twenty times; but at last I concluded you deserved not to +see my grief, and I resolved not to show you the least mark of it. I +had a desire to bring down your pride, by letting you see, that my +passion for you declined of itself: I thought I should by this lessen +the value of the sacrifice you had made of me, and was loth you should +have the pleasure of appearing more amiable in the eyes of another, by +showing her how much I loved you; I resolved to write to you in a cold +and languishing manner, that she, to whom you gave my letters, might +perceive my love was at an end: I was unwilling she should have the +satisfaction of knowing I was sensible that she triumphed over me, or +that she should increase her triumph by my despair and complaints. I +thought I should punish you too little by merely breaking with you, and +that my ceasing to love you would give you but a slight concern, after +you had first forsaken me; I found it was necessary you should love me, +to feel the smart of not being loved, which I so severely experienced +myself; I was of opinion that if anything could rekindle that flame, it +would be to let you see that mine was extinguished, but to let you see +it through an endeavour to conceal it from you, as if I wanted the +power to acknowledge it to you: this resolution I adhered to; I found +it difficult to take, and when I saw you again I thought it impossible +to execute. I was ready a hundred times to break out into tears and +complaints; my ill state of health, which still continued, served as a +disguise to hide from you the affliction and trouble I was in; +afterward I was supported by the pleasure of dissembling with you, as +you had done with me; however it was doing so apparent a violence to +myself to tell you or to write to you that I loved you, that you +immediately perceived I had no mind to let you see my affection was +altered; you was touched with this, you complained of it; I endeavoured +to remove your fears, but it was done in so forced a manner, that you +were still more convinced by it, I no longer loved you; in short, I did +all I intended to do. The fantasticalness of your heart was such, that +you advanced towards me in proportion as you saw I retreated from you. +I have enjoyed all the pleasure which can arise from revenge; I plainly +saw, that you loved me more than you had ever done, and I showed you I +had no longer any love for you. I had even reason to believe that you +had entirely abandoned her, for whom you had forsaken me; I had ground +too to be satisfied you had never spoken to her concerning me; but +neither your discretion in that particular, nor the return of your +affection can make amends for your inconstancy; your heart has been +divided between me and another, and you have deceived me; this is +sufficient wholly to take from me the pleasure I found in being loved +by you, as I thought I deserved to be, and to confirm me in the +resolution I have taken never to see you more, which you are so much +surprised at. + + +Madam de Cleves read this letter, and read it over again several times, +without knowing at the same time what she had read; she saw only that +the Duke de Nemours did not love her as she imagined and that he loved +others who were no less deceived by him than she. What a discovery was +this for a person in her condition, who had a violent passion, who had +just given marks of it to a man whom she judged unworthy of it, and to +another whom she used ill for his sake! Never was affliction so +cutting as hers; she imputed the piercingness of it to what had +happened that day, and believed that if the Duke de Nemours had not had +ground to believe she loved him she should not have cared whether he +loved another or not; but she deceived herself, and this evil which she +found so insupportable was jealousy with all the horrors it can be +accompanied with. This letter discovered to her a piece of gallantry +the Duke de Nemours had been long engaged in; she saw the lady who +wrote it was a person of wit and merit, and deserved to be loved; she +found she had more courage than herself, and envied her the power she +had had of concealing her sentiments from the Duke de Nemours; by the +close of the letter, she saw this lady thought herself beloved, and +presently suspected that the discretion the Duke had showed in his +addresses to her, and which she had been so much taken with, was only +an effect of his passion for this other mistress, whom he was afraid of +disobliging; in short, she thought of everything that could add to her +grief and despair. What reflections did she not make on herself, and +on the advices her mother had given her I how did she repent, that she +had not persisted in her resolution of retiring, though against the +will of Monsieur de Cleves, or that she had not pursued her intentions +of acknowledging to him the inclination she had for the Duke of +Nemours! She was convinced, she would have done better to discover it +to a husband, whose goodness she was sensible of, and whose interest it +would have been to conceal it, than to let it appear to a man who was +unworthy of it, who deceived her, who perhaps made a sacrifice of her, +and who had no view in being loved by her but to gratify his pride and +vanity; in a word, she found, that all the calamities that could befall +her, and all the extremities she could be reduced to, were less than +that single one of having discovered to the Duke de Nemours that she +loved him, and of knowing that he loved another: all her comfort was to +think, that after the knowledge of this she had nothing more to fear +from herself, and that she should be entirely eased of the inclination +she had for the Duke. + +She never thought of the orders the Queen-Dauphin had given her, to +come to her when she went to rest: she went to bed herself, and +pretended to be ill; so that when Monsieur de Cleves came home from the +King, they told him she was asleep. But she was far from that +tranquillity which inclines to sleep; all the night she did nothing but +torment herself, and read over and over the letter in her hand. + +Madam de Cleves was not the only person whom this letter disturbed. +The Viscount de Chartres, who had lost it and not the Duke de Nemours, +was in the utmost inquietude about it. He had been that evening with +the Duke of Guise, who had given a great entertainment to the Duke of +Ferrara his brother-in-law, and to all the young people of the Court: +it happened that the discourse turned upon ingenious letters; and the +Viscount de Chartres said he had one about him the finest that ever was +writ: they urged him to show it, and on his excusing himself, the Duke +de Nemours insisted he had no such letter, and that what he said was +only out of vanity; the Viscount made him answer, that he urged his +discretion to the utmost, that nevertheless he would not show the +letter; but he would read some parts of it, which would make it appear +few men received the like. Having said this, he would have taken out +the letter, but could not find it; he searched for it to no purpose. +The company rallied him about it; but he seemed so disturbed, that they +forbore to speak further of it; he withdrew sooner than the others, and +went home with great impatience, to see if he had not left the letter +there. While he was looking for it, one of the Queen's pages came to +tell him, that the Viscountess d'Usez had thought it necessary to give +him speedy advice, that it was said at the Queen's Court, that he had +dropped a letter of gallantry out of his pocket while he was playing at +tennis; that great part of what the letter contained had been related, +that the Queen had expressed a great curiosity to see it, and had sent +to one of her gentlemen for it, but that he answered, he had given it +to Chatelart. + +The page added many other particulars which heightened the Viscount's +concern; he went out that minute to go to a gentleman who was an +intimate friend of Chatelart's; and though it was a very unseasonable +hour, made him get out of bed to go and fetch the letter, without +letting him know who it was had sent for it, or who had lost it. +Chatelart, who was prepossessed with an opinion that it belonged to the +Duke of Nemours, and that the Duke was in love with the Queen-Dauphin, +did not doubt but it was he who had sent to redemand it, and so +answered with a malicious sort of joy, that he had put the letter into +the Queen-Dauphin's hands. The gentleman brought this answer back to +the Viscount de Chartres, which increased the uneasiness he was under +already, and added new vexations to it: after having continued some +time in an irresolution what to do, he found that the Duke de Nemours +was the only person whose assistance could draw him out of this +intricate affair. + +Accordingly he went to the Duke's house, and entered his room about +break of day. What the Duke had discovered the day before with respect +to the Princess of Cleves had given him such agreeable ideas, that he +slept very sweetly; he was very much surprised to find himself waked by +the Viscount de Chartres, and asked him if he came to disturb his rest +so early, to be revenged of him for what he had said last night at +supper. The Viscount's looks soon convinced him, that he came upon a +serious business; "I am come," said he, "to entrust you with the most +important affair of my life; I know very well, you are not obliged to +me for the confidence I place in you, because I do it at a time when I +stand in need of your assistance; but I know likewise, that I should +have lost your esteem, if I had acquainted you with all I am now going +to tell you, without having been forced to it by absolute necessity: I +have dropped the letter I spoke of last night; it is of the greatest +consequence to me, that nobody should know it is addressed to me; it +has been seen by abundance of people, who were at the tennis court +yesterday when I dropped it; you was there too, and the favour I have +to ask you, is, to say it was you who lost it." "Sure you think," +replied the Duke de Nemours smiling, "that I have no mistress, by +making such a proposal, and that I have no quarrels or inconveniences +to apprehend by leaving it to be believed that I receive such letters." +"I beg you," said the Viscount, "to hear me seriously; if you have a +mistress, as I doubt not you have, though I do not know who she is, it +will be easy for you to justify yourself, and I'll put you into an +infallible way of doing it. As for you, though you should fail in +justifying yourself, it can cost you nothing but a short falling out; +but for my part, this accident affects me in a very different manner, I +shall dishonour a person who has passionately loved me, and is one of +the most deserving women in the world; on the other side, I shall draw +upon myself an implacable hatred that will ruin my fortune, and perhaps +proceed somewhat further." "I do not comprehend what you say," replied +the Duke de Nemours, "but I begin to see that the reports we have had +of your interest in a great Princess are not wholly without ground." +"They are not," replied the Viscount, "but I would to God they were: +you would not see me in the perplexity I am in; but I must relate the +whole affair to you, to convince you how much I have to fear. + +"Ever since I came to Court, the Queen has treated me with a great deal +of favour and distinction, and I had grounds to believe that she was +very kindly disposed towards me: there was nothing, however, particular +in all this, and I never presumed to entertain any thoughts of her but +what were full of respect; so far from it, that I was deeply in love +with Madam de Themines; anyone that sees her may easily judge, 'tis +very possible for one to be greatly in love with her, when one is +beloved by her, and so I was. About two years ago, the Court being at +Fontainebleau, I was two or three times in conversation with the Queen, +at hours when there were very few people in her apartment: it appeared +to me, that my turn of wit was agreeable to her, and I observed she +always approved what I said. One day among others she fell into a +discourse concerning confidence. I said there was nobody in whom I +entirely confided, that I found people always repented of having done +so, and that I knew a great many things of which I had never spoke: the +Queen told me, she esteemed me the more for it, that she had not found +in France anyone that could keep a secret, and that this was what had +embarrassed her more than anything else, because it had deprived her of +the pleasure of having a confidant; that nothing was so necessary in +life as to have somebody one could open one's mind to with safety, +especially for people of her rank. Afterwards she frequently resumed +the same discourse, and acquainted me with very particular +circumstances; at last I imagined she was desirous to learn my secrets, +and to entrust me with her own; this thought engaged me strictly to +her. I was so pleased with this distinction that I made my court to +her with greater assiduity than usual. One evening the King and the +ladies of the Court rode out to take the air in the forest, but the +Queen, being a little indisposed did not go; I stayed to wait upon her, +and she walked down to the pond-side, and dismissed her gentlemen +ushers, that she might be more at liberty. After she had taken a few +turns she came up to me, and bid me follow her; 'I would speak with +you,' says she, 'and by what I shall say you will see I am your +friend.' She stopped here, and looking earnestly at me; 'You are in +love,' continued she, 'and because perhaps you have made nobody your +confidant, you think that your love is not known; but it is known, and +even by persons who are interested in it: you are observed, the place +where you see your mistress is discovered, and there's a design to +surprise you; I don't know who she is, nor do I ask you to tell me, I +would only secure you from the misfortunes into which you may fall.' +See, I beseech you, what a snare the Queen laid for me, and how +difficult it was for me not to fall into it; she had a mind to know if +I was in love, and as she did not ask me who I was in love with, but +let me see her intention was only to serve me, I had no suspicion that +she spoke either out of curiosity or by design. + +"Nevertheless, contrary to all probability, I saw into the bottom of +the matter; I was in love with Madam de Themines, but though she loved +me again, I was not happy enough to have private places to see her in +without danger of being discovered there, and so I was satisfied she +could not be the person the Queen meant; I knew also, that I had an +intrigue with another woman less handsome and less reserved than Madam +de Themines, and that it was not impossible but the place where I saw +her might be discovered; but as this was a business I little cared for, +it was easy for me to guard against all sorts of danger by forbearing +to see her; I resolved therefore to acknowledge nothing of it to the +Queen, but to assure her on the contrary that I had a long time laid +aside the desire of gaining women's affections, even where I might hope +for success, because I found them all in some measure unworthy of +engaging the heart of an honourable man, and that it must be something +very much above them which could touch me. 'You do not answer me +ingenuously,' replied the Queen; 'I am satisfied of the contrary; the +free manner in which I speak to you ought to oblige you to conceal +nothing from me; I would have you,' continued she, 'be of the number of +my friends; but I would not, after having admitted you into that rank, +be ignorant of your engagements; consider, whether you think my +friendship will be too dear at the price of making me your confidant; I +give you two days to think on it; but then, consider well of the answer +you shall make me, and remember that if ever I find hereafter you have +deceived me, I shall never forgive you as long as I live.' + +"Having said this, the Queen left me without waiting for my answer; you +may imagine how full my thoughts were of what she had said to me; the +two days she had given me to consider of it I did not think too long a +time to come to a resolution; I found she had a mind to know if I was +in love, and that her desire was I should not be so; I foresaw the +consequences of what I was going to do, my vanity was flattered with +the thought of having a particular interest with the Queen, and a Queen +whose person is still extremely amiable; on the other hand, I was in +love with Madam de Themines, and though I had committed a petty treason +against her by my engagement with the other woman I told you of, I +could not find in my heart to break with her; I foresaw also the danger +I should expose myself to, if I deceived the Queen, and how hard it +would be to do it; nevertheless I could not resolve to refuse what +fortune offered me, and was willing to run the hazard of anything my +ill conduct might draw upon me; I broke with her with whom I kept a +correspondence that might be discovered, and was in hopes of concealing +that I had with Madam de Themines. + +"At the two days' end, as I entered the room where the Queen was with +all the ladies about her, she said aloud to me, and with a grave air +that was surprising enough, 'Have you thought of the business I charged +you with, and do you know the truth of it?' 'Yes, Madam,' answered I, +'and 'tis as I told your Majesty.' 'Come in the evening, when I am +writing,' replied she, 'and you shall have further orders.' I made a +respectful bow without answering anything, and did not fail to attend +at the hour she had appointed me. I found her in the gallery, with her +secretary and one of her women. As soon as she saw me she came to me, +and took me to the other end of the gallery; 'Well,' says she, 'after +having considered thoroughly of this matter, have you nothing to say to +me, and as to my manner of treating you, does not it deserve that you +should deal sincerely with me?' 'It is, Madam,' answered I, 'because I +deal sincerely, that I have nothing more to say, and I swear to your +Majesty with all the respect I owe you, that I have no engagement with +any woman of the Court.' 'I will believe it,' replied the Queen, +'because I wish it; and I wish it, because I desire to have you +entirely mine, and because it would be impossible for me to be +satisfied with your friendship, if you were in love; one cannot confide +in those who are; one cannot be secure of their secrecy; they are too +much divided, and their mistresses have always the first place in their +thoughts, which does not suit at all with the manner in which I would +have you live with me: remember then, it is upon your giving me your +word that you have no engagement, that I choose you for my confidant; +remember, I insist on having you entirely to myself, and that you shall +have no friend of either sex but such as I shall approve, and that you +abandon every care but that of pleasing me; I'll not desire you to +neglect any opportunity for advancing your fortune; I'll conduct your +interests with more application than you can yourself, and whatever I +do for you, I shall think myself more than recompensed, if you answer +my expectations; I make choice of you, to open my heart's griefs to +you, and to have your assistance in softening them; you may imagine +they are not small; I bear in appearance without much concern the +King's engagement with the Duchess of Valentinois, but it is +insupportable to me; she governs the King, she imposes upon him, she +slights me, all my people are at her beck. The Queen, my +daughter-in-law, proud of her beauty, and the authority of her uncles, +pays me no respect. The Constable Montmorency is master of the King and +kingdom; he hates me, and has given proofs of his hatred, which I shall +never forget. The Mareschal de St. Andre is a bold young favourite, +who uses me no better than the others. The detail of my misfortunes +would move your pity; hitherto I have not dared to confide in anybody, +I confide in you, take care that I never repent it, and be my only +consolation.' The Queen blushed, when she had ended this discourse, +and I was so truly touched with the goodness she had expressed to me, +that I was going to throw myself at her feet: from that day she has +placed an entire confidence in me, she has done nothing without +advising with me, and the intimacy and union between us still subsists. + + + +III + +"In the meantime, however busy and full I was of my new engagement with +the Queen, I still kept fair with Madam de Themines by a natural +inclination which it was not in my power to conquer; I thought she +cooled in her love to me, and whereas, had I been prudent, I should +have made use of the change I observed in her for my cure, my love +redoubled upon it, and I managed so ill that the Queen got some +knowledge of this intrigue. Jealousy is natural to persons of her +nation, and perhaps she had a greater affection for me than she even +imagined herself; at least the report of my being in love gave her so +much uneasiness, that I thought myself entirely ruined with her; +however I came into favour again by virtue of submissions, false oaths, +and assiduity; but I should not have been able to have deceived her +long, had not Madam de Themines's change disengaged me from her against +my will; she convinced me she no longer loved me, and I was so +thoroughly satisfied of it, that I was obliged to give her no further +uneasiness, but to let her be quiet. Some time after she wrote me this +letter which I have lost; I learned from it, she had heard of the +correspondence I had with the other woman I told you of, and that that +was the reason of her change. As I had then nothing further left to +divide me, the Queen was well enough satisfied with me; but the +sentiments I have for her not being of a nature to render me incapable +of other engagements, and love not being a thing that depends on our +will, I fell in love with Madam de Martigues, of whom I was formerly a +great admirer, while she was with Villemontais, maid of honour to the +Queen-Dauphin; I have reason to believe she does not hate me; the +discretion I observe towards her, and which she does not wholly know +the reasons of, is very agreeable to her; the Queen has not the least +suspicion on her account, but she has another jealousy which is not +less troublesome; as Madam de Martigues is constantly with the +Queen-Dauphin, I go there much oftener than usual; the Queen imagines +that 'tis this Princess I am in love with; the Queen-Dauphin's rank, +which is equal to her own, and the superiority of her youth and beauty, +create a jealousy that rises even to fury, and fills her with a hatred +against her daughter-in-law that cannot be concealed. The Cardinal of +Loraine, who, I believe has been long aspiring to the Queen's favour, +and would be glad to fill the place I possess, is, under pretence of +reconciling the two Queens, become master of the differences between +them; I doubt not but he has discovered the true cause of the Queen's +anger, and I believe he does me all manner of ill offices, without +letting her see that he designs it. This is the condition my affairs +are in at present; judge what effect may be produced by the letter +which I have lost, and which I unfortunately put in my pocket with +design to restore it to Madam de Themines: if the Queen sees this +letter, she will know I have deceived her; and that almost at the very +same time that I deceived her for Madam de Themines, I deceived Madam +de Themines for another; judge what an idea this will give her of me, +and whether she will ever trust me again. If she does not see the +letter, what shall I say to her? She knows it has been given to the +Queen-Dauphin; she will think Chatelart knew that Queen's hand, and +that the letter is from her; she will fancy the person of whom the +letter expresses a jealousy, is perhaps herself; in short, there is +nothing which she may not think, and there is nothing which I ought not +to fear from her thoughts; add to this, that I am desperately in love +with Madam de Martigues, and that the Queen-Dauphin will certainly show +her this letter, which she will conclude to have been lately writ. +Thus shall I be equally embroiled both with the person I love most, and +with the person I have most cause to fear. Judge, after this, if I +have not reason to conjure you to say the letter is yours, and to beg +of you to get it out of the Queen-Dauphin's hands." + +"I am very well satisfied," answered the Duke de Nemours, "that one +cannot be in a greater embarrassment than that you are in, and it must +be confessed you deserve it; I have been accused of being inconstant in +my amours, and of having had several intrigues at the same time, but +you out-go me so far, that I should not so much as have dared to +imagine what you have undertaken; could you pretend to keep Madam de +Themines, and be at the same engaged with the Queen? did you hope to +have an engagement with the Queen, and be able to deceive her? she is +both an Italian and a Queen, and by consequence full of jealousy, +suspicion, and pride. As soon as your good fortune, rather than your +good conduct, had set you at liberty from an engagement you was +entangled in, you involved yourself in new ones, and you fancied that +in the midst of the Court you could be in love with Madam de Martigues +without the Queen's perceiving it: you could not have been too careful +to take from her the shame of having made the first advances; she has a +violent passion for you; you have more discretion than to tell it me, +and I than to ask you to tell it; it is certain she is jealous of you, +and has truth on her side." "And does it belong to you," interrupted +the Viscount, "to load me with reprimands, and ought not your own +experience to make you indulgent to my faults? However I grant I am to +blame; but think, I conjure you, how to draw me out of this +difficulty"; "I think you must go to the Queen-Dauphin as soon as she +is awake, and ask her for the letter, as if you had lost it." "I have +told you already," replied the Duke de Nemours, "that what you propose +is somewhat extraordinary, and that there are difficulties in it which +may affect my own particular interest; but besides, if this letter has +been seen to drop out of your pocket, I should think it would be hard +to persuade people that it dropped out of mine." "I thought I had told +you," replied the Viscount, "that the Queen-Dauphin had been informed +that you dropped it." "How," said the Duke de Nemours hastily, +apprehending the ill consequence this mistake might be of to him with +Madam de Cleves, "has the Queen-Dauphin been told I dropped the +letter?" "Yes," replied the Viscount, "she has been told so; and what +occasioned the mistake was, that there were several gentlemen of the +two Queens in a room belonging to the tennis court, where our clothes +were put up, when your servants and mine went together to fetch them; +then it was the letter fell out of the pocket; those gentlemen took it +up, and read it aloud; some believed it belonged to you, and others to +me; Chatelart, who took it, and to whom I have just sent for it, says, +he gave it to the Queen-Dauphin as a letter of yours; and those who +have spoken of it to the Queen have unfortunately told her it was mine; +so that you may easily do what I desire of you, and free me from this +perplexity." + +The Duke de Nemours had always had a great friendship for the Viscount +de Chartres, and the relation he bore to Madam de Cleves still made him +more dear to him; nevertheless he could not prevail with himself to run +the risk of her having heard of this letter, as of a thing in which he +was concerned; he fell into a deep musing, and the Viscount guessed +pretty near what was the subject of his meditations; "I plainly see," +said he, "that you are afraid of embroiling yourself with your +mistress, and I should almost fancy the Queen-Dauphin was she, if the +little jealousy you seem to have of Monsieur d'Anville did not take me +off from that thought; but be that as it will, it is not reasonable you +should sacrifice your repose to mine, and I'll put you in a way of +convincing her you love, that this letter is directed to me, and not to +you; here is a billet from Madam d'Amboise, who is a friend of Madam de +Themines, and was her confidant in the amour between her and me; in +this she desires me to send her Madam de Themines's letter, which I +have lost; my name is on the superscription, and the contents of the +billet prove, without question, that the letter she desires is the same +with that which has been found; I'll leave this billet in your hands, +and agree that you may show it to your mistress in your justification; +I conjure you not to lose a moment, but to go this morning to the +Queen-Dauphin." + +The Duke de Nemours promised the Viscount he would, and took Madam +d'Amboise's billet; nevertheless his design was not to see the +Queen-Dauphin; he thought more pressing business required his care; he +made no question, but she had already spoke of the letter to Madam de +Cleves, and could not bear that a person he loved so desperately, +should have ground to believe he had engagements with any other. + +He went to the Princess of Cleves as soon as he thought she might be +awake; and ordered her to be told, that, if he had not business of the +last consequence, he would not have desired the honour to see her at so +extraordinary an hour. Madam de Cleves was in bed, and her mind was +tossed to and fro by a thousand melancholy thoughts that she had had +during the night; she was extremely surprised to hear the Duke de +Nemours asked for her; the anxiety she was in made her presently +answer, that she was ill, and could not speak with him. + +The Duke was not at all shocked at this refusal; he thought it presaged +him no ill, that she expressed a little coldness at a time when she +might be touched with jealousy. He went to the Prince of Cleves's +apartment, and told him he came from that of his lady, and that he was +very sorry he could not see her, because he had an affair to +communicate to her of great consequence to the Viscount de Chartres; he +explained in few words to the Prince the importance of this business, +and the Prince immediately introduced him into his lady's chamber. Had +she not been in the dark, she would have found it hard to have +concealed the trouble and astonishment she was in to see the Duke de +Nemours introduced by her husband. Monsieur de Cleves told her the +business was about a letter, wherein her assistance was wanting for the +interest of the Viscount, that she was to consult with Monsieur de +Nemours what was to be done; and that as for him he was going to the +King, who had just sent for him. + +The Duke de Nemours had his heart's desire, in being alone with Madam +de Cleves; "I am come to ask you, Madam," said he, "if the +Queen-Dauphin has not spoke to you of a letter which Chatelart gave her +yesterday." "She said something to me of it," replied Madam de Cleves, +"but I don't see what relation this letter his to the interests of my +uncle, and I can assure you that he is not named in it." "It is true, +Madam," replied the Duke de Nemours, "he is not named in it but yet it +is addressed to him, and it very much imports him that you should get +it out of the Queen-Dauphin's hands." "I cannot comprehend," replied +the Princess, "how it should be of any consequence to him, if this +letter should be seen, nor what reason there is to redemand it in his +name." "If you please to be at leisure to hear me, Madam," said +Monsieur de Nemours, "I'll presently make you acquainted with the true +state of the thing, and inform you of matters of so great importance to +the Viscount, that I would not even have trusted the Prince of Cleves +with them, had I not stood in need of his assistance to have the honour +to see you." "I believe," said Madam de Cleves in a very unconcerned +manner, "that anything you may give yourself the trouble of telling me, +will be to little purpose; you had better go to the Queen-Dauphin, and +plainly tell her, without using these roundabout ways, the interest you +have in that letter, since she has been told, as well as I, that it +belongs to you." + +The uneasiness of mind which Monsieur de Nemours observed in Madam de +Cleves gave him the most sensible pleasure he ever knew, and lessened +his impatience to justify himself: "I don't know, Madam," replied he, +"what the Queen-Dauphin may have been told; but I am not at all +concerned in that letter; it is addressed to the Viscount." "I believe +so," replied Madam de Cleves, "but the Queen-Dauphin has heard to the +contrary, and she won't think it very probable that the Viscount's +letters should fall out of your pocket; you must therefore have some +reason, that I don't know of, for concealing the truth of this matter +from the Queen-Dauphin; I advise you to confess it to her." "I have +nothing to confess to her," says he, "the letter is not directed to me, +and if there be anyone that I would have satisfied of it, it is not the +Queen-Dauphin; but, Madam, since the Viscount's interest is nearly +concerned in this, be pleased to let me acquaint you with some matters +that are worthy of your curiosity." Madam de Cleves by her silence +showed her readiness to hear him, and he as succinctly as possible +related to her all he had just heard from the Viscount. Though the +circumstances were naturally surprising, and proper to create +attention, yet Madam de Cleves heard them with such coldness, that she +seemed either not to believe them true, or to think them indifferent to +her; she continued in this temper until the Duke de Nemours spoke of +Madam d'Amboise's billet, which was directed to the Viscount, and was a +proof of all he had been saying; as Madam de Cleves knew that this lady +was a friend of Madam de Themines, she found some probability in what +the Duke de Nemours had said, which made her think, that the letter +perhaps was not addressed to him; this thought suddenly, and in spite +of herself, drew her out of the coldness and indifferency she had until +then been in. The Duke having read the billet, which fully justified +him, presented it to her to read, and told her she might possibly know +the hand. She could not forbear taking it, and examining the +superscription to see if it was addressed to the Viscount de Chartres, +and reading it all over, that she might the better judge, if the letter +which was redemanded was the same with that she had in her hand. The +Duke de Nemours added whatever he thought proper to persuade her of it; +and as one is easily persuaded of the truth of what one wishes, he soon +convinced Madam de Cleves that he had no concern in the letter. + +She began now to reason with him concerning the embarrassment and +danger the Viscount was in, to blame his ill conduct, and to think of +means to help him: she was astonished at the Queen's proceedings, and +confessed to the Duke that she had the letter; in short, she no sooner +believed him innocent, but she discoursed with him with greater ease +and freedom, concerning what she would scarce before vouchsafe to hear; +they agreed that the letter should not be restored to the +Queen-Dauphin, for fear she should show it to Madam de Martigues, who +knew Madam de Themines's hand, and would easily guess, by the interest +she had in the Viscount, that it was addressed to him; they agreed +also, that they ought not to entrust the Queen-Dauphin with all that +concerned the Queen her mother-in-law. Madam de Cleves, under pretence +of serving her uncle, was pleased to be the Duke de Nemours's confidant +in the secrets he had imparted to her. + +The Duke would not have confined his discourse to the Viscount's +concerns, but from the liberty he had of free conversation with her, +would have assumed a boldness he had never yet done, had not a message +been brought in to Madam de Cleves, that the Queen-Dauphin had sent for +her. The Duke was forced to withdraw; he went to the Viscount to +inform him, that after he had left him, he thought it more proper to +apply to Madam de Cleves, his niece, than to go directly to the +Queen-Dauphin; he did not want reasons to make him approve what he had +done, and to give him hopes of good success. + +In the meantime Madam de Cleves dressed herself in all haste to go to +the Queen-Dauphin; she was no sooner entered her chamber, but she +called her to her, and whispered her, "I have been waiting for you +these two hours, and was never so perplexed about disguising a truth as +I have been this morning: the Queen has heard of the letter I gave you +yesterday, and believes it was the Viscount de Chartres that dropped +it; you know, she has some interest to be satisfied in it; she has been +in search for the letter, and has caused Chatelart to be asked for it; +who said he had given it to me; they have been to ask me for it, under +pretence it was an ingenious letter which the Queen had a curiosity to +see; I durst not say that you had it, for fear she should think I had +given it you on your uncle the Viscount's account, and that there was a +correspondence between him and me. I was already satisfied that his +seeing me so often gave her uneasiness, so that I said the letter was +in the clothes I had on yesterday, and that those who had them in +keeping were gone abroad; give me the letter immediately," added she, +"that I may send it her, and that I may read it before I send it to see +if I know the hand." + +Madam de Cleves was harder put to it than she expected; "I don't know, +Madam, what you will do," answered she, "for Monsieur de Cleves, to +whom I gave it to read, returned it to the Duke of Nemours, who came +early this morning to beg him to get it of you. Monsieur de Cleves had +the imprudence to tell him he had it, and the weakness to yield to the +entreaties the Duke de Nemours made that he would restore it him." +"You throw me into the greatest embarrassment I can possibly be in," +replied the Queen-Dauphin; "and you have given this letter to the Duke +de Nemours. Since it was I that gave it you, you ought not to have +restored it without my leave; what would you have me say to the Queen, +and what can she imagine? She will think, and not without reason, that +this letter concerns myself, and that there is something between the +Viscount and me; she will never be persuaded the letter belonged to the +Duke de Nemours." "I am very much concerned," replied Madam de Cleves, +"for the misfortune I have occasioned, and I believe the difficulty I +have brought you into is very great; but 'twas Monsieur de Cleves's +fault, and not mine." "You are in fault," replied the Queen-Dauphin, +"for having given him the letter; and I believe you are the only woman +in the world that acquaints her husband with all she knows." "I +acknowledge myself in fault, Madam," replied the Princess of Cleves, +"but let us rather think of preventing the consequences of what I have +done, than insist on the fault itself." "Do you remember, pretty near, +what the letter contains?" says the Queen-Dauphin. "Yes, Madam, I do," +replied she, "for I have read it over more than once." "If so," said +the Queen-Dauphin, "you must immediately get it written out in an +unknown hand, and I'll send it to the Queen; she'll not show it those +who have seen it already; and though she should, I'll stand in it, that +it is the same Chatelart gave me; and he'll not dare to say otherwise." + +Madam de Cleves approved of this expedient, and the more because it +gave her an opportunity of sending for the Duke de Nemours, to have the +letter itself again, in order to have it copied word for word, +imitating as near as may be the hand it was written in, and she thought +this would effectually deceive the Queen. As soon as she was got home, +she informed her husband of what had passed between her and the +Queen-Dauphin, and begged him to send for the Duke de Nemours. The +Duke was sent for, and came immediately; Madam de Cleves told him all +she had told her husband, and asked for the letter; but the Duke +answered, that he had already returned it to the Viscount de Chartres, +who was so overjoyed upon having it again, and being freed from the +danger he was in, that he sent it immediately to Madam de Themines's +friend. Madam de Cleves was in a new embarrassment on this occasion: +in short, after having consulted together, they resolved to form the +letter by memory; and, in order to go about it, they locked themselves +up, and left orders that nobody should be admitted, and that all the +Duke de Nemours's attendants should be sent away. Such an appearance +of secret confidence was no small charm to Monsieur de Nemours, and +even to Madam de Cleves; her husband's presence, and the interests of +her uncle the Viscount de Chartres, were considerations which in great +measure removed her scruples, and made this opportunity of seeing and +being with the Duke de Nemours so agreeable to her, that she never +before experienced a joy so pure and free from allay; this threw her +into a freedom and gaiety of spirit which the Duke had never observed +in her till now, and which made him still more passionately in love +with her: as he had never known such agreeable moments, his vivacity +was much heightened; and whenever Madam de Cleves was beginning to +recollect and write the letter, instead of assisting her seriously, did +nothing but interrupt her with wit and pleasantry. Madam de Cleves was +as gay as he, so that they had been locked up a considerable time, and +two messages had come from the Queen-Dauphin to hasten Madam de Cleves, +before they had half finished the letter. + +The Duke de Nemours was glad to prolong the time that was so agreeable +to him, and neglected the concerns of his friend; Madam de Cleves was +not at all tired, and neglected also the concerns of her uncle: at +last, with much ado, about four o'clock the letter was finished, and +was so ill done, and the copy so unlike the original, as to the +handwriting, that the queen must have taken very little care to come at +the truth of the matter, if she had been imposed on by so ill a +counterfeit. Accordingly she was not deceived; and however industrious +they were to persuade her, that this letter was addressed to the Duke +de Nemours, she remained satisfied not only that it was addressed to +the Viscount de Chartres, but that the Queen-Dauphin was concerned in +it, and that there was a correspondence between them; this heightened +her hatred against that Princess to such a degree, that she never +forgave her, and never ceased persecuting her till she had driven her +out of France. + +As for the Viscount de Chartres, his credit was entirely ruined with +her; and whether the Cardinal of Loraine had already insinuated himself +so far into her esteem as to govern her, or whether the accident of +this letter, which made it appear that the Viscount had deceived her, +enabled her to discover the other tricks he had played her, it is +certain he could never after entirely reconcile himself to her; their +correspondence was broke off, and at length she ruined him by means of +the conspiracy of Amboise, in which he was involved. + +After the letter was sent to the Queen-Dauphin, Monsieur de Cleves and +Monsieur de Nemours went away; Madam de Cleves continued alone, and +being no longer supported by the joy which the presence of what one +loves gives one, she seemed like one newly waked from a dream; she +beheld, with astonishment, the difference between the condition she was +in the night before, and that she was in at this time: she called to +mind, how cold and sullen she was to the Duke de Nemours, while she +thought Madam de Themines's letter was addressed to him, and how calm +and sweet a situation of mind succeeded that uneasiness, as soon as he +was satisfied he was not concerned in that letter; when she reflected, +that she reproached herself as guilty for having given him the +foregoing day only some marks of sensibility, which mere compassion +might have produced, and that by her peevish humour this morning, she +had expressed such a jealousy as was a certain proof of passion, she +thought she was not herself; when she reflected further, that the Duke +de Nemours saw plainly that she knew he was in love with her, and that, +notwithstanding her knowing it, she did not use him the worse for it, +even in her husband's presence; but that, on the contrary, she had +never behaved so favourably to him; when she considered, she was the +cause of Monsieur de Cleves's sending for him, and that she had just +passed an afternoon in private with him; when she considered all this, +she found, there was something within her that held intelligence with +the Duke de Nemours, and that she deceived a husband who least deserved +it; and she was ashamed to appear so little worthy of esteem, even in +the eyes of her lover; but what she was able to support less than all +the rest was, the remembrance of the condition in which she spent the +last night, and the pricking griefs she felt from a suspicion that the +Duke de Nemours was in love with another, and that she was deceived by +him. + +Never till then was she acquainted with the dreadful inquietudes that +flow from jealousy and distrust; she had applied all her cares to +prevent herself from falling in love with the Duke de Nemours, and had +not before had any fear of his being in love with another: though the +suspicions which this letter had given her were effaced, yet they left +her sensible of the hazard there was of being deceived, and gave her +impressions of distrust and jealousy which she had never felt till that +time; she was surprised that she had never yet reflected how improbable +it was that a man of the Duke de Nemours's turn, who had showed so much +inconstancy towards women, should be capable of a lasting and sincere +passion; she thought it next to impossible for her to be convinced of +the truth of his love; "But though I could be convinced of it," says +she, "what have I to do in it? Shall I permit it? Shall I make a +return? Shall I engage in gallantry, be false to Monsieur de Cleves, +and be false to myself? In a word, shall I go to expose myself to the +cruel remorses and deadly griefs that rise from love? I am subdued and +vanquished by a passion, which hurries me away in spite of myself; all +my resolutions are vain; I had the same thoughts yesterday that I have +today, and I act today contrary to what I resolved yesterday; I must +convey myself out of the sight of the Duke de Nemours; I must go into +the country, however fantastical my journey may appear; and if Monseur +de Cleves is obstinately bent to hinder me, or to know my reasons for +it, perhaps I shall do him and myself the injury to acquaint him with +them." She continued in this resolution, and spent the whole evening +at home, without going to the Queen-Dauphin to enquire what had +happened with respect to the counterfeited letter. + +When the Prince of Cleves returned home, she told him she was resolved +to go into the country; that she was not very well, and had occasion to +take the air. Monsieur de Cleves, to whom she appeared so beautiful +that he could not think her indisposition very considerable, at first +made a jest of her design, and answered that she had forgot that the +nuptials of the Princesses and the tournament were very near, and that +she had not too much time to prepare matters so as to appear there as +magnificently as other ladies. What her husband said did not make her +change her resolution, and she begged he would agree, that while he was +at Compiegne with the King, she might go to Colomiers, a pretty house +then building, within a day's journey of Paris. Monsieur de Cleves +consented to it; she went thither with a design of not returning so +soon, and the King set out for Compiegne, where he was to stay but few +days. + +The Duke de Nemours was mightily concerned he had not seen Madam de +Cleves since that afternoon which he had spent so agreeably with her, +and which had increased his hopes; he was so impatient to see her again +that he could not rest; so that when the King returned to Paris, the +Duke resolved to go to see his sister the Duchess de Mercoeur, who was +at a country seat of hers very near Colomiers; he asked the Viscount to +go with him, who readily consented to it. The Duke de Nemours did this +in hopes of visiting Madam de Cleves, in company of the Viscount. + +Madam de Mercoeur received them with a great deal of joy, and thought +of nothing but giving them all the pleasures and diversions of the +country; one day, as they were hunting a stag, the Duke de Nemours lost +himself in the forest, and upon enquiring his way was told he was near +Colomiers; at that word, Colomiers, without further reflection, or so +much as knowing what design he was upon, he galloped on full speed the +way that had been showed him; as he rode along he came by chance to the +made-ways and walks, which he judged led to the castle: at the end of +these walks he found a pavilion, at the lower end of which was a large +room with two closets, the one opening into a flower-garden, and the +other looking into a spacious walk in the park; he entered the +pavilion, and would have stopped to observe the beauty of it, if he had +not seen in the walk the Prince and Princess of Cleves, attended with a +numerous train of their domestics. As he did not expect to meet +Monsieur de Cleves there, whom he had left with the King, he thought at +first of hiding himself; he entered the closet which looked into the +flower-garden, with design to go out that way by a door which opened to +the forest; but observing Madam de Cleves and her husband were sat down +under the pavilion, and that their attendants stayed in the park, and +could not come to him without passing by the place where Monsieur and +Madam de Cleves were, he could not deny himself the pleasure of seeing +this Princess, nor resist the curiosity he had to hear her conversation +with a husband, who gave him more jealousy than any of his rivals. He +heard Monsieur de Cleves say to his wife, "But why will you not return +to Paris? What can keep you here in the country? You have of late +taken a fancy for solitude, at which I am both surprised and concerned, +because it deprives me of your company: I find too, you are more +melancholy than usual, and I am afraid you have some cause of grief." +"I have nothing to trouble my mind," answered she with an air of +confusion, "but there is such a bustle at Court, and such a multitude +of people always at your house, that it is impossible but both body and +mind should be fatigued, and one cannot but desire repose." "Repose," +answered he, "is not very proper for one of your age; you are at home, +and at Court, in such a manner as cannot occasion weariness, and I am +rather afraid you desire to live apart from me." "You would do me +great wrong to think so," replied she with yet more confusion, "but I +beg you to leave me here; if you could stay here, and without company, +I should be very glad of it; nothing would be more agreeable to me than +your conversation in this retirement, provided you would approve not to +have about you that infinite number of people, who in a manner never +leave you." "Ah! Madam," cries Monsieur de Cleves, "both your looks +and words convince me that you have reasons to desire to be alone, +which I don't know; I conjure you to tell them me." He urged her a +great while to inform him, without being able to oblige her to it; and +after she had excused herself in a manner which still increased her +husband's curiosity, she continued in a deep silence, with her eyes +cast down then, taking up the discourse on a sudden, and looking upon +him, "Force me not," said she, "to confess a thing to you which I have +not the power to confess, though I have often designed it; remember +only, that it is not prudent a woman of my years, and mistress of her +own conduct, should remain exposed in the midst of a Court." "What is +it, Madam," cried Monsieur de Cleves, "that you lead me to imagine? I +dare not speak it, for fear of offending you." Madam de Cleves making +no answer, her silence confirmed her husband in what he thought; "You +say nothing to me," says he, "and that tells me clearly, that I am not +mistaken." "Alas, sir," answered she, falling on her knees, "I am +going to make a confession to you, such as no woman ever yet made to +her husband; but the innocence of my intentions, and of my conduct, +give me power to do it; it is true, I have reasons to absent myself +from Court, and I would avoid the dangers persons of my age are +sometimes liable to; I have never shown any mark of weakness, and I +cannot apprehend I ever shall, if you will permit me to retire from +Court, since now I have not Madam de Chartres to assist me in my +conduct; however dangerous a step I am taking, I take it with pleasure +to preserve myself worthy of you; I ask you a thousand pardons, if I +have sentiments which displease you, at least I will never displease +you by my actions; consider, that to do what I do, requires more +friendship and esteem for a husband than ever wife had; direct my +conduct, have pity on me, and if you can still love me." + +Monsieur de Cleves, all the while she spoke, continued leaning his head +on his hand, almost beside himself, and never thought of raising her +up. When she had done speaking, and he cast his eyes upon her, and saw +her on her knees with her face drowned in tears, inimitably beautiful, +he was ready to die for grief, and taking her up in his arms, "Have you +pity on me, Madam," says he, "for I deserve it, and pardon me, if in +the first moments of an affliction so violent as mine, I do not answer +as I ought to so generous a proceeding as yours; I think you more +worthy of esteem and admiration than any woman that ever was, but I +find myself also the most unfortunate of men: you inspired me with +passion the first moment I saw you, and that passion has never decayed; +not your coldness, nor even enjoyment itself, has been able to +extinguish it; it still continues in its first force, and yet it has +not been in my power to kindle in your breast any spark of love for me, +and now I find you fear you have an inclination for another; and who is +he, Madam, this happy man that gives you such apprehensions? How long +has he charmed you? What has he done to charm you? What method has he +taken to get into your heart? When I could not gain your affections +myself, it was some comfort to me to think, that no other could gain +them; in the meantime, another has effected what I could not, and I +have at once the jealousy of a husband and lover. But it is impossible +for me to retain that of a husband after such a proceeding on your +part, which is too noble and ingenuous not to give me an entire +security; it even comforts me as a lover; the sincerity you have +expressed, and the confidence you have placed in me are of infinite +value: you have esteem enough for me to believe I shall not abuse the +confession you have made to me; you are in the right, Madam, I will not +abuse it, or love you the less for it; you make me unhappy by the +greatest mark of fidelity ever woman gave her husband; but go on, +Madam, and inform me who he is whom you would avoid." "I beg you not +to ask me," replied she; "I am resolved not to tell you, nor do I think +it prudent to name him." "Fear not, Madam," replied Monsieur de +Cleves, "I know the world too well to be ignorant that a woman's having +a husband does not hinder people from being in love with her; such +lovers may be the objects of one's hatred, but we are not to complain +of it; once again, Madam, I conjure you to tell me what I so much +desire to know." "It is in vain to press me," replied she, "I have the +power to be silent in what I think I ought not to tell; the confession +I made to you was not owing to any weakness, and it required more +courage to declare such a truth than it would have done to conceal it." + +The Duke de Nemours did not lose a word of this conversation, and what +Madam de Cleves had said gave him no less jealousy than her husband; he +was so desperately in love with her, that he believed all the world was +so too; it is true, he had many rivals, yet he fancied them still more, +and his thoughts wandered to find out who it was Madam de Cleves meant: +he had often thought he was not disagreeable to her, but the grounds of +his judgment on this occasion appeared so slight, that he could not +imagine he had raised in her heart a passion violent enough to oblige +her to have recourse to so extraordinary a remedy; he was so +transported, that he scarce knew what he saw, and he could not pardon +Monsieur de Cleves for not having pressed his wife enough to tell him +the name of the person she concealed from him. + +Monsieur de Cleves nevertheless used his utmost endeavours to know it; +and having urged her very much on the subject; "I think," answered she, +"that you ought to be satisfied with my sincerity; ask me no more about +it, and don't give me cause to repent of what I have done; content +yourself with the assurance which I once more give you, that my +sentiments have never appeared by any of my actions, and that no +address hath been made to me that could give me offence." "Ah! Madam," +replied Monsieur de Cleves on a sudden, "I cannot believe it; I +remember the confusion you was in when your picture was lost; you have +given away, Madam, you have given away that picture, which was so dear +to me, and which I had so just a right to; you have not been able to +conceal your inclinations, you are in love; it is known; your virtue +has hitherto saved you from the rest." "Is it possible," cried Madam +de Cleves, "you can imagine there was any reserve or disguise in a +confession like mine, which I was no way obliged to? Take my word, I +purchase dearly the confidence I desire of you; I conjure you to +believe I have not given away my picture; it is true, I saw it taken, +but I would not seem to see it, for fear of subjecting myself to hear +such things as no one has yet dared to mention to me." "How do you +know then that you are loved," said Monsieur de Cleves? "What mark, +what proof of it has been given you?" "Spare me the pain," replied +she, "of repeating to you circumstances which I am ashamed to have +observed, and which have convinced me but too much of my own weakness." +"You are in the right, Madam," answered he, "I am unjust; always refuse +me when I ask you such things, and yet don't be angry with me for +asking them." + +Just then several of the servants, who had stayed in the walks, came to +acquaint Monsieur de Cleves, that a gentleman was arrived from the +King, with orders for him to be at Paris that evening. Monsieur de +Cleves was obliged to go, and had only time to tell his wife that he +desired her to come to Paris the next day; and that he conjured her to +believe, that however afflicted he was, he had a tenderness and esteem +for her, with which she ought to be satisfied. + +When he was gone, and Madam de Cleves being alone, considered what she +had done, she was so frightened at the thought of it, she could hardly +believe it to be true. She found she had deprived herself of the heart +and esteem of her husband, and was involved in a labyrinth she should +never get out of; she asked herself why she had ventured on so +dangerous a step, and perceived she was engaged in it almost without +having designed it; the singularity of such a confession, for which she +saw no precedent, made her fully sensible of her danger. + +But on the other hand, when she came to think that this remedy, however +violent it was, was the only effectual one she could make use of +against Monsieur de Nemours, she found she had no cause to repent, or +to believe she had ventured too far; she passed the whole night full of +doubts, anxiety and fear; but at last her spirits grew calm again; she +even felt a pleasure arise in her mind, from a sense of having given +such a proof of fidelity to a husband who deserved it so well, who had +so great a friendship and esteem for her, and had so lately manifested +it by the manner in which he received the confession she had made him. + +In the meantime Monsieur de Nemours was gone away from the place, in +which he had overheard a conversation which so sensibly affected him, +and was got deep into the forest; what Madam de Cleves said of her +picture had revived him, since it was certain from thence that he was +the person she had an inclination for; at first he gave a leap of joy, +but his raptures were at an end as soon as he began to reflect, that +the same thing that convinced him he had touched the heart of Madam de +Cleves, ought to convince him also that he should never receive any +marks of it, and that it would be impossible to engage a lady who had +recourse to so extraordinary a remedy; and yet he could not but be +sensibly pleased to have reduced her to that extremity; he thought it +glorious for him to have gained the affections of a woman so different +from the rest of her sex; in a word, he thought himself very happy and +very unhappy at the same time. He was benighted in the forest, and was +very much put to it to find his way again to his sister's the Duchess +of Mercoeur; he arrived there at break of day, and was extremely at a +loss what account to give of his absence, but he made out the matter as +well as he could, and returned that very day to Paris with the Viscount. + +The Duke was so taken up with his passion, and so surprised at the +conversation he had heard, that he fell into an indiscretion very +common, which is, to speak one's own particular sentiments in general +terms, and to relate one's proper adventures under borrowed names. As +they were travelling he began to talk of love, and exaggerated the +pleasure of being in love with a person that deserved it; he spoke of +the fantastical effects of this passion, and at last not being able to +contain within himself the admiration he was in at the action of Madam +de Cleves, he related it to the Viscount without naming the person, or +owning he had any share in it; but he told it with so much warmth and +surprise, that the Viscount easily suspected the story concerned +himself. The Viscount urged him very much to confess it, and told him +he had known a great while that he was violently in love, and that it +was unjust in him to show a distrust of a man who had committed to him +a secret on which his life depended. The Duke de Nemours was too much +in love to own it, and had always concealed it from the Viscount, +though he valued him the most of any man at Court; he answered that one +of his friends had told him this adventure, and made him promise not to +speak of it; and he also conjured the Viscount to keep the secret: the +Viscount assured him he would say nothing of it but notwithstanding +Monsieur de Nemours repented that he had told him so much. + +In the meantime Monsieur de Cleves was gone to the King, with a heart +full of sorrow and affliction. Never had husband so violent a passion +for his wife, or so great an esteem; what she had told him did not take +away his esteem of her, but made it of a different nature from that he +had had before; what chiefly employed his thoughts, was a desire to +guess who it was that had found out the secret to win her heart; the +Duke de Nemours was the first person he thought of on this occasion, as +being the handsomest man at Court; and the Chevalier de Guise, and the +Mareschal de St. Andre occurred next, as two persons who had made it +their endeavour to get her love, and who were still very assiduous in +courting her, so that he was fully persuaded it must be one of the +three. He arrived at the Louvre, and the King carried him into his +closet to inform him he had made choice of him to conduct Madame into +Spain, and that he believed nobody could acquit himself better of that +charge, nor that any lady would do France greater honour than Madam de +Cleves. Monsieur de Cleves received the honour the King had done him +by this choice with the respect he ought, and he considered it also as +what would take his wife from Court, without leaving room to suspect +any change in her conduct; but the embarrassment he was under required +a speedier remedy than that journey, which was to be deferred a great +while, could afford; he immediately wrote to Madam de Cleves to +acquaint her with what the King had told him, and gave her to +understand he absolutely expected she should return to Paris. She +returned according to his orders, and when they met, they found one +another overwhelmed with melancholy. + +Monsieur de Cleves spoke to her, as a man of the greatest honour in the +world, and the best deserving the confidence she had reposed in him; "I +am not alarmed as to your conduct," said he, "you have more strength +and virtue than you imagine; I am not alarmed with fears of what may +happen hereafter; what troubles me is that I see you have those +sentiments for another which you want for me." "I don't know what to +answer you," said she, "I die with shame when I speak of this subject +spare me, I conjure you, such cruel conversations; regulate my conduct, +and never let me see anybody; this is all I desire of you; but take it +not ill of me, if I speak no more of a thing which makes me appear so +little worthy of you, and which I think so unbecoming me." "You are in +the right, Madam;" replied he, "I abuse your goodness and your +confidence in me; but have some compassion also on the condition you +have brought me to, and think that whatever you have told me, you +conceal from me a name, which creates in me a curiosity I cannot live +without satisfying; and yet I ask you not to satisfy it; I cannot, +however, forbear telling you, that I believe the man I am to envy is +the Mareschal de St. Andre, the Duke de Nemours, or the Chevalier de +Guise." "I shall make you no answer," says she blushing, "nor give you +any ground from what I say, either to lessen or strengthen your +suspicions; but if you endeavour to inform yourself by observing me, +you will throw me into a confusion all the world will take notice of, +for God's sake," continued she, "allow me under pretence of an +indisposition to see nobody." "No, Madam," said he, "it will quickly +be discovered to be a feigned business; and besides, I am unwilling to +trust you to anything but yourself; my heart tells me this is the best +way I can take, and my reason tells me so also, considering the temper +of mind you are in, I cannot put a greater restraint upon you than by +leaving you to your liberty." + +Monsieur de Cleves was not mistaken; the confidence he showed he had in +his wife, fortified her the more against Monsieur de Nemours, and made +her take more severe resolutions than any restraint could have brought +her to. She went to wait on the Queen-Dauphin at the Louvre as she +used to do, but avoided the presence and eyes of Monsieur de Nemours +with so much care, that she deprived him of almost all the joy he had +in thinking she loved him; he saw nothing in her actions but what +seemed to show the contrary; he scarcely knew if what he had heard was +not a dream, so very improbable it seemed to him; the only thing which +assured him that he was not mistaken, was Madam de Cleves's extreme +melancholy, which appeared, whatever pains she took to hide it; and +perhaps kind words and looks would not have increased the Duke of +Nemours's love so much as this severe conduct did. + +One evening, as Monsieur and Madam de Cleves were at the Queen's +apartment, it was said there was a report that the King would name +another great lord to wait on Madame into Spain. Monsieur de Cleves +had his eye fixed on his wife, when it was further said, the Chevalier +de Guise, or the Mareschal de St. Andre, was the person; he observed +she was not at all moved at either of those names, nor the discourse of +their going along with her; this made him believe, it was not either of +them whose presence she feared. In order to clear up his suspicions, +he went into the Queen's closet, where the King then was, and after +having stayed there some time came back to his wife, and whispered her, +that he had just heard the Duke de Nemours was the person designed to +go along with them to Spain. + +The name of the Duke de Nemours, and the thought of being exposed to +see him every day, during a very long journey, in her husband's +presence, so affected Madam de Cleves, that she could not conceal her +trouble: and being willing to give other reasons for it, "No choice," +says she, "could have been made more disagreeable for you; he will +share all honours with you, and I think you ought to endeavour to get +some other chosen." "It is not honour, Madam," replied Monsieur de +Cleves, "that makes you apprehensive of the Duke de Nemours's going +with me, the uneasiness you are in proceeds from another cause; and +from this uneasiness of yours I learn, that which I should have +discovered in another woman, by the joy she would have expressed on +such an occasion; but be not afraid; what I have told you is not true, +it was an invention of mine to assure myself of a thing which I already +believed but too much." + +Having said this, he went out, being unwilling to increase, by his +presence, the concern he saw his wife in. + +The Duke de Nemours came in that instant, and presently observed Madam +de Cleves's condition; he came up to her, and told her softly, he had +that respect for her, he durst not ask what it was made her more +pensive than usual. The voice of the Duke de Nemours brought her to +herself again, and looking at him, without having heard what he had +said to her, full of her own thoughts, and afraid lest her husband +should see him with her, "For God's sake," says she, "leave me to +myself in quiet." "Alas, Madam," answered he, "I disturb you too +little; what is it you can complain of? I dare not speak to you, I +dare not look upon you, I tremble whenever I approach you. How have I +drawn upon myself what you have said to me, and why do you show me that +I am in part the cause of the trouble I see you in?" Madam de Cleves +was very sorry to have given the Duke an opportunity of explaining +himself more clearly than ever he had done before; she left him without +making any answer, and went home with her mind more agitated than ever. +Her husband perceived her concern was increased, and that she was +afraid he would speak to her of what had passed, and followed her into +her closet; "Do not shun me, Madam," says he, "I will say nothing to +you that shall displease you; I ask pardon for the surprise I gave you +a while ago; I am sufficiently punished by what I have learnt from it; +the Duke de Nemours was of all men he whom I most feared; I see the +danger you are in; command yourself for your own sake, and, if it is +possible, for mine; I do not ask this of you as a husband, but as a man +whose happiness wholly depends on you, and who loves you more violently +and more tenderly than he whom your heart prefers to me." Monsieur de +Cleves was melted upon speaking these words, and could scarce make an +end of them; his wife was so moved, she burst into tears, and embraced +him with a tenderness and sorrow that put him into a condition not very +different from her own; they continued silent a while, and parted +without having the power to speak to one another. + +All things were ready for the marriage of Madame, and the Duke of Alva +was arrived to espouse her; he was received with all the ceremony and +magnificence that could be displayed on such an occasion; the King sent +to meet him the Prince of Conde, the Cardinals of Loraine and Guise, +the Dukes of Loraine and Ferrara, d'Aumale, de Bouillon, de Guise, and +de Nemours; they had a great number of gentlemen, and a great many +pages in livery; the King himself, attended with two hundred gentlemen, +and the Constable at their head, received the Duke of Alva at the first +gate of the Louvre; the Duke would have kneeled down, but the King +refused it, and made him walk by his side to the Queen's apartment, and +to Madame's, to whom the Duke of Alva had brought a magnificent present +from his master; he went thence to the apartment of Madam Margaret the +King's sister, to compliment her on the part of the Duke of Savoy, and +to assure her he would arrive in a few days; there were great +assemblies at the Louvre, the show the Duke of Alva, and the Prince of +Orange who accompanied him, the beauties of the Court. + +Madam de Cleves could not dispense with going to these assemblies, +however desirous she was to be absent, for fear of disobliging her +husband, who absolutely commanded her to be there; and what yet more +induced her to it, was the absence of the Duke de Nemours; he was gone +to meet the Duke of Savoy, and after the arrival of that Prince, he was +obliged to be almost always with him, to assist him in everything +relating to the ceremonies of the nuptials; for this reason Madam de +Cleves did not meet him so often as she used to do, which gave her some +sort of ease. + +The Viscount de Chartres had not forgot the conversation he had had +with the Duke de Nemours: it still ran in his mind that the adventure +the Duke had related to him was his own; and he observed him so +carefully that it is probable he would have unravelled the business, if +the arrival of the Duke of Alva and of the Duke of Savoy had not made +such an alteration in the Court, and filled it with so much business, +as left no opportunities for a discovery of that nature; the desire he +had to get some information about it, or rather the natural disposition +one has to relate all one knows to those one loves, made him acquaint +Madam de Martigues with the extraordinary action of that person who had +confessed to her husband the passion she had for another; he assured +her the Duke de Nemours was the man who had inspired so violent a love, +and begged her assistance in observing him. Madam de Martigues was +glad to hear what the Viscount told her, and the curiosity she had +always observed in the Queen-Dauphin for what concerned the Duke de +Nemours made her yet more desirous to search into the bottom of the +affair. + +A few days before that which was fixed for the ceremony of the +marriage, the Queen-Dauphin entertained at supper the King her +father-in-law, and the Duchess of Valentinois. Madam de Cleves, who +had been busy in dressing herself, went to the Louvre later than +ordinary; as she was going, she met a gentleman that was coming from +the Queen-Dauphin to fetch her; as soon as she entered the room, that +Princess, who was sitting upon her bed, told her aloud, that she had +expected her with great impatience. "I believe, Madam," answered she, +"that I am not obliged to you for it, and that your impatience was +caused by something else, and not your desire to see me." "You are in +the right," answered the Queen-Dauphin, "but, nevertheless, you are +obliged to me; for I'll tell you an adventure, which I am sure you'll +be glad to know." + +Madam de Cleves kneeled at her bedside, and, very luckily for her, with +her face from the light: "You know," said the Queen, "how desirous we +have been to find out what had caused so great a change in the Duke de +Nemours; I believe I know it, and it is what will surprise you; he is +desperately in love with, and as much beloved by, one of the finest +ladies of the Court." It is easy to imagine the grief Madam de Cleves +felt upon hearing these words, which she could not apply to herself, +since she thought nobody knew anything of her passion for the Duke; "I +see nothing extraordinary in that," replied she, "considering how young +and handsome a man the Duke de Nemours is." "No," replied the +Queen-Dauphin, "there is nothing extraordinary in it; but what will +surprise you is, that this lady, who is in love with the Duke de +Nemours, has never given him any mark of it, and that the fear she was +in lest she should not always be mistress of her passion, has made her +confess it to her husband, that he may take her away from Court; and it +is the Duke de Nemours himself who has related what I tell you." + +If Madam de Cleves was grieved at first through the thought that she +had no concern in this adventure, the Queen-Dauphin's last words threw +her into an agony, by making it certain she had too much in it; she +could not answer, but continued leaning her head on the bed; meanwhile +the Queen went on, and was so intent on what she was saying, that she +took no notice of her embarrassment. When Madam de Cleves was a little +come to herself, "This story, Madam," says she, "does not seem very +probable to me, and I should be glad to know who told it you." "It was +Madam de Martigues," replied the Queen-Dauphin, "and she heard it from +the Viscount de Chartres; you know the Viscount is in love with her; he +entrusted this matter to her as a secret, and he was told it by the +Duke de Nemours himself; it is true the Duke did not tell the lady's +name, nor acknowledge that he was the person she was in love with, but +the Viscount makes no manner of question of it." When the +Queen-Dauphin had done speaking, somebody came up to the bed; Madam de +Cleves was so placed that she could not see who it was, but she was +presently convinced, when the Queen-Dauphin cried out with an air of +gaiety and surprise, "Here he is himself, I'll ask him what there is in +it." Madam de Cleves knew very well it was the Duke de Nemours, +without turning herself, as it really was; upon which she went up +hastily to the Queen-Dauphin, and told her softly, that she ought to be +cautious of speaking to him of this adventure, which he had entrusted +to the Viscount de Chartres as a secret, and that it was a thing which +might create a quarrel between them. "You are too wise," said the +Queen-Dauphin smiling, and turned to the Duke de Nemours. He was +dressed for the evening assembly, and taking up the discourse with that +grace which was natural to him, "I believe, Madam," says he, "I may +venture to think you were speaking of me as I came in, that you had a +design to ask me something, and that Madam de Cleves is against it." +"It is true," replied the Queen-Dauphin, "but I shall not be so +complaisant to her on this occasion as I was used to be; I would know +of you, whether a story I have been told is true, and whether you are +not the person who is in love with, and beloved by a lady of the Court, +who endeavours to conceal her passion from you, and has confessed it to +her husband." + +The concern and confusion Madam de Cleves was in was above all that can +be imagined, and if death itself could have drawn her out of this +condition, she would have gladly embraced it; but the Duke de Nemours +was yet more embarrassed if possible: the discourse of the +Queen-Dauphin, by whom he had reason to believe he was not hated, in +the presence of Madam de Cleves, who was confided in by her more than +anybody of the Court, and who confided more in her, threw him into such +confusion and extravagance of thought, that it was impossible for him +to be master of his countenance: the concern he saw Madam de Cleves in +through his fault, and the thought of having given her just cause to +hate him, so shocked him he could not speak a word. The Queen-Dauphin, +seeing how thunderstruck she was, "Look upon him, look upon him," said +she to Madam de Cleves, "and judge if this adventure be not his own." + +In the meantime the Duke de Nemours, finding of what importance it was +to him to extricate himself out of so dangerous a difficulty, recovered +himself from his first surprise, and became at once master of his wit +and looks. "I acknowledge, Madam," said he, "it is impossible to be +more surprised and concerned than I was at the treachery of the +Viscount de Chartres, in relating an adventure of a friend of mine, +which I had in confidence imparted to him. I know how to be revenged +of him," continued he, smiling with a calm air, which removed the +suspicions the Queen-Dauphin had entertained of him: "He has entrusted +me with things of no very small importance; but I don't know, Madam, +why you do me the honour to make me a party in this affair. The +Viscount can't say I am concerned in it, for I told him the contrary; I +may very well be taken to be a man in love, but I cannot believe, +Madam, you will think me of the number of those who are loved again." +The Duke was glad to say anything to the Queen-Dauphin, which alluded +to the inclination he had expressed for her formerly, in order to +divert her thoughts from the subject in question. She imagined she +understood well enough the drift of what he said, but without making +any answer to it, she continued to rally him upon the embarrassment he +was in. "I was concerned, Madam," said he, "for the interest of my +friend, and on account of the just reproaches he might make me for +having told a secret which is dearer to him than life. He has +nevertheless entrusted me but with one half of it, and has not told me +the name of the person he loves; all I know is, that he's the most +deeply in love of any man in the world, and has the most reason to +complain." "Do you think he has reason to complain," replied the +Queen-Dauphin, "when he is loved again?" "Do you believe he is, +Madam," replied he, "and that a person who had a real passion could +discover it to her husband? That lady, doubtless, is not acquainted +with love, and has mistaken for it a slight acknowledgment of the +fondness her lover had for her. My friend can't flatter himself with +the lent hopes; but, unfortunate as he is, he thinks himself happy at +least in having made her afraid of falling in love with him, and he +would not change his condition for that of the happiest lover in the +world." "Your friend has a passion very easy to be satisfied," said +the Queen-Dauphin, "and I begin to believe it is not yourself you are +speaking of; I am almost," continued she, "of the opinion of Madam de +Cleves, who maintains that this story cannot be true." "I don't really +believe it can be true," answered Madam de Cleves, who had been silent +hitherto; "and though it were possible to be true, how should it have +been known? It is very unlikely that a woman, capable of so +extraordinary a resolution, would have the weakness to publish it; and +surely her husband would not have told it neither, or he must be a +husband very unworthy to have been dealt with in so generous a manner." +The Duke de Nemours, who perceived the suspicions Madam de Cleves had +of her husband, was glad to confirm her in them, knowing he was the +most formidable rival he had to overcome. "Jealousy," said he, "and a +curiosity perhaps of knowing more than a wife has thought fit to +discover, may make a husband do a great many imprudent things." + +Madam de Cleves was put to the last proof of her power and courage, and +not being able to endure the conversation any longer, she was going to +say she was not well, when by good fortune for her the Duchess of +Valentinois came in, and told the Queen-Dauphin that the King was just +coming; the Queen-Dauphin went into the closet to dress herself, and +the Duke de Nemours came up to Madam de Cleves as she was following +her. "I would give my life, Madam," said he, "to have a moment's +conversation with you; but though I have a world of important things to +say to you, I think nothing is more so, than to entreat you to believe, +that if I have said anything in which the Queen-Dauphin may seem +concerned, I did it for reasons which do not relate to her." Madam de +Cleves pretended not to hear him, and left him without giving him a +look, and went towards the King, who was just come in. As there were +abundance of people there, she trod upon her gown, and made a false +step, which served her as an excuse to go out of a place she had not +the power to stay in, and so pretending to have received some hurt she +went home. + +Monsieur de Cleves came to the Louvre, and was surprised not to find +his wife there; they told him of the accident that had befallen her, +and he went immediately home to enquire after her; he found her in bed, +and perceived her hurt was not considerable. When he had been some time +with her, he found her so excessive melancholy that he was surprised at +it; "What ails you, Madam?" says he; "you seem to have some other grief +than that which you complain of." "I feel the most sensible grief I +can ever experience," answered she; "what use have you made of that +extraordinary, or rather foolish confidence which I placed in you? Did +not I deserve to have my secret kept? and though I had not deserved it, +did not your own interest engage you to it? Should your curiosity to +know a name it was not reasonable for me to tell you have obliged you +to make a confidant to assist you in the discovery? Nothing but that +curiosity could have made you guilty of so cruel an indiscretion; the +consequences of it are as bad as they possibly can be. This adventure +is known, and I have been told it by those who are not aware that I am +principally concerned in it." "What do you say, Madam?" answered he; +"you accuse me of having told what passed between you and me, and you +inform me that the thing is known; I don't go about to clear myself +from this charge, you can't think me guilty of it; without doubt you +have applied to yourself what was told you of some other." "Ah! Sir," +replied she, "the world has not an adventure like mine, there is not +another woman capable of such a thing. The story I have heard could +not have been invented by chance; nobody could imagine any like it; an +action of this nature never entered any thoughts but mine. The +Queen-Dauphin has just told me the story; she had it from the Viscount +de Chartres, and the Viscount from the Duke de Nemours." "The Duke de +Nemours!" cried Monsieur de Cleves, like a man transported and +desperate: "How! does the Duke de Nemours know that you are in love +with him, and that I am acquainted with it?" "You are always for +singling out the Duke de Nemours rather than any other," replied she; +"I have told you I will never answer you concerning your suspicions: I +am ignorant whether the Duke de Nemours knows the part I have in this +adventure, and that which you have ascribed to him; but he told it to +the Viscount de Chartres, and said he had it from one of his friends, +who did not name the lady: this friend of the Duke de Nemours must +needs be one of yours, whom you entrusted the secret to, in order to +clear up your suspicions." "Can one have a friend in the world, in +whom one would repose such a confidence," replied Monsieur de Cleves, +"and would a man clear his suspicions at the price of informing another +with what one would wish to conceal from oneself? Think rather, Madam, +to whom you have spoken; it is more probable this secret should have +escaped from you than from me; you was not able alone to support the +trouble you found yourself in, and you endeavoured to comfort yourself +by complaining to some confidant who has betrayed you." + +"Do not wholly destroy me," cried she, "and be not so hard-hearted as +to accuse me of a fault you have committed yourself: can you suspect me +of it? and do you think, because I was capable of informing you of this +matter, I was therefore capable of informing another?" + +The confession which Madam de Cleves had made to her husband was so +great a mark of her sincerity, and she so strongly denied that she had +entrusted it to any other, that Monsieur de Cleves did not know what to +think. On the other hand he was sure he had never said anything of it; +it was a thing that could not have been guessed, and yet it was known; +it must therefore come from one of them two; but what grieved him most +was to know that this secret was in the hands of somebody else, and +that in all probability it would be soon divulged. + +Madam de Cleves thought much after the same manner; she found it +equally impossible that her husband should, or should not have spoken +of it. What the Duke de Nemours had said to her, that curiosity might +make a husband do indiscreet things, seemed so justly applicable to +Monsieur de Cleves's condition, that she could not think he said it by +chance, and the probability of this made her conclude that Monsieur de +Cleves had abused the confidence she had placed in him. They were so +taken up, the one and the other, with their respective thoughts, that +they continued silent a great while; and when they broke from this +silence, they only repeated the same things they had already said very +often; their hearts and affections grew more and more estranged from +each other. + +It is easy to imagine how they passed the night; Monsieur de Cleves +could no longer sustain the misfortune of seeing a woman whom he adored +in love with another; he grew quite heartless, and thought he had +reason to be so in an affair where his honour and reputation were so +deeply wounded: he knew not what to think of his wife, and was at a +loss what conduct he should prescribe to her, or what he should follow +himself; he saw nothing on all sides but precipices and rocks; at last, +after having been long tossed to and fro in suspense, he considered he +was soon to set out for Spain, and resolved to do nothing which might +increase the suspicion or knowledge of his unfortunate condition. He +went to his wife, and told her that what they had to do was not to +debate between themselves who had discovered the secret; but to make it +appear that the story which was got abroad was a business in which she +had no concern; that it depended upon her to convince the Duke de +Nemours and others of it; that she had nothing to do but to behave +herself to him with that coldness and reserve which she ought to have +for a man who professed love to her; that by this proceeding she would +easily remove the opinion he entertained of her being in love with him; +and therefore she needed not to trouble herself as to what he might +hitherto have thought, since if for the future she discovered no +weakness, his former thoughts would vanish of themselves; and that +especially she ought to frequent the Louvre and the assemblies as usual. + +Having said this, Monsieur de Cleves left his wife without waiting her +answer; she thought what he said very reasonable, and the resentment +she had against the Duke de Nemours made her believe she should be able +to comply with it with a great deal of ease; but it seemed a hard task +to her to appear at the marriage with that freedom and tranquillity of +spirit as the occasion required. Nevertheless as she was to carry the +Queen-Dauphin's train, and had been distinguished with that honour in +preference to a great many other Princesses, it was impossible to +excuse herself from it without making a great deal of noise and putting +people upon enquiring into the reasons of it. She resolved therefore +to do her utmost, and employed the rest of the day in preparing herself +for it, and in endeavouring to forget the thoughts that gave her so +much uneasiness; and to this purpose she locked herself up in her +closet. Of all her griefs the most violent was that she had reason to +complain of the Duke de Nemours, and could find no excuse to urge in +his favour; she could not doubt but he had related this adventure to +the Viscount de Chartres; he had owned it himself, nor could she any +more doubt from his manner of speaking of it, but that he knew the +adventure related to her; how could she excuse so great an imprudence? +and what was become of that extreme discretion which she had so much +admired in this Prince? "He was discreet," said she, "while he was +unhappy; but the thought of being happy, though on uncertain grounds, +has put an end to his discretion; he could not consider that he was +beloved, without desiring to have it known; he said everything he could +say; I never acknowledged it was he I was in love with; he suspected +it, and has declared his suspicions; if he had been sure of it, he +might have acted as he has; I was to blame for thinking him a man +capable of concealing what flattered his vanity; and yet it is for this +man, whom I thought so different from other men, that I am become like +other women, who was so unlike them before. I have lost the heart and +esteem of a husband who ought to have been my happiness; I shall soon +be looked upon by all the world as a person led away by an idle and +violent passion; he for whom I entertain this passion is no longer +ignorant of it; and it was to avoid these misfortunes that I hazarded +my quiet, and even my life." These sad reflections were followed by a +torrent of tears; but however great her grief was, she plainly +perceived she should be able to support it, were she but satisfied in +the Duke de Nemours. + +The Duke was no less uneasy than she; the indiscretion he had been +guilty of in telling what he did to the Viscount de Chartres, and the +mischievous consequences of it, vexed him to the heart; he could not +represent to himself the affliction and sorrow he had seen Madam de +Cleves in without being pierced with anguish; he was inconsolable for +having said things to her about this adventure, which, though gallant +enough in themselves, seemed on this occasion too gross and impolite, +since they gave Madam de Cleves to understand he was not ignorant that +she was the woman who had that violent passion, and that he was the +object of it. It was before the utmost of his wishes to have a +conversation with her, but now he found he ought rather to fear than +desire it. "What should I say to her!" says he; "should I go to +discover further to her what I have made her too sensible of already! +Shall I tell how I know she loves me; I, who have never dared to say I +loved her? Shall I begin with speaking openly of my passion, that she +may see my hopes have inspired me with boldness? Can I even think of +approaching her, and of giving her the trouble to endure my sight? +Which way could I justify myself? I have no excuse, I am unworthy of +the least regard from Madam de Cleves, and I even despair of her ever +looking upon me: I have given her by my own fault better means of +defending herself against me than any she was searching for, and +perhaps searching for to no purpose. I lose by my imprudence the glory +and happiness of being loved by the most beautiful and deserving lady +in the world; but if I had lost this happiness, without involving her +in the most extreme grief and sufferings at the same time, I should +have had some comfort; for at this moment I am more sensible of the +harm I have done her, than of that I have done myself in forfeiting her +favour." + +The Duke de Nemours continued turning the same thoughts over and over, +and tormenting himself a great while; the desire he had to speak to +Madam de Cleves came constantly into his mind; he thought of the means +to do it; he thought of writing to her; but at last he found, +considering the fault he had committed and the temper she was in, his +best way was to show her a profound respect by his affliction and his +silence, to let her see he durst not present himself before her, and to +wait for what time, chance, and the inclination she had for him might +produce to his advantage. He resolved also not to reproach the +Viscount de Chartres for his unfaithfulness, for fear of confirming his +suspicions. + +The preparations for the espousals and marriage of Madame on the next +day so entirely took up the thoughts of the Court, that Madam de Cleves +and the Duke de Nemours easily concealed from the public their grief +and uneasiness. The Queen-Dauphin spoke but slightly to Madam de +Cleves of the conversation they had had with the Duke de Nemours; and +Monsieur de Cleves industriously shunned speaking to his wife of what +was past; so that she did not find herself under so much embarrassment +as she had imagined. + +The espousals were solemnised at the Louvre; and after the feast and +ball all the Royal family went to lie at the Bishop's Palace, according +to custom. In the morning, the Duke of Alva, who always had appeared +very plainly dressed, put on a habit of cloth of gold, mixed with +flame-colour, yellow and black, all covered over with jewels, and wore +a close crown on his head. The Prince of Orange very richly dressed +also, with his liveries, and all the Spaniards with theirs, came to +attend the Duke of Alva from the Hotel de Villeroy where he lodged, and +set out, marching four by four, till they came to the Bishop's Palace. +As soon as he was arrived, they went in order to the Church; the King +led Madame, who wore also a close crown, her train being borne by +Mademoiselles de Montpensier and Longueville; the Queen came next, but +without a crown; after her followed the Queen-Dauphin, Madame the +King's sister, the Duchess of Loraine, and the Queen of Navarre, their +trains being home by the Princesses; the Queens and the Princesses were +all of them attended with their maids of honour, who were richly +dressed in the same colour which they wore themselves; so that it was +known by the colour of their habits whose maids they were: they mounted +the place that was prepared in the Church, and there the marriage +ceremonies were performed; they returned afterwards to dine at the +Bishop's Palace, and went from thence about five o'clock to the Palace +where the feast was, and where the Parliament, the Sovereign Courts, +and the Corporation of the City were desired to assist. The King, the +Queens, the Princes and Princesses sat at the marble table in the great +hall of the Palace; the Duke of Alva sat near the new Queen of Spain, +below the steps of the marble table, and at the King's right hand was a +table for the ambassadors, the archbishops, and the Knights of the +Order, and on the other side one for the Parliament. + +The Duke of Guise, dressed in a robe of cloth of gold frieze, served +the King as Great Chamberlain; the Prince of Conde as Steward of the +Household, and the Duke de Nemours as Cup-bearer. After the tables were +removed the ball began, and was interrupted by interludes and a great +deal of extraordinary machinery; then the ball was resumed, and after +midnight the King and the whole Court returned to the Louvre. However +full of grief Madam de Cleves was, she appeared in the eyes of all +beholders, and particularly in those of the Duke de Nemours, +incomparably beautiful. He durst not speak to her, though the hurry of +the ceremony gave him frequent opportunities; but he expressed so much +sorrow and so respectful a fear of approaching her, that she no longer +thought him to blame, though he had said nothing in his justification; +his conduct was the same the following days, and wrought the same +effect on the heart of Madam de Cleves. + +At last the day of the tournament came; the Queens were placed in the +galleries that were prepared for them; the four champions appeared at +the end of the lists with a number of horses and liveries, the most +magnificent sight that ever was seen in France. + +The King's colours were white and black, which he always wore in honour +of the Duchess of Valentinois, who was a widow. The Duke of Ferrara +and his retinue had yellow and red. Monsieur de Guise's carnation and +white. It was not known at first for what reason he wore those +colours, but it was soon remembered that they were the colours of a +beautiful young lady whom he had been in love with, while she was a +maid, and whom he yet loved though he durst not show it. The Duke de +Nemours had yellow and black; why he had them could not be found out: +Madam de Cleves only knew the reason of it; she remembered to have said +before him she loved yellow, and that she was sorry her complexion did +not suit that colour. As for the Duke, he thought he might take that +colour without any indiscretion, since not being worn by Madam de +Cleves it could not be suspected to be hers. + +The four champions showed the greatest address that can be imagined; +though the King was the best horseman in his kingdom, it was hard to +say which of them most excelled. The Duke de Nemours had a grace in +all his actions which might have inclined to his favour persons less +interested than Madam de Cleves. She no sooner saw him appear at the +end of the lists, but her heart felt uncommon emotions, and every +course he made she could scarce hide her joy when he had successfully +finished his career. + +In the evening, when all was almost over, and the company ready to +break up, so it was for the misfortune of the State, that the King +would needs break another lance; he sent orders to the Count de +Montgomery, who was a very dextrous combatant, to appear in the lists. +The Count begged the King to excuse him, and alleged all the reasons +for it he could think of; but the King, almost angry, sent him word he +absolutely commanded him to do it. The Queen conjured the King not to +run any more, told him he had performed so well that he ought to be +satisfied, and desired him to go with her to her apartments; he made +answer, it was for her sake that he would run again; and entered the +barrier; she sent the Duke of Savoy to him to entreat him a second time +to return, but to no purpose; he ran; the lances were broke, and a +splinter of the Count de Montgomery's lance hit the King's eye, and +stuck there. The King fell; his gentlemen and Monsieur de Montmorency, +who was one of the Mareschals of the field, ran to him; they were +astonished to see him wounded, but the King was not at all +disheartened; he said, that it was but a slight hurt, and that he +forgave the Count de Montgomery. One may imagine what sorrow and +affliction so fatal an accident occasioned on a day set apart to mirth +and joy. The King was carried to bed, and the surgeons having examined +his wound found it very considerable. The Constable immediately called +to mind the prediction which had been told the King, that he should be +killed in single fight; and he made no doubt but the prediction would +be now accomplished. The King of Spain, who was then at Brussels, being +advertised of this accident, sent his physician, who was a man of great +reputation, but that physician judged the King past hope. + +A Court so divided, and filled with so many opposite interests, could +not but be in great agitation on the breaking out of so grand an event; +nevertheless all things were kept quiet, and nothing was seen but a +general anxiety for the King's health. The Queens, the Princes and +Princesses hardly ever went out of his anti-chamber. + +Madam de Cleves, knowing that she was obliged to be there, that she +should see there the Duke de Nemours, and that she could not conceal +from her husband the disorder she should be in upon seeing him, and +being sensible also that the mere presence of that Prince would justify +him in her eyes and destroy all her resolutions, thought proper to +feign herself ill. The Court was too busy to give attention to her +conduct, or to enquire whether her illness was real or counterfeit; her +husband alone was able to come at the truth of the matter, but she was +not at all averse to his knowing it. Thus she continued at home, +altogether heedless of the great change that was soon expected, and +full of her own thoughts, which she was at full liberty to give herself +up to. Everyone went to Court to enquire after the King's health, and +Monsieur de Cleves came home at certain times to give her an account of +it; he behaved himself to her in the same manner he used to do, except +when they were alone, and then there appeared something of coldness and +reserve: he had not spoke to her again concerning what had passed, nor +had she power, nor did she think it convenient to resume the discourse +of it. + +The Duke de Nemours, who had waited for an opportunity of speaking to +Madam de Cleves, was surprised and afflicted not to have had so much as +the pleasure to see her. The King's illness increased so much, that +the seventh day he was given over by the physicians; he received the +news of the certainty of his death with an uncommon firmness of mind; +which was the more to be admired, considering that he lost his life by +so unfortunate an accident, that he died in the flower of his age, +happy, adored by his people, and beloved by a mistress he was +desperately in love with. The evening before his death he caused +Madame his sister to be married to the Duke of Savoy without ceremony. +One may judge what condition the Duchess of Valentinois was in; the +Queen would not permit her to see the King, but sent to demand of her +the King's signets, and the jewels of the crown which she had in her +custody. The Duchess enquired if the King was dead, and being +answered, "No"; "I have then as yet no other matter," said she, "and +nobody can oblige me to restore what he has trusted in my hands." As +soon as the King expired at Chateau de Toumelles, the Duke of Ferrara, +the Duke of Guise, and the Duke de Nemours conducted the Queen-Mother, +the New King and the Queen-Consort to the Louvre. The Duke de Nemours +led the Queen-Mother. As they began to march, she stepped back a +little, and told the Queen her daughter-in-law, it was her place to go +first; but it was easy to see, that there was more of spleen than +decorum in this compliment. + + + +IV + +The Queen-mother was now wholly governed by the Cardinal of Loraine; +the Viscount de Chartres had no interest with her, and the passion he +had for Madam de Martigues and for liberty hindered him from feeling +this loss as it deserved to be felt. The Cardinal, during the ten days' +illness of the King, was at leisure to form his designs, and lead the +Queen into resolutions agreeable to what he had projected; so that the +King was no sooner dead but the Queen ordered the Constable to stay at +Tournelles with the corpse of the deceased King in order to perform the +usual ceremonies. This commission kept him at a distance and out of +the scene of action; for this reason the Constable dispatched a courier +to the King of Navarre, to hasten him to Court that they might join +their interest to oppose the great rise of the House of Guise. The +command of the Army was given to the Duke of Guise and the care of the +finances to the Cardinal of Loraine. The Duchess of Valentinois was +driven from Court; the Cardinal de Tournon, the Constable's declared +enemy, and the Chancellor Olivier, the declared enemy of the Duchess of +Valentinois, were both recalled. In a word, the complexion of the +Court was entirely changed; the Duke of Guise took the same rank as the +Princes of the blood, in carrying the King's mantle at the funeral +ceremonies: He and his brothers carried all before them at Court, not +only by reason of the Cardinal's power with the Queen-Mother, but +because she thought it in her power to remove them should they give her +umbrage; whereas she could not so easily remove the Constable, who was +supported by the Princes of the blood. + +When the ceremonial of the mourning was over, the Constable came to the +Louvre, and was very coldly received by the King; he desired to speak +with him in private, but the King called for Messieurs de Guise, and +told him before them, that he advised him to live at ease; that the +finances and the command of the Army were disposed of, and that when he +had occasion for his advice, he would send for him to Court. The Queen +received him in a yet colder manner than the King, and she even +reproached him for having told the late King, that his children by her +did not resemble him. The King of Navarre arrived, and was no better +received; the Prince of Conde, more impatient than his brother, +complained aloud, but to no purpose: he was removed from Court, under +pretence of being sent to Flanders to sign the ratification of the +peace. They showed the King of Navarre a forged letter from the King +of Spain, which charged him with a design of seizing that King's +fortresses; they put him in fear for his dominions, and made him take a +resolution to go to Bearn; the Queen furnished him with an opportunity, +by appointing him to conduct Madam Elizabeth, and obliged him to set +out before her, so that there remained nobody at Court that could +balance the power of the House of Guise. + +Though it was a mortifying circumstance for Monsieur de Cleves not to +conduct Madam Elizabeth, yet he could not complain of it, by reason of +the greatness of the person preferred before him; he regretted the loss +of this employment not so much on account of the honour he should have +received from it, as because it would have given him an opportunity of +removing his wife from Court without the appearance of design in it. + +A few days after the King's death, it was resolved the new King should +go to Rheims to be crowned. As soon as this journey was talked of, +Madam de Cleves, who had stayed at home all this while under pretence +of illness, entreated her husband to dispense with her following the +Court, and to give her leave to go to take the air at Colomiers for her +health: he answered, that whether her health was the reason or not of +her desire, however he consented to it: nor was it very difficult for +him to consent to a thing he had resolved upon before: as good an +opinion as he had of his wife's virtue, he thought it imprudent to +expose her any longer to the sight of a man she was in love with. + +The Duke de Nemours was soon informed that Madam de Cleves was not to +go along with the Court; he could not find in his heart to set out +without seeing her, and therefore the night before his journey he went +to her house as late as decency would allow him, in order to find her +alone. Fortune favoured his intention; and Madam de Nevers and Madam +de Martigues, whom he met in the Court as they were coming out, +informed him they had left her alone. He went up in a concern and +ferment of mind to be paralleled only by that which Madam de Cleves was +under, when she was told the Duke de Nemours was come to see her; the +fear lest he should speak to her of his passion, and lest she should +answer him too favourably, the uneasiness this visit might give her +husband, the difficulty of giving him an account of it, or of +concealing it from him, all these things presented themselves to her +imagination at once, and threw her into so great an embarrassment, that +she resolved to avoid the thing of the world which perhaps she wished +for the most. She sent one of her women to the Duke de Nemours, who +was in her anti-chamber, to tell him that she had lately been very ill, +and that she was sorry she could not receive the honour which he +designed her. What an affliction was it to the Duke, not to see Madam +de Cleves, and therefore not to see her, because she had no mind he +should! He was to go away the next morning, and had nothing further to +hope from fortune. He had said nothing to her since that conversation +at the Queen-Dauphin's apartments, and he had reason to believe that +his imprudence in telling the Viscount his adventure had destroyed all +his expectations; in a word, he went away with everything that could +exasperate his grief. + +No sooner was Madam de Cleves recovered from the confusion which the +thought of receiving a visit from the Duke had given her, but all the +reasons which had made her refuse it vanished; she was even satisfied +she had been to blame; and had she dared, or had it not been too late, +she would have had him called back. + +Madam de Nevers and Madam de Martigues went from the Princess of Cleves +to the Queen-Dauphin's, where they found Monsieur de Cleves: the +Queen-Dauphin asked them from whence they came; they said they came +from Madam de Cleves, where they had spent part of the afternoon with a +great deal of company, and that they had left nobody there but the Duke +de Nemours. These words, which they thought so indifferent, were not +such with Monsieur de Cleves: though he might well imagine the Duke de +Nemours had frequent opportunities of speaking to his wife, yet the +thought that he was now with her, that he was there alone, and that he +might speak to her of his life, appeared to him at this time a thing so +new and insupportable, that jealousy kindled in his heart with greater +violence than ever. It was impossible for him to stay at the Queen's; +he returned from thence, without knowing why he returned, or if he +designed to go and interrupt the Duke de Nemours: he was no sooner come +home, but he looked about him to see if there was anything by which he +could judge if the Duke was still there; it was some comfort to him to +find he was gone, and it was a pleasure to reflect that he could not +have been long there: he fancied, that, perhaps, it was not the Duke de +Nemours of whom he had reason to be jealous; and though he did not +doubt of it, yet he endeavoured to doubt of it; but he was convinced of +it by so many circumstances, that he continued not long in that +pleasing uncertainty. He immediately went into his wife's room, and +after having talked to her for some time about indifferent matters, he +could not forbear asking her what she had done, and who she had seen, +and accordingly she gave him an account: when he found she did not name +the Duke de Nemours he asked her trembling, if those were all she had +seen, in order to give her an occasion to name the Duke, and that he +might not have the grief to see she made use of any evasion. As she +had not seen him, she did not name him; when Monsieur de Cleves with +accents of sorrow, said, "And have you not seen the Duke de Nemours, or +have you forgot him?" "I have not seen him indeed," answered she; "I +was ill, and I sent one of my women to make my excuses." "You was ill +then only for him," replied Monsieur de Cleves, "since you admitted the +visits of others: why this distinction with respect to the Duke de +Nemours? Why is not he to you as another man? Why should you be +afraid of seeing him? Why do you let him perceive that you are so? Why +do you show him that you make use of the power which his passion gives +you over him? Would you dare refuse to see him, but that you knew he +distinguishes your rigour from incivility? But why should you exercise +that rigour towards him? From a person like you, all things are +favours, except indifference." "I did not think," replied Madam de +Cleves, "whatever suspicions you have of the Duke de Nemours, that you +could reproach me for not admitting a visit from him." "But I do +reproach you, Madam," replied he, "and I have good ground for so doing; +why should you not see him, if he has said nothing to you? but Madam, +he has spoke to you; if his passion had been expressed only by silence, +it would not have made so great an impression upon you; you have not +thought fit to tell me the whole truth; you have concealed the greatest +part from me; you have repented even of the little you have +acknowledged, and you have not the resolution to go on; I am more +unhappy than I imagined, more unhappy than any other man in the world: +you are my wife, I love you as my mistress, and I see you at the same +time in love with another, with the most amiable man of the Court, and +he sees you every day, and knows you are in love with him: Alas! I +believed that you would conquer your passion for him, but sure I had +lost my reason when I believed it was possible." "I don't know," +replied Madam de Cleves very sorrowfully, "whether you was to blame in +judging favourably of so extraordinary a proceeding as mine; nor do I +know if I was not mistaken when I thought you would do me justice." +"Doubt it not, Madam," replied Monsieur de Cleves, "you was mistaken; +you expected from me things as impossible as those I expected from you: +how could you hope I should continue master of my reason? Had you +forgot that I was desperately in love with you, and that I was your +husband? Either of these two circumstances is enough to hurry a man +into extremities; what may they not do both together? Alas! What do +they not do? My thoughts are violent and uncertain, and I am not able +to control them; I no longer think myself worthy of you, nor do I think +you are worthy of me; I adore you, I hate you, I offend you, I ask your +pardon, I admire you, I blush for my admiration: in a word, I have +nothing of tranquillity or reason left about me: I wonder how I have +been able to live since you spoke to me at Colomiers, and since you +learned, from what the Queen-Dauphin told you, that your adventure was +known; I can't discover how it came to be known, nor what passed +between the Duke de Nemours and you upon the subject; you will never +explain it to me, nor do I desire you to do it; I only desire you to +remember that you have made me the most unfortunate, the most wretched +of men." + +Having spoke these words, Monsieur de Cleves left his wife, and set out +the next day without seeing her; but he wrote her a letter full of +sorrow, and at the same time very kind and obliging: she gave an answer +to it so moving and so full of assurances both as to her past and +future conduct, that as those assurances were grounded in truth, and +were the real effect of her sentiments, the letter made great +impressions on Monsieur de Cleves, and gave him some tranquillity; add +to this that the Duke de Nemours going to the King as well as himself, +he had the satisfaction to know that he would not be in the same place +with Madam de Cleves. Everytime that lady spoke to her husband, the +passion he expressed for her, the handsomeness of his behaviour, the +friendship she had for him, and the thought of what she owed him, made +impressions in her heart that weakened the idea of the Duke de Nemours; +but it did not continue long, that idea soon returned more lively than +before. + +For a few days after the Duke was gone, she was hardly sensible of his +absence; afterwards it tortured her; ever since she had been in love +with him, there did not pass a day, but she either feared or wished to +meet him, and it was a wounding thought to her to consider that it was +no more in the power of fortune to contrive their meeting. + +She went to Colomiers, and ordered to be carried thither the large +pictures she had caused to be copied from the originals which the +Duchess of Valentinois had procured to be drawn for her fine house of +Annett. All the remarkable actions that had passed in the late King's +reign were represented in these pieces, and among the rest was the +Siege of Mets, and all those who had distinguished themselves at that +Siege were painted much to the life. The Duke de Nemours was of this +number, and it was that perhaps which had made Madam de Cleves desirous +of having the pictures. + +Madam de Martigues not being able to go along with the Court, promised +her to come and pass some days at Colomiers. Though they divided the +Queen's favour, they lived together without envy or coldness; they were +friends, but not confidants; Madam de Cleves knew that Madam de +Martigues was in love with the Viscount, but Madam de Martigues did not +know that Madam de Cleves was in love with the Duke de Nemours, nor +that she was beloved by him. The relation Madam de Cleves had to the +Viscount made her more dear to Madam de Martigues, and Madam de Cleves +was also fond of her as a person who was in love as well as herself, +and with an intimate friend of her own lover. + +Madam de Martigues came to Colomiers according to her promise, and +found Madam de Cleves living in a very solitary manner: that Princess +affected a perfect solitude, and passed the evenings in her garden +without being accompanied even by her domestics; she frequently came +into the pavilion where the Duke de Nemours had overheard her +conversation with her husband; she delighted to be in the bower that +was open to the garden, while her women and attendants waited in the +other bower under the pavilion, and never came to her but when she +called them. Madam de Martigues having never seen Colomiers was +surprised at the extraordinary beauty of it, and particularly with the +pleasantness of the pavilion. Madam de Cleves and she usually passed +the evenings there. The liberty of being alone in the night in so +agreeable a place would not permit the conversation to end soon between +two young ladies, whose hearts were enflamed with violent passions, and +they took great pleasure in conversing together, though they were not +confidants. + +Madam de Martigues would have left Colomiers with great reluctance had +she not quitted it to go to a place where the Viscount was; she set out +for Chambort, the Court being there. + +The King had been anointed at Rheims by the Cardinal of Loraine, and +the design was to pass the rest of the summer at the castle of +Chambort, which was newly built; the Queen expressed a great deal of +joy upon seeing Madam de Martigues again at Court, and after having +given her several proofs of it, she asked her how Madam de Cleves did, +and in what manner she passed her time in the country. The Duke de +Nemours and the Prince of Cleves were with the Queen at that time. +Madam de Martigues, who had been charmed with Colomiers, related all +the beauties of it, and enlarged extremely on the description of the +pavilion in the forest, and on the pleasure Madam de Cleves took in +walking there alone part of the night. The Duke de Nemours, who knew +the place well enough to understand what Madam de Martigues said of it, +thought it was not impossible to see Madam de Cleves there, without +being seen by anybody but her. He asked Madam de Martigues some +questions to get further lights; and the Prince of Cleves, who had eyed +him very strictly while Madam de Martigues was speaking, thought he +knew what his design was. The questions the Duke asked still more +confirmed him in that thought, so that he made no doubt but his +intention was to go and see his wife; he was not mistaken in his +suspicions: this design entered so deeply into the Duke de Nemours's +mind, that after having spent the night in considering the proper +methods to execute it, he went betimes the next morning to ask the +King's leave to go to Paris, on some pretended occasion. + +Monsieur de Cleves was in no doubt concerning the occasion of his +journey; and he resolved to inform himself as to his wife's conduct, +and to continue no longer in so cruel an uncertainty; he had a desire +to set out the same time as the Duke de Nemours did, and to hide +himself where he might discover the success of the journey; but fearing +his departure might appear extraordinary, and lest the Duke, being +advertised of it, might take other measures, he resolved to trust this +business to a gentleman of his, whose fidelity and wit he was assured +of; he related to him the embarrassment he was under, and what the +virtue of his wife had been till that time, and ordered him to follow +the Duke de Nemours, to watch him narrowly, to see if he did not go to +Colomiers, and if he did not enter the garden in the night. + +The gentleman, who was very capable of this commission, acquitted +himself of it with all the exactness imaginable. He followed the Duke +to a village within half a league of Colomiers, where the Duke stopped +and the gentleman easily guessed his meaning was to stay there till +night. He did not think it convenient to wait there, but passed on, +and placed himself in that part of the forest where he thought the Duke +would pass: he took his measures very right; for it was no sooner night +but he heard somebody coming that way, and though it was dark, he +easily knew the Duke de Nemours; he saw him walk round the garden, as +with a design to listen if he could hear anybody, and to choose the +most convenient place to enter: the palisades were very high and +double, in order to prevent people from coming in, so that it was very +difficult for the Duke to get over, however he made a shift to do it. +He was no sooner in the garden but he discovered where Madam de Cleves +was; he saw a great light in the bower, all the windows of it were +open; upon this, slipping along by the side of the palisades, he came +up close to it, and one may easily judge what were the emotions of his +heart at that instant: he took his station behind one of the windows, +which served him conveniently to see what Madam de Cleves was doing. +He saw she was alone; he saw her so inimitably beautiful, that he could +scarce govern the transports which that sight gave him: the weather was +hot, her head and neck were uncovered, and her hair hung carelessly +about her. She lay on a couch with a table before her, on which were +several baskets full of ribbons, out of which she chose some, and he +observed she chose those colours which he wore at the tournament; he +saw her make them up into knots for an Indian cane, which had been his, +and which he had given to his sister; Madam de Cleves took it from her, +without seeming to know it had belonged to the Duke. After she had +finished her work with the sweetest grace imaginable, the sentiments of +her heart showing themselves in her countenance, she took a wax candle +and came to a great table over against the picture of the Siege of +Mets, in which was the portrait of the Duke de Nemours; she sat down +and set herself to look upon that portrait, with an attention and +thoughtfulness which love only can give. + +It is impossible to express what Monsieur de Nemours felt at this +moment; to see, at midnight, in the finest place in the world, a lady +he adored, to see her without her knowing that he saw her, and to find +her wholly taken up with things that related to him, and to the passion +which she concealed from him; this is what was never tasted nor +imagined by any other lover. + +The Duke was so transported and beside himself, that he continued +motionless, with his eyes fixed on Madam de Cleves, without thinking +how precious his time was; when he was a little recovered, he thought +it best not to speak to her till she came into the garden, and he +imagined he might do it there with more safety, because she would be at +a greater distance from her women; but finding she stayed in the bower, +he resolved to go in: when he was upon the point of doing it, what was +his confusion; how fearful was he of displeasing her, and of changing +that countenance, where so much sweetness dwelt, into looks of anger +and resentment! + +To come to see Madam de Cleves without being seen by her had no +impudence in it, but to think of showing himself appeared very unwise; +a thousand things now came into his mind which he had not thought of +before; it carried in it somewhat extremely bold and extravagant, to +surprise in the middle of the night a person to whom he had never yet +spoke of his passion. He thought he had no reason to expect she would +hear him, but that she would justly resent the danger to which he +exposed her, by accidents which might rise from this attempt; all his +courage left him, and he was several times upon the point of resolving +to go back again without showing himself; yet urged by the desire of +speaking to her, and heartened by the hopes which everything he had +seen gave him, he advanced some steps, but in such disorder, that a +scarf he had on entangled in the window, and made a noise. Madam de +Cleves turned about, and whether her fancy was full of him, or that she +stood in a place so directly to the light that she might know him, she +thought it was he, and without the least hesitation or turning towards +the place where he was, she entered the bower where her women were. On +her entering she was in such disorder, that to conceal it she was +forced to say she was ill; she said it too in order to employ her +people about her, and to give the Duke time to retire. When she had +made some reflection, she thought she had been deceived, and that her +fancying she saw Monsieur de Nemours was only the effect of +imagination. She knew he was at Chambort; she saw no probability of +his engaging in so hazardous an enterprise; she had a desire several +times to re-enter the bower, and to see if there was anybody in the +garden. She wished perhaps as much as she feared to find the Duke de +Nemours there; but at last reason and prudence prevailed over her other +thoughts, and she found it better to continue in the doubt she was in, +than to run the hazard of satisfying herself about it; she was a long +time ere she could resolve to leave a place to which she thought the +Duke was so near, and it was almost daybreak when she returned to the +castle. + +The Duke de Nemours stayed in the garden, as long as there was any +light; he was not without hopes of seeing Madam de Cleves again, though +he was convinced that she knew him, and that she went away only to +avoid him; but when he found the doors were shut, he knew he had +nothing more to hope; he went to take horse near the place where +Monsieur de Cleves's gentleman was watching him; this gentleman +followed him to the same village, where he had left him in the evening. +The Duke resolved to stay there all the day, in order to return at +night to Colomiers, to see if Madam de Cleves would yet have the +cruelty to shun him or not expose herself to view: though he was very +much pleased to find himself so much in her thoughts, yet was he +extremely grieved at the same time to see her so naturally bent to +avoid him. + +Never was passion so tender and so violent as that of Monsieur de +Nemours; he walked under the willows, along a little brook which ran +behind the house, where he lay concealed; he kept himself as much out +of the way as possible, that he might not be seen by anybody; he +abandoned himself to the transports of his love, and his heart was so +full of tenderness, that he was forced to let fall some tears, but +those tears were such as grief alone could not shed; they had a mixture +of sweetness and pleasure in them which is to be found only in love. + +He set himself to recall to mind all the actions of Madam de Cleves +ever since he had been in love with her; her cruelty and rigour, and +that modesty and decency of behaviour she had always observed towards +him, though she loved him; "For, after all, she loves me," said he, +"she loves me, I cannot doubt of it, the deepest engagements and the +greatest favours are not more certain proofs than those I have had. In +the meantime, I am treated with the same rigour as if I were hated; I +hoped something from time, but I have no reason to expect it any +longer; I see her always equally on her guard against me and against +herself; if I were not loved, I should make it my business to please; +but I do please; she loves me, and tries to hide it from me. What have +I then to hope, and what change am I to expect in my fortune? though I +am loved by the most amiable person in the world, I am under that +excess of passion which proceeds from the first certainty of being +loved by her, only to make me more sensible of being ill used; let me +see that you love me, fair Princess," cried he, "make me acquainted +with your sentiments; provided I know them once in my life from you, I +am content that you resume for ever the cruelties with which you +oppress me; look upon me at least with the same eyes with which I saw +you look that night upon my picture; could you behold that with such +sweet complacency, and yet avoid me with so much cruelty? What are you +afraid of? Why does my love appear so terrible to you? You love me, +and you endeavour in vain to conceal it; you have even given me +involuntary proofs of it; I know my happiness, permit me to enjoy it, +and cease to make me unhappy. Is it possible I should be loved by the +Princess of Cleves, and yet be unhappy? how beautiful was she last +night? how could I forbear throwing myself at her feet? If I had done +it, I might perhaps have hindered her from shunning me, my respectful +behaviour would have removed her fears; but perhaps, after all, she did +not know it was I; I afflict myself more than I need; she was only +frightened to see a man at so unseasonable an hour." + +These thoughts employed the Duke de Nemours all the day; he wished +impatiently for the night, and as soon as it came he returned to +Colomiers. Monsieur de Cleves's gentleman, who was disguised that he +might be less observed, followed him to the place to which he had +followed him the evening before, and saw him enter the garden again. +The Duke soon perceived that Madam de Cleves had not run the risk of +his making another effort to see her, the doors being all shut; he +looked about on all sides to see if he could discover any light, but he +saw none. + +Madam de Cleves, suspecting he might return, continued in her chamber; +she had reason to apprehend she should not always have the power to +avoid him, and she would not submit herself to the hazard of speaking +to him in a manner that would have been unsuitable to the conduct she +had hitherto observed. + +Monsieur de Nemours, though he had no hopes of seeing her, could not +find in his heart soon to leave a place where she so often was; he +passed the whole night in the garden, and found some pleasure at least +in seeing the same objects which she saw every day; it was near sunrise +before he thought of retiring; but as last the fear of being discovered +obliged him to go away. + +It was impossible for him to return to Court without seeing Madam de +Cleves; he made a visit to his sister the Duchess of Mercoeur, at her +house near Colomiers. She was extremely surprised at her brother's +arrival; but he invented so probable a pretence for his journey, and +conducted his plot so skilfully, that he drew her to make the first +proposal herself of visiting Madam de Cleves. This proposal was +executed that very day, and Monsieur de Nemours told his sister, that +he would leave her at Colomiers, in order to go directly to the King; +he formed this pretence of leaving her at Colomiers in hopes she would +take her leave before him, and he thought he had found out by that +means an infallible way of speaking to Madam de Cleves. + +The Princess of Cleves, when they arrived, was walking in her garden +the sight of Monsieur de Nemours gave her no small uneasiness, and put +her out of doubt that it was he she had seen the foregoing night. The +certainty of his having done so bold and imprudent a thing gave her +some little resentment against him, and the Duke observed an air of +coldness in her face, which sensibly grieved him; the conversation +turned upon indifferent matters, and yet he had the skill all the while +to show so much wit, complaisance, and admiration for Madam de Cleves, +that part of the coldness she expressed towards him at first left her +in spite of herself. + +When his fears were over and he began to take heart, he showed an +extreme curiosity to see the pavilion in the forest; he spoke of it as +of the most agreeable place in the world, and gave so exact a +description of it, that Madam de Mercoeur said he must needs have been +there several times to know all the particular beauties of it so well. +"And yet, I don't believe," replied Madam de Cleves, "that the Duke de +Nemours was ever there; it has been finished but a little while." "It +is not long since I was there," replied the Duke, looking upon her, +"and I don't know if I ought not to be glad you have forgot you saw me +there." Madam de Mercoeur, being taken up in observing the beauties of +the gardens, did not attend to what her brother said; Madam de Cleves +blushed, and with her eyes cast down, without looking on Monsieur de +Nemours, "I don't remember," said she, "to have seen you there; and if +you have been there, it was without my knowledge." "It is true, +Madam," replied he, "I was there without your orders, and I passed +there the most sweet and cruel moments of my life." + +Madam de Cleves understood very well what he said, but made him no +answer; her care was to prevent Madam de Mercoeur from going into the +bower, because the Duke de Nemours's picture was there, and she had no +mind she should see it; she managed the matter so well, that the time +passed away insensibly, and Madam de Mercoeur began to talk of going +home: but when Madam de Cleves found that the Duke and his sister did +not go together, she plainly saw to what she was going to be exposed; +she found herself under the same embarrassment she was in at Paris, and +took also the same resolution; her fear, lest this visit should be a +further confirmation of her husband's suspicions, did not a little +contribute to determine her; and to the end Monsieur de Nemours might +not remain alone with her, she told Madam de Mercoeur she would wait +upon her to the borders of the forest, and ordered her chariot to be +got ready. The Duke was struck with such a violent grief to find that +Madam de Cleves still continued to exercise the same rigours towards +him, that he turned pale that moment. Madam de Mercoeur asked him if he +was ill, but he looked upon Madam de Cleves without being perceived by +anybody else, and made her sensible by his looks that he had no other +illness besides despair: however, there was no remedy but he must let +them go together without daring to follow them; after what he had told +his sister, that he was to go directly to Court, he could not return +with her, but went to Paris, and set out from thence the next day. + +Monsieur de Cleves's gentleman had observed him all the while; he +returned also to Paris, and when he found Monsieur de Nemours was set +out for Chambort, he took post to get thither before him, and to give +an account of his journey; his master expected his return with +impatience, as if the happiness or unhappiness of his life depended +upon it. + +As soon as he saw him, he judged from his countenance and his silence, +that the news he brought was very disagreeable; he was struck with +sorrow, and continued some time with his head hung down, without being +able to speak; at last he made signs with his hand to him to withdraw; +"Go," says he, "I see what you have to say to me, but I have not the +power to hear it." "I can acquaint you with nothing," said the +gentleman, "upon which one can form any certain judgment; it is true, +the Duke de Nemours went two nights successively into the garden in the +forest, and the day after he was at Colomiers with the Duchess of +Mercoeur." "'Tis enough," replied Monsieur de Cleves, still making +signs to him to withdraw, "'tis enough; I want no further information." +The gentleman was forced to leave his master, abandoned to his despair; +nor ever was despair more violent. Few men of so high a spirit, and so +passionately in love, as the Prince of Cleves, have experienced at the +same time the grief arising from the falsehood of a mistress, and the +shame of being deceived by a wife. + +Monsieur de Cleves could set no bounds to his affliction; he felt ill +of a fever that very night, and his distemper was accompanied with such +ill symptoms that it was thought very dangerous. Madam de Cleves was +informed of it, and came in all haste to him; when she arrived, he was +still worse; besides, she observed something in him so cold and +chilling with respect to her, that she was equally surprised and +grieved at it; he even seemed to receive with pain the services she did +him in his sickness, but at last she imagined it was perhaps only the +effect of his distemper. + +When she was come to Blois where the Court then was, the Duke de +Nemours was overjoyed to think she was at the same place where he was; +he endeavoured to see her, and went every day to the Prince of Cleves's +under pretence of enquiring how he did, but it was to no purpose; she +did not stir out of her husband's room, and was grieved at heart for +the condition he was in. It vexed Monsieur de Nemours to see her under +such affliction, an affliction which he plainly saw revived the +friendship she had for Monsieur de Cleves, and diverted the passion +that lay kindling in her heart. The thought of this shocked him +severely for some time; but the extremity, to which Monsieur de +Cleves's sickness was grown, opened to him a scene of new hopes; he saw +it was probable that Madam de Cleves would be at liberty to follow her +own inclinations, and that he might expect for the future a series of +happiness and lasting pleasures; he could not support the ecstasy of +that thought, a thought so full of transport! he banished it out of his +mind for fear of becoming doubly wretched, if he happened to be +disappointed in his hopes. + +In the meantime Monsieur de Cleves was almost given over by his +physicians. One of the last days of his illness, after having had a +very bad night, he said in the morning, he had a desire to sleep; but +Madam de Cleves, who remained alone in his chamber, found that instead +of taking repose he was extremely restless; she came to him, and fell +on her knees by his bedside, her face all covered with tears; and +though Monsieur de Cleves had taken a resolution not to show her the +violent displeasure he had conceived against her, yet the care she took +of him, and the sorrow she expressed, which sometimes he thought +sincere, and at other times the effect of her dissimulation and +perfidiousness, distracted him so violently with opposite sentiments +full of woe, that he could not forbear giving them vent. + +"You shed plenty of tears, Madam," said he, "for a death which you are +the cause of, and which cannot give you the trouble you pretend to be +in; I am no longer in a condition to reproach you," added he with a +voice weakened by sickness and grief; "I die through the dreadful grief +and discontent you have given me; ought so extraordinary an action, as +that of your speaking to me at Colomiers, to have had so little +consequences? Why did you inform me of your passion for the Duke de +Nemours, if your virtue was no longer able to oppose it? I loved you +to that extremity, I would have been glad to have been deceived, I +confess it to my shame; I have regretted that pleasing false security +out of which you drew me; why did not you leave me in that blind +tranquillity which so many husbands enjoy? I should perhaps have been +ignorant all my life, that you was in love with Monsieur de Nemours; I +shall die," added he, "but know that you make death pleasing to me, and +that, after you have taken from me the esteem and affection I had for +you, life would be odious to me. What should I live for? to spend my +days with a person whom I have loved so much, and by whom I have been +so cruelly deceived; or to live apart from her and break out openly +into violences so opposite to my temper, and the love I had for you? +That love, Madam, was far greater than it appeared to you; I concealed +the greatest part of it from you, for fear of being importunate, or of +losing somewhat in your esteem by a behaviour not becoming a husband: +in a word, I deserved your affection more than once, and I die without +regret, since I have not been able to obtain it, and since I can no +longer desire it. Adieu, Madam; you will one day regret a man who +loved you with a sincere and virtuous passion; you will feel the +anxiety which reasonable persons meet with in intrigue and gallantry, +and you will know the difference between such a love as I had for you, +and the love of people who only profess admiration for you to gratify +their vanity in seducing you; but my death will leave you at liberty, +and you may make the Duke de Nemours happy without guilt: what +signifies anything that can happen when I am no more, and why should I +have the weakness to trouble myself about it?" + +Madam de Cleves was so far from imagining that her husband suspected +her virtue, that she heard all this discourse without comprehending the +meaning of it, and without having any other notion about it, except +that he reproached her for her inclination for the Duke de Nemours; at +last, starting all of a sudden out of her blindness, "I guilty!" cried +she, "I am a stranger to the very thought of guilt; the severest virtue +could not have inspired any other conduct than that which I have +followed, and I never acted anything but what I could have wished you +to have been witness to." "Could you have wished," replied Monsieur de +Cleves, looking on her with disdain, "I had been a witness of those +nights you passed with Monsieur de Nemours? Ah! Madam; is it you I +speak of, when I speak of a lady that has passed nights with a man, not +her husband?" "No, sir," replied she, "it is not me you speak of; I +never spent a night nor a moment with the Duke de Nemours; he never saw +me in private, I never suffered him to do it, nor would give him a +hearing. I'll take all the oaths . . ." "Speak no more of it," said +he interrupting her, "false oaths or a confession would perhaps give me +equal pain." + +Madam de Cleves could not answer him; her tears and her grief took away +her speech; at last, struggling for utterance, "Look on me at least, +hear me," said she; "if my interest only were concerned I would suffer +these reproaches, but your life is at stake; hear me for your own sake; +I am so innocent, truth pleads so strongly for me, it is impossible but +I must convince you." "Would to God you could!" cried he; "but what can +you say? the Duke de Nemours, has not he been at Colomiers with his +sister? And did not he pass the two foregoing nights with you in the +garden in the forest?" "If that be my crime," replied she, "it is easy +to justify myself; I do not desire you to believe me, believe your +servants and domestics; ask them if I went into the garden the evening +before Monsieur de Nemours came to Colomiers, and if I did not go out, +of it the night before two hours sooner than I used to do." After this +she told him how she imagined she had seen somebody in the garden, and +acknowledged that she believed it to be the Duke de Nemours; she spoke +to him with so much confidence, and truth so naturally persuades, even +where it is not probable, that Monsieur de Cleves was almost convinced +of her innocence. "I don't know," said he, "whether I ought to believe +you; I am so near death, that I would not know anything that might make +me die with reluctance; you have cleared your innocence too late; +however it will be a comfort to me to go away with the thought that you +are worthy of the esteem I have had for you; I beg you I may be assured +of this further comfort, that my memory will be dear to you, and that +if it had been in your power you would have had for me the same passion +which you had for another." He would have gone on, but was so weak +that his speech failed him. Madam de Cleves sent for the physicians, +who found him almost lifeless; yet he languished some days, and died at +last with admirable constancy. + +Madam de Cleves was afflicted to so violent a degree, that she lost in +a manner the use of her reason; the Queen was so kind as to come to see +her, and carried her to a convent without her being sensible whither +she was conducted; her sisters-in-law brought her back to Paris, before +she was in a condition to feel distinctly even her griefs: when she was +restored to her faculty of thinking, and reflected what a husband she +had lost, and considered that she had caused his death by the passion +which she had for another, the horror she had for herself and the Duke +de Nemours was not to be expressed. + +The Duke in the beginning of her mourning durst pay her no other +respects but such as decency required; he knew Madam de Cleves enough +to be sensible that great importunities and eagerness would be +disagreeable to her; but what he learned afterwards plainly convinced +him that he ought to observe the same conduct a great while longer. + +A servant of the Duke's informed him that Monsieur de Cleves's +gentleman, who was his intimate friend, had told him, in the excess of +his grief for the loss of his master, that Monsieur de Nemours's +journey to Colomiers was the occasion of his death. The Duke was +extremely surprised to hear this; but after having reflected upon it, +he guessed the truth in part, and rightly judged what Madam de Cleves's +sentiments would be at first, and what a distance it would throw him +from her, if she thought her husband's illness was occasioned by his +jealousy; he was of opinion that he ought not so much as to put her in +mind of his name very soon, and he abided by that conduct, however +severe it appeared to him. + +He took a journey to Paris, nor could he forbear calling at her house +to enquire how she did. He was told, that she saw nobody, and that she +had even given strict orders that they should not trouble her with an +account of any that might come to see her; those very strict orders, +perhaps, were given with a view to the Duke, and to prevent her hearing +him spoken of; but he was too much in love to be able to live so +absolutely deprived of the sight of Madam de Cleves; he resolved to +find the means, let the difficulty be what it would, to get out of a +condition which was so insupportable to him. + +The grief of that Princess exceeded the bounds of reason; a husband +dying, and dying on her account, and with so much tenderness for her, +never went out of her mind: she continually revolved in her thoughts +what she owed him, and she condemned herself for not having had a +passion for him, as if that had been a thing which depended on herself; +she found no consolation but in the thought that she lamented him as he +deserved to be lamented, and that she would do nothing during the +remainder of her life, but what he would have been glad she should have +done, had he lived. + +She had often been thinking how he came to know, that the Duke de +Nemours had been at Colomiers; she could not suspect that the Duke +himself had told it; though it was indifferent to her whether he had or +no, she thought herself so perfectly cured of the passion she had had +for him; and yet she was grieved at the heart to think that he was the +cause of her husband's death; and she remembered with pain the fear +Monsieur de Cleves expressed, when dying, lest she should marry the +Duke; but all these griefs were swallowed up in that for the loss of +her husband, and she thought she had no other but that one. + +After several months the violence of her grief abated, and she fell +into a languishing kind of melancholy. Madam de Martigues made a +journey to Paris, and constantly visited her during the time she stayed +there: she entertained her with an account of the Court, and what +passed there; and though Madam de Cleves appeared unconcerned, yet +still she continued talking on that subject in hopes to divert her. + +She talked to her of the Viscount, of Monsieur de Guise, and of all +others that were distinguished either in person or merit. "As for the +Duke de Nemours," says she, "I don't know if State affairs have not +taken possession of his heart in the room of gallantry; he is +abundantly less gay than he used to be, and seems wholly to decline the +company of women; he often makes journeys to Paris, and I believe he is +there now." The Duke de Nemours's name surprised Madam de Cleves, and +made her blush; she changed the discourse, nor did Madam de Martigues +take notice of her concern. + +The next day Madam de Cleves, who employed herself in things suitable +to the condition she was in, went to a man's house in her +neighbourhood, that was famous for working silk after a particular +manner, and she designed to bespeak some pieces for herself; having +seen several kinds of his work, she spied a chamber door, where she +thought there were more, and desired it might be opened: the master +answered, he had not the key, and that the room was taken by a man, who +came there sometimes in the daytime to draw the plans and prospects of +the fine houses and gardens that were to be seen from his windows; "he +is one of the handsomest men I ever saw," added he, "and does not look +much like one that works for his living; whenever he comes here, I +observe he always looks towards the gardens and houses, but I never see +him work." + +Madam de Cleves listened to this story very attentively, and what Madam +de Martigues had told her of Monsieur de Nemours's coming now and then +to Paris, she applied in her fancy to that handsome man, who came to a +place so near her house; and this gave her an idea of Monsieur de +Nemours endeavouring to see her; which raised a disorder in her, of +which she did not know the cause: she went towards the windows to see +where they looked into, and she found they overlooked all her gardens, +and directly faced her apartment: and when she was in her own room, she +could easily see that very window where she was told the man came to +take his prospects. The thought that it was the Duke de Nemours, +entirely changed the situation of her mind; she no longer found herself +in that pensive tranquillity which she had begun to enjoy, her spirits +were ruffled again as with a tempest: at last, not being able to stay +at home, she went abroad to take the air in a garden without the +suburbs, where she hoped to be alone; she walked about a great while, +and found no likelihood of anyone's being there. + +Having crossed a little wilderness she perceived at the end of the +walk, in the most remote part of the garden, a kind of a bower, open on +all sides, and went towards it; when she was near, she saw a man lying +on the benches, who seemed sunk into a deep contemplation, and she +discovered it was the Duke de Nemours. Upon this she stopped short: but +her attendants made some noise, which roused the Duke out of his +musing: he took no notice who the persons were that disturbed him, but +got up in order to avoid the company that was coming towards him, and +making a low bow, which hindered him from seeing those he saluted, he +turned into another walk. + +If he had known whom he avoided, with what eagerness would he have +returned? But he walked down the alley, and Madam de Cleves saw him go +out at a back door, where his coach waited for him. What an effect did +this transient view produce in the heart of Madam de Cleves? What a +flame rekindled out of the embers of her love, and with what violence +did it burn? She went and sat down in the same place from which +Monsieur de Nemours was newly risen, and seemed perfectly overwhelmed; +his image immediately possessed her fancy, and she considered him as +the most amiable person in the world, as one who had long loved her +with a passion full of veneration and sincerity, slighting all for her, +paying respect even to her grief, to his own torture, labouring to see +her without a thought of being seen by her, quitting the Court (though +the Court's delight) to come and look on the walls where she was shut +up, and to pass his melancholy hours in places where he could not hope +to meet her; in a word, a man whose attachment to her alone merited +returns of love, and for whom she had so strong an inclination, that +she should have loved him, though she had not been beloved by him; and +besides, one whose quality was suitable to hers: all the obstacles that +could rise from duty and virtue were now removed, and all the trace +that remained on her mind of their former condition was the passion the +Duke de Nemours had for her, and that which she had for him. + +All these ideas were new to her; her affliction for the death of her +husband had left her no room for thoughts of this kind, but the sight +of Monsieur de Nemours revived them, and they crowded again into her +mind; but when she had taken her fill of them, and remembered that this +very man, whom she considered as a proper match for her, was the same +she had loved in her husband's lifetime, and was the cause of his +death, and that on his death-bed he had expressed a fear of her +marrying him, her severe virtue was so shocked at the imagination, that +she thought it would be as criminal in her to marry Monsieur de Nemours +now, as it was to love him before: in short, she abandoned herself to +these reflections so pernicious to her happiness, and fortified herself +in them by the inconveniency which she foresaw would attend such a +marriage. After two hours' stay in this place she returned home, +convinced that it was indispensably her duty to avoid the sight of the +man she loved. + +But this conviction, which was the effect of reason and virtue, did not +carry her heart along with it; her heart was so violently fixed on the +Duke de Nemours, that she became even an object of compassion, and was +wholly deprived of rest. Never did she pass a night in so uneasy a +manner; in the morning, the first thing she did was to see if there was +anybody at the window which looked towards her apartment; she saw there +Monsieur de Nemours, and was so surprised upon it, and withdrew so +hastily, as made him judge she knew him; he had often wished to be seen +by her, ever since he had found out that method of seeing her, and when +he had no hopes of obtaining that satisfaction, his way was to go to +muse in the garden where she found him. + +Tired at last with so unfortunate and uncertain a condition, he +resolved to attempt something to determine his fate: "What should I +wait for?" said he. "I have long known she loves me; she is free; she +has no duty now to plead against me; why should I submit myself to the +hardship of seeing her, without being seen by her or speaking to her? +Is it possible for love so absolutely to have deprived me of reason and +courage, and to have rendered me so different from what I have been in +all my other amours? It was fit I should pay a regard to Madam de +Cleves's grief; but I do it too long, and I give her leisure to +extinguish the inclination she had for me." + +After these reflections, he considered what measures he ought to take +to see her; he found he had no longer any reason to conceal his passion +from the Viscount de Chartres; he resolved to speak to him of it, and +to communicate to him his design with regard to his niece. + +The Viscount was then at Paris, the town being extremely full, and +everybody busy in preparing equipages and dresses to attend the King of +Navarre, who was to conduct the Queen of Spain: Monsieur de Nemours, +went to the Viscount, and made an ingenuous confession to him of all he +had concealed hitherto, except Madam de Cleves's sentiments, which he +would not seem to know. + +The Viscount received what he told him with a great deal of pleasure, +and assured him, that though he was not acquainted with his sentiments +on that subject, he had often thought, since Madam de Cleves had been a +widow, that she was the only lady that deserved him. Monsieur de +Nemours entreated him to give him an opportunity of speaking to her, +and learning what disposition she was in. + +The Viscount proposed to carry him to her house, but the Duke was of +opinion she would be shocked at it, because as yet she saw nobody; so +that they agreed, it would be better for the Viscount to ask her to +come to him, under some pretence, and for the Duke to come to them by a +private staircase, that he might not be observed. Accordingly this was +executed; Madam de Cleves came, the Viscount went to receive her, and +led her into a great closet at the end of his apartment; some time +after Monsieur de Nemours came in, as by chance: Madam de Cleves was +in great surprise to see him; she blushed and endeavoured to hide it; +the Viscount at first spoke of indifferent matters, and then went out, +as if he had some orders to give, telling Madam de Cleves he must +desire her to entertain the Duke in his stead, and that he would return +immediately. + +It is impossible to express the sentiments of Monsieur de Nemours, and +Madam de Cleves, when they saw themselves alone, and at liberty to +speak to one another, as they had never been before: they continued +silent a while; at length, said Monsieur de Nemours, "Can you, Madam, +pardon the Viscount for giving me an opportunity of seeing you, and +speaking to you, an opportunity which you have always so cruelly denied +me?" "I ought not to pardon him," replied she, "for having forgot the +condition I am in, and to what he exposes my reputation." Having spoke +these words, she would have gone away; but Monsieur de Nemours stopping +her, "Fear not, Madam," said he; "you have nothing to apprehend; nobody +knows I am here; hear me, Madam, hear me, if not out of goodness, yet +at least for your own sake, and to free yourself from the +extravagancies which a passion I am no longer master of will infallibly +hurry me into." Madam de Cleves now first yielded to the inclination +she had for the Duke de Nemours, and beholding him with eyes full of +softness and charms, "But what can you hope for," says she, "from the +complaisance you desire of me? You will perhaps repent that you have +obtained it, and I shall certainly repent that I have granted it. You +deserve a happier fortune than you have hitherto had, or than you can +have for the future, unless you seek it elsewhere." "I, Madam," said +he, "seek happiness anywhere else? Or is there any happiness for me, +but in your love? Though I never spoke of it before, I cannot believe, +Madam, that you are not acquainted with my passion, or that you do not +know it to be the greatest and most sincere that ever was; what trials +has it suffered in things you are a stranger to? What trials have you +put it to by your rigour?" + +"Since you are desirous I should open myself to you," answered Madam de +Cleves, "I'll comply with your desire, and I'll do it with a sincerity +that is rarely to be met with in persons of my sex: I shall not tell +you that I have not observed your passion for me; perhaps you would not +believe me if I should tell you so; I confess therefore to you, not +only that I have observed it, but that I have observed it in such +lights as you yourself could wish it might appear to me in." "And if +you have seen my passion, Madam," said he, "is it possible for you not +to have been moved by it? And may I venture to ask, if it has made no +impression on your heart?" "You should have judged of that from my +conduct," replied she; "but I should be glad to know what you thought +of it." "I ought to be in a happier condition," replied he, "to +venture to inform you; my fortune would contradict what I should say; +all I can tell you, Madam, is that I heartily wished you had not +acknowledged to Monsieur de Cleves what you concealed from me, and that +you had concealed from him what you made appear to me." "How came you +to discover," replied she blushing, "that I acknowledged anything to +Monsieur de Cleves?" "I learned it from yourself, Madam," replied he; +"but that you may the better pardon the boldness I showed in listening +to what you said, remember if I have made an ill use of what I heard, +if my hopes rose upon it, or if I was the more encouraged to speak to +you." + +Here he began to relate how he had overheard her conversation with +Monsieur de Cleves; but she interrupted him before he had finished; +"Say no more of it," said she, "I see how you came to be so well +informed; I suspected you knew the business but too well at the +Queen-Dauphin's, who learned this adventure from those you had +entrusted with it." + +Upon this Monsieur de Nemours informed her in what manner the thing +came to pass; "No excuses," says she; "I have long forgiven you, +without being informed how it was brought about; but since you have +learned from my ownself what I designed to conceal from you all my +life, I will acknowledge to you that you have inspired me with +sentiments I was unacquainted with before I saw you, and of which I had +so slender an idea, that they gave me at first a surprise which still +added to the pain that constantly attends them: I am the less ashamed +to make you this confession, because I do it at a time when I may do it +without a crime, and because you have seen that my conduct has not been +governed by my affections." + +"Can you believe, Madam," said Monsieur de Nemours, falling on his +knees, "but I shall expire at your feet with joy and transport?" "I +have told you nothing," said she smiling, "but what you knew too well +before." "Ah! Madam," said he, "what a difference is there between +learning it by chance, and knowing it from yourself, and seeing withal +that you are pleased I know it." "It is true," answered she, "I would +have you know it, and I find a pleasure in telling it you; I don't even +know if I do not tell it you more for my own sake, than for yours; for, +after all, this confession will have no consequences, and I shall +follow the austere rules which my duty imposes upon me." "How! Madam; +you are not of this opinion," replied Monsieur de Nemours; "you are no +longer under any obligation of duty; you are at liberty; and if I +durst, I should even tell you, that it is in your power to act so, that +your duty shall one day oblige you to preserve the sentiments you have +for me." "My duty," replied she, "forbids me to think of any man, but +of you the last in the world, and for reasons which are unknown to +you." "Those reasons perhaps are not unknown to me," answered he, "but +they are far from being good ones. I believe that Monsieur de Cleves +thought me happier than I was, and imagined that you approved of those +extravagancies which my passion led me into without your approbation." +"Let us talk no more of that adventure," said she; "I cannot bear the +thought of it, it giving me shame, and the consequences of it have been +such that it is too melancholy a subject to be spoken of; it is but too +true that you were the cause of Monsieur de Cleves's death; the +suspicions which your inconsiderate conduct gave him, cost him his life +as much as if you had taken it away with your own hands: judge what I +ought to have done, had you two fought a duel, and he been killed; I +know very well, it is not the same thing in the eye of the world, but +with me there's no difference, since I know that his death was owing to +you, and that it was on my account." "Ah! Madam," said Monsieur de +Nemours, "what phantom of duty do you oppose to my happiness? What! +Madam, shall a vain and groundless fancy hinder you from making a man +happy, for whom you have an inclination? What, have I had some ground +to hope I might pass my life with you? has my fate led me to love the +most deserving lady in the world? have I observed in her all that can +make a mistress adorable? Has she had no disliking to me? Have I +found in her conduct everything which perhaps I could wish for in a +wife? For in short, Madam, you are perhaps the only person in whom +those two characters have ever concurred to the degree they are in you; +those who marry mistresses, by whom they are loved, tremble when they +marry them, and cannot but fear lest they should observe the same +conduct towards others which they observed towards them; but in you, +Madam, I can fear nothing, I see nothing in you but matter of +admiration: have I had a prospect of so much felicity for no other end +but to see it obstructed by you? Ah! Madam, you forget, that you have +distinguished me above other men; or rather, you have not distinguished +me; you have deceived yourself, and I have flattered myself." + +"You have not flattered yourself," replied she; "the reasons of my duty +would not perhaps appear so strong to me without that distinction of +which you doubt, and it is that which makes me apprehend unfortunate +consequences from your alliance." "I have nothing to answer, Madam," +replied he, "when you tell me you apprehend unfortunate consequences; +but I own, that after all you have been pleased to say to me, I did not +expect from you so cruel a reason." "The reason you speak of," replied +Madam de Cleves, "is so little disobliging as to you, that I don't know +how to tell it you." "Alas! Madam," said he, "how can you fear I +should flatter myself too much after what you have been saying to me?" +"I shall continue to speak to you," says she, "with the same sincerity +with which I begun, and I'll lay aside that delicacy and reserve that +modesty obliges one to in a first conversation, but I conjure you to +hear me without interruption. + +"I think I owe the affection you have for me, the poor recompsense not +to hide from you any of my thoughts, and to let you see them such as +they really are; this in all probability will be the only time I shall +allow myself the freedom to discover them to you; and I cannot confess +without a blush, that the certainty of not being loved by you, as I am, +appears to me so dreadful a misfortune, that if I had not invincible +reasons grounded on my duty, I could not resolve to subject myself to +it; I know that you are free, that I am so too, and that circumstances +are such, that the public perhaps would have no reason to blame either +you or me, should we unite ourselves forever; but do men continue to +love, when under engagements for life? Ought I to expect a miracle in +my favour? And shall I place myself in a condition of seeing certainly +that passion come to an end, in which I should place all my felicity? +Monsieur de Cleves was perhaps the only man in the world capable of +continuing to love after marriage; it was my ill fate that I was not +able to enjoy that happiness, and perhaps his passion had not lasted +but that he found none, in me; but I should not have the same way of +preserving yours; I even think your constancy is owing to the obstacles +you have met with; you have met with enough to animate you to conquer +them; and my unguarded actions, or what you learned by chance, gave you +hopes enough not to be discouraged." "Ah! Madam," replied Monsieur de +Nemours, "I cannot keep the silence you enjoined me; you do me too much +injustice, and make it appear too clearly that you are far from being +prepossessed in my favour." "I confess," answered she, "that my +passions may lead me, but they cannot blind me; nothing can hinder me +from knowing that you are born with a disposition for gallantry, and +have all the qualities proper to give success; you have already had a +great many amours, and you will have more; I should no longer be she +you placed your happiness in; I should see you as warm for another as +you had been for me; this would grievously vex me, and I am not sure I +should not have the torment of jealousy; I have said too much to +conceal from you that you have already made me know what jealousy is, +and that I suffered such cruel inquietudes the evening the Queen gave +me Madam de Themines's letter, which it was said was addressed to you, +that to this moment I retain an idea of it, which makes me believe it +is the worst of all ills. + +"There is scarce a woman but out of vanity or inclination desires to +engage you; there are very few whom you do not please, and my own +experience would make me believe, that there are none whom it is not in +your power to please; I should think you always in love and beloved, +nor should I be often mistaken; and yet in this case I should have no +remedy but patience, nay I question if I should dare to complain: a +lover may be reproached; but can a husband be so, when one has nothing +to urge, but that he loves one no longer? But admit I could accustom +myself to bear a misfortune of this nature, yet how could I bear that +of imagining I constantly saw Monsieur de Cleves, accusing you of his +death, reproaching me with having loved you, with having married you, +and showing me the difference betwixt his affection and yours? It is +impossible to over-rule such strong reasons as these; I must continue +in the condition I am in, and in the resolution I have taken never to +alter it." "Do you believe you have the power to do it, Madam?" cried +the Duke de Nemours. "Do you think your resolution can hold out +against a man who adores, and who has the happiness to please you? It +is more difficult than you imagine, Madam, to resist a person who +pleases and loves one at the same time; you have done it by an +austerity of virtue, which is almost without example; but that virtue +no longer opposes your inclinations, and I hope you will follow them in +spite of yourself." "I know nothing can be more difficult than what I +undertake," replied Madam de Cleves; "I distrust my strength in the +midst of my reasons; what I think I owe to the memory of Monsieur de +Cleves would be a weak consideration, if not supported by the interest +of my ease and repose; and the reasons of my repose have need to be +supported by those of my duty; but though I distrust myself, I believe +I shall never overcome my scruples, nor do I so much as hope to +overcome the inclination I have for you; that inclination will make me +unhappy, and I will deny myself the sight of you, whatever violence it +is to me: I conjure you, by all the power I have over you, to seek no +occasion of seeing me; I am in a condition which makes that criminal +which might be lawful at another time; decency forbids all commerce +between us." Monsieur de Nemours threw himself at her feet, and gave a +loose to all the violent motions with which he was agitated; he +expressed both by his words and tears the liveliest and most tender +passion that ever heart was touched with; nor was the heart of Madam de +Cleves insensible; she looked upon him with eyes swelled with tears: +"Why was it," cries she, "that I can charge you with Monsieur de +Cleves's death? Why did not my first acquaintance with you begin since +I have been at liberty, or why did not I know you before I was engaged? +Why does fate separate us by such invincible obstacles?" "There are no +obstacles, Madam," replied Monsieur de Nemours; "it is you alone oppose +my happiness; you impose on yourself a law which virtue and reason do +not require you to obey." "'Tis true," says she, "I sacrifice a great +deal to a duty which does not subsist but in my imagination; have +patience, and expect what time may produce; Monsieur de Cleves is but +just expired, and that mournful object is too near to leave me clear +and distinct views; in the meantime enjoy the satisfaction to know you +have gained the heart of a person who would never have loved anyone, +had she not seen you: believe the inclination I have for you will last +forever, and that it will be uniform and the same, whatever becomes of +me: Adieu," said she; "this is a conversation I ought to blush for; +however, give an account of it to the Viscount; I agree to it, and +desire you to do it." + +With these words she went away, nor could Monsieur de Nemours detain +her. In the next room she met with the Viscount, who seeing her under +so much concern would not speak to her, but led her to her coach +without saying a word; he returned to Monsieur de Nemours, who was so +full of joy, grief, admiration, and of all those affections that attend +a passion full of hope and fear, that he had not the use of his reason. +It was a long time ere the Viscount could get from him an account of +the conversation; at last the Duke related it to him, and Monsieur de +Chartres, without being in love, no less admired the virtue, wit and +merit of Madam de Cleves, than did Monsieur de Nemours himself; they +began to examine what issue could reasonably be hoped for in this +affair; and however fearful the Duke de Nemours was from his love, he +agreed with the Viscount, that it was impossible Madam de Cleves should +continue in the resolution she was in; they were of opinion +nevertheless that it was necessary to follow her orders, for fear, upon +the public's perceiving the inclination he had for her, she should make +declarations and enter into engagements with respect to the world, that +she would afterwards abide by, lest it should be thought she loved him +in her husband's lifetime. + +Monsieur de Nemours determined to follow the King; it was a journey he +could not well excuse himself from, and so he resolved to go without +endeavouring to see Madam de Cleves again from the window out of which +he had sometimes seen her; he begged the Viscount to speak to her; and +what did he not desire him to say in his behalf? What an infinite +number of reasons did he furnish him with, to persuade her to conquer +her scruples? In short, great part of the night was spent before he +thought of going away. + +As for Madam de Cleves, she was in no condition to rest; it was a thing +so new to her to have broke loose from the restraints she had laid on +herself, to have endured the first declarations of love that ever were +made to her, and to have confessed that she herself was in love with +him that made them, all this was so new to her, that she seemed quite +another person; she was surprised at what she had done; she repented of +it; she was glad of it; all her thoughts were full of anxiety and +passion; she examined again the reasons of her duty, which obstructed +her happiness; she was grieved to find them so strong, and was sorry +that she had made them out so clear to Monsieur de Nemours: though she +had entertained thoughts of marrying him, as soon as she beheld him in +the garden of the suburbs, yet her late conversation with him made a +much greater impression on her mind; at some moments she could not +comprehend how she could be unhappy by marrying him, and she was ready +to say in her heart, that her scruples as to what was past, and her +fears for the future, were equally groundless: at other times, reason +and her duty prevailed in her thoughts, and violently hurried her into +a resolution not to marry again, and never to see Monsieur de Nemours; +but this was a resolution hard to be established in a heart so softened +as hers, and so lately abandoned to the charms of love. At last, to +give herself a little ease, she concluded that it was not yet necessary +to do herself the violence of coming to any resolution, and decency +allowed her a considerable time to determine what to do: however she +resolved to continue firm in having no commerce with Monsieur de +Nemours. The Viscount came to see her, and pleaded his friend's cause +with all the wit and application imaginable, but could not make her +alter her conduct, or recall the severe orders she had given to +Monsieur de Nemours; she told him her design was not to change her +condition; that she knew how difficult it was to stand to that design, +but that she hoped she should be able to do it; she made him so +sensible how far she was affected with the opinion that Monsieur de +Nemours was the cause of her husband's death, and how much she was +convinced that it would be contrary to her duty to marry him, that the +Viscount was afraid it would be very difficult to take away those +impressions; he did not, however, tell the Duke what he thought, when +he gave him an account of his conversation with her, but left him as +much hope as a man who is loved may reasonably have. + +They set out the next day, and went after the King; the Viscount wrote +to Madam de Cleves at Monsieur de Nemours's request, and in a second +letter, which soon followed the first, the Duke wrote a line or two in +his own hand; but Madam de Cleves determined not to depart from the +rules she had prescribed herself, and fearing the accidents that might +happen from letters, informed the Viscount that she would receive his +letters no more, if he continued to speak of Monsieur de Nemours, and +did it in so peremptory a manner, that the Duke desired him not to +mention him. + +During the absence of the Court, which was gone to conduct the Queen of +Spain as far as Poitou, Madam de Cleves continued at home; and the more +distant she was from Monsieur de Nemours, and from everything that +could put her in mind of him, the more she recalled the memory of the +Prince of Cleves, which she made it her glory to preserve; the reasons +she had not to marry the Duke de Nemours appeared strong with respect +to her duty, but invincible with respect to her quiet; the opinion she +had, that marriage would put an end to his love, and the torments of +jealousy, which she thought the infallible consequences of marriage, +gave her the prospect of a certain unhappiness if she consented to his +desires; on the other hand, she thought it impossible, if he were +present, to refuse the most amiable man in the world, the man who loved +her, and whom she loved, and to oppose him in a thing that was neither +inconsistent with virtue nor decency: she thought that nothing but +absence and distance could give her the power to do it; and she found +she stood in need of them, not only to support her resolution not to +marry, but even to keep her from seeing Monsieur de Nemours; she +resolved therefore to take a long journey, in order to pass away the +time which decency obliged her to spend in retirement; the fine estate +she had near the Pyrenees seemed the most proper place she could make +choice of; she set out a few days before the Court returned, and wrote +at parting to the Viscount to conjure him not to think of once +enquiring after her, or of writing to her. + +Monsieur de Nemours was as much troubled at this journey as another +would have been for the death of his mistress; the thought of being +deprived so long a time of the sight of Madam de Cleves grieved him to +the soul, especially as it happened at a time when he had lately +enjoyed the pleasure of seeing her, and of seeing her moved by his +passion; however he could do nothing but afflict himself, and his +affliction increased every day. Madam de Cleves, whose spirits had been +so much agitated, was no sooner arrived at her country seat, but she +fell desperately ill; the news of it was brought to Court; Monsieur de +Nemours was inconsolable; his grief proceeded even to despair and +extravagance; the Viscount had much a-do to hinder him from discovering +his passion in public, and as much a-do to keep him from going in +person to know how she did; the relation and friendship between her and +the Viscount served as an excuse for sending frequent messengers; at +last they heard she was out of the extremity of danger she had been in, +but continued in a languishing malady that left but little hopes of +life. + +The nature of her disease gave her a prospect of death both near, and +at a distance, and showed her the things of this life in a very +different view from that in which they are seen by people in health; +the necessity of dying, to which she saw herself so near, taught her to +wean herself from the world, and the lingeringness of her distemper +brought her to a habit in it; yet when she was a little recovered, she +found that Monsieur de Nemours was not effaced from her heart; but to +defend herself against him, she called to her aid all the reasons which +she thought she had never to marry him; after a long conflict in +herself, she subdued the relics of that passion which had been weakened +by the sentiments her illness had given her; the thoughts of death had +reproached her with the memory of Monsieur de Cleves, and this +remembrance was so agreeable to her duty, that it made deep impressions +in her heart; the passions and engagements of the world appeared to her +in the light, in which they appear to persons who have more great and +more distant views. The weakness of her body, which was brought very +low, aided her in preserving these sentiments; but as she knew what +power opportunities have over the wisest resolutions, she would not +hazard the breach of those she had taken, by returning into any place +where she might see him she loved; she retired, under pretence of +change of air, into a convent, but without declaring a settled +resolution of quitting the Court. + +Upon the first news of it, Monsieur de Nemours felt the weight of this +retreat, and saw the importance of it; he presently thought he had +nothing more to hope, but omitted not anything that might oblige her to +return; he prevailed with the Queen to write; he made the Viscount not +only write, but go to her, but all to no purpose; the Viscount saw her, +but she did not tell him she had fixed her resolution; and yet he +judged, she would never return to Court; at last Monsieur de Nemours +himself went to her, under pretence of using the waters; she was +extremely grieved and surprised to hear he was come, and sent him word +by a person of merit about her, that she desired him not to take it ill +if she did not expose herself to the danger of seeing him, and of +destroying by his presence those sentiments she was obliged to +preserve; that she desired he should know, that having found it both +against her duty and peace of mind to yield to the inclination she had +to be his, all things else were become so indifferent to her, that she +had renounced them for ever; that she thought only of another life, and +had no sentiment remaining as to this, but the desire of seeing him in +the same dispositions she was in. + +Monsieur de Nemours was like to have expired in the presence of the +lady who told him this; he begged her a thousand times to return to +Madam de Cleves, and to get leave for him to see her; but she told him +the Princess had not only forbidden her to come back with any message +from him, but even to report the conversation that should pass between +them. At length Monsieur de Nemours was obliged to go back, oppressed +with the heaviest grief a man is capable of, who has lost all hopes of +ever seeing again a person, whom he loved not only with the most +violent, but most natural and sincere passion that ever was; yet still +he was not utterly discouraged, but used all imaginable methods to make +her alter her resolution; at last, after several years, time and +absence abated his grief, and extinguished his passion. Madam de Cleves +lived in a manner that left no probability of her ever returning to +Court; she spent one part of the year in that religious house, and the +other at her own, but still continued the austerity of retirement, and +constantly employed herself in exercises more holy than the severest +convents can pretend to; and her life, though it was short, left +examples of inimitable virtues. + + + + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Princess of Cleves, by Madame de Lafayette + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PRINCESS OF CLEVES *** + +***** This file should be named 467.txt or 467.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/4/6/467/ + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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This Prince +was amorous and handsome, and though his passion for Diana of +Poitiers Duchess of Valentinois, was of above twenty years +standing, it was not the less violent, nor did he give less +distinguishing proofs of it. + +As he was happily turned to excel in bodily exercises, he took a +particular delight in them, such as hunting, tennis, running at +the ring, and the like diversions. Madam de Valentinois gave +spirit to all entertainments of this sort, and appeared at them +with grace and beauty equal to that of her grand-daughter, Madam +de la Marke, who was then unmarried; the Queen's presence seemed +to authorise hers. + +The Queen was handsome, though not young; she loved grandeur, +magnificence and pleasure; she was married to the King while he +was Duke of Orleans, during the life of his elder brother the +Dauphin, a prince whose great qualities promised in him a worthy +successor of his father Francis the First. + +The Queen's ambitious temper made her taste the sweets of +reigning, and she seemed to bear with perfect ease the King's +passion for the Duchess of Valentinois, nor did she express the +least jealousy of it; but she was so skilful a dissembler, that +it was hard to judge of her real sentiments, and policy obliged +her to keep the duchess about her person, that she might draw the +King to her at the same time. This Prince took great delight in +the conversation of women, even of such as he had no passion for; +for he was every day at the Queen's court, when she held her +assembly, which was a concourse of all that was beautiful and +excellent in either sex. + +Never were finer women or more accomplished men seen in any +Court, and Nature seemed to have taken pleasure in lavishing her +greatest graces on the greatest persons. The Princess Elizabeth, +since Queen of Spain, began now to manifest an uncommon wit, and +to display those beauties, which proved afterwards so fatal to +her. Mary Stuart, Queen of Scotland, who had just married the +Dauphin, and was called the Queen-Dauphin, had all the +perfections of mind and body; she had been educated in the Court +of France, and had imbibed all the politeness of it; she was by +nature so well formed to shine in everything that was polite, +that notwithstanding her youth, none surpassed her in the most +refined accomplishments. The Queen, her mother-in-law, and the +King's sister, were also extreme lovers of music, plays and +poetry; for the taste which Francis the First had for the Belles +Lettres was not yet extinguished in France; and as his son was +addicted to exercises, no kind of pleasure was wanting at Court. +But what rendered this Court so splendid, was the presence of so +many great Princes, and persons of the highest quality and merit: +those I shall name, in their different characters, were the +admiration and ornament of their age. + +The King of Navarre drew to himself the respect of all the world +both by the greatness of his birth, and by the dignity that +appeared in his person; he was remarkable for his skill and +courage in war. The Duke of Guise had also given proofs of +extraordinary valour, and had, been so successful, that there was +not a general who did not look upon him with envy; to his valour +he added a most exquisite genius and understanding, grandeur of +mind, and a capacity equally turned for military or civil +affairs. His brother, the Cardinal of Loraine, was a man of +boundless ambition, and of extraordinary wit and eloquence, and +had besides acquired a vast variety of learning, which enabled +him to make himself very considerable by defending the Catholic +religion, which began to be attacked at that time. The Chevalier +de Guise, afterwards called Grand Prior, was a prince beloved by +all the world, of a comely person, full of wit and address, and +distinguished through all Europe for his valour. The Prince of +Conde, though little indebted to Nature in his person, had a +noble soul, and the liveliness of his wit made him amiable even +in the eyes of the finest women. The Duke of Nevers, +distinguished by the high employments he had possessed, and by +the glory he had gained in war, though in an advanced age, was +yet the delight of the Court: he had three sons very +accomplished; the second, called the Prince of Cleves, was worthy +to support the honour of his house; he was brave and generous, +and showed a prudence above his years. The Viscount de Chartres, +descended of the illustrious family of Vendome, whose name the +Princes of the blood have thought it no dishonour to wear, was +equally distinguished for gallantry; he was genteel, of a fine +mien, valiant, generous, and all these qualities he possessed in +a very uncommon degree; in short, if anyone could be compared to +the Duke de Nemours, it was he. The Duke de Nemours was a +masterpiece of Nature; the beauty of his person, inimitable as it +was, was his least perfection; what placed him above other men, +was a certain agreeableness in his discourse, his actions, his +looks, which was observable in none beside himself: he had in his +behaviour a gaiety that was equally pleasing to men and women; in +his exercises he was very expert; and in dress he had a peculiar +manner, which was followed by all the world, but could never be +imitated: in fine, such was the air of his whole person, that it +was impossible to fix one's eye on anything else, wherever he +was. There was not a lady at Court, whose vanity would not have +been gratified by his address; few of those whom he addressed, +could boast of having resisted him; and even those for whom he +expressed no passion, could not forbear expressing one for him: +his natural gaiety and disposition to gallantry was so great, +that he could not refuse some part of his cares and attention to +those who made it their endeavour to please him; and accordingly +he had several mistresses, but it was hard to guess which of them +was in possession of his heart: he made frequent visits to the +Queen-Dauphin; the beauty of this princess, the sweetness of her +temper, the care she took to oblige everybody, and the particular +esteem she expressed for the Duke de Nemours, gave ground to +believe that he had raised his views even to her. Messieurs de +Guise, whose niece she was, had so far increased their authority +and reputation by this match, that their ambition prompted them +to aspire at an equality with the Princes of the blood, and to +share in power with the Constable Montmorency. The King +entrusted the Constable with the chief share in the +administration of the Government, and treated the Duke of Guise +and the Mareschal de St. Andre as his favourites; but whether +favour or business admitted men to his presence, they could not +preserve that privilege without the good-liking of the Duchess of +Valentinois; for though she was no longer in possession of either +of youth or beauty, she yet reigned so absolutely in his heart, +that his person and state seemed entirely at her disposal. + +The King had such an affection for the Constable, that he was no +sooner possessed of the Government, but he recalled him from the +banishment he had been sent into by Francis the First: thus was +the Court divided between Messieurs de Guise, and the Constable, +who was supported by the Princes of the blood, and both parties +made it their care to gain the Duchess of Valentinois. The Duke +d'Aumale, the Duke of Guise's brother, had married one of her +daughters, and the Constable aspired to the fame alliance; he was +not contented with having married his eldest son with Madam +Diana, the King's daughter by a Piemontese lady, who turned nun +as soon as she was brought to bed. This marriage had met with a +great many obstacles from the promises which Monsieur Montmorency +had made to Madam de Piennes, one of the maids of honour to the +Queen; and though the King had surmounted them with extreme +patience and goodness, the Constable did not think himself +sufficiently established, unless he secured Madam de Valentinois +in his interest, and separated her from Messieurs de Guise, whose +greatness began to give her uneasiness. The Duchess had +obstructed as much as she could the marriage of the Dauphin with +the Queen of Scotland; the beauty and forward wit of that young +Queen, and the credit which her marriage gave to Messieurs de +Guise, were insupportable to her; she in particular hated the +Cardinal of Loraine, who had spoken to her with severity, and +even with contempt; she was sensible he took the party of the +Queen, so that the Constable found her very well disposed to +unite her interests with his and to enter into alliance with him, +by marrying her granddaughter Madam de la Marke with Monsieur +d'Anville, his second son, who succeeded him in his employment +under the reign of Charles the Ninth. The Constable did not +expect to find the same disinclination to marriage in his second +son which he had found in his eldest, but he proved mistaken. +The Duke d'Anville was desperately in love with the +Dauphin-Queen, and how little hope soever he might have of +succeeding in his passion, he could not prevail with himself to +enter into an engagement that would divide his cares. The +Mareschal de St. Andre was the only person in the Court that had +not listed in either party: he was a particular favourite, and +the King had a personal affection for him; he had taken a liking +to him ever since he was Dauphin, and created him a Mareschal of +France at an age in which others rarely obtain the least +dignities. His favour with the King gave him a lustre which he +supported by his merit and the agreeableness of his person, by a +splendour in his table and furniture, and by the most profuse +magnificence that ever was known in a private person, the King's +liberality enabling him to bear such an expense. This Prince was +bounteous even to prodigality to those he favoured, and though he +had not all the great qualities, he had very many; particularly +he took delight and had great skill in military affairs; he was +also successful, and excepting the Battle of St. Quintin, his +reign had been a continued series of victory; he won in person +the Battle of Renti, Piemont was conquered, the English were +driven out of France, and the Emperor Charles V found his good +fortune decline before the walls of Mets, which he besieged in +vain with all the forces of the Empire, and of Spain: but the +disgrace received at St. Quintin lessened the hopes we had of +extending our conquests, and as fortune seemed to divide herself +between two Kings, they both found themselves insensibly disposed +to peace. + +The Duchess Dowager of Loraine had made some overtures about the +time of the Dauphin's marriage, since which a secret negotiation +had been constantly carried on; in fine, Coran in Artois was the +place appointed for the treaty; the Cardinal of Loraine, the +Constable Montmorency, and the Mareschal de St. Andre were +plenipotentaries for the King; the Duke of Alva, and the Prince +of Orange for Philip the II, and the Duke and Duchess of Loraine +were mediators. The principal articles were the marriage of the +Princess Elizabeth of France with Don Carlos the Infanta of +Spain, and that of his majesty's sister with the Duke of Savoy. + +The King, during the Treaty, continued on the frontiers, where he +received the news of the death of Queen Mary of England; his +Majesty dispatched forthwith the Count de Randan to Queen +Elizabeth, to congratulate her on her accession to the Crown, and +they received him with great distinction; for her affairs were so +precarious at that time, that nothing could be more advantageous +to her, than to see her title acknowledged by the King. The +Count found she had a thorough knowledge of the interests of the +French Court, and of the characters of those who composed it; but +in particular, she had a great idea of the Duke of Nemours: she +spoke to him so often, and with so much ernestness concerning +him, that the Ambassador upon his return declared to the King, +that there was nothing which the Duke of Nemours might not expect +from that Princess, and that he made no question she might even +be brought to marry him. The King communicated it to the Duke +the same evening, and caused the Count de Randan to relate to him +all the conversations he had had with Queen Elizabeth, and in +conclusion advised him to push his fortune: the Duke of Nemours +imagined at first that the King was not in earnest, but when he +found to the contrary, "If, by your advice, Sir," said he, "I +engage in this chimerical undertaking for your Majesty's service, +I must entreat your Majesty to keep the affair secret, till the +success of it shall justify me to the public; I would not be +thought guilty of the intolerable vanity, to think that a Queen, +who has never seen me, would marry me for love." The King +promised to let nobody into the design but the Constable, secrecy +being necessary, he knew, to the success of it. The Count de +Randan advised the Duke to go to England under pretence of +travelling; but the Duke disapproving this proposal, sent Mr. +Lignerol, a sprightly young gentleman, his favourite, to sound +the Queen's inclinations, and to endeavour to make some steps +towards advancing that affair: in the meantime, he paid a visit +to the Duke of Savoy, who was then at Brussels with the King of +Spain. The death of Queen Mary brought great obstructions to the +Treaty; the Congress broke up at the end of November, and the +King returned to Paris. + +There appeared at this time a lady at Court, who drew the eyes of +the whole world; and one may imagine she was a perfect beauty, to +gain admiration in a place where there were so many fine women; +she was of the same family with the Viscount of Chartres, and one +of the greatest heiresses of France, her father died young, and +left her to the guardianship of Madam de Chartres his wife, whose +wealth, virtue, and merit were uncommon. After the loss of her +husband she retired from Court, and lived many years in the +country; during this retreat, her chief care was bestowed in the +education of her daughter; but she did not make it her business +to cultivate her wit and beauty only, she took care also to +inculcate virtue into her tender mind, and to make it amiable to +her. The generality of mothers imagine, that it is sufficient to +forbear talking of gallantries before young people, to prevent +their engaging in them; but Madam de Chartres was of a different +opinion, she often entertained her daughter with descriptions of +love; she showed her what there was agreeable in it, that she +might the more easily persuade her wherein it was dangerous; she +related to her the insincerity, the faithlessness, and want of +candour in men, and the domestic misfortunes that flow from +engagements with them; on the other hand she made her sensible, +what tranquillity attends the life of a virtuous woman, and what +lustre modesty gives to a person who possesses birth and beauty; +at the same time she informed her, how difficult it was to +perserve this virtue, except by an extreme distrust of one's +self, and by a constant attachment to the only thing which +constitutes a woman's happiness, to love and to be loved by her +husband. + +This heiress was, at that time, one of the greatest matches in +France, and though she was very young several marriages had been +proposed to her mother; but Madam de Chartres being ambitious, +hardly thought anything worthy of her daughter, and when she was +sixteen years of age she brought her to Court. The Viscount of +Chartres, who went to meet her, was with reason surprised at the +beauty of the young lady; her fine hair and lovely complexion +gave her a lustre that was peculiar to herself; all her features +were regular, and her whole person was full of grace. + +The day after her arrival, she went to choose some jewels at a +famous Italian's; this man came from Florence with the Queen, and +had acquired such immense riches by his trade, that his house +seemed rather fit for a Prince than a merchant; while she was +there, the Prince of Cleves came in, and was so touched with her +beauty, that he could not dissemble his surprise, nor could +Mademoiselle de Chartres forbear blushing upon observing the +astonishment he was in; nevertheless, she recollected herself, +without taking any further notice of him than she was obliged to +do in civility to a person of his seeming rank; the Prince of +Cleves viewed her with admiration, and could not comprehend who +that fine lady was, whom he did not know. He found by her air, +and her retinue, that she was of the first quality; by her youth +he should have taken her to be a maid, but not seeing her mother, +and hearing the Italian call her madam, he did not know what to +think; and all the while he kept his eyes fixed upon her, he +found that his behaviour embarrassed her, unlike to most young +ladies, who always behold with pleasure the effect of their +beauty; he found too, that he had made her impatient to be going, +and in truth she went away immediately: the Prince of Cleves was +not uneasy at himself on having lost the view of her, in hopes of +being informed who she was; but when he found she was not known, +he was under the utmost surprise; her beauty, and the modest air +he had observed in her actions, affected him so, that from that +moment he entertained a passion for her. In the evening he +waited on his Majesty's sister. + +This Princess was in great consideration by reason of her +interest with the King her brother; and her authority was so +great, that the King, on concluding the peace, consented to +restore Piemont, in order to marry her with the Duke of Savoy. +Though she had always had a disposition to marry, yet would she +never accept of anything beneath a sovereign, and for this reason +she refused the King of Navarre, when he was Duke of Vendome, and +always had a liking for the Duke of Savoy; which inclination for +him she had preserved ever since she saw him at Nice, at the +interview between Francis I, and Pope Paul III. As she had a +great deal of wit, and a fine taste of polite learning, men of +ingenuity were always about her, and at certain times the whole +Court resorted to her apartments. + +The Prince of Cleves went there according to his custom; he was +so touched with the wit and beauty of Mademoiselle de Chartres, +that he could talk of nothing else; he related his adventure +aloud, and was never tired with the praises of this lady, whom he +had seen, but did not know; Madame told him, that there was +nobody like her he described, and that if there were, she would +be known by the whole world. Madam de Dampiere, one of the +Princess's ladies of honour, and a friend of Madam de Chartres, +overhearing the conversation, came up to her Highness, and +whispered her in the ear, that it was certainly Mademoiselle de +Chartres whom the Prince had seen. Madame, returning to her +discourse with the Prince, told him, if he would give her his +company again the next morning, he should see the beauty he was +so much touched with. Accordingly Mademoiselle de Chartres came +the next day to Court, and was received by both Queens in the +most obliging manner that can be imagined, and with such +admiration by everybody else, that nothing was to be heard at +Court but her praises, which she received with so agreeable a +modesty, that she seemed not to have heard them, or at least not +to be moved with them. She afterwards went to wait upon Madame; +that Princess, after having commended her beauty, informed her of +the surprise she had given the Prince of Cleves; the Prince came +in immediately after; "Come hither," said she to him, "see, if +I have not kept my word with you, and if at the same time that I +show you Mademoiselle de Chartres, I don't show you the lady you +are in search of. You ought to thank me, at least, for having +acquainted her how much you are her admirer." + +The Prince of Cleves was overjoyed to find that the lady he +admired was of quality equal to her beauty; he addressed her, and +entreated her to remember that he was her first lover, and had +conceived the highest honour and respect for her, before he knew +her. + +The Chevalier de Guise, and the Prince, who were two bosom +friends, took their leave of Madame together. They were no +sooner gone but they began to launch out into the praises of +Mademoiselle de Chartres, without bounds; they were sensible at +length that they had run into excess in her commendation, and so +both gave over for that time; but they were obliged the next day +to renew the subject, for this new-risen beauty long continued to +supply discourse to the whole Court; the Queen herself was lavish +in her praise, and showed her particular marks of favour; the +Queen-Dauphin made her one of her favourites, and begged her +mother to bring her often to her Court; the Princesses, the +King's daughters, made her a party in all their diversions; in +short, she had the love and admiration of the whole Court, except +that of the Duchess of Valentinois: not that this young beauty +gave her umbrage; long experience convinced her she had nothing +to fear on the part of the King, and she had to great a hatred +for the Viscount of Chartres, whom she had endeavoured to bring +into her interest by marrying him with one of her daughters, and +who had joined himself to the Queen's party, that she could not +have the least favourable thought of a person who bore his name, +and was a great object of his friendship. + +The Prince of Cleves became passionately in love with +Mademoiselle de Chartres, and ardently wished to marry her, but +he was afraid the haughtiness of her mother would not stoop to +match her with one who was not the head of his family: +nevertheless his birth was illustrious, and his elder brother, +the Count d'En, had just married a lady so nearly related to the +Royal family, that this apprehension was rather the effect of his +love, than grounded on any substantial reason. He had a great +number of rivals; the most formidable among them, for his birth, +his merit, and the lustre which Royal favour cast upon his house, +was the Chevalier de Guise; this gentleman fell in love with +Mademoiselle de Chartres the first day he saw her, and he +discovered the Prince of Cleves's passion as the Prince of Cleves +discovered his. Though they were intimate friends, their having +the same pretentions gradually created a coolness between them, +and their friendship grew into an indifference, without their +being able to come to an explanation on the matter. The Prince +of Cleves's good fortune in having seen Mademoiselle de Chartres +first seemed to be a happy presage, and gave him some advantage +over his rivals, but he foresaw great obstructions on the part of +the Duke of Nevers his father: the Duke was strictly attached to +the Duchess of Valentinois, and the Viscount de Chartres was her +enemy, which was a sufficient reason to hinder the Duke from +consenting to the marriage of his son, with a niece of the +Viscount's. + +Madam de Chartres, who had taken so much care to inspire virtue +into her daughter, did not fail to continue the same care in a +place where it was so necessary, and where there were so many +dangerous examples. Ambition and gallantry were the soul of the +Court, and employed both sexes equally; there were so many +different interests and so many cabals, and the ladies had so +great a share in them, that love was always mixed with business, +and business with love: nobody was easy, or indifferent; their +business was to raise themselves, to be agreeable, to serve or +disserve; and intrigue and pleasure took up their whole time. +The care of the ladies was to recommend themselves either to the +Queen, the Dauphin-Queen, or the Queen of Navarre, or to Madame, +or the Duchess of Valentinois. Inclination, reasons of decorum, +resemblance of temper made their applications different; those +who found the bloom worn off, and who professed an austerity of +virtue, were attached to the Queen; the younger sort, who loved +pleasure and gallantry, made their Court to the Queen-Dauphin; +the Queen of Navarre too had her favourites, she was young, and +had great power with the King her husband, who was in the +interest of the Constable, and by that means increased his +authority; Madame was still very beautiful, and drew many ladies +into her party. And as for the Duchess of Valentinois, she could +command as many as she would condescend to smile upon; but very +few women were agreeable to her, and excepting some with whom she +lived in confidence and familiarity, and whose humour was +agreeable to her own, she admitted none but on days when she +gratified her vanity in having a Court in the same manner the +Queen had. + +All these different cabals were full of emulation and envy +towards one another; the ladies, who composed them, had their +jealousies also among themselves, either as to favour or lovers: +the interests of ambition were often blended with concerns of +less importance, but which did not affect less sensibly; so that +in this Court there was a sort of tumult without disorder, which +made it very agreeable, but at the same time very dangerous for a +young lady. Madam de Chartres perceived the danger, and was +careful to guard her daughter from it; she entreated her, not as +a mother, but as her friend, to impart to her all the gallantry +she should meet withal, promising her in return to assist her in +forming her conduct right, as to things in which young people are +oftentimes embarrassed. + +The Chevalier de Guise was so open and unguarded with respect to +his passion for Mademoiselle de Chartres, that nobody was +ignorant of it: nevertheless he saw nothing but impossibilities +in what he desired; he was sensible that he was not a proper +match for Mademoiselle de Chartres, by reason of the narrowness +of his fortune, which was not sufficient to support his dignity; +and he was sensible besides, that his brothers would not approve +of his marrying, the marriages of younger brothers being looked +upon as what tends to the lessening great families; the Cardinal +of Loraine soon convinced him, that he was not mistaken; he +condemned his attachment to Mademoiselle de Chartres with warmth, +but did not inform him of his true reasons for so doing; the +Cardinal, it seems, had a hatred to the Viscount, which was not +known at that time, but afterwards discovered itself; he would +rather have consented to any other alliance for his brother than +to that of the Viscount; and he declared his aversion to it in so +public a manner, that Madam de Chartres was sensibly disgusted at +it. She took a world of pains to show that the Cardinal of +Loraine had nothing to fear, and that she herself had no thoughts +of this marriage; the Viscount observed the same conduct, and +resented that of the Cardinal more than Madam de Chartres did, +being better apprised of the cause of it. + +The Prince of Cleves had not given less public proofs of his +love, than the Chevalier de Guise had done, which made the Duke +of Nevers very uneasy; however he thought that he needed only to +speak to his son, to make him change his conduct; but he was very +much surprised to find him in a settled design of marrying +Mademoiselle de Chartres, and flew out into such excesses of +passion on that subject, that the occasion of it was soon known +to the whole Court, and among others to Madam de Chartres: she +never imagined that the Duke of Nevers would not think her +daughter a very advantageous match for his son, nor was she a +little astonished to find that the houses both of Cleves and +Guise avoided her alliance, instead of courting it. Her +resentment on this account put her upon finding out a match for +her daughter, which would raise her above those that imagined +themselves above her; after having looked about, she fixed upon +the Prince Dauphin, son of the Duke de Montpensier, one of the +most considerable persons then at Court. As Madam de Chartres +abounded in wit, and was assisted by the Viscount, who was in +great consideration, and as her daughter herself was a very +considerable match, she managed the matter with so much dexterity +and success, that Monsieur de Montpensier appeared to desire the +marriage, and there was no appearance of any difficulties in it. + +The Viscount, knowing the power the Dauphin-Queen had over +Monsieur d'Anville, thought it not amiss to employ the interest +of that Princess to engage him to serve Mademoiselle de Chartres, +both with the King and the Prince de Montpensier, whose intimate +friend he was: he spoke to the Dauphin-Queen about it, and she +entered with joy into an affair which concerned the promotion of +a lady for whom she had a great affection; she expressed as much +to the Viscount, and assured him, that though she knew she should +do what was disagreeable to the Cardinal of Loraine her uncle, +she would pass over that consideration with pleasure, because she +had reasons of complaint against him, since he every day more and +more espoused the interest of the Queen against hers. + +Persons of gallantry are always glad of an opportunity of +speaking to those who love them. No sooner was the Viscount +gone, but the Queen-Dauphin sent Chatelart to Monsieur d'Anville, +to desire him from her to be at Court that evening. Chatelart +was his favourite, and acquainted with his passion for this +Princess, and therefore received her commands with great pleasure +and respect. He was a gentleman of a good family in Dauphiny; +but his wit and merit distinguished him more than his birth: he +was well received at Court. He was graceful in his person, +perfect at all sorts of exercises; he sung agreeably, he wrote +verses, and was of so amorous and gallant a temper, as endeared +him to Monsieur d'Anville in such a degree, that he made him the +confidant of his amours between the Queen-Dauphin and him; this +confidence gave him access to that Princess, and it was owing to +the frequent opportunities he had of seeing her, that he +commenced that unhappy passion which deprived him of his reason, +and at last cost him his life. + +Monsieur d'Anville did not fail to be at Court in the evening; he +thought himself very happy, that the Queen-Dauphin had made +choice of him to manage an affair she had at heart, and he +promised to obey her commands with the greatest exactness. But +the Duchess of Valentinois being warned of the design in view, +had traversed it with so much care, and prepossessed the King so +much against it, that when Monsieur d'Anville came to speak to +his Majesty about it, he plainly showed he did not approve of it, +and commanded him to signify as much to the Prince de +Montpensier. One may easily judge what the sentiments of Madam +de Chartres were, upon the breaking off of an affair which she +had set her mind so much upon, and the ill success of which gave +such an advantage to her enemies, and was so great a prejudice to +her daughter. + +The Queen-Dauphin declared to Mademoiselle de Chartres, in a very +friendly manner, the uneasiness she was in for not having been +able to serve her: "You see, Madam," said she to her, "that +my interest is small; I am upon so ill terms with the Queen and +the Duchess of Valentinois, that it is no wonder if they or their +dependents still succeed in disappointing my desires; +nevertheless, I have constantly used my endeavours to please +them. Indeed, they hate me not for my own sake, but for my +mother's; she formerly gave them some jealousy and uneasiness; +the King was in love with her before he was in love with the +Duchess; and in the first years of his marriage, when he had no +issue, he appeared almost resolved to be divorced from the Queen, +in order to make room for my mother, though at the same time he +had some affection for the Duchess. Madam de Valentinois being +jealous of a lady whom he had formerly loved, and whose wit and +beauty were capable of lessening her interest, joined herself to +the Constable, who was no more desirous than herself that the +King should marry a sister of the Duke of Guise; they possessed +the deceased King with their sentiments; and though he mortally +hated the Duchess of Valentinois, and loved the Queen, he joined +his endeavours with theirs to prevent the divorce; but in order +to take from the King all thoughts of marrying the Queen my +mother, they struck up a marriage between her and the King of +Scotland, who had had for his first wife the King's sister, and +they did this because it was the easiest to be brought to a +conclusion, though they failed in their engagements to the King +of England, who was very desirous of marrying her; and that +failure wanted but little of occasioning a rupture between the +two Crowns: for Henry the Eighth was inconsolable, when he found +himself disappointed in his expectations of marrying my mother; +and whatever other Princess of France was proposed to him, he +always said, nothing could make him amends for her he had been +deprived of. It is certainly true, that my mother was a perfect +beauty; and what is very remarkable, is, that being the widow of +the Duke of Longueville, three Kings should court her in +marriage. Her ill fortune gave her to the least of them, and +placed her in a kingdom where she meets with nothing but trouble. +They say I resemble her, but I fear I shall resemble her only in +her unhappy destiny; and whatever fortune may seem to promise me +at present, I can never think I shall enjoy it." + +Mademoiselle de Chartres answered the Queen, that these +melancholy presages were so ill-grounded, that they would not +disturb her long, and that she ought not to doubt but her good +fortune would accomplish whatever it promised. + +No one now entertained any further thoughts of Mademoiselle de +Chartres, either fearing to incur the King's displeasure, or +despairing to succeed with a lady, who aspired to an alliance +with a Prince of the blood. The Prince of Cleves alone was not +disheartened at either of these considerations; the death of the +Duke of Nevers his father, which happened at that time, set him +at entire liberty to follow his inclination, and no sooner was +the time of mourning expired, but he wholly applied himself to +the gaining of Mademoiselle de Chartres. It was lucky for him +that he addressed her at a time when what had happened had +discouraged the approaches of others. What allayed his joy was +his fear of not being the most agreeable to her, and he would +have preferred the happiness of pleasing to the certainty of +marrying her without being beloved. + +The Chevalier de Guise had given him some jealousy, but as it was +rather grounded on the merit of that Prince than on any action of +Mademoiselle de Chartres, he made it his whole endeavour to +discover, if he was so happy as to have his addresses admitted +and approved: he had no opportunity of seeing her but at Court or +public assemblies, so that it was very difficult for him to get a +private conversation with her; at last he found means to do it, +and informed her of his intention and of his love, with all the +respect imaginable. He urged her to acquaint him what the +sentiments were which she had for him, assuring her, that those +which he had for her were of such a nature as would render him +eternally miserable, if she resigned herself wholly up to the +will of her mother. + +As Mademoiselle de Chartres had a noble and generous heart, she +was sincerely touched with gratitude for the Prince of Cleves's +behaviour; this gratitude gave a certain sweetness to her words +and answers, sufficient to furnish hopes to a man so desperately +enamoured as the Prince was, so that he flattered himself in some +measure that he should succeed in what he so much wished for. + +She gave her mother an account of this conversation; and Madam de +Chartres told her, that the Prince of Cleves had so many good +qualities, and discovered a discretion so much above his years, +that if her inclination led her to marry him, she would consent +to it with pleasure. Mademoiselle de Chartres made answer, that +she observed in him the same good qualities; that she should have +less reluctance in marrying him than any other man, but that she +had no particular affection to his person. + +The next day the Prince caused his thoughts to be communicated to +Madam de Chartres, who gave her consent to what was proposed to +her; nor had she the least distrust but that in the Prince of +Cleves she provided her daughter a husband capable of securing +her affections. The articles were concluded; the King was +acquainted with it, and the marriage made public. + +The Prince of Cleves found himself happy, but yet not entirely +contented: he saw with a great deal of regret, that the +sentiments of Mademoiselle de Chartres did not exceed those of +esteem and respect, and he could not flatter himself that she +concealed more obliging thoughts of him, since the situation they +were in permitted her to discover them without the least violence +done to modesty. It was not long before he expostulated with her +on this subject: "Is it possible," says he, "that I should +not be happy in marrying you? and yet it is certain, I am not. +You only show me a sort of civility which is far from giving me +satisfaction; you express none of those pretty inquietudes, the +concern, and impatience, which are the soul of love; you are no +further affected with my passion, than you would be with one +which flowed only from the advantage of your fortune, and not +from the beauty of your person." "It is unjust in you to +complain," replied the Princess, "I don't know what you can +desire of me more; I think decency will not allow me to go +further than I do." "It's true," replied he, "you show some +appearances I should be satisfied with, were there anything +beyond; but instead of being restrained by decency, it is that +only which makes you act as you do; I am not in your heart and +inclinations, and my presence neither gives you pain nor +pleasure." "You can't doubt," replied she, "but it is a +sensible pleasure to me to see you, and when I do see you, I +blush so often, that you can't doubt, but the seeing you gives me +pain also." "Your blushes, Madam," replied he, "cannot +deceive me; they are signs of modesty, but do not prove the heart +to be affected, and I shall conclude nothing more from hence than +what I ought." + +Mademoiselle de Chartres did not know what to answer; these +distinctions were above her comprehension. The Prince of Cleves +plainly saw she was far from having that tenderness of affection +for him, which was requisite to his happiness; it was manifest +she could not feel a passion which she did not understand. + +The Chevalier de Guise returned from a journey a few days before +the marriage. He saw so many insuperable difficulties in his +design of marrying Mademoiselle de Chartres, that he gave over +all hopes of succeeding in it; and yet he was extremely afflicted +to see her become the wife of another: his grief however did not +extinguish his passion; and his love was as great as ever. +Mademoiselle de Chartres was not ignorant of it; and he made her +sensible at his return, that she was the cause of that deep +melancholy which appeared in his countenance. He had so much +merit and so much agreeableness, that it was almost impossible to +make him unhappy without pitying him, nor could she forbear +pitying him; but her pity did not lead to love. She acquainted +her mother with the uneasiness which the Chevalier's passion gave +her. + +Madam de Chartres admired the honour of her daughter, and she +admired it with reason, for never was anyone more naturally +sincere; but she was surprised, at the same time, at the +insensibility of her heart, and the more so, when she found that +the Prince of Cleves had not been able to affect her any more +than others: for this reason, she took great pains to endear her +husband to her, and to make her sensible how much she owed to the +affection he had for her before he knew her, and to the +tenderness he since expressed for her, by preferring her to all +other matches, at a time when no one else durst entertain the +least thoughts of her. + +The marriage was solemnised at the Louvre; and in the evening the +King and the two Queens, with the whole Court, supped at Madam de +Chartres's house, where they were entertained with the utmost +magnificence. The, Chevalier de Guise durst not distinguish +himself by being absent from the ceremony, but he was so little +master of himself that it was easy to observe his concern. + +The Prince of Cleves did not find that Mademoiselle de Chartres +had changed her mind by changing her name; his quality of a +husband entitled him to the largest privileges, but gave him no +greater share in the affections of his wife: hence it was, that +though he was her husband, he did not cease to be her lover, +because he had always something to wish beyond what he possessed; +and though she lived perfectly easy with him, yet he was not +perfectly happy. He preserved for her a passion full of violence +and inquietude, but without jealousy, which had no share in his +griefs. Never was husband less inclined to it, and never was +wife farther from giving the least occasion for it. She was +nevertheless constantly in view of the Court; she frequented the +Courts of the two Queens, and of Madame: all the people of +gallantry saw her both there and at her brother-in-law the Duke +of Never's, whose house was open to the whole world; but she had +an air which inspired so great respect, and had in it something +so distant from gallantry, that the Mareschal de St. Andre, a +bold man and supported by the King's favour, became her lover +without daring to let her know it any otherwise than by his cares +and assiduities. A great many others were in the same condition: +and Madam de Chartres had added to her daughter's discretion so +exact a conduct with regard to everything of decorum, that +everybody was satisfied she was not be be come at. + +The Duchess of Loraine, while she was employed in negotiating the +peace, had applied herself to settle the marriage of the Duke her +son: a marriage was agreed upon between him and Madam Claude of +France, the King's second daughter; and the month of February was +appointed for the nuptials. + +In the meantime the Duke of Nemours continued at Brussels, his +thoughts being wholly employed on his design in England; he was +continually sending or receiving couriers from thence; his hopes +increased every day, and at last Lignerolly sent him word that it +was time to finish by his presence what was so well begun; he +received this news with all the joy a young ambitious man is +capable of, who sees himself advanced to a throne merely by the +force of his personal merit; his mind insensibly accustomed +itself to the grandeur of a Royal State; and whereas he had at +first rejected this undertaking as an impracticable thing, the +difficulties of it were now worn out of his imagination, and he +no longer saw anything to obstruct his way. + +He sent away in haste to Paris to give the necessary orders for +providing a magnificent equipage, that he might make his +appearance in England with a splendour suitable to the design he +was to conduct; and soon after he followed himself, to assist at +the marriage of the Duke of Loraine. + +He arrived the evening before the espousals, and that very +evening waited on the King to give him an account of his affair, +and to receive his orders and advice how to govern himself in it. +Afterwards he waited on the Queens; but the Princess of Cleves +was not there, so that she did not see him, nor so much as know +of his arrival. She had heard everybody speak of this celebrated +Prince, as of the handsomest and most agreeable man at Court; and +the Queen-Dauphin had described him in such a manner, and spoke +of him to her so often, that she had raised in her a curiosity +and even impatience to see him. + +The Princess employed the day of the wedding in dressing herself, +that she might appear with the greater advantage at the ball and +royal banquet that were to be at the Louvre. When she came, +everyone admired both her beauty and her dress. The ball began, +and while she was dancing with the Duke of Guise, a noise was +heard at the door of the hall, as if way was making for some +person of uncommon distinction. She had finished her dance, and +as she was casting her eyes round to single out some other +person, the King desired her to take him who came in last; she +turned about, and viewing him as he was passing over the seats to +come to the place where they danced, she immediately concluded he +was the Duke of Nemours. The Duke's person was turned in so +delicate a manner, that it was impossible not to express surprise +at the first sight of him, particularly that evening, when the +care he had taken to adorn himself added much to the fine air of +his carriage. It was as impossible to behold the Princess of +Cleves without equal admiration. + +The Duke de Nemours was struck with such surprise at her beauty, +that when they approached and paid their respects to each other, +he could not forbear showing some tokens of his admiration. When +they begun to dance, a soft murmur of praises ran through the +whole company. The King and the two Queens, remembering that the +Duke and Princess had never seen one another before, found +something very particular in seeing them dance together without +knowing each other; they called them, as soon as they had ended +their dance, without giving them time to speak to anybody, and +asked them if they had not a desire to know each other, and if +they were not at some loss about it. "As for me, Madam," said +the Duke to the Queen, "I am under no uncertainty in this +matter; but as the Princess of Cleves has not the same reasons to +lead her to guess who I am, as I have to direct me to know her, I +should be glad if your Majesty would be pleased to let her know +my name." "I believe," said the Queen-Dauphin, "that she +knows your name as well as you know hers." "I assure you, +Madam," replied the Princess a little embarrassed, "that I am +not so good a guesser as you imagine." "Yes, you guess very +well," answered the Queen-Dauphin; "and your unwillingness to +acknowledge that you know the Duke of Nemours, without having +seen him before, carries in it something very obliging to him." +The Queen interrupted them, that the ball might go on; and the +Duke de Nemours took out the Queen-Dauphin. This Princess was a +perfect beauty, and such she appeared in the eyes of the Duke de +Nemours, before he went to Flanders; but all this evening he +could admire nothing but Madam de Cleves. + +The Chevalier de Guise, whose idol she still was, sat at her +feet, and what had passed filled him with the utmost grief; he +looked upon it as ominous for him, that fortune had destined the +Duke of Nemours to be in love with the Princess of Cleves. And +whether there appeared in reality any concern in the Princess's +face, or whether the Chevalier's jealousy only led him to suspect +it, he believed that she was touched with the sight of the Duke, +and could not forbear telling her, that Monsieur de Nemours was +very happy to commence an acquaintance with her by an incident +which had something very gallant and extraordinary in it. + +Madam de Cleves returned home with her thoughts full of what had +passed at the ball; and though it was very late, she went into +her mother's room to give her a relation of it; in doing which +she praised the Duke of Nemours with a certain air, that gave +Madam de Chartres the same suspicion the Chevalier de Guise had +entertained before. + +The day following the ceremony of the Duke of Loraine's marriage +was performed; and there the Princess of Cleves observed so +inimitable a grace, and so fine a mien in the Duke of Nemours, +that she was yet more surprised. + +She afterwards saw him at the Court of the Queen-Dauphin; she saw +him play at tennis with the King; she saw him run the ring; she +heard him discourse; still she found he far excelled everybody +else, and drew the attention of the company to him wherever he +was; in short, the gracefulness of his person, and the +agreeableness of his wit soon made a considerable impression on +her heart. + +The Duke de Nemours had an inclination no less violent for her; +and hence flowed all that gaiety and sweetness of behaviour, +which the first desires of pleasing ordinarily inspire a man +with: hence he became more amiable than ever he was before; so +that by often seeing one another, and by seeing in each other +whatever was most accomplished at Court, it could not be but that +they must mutually receive the greatest pleasure from such a +commerce. + +The Duchess of Valentinois made one in all parties of pleasure; +and the King was still as passionately fond of her as in the +beginning of his love. The Princess of Cleves being at those +years, wherein people think a woman is incapable of inciting love +after the age of twenty-five, beheld with the utmost astonishment +the King's passion for the Duchess, who was a grandmother, and +had lately married her granddaughter: she often spoke on this +subject to Madam de Chartres. "Is it possible, Madam," said +she, "that the King should still continue to love? How could he +take a fancy to one, who was so much older than himself, who had +been his father's mistress, and who, as I have heard, is still +such to many others?" " 'Tis certain," answered Madam de +Chartres," it was neither the merit nor the fidelity of the +Duchess of Valentinois, which gave birth to the King's passion, +or preserved it; and this is what he can't be justified in; for +if this lady had had beauty and youth suitable to her birth; and +the merit of having had no other lover; if she had been exactly +true and faithful to the King; if she had loved him with respect +only to his person, without the interested views of greatness and +fortune, and without using her power but for honourable purposes +and for his Majesty's interest; in this case it must be +confessed, one could have hardly forbore praising his passion for +her. If I was not afraid," continued Madam de Chartres, "that +you would say the same thing of me which is said of most women of +my years, that they love to recount the history of their own +times, I would inform you how the King's passion for this Duchess +began, and of several particulars of the Court of the late King, +which have a great relation to things that are acted at +present." "Far from blaming you," replied the Princess of +Cleves, "for repeating the histories of past times, I lament, +Madam, that you have not instructed me in those of the present, +nor informed me as to the different interests and parties of the +Court. I am so entirely ignorant of them, that I thought a few +days ago, the Constable was very well with the Queen." "You +was extremely mistaken," answered Madam de Chartres, "the Queen +hates the Constable, and if ever she has power, he'll be but too +sensible of it; she knows, he has often told the King, that of +all his children none resembled him but his natural ones." "I +should never have suspected this hatred," said the Princess of +Cleves, "after having seen her assiduity in writing to the +Constable during his imprisonment, the joy she expressed at his +return, and how she always calls him Compere, as well as the +King." "If you judge from appearances in a Court," replied +Madam de Chartres, "you will often be deceived; truth and +appearances seldom go together. + +"But to return to the Duchess of Valentinois, you know her name +is Diana de Poitiers; her family is very illustrious, she is +descended from the ancient Dukes of Aquitaine, her grandmother +was a natural daughter of Lewis the XI, and in short she +possesses everything that is great in respect of birth. St. +Valier, her father, had the unhappiness to be involved in the +affair of the Constable of Bourbon, which you have heard of; he +was condemned to lose his head, and accordingly was conducted to +the scaffold: his daughter, viz., the Duchess, who was extremely +beautiful, and who had already charmed the late King, managed so +well, I don't know by what means, that she obtained her father's +life; the pardon was brought him at the moment he was expecting +the fatal blow; but the pardon availed little, for fear had +seized him so deeply, that it bereft him of his senses, and he +died a few days after. His daughter appeared at Court as the +King's mistress; but the Italian expedition, and the imprisonment +of the present Prince, were interruptions to his love affair. +When the late King returned from Spain, and Madam the Regent went +to meet him at Bayonne, she brought all her maids of honour with +her, among whom was Mademoiselle de Pisselen, who was since +Duchess d'Etampes; the King fell in love with her, though she was +inferior in birth, wit and beauty to the Duchess of Valentinois, +and had no advantage above her but that of being very young. I +have heard her say several times, that she was born the same day +Diana de Poitiers was married, but she spoke this in the malice +of her heart, and not as what she knew to be true; for I am much +mistaken, if the Duchess of Valentinois did not marry Monsieur de +Breze, at the same time that the King fell in love with Madam +d'Etampes. Never was a greater hatred than that between these +two ladies; the Duchess could not pardon Madam d'Etampes for +having taken from her the title of the King's mistress; and Madam +d'Etampes was violently jealous of the Duchess, because the King +still kept correspondence with her. That Prince was by no means +constant to his mistresses; there was always one among them that +had the title and honours of mistress, but the ladies of the +small band, as they were styled, shared his favour by turns. The +loss of the Dauphin, his son, who died at Tournon, and was +thought to be poisoned, extremely afflicted him; he had not the +same affection and tenderness for his second son, the present +King; he imagined he did not see in him spirit and vivacity +enough, and complained of it one day to the Duchess of +Valentinois, who told him she would endeavour to raise a passion +in him for her, in order to make him more sprightly and +agreeable. She succeeded in it, as you see, and this passion is +now of above twenty years' duration, without being changed either +by time or incidents. + +"The late King at first opposed it; and whether he had still +love enough left for the Duchess of Valentinois to be jealous, or +whether he was urged on by the Duchess d'Etampes, who was in +despair upon seeing the Dauphin so much attached to her enemy, it +is certain he beheld this passion with an indignation and +resentment, that showed itself every day by something or other. +The Dauphin neither valued his anger or his hatred, nor could +anything oblige him either to abate or conceal his flame, so that +the King was forced to accustom himself to bear it with patience. + +This opposition of his to his father's will, withdrew his +affections from him more and more, and transferred them to his +third son, the Duke of Orleans, who was a Prince of a fine person +full of fire and ambition, and of a youthful heat which wanted to +be moderated; however, he would have made a very great Prince, +had he arrived to a more ripened age. + +"The rank of eldest, which the Dauphin held, and the King's +favour which the Duke of Orleans was possessed of, created +between them a sort of emulation, that grew by degrees to hatred. +This emulation began from their infancy, and was still kept up in +its height. When the Emperor passed through France, he gave the +preference entirely to the Duke of Orleans, which the Dauphin +resented so bitterly, that while the Emperor was at Chantilli, he +endeavoured to prevail with the Constable to arrest him without +waiting for the King's orders, but the Constable refused to do +it: however, the King afterwards blamed him for not following his +son's advice, and when he banished him the Court, that was one of +the principal reasons for it. + +"The discord between the two brothers put Madam d'Etampes upon +the thought of strengthening herself with the Duke of Orleans, in +order to support her power with the King against the Duchess of +Valentinois; accordingly she succeeded in it, and that young +Prince, though he felt no emotions of love for her, entered no +less into her interest, than the Dauphin was in that of Madam de +Valentinois. Hence rose two factions at Court, of such a nature +as you may imagine, but the intrigues of them were not confined +to the quarrels of women. + +The Emperor, who continued to have a great friendship for the +Duke of Orleans, had offered several times to make over to him +the Duchy of Milan. In the propositions which were since made +for the peace, he gave hopes of assigning him the seventeen +provinces, with his daughter in marriage. The Dauphin neither +approved of the peace or the marriage, and in order to defeat +both he made use of the Constable, for whom he always had an +affection, to remonstrate to the King of what importance it was +not to give his successor a brother so powerful as the Duke of +Orleans would be with the alliance of the Emperor and those +countries; the Constable came the more easily into the Dauphin's +sentiments, as they were opposite to those of Madam d'Etampes, +who was his declared enemy, and who vehemently wished for the +promotion of the Duke of Orleans. + +"The Dauphin commanded at that time the King's Army in +Champaign, and had reduced that of the Emperor to such +extremities, that it must have entirely perished, had not the +Duchess d'Etampes, for fear too great successes should make us +refuse peace, and the Emperor's alliance in favour of the Duke of +Orleans, secretly advised the enemy to surprise Espemai and +Cheteau-Thieni, in which places were great magazines of +provisions; they succeeded in the attempt, and by that means +saved their whole army. + +"This Duchess did not long enjoy the success of her treason. A +little after the Duke of Orleans died at Farmontiers of a kind of +contagious distemper: he was in love with one of the finest women +of the Court, and was beloved by her. I will not mention her +name, because she has since lived with so much discretion, and +has so carefully concealed the passion she had for that Prince, +that one ought to be tender of her reputation. It happened she +received the news of her husband's death at the same time as she +heard of the Duke's, so that she had that pretext to enable her +to conceal her real sorrow, without being at the trouble of +putting any constraint upon herself. + +"The King did not long survive the Prince his son; he died two +years after; he recommended to the Dauphin to make use of the +Cardinal de Tournon and the Admiral d'Annebault, but said nothing +at all of the Constable, who was then in banishment at Chantilli. + +Nevertheless the first thing the King his son did was to recall +him, and make him his Prime Minister. + +"Madam d'Etampes was discarded, and received all the ill +treatment she could possibly expect from an enemy so very +powerful; the Duchess of Valentinois amply revenged herself both +of that lady, and all those who had disobliged her; she seemed to +reign more absolute in the King's heart than she did even when he +was Dauphin. During the twelve years' reign of this Prince she +has been absolute in everything; she disposes of all governments +and offices of trust and power; she has disgraced the Cardinal de +Tournon, the Chancellor, and Villeroy; those who have endeavoured +to open the King's mind with respect to her conduct, have been +undone in the attempt; the Count de Taix, great Master of the +Ordnance, who had no kindness for her, could not forbear speaking +of her gallantries, and particularly of that with the Count de +Brissac, of whom the King was already very jealous. Nevertheless +she contrived things so well, that the Count de Taix was +disgraced, and his employment taken from him; and what is almost +incredible, she procured it to be given to the Count de Brissac, +and afterwards made him a Mareschal of France. Notwithstanding, +the King's jealousy increased to such a height, that lie could no +longer suffer him to continue at Court: this passion of jealousy, +which is fierce and violent in other men, is gentle and moderate +in him through the great respect he has for his mistress, and +therefore he did not go about to remove his rival, but under the +pretext of giving him the Government of Piemont. He has lived +there several years; last winter he returned to Paris, under +pretence of demanding troops and other necessaries for the Army +he commands; the desire of seeing the Duchess of Valentinois +again, and the fear of being forgotten by her, was perhaps the +principal motive of this journey. The King received him very +coldly; Messieurs de Guise, who have no kindness for him, but +dare not show it on account of the Duchess, made use of Monsieur +the Viscount, her declared enemy, to prevent his obtaining what +he came to demand. It was no difficult matter to do him hurt. +The King hated him, and was uneasy at his presence, so that he +was obliged to return to Piemont without any benefit from his +journey, except perhaps that of rekindling in the heart of the +Duchess the flame which absence began to extinguish. + +The King has had a great many other subjects of jealousy, but +either he has not been informed of them, or has not dared to +complain of them. + +"I don't know, daughter," added Madam de Chartres, "if I have +not already told you more of these things, than you desired to +know." "I am far, Madam, from complaining of that," replied +the Princess of Cleves, "and if it was not for fear of being +importunate, I should yet desire to be informed of several +circumstances I am ignorant of." + +The Duke de Nemours' passion for Madam de Cleves was at first so +violent, that he had no relish left for any of the ladies he paid +his addresses to before, and with whom he kept a correspondence +during his absence; he even lost all remembrance of his +engagements with them, and not only made it his business to find +out excuses to break with them, but had not the patience to hear +their complaints, or make any answer to the reproaches they laid +upon him. The Queen-Dauphin herself, for whom his regards had +been very tender, could no longer preserve a place in that heart +which was now devoted to the Princess of Cleves. His impatience +of making a tour to England began to abate, and he showed no +earnestness in hastening his equipage. He frequently went to the +Queen-Dauphin's Court, because the Princess of Cleves was often +there, and he was very easy in leaving people in the opinion they +had of his passion for that Queen; he put so great a value on +Madam de Cleves, that he resolved to be rather wanting in giving +proofs of his love, than to hazard its being publicly known; he +did not so much as speak of it to the Viscount de Chartres, who +was his intimate friend, and from whom he concealed nothing; the +truth is, he conducted this affair with so much discretion, that +nobody suspected he was in love with Madam de Cleves, except the +Chevalier de Guise; and she would scarcely have perceived it +herself, if the inclination she had for him had not led her into +a particular attention to all his actions, but which she was +convinced of it. + +She no longer continued to have the same disposition to +communicate to her mother what she thought concerning the Duke de +Nemours, as she had to talk to her about her other lovers; though +she had no settled design of concealing it from her, yet she did +not speak of it. Madam de Chartres, however, plainly perceived +the Duke's attachment to her daughter, as well as her daughter's +inclination for him; the knowledge of this could not but sensibly +afflict her, nor could she be ignorant of the danger this young +lady was in, in being beloved by, and loving so accomplished a +person as the Duke de Nemours: she was entirely confirmed in the +suspicion she had of this business, by an incident which fell out +a few days after. + +The Mareschal de St. Andre, who took all opportunities to show +his magnificence, desired the King, under pretence of showing him +his house which was just finished, to do him the honour to sup +there with the two Queens. The Mareschal was also very glad to +display, in the sight of the Princess of Cleves, that splendid +and expensive manner of life, which he carried to so great a +profusion. + +Some days before that appointed for the entertainment, the +Dauphin, who had an ill state of health, found himself +indisposed, and saw nobody; the Queen-Dauphin had spent all that +day with him; and in the evening, upon his growing better, all +the persons of quality that were in the anti-chamber were +admitted; the Queen-Dauphin returned to her own apartment, where +she found Madam de Cleves and some other ladies, with whom she +lived in familiarity. + +It being already very late, and not being dressed, she did not +wait upon the Queen, but gave out that she was not to be seen, +and ordered her jewels to be brought, in order to choose out some +for the Mareschal de St. Andre's Ball, and present the Princess +of Cleves with some, as she had promised her. While they were +thus employed, the Prince of Conde entered; his great quality +gave him free access everywhere. "Doubtless," said the +Queen-Dauphin, "you come from the King my husband, what are they +doing there?" + +"Madam," said he, "they are maintaining a dispute against the +Duke of Nemours, and he defends the argument he undertook with so +much warmth, that he must needs be very much interested in it; I +believe he has some mistress that gives him uneasiness by going +to balls, so well satisfied he is that it is a vexatious thing to +a lover to see the person he loves in those places." + +"How," replied the Queen-Dauphin, "would not the Duke de +Nemours have his mistress go to a ball? I thought that husbands +might wish their wives would not go there; but as for lovers, I +never imagined they were of that opinion." "The Duke de +Nemours finds," answered the Prince of Conde, "that nothing is +so insupportable to lovers as balls, whether they are beloved +again, or whether they are not. He says, if they are beloved +they have the chagrin to be loved the less on this account for +several days; that there is no woman, whom her anxiety for dress +does not divert from thinking on her lover; that they are +entirely taken up with that one circumstance, that this care to +adorn themselves is for the whole world, as well as for the man +they favour; that when they are at a ball, they are desirous to +please all who look at them; and that when they triumph in their +beauty, they experience a joy to which their lovers very little +contribute. He argues further, that if one is not beloved, it is +a yet greater torment to see one's mistress at an assembly; that +the more she is admired by the public, the more unhappy one is +not to be beloved, and that the lover is in continual fear lest +her beauty should raise a more successful passion than his own; +lastly he finds, there is no torment equal to that of seeing +one's mistress at a ball, unless it be to know that she is there, +and not to be there one's self." + +Madam de Cleves pretended not to hear what the Prince of Conde +said, though she listened very attentively; she easily saw what +part she had in the Duke of Nemours's opinion, and particularly +as to what he said of the uneasiness of not being at a ball where +his mistress was, because he was not to be at that of the +Mareschal de St. Andre, the King having sent him to meet the Duke +of Ferrara. + +The Queen-Dauphin, and the Prince of Conde, not going into the +Duke's opinion, were very merry upon the subject. "There is but +one occasion, Madam," said the Prince to her, "in which the +Duke will consent his mistress should go to a ball, and that is +when he himself gives it. He says, that when he gave your +Majesty one last year, his mistress was so kind as to come to it, +though seemingly only to attend you; that it is always a favour +done to a lover, to partake of an entertainment which he gives; +that it is an agreeable circumstance for him to have his mistress +see him preside in a place where the whole Court is, and see him +acquit himself well in doing the honours of it." "The Duke de +Nemours was in the right," said the Queen-Dauphin, smiling, "to +approve of his mistress's being at his own ball; there was then +so great a number of ladies, whom he honoured with the +distinction of that name, that if they had not come, the assembly +would have been very thin." + +The Prince of Conde had no sooner begun to relate the Duke de +Nemours's sentiments concerning assemblies, but Madam de Cleves +felt in herself a strong aversion to go to that of the Mareschal +de St. Andre. She easily came into the opinion, that a woman +ought not to be at an entertainment given by one that professed +love to her, and she was very glad to find out a reason of +reservedness for doing a thing which would oblige the Duke of +Nemours. However, she carried away with her the ornaments which +the Queen-Dauphin had given her; but when she showed them her +mother, she told her that she did not design to make use of them; +that the Mareschal de St. Andre took a great deal of pains to +show his attachment to her, and she did not doubt he would be +glad to have it believed that a compliment was designed her in +the entertainment he gave the King, and that under the pretence +of doing the honours of his house, he would show her civilities +which would be uneasy to her. + +Madam de Chartres for some time opposed her daughter's opinion, +as thinking it very singular; but when she saw she was obstinate +in it, she gave way, and told her, that in that case she ought to +pretend an indisposition as an excuse for not going to the ball, +because the real reasons which hindered her would not be approved +of; and care ought to be taken that they should not be suspected. + +Madam de Cleves voluntarily consented to pass some days at her +mother's, in order not to go to any place where the Duke of +Nemours was not to be. However the Duke set out, without the +pleasure of knowing she would not be at the ball. + +The day after the ball he returned, and was informed that she was +not there; but as he did not know the conversation he had at the +Dauphin's Court had been repeated to her, he was far from +thinking himself happy enough to have been the reason of her not +going. + +The day after, while he was at the Queen's apartments, and +talking to the Queen-Dauphin, Madam de Chartres and Madam de +Cleves came in. Madam de Cleves was dressed a little +negligently, as a person who had been indisposed, but her +countenance did not at all correspond with her dress. "You look +so pretty," says the Queen-Dauphin to her, "that I can't +believe you have been ill; I think the Prince of Conde, when he +told us the Duke de Nemours's opinion of the ball, persuaded you, +that to go there would be doing a favour to the Mareschal de St. +Andre, and that that's the reason which hindered you from +going." Madam de Cleves blushed, both because the Queen-Dauphin +had conjectured right, and because she spoke her conjecture in +the presence of the Duke de Nemours. + +Madam de Chartres immediately perceived the true reason, why her +daughter refused to go to the ball; and to prevent the Duke de +Nemours discovering it, as well as herself, she took up the +discourse after a manner that gave what she said an air of truth. + +"I assure you, Madam," said she to the Queen-Dauphin, "that +your Majesty has done my daughter more honour than she deserves; +she was really indisposed, but I believe, if I had not hindered +her, she would not have failed to wait on you, and to show +herself under any disadvantages, for the pleasure of seeing what +there was extraordinary at yesterday's entertainment." The +Queen-Dauphin gave credit to what Madam de Chartres said but the +Duke de Nemours was sorry to find so much probability in it +nevertheless, the blushes of the Princess of Cleves made him +suspect, that what the Queen-Dauphin had said was not altogether +false. The Princess of Cleves at first was concerned the Duke +had any room to believe it was he who had hindered her from going +to the Mareschal de St. Andre; but afterwards she was a little +chagrined that her mother had entirely taken off the suspicion of +it. + +Though the Congress of Cercamp had been broken off, the +negotiations for the peace were continued, and things were so +disposed, that towards the latter end of February the conferences +were reassumed at Chateau-Cambresis; the same plenipotentiaries +were sent as before, and the Mareschal de St. Andre being one, +his absence freed the Duke de Nemours from a rival, who was +formidable rather from his curiosity in observing those who +addressed to Madam de Cleves, than from any advances he was +capable of making himself in her favour. + +Madam de Chartres was not willing to let her daughter see that +she knew her sentiments for the Duke, for fear of making herself +suspected in some things which she was very desirous to tell her. + +One day she set herself to talk about him, and a great deal of +good she said of him, but mixed with it abundance of sham +praises, as the prudence he showed in never falling in love, and +how wise he was to make the affair of women and love an amusement +instead of a serious business: "It is not," added she, "that +he is not suspected to have a very uncommon passion for the +Queen-Dauphin; I observe he visits her very often; and I advise +you to avoid, as much as possible, speaking to him, and +especially in private; because, since the Queen-Dauphin treats +you as she does, it would be said, that you are their confidant; +and you know how disagreeable that sort of reputation is: I'm of +opinion, if this report continues, that you should not visit the +Queen-Dauphin so often, in order to avoid involving yourself in +adventures of gallantry." + +The Princess of Cleves had never heard before of the amour +between the Duke de Nemours and the Queen-Dauphin; she was so +much surprised at what her mother had told her, and seemed to see +so plainly how she had been mistaken in her thoughts about the +Duke, that she changed countenance. Madam de Chartres perceived +it. Visitors came in that moment; and the Princess of Cleves +retired to her own apartment, and shut herself up in her closet. + +One can't express the grief she felt to discover, by what her +mother had been just saying, the interest her heart had in the +Duke de Nemours; she had not dared as yet to acknowledge it to +her secret thoughts; she then found, that the sentiments she had +for him were such as the Prince of Cleves had required of her; +she perceived how shameful it was to entertain them for another, +and not for a husband that deserved them; she found herself under +the utmost embarrassment, and was dreadfully afraid lest the Duke +should make use of her only as a means to come at the +Queen-Dauphin, and it was this thought determined her to impart +to her mother something she had not yet told her. + +The next morning she went into her mother's chamber to put her +resolves in execution, but she found Madam de Chartres had some +touches of a fever, and therefore did not think proper to speak +to her: this indisposition however appeared to insignificant, +that Madam de Cleves made no scruple after dinner to visit the +Queen-Dauphin; she was in her closet with two or three ladies of +her most familiar acquaintance. "We were speaking," said she +to her, as soon as she saw her, "of the Duke de Nemours, and +were admiring how much he's changed since his return from +Brussels; before he went there, he had an infinite number of +mistresses, and it was his own fault, for he showed an equal +regard to those who had merit, and to those who had none; since +his return he neither knows the one nor the other; there never +was so great a change; I find his humour is changed too, and that +he is less gay than he used to be." + +The Princess of Cleves made no answer; and it shocked her to +think she should have taken all that they said of the change in +the Duke for proofs of his passion for her, had she not been +undeceived; she felt in herself some little resentment against +the Queen-Dauphin, for endeavouring to find out reasons, and +seeming surprised at a thing, which she probably knew more of +than anyone else; she could not forbear showing something of it; +and when the other ladies withdrew, she came up and told her in a +low voice, "And is it I, Madam, you have been pointing at, and +have you a mind to conceal, that you are she who has made such an +alteration in the conduct of the Duke of Nemours?" "You do me +injustice," answered the Queen-Dauphin, "you know I conceal +nothing from you; it is true the Duke of Nemours, before he went +to Brussels, had, I believe, an intention to let me know he did +not hate me; but since his return, it has not so much as appeared +that he remembers anything of what he has done; and I acknowledge +I have a curiosity to know what it is has changed him so: it +would not be very difficult for me to unravel this affair," +added she; "the Viscount de Chartres, his intimate friend, is in +love with a lady with whom I have some power, and I'll know by +that means the occasion of this alteration." The Queen-Dauphin +spoke with an air of sincerity which convinced the Princess of +Cleves, and in spite of herself she found her mind in a more calm +and pleasing situation than it had been in before. + +When she returned to her mother, she heard she was a great deal +worse than she had left her; her fever was redoubled, and the +days following it increased to so great a degree, that she was +thought to be in danger. Madam de Cleves was in extreme grief on +this occasion, and never stirred out of her mother's chamber. +The Prince of Cleves was there too almost every day and all day +long, partly out of affection to Madam de Chartres, and partly to +hinder his lady from abandoning herself to sorrow, but chiefly +that he might have the pleasure of seeing her, his passion not +being at all diminished. + +The Duke de Nemours, who had always had a great friendship for +the Prince of Cleves, had not failed to show it since his return +from Brussels; during the illness of Madam de Chartres he +frequently found means to see the Princess of Cleves, pretending +to want her husband, or to come to take him out to walk; he +enquired for him at such hours as he knew very well he was not at +home, and under pretence of waiting for him stayed in Madam de +Cleves's anti-chamber, where there were always a great many +people of quality; Madam de Cleves often came there, and her +grief did not make her seem less handsome in the eyes of the Duke +de Nemours; he made her sensible what interest he had in her +affliction, and spoke to her with so submissive an air, that he +easily convinced her, that the Queen-Dauphin was not the person +he was in love with. + +The seeing him at once gave her grief and pleasure; but when she +no longer saw him, and reflected that the charm he carried about +him when present, was an introduction to love, she was very near +imagining she hated him, out of the excessive grief which that +thought gave her. + +Madam de Chartres still grew worse and worse, so that they began +to despair of her life; she heard what the physicians told her +concerning the danger she was in with a courage worthy her +virtue, and her piety. After they were gone, she caused +everybody to retire, and sent for Madam de Cleves. + +"We must part, my dear daughter," said she, stretching out her +hand to her; "the danger I leave you in, and the occasion you +have for me, adds to the regret I have to leave you: you have a +passion for the Duke de Nemours; I do not desire you to confess +it; I am no longer in a condition to make use of that sincerity +for your good; I have perceived this inclination a great while, +but was not willing to speak to you of it at first, for fear of +making you discover it yourself; you know it at present but too +well; you are upon the brink of a precipice; great efforts must +be used, and you must do great violence to your heart to save +yourself: reflect what you owe to your husband; reflect what you +owe to yourself, and think that you are going to lose that +reputation which you have gained, and which I have so much at +heart; call up, my dear daughter, all your courage and constancy; +retire from Court; oblige your husband to carry you away; do not +be afraid of taking such resolutions, as being too harsh and +difficult; however frightful they may appear at first, they will +become more pleasant in time, than the misfortunes that follow +gallantry: if any other motives than those of duty and virtue +could have weight with you, I should tell you that if anything +were capable of disturbing the happiness I hope for in the next +world, it would be to see you fall like other women; but if this +calamity must necessarily happen, I shall meet death with joy, as +it will hinder me from being a witness of it." + +Madam de Cleves bathed with tears her mother's hand, which she +held fast locked in her own; nor was Madam de Chartres less +moved. "Adieu, dear daughter," said she, "let us put an end +to a conversation which melts us both; and remember, if you are +able, all that I have been saying to you." + +When she had spoke this, she turned herself on the other side, +and ordered her daughter to call her women, being unwilling +either to hear her reply, or to speak any more. Madam de Cleves +went out of her presence in a condition one need not describe; +and Madam de Chartres thought of nothing but preparing herself +for death: she lived two days longer, during which she would not +see her daughter again; her daughter was the only thing she had +reluctance to part with. + +Madam de Cleves was in the utmost affliction; her husband did not +leave her, and no sooner was her mother expired, but he carried +her into the country, that she might not have in her eye a place +which could serve only to sharpen her sorrow, which was scarce to +be equalled. Though tenderness and gratitude had the greatest +share in her griefs, yet the need which she found she had of her +mother to guard her against the Duke of Nemours added no small +weight to them; she found she was unhappy in being left to +herself, at a time when she was so little mistress of her own +affections, and when she so much wished for somebody to pity and +encourage her. The Prince of Cleves's behaviour to her on this +occasion, made her wish more ardently than ever, never to fail in +her duty to him; she also expressed more friendship and affection +for him than she had done before; she would not suffer him to +leave her, and she seemed to think that his being constantly with +her could defend her against the Duke of Nemours. + +The Duke came to see the Prince of Cleves in the country; he did +what he could to pay a visit also to Madam de Cleves, but she +refused to receive him; and being persuaded she could not help +finding something dangerously lovely in him, she made a strong +resolution to forbear seeing him, and to avoid all occasions of +it that were in her power. + +The Prince of Cleves went to Paris to make his Court, and +promised his lady to return the next day, but however he did not +return till the day after. "I expected you yesterday," said +Madam de Cleves to him on his arrival, "and I ought to chide you +for not having come as you promised; you know, if I was capable +of feeling a new affliction in the condition I am in, it would be +the death of Madam de Tournon, and I have heard of it this +morning; I should have been concerned, though I had not known +her; it is a melting consideration to think that a lady so young +and handsome as she, should be dead in two days; but besides, she +was the person in the world that pleased me most, and who +appeared to have discretion equal to her beauty." + +"I am sorry I could not return yesterday," replied the Prince +of Cleves, "but my presence was so necessary to the consolation +of an unhappy man, that it was impossible for me to leave him. +As for Madam de Tournon, I do not advise you not to be concerned +for her, if you lament her as a woman full of discretion, and +worthy of your esteem." "You surprise me," answered Madam de +Cleves, "I have heard you say several times, that there was not +a lady at Court you had a greater respect for." "It is +true," replied he, "but women are incomprehensible, and when I +have seen them all, I think myself so happy in having you, that I +cannot enough admire my good fortune." "You esteem me more +than I deserve," answered Madam de Cleves, "you have not had +experience enough yet to pronounce me worthy of you; but tell me, +I beseech you, what it is has undeceived you with respect to +Madam de Tournon." "I have been undeceived a great while," +replied he, "and I know that she was in love with the Count de +Sancerre, and that she gave him room to hope she would marry +him." "I can't believe," said Madam de Cleves, "that Madam +de Tournon, after so extraordinary an aversion as she has shown +to marriage from the time she became a widow, and after the +public declarations she has made that she would never marry +again, should give hopes to Sancerre." "If she had given hopes +to him only," replied the Prince of Cleves, "the wonder had not +been so great; but what is surprising is, that she gave hopes +likewise to Etouteville at the same time: I'll let you know the +whole history of this matter." + + +II + +"You know the friendship, there is betwixt Sancerre and me. +Nevertheless about two years ago he fell in love with Madam de +Tournon, and concealed it from me with as much care as from the +rest of the world; I had not the least suspicion of it. Madam de +Tournon as yet appeared inconsolable for the death of her +husband, and lived in retirement with great austerity. +Sancerre's sister was in a manner the only person she saw, and it +was at her lodgings he became in love with her. + +"One evening there was to be play at the Louvre, and the actors +only waited for the coming of the King and Madam de Valentinois, +when word was brought that she was indisposed, and that the King +would not come. It was easy to see that the Duchess's +indisposition was nothing but some quarrel with the King; +everyone knew the jealousy he had had of the Mareschal de Brisac +during his continuance at Court, but he had been set out some +days on his return to Piemont, and one could not imagine what was +the occasion of this falling out. + +"While I was speaking of this to Sancerre, Monsieur d'Anville +came into the room, and told me in a whisper, that the King was +so exasperated and so afflicted at the same time, that one would +pity him; that upon a late reconciliation between him and the +Duchess, after the quarrel they had had about the Mareschal de +Brisac, he had given her a ring, and desired her to wear it; and +that as she was dressing herself to come to the play, he had +missed it on her finger, and asked what was become of it; upon +which she seemed in surprise that she had it not, and called to +her women for it, who unfortunately, or for want of being better +instructed, made answer they had not seen it four or five days. + +"It was," continued Monsieur d'Anville, "precisely so long, +since the Mareschal de Brisac left the Court, and the King made +no doubt but she gave him the ring when she took her leave of +him. The thought of this awaked in so lively a manner that +jealousy which was not yet extinguished, that he fell into +uncommon transports, and loaded her with a thousand reproaches; +he is just gone into her apartment again in great concern, but +whether the reason is a more confirmed opinion that the Duchess +had made a sacrifice of the ring, or for fear of having +disobliged her by his anger, I can't tell. + +"As soon as Monsieur d'Anville had told me this news, I +acquainted Sancerre with it; I told it him as a secret newly +entrusted with me, and charged him to say nothing of it. + +"The next day I went early in the morning to my sister-in-law's, +and found Madam de Tournon at her bedside, who had no great +kindness for the Duchess of Valentinois, and knew very well that +my sister-in-law had no reason to be satisfied with her. +Sancerre had been with her, after he went from the play, and had +acquainted her with the quarrel between the King and the Duchess; +and Madam de Tournon was come to tell it to my sister-in-law, +without knowing or suspecting that it was I from whom her lover +had it. + +"As soon as I advanced toward my sister-in-law, she told Madam +de Tournon, that they might trust me with what she had been +telling her; and without waiting Madam de Tournon's leave she +related to me word by word all I had told Sancerre the night +before. You may judge what surprise I was in; I looked hard at +Madam de Tournon, and she seemed disordered; her disorder gave me +a suspicion. I had told the thing to nobody but Sancerre; he +left me when the comedy was done, without giving any reason for +it; I remembered to have heard him speak much in praise of Madam +de Tournon; all these things opened my eyes, and I easily +discerned there was an intrigue between them, and that he had +seen her since he left me. + +"I was so stung to find he had concealed this adventure from me, +that I said several things which made Madam de Tournon sensible +of the imprudence she had been guilty of; I led her back to her +coach, and assured her, I envied the happiness of him who +informed her of the King's quarrel with the Duchess of +Valentinois. + +"I went immediately in search of Sancerre, and severely +reproached him; I told him I knew of his passion for Madam de +Tournon, without saying how I came by the discovery; he was +forced to acknowledge it; I afterwards informed him what led me +into the knowledge of it, and he acquainted me with the detail of +the whole affair; he told me, that though he was a younger +brother, and far from being able to pretend to so good a match, +nevertheless she was determined to marry him. I can't express +the surprise I was in; I told Sancerre he would do well to hasten +the conclusion of the marriage, and that there was nothing he had +not to fear from a woman who had the artifice to support, in the +eye of the public, appearances so distant from truth; he gave me +in answer that she was really concerned for the loss of her +husband, but that the inclination she had for him had surmounted +that affliction, and that she could not help discovering all on a +sudden so great a change; he mentioned besides several other +reasons in her excuse, which convinced me how desperately he was +in love; he assured me he would bring her to consent that I +should know his passion for her, especially since it was she +herself who had made me suspect it; in a word, he did oblige her +to it, though with a great deal of difficulty, and I grew +afterwards very deep in their confidence. + +"I never knew a lady behave herself in so genteel and agreeable +a manner to her lover, but yet I was always shocked at the +affectation she showed in appearing so concerned for the loss of +her husband. Sancerre was so much in love, and so well pleased +with the treatment he received from her, that he scarce durst +press her to conclude the marriage, for fear she should think he +desired it rather out of interest than love; however he spoke to +her of it, and she seemed fully bent on marrying him; she began +also to abandon her reserved manner of life, and to appear again +in public; she visited my sister-in-law at hours when some of the +Court were usually there; Sancerre came there but seldom, but +those who came every night, and frequently saw her there, thought +her extremely beautiful. + +"She had not long quitted her solitude, when Sancerre imagined +that her passion for him was cooled; he spoke of it several times +to me: but I laid no great stress on the matter; but at last, +when he told me, that instead of forwarding the marriage, she +seemed to put it off, I began to think he was not to blame for +being uneasy: I remonstrated to him, that if Madam de Tournon's +passion was abated after having continued two years, he ought not +to be surprised at it, and that even supposing it was not abated, +possibly it might not be strong enough to induce her to marry +him; that he ought not to complain of it; that such a marriage in +the judgment of the public would draw censures upon her, not only +because he was not a suitable match for her, but also on account +of the prejudice it would do her reputation; that therefore all +he could desire was, that she might not deceive him, nor lead him +into false expectations; I told him further, that if she had not +resolution enough to marry him, or if she confessed she liked +some other person better, he ought not to resent or be angry at +it, but still continue his esteem and regard for her. + +"I give you," said I, "the advice which I would take myself; +for sincerity has such charms to me, that I believe if my +mistress, or even my wife ingenuously confessed, she had a +greater affection for another than for me, I might be troubled, +but not exasperated; I would lay aside the character of a lover +or a husband, to bestow my advice and my pity." + +This discourse made Madam de Cleves blush, and she found in it a +certain similitude of her own condition, which very much +surprised her, and gave her a concern, from which she could not +recover in a great while. + +"Sancerre spoke to Madam de Tournon," continued Monsieur de +Cleves, "and told her all I had advised him; but she encouraged +him with so many fresh assurances, and seemed so displeased at +his suspicions, that she entirely removed them; nevertheless she +deferred the marriage until after a pretty long journey he was to +make; but she behaved herself so well until his departure, and +appeared so concerned at it, that I believed as well as he, that +she sincerely loved him. He set out about three months ago; +during his absence I have seldom seen Madam de Tournon; you have +entirely taken me up, and I only knew that he was speedily +expected. + +"The day before yesterday, on my arrival at Paris, I heard she +was dead; I sent to his lodgings to enquire if they had any news +of him, and word was brought me he came to town the night before, +which was precisely the day that Madam de Tournon died; I +immediately went to see him, concluding in what condition I +should find him, but his affliction far surpassed what I had +imagined. + +"Never did I see a sorrow so deep and so tender; the moment he +saw me he embraced me with tears; `I shall never see her more,' +said he, `I shall never see her more, she is dead, I was not +worthy of her, but I shall soon follow her.' + +"After this he was silent; and then, from time to time, +continually repeating `She is dead, I shall never see her more,' +he returned to lamentations and tears, and continued as a man +bereft of reason. He told me he had not often received letters +from her during his absence, but that he knew her too well to be +surprised at it, and was sensible how shy and timorous she was of +writing; he made no doubt but she would have married him upon his +return; he considered her as the most amiable and constant of her +sex; he thought himself tenderly beloved by her; he lost her the +moment he expected to be united to her for ever; all these +thoughts threw him into so violent an affliction, that I own I +was deeply touched with it. + +"Nevertheless I was obliged to leave him to go to the King, but +promised to return immediately; accordingly I did, and I was +never so surprised as I was to find him entirely changed from +what I had left him; he was standing in his chamber, his face +full of fury, sometimes walking, sometimes stopping short, as if +he had been distracted; `Come,' says he, `and see the most +forlorn wretch in the world; I am a thousand times more unhappy +than I was a while ago, and what I have just heard of Madam de +Tournon is worse than her death.' + +"I took what he said to be wholly the effect of grief, and could +not imagine that there could be anything worse than the death of +a mistress one loves and is beloved by; I told him, that so far +as he kept his grief within bounds, I approved of it, and bore a +part in it; but that I should no longer pity him, if he abandoned +himself to despair and flew from reason. `I should be too happy +if I had lost both my reason and my life,' cried he; `Madam de +Tournon was false to me, and I am informed of her unfaithfulness +and treachery the very day after I was informed of her death; I +am informed of it at a time when my soul is filled with the most +tender love, and pierced with the sharpest grief that ever was; +at a time when the idea of her in my heart, is that of the most +perfect woman who ever lived, and the most perfect with respect +to me; I find I am mistaken, and that she does not deserve to be +lamented by me; nevertheless I have the same concern for her +death, as if she had been true to me, and I have the same +sensibility of her falsehood, as if she were yet living; had I +heard of her falsehood before her death, jealousy, anger, and +rage would have possessed me, and in some measure hardened me +against the grief for her loss; but now my condition is such, +that I am incapable of receiving comfort, and yet know not how to +hate her.' + +"You may judge of the surprise I was in at what Sancerre told +me; I asked him how he came by the knowledge of it, and he told +me that the minute I went away from him, Etouteville, who is his +intimate friend, but who nevertheless knew nothing of his love +for Madam de Tournon, came to see him; that as soon as he was sat +down, he fell a-weeping, and asked his pardon for having +concealed from him what he was going to tell him, that he begged +him to have compassion of him, that he was come to open his heart +to him, and that he was the person in the world the most +afflicted for the death of Madam de Tournon. + +"`That name,' said Sancerre, `so astonished me, that though my +first intention was to tell him I was more afflicted than he, I +had not the power to speak: he continued to inform me, that he +had been in love with her six months, that he was always desirous +to let me know it, but she had expressly forbid him; and in so +authoritative a manner, that he durst not disobey her; that he +gained her in a manner as soon as he courted her, that they +concealed their mutual passion for each other from the whole +world, that he never visited her publicly, that he had the +pleasure to remove her sorrow for her husband's death, and that +lastly he was to have married her at the very juncture in which +she died; but that this marriage, which was an effect of love, +would have appeared in her an effect of duty and obedience, she +having prevailed upon her father to lay his commands on her to +marry him, in order to avoid the appearance of too great an +alteration in her conduct, which had seemed so averse to a second +marriage.' + +"`While Etouteville was speaking to me,' said Sancerre, `I +believed all he said, because I found so much probability in it, +and because the time when he told me his passion for Madam de +Tournon commenced, is precisely the same with that when she +appeared changed towards me; but the next morning I thought him a +liar, or at least an enthusiast, and was upon the point of +telling him so. Afterwards I came into an inclination of +clearing up the matter, and proposed several questions, and laid +my doubts before him, in a word, I proceeded so far to convince +myself of my misfortune, that he asked me if I knew Madam de +Tournon's handwriting, and with that threw upon my bed four +letters of hers and her picture; my brother came in that minute; +Etouteville's face was so full of tears, that he was forced to +withdraw to avoid being observed, and said he would come again in +the evening to fetch what he left with me; and as for me, I sent +my brother away under pretence of being indisposed, so impatient +was I to see the letters he had left, and so full of hopes to +find something there that might make me disbelieve what +Etouteville had been telling me; but alas! What did I not find +there? What tenderness! what assurances of marriage! what +letters! She never wrote the like to me. Thus,' continued he, +`am I at once pierced with anguish for her death and for her +falsehood, two evils which have been often compared, but never +felt before by the same person at the same time; I confess, to my +shame, that still I am more grieved for her loss than for her +change; I cannot think her guilty enough, to consent to her +death: were she living, I should have the satisfaction to +reproach her, and to revenge myself on her by making her sensible +of her injustice; but I shall see her no more, I shall see her no +more; this is the greatest misfortune of all others; would I +could restore her to life, though with the loss of my own! Yet +what do I wish! If she were restored to life, she would live for +Etouteville: how happy was I yesterday,' cried he, `how happy! I +was the most afflicted man in the world; but my affliction was +reasonable, and there was something pleasing in the very thought +that I was inconsolable; today all my sentiments are unjust; I +pay to a feigned passion the tribute of my grief, which I thought +I owed to a real one; I can neither hate nor love her memory; I +am incapable of consolation, and yet don't know how to grieve for +her; take care, I conjure you, that I never see Etouteville; his +very name raises horror in me; I know very well I have no reason +of complaint against him; I was to blame in concealing from him +my love for Madam de Tournon; if he had known it, perhaps he +would not have pursued her, perhaps she would not have been false +to me; he came to me to impart his sorrows, and I cannot but pity +him; alas! he had reason to love Madam de Tournon, he was beloved +by her, and will never see her more: notwithstanding I perceive I +can't help hating him; once more I conjure you take care I may +not see him.' + +"Sancerre burst afterwards into tears, began again to regret +Madam de Tournon, and to speak to her, as if she were present, +and say the softest things in the world; from these transports he +passed to hatred, to complaints, to reproaches and imprecations +against her. When I saw him in so desperate a condition, I found +I should want somebody to assist me in appeasing his mind; +accordingly I sent for his brother, whom I had left with the +King; I met him in the anti-chamber, and acquainted him with +Sancerre's condition: we gave the necessary orders to prevent his +seeing Etouteville, and employed part of the night in +endeavouring to make him capable of reason; this morning I found +him yet more afflicted; his brother continued with him, and I +returned to you." + +"'Tis impossible to be more surprised than I am," said Madam de +Cleves; "I thought Madam de Tournon equally incapable of love +and falsehood." "Address and dissimulation," replied Monsieur +de Cleves, "cannot go further than she carried them; observe, +that when Sancerre thought her love to him was abated, it really +was, and she began to love Etouteville; she told the last that he +removed her sorrow for her husband's death, and that he was the +cause of her quitting her retirement; Sancerre believed the cause +was nothing but a resolution she had taken not to seem any longer +to be in such deep affliction; she made a merit to Etouteville of +concealing her correspondence with him, and of seeming forced to +marry him by her father's command, as if it was an effect of the +care she had of her reputation; whereas it was only an artifice +to forsake Sancerre, without his having reason to resent it: I +must return," continued Monsieur de Cleves, "to see this +unhappy man, and I believe you would do well to go to Paris too; +it is time for you to appear in the world again, and receive the +numerous visits which you can't well dispense with." + +Madam de Cleves agreed to the proposal, and returned to Paris the +next day; she found herself much more easy with respect to the +Duke de Nemours than she had been; what her mother had told her +on her death-bed, and her grief for her death, created a sort of +suspension in her mind as to her passion for the Duke, which made +her believe it was quite effaced. + +The evening of her arrival the Queen-Dauphin made her a visit, +and after having condoled with her, told her that in order to +divert her from melancholy thoughts, she would let her know all +that had passed at Court in her absence; upon which she related +to her a great many extraordinary things; "but what I have the +greatest desire to inform you of," added she, "is that it is +certain the Duke de Nemours is passionately in love; and that his +most intimate friends are not only not entrusted in it, but can't +so much as guess who the person is he is in love with; +nevertheless this passion of his is so strong as to make him +neglect, or to speak more properly, abandon the hopes of a +Crown." + +The Queen-Dauphin afterwards related whatever had passed in +England; "What I have just told you," continued she, "I had +from Monsieur d'Anville; and this morning he informed me, that +last night the King sent for the Duke de Nemours upon the subject +of Lignerol's letters, who desires to return, and wrote to his +Majesty that he could no longer excuse to the Queen of England +the Duke of Nemours's delay; that she begins to be displeased at +it; and though she has not positively given her promise, she has +said enough to encourage him to come over; the King showed this +letter to the Duke of Nemours, who instead of speaking seriously +as he had done at the beginning of this affair, only laughed and +trifled, and made a jest of Lignerol's expectations: He said, +`The whole world would censure his imprudence, if he ventured to +go to England, with the pretensions of marrying the Queen, +without being secure of success; I think,' added he, `I should +time my business very ill to go to England now, when the King of +Spain uses such pressing instances to obtain the Queen in +marriage; the Spanish King perhaps would not be a very formidable +rival in matters of gallantry, but in a treaty of marriage I +believe your Majesty would not advise me to be his competitor.' +`I would advise you to it upon this occasion,' replied the King; +`but however you will have no competitor in him; I know he has +quite other thoughts; and though he had not, Queen Mary found +herself so uneasy under the weight of the Spanish Crown, that I +can't believe her sister will be very desirous of it.' `If she +should not,' replied the Duke of Nemours, `it is probable she +will seek her happiness in love; she has been in love with my +Lord Courtenay for several years; Queen Mary too was in love with +him, and would have married him with consent of the states of her +kingdom, had not she known that the youth and beauty of her +sister Elizabeth had more charms for him than her crown; your +Majesty knows, that the violence of her jealousy carried her so +far, as to imprison them both, and afterwards to banish my Lord +Courtenay, and at last determined her to marry the King of Spain; +I believe Queen Elizabeth will soon recall that Lord, and make +choice of a man whom she loves, who deserves her love, and who +has suffered so much for her, in preference to another whom she +never saw.' `I should be of that opinion,' replied the King, `if +my Lord Courtenay were living, but I received advice some days +ago, that he died at Padua, whither he was banished: I plainly +see,' added the King, as he left the Duke, `that your marriage +must be concluded the same way the Dauphin's was, and that +ambassadors must be sent to marry the Queen of England for you.' + +"Monsieur d'Anville and the Viscount, who were with the King +when he spoke to the Duke of Nemours, are persuaded that it is +the passion he is so deeply engaged in, which diverts him from so +great a design; the Viscount, who sees deeper into him than +anybody, told Madam de Martigny that he was so changed he did not +know him again; and what astonishes him more is, that he does not +find he has any private interviews, or that he is ever missing at +particular times, so that he believes he has no correspondence +with the person he is in love with; and that which surprises him +in the Duke is to see him in love with a woman who does not +return his love." + +What poison did this discourse of the Queen-Dauphin carry in it +for Madam de Cleves? How could she but know herself to be the +person whose name was not known, and how could she help being +filled with tenderness and gratitude, when she learned, by a way +not in the least liable to suspicion, that the Duke, who had +already touched her heart, concealed his passion from the whole +world, and neglected for her sake the hopes of a Crown? It is +impossible to express what she felt, or to describe the tumult +that was raised in her soul. Had the Queen-Dauphin observed her +closely, she might easily have discerned, that what she had been +saying was not indifferent to her; but as she had not the least +suspicion of the truth, she continued her discourse without +minding her: "Monsieur d'Anville," added she, "from whom, as +I just told you, I had all this, believes I know more of it than +himself, and he has so great an opinion of my beauty, that he is +satisfied I am the only person capable of creating so great a +change in the Duke of Nemours." + +These last words of the Queen-Dauphin gave Madam de Cleves a sort +of uneasiness very different from that which she had a few +minutes before. "I can easily come into Monsieur d'Anville's +opinion," answered she; "and 'tis very probable, Madam, that +nothing less than a Princess of your merit could make him despise +the Queen of England." "I would own it to you, if I knew it," +replied the Queen-Dauphin, "and I should know it, if it were +true; such passions as these never escape the sight of those who +occasion them; they are the first to discern them; the Duke of +Nemours has never showed me anything but slight complaisances; +and yet I find so great a difference betwixt his present and +former behaviour to me, that I can assure you, I am not the cause +of the indifference he expresses for the Crown of England. + +"But I forget myself in your company," added the Queen-Dauphin, +"and don't remember that I am to wait upon Madame: you know the +peace is as good as concluded, but perhaps you don't know that +the King of Spain has refused to sign it, but on condition of +marrying this Princess, instead of the Prince Don Carlos, his +son: the King was with great difficulty brought to allow it, but +at last he has consented, and is gone to carry the news to +Madame; I believe she will be inconsolable. To marry a man of +the King of Spain's age and temper can never be pleasing, +especially to her who has all the gaiety which the bloom of youth +joined with beauty inspires, and was in expectation of marrying a +young Prince for whom she has an inclination without having seen +him. I do not know whether the King will find in her all the +obedience he desires; he has charged me to see her, because he +knows she loves me, and believes I shall be able to influence +her. From thence I shall make a visit of a very different +nature, to congratulate the King's sister. All things are ready +for her marriage with the Prince of Savoy, who is expected in a +few days. Never was a woman of her age so entirely pleased to be +married; the Court will be more numerous and splendid than ever, +and notwithstanding your grief, you must come among us, in order +to make strangers see that we are furnished with no mean +beauties." + +Having said this, the Queen-Dauphin took her leave of Madam de +Cleves, and the next day Madame's marriage was publicly known; +some days after the King and the Queens went to visit the +Princess of Cleves; the Duke de Nemours, who had expected her +return with the utmost impatience, and languished for an +opportunity of speaking to her in private, contrived to wait upon +her at an hour, when the company would probably be withdrawing, +and nobody else come in; he succeeded in his design, and came in +when the last visitors were going away. + +The Princess was sitting on her bed, and the hot weather, +together with the sight of the Duke de Nemours, gave her a blush +that added to her beauty; he sat over against her with a certain +timorous respect, that flows from a real love; he continued some +minutes without speaking; nor was she the less at a loss, so that +they were both silent a good while: at last the Duke condoled +with her for her mother's death; Madam de Cleves was glad to give +the conversation that turn, spoke a considerable time of the +great loss she had had, and at last said, that though time had +taken off from the violence of her grief, yet the impression +would always remain so strong, that it would entirely change her +humour. "Great troubles and excessive passions," replied the +Duke, "make great alterations in the mind; as for me, I am quite +another man since my return from Flanders; abundance of people +have taken notice of this change, and the Queen-Dauphin herself +spoke to me of it yesterday." "It is true," replied the +Princess, "she has observed it, and I think I remember to have +heard her say something about it." "I'm not sorry, Madam," +replied the Duke, "that she has discerned it, but I could wish +some others in particular had discerned it too; there are persons +to whom we dare give no other evidences of the passion we have +for them, but by things which do not concern them; and when we +dare not let them know we love them, we should be glad at least +to have them see we are not desirous of being loved by any other; +we should be glad to convince them, that no other beauty, though +of the highest rank, has any charms for us, and that a Crown +would be too dear, if purchased with no less a price than absence +from her we adore: women ordinarily," continued he, "judge of +the passion one has for them, by the care one takes to oblige, +and to be assiduous about them; but it's no hard matter to do +this, though they be ever so little amiable; not to give oneself +up to the pleasure of pursuing them, to shun them through fear of +discovering to the public, and in a manner to themselves, the +sentiments one has for them, here lies the difficulty; and what +still more demonstrates the truth of one's passion is, the +becoming entirely changed from what one was, and the having no +longer a gust either for ambition or pleasure, after one has +employed one's whole life in pursuit of both." + +The Princess of Cleves readily apprehended how far she was +concerned in this discourse; one while she seemed of opinion that +she ought not to suffer such an address; another, she thought she +ought not to seem to understand it, or show she supposed herself +meant by it; she thought she ought to speak, and she thought she +ought to be silent; the Duke of Nemours's discourse equally +pleased and offended her; she was convinced by it of the truth of +all the Queen-Dauphin had led her to think; she found in it +somewhat gallant and respectful, but also somewhat bold and too +intelligible; the inclination she had for the Duke gave her an +anxiety which it was not in her power to control; the most +obscure expressions of a man that pleases, move more than the +most open declaration of one we have no liking for; she made no +answer; the Duke de Nemours took notice of her silence, which +perhaps would have proved no ill-presage, if the coming in of the +Prince of Cleves had not ended at once the conversation and the +visit. + +The Prince was coming to give his wife a further account of +Sancerre, but she was not over curious to learn the sequel of +that adventure; she was so much taken up with what had just +passed, that she could hardly conceal the embarrassment she was +in. When she was at liberty to muse upon it, she plainly saw she +was mistaken, when she thought she was indifferent as to the Duke +de Nemours; what he had said to her had made all the impression +he could desire, and had entirely convinced her of his passion; +besides the Duke's actions agreed too well with his words to +leave her the least doubt about it; she no longer flattered +herself that she did not love him; all her care was not to let +him discover it, a task of which she had already experienced the +difficulty; she knew the only way to succeed in it was to avoid +seeing him; and as her mourning gave her an excuse for being more +retired than usual, she made use of that pretence not to go to +places where he might see her; she was full of melancholy; her +mother's death was the seeming cause of it, and no suspicion was +had of any other. + +The Duke de Nemours, not seeing her any more, fell into +desperation and knowing he should not meet with her in any public +assembly, or at any diversions the Court joined in, he could not +prevail upon himself to appear there, and therefore he pretended +a great love for hunting, and made matches for that sport on the +days when the Queens kept their assemblies; a slight +indisposition had served him a good while as an excuse for +staying at home, and declining to go to places where he knew very +well that Madam de Cleves would not be. + +The Prince of Cleves was ill almost at the same time, and the +Princess never stirred out of his room during his illness; but +when he grew better, and received company, and among others the +Duke de Nemours, who under pretence of being yet weak, stayed +with him the greatest part of the day, she found she could not +continue any longer there; and yet in the first visits he made +she had not the resolution to go out; she had been too long +without seeing him, to be able to resolve to see him no more; the +Duke had the address, by discourses that appeared altogether +general, but which she understood very well by the relation they +had to what he had said privately to her, to let her know that he +went a-hunting only to be more at liberty to think of her, and +that the reason of his not going to the assemblies was her not +being there. + +At last she executed the resolution she had taken to go out of +her husband's room, whenever he was there, though this was doing +the utmost violence to herself: the Duke perceived she avoided +him, and the thought of it touched him to the heart. + +The Prince of Cleves did not immediately take notice of his +wife's conduct in this particular, but at last he perceived she +went out of the room when there was company there; he spoke to +her of it, and she told him that she did not think it consistent +with decency to be every evening among the gay young courtiers; +that she hoped he would allow her to live in a more reserved +manner than she had done hitherto, that the virtue and presence +of her mother authorised her in many liberties which could not +otherwise be justified in a woman of her age. + +Monsieur de Cleves, who had a great deal of facility and +complaisance for his wife, did not show it on this occasion, but +told her he would by no means consent to her altering her +conduct; she was upon the point of telling him, it was reported +that the Duke de Nemours was in love with her, but she had not +the power to name him; besides she thought it disingenuous to +disguise the truth, and make use of pretences to a man who had so +good an opinion of her. + +Some days after the King was with the Queen at the assembly hour, +and the discourse turned upon nativities and predictions; the +company were divided in their opinion as to what credit ought to +be given to them; the Queen professed to have great faith in +them, and maintained that after so many things had come to pass +as they had been foretold, one could not doubt but there was +something of certainty in that science; others affirmed, that of +an infinite number of predictions so very few proved true, that +the truth of those few ought to be looked upon as an effect of +chance. + +"I have formerly been very curious and inquisitive as to +futurity," said the King, "but I have seen so many false and +improbable things, that I am satisfied there is no truth in that +pretended art. Not many years since there came hither a man of +great reputation in astrology; everybody went to see him; I went +among others, but without saying who I was, and I carried with me +the Duke of Guise and Descars, and made them go in first; +nevertheless the astrologer addressed himself first to me, as if +he had concluded me to be their master; perhaps he knew me, and +yet he told me one thing that was very unsuitable to my +character, if he had known me; his prediction was that I should +be killed in a duel; he told the Duke of Guise, that he should +die of a wound received behind; and he told Descars he should be +knocked of the head by the kick of a horse; the Duke of Guise was +a little angry at the prediction, as if it imported he should run +away; nor was Descars better pleased to find he was to make his +exit by so unfortunate an accident; in a word, we went away all +three of us very much out of humour with the astrologer; I don't +know what will happen to the Duke of Guise and Descars, but there +is not much probability of my being killed in a duel; the King of +Spain and I have just made peace, and if we had not, I question +whether we should have fought, or if I should have challenged +him, as the King my father did Charles the Fifth." + +After the King had related the misfortune that was foretold him, +those who had defended astrology abandoned the argument, and +agreed there was no credit to be given to it: "For my part," +said the Duke de Nemours aloud, "I have the least reason of any +man in the world to credit it"; and then turning himself to +Madam de Cleves, near whom he stood, "it has been foretold me," +says he very softly, "that I should be happy in a person for +whom I should have the most violent and respectful passion; you +may judge, Madam, if I ought to believe in predictions." + +The Queen-Dauphin, who believed, from what the Duke had spoke +aloud, that what he whispered was some false prediction that had +been told him, asked him what it was he said to Madam de Cleves; +had he had a less ready wit, he would have been surprised at this +question; but without any hesitation, "What I said to her, +Madam," answered he, "was, that it had been predicted to me, +that I should be raised to a higher fortune than my most sanguine +hopes could lead me to expect." "If nothing have been foretold +you but this," replied the Queen-Dauphin, smiling, and thinking +of the affair of England, "I would not advise you to decry +astrology; you may have reasons hereafter to offer in defence of +it." Madam de Cleves apprehended the Queen-Dauphin's meaning, +but knew withal, that the fortune the Duke of Nemours spoke of +was not that of being King of England. + +The time of her mourning being expired, the Princess of Cleves +was obliged to make her appearance again, and go to Court as +usual; she saw the Duke de Nemours at the Queen-Dauphin's +apartment; she saw him at the Prince of Cleves's, where he often +came in company of other young noblemen, to avoid being remarked; +yet she never once saw him, but it gave her a pain that could not +escape his observation. + +However industrious she was to avoid being looked at by him, and +to speak less to him than to any other, some things escaped her +in an unguarded moment, which convinced him he was not +indifferent to her; a man of less discernment than he would not +have perceived it, but he had already so often been the object of +love, that it was easy for him to know when he was loved; he +found the Chevalier de Guise was his rival, and the Chevalier +knew that the Duke de Nemours was his; Monsieur de Guise was the +only man in the Court that had unravelled this affair, his +interest having made him more clear-sighted than others; the +knowledge they had of each other's sentiments created an +opposition between them in everything, which, however, did not +break out into an open quarrel; they were always of different +parties at the running, at the ring, at tournaments, and all +diversions the King delighted in, and their emulation was so +great it could not be concealed. + +Madam de Cleves frequently revolved in her mind the affair of +England; she believed the Duke de Nemours could not resist the +advice of the King, and the instances of Lignerolles; she was +very much concerned to find that Lignerolles was not yet +returned, and she impatiently expected him; her inclinations +strongly swayed her to inform herself exactly of the state of +this affair; but the same reasons, which raised in her that +curiosity, obliged her to conceal it, and she only enquired of +the beauty, the wit, and the temper of Queen Elizabeth. A +picture of that Princess had been brought the King, which Madam +de Cleves found much handsomer than she could have wished for, +and she could not forbear saying, the picture flattered. "I +don't think so," replied the Queen-Dauphin; "that Princess has +the reputation of being very handsome, and of having a very +exalted genius, and I know she has always been proposed to me as +a model worthy my imitation; she can't but be very handsome, if +she resembles her mother, Anne Boleyn; never had woman so many +charms and allurements both in her person and her humour; I have +heard say she had something remarkably lively in her countenance, +very different from what is usually found in other English +beauties." "I think," replied Madam de Cleves, "'tis said +she was born in France." "Those who imagine so are mistaken," +replied the Queen-Dauphin; "I'll give you her history in a few +words. + +"She was of a good family in England; Henry the Eighth was in +love with her sister and her mother, and it has been even +suspected by some, that she was his daughter; she came to France +with Henry the Seventh's sister, who married Louis XII that +Princess, who was full of youth and gallantry, left the Court of +France with great reluctance after her husband's death; but Anne +Boleyn, who had the same inclinations as her mistress, could not +prevail with herself to go away; the late King was in love with +her, and she continued maid of honour to Queen Claude; that Queen +died, and Margaretta, the King's sister, Duchess of Alenson, and +since Queen of Navarre, whose story you know, took her into her +service, where she imbibed the principles of the new religion; +she returned afterwards to England, and there charmed all the +world; she had the manners of France, which please in all +countries; she sung well, she danced finely; she was a maid of +honour to Queen Catherine, and Henry the Eighth fell desperately +in love with her. + +"Cardinal Wolsey, his favourite and first minister, being +dissatisfied with the Emperor for not having favoured his +pretensions to the Papacy, in order to revenge himself of him, +contrived an alliance between France and the King his master; he +put it into the head of Henry the Eighth, that his marriage with +the Emperor's aunt was null, and advised him to marry the Duchess +of Alenson, whose husband was just dead; Anne Boleyn, who was not +without ambition, considered Queen Catherine's divorce as a means +that would bring her to the Crown; she began to give the King of +England impressions of the Lutheran religion, and engaged the +late King to favour at Rome Henry the Eighth's divorce, in hopes +of his marrying the Duchess of Alenson; Cardinal Wolsey, that he +might have an opportunity of treating this affair, procured +himself to be sent to France upon other pretences; but his master +was so far from permitting him to propose this marriage, that he +sent him express orders to Calais not to speak of it. + +"Cardinal Wolsey, at his return from France, was received with +as great honours as could have been paid to the King himself; +never did any favourite carry his pride and vanity to so great a +height; he managed an interview between the two Kings at +Boulogne, when Francis the First would have given the upperhand +to Henry the Eighth, but he refused to accept it; they treated +one another by turns with the utmost magnificence, and presented +to each habits of the same sort with those they wore themselves. +I remember to have heard say, that those the late King sent to +the King of England were of crimson satin beset all over with +pearls and diamonds, and a robe of white velvet embroidered with +gold; after having stayed some time at Boulogne, they went to +Calais. Anne Boleyn was lodged in Henry the Eighth's Court with +the train of a Queen; and Francis the First made her the same +presents, and paid her the same honours as if she had been really +so: in a word, after a passion of nine year's continuance King +Henry married her, without waiting for the dissolving of his +first marriage. The Pope precipitately thundered out +excommunications against him, which so provoked King Henry, that +he declared himself head of the Church, and drew after him all +England into the unhappy change in which you see it. + +"Anne Boleyn did not long enjoy her greatness; for when she +thought herself most secure of it by the death of Queen +Catherine, one day as she was seeing a match of running at the +ring made by the Viscount Rochefort her brother, the King was +struck with such a jealousy, that he abruptly left the show, went +away to London, and gave orders for arresting the Queen, the +Viscount Rochefort, and several others whom he believed to be the +lovers or confidants of that Princess. Though this jealousy in +appearance had its birth that moment, the King had been long +possessed with it by the Viscountess Rochefort, who not being +able to bear the strict intimacy between her husband and the +Queen, represented it to the King as a criminal commerce; so that +that Prince, who was besides in love with Jane Seymour, thought +of nothing but ridding himself of Anne Boleyn; and in less than +three weeks he caused the Queen and her brother to be tried, had +them both beheaded, and, married Jane Seymour. He had afterwards +several wives, whom he divorced or put to death; and among others +Catherine Howard, whose confidant the Viscountess Rochefort was, +and who was beheaded with her: thus was she punished for having +falsely accused Anne Boleyn. And Henry the Eighth died, being +become excessive fat." + +All the ladies, that were present when the Queen-Dauphin made +this relation, thanked her for having given them so good an +account of the Court of England; and among the rest Madam de +Cleves, who could not forbear asking several questions concerning +Queen Elizabeth. + +The Queen-Dauphin caused pictures in miniature to be drawn of all +the beauties of the Court, in order to send them to the Queen her +mother. One day, when that of Madam de Cleves was finishing, the +Queen-Dauphin came to spend the afternoon with her; the Duke de +Nemours did not fail to be there; he let slip no opportunities of +seeing Madam de Cleves, yet without appearing to contrive them. +She looked so pretty that day, that he would have fell in love +with her, though he had not been so before: however he durst not +keep his eyes fixed upon her, while she was sitting for her +picture, for fear of showing too much the pleasure he took in +looking at her. + +The Queen-Dauphin asked Monsieur de Cleves for a little picture +he had of his wife's, to compare it with that which was just +drawn; everybody gave their judgment of the one and the other; +and Madam de Cleves ordered the painter to mend something in the +headdress of that which had been just brought in; the painter in +obedience to her took the picture out of the case in which it +was, and having mended it laid it again on the table. + +The Duke de Nemours had long wished to have a picture of Madam de +Cleves; when he saw that which Monsieur de Cleves had, he could +not resist the temptation of stealing it from a husband, who, he +believed, was tenderly loved; and he thought that among so many +persons as were in the same room he should be no more liable to +suspicion than another. + +The Queen-Dauphin was sitting on the bed, and whispering to Madam +de Cleves, who was standing before her. Madam de Cleves, through +one of the curtains that was but half-drawn, spied the Duke de +Nemours with his back to the table, that stood at the bed's feet, +and perceived that without turning his face he took something +very dextrously from off the table; she presently guessed it was +her picture, and was in such concern about it, that the +Queen-Dauphin observed she did not attend to what she said, and +asked her aloud what it was she looked at. At those words, the +Duke de Nemours turned about, and met full the eyes of Madam de +Cleves that were still fixed upon him; he thought it not +impossible but she might have seen what he had done. + +Madam de Cleves was not a little perplexed; it was reasonable to +demand her picture of him; but to demand it publicly was to +discover to the whole world the sentiments which the Duke had for +her, and to demand it in private would be to engage him to speak +of his love; she judged after all it was better to let him keep +it, and she was glad to grant him a favour which she could do +without his knowing that she granted it. The Duke de Nemours, +who observed her perplexity, and partly guessed the cause of it, +came up, and told her softly, "If you have seen what I have +ventured to do, be so good, Madam, as to let me believe you are +ignorant of it; I dare ask no more"; having said this he +withdrew, without waiting for her answer. + +The Queen-Dauphin went to take a walk, attended with the rest of +the ladies; and the Duke de Nemours went home to shut himself up +in his closet, not being able to support in public the ecstasy he +was in on having a picture of Madam de Cleves; he tasted +everything that was sweet in love; he was in love with the finest +woman of the Court; he found she loved him against her will, and +saw in all her actions that sort of care and embarrassment which +love produces in young and innocent hearts. + +At night great search was made for the picture; and having found +the case it used to be kept in, they never suspected it had been +stolen but thought it might have fallen out by chance. The +Prince of Cleves was very much concerned for the loss of it; and +after having searched for it a great while to no purpose, he told +his wife, but with an air that showed he did not think so, that +without doubt she had some secret lover, to whom she had given +the picture, or who had stole it, and that none but a lover would +have been contented with the picture without the case. + +These words, though spoke in jest, made a lively impression in +the mind of Madam de Cleves; they gave her remorse, and she +reflected on the violence of her inclination which hurried her on +to love the Duke of Nemours; she found she was no longer mistress +of her words or countenance; she imagined that Lignerolles was +returned, that she had nothing to fear from the affair of +England, nor any cause to suspect the Queen-Dauphin; in a word, +that she had no refuge or defence against the Duke de Nemours but +by retiring; but as she was not at her liberty to retire, she +found herself in a very great extremity and ready to fall into +the last misfortune, that of discovering to the Duke the +inclination she had for him: she remembered all that her mother +had said to her on her death-bed, and the advice which she gave +her, to enter on any resolutions, however difficult they might +be, rather than engage in gallantry; she remembered also what +Monsieur de Cleves had told her, when he gave an account of Madam +de Tournon; she thought she ought to acknowledge to him the +inclination she had for the Duke de Nemours, and in that thought +she continued a long time; afterwards she was astonished to have +entertained so ridiculous a design, and fell back again into her +former perplexity of not knowing what to choose. + +The peace was signed; and the Lady Elizabeth, after a great deal +of reluctance, resolved to obey the King her father. The Duke of +Alva was appointed to marry her in the name of the Catholic King, +and was very soon expected. The Duke of Savoy too, who was to +marry the King's sister, and whose nuptials were to be solemnised +at the same time, was expected every day. The King thought of +nothing but how to grace these marriages with such diversions as +might display the politeness and magnificence of his Court. +Interludes and comedies of the best kind were proposed, but the +King thought those entertainments too private, and desired to +have somewhat of a more splendid nature: he resolved to make a +solemn tournament, to which strangers might be invited, and of +which the people might be spectators. The princes and young +lords very much approved the King's design, especially the Duke +of Ferrara, Monsieur de Guise, and the Duke de Nemours, who +surpassed the rest in these sorts of exercises. The King made +choice of them to be together with himself the four champions of +the tournament. + +Proclamation was made throughout the kingdom, that on the 15th of +June in the City of Paris, his most Christian Majesty, and the +Princes Alphonso d'Ete Duke of Ferrara, Francis of Loraine Duke +of Guise, and James of Savoy Duke of Nemours would hold an open +tournament against all comers. The first combat to be on +horse-back in the lists, with double armour, to break four +lances, and one for the ladies; the second combat with swords, +one to one, or two to two, as the judges of the field should +direct; the third combat on foot, three pushes of pikes, and six +hits with the sword. The champions to furnish lances, swords, +and pikes, at the choice of the combatants. Whoever did not +manage his horse in the carreer to be put out of the lists; four +judges of the field to give orders. The combatants who should +break most lances and perform best to carry the prize, the value +whereof to be at the discretion of the judges; all the +combatants, as well French as strangers, to be obliged to touch +one or more, at their choice, of the shields that should hang on +the pillar at the end of the lists, where a herald at arms should +be ready to receive them, and enroll them according to their +quality, and the shields they had touched; the combatants to be +obliged to cause their shields and arms to be brought by a +gentleman and hung up at the pillar three days before the +tournament, otherwise not to be admitted without leave of the +champions. + +A spacious list was made near the Bastille, which begun from the +Chateau des Tournelles and crossed the street of St. Anthony, and +extended as far as the King's stables; on both sides were built +scaffolds and amphitheatres, which formed a sort of galleries +that made a very fine sight, and were capable of containing an +infinite number of people. The princes and lords were wholly +taken up in providing what was necessary for a splendid +appearance, and in mingling in their cyphers and devices somewhat +of gallantry that had relation to the ladies they were in love +with. + +A few days before the Duke of Alva's arrival, the King made a +match at tennis with the Duke de Nemours, the Chevalier de Guise, +and the Viscount de Chartres. The Queens came to see them play, +attended with the ladies of the Court, and among others Madam de +Cleves. After the game was ended, as they went out of the tennis +court, Chatelart came up to the Queen-Dauphin, and told her +fortune had put into his hands a letter of gallantry, that +dropped out of the Duke de Nemours's pocket. This Queen, who was +always very curious in what related to the Duke, bid Chatelart +give her the letter; he did so, and she followed the Queen her +mother-in-law, who was going with the King to see them work at +the lists. After they had been there some time, the King caused +some horses to be brought that had been lately taken in, and +though they were not as yet thoroughly managed, he was for +mounting one of them, and ordered his attendants to mount others; +the King and the Duke de Nemours hit upon the most fiery and high +mettled of them. The horses were ready to fall foul on one +another, when the Duke of Nemours, for fear of hurting the King, +retreated abruptly, and ran back his horse against a pillar with +so much violence that the shock of it made him stagger. The +company ran up to him, and he was thought considerably hurt; but +the Princess of Cleves thought the hurt much greater than anyone +else. The interest she had in it gave her an apprehension and +concern which she took no care to conceal; she came up to him +with the Queens, and with a countenance so changed, that one less +concerned than the Chevalier de Guise might have perceived it: +perceive it he immediately did, and was much more intent upon the +condition Madam de Cleves was in, than upon that of the Duke de +Nemours. The blow the Duke had given himself had so stunned him, +that he continued some time leaning his head on those who +supported him; when he raised himself up, he immediately viewed +Madam de Cleves, and saw in her face the concern she was in for +him, and he looked upon her in a manner which made her sense how +much he was touched with it: afterwards he thanked the Queens for +the goodness they had expressed to him, and made apologies for +the condition he had been in before them; and then the King +ordered him to go to rest. + +Madam de Cleves, after she was recovered from the fright she had +been in, presently reflected on the tokens she had given of it. +The Chevalier de Guise did not suffer her to continue long in the +hope that nobody had perceived it, but giving her his hand to +lead her out of the lists: "I have more cause to complain, +Madam," said he, "than the Duke de Nemours; pardon me, if I +forget for a moment that profound respect I have always had for +you, and show you how much my heart is grieved for what my eyes +have just seen; this is the first time I have ever been so bold +as to speak to you, and it will be the last. Death or at least +eternal absence will remove me from a place where I can live no +longer, since I have now lost the melancholy comfort I had of +believing that all who behold you with love are as unhappy as +myself." + +Madam de Cleves made only a confused answer, as if she had not +understood what the Chevalier's words meant: at another time she +would have been offended if he had mentioned the passion he had +for her; but at this moment she felt nothing but the affliction +to know that he had observed the passion she had for the Duke de +Nemours. The Chevalier de Guise was so well convinced of it, and +so pierced with grief, that from that moment he took a resolution +never to think of being loved by Madam de Cleves; but that he +might the better be able to quit a passion which he had thought +so difficult and so glorious, it was necessary to make choice of +some other undertaking worthy of employing him; he had his view +on Rhodes: the taking of which he had formerly had some idea of; +and when death snatched him away, in the flower of his youth, and +at a time when he had acquired the reputation of one of the +greatest Princes of his age, the only regret he had to part with +life was, that he had not been able to execute so noble a +resolution, the success whereof he thought infallible from the +great care he had taken about it. + +Madam de Cleves, when she came out of the lists, went to the +Queen's apartment, with her thoughts wholly taken up with what +had passed. The Duke de Nemours came there soon after, richly +dressed, and like one wholly unsensible of the accident that had +befallen him; he appeared even more gay than usual, and the joy +he was in for what he had discovered, gave him an air that very +much increased his natural agreeableness. The whole Court was +surprised when he came in; and there was nobody but asked him how +he did, except Madam de Cleves, who stayed near the chimney +pretending not to see him. The King coming out of his closet, +and seeing him among others called him to talk to him about his +late accident. The Duke passed by Madam de Cleves, and said +softly to her, "Madam, I have received this day some marks of +your pity, but they were not such as I am most worthy of." +Madam de Cleves suspected that he had taken notice of the concern +she had been in for him, and what he now said convinced her she +was not mistaken; it gave her a great deal of concern to find she +was so little mistress of herself as not to have been able to +conceal her inclinations from the Chevalier de Guise; nor was she +the less concerned to see that the Duke de Nemours was acquainted +with them; yet this last grief was not so entire, but there was a +certain mixture of pleasure in it. + +The Queen-Dauphin, who was extremely impatient to know what there +was in the letter which Chatelart had given her, came up to Madam +de Cleves. "Go read this letter," says she; "'tis addressed +to the Duke de Nemours, and was probably sent him by the mistress +for whom he has forsaken all others; if you can't read it now, +keep it, and bring it me about bedtime and inform me if you know +the hand." Having said this, the Queen-Dauphin went away from +Madam de Cleves, and left her in such astonishment, that she was +not able for some time to stir out of the place. The impatience +and grief she was in not permitting her to stay at Court, she +went home before her usual hour of retirement; she trembled with +the letter in her hand, her thoughts were full of confusion, and +she experienced I know not what of insupportable grief, that she +had never felt before. No sooner was she in her closet, but she +opened the letter and found it as follows: + + I have loved you too well to leave you in a belief that the +change you observe in me is an effect of lightness; I must inform +you that your falsehood is the cause of it; you will be surprised +to hear me speak of your falsehood; you have dissembled it with +so much skill, and I have taken so much care to conceal my +knowledge of it from you, that you have reason to be surprised at +the discovery; I am myself in wonder, that I have discovered +nothing of it to you before; never was grief equal to mine; I +thought you had the most violent passion for me, I did not +conceal that which I had for you, and at the time that I +acknowledged it to you without reserve, I found that you deceived +me, that you loved another, and that in all probability I was +made a sacrifice to this new mistress. I knew it the day you run +at the ring, and this was the reason I was not there; at first I +pretended an indisposition in order to conceal my sorrow, but +afterwards I really fell into one, nor could a constitution +delicate like mine support so violent a shock. When I began to +be better, I still counterfeited sickness, that I might have an +excuse for not seeing and for not writing to you; besides I was +willing to have time to come to a resolution in what manner to +deal with you; I took and quitted the same resolution twenty +times; but at last I concluded you deserved not to see my grief, +and I resolved not to show you the least mark of it. I had a +desire to bring down your pride, by letting you see, that my +passion for you declined of itself: I thought I should by this +lessen the value of the sacrifice you had made of me, and was +loth you should have the pleasure of appearing more amiable in +the eyes of another, by showing her how much I loved you; I +resolved to write to you in a cold and languishing manner, that +she, to whom you gave my letters, might perceive my love was at +an end: I was unwilling she should have the satisfaction of +knowing I was sensible that she triumphed over me, or that she +should increase her triumph by my despair and complaints. I +thought I should punish you too little by merely breaking with +you, and that my ceasing to love you would give you but a slight +concern, after you had first forsaken me; I found it was +necessary you should love me, to feel the smart of not being +loved, which I so severely experienced myself; I was of opinion +that if anything could rekindle that flame, it would be to let +you see that mine was extinguished, but to let you see it through +an endeavour to conceal it from you, as if I wanted the power to +acknowledge it to you: this resolution I adhered to; I found it +difficult to take, and when I saw you again I thought it +impossible to execute. I was ready a hundred times to break out +into tears and complaints; my ill state of health, which still +continued, served as a disguise to hide from you the affliction +and trouble I was in; afterward I was supported by the pleasure +of dissembling with you, as you had done with me; however it was +doing so apparent a violence to myself to tell you or to write to +you that I loved you, that you immediately perceived I had no +mind to let you see my affection was altered; you was touched +with this, you complained of it; I endeavoured to remove your +fears, but it was done in so forced a manner, that you were still +more convinced by it, I no longer loved you; in short, I did all +I intended to do. The fantasticalness of your heart was such, +that you advanced towards me in proportion as you saw I retreated +from you. I have enjoyed all the pleasure which can arise from +revenge; I plainly saw, that you loved me more than you had ever +done, and I showed you I had no longer any love for you. I had +even reason to believe that you had entirely abandoned her, for +whom you had forsaken me; I had ground too to be satisfied you +had never spoken to her concerning me; but neither your +discretion in that particular, nor the return of your affection +can make amends for your inconstancy; your heart has been divided +between me and another, and you have deceived me; this is +sufficient wholly to take from me the pleasure I found in being +loved by you, as I thought I deserved to be, and to confirm me in +the resolution I have taken never to see you more, which you are +so much surprised at. + + +Madam de Cleves read this letter, and read it over again several +times, without knowing at the same time what she had read; she +saw only that the Duke de Nemours did not love her as she +imagined and that he loved others who were no less deceived by +him than she. What a discovery was this for a person in her +condition, who had a violent passion, who had just given marks of +it to a man whom she judged unworthy of it, and to another whom +she used ill for his sake! Never was affliction so cutting as +hers; she imputed the piercingness of it to what had happened +that day, and believed that if the Duke de Nemours had not had +ground to believe she loved him she should not have cared whether +he loved another or not; but she deceived herself, and this evil +which she found so insupportable was jealousy with all the +horrors it can be accompanied with. This letter discovered to +her a piece of gallantry the Duke de Nemours had been long +engaged in; she saw the lady who wrote it was a person of wit and +merit, and deserved to be loved; she found she had more courage +than herself, and envied her the power she had had of concealing +her sentiments from the Duke de Nemours; by the close of the +letter, she saw this lady thought herself beloved, and presently +suspected that the discretion the Duke had showed in his +addresses to her, and which she had been so much taken with, was +only an effect of his passion for this other mistress, whom he +was afraid of disobliging; in short, she thought of everything +that could add to her grief and despair. What reflections did +she not make on herself, and on the advices her mother had given +her I how did she repent, that she had not persisted in her +resolution of retiring, though against the will of Monsieur de +Cleves, or that she had not pursued her intentions of +acknowledging to him the inclination she had for the Duke of +Nemours! She was convinced, she would have done better to +discover it to a husband, whose goodness she was sensible of, and +whose interest it would have been to conceal it, than to let it +appear to a man who was unworthy of it, who deceived her, who +perhaps made a sacrifice of her, and who had no view in being +loved by her but to gratify his pride and vanity; in a word, she +found, that all the calamities that could befall her, and all the +extremities she could be reduced to, were less than that single +one of having discovered to the Duke de Nemours that she loved +him, and of knowing that he loved another: all her comfort was to +think, that after the knowledge of this she had nothing more to +fear from herself, and that she should be entirely eased of the +inclination she had for the Duke. + +She never thought of the orders the Queen-Dauphin had given her, +to come to her when she went to rest: she went to bed herself, +and pretended to be ill; so that when Monsieur de Cleves came +home from the King, they told him she was asleep. But she was +far from that tranquillity which inclines to sleep; all the night +she did nothing but torment herself, and read over and over the +letter in her hand. + +Madam de Cleves was not the only person whom this letter +disturbed. The Viscount de Chartres, who had lost it and not the +Duke de Nemours, was in the utmost inquietude about it. He had +been that evening with the Duke of Guise, who had given a great +entertainment to the Duke of Ferrara his brother-in-law, and to +all the young people of the Court: it happened that the discourse +turned upon ingenious letters; and the Viscount de Chartres said +he had one about him the finest that ever was writ: they urged +him to show it, and on his excusing himself, the Duke de Nemours +insisted he had no such letter, and that what he said was only +out of vanity; the Viscount made him answer, that he urged his +discretion to the utmost, that nevertheless he would not show the +letter; but he would read some parts of it, which would make it +appear few men received the like. Having said this, he would +have taken out the letter, but could not find it; he searched for +it to no purpose. The company rallied him about it; but he +seemed so disturbed, that they forbore to speak further of it; he +withdrew sooner than the others, and went home with great +impatience, to see if he had not left the letter there. While he +was looking for it, one of the Queen's pages came to tell him, +that the Viscountess d'Usez had thought it necessary to give him +speedy advice, that it was said at the Queen's Court, that he had +dropped a letter of gallantry out of his pocket while he was +playing at tennis; that great part of what the letter contained +had been related, that the Queen had expressed a great curiosity +to see it, and had sent to one of her gentlemen for it, but that +he answered, he had given it to Chatelart. + +The page added many other particulars which heightened the +Viscount's concern; he went out that minute to go to a gentleman +who was an intimate friend of Chatelart's; and though it was a +very unseasonable hour, made him get out of bed to go and fetch +the letter, without letting him know who it was had sent for it, +or who had lost it. Chatelart, who was prepossessed with an +opinion that it belonged to the Duke of Nemours, and that the +Duke was in love with the Queen-Dauphin, did not doubt but it was +he who had sent to redemand it, and so answered with a malicious +sort of joy, that he had put the letter into the Queen-Dauphin's +hands. The gentleman brought this answer back to the Viscount de +Chartres, which increased the uneasiness he was under already, +and added new vexations to it: after having continued some time +in an irresolution what to do, he found that the Duke de Nemours +was the only person whose assistance could draw him out of this +intricate affair. + +Accordingly he went to the Duke's house, and entered his room +about break of day. What the Duke had discovered the day before +with respect to the Princess of Cleves had given him such +agreeable ideas, that he slept very sweetly; he was very much +surprised to find himself waked by the Viscount de Chartres, and +asked him if he came to disturb his rest so early, to be revenged +of him for what he had said last night at supper. The Viscount's +looks soon convinced him, that he came upon a serious business; +"I am come," said he, "to entrust you with the most important +affair of my life; I know very well, you are not obliged to me +for the confidence I place in you, because I do it at a time when +I stand in need of your assistance; but I know likewise, that I +should have lost your esteem, if I had acquainted you with all I +am now going to tell you, without having been forced to it by +absolute necessity: I have dropped the letter I spoke of last +night; it is of the greatest consequence to me, that nobody +should know it is addressed to me; it has been seen by abundance +of people, who were at the tennis court yesterday when I dropped +it; you was there too, and the favour I have to ask you, is, to +say it was you who lost it." "Sure you think," replied the +Duke de Nemours smiling, "that I have no mistress, by making +such a proposal, and that I have no quarrels or inconveniences to +apprehend by leaving it to be believed that I receive such +letters." "I beg you," said the Viscount, "to hear me +seriously; if you have a mistress, as I doubt not you have, +though I do not know who she is, it will be easy for you to +justify yourself, and I'll put you into an infallible way of +doing it. As for you, though you should fail in justifying +yourself, it can cost you nothing but a short falling out; but +for my part, this accident affects me in a very different manner, +I shall dishonour a person who has passionately loved me, and is +one of the most deserving women in the world; on the other side, +I shall draw upon myself an implacable hatred that will ruin my +fortune, and perhaps proceed somewhat further." "I do not +comprehend what you say," replied the Duke de Nemours, "but I +begin to see that the reports we have had of your interest in a +great Princess are not wholly without ground." "They are +not," replied the Viscount, "but I would to God they were: you +would not see me in the perplexity I am in; but I must relate the +whole affair to you, to convince you how much I have to fear. + +"Ever since I came to Court, the Queen has treated me with a +great deal of favour and distinction, and I had grounds to +believe that she was very kindly disposed towards me: there was +nothing, however, particular in all this, and I never presumed to +entertain any thoughts of her but what were full of respect; so +far from it, that I was deeply in love with Madam de Themines; +anyone that sees her may easily judge, 'tis very possible for one +to be greatly in love with her, when one is beloved by her, and +so I was. About two years ago, the Court being at Fontainebleau, +I was two or three times in conversation with the Queen, at hours +when there were very few people in her apartment: it appeared to +me, that my turn of wit was agreeable to her, and I observed she +always approved what I said. One day among others she fell into +a discourse concerning confidence. I said there was nobody in +whom I entirely confided, that I found people always repented of +having done so, and that I knew a great many things of which I +had never spoke: the Queen told me, she esteemed me the more for +it, that she had not found in France anyone that could keep a +secret, and that this was what had embarrassed her more than +anything else, because it had deprived her of the pleasure of +having a confidant; that nothing was so necessary in life as to +have somebody one could open one's mind to with safety, +especially for people of her rank. Afterwards she frequently +resumed the same discourse, and acquainted me with very +particular circumstances; at last I imagined she was desirous to +learn my secrets, and to entrust me with her own; this thought +engaged me strictly to her. I was so pleased with this +distinction that I made my court to her with greater assiduity +than usual. One evening the King and the ladies of the Court +rode out to take the air in the forest, but the Queen, being a +little indisposed did not go; I stayed to wait upon her, and she +walked down to the pond-side, and dismissed her gentlemen ushers, +that she might be more at liberty. After she had taken a few +turns she came up to me, and bid me follow her; `I would speak +with you,' says she, `and by what I shall say you will see I am +your friend.' She stopped here, and looking earnestly at me; +`You are in love,' continued she, `and because perhaps you have +made nobody your confidant, you think that your love is not +known; but it is known, and even by persons who are interested in +it: you are observed, the place where you see your mistress is +discovered, and there's a design to surprise you; I don't know +who she is, nor do I ask you to tell me, I would only secure you +from the misfortunes into which you may fall.' See, I beseech +you, what a snare the Queen laid for me, and how difficult it was +for me not to fall into it; she had a mind to know if I was in +love, and as she did not ask me who I was in love with, but let +me see her intention was only to serve me, I had no suspicion +that she spoke either out of curiosity or by design. + +"Nevertheless, contrary to all probability, I saw into the +bottom of the matter; I was in love with Madam de Themines, but +though she loved me again, I was not happy enough to have private +places to see her in without danger of being discovered there, +and so I was satisfied she could not be the person the Queen +meant; I knew also, that I had an intrigue with another woman +less handsome and less reserved than Madam de Themines, and that +it was not impossible but the place where I saw her might be +discovered; but as this was a business I little cared for, it was +easy for me to guard against all sorts of danger by forbearing to +see her; I resolved therefore to acknowledge nothing of it to the +Queen, but to assure her on the contrary that I had a long time +laid aside the desire of gaining women's affections, even where I +might hope for success, because I found them all in some measure +unworthy of engaging the heart of an honourable man, and that it +must be something very much above them which could touch me. +`You do not answer me ingenuously,' replied the Queen; `I am +satisfied of the contrary; the free manner in which I speak to +you ought to oblige you to conceal nothing from me; I would have +you,' continued she, `be of the number of my friends; but I would +not, after having admitted you into that rank, be ignorant of +your engagements; consider, whether you think my friendship will +be too dear at the price of making me your confidant; I give you +two days to think on it; but then, consider well of the answer +you shall make me, and remember that if ever I find hereafter you +have deceived me, I shall never forgive you as long as I live.' + +"Having said this, the Queen left me without waiting for my +answer; you may imagine how full my thoughts were of what she had +said to me; the two days she had given me to consider of it I did +not think too long a time to come to a resolution; I found she +had a mind to know if I was in love, and that her desire was I +should not be so; I foresaw the consequences of what I was going +to do, my vanity was flattered with the thought of having a +particular interest with the Queen, and a Queen whose person is +still extremely amiable; on the other hand, I was in love with +Madam de Themines, and though I had committed a petty treason +against her by my engagement with the other woman I told you of, +I could not find in my heart to break with her; I foresaw also +the danger I should expose myself to, if I deceived the Queen, +and how hard it would be to do it; nevertheless I could not +resolve to refuse what fortune offered me, and was willing to run +the hazard of anything my ill conduct might draw upon me; I broke +with her with whom I kept a correspondence that might be +discovered, and was in hopes of concealing that I had with Madam +de Themines. + +"At the two days' end, as I entered the room where the Queen was +with all the ladies about her, she said aloud to me, and with a +grave air that was surprising enough, `Have you thought of the +business I charged you with, and do you know the truth of it?' +`Yes, Madam,' answered I, `and 'tis as I told your Majesty.' +`Come in the evening, when I am writing,' replied she, `and you +shall have further orders.' I made a respectful bow without +answering anything, and did not fail to attend at the hour she +had appointed me. I found her in the gallery, with her secretary +and one of her women. As soon as she saw me she came to me, and +took me to the other end of the gallery; `Well,' says she, +`after having considered thoroughly of this matter, have you +nothing to say to me, and as to my manner of treating you, does +not it deserve that you should deal sincerely with me?' `It is, +Madam,' answered I, `because I deal sincerely, that I have +nothing more to say, and I swear to your Majesty with all the +respect I owe you, that I have no engagement with any woman of +the Court.' `I will believe it,' replied the Queen, `because I +wish it; and I wish it, because I desire to have you entirely +mine, and because it would be impossible for me to be satisfied +with your friendship, if you were in love; one cannot confide in +those who are; one cannot be secure of their secrecy; they are +too much divided, and their mistresses have always the first +place in their thoughts, which does not suit at all with the +manner in which I would have you live with me: remember then, it +is upon your giving me your word that you have no engagement, +that I choose you for my confidant; remember, I insist on having +you entirely to myself, and that you shall have no friend of +either sex but such as I shall approve, and that you abandon +every care but that of pleasing me; I'll not desire you to +neglect any opportunity for advancing your fortune; I'll conduct +your interests with more application than you can yourself, and +whatever I do for you, I shall think myself more than +recompensed, if you answer my expectations; I make choice of you, +to open my heart's griefs to you, and to have your assistance in +softening them; you may imagine they are not small; I bear in +appearance without much concern the King's engagement with the +Duchess of Valentinois, but it is insupportable to me; she +governs the King, she imposes upon him, she slights me, all my +people are at her beck. The Queen, my daughter-in-law, proud of +her beauty, and the authority of her uncles, pays me no respect. +The Constable Montmorency is master of the King and kingdom; he +hates me, and has given proofs of his hatred, which I shall never +forget. The Mareschal de St. Andre is a bold young favourite, +who uses me no better than the others. The detail of my +misfortunes would move your pity; hitherto I have not dared to +confide in anybody, I confide in you, take care that I never +repent it, and be my only consolation.' The Queen blushed, when +she had ended this discourse, and I was so truly touched with the +goodness she had expressed to me, that I was going to throw +myself at her feet: from that day she has placed an entire +confidence in me, she has done nothing without advising with me, +and the intimacy and union between us still subsists. + + +III + +"In the meantime, however busy and full I was of my new +engagement with the Queen, I still kept fair with Madam de +Themines by a natural inclination which it was not in my power to +conquer; I thought she cooled in her love to me, and whereas, had +I been prudent, I should have made use of the change I observed +in her for my cure, my love redoubled upon it, and I managed so +ill that the Queen got some knowledge of this intrigue. Jealousy +is natural to persons of her nation, and perhaps she had a +greater affection for me than she even imagined herself; at least +the report of my being in love gave her so much uneasiness, that +I thought myself entirely ruined with her; however I came into +favour again by virtue of submissions, false oaths, and +assiduity; but I should not have been able to have deceived her +long, had not Madam de Themines's change disengaged me from her +against my will; she convinced me she no longer loved me, and I +was so thoroughly satisfied of it, that I was obliged to give her +no further uneasiness, but to let her be quiet. Some time after +she wrote me this letter which I have lost; I learned from it, +she had heard of the correspondence I had with the other woman I +told you of, and that that was the reason of her change. As I +had then nothing further left to divide me, the Queen was well +enough satisfied with me; but the sentiments I have for her not +being of a nature to render me incapable of other engagements, +and love not being a thing that depends on our will, I fell in +love with Madam de Martigues, of whom I was formerly a great +admirer, while she was with Villemontais, maid of honour to the +Queen-Dauphin; I have reason to believe she does not hate me; the +discretion I observe towards her, and which she does not wholly +know the reasons of, is very agreeable to her; the Queen has not +the least suspicion on her account, but she has another jealousy +which is not less troublesome; as Madam de Martigues is +constantly with the Queen-Dauphin, I go there much oftener than +usual; the Queen imagines that 'tis this Princess I am in love +with; the Queen-Dauphin's rank, which is equal to her own, and +the superiority of her youth and beauty, create a jealousy that +rises even to fury, and fills her with a hatred against her +daughter-in-law that cannot be concealed. The Cardinal of +Loraine, who, I believe has been long aspiring to the Queen's +favour, and would be glad to fill the place I possess, is, under +pretence of reconciling the two Queens, become master of the +differences between them; I doubt not but he has discovered the +true cause of the Queen's anger, and I believe he does me all +manner of ill offices, without letting her see that he designs +it. This is the condition my affairs are in at present; judge +what effect may be produced by the letter which I have lost, and +which I unfortunately put in my pocket with design to restore it +to Madam de Themines: if the Queen sees this letter, she will +know I have deceived her; and that almost at the very same time +that I deceived her for Madam de Themines, I deceived Madam de +Themines for another; judge what an idea this will give her of +me, and whether she will ever trust me again. If she does not +see the letter, what shall I say to her? She knows it has been +given to the Queen-Dauphin; she will think Chatelart knew that +Queen's hand, and that the letter is from her; she will fancy the +person of whom the letter expresses a jealousy, is perhaps +herself; in short, there is nothing which she may not think, and +there is nothing which I ought not to fear from her thoughts; add +to this, that I am desperately in love with Madam de Martigues, +and that the Queen-Dauphin will certainly show her this letter, +which she will conclude to have been lately writ. Thus shall I +be equally embroiled both with the person I love most, and with +the person I have most cause to fear. Judge, after this, if I +have not reason to conjure you to say the letter is yours, and to +beg of you to get it out of the Queen-Dauphin's hands." + +"I am very well satisfied," answered the Duke de Nemours, +"that one cannot be in a greater embarrassment than that you are +in, and it must be confessed you deserve it; I have been accused +of being inconstant in my amours, and of having had several +intrigues at the same time, but you out-go me so far, that I +should not so much as have dared to imagine what you have +undertaken; could you pretend to keep Madam de Themines, and be +at the same engaged with the Queen? did you hope to have an +engagement with the Queen, and be able to deceive her? she is +both an Italian and a Queen, and by consequence full of jealousy, +suspicion, and pride. As soon as your good fortune, rather than +your good conduct, had set you at liberty from an engagement you +was entangled in, you involved yourself in new ones, and you +fancied that in the midst of the Court you could be in love with +Madam de Martigues without the Queen's perceiving it: you could +not have been too careful to take from her the shame of having +made the first advances; she has a violent passion for you; you +have more discretion than to tell it me, and I than to ask you to +tell it; it is certain she is jealous of you, and has truth on +her side." "And does it belong to you," interrupted the +Viscount, "to load me with reprimands, and ought not your own +experience to make you indulgent to my faults? + +However I grant I am to blame; but think, I conjure you, how to +draw me out of this difficulty"; "I think you must go to the +Queen-Dauphin as soon as she is awake, and ask her for the +letter, as if you had lost it." "I have told you already," +replied the Duke de Nemours, "that what you propose is somewhat +extraordinary, and that there are difficulties in it which may +affect my own particular interest; but besides, if this letter +has been seen to drop out of your pocket, I should think it would +be hard to persuade people that it dropped out of mine." "I +thought I had told you," replied the Viscount, "that the +Queen-Dauphin had been informed that you dropped it." "How," +said the Duke de Nemours hastily, apprehending the ill +consequence this mistake might be of to him with Madam de Cleves, +"has the Queen-Dauphin been told I dropped the letter?" +"Yes," replied the Viscount, "she has been told so; and what +occasioned the mistake was, that there were several gentlemen of +the two Queens in a room belonging to the tennis court, where our +clothes were put up, when your servants and mine went together to +fetch them; then it was the letter fell out of the pocket; those +gentlemen took it up, and read it aloud; some believed it +belonged to you, and others to me; Chatelart, who took it, and to +whom I have just sent for it, says, he gave it to the +Queen-Dauphin as a letter of yours; and those who have spoken of +it to the Queen have unfortunately told her it was mine; so that +you may easily do what I desire of you, and free me from this +perplexity." + +The Duke de Nemours had always had a great friendship for the +Viscount de Chartres, and the relation he bore to Madam de Cleves +still made him more dear to him; nevertheless he could not +prevail with himself to run the risk of her having heard of this +letter, as of a thing in which he was concerned; he fell into a +deep musing, and the Viscount guessed pretty near what was the +subject of his meditations; "I plainly see," said he, "that +you are afraid of embroiling yourself with your mistress, and I +should almost fancy the Queen-Dauphin was she, if the little +jealousy you seem to have of Monsieur d'Anville did not take me +off from that thought; but be that as it will, it is not +reasonable you should sacrifice your repose to mine, and I'll put +you in a way of convincing her you love, that this letter is +directed to me, and not to you; here is a billet from Madam +d'Amboise, who is a friend of Madam de Themines, and was her +confidant in the amour between her and me; in this she desires me +to send her Madam de Themines's letter, which I have lost; my +name is on the superscription, and the contents of the billet +prove, without question, that the letter she desires is the same +with that which has been found; I'll leave this billet in your +hands, and agree that you may show it to your mistress in your +justification; I conjure you not to lose a moment, but to go this +morning to the Queen-Dauphin." + +The Duke de Nemours promised the Viscount he would, and took +Madam d'Amboise's billet; nevertheless his design was not to see +the Queen-Dauphin; he thought more pressing business required his +care; he made no question, but she had already spoke of the +letter to Madam de Cleves, and could not bear that a person he +loved so desperately, should have ground to believe he had +engagements with any other. + +He went to the Princess of Cleves as soon as he thought she might +be awake; and ordered her to be told, that, if he had not +business of the last consequence, he would not have desired the +honour to see her at so extraordinary an hour. Madam de Cleves +was in bed, and her mind was tossed to and fro by a thousand +melancholy thoughts that she had had during the night; she was +extremely surprised to hear the Duke de Nemours asked for her; +the anxiety she was in made her presently answer, that she was +ill, and could not speak with him. + +The Duke was not at all shocked at this refusal; he thought it +presaged him no ill, that she expressed a little coldness at a +time when she might be touched with jealousy. He went to the +Prince of Cleves's apartment, and told him he came from that of +his lady, and that he was very sorry he could not see her, +because he had an affair to communicate to her of great +consequence to the Viscount de Chartres; he explained in few +words to the Prince the importance of this business, and the +Prince immediately introduced him into his lady's chamber. Had +she not been in the dark, she would have found it hard to have +concealed the trouble and astonishment she was in to see the Duke +de Nemours introduced by her husband. Monsieur de Cleves told +her the business was about a letter, wherein her assistance was +wanting for the interest of the Viscount, that she was to consult +with Monsieur de Nemours what was to be done; and that as for him +he was going to the King, who had just sent for him. + +The Duke de Nemours had his heart's desire, in being alone with +Madam de Cleves; "I am come to ask you, Madam," said he, "if +the Queen-Dauphin has not spoke to you of a letter which +Chatelart gave her yesterday." "She said something to me of +it," replied Madam de Cleves, "but I don't see what relation +this letter his to the interests of my uncle, and I can assure +you that he is not named in it." "It is true, Madam," replied +the Duke de Nemours, "he is not named in it but yet it is +addressed to him, and it very much imports him that you should +get it out of the Queen-Dauphin's hands." "I cannot +comprehend," replied the Princess, "how it should be of any +consequence to him, if this letter should be seen, nor what +reason there is to redemand it in his name." "If you please to +be at leisure to hear me, Madam," said Monsieur de Nemours, +"I'll presently make you acquainted with the true state of the +thing, and inform you of matters of so great importance to the +Viscount, that I would not even have trusted the Prince of Cleves +with them, had I not stood in need of his assistance to have the +honour to see you." "I believe," said Madam de Cleves in a +very unconcerned manner, "that anything you may give yourself +the trouble of telling me, will be to little purpose; you had +better go to the Queen-Dauphin, and plainly tell her, without +using these roundabout ways, the interest you have in that +letter, since she has been told, as well as I, that it belongs to +you." + +The uneasiness of mind which Monsieur de Nemours observed in +Madam de Cleves gave him the most sensible pleasure he ever knew, +and lessened his impatience to justify himself: "I don't know, +Madam," replied he, "what the Queen-Dauphin may have been told; +but I am not at all concerned in that letter; it is addressed to +the Viscount." "I believe so," replied Madam de Cleves, "but +the Queen-Dauphin has heard to the contrary, and she won't think +it very probable that the Viscount's letters should fall out of +your pocket; you must therefore have some reason, that I don't +know of, for concealing the truth of this matter from the +Queen-Dauphin; I advise you to confess it to her." "I have +nothing to confess to her," says he, "the letter is not +directed to me, and if there be anyone that I would have +satisfied of it, it is not the Queen-Dauphin; but, Madam, since +the Viscount's interest is nearly concerned in this, be pleased +to let me acquaint you with some matters that are worthy of your +curiosity." Madam de Cleves by her silence showed her readiness +to hear him, and he as succinctly as possible related to her all +he had just heard from the Viscount. Though the circumstances +were naturally surprising, and proper to create attention, yet +Madam de Cleves heard them with such coldness, that she seemed +either not to believe them true, or to think them indifferent to +her; she continued in this temper until the Duke de Nemours spoke +of Madam d'Amboise's billet, which was directed to the Viscount, +and was a proof of all he had been saying; as Madam de Cleves +knew that this lady was a friend of Madam de Themines, she found +some probability in what the Duke de Nemours had said, which made +her think, that the letter perhaps was not addressed to him; this +thought suddenly, and in spite of herself, drew her out of the +coldness and indifferency she had until then been in. The Duke +having read the billet, which fully justified him, presented it +to her to read, and told her she might possibly know the hand. +She could not forbear taking it, and examining the superscription +to see if it was addressed to the Viscount de Chartres, and +reading it all over, that she might the better judge, if the +letter which was redemanded was the same with that she had in her +hand. The Duke de Nemours added whatever he thought proper to +persuade her of it; and as one is easily persuaded of the truth +of what one wishes, he soon convinced Madam de Cleves that he had +no concern in the letter. + +She began now to reason with him concerning the embarrassment and +danger the Viscount was in, to blame his ill conduct, and to +think of means to help him: she was astonished at the Queen's +proceedings, and confessed to the Duke that she had the letter; +in short, she no sooner believed him innocent, but she discoursed +with him with greater ease and freedom, concerning what she would +scarce before vouchsafe to hear; they agreed that the letter +should not be restored to the Queen-Dauphin, for fear she should +show it to Madam de Martigues, who knew Madam de Themines's hand, +and would easily guess, by the interest she had in the Viscount, +that it was addressed to him; they agreed also, that they ought +not to entrust the Queen-Dauphin with all that concerned the +Queen her mother-in-law. Madam de Cleves, under pretence of +serving her uncle, was pleased to be the Duke de Nemours's +confidant in the secrets he had imparted to her. + +The Duke would not have confined his discourse to the Viscount's +concerns, but from the liberty he had of free conversation with +her, would have assumed a boldness he had never yet done, had not +a message been brought in to Madam de Cleves, that the +Queen-Dauphin had sent for her. The Duke was forced to withdraw; +he went to the Viscount to inform him, that after he had left +him, he thought it more proper to apply to Madam de Cleves, his +niece, than to go directly to the Queen-Dauphin; he did not want +reasons to make him approve what he had done, and to give him +hopes of good success. + +In the meantime Madam de Cleves dressed herself in all haste to +go to the Queen-Dauphin; she was no sooner entered her chamber, +but she called her to her, and whispered her, "I have been +waiting for you these two hours, and was never so perplexed about +disguising a truth as I have been this morning: the Queen has +heard of the letter I gave you yesterday, and believes it was the +Viscount de Chartres that dropped it; you know, she has some +interest to be satisfied in it; she has been in search for the +letter, and has caused Chatelart to be asked for it; who said he +had given it to me; they have been to ask me for it, under +pretence it was an ingenious letter which the Queen had a +curiosity to see; I durst not say that you had it, for fear she +should think I had given it you on your uncle the Viscount's +account, and that there was a correspondence between him and me. +I was already satisfied that his seeing me so often gave her +uneasiness, so that I said the letter was in the clothes I had on +yesterday, and that those who had them in keeping were gone +abroad; give me the letter immediately," added she, "that I may +send it her, and that I may read it before I send it to see if I +know the hand." + +Madam de Cleves was harder put to it than she expected; "I don't +know, Madam, what you will do," answered she, "for Monsieur de +Cleves, to whom I gave it to read, returned it to the Duke of +Nemours, who came early this morning to beg him to get it of you. + +Monsieur de Cleves had the imprudence to tell him he had it, and +the weakness to yield to the entreaties the Duke de Nemours made +that he would restore it him." "You throw me into the greatest +embarrassment I can possibly be in," replied the Queen-Dauphin; +"and you have given this letter to the Duke de Nemours. Since +it was I that gave it you, you ought not to have restored it +without my leave; what would you have me say to the Queen, and +what can she imagine? She will think, and not without reason, +that this letter concerns myself, and that there is something +between the Viscount and me; she will never be persuaded the +letter belonged to the Duke de Nemours." "I am very much +concerned," replied Madam de Cleves, "for the misfortune I have +occasioned, and I believe the difficulty I have brought you into +is very great; but 'twas Monsieur de Cleves's fault, and not +mine." "You are in fault," replied the Queen-Dauphin, "for +having given him the letter; and I believe you are the only woman +in the world that acquaints her husband with all she knows." +"I acknowledge myself in fault, Madam," replied the Princess of +Cleves, "but let us rather think of preventing the consequences +of what I have done, than insist on the fault itself." "Do you +remember, pretty near, what the letter contains?" says the +Queen-Dauphin. "Yes, Madam, I do," replied she, "for I have +read it over more than once." "If so," said the +Queen-Dauphin, "you must immediately get it written out in an +unknown hand, and I'll send it to the Queen; she'll not show it +those who have seen it already; and though she should, I'll stand +in it, that it is the same Chatelart gave me; and he'll not dare +to say otherwise." + +Madam de Cleves approved of this expedient, and the more because +it gave her an opportunity of sending for the Duke de Nemours, to +have the letter itself again, in order to have it copied word for +word, imitating as near as may be the hand it was written in, and +she thought this would effectually deceive the Queen. As soon as +she was got home, she informed her husband of what had passed +between her and the Queen-Dauphin, and begged him to send for the +Duke de Nemours. The Duke was sent for, and came immediately; +Madam de Cleves told him all she had told her husband, and asked +for the letter; but the Duke answered, that he had already +returned it to the Viscount de Chartres, who was so overjoyed +upon having it again, and being freed from the danger he was in, +that he sent it immediately to Madam de Themines's friend. Madam +de Cleves was in a new embarrassment on this occasion: in short, +after having consulted together, they resolved to form the letter +by memory; and, in order to go about it, they locked themselves +up, and left orders that nobody should be admitted, and that all +the Duke de Nemours's attendants should be sent away. Such an +appearance of secret confidence was no small charm to Monsieur de +Nemours, and even to Madam de Cleves; her husband's presence, and +the interests of her uncle the Viscount de Chartres, were +considerations which in great measure removed her scruples, and +made this opportunity of seeing and being with the Duke de +Nemours so agreeable to her, that she never before experienced a +joy so pure and free from allay; this threw her into a freedom +and gaiety of spirit which the Duke had never observed in her +till now, and which made him still more passionately in love with +her: as he had never known such agreeable moments, his vivacity +was much heightened; and whenever Madam de Cleves was beginning +to recollect and write the letter, instead of assisting her +seriously, did nothing but interrupt her with wit and pleasantry. +Madam de Cleves was as gay as he, so that they had been locked up +a considerable time, and two messages had come from the +Queen-Dauphin to hasten Madam de Cleves, before they had half +finished the letter. + +The Duke de Nemours was glad to prolong the time that was so +agreeable to him, and neglected the concerns of his friend; Madam +de Cleves was not at all tired, and neglected also the concerns +of her uncle: at last, with much ado, about four o'clock the +letter was finished, and was so ill done, and the copy so unlike +the original, as to the handwriting, that the queen must have +taken very little care to come at the truth of the matter, if she +had been imposed on by so ill a counterfeit. Accordingly she was +not deceived; and however industrious they were to persuade her, +that this letter was addressed to the Duke de Nemours, she +remained satisfied not only that it was addressed to the Viscount +de Chartres, but that the Queen-Dauphin was concerned in it, and +that there was a correspondence between them; this heightened her +hatred against that Princess to such a degree, that she never +forgave her, and never ceased persecuting her till she had driven +her out of France. + +As for the Viscount de Chartres, his credit was entirely ruined +with her; and whether the Cardinal of Loraine had already +insinuated himself so far into her esteem as to govern her, or +whether the accident of this letter, which made it appear that +the Viscount had deceived her, enabled her to discover the other +tricks he had played her, it is certain he could never after +entirely reconcile himself to her; their correspondence was broke +off, and at length she ruined him by means of the conspiracy of +Amboise, in which he was involved. + +After the letter was sent to the Queen-Dauphin, Monsieur de +Cleves and Monsieur de Nemours went away; Madam de Cleves +continued alone, and being no longer supported by the joy which +the presence of what one loves gives one, she seemed like one +newly waked from a dream; she beheld, with astonishment, the +difference between the condition she was in the night before, and +that she was in at this time: she called to mind, how cold and +sullen she was to the Duke de Nemours, while she thought Madam de +Themines's letter was addressed to him, and how calm and sweet a +situation of mind succeeded that uneasiness, as soon as he was +satisfied he was not concerned in that letter; when she +reflected, that she reproached herself as guilty for having given +him the foregoing day only some marks of sensibility, which mere +compassion might have produced, and that by her peevish humour +this morning, she had expressed such a jealousy as was a certain +proof of passion, she thought she was not herself; when she +reflected further, that the Duke de Nemours saw plainly that she +knew he was in love with her, and that, notwithstanding her +knowing it, she did not use him the worse for it, even in her +husband's presence; but that, on the contrary, she had never +behaved so favourably to him; when she considered, she was the +cause of Monsieur de Cleves's sending for him, and that she had +just passed an afternoon in private with him; when she considered +all this, she found, there was something within her that held +intelligence with the Duke de Nemours, and that she deceived a +husband who least deserved it; and she was ashamed to appear so +little worthy of esteem, even in the eyes of her lover; but what +she was able to support less than all the rest was, the +remembrance of the condition in which she spent the last night, +and the pricking griefs she felt from a suspicion that the Duke +de Nemours was in love with another, and that she was deceived by +him. + +Never till then was she acquainted with the dreadful inquietudes +that flow from jealousy and distrust; she had applied all her +cares to prevent herself from falling in love with the Duke de +Nemours, and had not before had any fear of his being in love +with another: though the suspicions which this letter had given +her were effaced, yet they left her sensible of the hazard there +was of being deceived, and gave her impressions of distrust and +jealousy which she had never felt till that time; she was +surprised that she had never yet reflected how improbable it was +that a man of the Duke de Nemours's turn, who had showed so much +inconstancy towards women, should be capable of a lasting and +sincere passion; she thought it next to impossible for her to be +convinced of the truth of his love; "But though I could be +convinced of it," says she, "what have I to do in it? Shall I +permit it? Shall I make a return? Shall I engage in gallantry, +be false to Monsieur de Cleves, and be false to myself? In a +word, shall I go to expose myself to the cruel remorses and +deadly griefs that rise from love? I am subdued and vanquished +by a passion, which hurries me away in spite of myself; all my +resolutions are vain; I had the same thoughts yesterday that I +have today, and I act today contrary to what I resolved +yesterday; I must convey myself out of the sight of the Duke de +Nemours; I must go into the country, however fantastical my +journey may appear; and if Monseur de Cleves is obstinately bent +to hinder me, or to know my reasons for it, perhaps I shall do +him and myself the injury to acquaint him with them." She +continued in this resolution, and spent the whole evening at +home, without going to the Queen-Dauphin to enquire what had +happened with respect to the counterfeited letter. + +When the Prince of Cleves returned home, she told him she was +resolved to go into the country; that she was not very well, and +had occasion to take the air. Monsieur de Cleves, to whom she +appeared so beautiful that he could not think her indisposition +very considerable, at first made a jest of her design, and +answered that she had forgot that the nuptials of the Princesses +and the tournament were very near, and that she had not too much +time to prepare matters so as to appear there as magnificently as +other ladies. What her husband said did not make her change her +resolution, and she begged he would agree, that while he was at +Compiegne with the King, she might go to Colomiers, a pretty +house then building, within a day's journey of Paris. Monsieur +de Cleves consented to it; she went thither with a design of not +returning so soon, and the King set out for Compiegne, where he +was to stay but few days. + +The Duke de Nemours was mightily concerned he had not seen Madam +de Cleves since that afternoon which he had spent so agreeably +with her, and which had increased his hopes; he was so impatient +to see her again that he could not rest; so that when the King +returned to Paris, the Duke resolved to go to see his sister the +Duchess de Mercoeur, who was at a country seat of hers very near +Colomiers; he asked the Viscount to go with him, who readily +consented to it. The Duke de Nemours did this in hopes of +visiting Madam de Cleves, in company of the Viscount. + +Madam de Mercoeur received them with a great deal of joy, and +thought of nothing but giving them all the pleasures and +diversions of the country; one day, as they were hunting a stag, +the Duke de Nemours lost himself in the forest, and upon +enquiring his way was told he was near Colomiers; at that word, +Colomiers, without further reflection, or so much as knowing what +design he was upon, he galloped on full speed the way that had +been showed him; as he rode along he came by chance to the +made-ways and walks, which he judged led to the castle: at the +end of these walks he found a pavilion, at the lower end of which +was a large room with two closets, the one opening into a +flower-garden, and the other looking into a spacious walk in the +park; he entered the pavilion, and would have stopped to observe +the beauty of it, if he had not seen in the walk the Prince and +Princess of Cleves, attended with a numerous train of their +domestics. As he did not expect to meet Monsieur de Cleves +there, whom he had left with the King, he thought at first of +hiding himself; he entered the closet which looked into the +flower-garden, with design to go out that way by a door which +opened to the forest; but observing Madam de Cleves and her +husband were sat down under the pavilion, and that their +attendants stayed in the park, and could not come to him without +passing by the place where Monsieur and Madam de Cleves were, he +could not deny himself the pleasure of seeing this Princess, nor +resist the curiosity he had to hear her conversation with a +husband, who gave him more jealousy than any of his rivals. He +heard Monsieur de Cleves say to his wife, "But why will you not +return to Paris? What can keep you here in the country? You +have of late taken a fancy for solitude, at which I am both +surprised and concerned, because it deprives me of your company: +I find too, you are more melancholy than usual, and I am afraid +you have some cause of grief." "I have nothing to trouble my +mind," answered she with an air of confusion, "but there is +such a bustle at Court, and such a multitude of people always at +your house, that it is impossible but both body and mind should +be fatigued, and one cannot but desire repose." "Repose," +answered he, "is not very proper for one of your age; you are at +home, and at Court, in such a manner as cannot occasion +weariness, and I am rather afraid you desire to live apart from +me." "You would do me great wrong to think so," replied she +with yet more confusion, "but I beg you to leave me here; if you +could stay here, and without company, I should be very glad of +it; nothing would be more agreeable to me than your conversation +in this retirement, provided you would approve not to have about +you that infinite number of people, who in a manner never leave +you." "Ah! Madam," cries Monsieur de Cleves, "both your +looks and words convince me that you have reasons to desire to be +alone, which I don't know; I conjure you to tell them me." He +urged her a great while to inform him, without being able to +oblige her to it; and after she had excused herself in a manner +which still increased her husband's curiosity, she continued in a +deep silence, with her eyes cast down then, taking up the +discourse on a sudden, and looking upon him, "Force me not," +said she, "to confess a thing to you which I have not the power +to confess, though I have often designed it; remember only, that +it is not prudent a woman of my years, and mistress of her own +conduct, should remain exposed in the midst of a Court." "What +is it, Madam," cried Monsieur de Cleves, "that you lead me to +imagine? I dare not speak it, for fear of offending you." +Madam de Cleves making no answer, her silence confirmed her +husband in what he thought; "You say nothing to me," says he, +"and that tells me clearly, that I am not mistaken." "Alas, +sir," answered she, falling on her knees, "I am going to make a +confession to you, such as no woman ever yet made to her husband; +but the innocence of my intentions, and of my conduct, give me +power to do it; it is true, I have reasons to absent myself from +Court, and I would avoid the dangers persons of my age are +sometimes liable to; I have never shown any mark of weakness, and +I cannot apprehend I ever shall, if you will permit me to retire +from Court, since now I have not Madam de Chartres to assist me +in my conduct; however dangerous a step I am taking, I take it +with pleasure to preserve myself worthy of you; I ask you a +thousand pardons, if I have sentiments which displease you, at +least I will never displease you by my actions; consider, that to +do what I do, requires more friendship and esteem for a husband +than ever wife had; direct my conduct, have pity on me, and if +you can still love me." + +Monsieur de Cleves, all the while she spoke, continued leaning +his head on his hand, almost beside himself, and never thought of +raising her up. When she had done speaking, and he cast his eyes +upon her, and saw her on her knees with her face drowned in +tears, inimitably beautiful, he was ready to die for grief, and +taking her up in his arms, "Have you pity on me, Madam," says +he, "for I deserve it, and pardon me, if in the first moments of +an affliction so violent as mine, I do not answer as I ought to +so generous a proceeding as yours; I think you more worthy of +esteem and admiration than any woman that ever was, but I find +myself also the most unfortunate of men: you inspired me with +passion the first moment I saw you, and that passion has never +decayed; not your coldness, nor even enjoyment itself, has been +able to extinguish it; it still continues in its first force, and +yet it has not been in my power to kindle in your breast any +spark of love for me, and now I find you fear you have an +inclination for another; and who is he, Madam, this happy man +that gives you such apprehensions? How long has he charmed you? +What has he done to charm you? What method has he taken to get +into your heart? When I could not gain your affections myself, +it was some comfort to me to think, that no other could gain +them; in the meantime, another has effected what I could not, and +I have at once the jealousy of a husband and lover. But it is +impossible for me to retain that of a husband after such a +proceeding on your part, which is too noble and ingenuous not to +give me an entire security; it even comforts me as a lover; the +sincerity you have expressed, and the confidence you have placed +in me are of infinite value: you have esteem enough for me to +believe I shall not abuse the confession you have made to me; you +are in the right, Madam, I will not abuse it, or love you the +less for it; you make me unhappy by the greatest mark of fidelity +ever woman gave her husband; but go on, Madam, and inform me who +he is whom you would avoid." "I beg you not to ask me," +replied she; "I am resolved not to tell you, nor do I think it +prudent to name him." "Fear not, Madam," replied Monsieur de +Cleves, "I know the world too well to be ignorant that a woman's +having a husband does not hinder people from being in love with +her; such lovers may be the objects of one's hatred, but we are +not to complain of it; once again, Madam, I conjure you to tell +me what I so much desire to know." "It is in vain to press +me," replied she, "I have the power to be silent in what I +think I ought not to tell; the confession I made to you was not +owing to any weakness, and it required more courage to declare +such a truth than it would have done to conceal it." + +The Duke de Nemours did not lose a word of this conversation, and +what Madam de Cleves had said gave him no less jealousy than her +husband; he was so desperately in love with her, that he believed +all the world was so too; it is true, he had many rivals, yet he +fancied them still more, and his thoughts wandered to find out +who it was Madam de Cleves meant: he had often thought he was not +disagreeable to her, but the grounds of his judgment on this +occasion appeared so slight, that he could not imagine he had +raised in her heart a passion violent enough to oblige her to +have recourse to so extraordinary a remedy; he was so +transported, that he scarce knew what he saw, and he could not +pardon Monsieur de Cleves for not having pressed his wife enough +to tell him the name of the person she concealed from him. + +Monsieur de Cleves nevertheless used his utmost endeavours to +know it; and having urged her very much on the subject; "I +think," answered she, "that you ought to be satisfied with my +sincerity; ask me no more about it, and don't give me cause to +repent of what I have done; content yourself with the assurance +which I once more give you, that my sentiments have never +appeared by any of my actions, and that no address hath been made +to me that could give me offence." "Ah! Madam," replied +Monsieur de Cleves on a sudden, "I cannot believe it; I remember +the confusion you was in when your picture was lost; you have +given away, Madam, you have given away that picture, which was so +dear to me, and which I had so just a right to; you have not been +able to conceal your inclinations, you are in love; it is known; +your virtue has hitherto saved you from the rest." "Is it +possible," cried Madam de Cleves, "you can imagine there was +any reserve or disguise in a confession like mine, which I was no +way obliged to? Take my word, I purchase dearly the confidence I +desire of you; I conjure you to believe I have not given away my +picture; it is true, I saw it taken, but I would not seem to see +it, for fear of subjecting myself to hear such things as no one +has yet dared to mention to me." "How do you know then that +you are loved," said Monsieur de Cleves? "What mark, what +proof of it has been given you?" "Spare me the pain," replied +she, "of repeating to you circumstances which I am ashamed to +have observed, and which have convinced me but too much of my own +weakness." "You are in the right, Madam," answered he, "I am +unjust; always refuse me when I ask you such things, and yet +don't be angry with me for asking them." + +Just then several of the servants, who had stayed in the walks, +came to acquaint Monsieur de Cleves, that a gentleman was arrived +from the King, with orders for him to be at Paris that evening. +Monsieur de Cleves was obliged to go, and had only time to tell +his wife that he desired her to come to Paris the next day; and +that he conjured her to believe, that however afflicted he was, +he had a tenderness and esteem for her, with which she ought to +be satisfied. + +When he was gone, and Madam de Cleves being alone, considered +what she had done, she was so frightened at the thought of it, +she could hardly believe it to be true. She found she had +deprived herself of the heart and esteem of her husband, and was +involved in a labyrinth she should never get out of; she asked +herself why she had ventured on so dangerous a step, and +perceived she was engaged in it almost without having designed +it; the singularity of such a confession, for which she saw no +precedent, made her fully sensible of her danger. + +But on the other hand, when she came to think that this remedy, +however violent it was, was the only effectual one she could make +use of against Monsieur de Nemours, she found she had no cause to +repent, or to believe she had ventured too far; she passed the +whole night full of doubts, anxiety and fear; but at last her +spirits grew calm again; she even felt a pleasure arise in her +mind, from a sense of having given such a proof of fidelity to a +husband who deserved it so well, who had so great a friendship +and esteem for her, and had so lately manifested it by the manner +in which he received the confession she had made him. + +In the meantime Monsieur de Nemours was gone away from the place, +in which he had overheard a conversation which so sensibly +affected him, and was got deep into the forest; what Madam de +Cleves said of her picture had revived him, since it was certain +from thence that he was the person she had an inclination for; at +first he gave a leap of joy, but his raptures were at an end as +soon as he began to reflect, that the same thing that convinced +him he had touched the heart of Madam de Cleves, ought to +convince him also that he should never receive any marks of it, +and that it would be impossible to engage a lady who had recourse +to so extraordinary a remedy; and yet he could not but be +sensibly pleased to have reduced her to that extremity; he +thought it glorious for him to have gained the affections of a +woman so different from the rest of her sex; in a word, he +thought himself very happy and very unhappy at the same time. He +was benighted in the forest, and was very much put to it to find +his way again to his sister's the Duchess of Mercoeur; he arrived +there at break of day, and was extremely at a loss what account +to give of his absence, but he made out the matter as well as he +could, and returned that very day to Paris with the Viscount. + +The Duke was so taken up with his passion, and so surprised at +the conversation he had heard, that he fell into an indiscretion +very common, which is, to speak one's own particular sentiments +in general terms, and to relate one's proper adventures under +borrowed names. As they were travelling he began to talk of +love, and exaggerated the pleasure of being in love with a person +that deserved it; he spoke of the fantastical effects of this +passion, and at last not being able to contain within himself the +admiration he was in at the action of Madam de Cleves, he related +it to the Viscount without naming the person, or owning he had +any share in it; but he told it with so much warmth and surprise, +that the Viscount easily suspected the story concerned himself. +The Viscount urged him very much to confess it, and told him he +had known a great while that he was violently in love, and that +it was unjust in him to show a distrust of a man who had +committed to him a secret on which his life depended. The Duke +de Nemours was too much in love to own it, and had always +concealed it from the Viscount, though he valued him the most of +any man at Court; he answered that one of his friends had told +him this adventure, and made him promise not to speak of it; and +he also conjured the Viscount to keep the secret: the Viscount +assured him he would say nothing of it but notwithstanding +Monsieur de Nemours repented that he had told him so much. + +In the meantime Monsieur de Cleves was gone to the King, with a +heart full of sorrow and affliction. Never had husband so +violent a passion for his wife, or so great an esteem; what she +had told him did not take away his esteem of her, but made it of +a different nature from that he had had before; what chiefly +employed his thoughts, was a desire to guess who it was that had +found out the secret to win her heart; the Duke de Nemours was +the first person he thought of on this occasion, as being the +handsomest man at Court; and the Chevalier de Guise, and the +Mareschal de St. Andre occurred next, as two persons who had made +it their endeavour to get her love, and who were still very +assiduous in courting her, so that he was fully persuaded it must +be one of the three. He arrived at the Louvre, and the King +carried him into his closet to inform him he had made choice of +him to conduct Madame into Spain, and that he believed nobody +could acquit himself better of that charge, nor that any lady +would do France greater honour than Madam de Cleves. Monsieur de +Cleves received the honour the King had done him by this choice +with the respect he ought, and he considered it also as what +would take his wife from Court, without leaving room to suspect +any change in her conduct; but the embarrassment he was under +required a speedier remedy than that journey, which was to be +deferred a great while, could afford; he immediately wrote to +Madam de Cleves to acquaint her with what the King had told him, +and gave her to understand he absolutely expected she should +return to Paris. She returned according to his orders, and when +they met, they found one another overwhelmed with melancholy. + +Monsieur de Cleves spoke to her, as a man of the greatest honour +in the world, and the best deserving the confidence she had +reposed in him; "I am not alarmed as to your conduct," said +he,"you have more strength and virtue than you imagine; I am not +alarmed with fears of what may happen hereafter; what troubles me +is that I see you have those sentiments for another which you +want for me." "I don't know what to answer you," said she, +"I die with shame when I speak of this subject spare me, I +conjure you, such cruel conversations; regulate my conduct, and +never let me see anybody; this is all I desire of you; but take +it not ill of me, if I speak no more of a thing which makes me +appear so little worthy of you, and which I think so unbecoming +me." "You are in the right, Madam;" replied he, "I abuse +your goodness and your confidence in me; but have some compassion +also on the condition you have brought me to, and think that +whatever you have told me, you conceal from me a name, which +creates in me a curiosity I cannot live without satisfying; and +yet I ask you not to satisfy it; I cannot, however, forbear +telling you, that I believe the man I am to envy is the Mareschal +de St. Andre, the Duke de Nemours, or the Chevalier de Guise." +"I shall make you no answer," says she blushing, "nor give you +any ground from what I say, either to lessen or strengthen your +suspicions; but if you endeavour to inform yourself by observing +me, you will throw me into a confusion all the world will take +notice of, for God's sake," continued she, "allow me under +pretence of an indisposition to see nobody." "No, Madam," +said he, "it will quickly be discovered to be a feigned +business; and besides, I am unwilling to trust you to anything +but yourself; my heart tells me this is the best way I can take, +and my reason tells me so also, considering the temper of mind +you are in, I cannot put a greater restraint upon you than by +leaving you to your liberty." + +Monsieur de Cleves was not mistaken; the confidence he showed he +had in his wife, fortified her the more against Monsieur de +Nemours, and made her take more severe resolutions than any +restraint could have brought her to. She went to wait on the +Queen-Dauphin at the Louvre as she used to do, but avoided the +presence and eyes of Monsieur de Nemours with so much care, that +she deprived him of almost all the joy he had in thinking she +loved him; he saw nothing in her actions but what seemed to show +the contrary; he scarcely knew if what he had heard was not a +dream, so very improbable it seemed to him; the only thing which +assured him that he was not mistaken, was Madam de Cleves's +extreme melancholy, which appeared, whatever pains she took to +hide it; and perhaps kind words and looks would not have +increased the Duke of Nemours's love so much as this severe +conduct did. + +One evening, as Monsieur and Madam de Cleves were at the Queen's +apartment, it was said there was a report that the King would +name another great lord to wait on Madame into Spain. Monsieur +de Cleves had his eye fixed on his wife, when it was further +said, the Chevalier de Guise, or the Mareschal de St. Andre, was +the person; he observed she was not at all moved at either of +those names, nor the discourse of their going along with her; +this made him believe, it was not either of them whose presence +she feared. In order to clear up his suspicions, he went into +the Queen's closet, where the King then was, and after having +stayed there some time came back to his wife, and whispered her, +that he had just heard the Duke de Nemours was the person +designed to go along with them to Spain. + +The name of the Duke de Nemours, and the thought of being exposed +to see him every day, during a very long journey, in her +husband's presence, so affected Madam de Cleves, that she could +not conceal her trouble: and being willing to give other reasons +for it, "No choice," says she, "could have been made more +disagreeable for you; he will share all honours with you, and I +think you ought to endeavour to get some other chosen." "It is +not honour, Madam," replied Monsieur de Cleves, "that makes you +apprehensive of the Duke de Nemours's going with me, the +uneasiness you are in proceeds from another cause; and from this +uneasiness of yours I learn, that which I should have discovered +in another woman, by the joy she would have expressed on such an +occasion; but be not afraid; what I have told you is not true, it +was an invention of mine to assure myself of a thing which I +already believed but too much." + +Having said this, he went out, being unwilling to increase, by +his presence, the concern he saw his wife in. + +The Duke de Nemours came in that instant, and presently observed +Madam de Cleves's condition; he came up to her, and told her +softly, he had that respect for her, he durst not ask what it was +made her more pensive than usual. The voice of the Duke de +Nemours brought her to herself again, and looking at him, without +having heard what he had said to her, full of her own thoughts, +and afraid lest her husband should see him with her, "For God's +sake," says she, "leave me to myself in quiet." "Alas, +Madam," answered he, "I disturb you too little; what is it you +can complain of? I dare not speak to you, I dare not look upon +you, I tremble whenever I approach you. How have I drawn upon +myself what you have said to me, and why do you show me that I am +in part the cause of the trouble I see you in?" Madam de Cleves +was very sorry to have given the Duke an opportunity of +explaining himself more clearly than ever he had done before; she +left him without making any answer, and went home with her mind +more agitated than ever. Her husband perceived her concern was +increased, and that she was afraid he would speak to her of what +had passed, and followed her into her closet; "Do not shun me, +Madam," says he, "I will say nothing to you that shall +displease you; I ask pardon for the surprise I gave you a while +ago; I am sufficiently punished by what I have learnt from it; +the Duke de Nemours was of all men he whom I most feared; I see +the danger you are in; command yourself for your own sake, and, +if it is possible, for mine; I do not ask this of you as a +husband, but as a man whose happiness wholly depends on you, and +who loves you more violently and more tenderly than he whom your +heart prefers to me." Monsieur de Cleves was melted upon +speaking these words, and could scarce make an end of them; his +wife was so moved, she burst into tears, and embraced him with a +tenderness and sorrow that put him into a condition not very +different from her own; they continued silent a while, and parted +without having the power to speak to one another. + +All things were ready for the marriage of Madame, and the Duke of +Alva was arrived to espouse her; he was received with all the +ceremony and magnificence that could be displayed on such an +occasion; the King sent to meet him the Prince of Conde, the +Cardinals of Loraine and Guise, the Dukes of Loraine and Ferrara, +d'Aumale, de Bouillon, de Guise, and de Nemours; they had a great +number of gentlemen, and a great many pages in livery; the King +himself, attended with two hundred gentlemen, and the Constable +at their head, received the Duke of Alva at the first gate of the +Louvre; the Duke would have kneeled down, but the King refused +it, and made him walk by his side to the Queen's apartment, and +to Madame's, to whom the Duke of Alva had brought a magnificent +present from his master; he went thence to the apartment of Madam +Margaret the King's sister, to compliment her on the part of the +Duke of Savoy, and to assure her he would arrive in a few days; +there were great assemblies at the Louvre, the show the Duke of +Alva, and the Prince of Orange who accompanied him, the beauties +of the Court. + +Madam de Cleves could not dispense with going to these +assemblies, however desirous she was to be absent, for fear of +disobliging her husband, who absolutely commanded her to be +there; and what yet more induced her to it, was the absence of +the Duke de Nemours; he was gone to meet the Duke of Savoy, and +after the arrival of that Prince, he was obliged to be almost +always with him, to assist him in everything relating to the +ceremonies of the nuptials; for this reason Madam de Cleves did +not meet him so often as she used to do, which gave her some sort +of ease. + +The Viscount de Chartres had not forgot the conversation he had +had with the Duke de Nemours: it still ran in his mind that the +adventure the Duke had related to him was his own; and he +observed him so carefully that it is probable he would have +unravelled the business, if the arrival of the Duke of Alva and +of the Duke of Savoy had not made such an alteration in the +Court, and filled it with so much business, as left no +opportunities for a discovery of that nature; the desire he had +to get some information about it, or rather the natural +disposition one has to relate all one knows to those one loves, +made him acquaint Madam de Martigues with the extraordinary +action of that person who had confessed to her husband the +passion she had for another; he assured her the Duke de Nemours +was the man who had inspired so violent a love, and begged her +assistance in observing him. Madam de Martigues was glad to hear +what the Viscount told her, and the curiosity she had always +observed in the Queen-Dauphin for what concerned the Duke de +Nemours made her yet more desirous to search into the bottom of +the affair. + +A few days before that which was fixed for the ceremony of the +marriage, the Queen-Dauphin entertained at supper the King her +father-in-law, and the Duchess of Valentinois. Madam de Cleves, +who had been busy in dressing herself, went to the Louvre later +than ordinary; as she was going, she met a gentleman that was +coming from the Queen-Dauphin to fetch her; as soon as she +entered the room, that Princess, who was sitting upon her bed, +told her aloud, that she had expected her with great impatience. +"I believe, Madam," answered she, "that I am not obliged to +you for it, and that your impatience was caused by something +else, and not your desire to see me." "You are in the right," +answered the Queen-Dauphin, "but, nevertheless, you are obliged +to me; for I'll tell you an adventure, which I am sure you'll be +glad to know." + +Madam de Cleves kneeled at her bedside, and, very luckily for +her, with her face from the light: "You know," said the Queen, +"how desirous we have been to find out what had caused so great +a change in the Duke de Nemours; I believe I know it, and it is +what will surprise you; he is desperately in love with, and as +much beloved by, one of the finest ladies of the Court." It is +easy to imagine the grief Madam de Cleves felt upon hearing these +words, which she could not apply to herself, since she thought +nobody knew anything of her passion for the Duke; "I see nothing +extraordinary in that," replied she, "considering how young and +handsome a man the Duke de Nemours is." "No," replied the +Queen-Dauphin, "there is nothing extraordinary in it; but what +will surprise you is, that this lady, who is in love with the +Duke de Nemours, has never given him any mark of it, and that the +fear she was in lest she should not always be mistress of her +passion, has made her confess it to her husband, that he may take +her away from Court; and it is the Duke de Nemours himself who +has related what I tell you." + +If Madam de Cleves was grieved at first through the thought that +she had no concern in this adventure, the Queen-Dauphin's last +words threw her into an agony, by making it certain she had too +much in it; she could not answer, but continued leaning her head +on the bed; meanwhile the Queen went on, and was so intent on +what she was saying, that she took no notice of her +embarrassment. When Madam de Cleves was a little come to +herself, "This story, Madam," says she, "does not seem very +probable to me, and I should be glad to know who told it you." +"It was Madam de Martigues," replied the Queen-Dauphin, "and +she heard it from the Viscount de Chartres; you know the Viscount +is in love with her; he entrusted this matter to her as a secret, +and he was told it by the Duke de Nemours himself; it is true the +Duke did not tell the lady's name, nor acknowledge that he was +the person she was in love with, but the Viscount makes no manner +of question of it." When the Queen-Dauphin had done speaking, +somebody came up to the bed; Madam de Cleves was so placed that +she could not see who it was, but she was presently convinced, +when the Queen-Dauphin cried out with an air of gaiety and +surprise, "Here he is himself, I'll ask him what there is in +it." Madam de Cleves knew very well it was the Duke de Nemours, +without turning herself, as it really was; upon which she went up +hastily to the Queen-Dauphin, and told her softly, that she ought +to be cautious of speaking to him of this adventure, which he had +entrusted to the Viscount de Chartres as a secret, and that it +was a thing which might create a quarrel between them. "You are +too wise," said the Queen-Dauphin smiling, and turned to the +Duke de Nemours. He was dressed for the evening assembly, and +taking up the discourse with that grace which was natural to him, +"I believe, Madam," says he, "I may venture to think you were +speaking of me as I came in, that you had a design to ask me +something, and that Madam de Cleves is against it." "It is +true," replied the Queen-Dauphin, "but I shall not be so +complaisant to her on this occasion as I was used to be; I would +know of you, whether a story I have been told is true, and +whether you are not the person who is in love with, and beloved +by a lady of the Court, who endeavours to conceal her passion +from you, and has confessed it to her husband." + +The concern and confusion Madam de Cleves was in was above all +that can be imagined, and if death itself could have drawn her +out of this condition, she would have gladly embraced it; but the +Duke de Nemours was yet more embarrassed if possible: the +discourse of the Queen-Dauphin, by whom he had reason to believe +he was not hated, in the presence of Madam de Cleves, who was +confided in by her more than anybody of the Court, and who +confided more in her, threw him into such confusion and +extravagance of thought, that it was impossible for him to be +master of his countenance: the concern he saw Madam de Cleves in +through his fault, and the thought of having given her just cause +to hate him, so shocked him he could not speak a word. The +Queen-Dauphin, seeing how thunderstruck she was, "Look upon him, +look upon him," said she to Madam de Cleves, "and judge if this +adventure be not his own." + +In the meantime the Duke de Nemours, finding of what importance +it was to him to extricate himself out of so dangerous a +difficulty, recovered himself from his first surprise, and became +at once master of his wit and looks. "I acknowledge, Madam," +said he, "it is impossible to be more surprised and concerned +than I was at the treachery of the Viscount de Chartres, in +relating an adventure of a friend of mine, which I had in +confidence imparted to him. I know how to be revenged of him," +continued he, smiling with a calm air, which removed the +suspicions the Queen-Dauphin had entertained of him: "He has +entrusted me with things of no very small importance; but I don't +know, Madam, why you do me the honour to make me a party in this +affair. The Viscount can't say I am concerned in it, for I told +him the contrary; I may very well be taken to be a man in love, +but I cannot believe, Madam, you will think me of the number of +those who are loved again." The Duke was glad to say anything +to the Queen-Dauphin, which alluded to the inclination he had +expressed for her formerly, in order to divert her thoughts from +the subject in question. She imagined she understood well enough +the drift of what he said, but without making any answer to it, +she continued to rally him upon the embarrassment he was in. "I +was concerned, Madam," said he, "for the interest of my friend, +and on account of the just reproaches he might make me for having +told a secret which is dearer to him than life. He has +nevertheless entrusted me but with one half of it, and has not +told me the name of the person he loves; all I know is, that he's +the most deeply in love of any man in the world, and has the most +reason to complain." "Do you think he has reason to +complain," replied the Queen-Dauphin, "when he is loved +again?" "Do you believe he is, Madam," replied he, "and that +a person who had a real passion could discover it to her husband? +That lady, doubtless, is not acquainted with love, and has +mistaken for it a slight acknowledgment of the fondness her lover +had for her. My friend can't flatter himself with the lent +hopes; but, unfortunate as he is, he thinks himself happy at +least in having made her afraid of falling in love with him, and +he would not change his condition for that of the happiest lover +in the world." "Your friend has a passion very easy to be +satisfied," said the Queen-Dauphin, "and I begin to believe it +is not yourself you are speaking of; I am almost," continued +she, "of the opinion of Madam de Cleves, who maintains that this +story cannot be true." "I don't really believe it can be +true," answered Madam de Cleves, who had been silent hitherto; +"and though it were possible to be true, how should it have been +known? It is very unlikely that a woman, capable of so +extraordinary a resolution, would have the weakness to publish +it; and surely her husband would not have told it neither, or he +must be a husband very unworthy to have been dealt with in so +generous a manner." The Duke de Nemours, who perceived the +suspicions Madam de Cleves had of her husband, was glad to +confirm her in them, knowing he was the most formidable rival he +had to overcome. "Jealousy," said he, "and a curiosity +perhaps of knowing more than a wife has thought fit to discover, +may make a husband do a great many imprudent things." + +Madam de Cleves was put to the last proof of her power and +courage, and not being able to endure the conversation any +longer, she was going to say she was not well, when by good +fortune for her the Duchess of Valentinois came in, and told the +Queen-Dauphin that the King was just coming; the Queen-Dauphin +went into the closet to dress herself, and the Duke de Nemours +came up to Madam de Cleves as she was following her. "I would +give my life, Madam," said he, "to have a moment's conversation +with you; but though I have a world of important things to say to +you, I think nothing is more so, than to entreat you to believe, +that if I have said anything in which the Queen-Dauphin may seem +concerned, I did it for reasons which do not relate to her." +Madam de Cleves pretended not to hear him, and left him without +giving him a look, and went towards the King, who was just come +in. As there were abundance of people there, she trod upon her +gown, and made a false step, which served her as an excuse to go +out of a place she had not the power to stay in, and so +pretending to have received some hurt she went home. + +Monsieur de Cleves came to the Louvre, and was surprised not to +find his wife there; they told him of the accident that had +befallen her, and he went immediately home to enquire after her; +he found her in bed, and perceived her hurt was not considerable. +When he had been some time with her, he found her so excessive +melancholy that he was surprised at it; "What ails you, Madam?" + +says he; "you seem to have some other grief than that which you +complain of." "I feel the most sensible grief I can ever +experience," answered she; "what use have you made of that +extraordinary, or rather foolish confidence which I placed in +you? Did not I deserve to have my secret kept? and though I had +not deserved it, did not your own interest engage you to it? +Should your curiosity to know a name it was not reasonable for me +to tell you have obliged you to make a confidant to assist you in +the discovery? Nothing but that curiosity could have made you +guilty of so cruel an indiscretion; the consequences of it are as +bad as they possibly can be. This adventure is known, and I have +been told it by those who are not aware that I am principally +concerned in it." "What do you say, Madam?" answered he; +"you accuse me of having told what passed between you and me, +and you inform me that the thing is known; I don't go about to +clear myself from this charge, you can't think me guilty of it; +without doubt you have applied to yourself what was told you of +some other." "Ah! Sir," replied she, "the world has not an +adventure like mine, there is not another woman capable of such a +thing. The story I have heard could not have been invented by +chance; nobody could imagine any like it; an action of this +nature never entered any thoughts but mine. The Queen-Dauphin +has just told me the story; she had it from the Viscount de +Chartres, and the Viscount from the Duke de Nemours." "The +Duke de Nemours!" cried Monsieur de Cleves, like a man +transported and desperate: "How! does the Duke de Nemours know +that you are in love with him, and that I am acquainted with +it?" "You are always for singling out the Duke de Nemours +rather than any other," replied she; "I have told you I will +never answer you concerning your suspicions: I am ignorant +whether the Duke de Nemours knows the part I have in this +adventure, and that which you have ascribed to him; but he told +it to the Viscount de Chartres, and said he had it from one of +his friends, who did not name the lady: this friend of the Duke +de Nemours must needs be one of yours, whom you entrusted the +secret to, in order to clear up your suspicions." "Can one +have a friend in the world, in whom one would repose such a +confidence," replied Monsieur de Cleves, "and would a man clear +his suspicions at the price of informing another with what one +would wish to conceal from oneself? Think rather, Madam, to whom +you have spoken; it is more probable this secret should have +escaped from you than from me; you was not able alone to support +the trouble you found yourself in, and you endeavoured to comfort +yourself by complaining to some confidant who has betrayed you." + +"Do not wholly destroy me," cried she, "and be not so +hard-hearted as to accuse me of a fault you have committed +yourself: can you suspect me of it? and do you think, because I +was capable of informing you of this matter, I was therefore +capable of informing another?" + +The confession which Madam de Cleves had made to her husband was +so great a mark of her sincerity, and she so strongly denied that +she had entrusted it to any other, that Monsieur de Cleves did +not know what to think. On the other hand he was sure he had +never said anything of it; it was a thing that could not have +been guessed, and yet it was known; it must therefore come from +one of them two; but what grieved him most was to know that this +secret was in the hands of somebody else, and that in all +probability it would be soon divulged. + +Madam de Cleves thought much after the same manner; she found it +equally impossible that her husband should, or should not have +spoken of it. What the Duke de Nemours had said to her, that +curiosity might make a husband do indiscreet things, seemed so +justly applicable to Monsieur de Cleves's condition, that she +could not think he said it by chance, and the probability of this +made her conclude that Monsieur de Cleves had abused the +confidence she had placed in him. They were so taken up, the one +and the other, with their respective thoughts, that they +continued silent a great while; and when they broke from this +silence, they only repeated the same things they had already said +very often; their hearts and affections grew more and more +estranged from each other. + +It is easy to imagine how they passed the night; Monsieur de +Cleves could no longer sustain the misfortune of seeing a woman +whom he adored in love with another; he grew quite heartless, and +thought he had reason to be so in an affair where his honour and +reputation were so deeply wounded: he knew not what to think of +his wife, and was at a loss what conduct he should prescribe to +her, or what he should follow himself; he saw nothing on all +sides but precipices and rocks; at last, after having been long +tossed to and fro in suspense, he considered he was soon to set +out for Spain, and resolved to do nothing which might increase +the suspicion or knowledge of his unfortunate condition. He went +to his wife, and told her that what they had to do was not to +debate between themselves who had discovered the secret; but to +make it appear that the story which was got abroad was a business +in which she had no concern; that it depended upon her to +convince the Duke de Nemours and others of it; that she had +nothing to do but to behave herself to him with that coldness and +reserve which she ought to have for a man who professed love to +her; that by this proceeding she would easily remove the opinion +he entertained of her being in love with him; and therefore she +needed not to trouble herself as to what he might hitherto have +thought, since if for the future she discovered no weakness, his +former thoughts would vanish of themselves; and that especially +she ought to frequent the Louvre and the assemblies as usual. + +Having said this, Monsieur de Cleves left his wife without +waiting her answer; she thought what he said very reasonable, and +the resentment she had against the Duke de Nemours made her +believe she should be able to comply with it with a great deal of +ease; but it seemed a hard task to her to appear at the marriage +with that freedom and tranquillity of spirit as the occasion +required. Nevertheless as she was to carry the Queen-Dauphin's +train, and had been distinguished with that honour in preference +to a great many other Princesses, it was impossible to excuse +herself from it without making a great deal of noise and putting +people upon enquiring into the reasons of it. She resolved +therefore to do her utmost, and employed the rest of the day in +preparing herself for it, and in endeavouring to forget the +thoughts that gave her so much uneasiness; and to this purpose +she locked herself up in her closet. Of all her griefs the most +violent was that she had reason to complain of the Duke de +Nemours, and could find no excuse to urge in his favour; she +could not doubt but he had related this adventure to the Viscount +de Chartres; he had owned it himself, nor could she any more +doubt from his manner of speaking of it, but that he knew the +adventure related to her; how could she excuse so great an +imprudence? and what was become of that extreme discretion which +she had so much admired in this Prince? "He was discreet," +said she, "while he was unhappy; but the thought of being happy, +though on uncertain grounds, has put an end to his discretion; he +could not consider that he was beloved, without desiring to have +it known; he said everything he could say; I never acknowledged +it was he I was in love with; he suspected it, and has declared +his suspicions; if he had been sure of it, he might have acted as +he has; I was to blame for thinking him a man capable of +concealing what flattered his vanity; and yet it is for this man, +whom I thought so different from other men, that I am become like +other women, who was so unlike them before. I have lost the +heart and esteem of a husband who ought to have been my +happiness; I shall soon be looked upon by all the world as a +person led away by an idle and violent passion; he for whom I +entertain this passion is no longer ignorant of it; and it was to +avoid these misfortunes that I hazarded my quiet, and even my +life." These sad reflections were followed by a torrent of +tears; but however great her grief was, she plainly perceived she +should be able to support it, were she but satisfied in the Duke +de Nemours. + +The Duke was no less uneasy than she; the indiscretion he had +been guilty of in telling what he did to the Viscount de +Chartres, and the mischievous consequences of it, vexed him to +the heart; he could not represent to himself the affliction and +sorrow he had seen Madam de Cleves in without being pierced with +anguish; he was inconsolable for having said things to her about +this adventure, which, though gallant enough in themselves, +seemed on this occasion too gross and impolite, since they gave +Madam de Cleves to understand he was not ignorant that she was +the woman who had that violent passion, and that he was the +object of it. It was before the utmost of his wishes to have a +conversation with her, but now he found he ought rather to fear +than desire it. "What should I say to her!" says he; "should +I go to discover further to her what I have made her too sensible +of already! Shall I tell how I know she loves me; I, who have +never dared to say I loved her? Shall I begin with speaking +openly of my passion, that she may see my hopes have inspired me +with boldness? Can I even think of approaching her, and of +giving her the trouble to endure my sight? Which way could I +justify myself? I have no excuse, I am unworthy of the least +regard from Madam de Cleves, and I even despair of her ever +looking upon me: I have given her by my own fault better means of +defending herself against me than any she was searching for, and +perhaps searching for to no purpose. I lose by my imprudence the +glory and happiness of being loved by the most beautiful and +deserving lady in the world; but if I had lost this happiness, +without involving her in the most extreme grief and sufferings at +the same time, I should have had some comfort; for at this moment +I am more sensible of the harm I have done her, than of that I +have done myself in forfeiting her favour." + +The Duke de Nemours continued turning the same thoughts over and +over, and tormenting himself a great while; the desire he had to +speak to Madam de Cleves came constantly into his mind; he +thought of the means to do it; he thought of writing to her; but +at last he found, considering the fault he had committed and the +temper she was in, his best way was to show her a profound +respect by his affliction and his silence, to let her see he +durst not present himself before her, and to wait for what time, +chance, and the inclination she had for him might produce to his +advantage. He resolved also not to reproach the Viscount de +Chartres for his unfaithfulness, for fear of confirming his +suspicions. + +The preparations for the espousals and marriage of Madame on the +next day so entirely took up the thoughts of the Court, that +Madam de Cleves and the Duke de Nemours easily concealed from the +public their grief and uneasiness. The Queen-Dauphin spoke but +slightly to Madam de Cleves of the conversation they had had with +the Duke de Nemours; and Monsieur de Cleves industriously shunned +speaking to his wife of what was past; so that she did not find +herself under so much embarrassment as she had imagined. + +The espousals were solemnised at the Louvre; and after the feast +and ball all the Royal family went to lie at the Bishop's Palace, +according to custom. In the morning, the Duke of Alva, who +always had appeared very plainly dressed, put on a habit of cloth +of gold, mixed with flame-colour, yellow and black, all covered +over with jewels, and wore a close crown on his head. The Prince +of Orange very richly dressed also, with his liveries, and all +the Spaniards with theirs, came to attend the Duke of Alva from +the Hotel de Villeroy where he lodged, and set out, marching four +by four, till they came to the Bishop's Palace. As soon as he +was arrived, they went in order to the Church; the King led +Madame, who wore also a close crown, her train being borne by +Mademoiselles de Montpensier and Longueville; the Queen came +next, but without a crown; after her followed the Queen-Dauphin, +Madame the King's sister, the Duchess of Loraine, and the Queen +of Navarre, their trains being home by the Princesses; the Queens +and the Princesses were all of them attended with their maids of +honour, who were richly dressed in the same colour which they +wore themselves; so that it was known by the colour of their +habits whose maids they were: they mounted the place that was +prepared in the Church, and there the marriage ceremonies were +performed; they returned afterwards to dine at the Bishop's +Palace, and went from thence about five o'clock to the Palace +where the feast was, and where the Parliament, the Sovereign +Courts, and the Corporation of the City were desired to assist. +The King, the Queens, the Princes and Princesses sat at the +marble table in the great hall of the Palace; the Duke of Alva +sat near the new Queen of Spain, below the steps of the marble +table, and at the King's right hand was a table for the +ambassadors, the archbishops, and the Knights of the Order, and +on the other side one for the Parliament. + +The Duke of Guise, dressed in a robe of cloth of gold frieze, +served the King as Great Chamberlain; the Prince of Conde as +Steward of the Household, and the Duke de Nemours as Cup-bearer. +After the tables were removed the ball began, and was interrupted +by interludes and a great deal of extraordinary machinery; then +the ball was resumed, and after midnight the King and the whole +Court returned to the Louvre. However full of grief Madam de +Cleves was, she appeared in the eyes of all beholders, and +particularly in those of the Duke de Nemours, incomparably +beautiful. He durst not speak to her, though the hurry of the +ceremony gave him frequent opportunities; but he expressed so +much sorrow and so respectful a fear of approaching her, that she +no longer thought him to blame, though he had said nothing in his +justification; his conduct was the same the following days, and +wrought the same effect on the heart of Madam de Cleves. + +At last the day of the tournament came; the Queens were placed in +the galleries that were prepared for them; the four champions +appeared at the end of the lists with a number of horses and +liveries, the most magnificent sight that ever was seen in +France. + +The King's colours were white and black, which he always wore in +honour of the Duchess of Valentinois, who was a widow. The Duke +of Ferrara and his retinue had yellow and red. Monsieur de +Guise's carnation and white. It was not known at first for what +reason he wore those colours, but it was soon remembered that +they were the colours of a beautiful young lady whom he had been +in love with, while she was a maid, and whom he yet loved though +he durst not show it. The Duke de Nemours had yellow and black; +why he had them could not be found out: Madam de Cleves only knew +the reason of it; she remembered to have said before him she +loved yellow, and that she was sorry her complexion did not suit +that colour. As for the Duke, he thought he might take that +colour without any indiscretion, since not being worn by Madam de +Cleves it could not be suspected to be hers. + +The four champions showed the greatest address that can be +imagined; though the King was the best horseman in his kingdom, +it was hard to say which of them most excelled. The Duke de +Nemours had a grace in all his actions which might have inclined +to his favour persons less interested than Madam de Cleves. She +no sooner saw him appear at the end of the lists, but her heart +felt uncommon emotions, and every course he made she could scarce +hide her joy when he had successfully finished his career. + +In the evening, when all was almost over, and the company ready +to break up, so it was for the misfortune of the State, that the +King would needs break another lance; he sent orders to the Count +de Montgomery, who was a very dextrous combatant, to appear in +the lists. The Count begged the King to excuse him, and alleged +all the reasons for it he could think of; but the King, almost +angry, sent him word he absolutely commanded him to do it. The +Queen conjured the King not to run any more, told him he had +performed so well that he ought to be satisfied, and desired him +to go with her to her apartments; he made answer, it was for her +sake that he would run again; and entered the barrier; she sent +the Duke of Savoy to him to entreat him a second time to return, +but to no purpose; he ran; the lances were broke, and a splinter +of the Count de Montgomery's lance hit the King's eye, and stuck +there. The King fell; his gentlemen and Monsieur de Montmorency, +who was one of the Mareschals of the field, ran to him; they were +astonished to see him wounded, but the King was not at all +disheartened; he said, that it was but a slight hurt, and that he +forgave the Count de Montgomery. One may imagine what sorrow and +affliction so fatal an accident occasioned on a day set apart to +mirth and joy. The King was carried to bed, and the surgeons +having examined his wound found it very considerable. The +Constable immediately called to mind the prediction which had +been told the King, that he should be killed in single fight; and +he made no doubt but the prediction would be now accomplished. +The King of Spain, who was then at Brussels, being advertised of +this accident, sent his physician, who was a man of great +reputation, but that physician judged the King past hope. + +A Court so divided, and filled with so many opposite interests, +could not but be in great agitation on the breaking out of so +grand an event; nevertheless all things were kept quiet, and +nothing was seen but a general anxiety for the King's health. +The Queens, the Princes and Princesses hardly ever went out of +his anti-chamber. + +Madam de Cleves, knowing that she was obliged to be there, that +she should see there the Duke de Nemours, and that she could not +conceal from her husband the disorder she should be in upon +seeing him, and being sensible also that the mere presence of +that Prince would justify him in her eyes and destroy all her +resolutions, thought proper to feign herself ill. The Court was +too busy to give attention to her conduct, or to enquire whether +her illness was real or counterfeit; her husband alone was able +to come at the truth of the matter, but she was not at all averse +to his knowing it. Thus she continued at home, altogether +heedless of the great change that was soon expected, and full of +her own thoughts, which she was at full liberty to give herself +up to. Everyone went to Court to enquire after the King's +health, and Monsieur de Cleves came home at certain times to give +her an account of it; he behaved himself to her in the same +manner he used to do, except when they were alone, and then there +appeared something of coldness and reserve: he had not spoke to +her again concerning what had passed, nor had she power, nor did +she think it convenient to resume the discourse of it. + +The Duke de Nemours, who had waited for an opportunity of +speaking to Madam de Cleves, was surprised and afflicted not to +have had so much as the pleasure to see her. The King's illness +increased so much, that the seventh day he was given over by the +physicians; he received the news of the certainty of his death +with an uncommon firmness of mind; which was the more to be +admired, considering that he lost his life by so unfortunate an +accident, that he died in the flower of his age, happy, adored by +his people, and beloved by a mistress he was desperately in love +with. The evening before his death he caused Madame his sister +to be married to the Duke of Savoy without ceremony. One may +judge what condition the Duchess of Valentinois was in; the Queen +would not permit her to see the King, but sent to demand of her +the King's signets, and the jewels of the crown which she had in +her custody. The Duchess enquired if the King was dead, and +being answered, "No"; "I have then as yet no other matter," +said she, "and nobody can oblige me to restore what he has +trusted in my hands." As soon as the King expired at Chateau de +Toumelles, the Duke of Ferrara, the Duke of Guise, and the Duke +de Nemours conducted the Queen-Mother, the New King and the +Queen-Consort to the Louvre. The Duke de Nemours led the +Queen-Mother. As they began to march, she stepped back a little, +and told the Queen her daughter-in-law, it was her place to go +first; but it was easy to see, that there was more of spleen than +decorum in this compliment. + + +IV + +The Queen-mother was now wholly governed by the Cardinal of +Loraine; the Viscount de Chartres had no interest with her, and +the passion he had for Madam de Martigues and for liberty +hindered him from feeling this loss as it deserved to be felt. +The Cardinal, during the ten days' illness of the King, was at +leisure to form his designs, and lead the Queen into resolutions +agreeable to what he had projected; so that the King was no +sooner dead but the Queen ordered the Constable to stay at +Tournelles with the corpse of the deceased King in order to +perform the usual ceremonies. This commission kept him at a +distance and out of the scene of action; for this reason the +Constable dispatched a courier to the King of Navarre, to hasten +him to Court that they might join their interest to oppose the +great rise of the House of Guise. The command of the Army was +given to the Duke of Guise and the care of the finances to the +Cardinal of Loraine. The Duchess of Valentinois was driven from +Court; the Cardinal de Tournon, the Constable's declared enemy, +and the Chancellor Olivier, the declared enemy of the Duchess of +Valentinois, were both recalled. In a word, the complexion of +the Court was entirely changed; the Duke of Guise took the same +rank as the Princes of the blood, in carrying the King's mantle +at the funeral ceremonies: He and his brothers carried all before +them at Court, not only by reason of the Cardinal's power with +the Queen-Mother, but because she thought it in her power to +remove them should they give her umbrage; whereas she could not +so easily remove the Constable, who was supported by the Princes +of the blood. + +When the ceremonial of the mourning was over, the Constable came +to the Louvre, and was very coldly received by the King; he +desired to speak with him in private, but the King called for +Messieurs de Guise, and told him before them, that he advised him +to live at ease; that the finances and the command of the Army +were disposed of, and that when he had occasion for his advice, +he would send for him to Court. The Queen received him in a yet +colder manner than the King, and she even reproached him for +having told the late King, that his children by her did not +resemble him. The King of Navarre arrived, and was no better +received; the Prince of Conde, more impatient than his brother, +complained aloud, but to no purpose: he was removed from Court, +under pretence of being sent to Flanders to sign the ratification +of the peace. They showed the King of Navarre a forged letter +from the King of Spain, which charged him with a design of +seizing that King's fortresses; they put him in fear for his +dominions, and made him take a resolution to go to Bearn; the +Queen furnished him with an opportunity, by appointing him to +conduct Madam Elizabeth, and obliged him to set out before her, +so that there remained nobody at Court that could balance the +power of the House of Guise. + +Though it was a mortifying circumstance for Monsieur de Cleves +not to conduct Madam Elizabeth, yet he could not complain of it, +by reason of the greatness of the person preferred before him; he +regretted the loss of this employment not so much on account of +the honour he should have received from it, as because it would +have given him an opportunity of removing his wife from Court +without the appearance of design in it. + +A few days after the King's death, it was resolved the new King +should go to Rheims to be crowned. As soon as this journey was +talked of, Madam de Cleves, who had stayed at home all this while +under pretence of illness, entreated her husband to dispense with +her following the Court, and to give her leave to go to take the +air at Colomiers for her health: he answered, that whether her +health was the reason or not of her desire, however he consented +to it: nor was it very difficult for him to consent to a thing he +had resolved upon before: as good an opinion as he had of his +wife's virtue, he thought it imprudent to expose her any longer +to the sight of a man she was in love with. + +The Duke de Nemours was soon informed that Madam de Cleves was +not to go along with the Court; he could not find in his heart to +set out without seeing her, and therefore the night before his +journey he went to her house as late as decency would allow him, +in order to find her alone. Fortune favoured his intention; and +Madam de Nevers and Madam de Martigues, whom he met in the Court +as they were coming out, informed him they had left her alone. +He went up in a concern and ferment of mind to be paralleled only +by that which Madam de Cleves was under, when she was told the +Duke de Nemours was come to see her; the fear lest he should +speak to her of his passion, and lest she should answer him too +favourably, the uneasiness this visit might give her husband, the +difficulty of giving him an account of it, or of concealing it +from him, all these things presented themselves to her +imagination at once, and threw her into so great an +embarrassment, that she resolved to avoid the thing of the world +which perhaps she wished for the most. She sent one of her women +to the Duke de Nemours, who was in her anti-chamber, to tell him +that she had lately been very ill, and that she was sorry she +could not receive the honour which he designed her. What an +affliction was it to the Duke, not to see Madam de Cleves, and +therefore not to see her, because she had no mind he should! He +was to go away the next morning, and had nothing further to hope +from fortune. He had said nothing to her since that conversation +at the Queen-Dauphin's apartments, and he had reason to believe +that his imprudence in telling the Viscount his adventure had +destroyed all his expectations; in a word, he went away with +everything that could exasperate his grief. + +No sooner was Madam de Cleves recovered from the confusion which +the thought of receiving a visit from the Duke had given her, but +all the reasons which had made her refuse it vanished; she was +even satisfied she had been to blame; and had she dared, or had +it not been too late, she would have had him called back. + +Madam de Nevers and Madam de Martigues went from the Princess of +Cleves to the Queen-Dauphin's, where they found Monsieur de +Cleves: the Queen-Dauphin asked them from whence they came; they +said they came from Madam de Cleves, where they had spent part of +the afternoon with a great deal of company, and that they had +left nobody there but the Duke de Nemours. These words, which +they thought so indifferent, were not such with Monsieur de +Cleves: though he might well imagine the Duke de Nemours had +frequent opportunities of speaking to his wife, yet the thought +that he was now with her, that he was there alone, and that he +might speak to her of his life, appeared to him at this time a +thing so new and insupportable, that jealousy kindled in his +heart with greater violence than ever. It was impossible for him +to stay at the Queen's; he returned from thence, without knowing +why he returned, or if he designed to go and interrupt the Duke +de Nemours: he was no sooner come home, but he looked about him +to see if there was anything by which he could judge if the Duke +was still there; it was some comfort to him to find he was gone, +and it was a pleasure to reflect that he could not have been long +there: he fancied, that, perhaps, it was not the Duke de Nemours +of whom he had reason to be jealous; and though he did not doubt +of it, yet he endeavoured to doubt of it; but he was convinced of +it by so many circumstances, that he continued not long in that +pleasing uncertainty. He immediately went into his wife's room, +and after having talked to her for some time about indifferent +matters, he could not forbear asking her what she had done, and +who she had seen, and accordingly she gave him an account: when +he found she did not name the Duke de Nemours he asked her +trembling, if those were all she had seen, in order to give her +an occasion to name the Duke, and that he might not have the +grief to see she made use of any evasion. As she had not seen +him, she did not name him; when Monsieur de Cleves with accents +of sorrow, said, "And have you not seen the Duke de Nemours, or +have you forgot him?" "I have not seen him indeed," answered +she; "I was ill, and I sent one of my women to make my +excuses." "You was ill then only for him," replied Monsieur +de Cleves, "since you admitted the visits of others: why this +distinction with respect to the Duke de Nemours? Why is not he +to you as another man? Why should you be afraid of seeing him? +Why do you let him perceive that you are so? Why do you show him +that you make use of the power which his passion gives you over +him? Would you dare refuse to see him, but that you knew he +distinguishes your rigour from incivility? But why should you +exercise that rigour towards him? From a person like you, all +things are favours, except indifference." "I did not think," +replied Madam de Cleves, "whatever suspicions you have of the +Duke de Nemours, that you could reproach me for not admitting a +visit from him." "But I do reproach you, Madam," replied he, +"and I have good ground for so doing; why should you not see +him, if he has said nothing to you? but Madam, he has spoke to +you; if his passion had been expressed only by silence, it would +not have made so great an impression upon you; you have not +thought fit to tell me the whole truth; you have concealed the +greatest part from me; you have repented even of the little you +have acknowledged, and you have not the resolution to go on; I am +more unhappy than I imagined, more unhappy than any other man in +the world: you are my wife, I love you as my mistress, and I see +you at the same time in love with another, with the most amiable +man of the Court, and he sees you every day, and knows you are in +love with him: Alas! I believed that you would conquer your +passion for him, but sure I had lost my reason when I believed it +was possible." "I don't know," replied Madam de Cleves very +sorrowfully, "whether you was to blame in judging favourably of +so extraordinary a proceeding as mine; nor do I know if I was not +mistaken when I thought you would do me justice." "Doubt it +not, Madam," replied Monsieur de Cleves, "you was mistaken; you +expected from me things as impossible as those I expected from +you: how could you hope I should continue master of my reason? +Had you forgot that I was desperately in love with you, and that +I was your husband? Either of these two circumstances is enough +to hurry a man into extremities; what may they not do both +together? Alas! What do they not do? My thoughts are violent +and uncertain, and I am not able to control them; I no longer +think myself worthy of you, nor do I think you are worthy of me; +I adore you, I hate you, I offend you, I ask your pardon, I +admire you, I blush for my admiration: in a word, I have nothing +of tranquillity or reason left about me: I wonder how I have been +able to live since you spoke to me at Colomiers, and since you +learned, from what the Queen-Dauphin told you, that your +adventure was known; I can't discover how it came to be known, +nor what passed between the Duke de Nemours and you upon the +subject; you will never explain it to me, nor do I desire you to +do it; I only desire you to remember that you have made me the +most unfortunate, the most wretched of men." + +Having spoke these words, Monsieur de Cleves left his wife, and +set out the next day without seeing her; but he wrote her a +letter full of sorrow, and at the same time very kind and +obliging: she gave an answer to it so moving and so full of +assurances both as to her past and future conduct, that as those +assurances were grounded in truth, and were the real effect of +her sentiments, the letter made great impressions on Monsieur de +Cleves, and gave him some tranquillity; add to this that the Duke +de Nemours going to the King as well as himself, he had the +satisfaction to know that he would not be in the same place with +Madam de Cleves. Everytime that lady spoke to her husband, the +passion he expressed for her, the handsomeness of his behaviour, +the friendship she had for him, and the thought of what she owed +him, made impressions in her heart that weakened the idea of the +Duke de Nemours; but it did not continue long, that idea soon +returned more lively than before. + +For a few days after the Duke was gone, she was hardly sensible +of his absence; afterwards it tortured her; ever since she had +been in love with him, there did not pass a day, but she either +feared or wished to meet him, and it was a wounding thought to +her to consider that it was no more in the power of fortune to +contrive their meeting. + +She went to Colomiers, and ordered to be carried thither the +large pictures she had caused to be copied from the originals +which the Duchess of Valentinois had procured to be drawn for her +fine house of Annett. All the remarkable actions that had passed +in the late King's reign were represented in these pieces, and +among the rest was the Siege of Mets, and all those who had +distinguished themselves at that Siege were painted much to the +life. The Duke de Nemours was of this number, and it was that +perhaps which had made Madam de Cleves desirous of having the +pictures. + +Madam de Martigues not being able to go along with the Court, +promised her to come and pass some days at Colomiers. Though +they divided the Queen's favour, they lived together without envy +or coldness; they were friends, but not confidants; Madam de +Cleves knew that Madam de Martigues was in love with the +Viscount, but Madam de Martigues did not know that Madam de +Cleves was in love with the Duke de Nemours, nor that she was +beloved by him. The relation Madam de Cleves had to the Viscount +made her more dear to Madam de Martigues, and Madam de Cleves was +also fond of her as a person who was in love as well as herself, +and with an intimate friend of her own lover. + +Madam de Martigues came to Colomiers according to her promise, +and found Madam de Cleves living in a very solitary manner: that +Princess affected a perfect solitude, and passed the evenings in +her garden without being accompanied even by her domestics; she +frequently came into the pavilion where the Duke de Nemours had +overheard her conversation with her husband; she delighted to be +in the bower that was open to the garden, while her women and +attendants waited in the other bower under the pavilion, and +never came to her but when she called them. Madam de Martigues +having never seen Colomiers was surprised at the extraordinary +beauty of it, and particularly with the pleasantness of the +pavilion. Madam de Cleves and she usually passed the evenings +there. The liberty of being alone in the night in so agreeable a +place would not permit the conversation to end soon between two +young ladies, whose hearts were enflamed with violent passions, +and they took great pleasure in conversing together, though they +were not confidants. + +Madam de Martigues would have left Colomiers with great +reluctance had she not quitted it to go to a place where the +Viscount was; she set out for Chambort, the Court being there. + +The King had been anointed at Rheims by the Cardinal of Loraine, +and the design was to pass the rest of the summer at the castle +of Chambort, which was newly built; the Queen expressed a great +deal of joy upon seeing Madam de Martigues again at Court, and +after having given her several proofs of it, she asked her how +Madam de Cleves did, and in what manner she passed her time in +the country. The Duke de Nemours and the Prince of Cleves were +with the Queen at that time. Madam de Martigues, who had been +charmed with Colomiers, related all the beauties of it, and +enlarged extremely on the description of the pavilion in the +forest, and on the pleasure Madam de Cleves took in walking there +alone part of the night. The Duke de Nemours, who knew the place +well enough to understand what Madam de Martigues said of it, +thought it was not impossible to see Madam de Cleves there, +without being seen by anybody but her. He asked Madam de +Martigues some questions to get further lights; and the Prince of +Cleves, who had eyed him very strictly while Madam de Martigues +was speaking, thought he knew what his design was. The questions +the Duke asked still more confirmed him in that thought, so that +he made no doubt but his intention was to go and see his wife; he +was not mistaken in his suspicions: this design entered so deeply +into the Duke de Nemours's mind, that after having spent the +night in considering the proper methods to execute it, he went +betimes the next morning to ask the King's leave to go to Paris, +on some pretended occasion. + +Monsieur de Cleves was in no doubt concerning the occasion of his +journey; and he resolved to inform himself as to his wife's +conduct, and to continue no longer in so cruel an uncertainty; he +had a desire to set out the same time as the Duke de Nemours did, +and to hide himself where he might discover the success of the +journey; but fearing his departure might appear extraordinary, +and lest the Duke, being advertised of it, might take other +measures, he resolved to trust this business to a gentleman of +his, whose fidelity and wit he was assured of; he related to him +the embarrassment he was under, and what the virtue of his wife +had been till that time, and ordered him to follow the Duke de +Nemours, to watch him narrowly, to see if he did not go to +Colomiers, and if he did not enter the garden in the night. + +The gentleman, who was very capable of this commission, acquitted +himself of it with all the exactness imaginable. He followed the +Duke to a village within half a league of Colomiers, where the +Duke stopped and the gentleman easily guessed his meaning was to +stay there till night. He did not think it convenient to wait +there, but passed on, and placed himself in that part of the +forest where he thought the Duke would pass: he took his measures +very right; for it was no sooner night but he heard somebody +coming that way, and though it was dark, he easily knew the Duke +de Nemours; he saw him walk round the garden, as with a design to +listen if he could hear anybody, and to choose the most +convenient place to enter: the palisades were very high and +double, in order to prevent people from coming in, so that it was +very difficult for the Duke to get over, however he made a shift +to do it. He was no sooner in the garden but he discovered where +Madam de Cleves was; he saw a great light in the bower, all the +windows of it were open; upon this, slipping along by the side of +the palisades, he came up close to it, and one may easily judge +what were the emotions of his heart at that instant: he took his +station behind one of the windows, which served him conveniently +to see what Madam de Cleves was doing. He saw she was alone; he +saw her so inimitably beautiful, that he could scarce govern the +transports which that sight gave him: the weather was hot, her +head and neck were uncovered, and her hair hung carelessly about +her. She lay on a couch with a table before her, on which were +several baskets full of ribbons, out of which she chose some, and +he observed she chose those colours which he wore at the +tournament; he saw her make them up into knots for an Indian +cane, which had been his, and which he had given to his sister; +Madam de Cleves took it from her, without seeming to know it had +belonged to the Duke. After she had finished her work with the +sweetest grace imaginable, the sentiments of her heart showing +themselves in her countenance, she took a wax candle and came to +a great table over against the picture of the Siege of Mets, in +which was the portrait of the Duke de Nemours; she sat down and +set herself to look upon that portrait, with an attention and +thoughtfulness which love only can give. + +It is impossible to express what Monsieur de Nemours felt at this +moment; to see, at midnight, in the finest place in the world, a +lady he adored, to see her without her knowing that he saw her, +and to find her wholly taken up with things that related to him, +and to the passion which she concealed from him; this is what was +never tasted nor imagined by any other lover. + +The Duke was so transported and beside himself, that he continued +motionless, with his eyes fixed on Madam de Cleves, without +thinking how precious his time was; when he was a little +recovered, he thought it best not to speak to her till she came +into the garden, and he imagined he might do it there with more +safety, because she would be at a greater distance from her +women; but finding she stayed in the bower, he resolved to go in +: when he was upon the point of doing it, what was his confusion; +how fearful was he of displeasing her, and of changing that +countenance, where so much sweetness dwelt, into looks of anger +and resentment! + +To come to see Madam de Cleves without being seen by her had no +impudence in it, but to think of showing himself appeared very +unwise; a thousand things now came into his mind which he had not +thought of before; it carried in it somewhat extremely bold and +extravagant, to surprise in the middle of the night a person to +whom he had never yet spoke of his passion. He thought he had no +reason to expect she would hear him, but that she would justly +resent the danger to which he exposed her, by accidents which +might rise from this attempt; all his courage left him, and he +was several times upon the point of resolving to go back again +without showing himself; yet urged by the desire of speaking to +her, and heartened by the hopes which everything he had seen gave +him, he advanced some steps, but in such disorder, that a scarf +he had on entangled in the window, and made a noise. Madam de +Cleves turned about, and whether her fancy was full of him, or +that she stood in a place so directly to the light that she might +know him, she thought it was he, and without the least hesitation +or turning towards the place where he was, she entered the bower +where her women were. On her entering she was in such disorder, +that to conceal it she was forced to say she was ill; she said it +too in order to employ her people about her, and to give the Duke +time to retire. When she had made some reflection, she thought +she had been deceived, and that her fancying she saw Monsieur de +Nemours was only the effect of imagination. She knew he was at +Chambort; she saw no probability of his engaging in so hazardous +an enterprise; she had a desire several times to re-enter the +bower, and to see if there was anybody in the garden. She wished +perhaps as much as she feared to find the Duke de Nemours there; +but at last reason and prudence prevailed over her other +thoughts, and she found it better to continue in the doubt she +was in, than to run the hazard of satisfying herself about it; +she was a long time ere she could resolve to leave a place to +which she thought the Duke was so near, and it was almost +daybreak when she returned to the castle. + +The Duke de Nemours stayed in the garden, as long as there was +any light; he was not without hopes of seeing Madam de Cleves +again, though he was convinced that she knew him, and that she +went away only to avoid him; but when he found the doors were +shut, he knew he had nothing more to hope; he went to take horse +near the place where Monsieur de Cleves's gentleman was watching +him; this gentleman followed him to the same village, where he +had left him in the evening. The Duke resolved to stay there all +the day, in order to return at night to Colomiers, to see if +Madam de Cleves would yet have the cruelty to shun him or not +expose herself to view: though he was very much pleased to find +himself so much in her thoughts, yet was he extremely grieved at +the same time to see her so naturally bent to avoid him. + +Never was passion so tender and so violent as that of Monsieur de +Nemours; he walked under the willows, along a little brook which +ran behind the house, where he lay concealed; he kept himself as +much out of the way as possible, that he might not be seen by +anybody; he abandoned himself to the transports of his love, and +his heart was so full of tenderness, that he was forced to let +fall some tears, but those tears were such as grief alone could +not shed; they had a mixture of sweetness and pleasure in them +which is to be found only in love. + +He set himself to recall to mind all the actions of Madam de +Cleves ever since he had been in love with her; her cruelty and +rigour, and that modesty and decency of behaviour she had always +observed towards him, though she loved him; "For, after all, she +loves me," said he, "she loves me, I cannot doubt of it, the +deepest engagements and the greatest favours are not more certain +proofs than those I have had. In the meantime, I am treated with +the same rigour as if I were hated; I hoped something from time, +but I have no reason to expect it any longer; I see her always +equally on her guard against me and against herself; if I were +not loved, I should make it my business to please; but I do +please; she loves me, and tries to hide it from me. What have I +then to hope, and what change am I to expect in my fortune? +though I am loved by the most amiable person in the world, I am +under that excess of passion which proceeds from the first +certainty of being loved by her, only to make me more sensible of +being ill used; let me see that you love me, fair Princess," +cried he, "make me acquainted with your sentiments; provided I +know them once in my life from you, I am content that you resume +for ever the cruelties with which you oppress me; look upon me at +least with the same eyes with which I saw you look that night +upon my picture; could you behold that with such sweet +complacency, and yet avoid me with so much cruelty? What are you +afraid of? Why does my love appear so terrible to you? You love +me, and you endeavour in vain to conceal it; you have even given +me involuntary proofs of it; I know my happiness, permit me to +enjoy it, and cease to make me unhappy. Is it possible I should +be loved by the Princess of Cleves, and yet be unhappy? how +beautiful was she last night? how could I forbear throwing myself +at her feet? If I had done it, I might perhaps have hindered her +from shunning me, my respectful behaviour would have removed her +fears; but perhaps, after all, she did not know it was I; I +afflict myself more than I need; she was only frightened to see a +man at so unseasonable an hour." + +These thoughts employed the Duke de Nemours all the day; he +wished impatiently for the night, and as soon as it came he +returned to Colomiers. Monsieur de Cleves's gentleman, who was +disguised that he might be less observed, followed him to the +place to which he had followed him the evening before, and saw +him enter the garden again. The Duke soon perceived that Madam +de Cleves had not run the risk of his making another effort to +see her, the doors being all shut; he looked about on all sides +to see if he could discover any light, but he saw none. + +Madam de Cleves, suspecting he might return, continued in her +chamber; she had reason to apprehend she should not always have +the power to avoid him, and she would not submit herself to the +hazard of speaking to him in a manner that would have been +unsuitable to the conduct she had hitherto observed. + +Monsieur de Nemours, though he had no hopes of seeing her, could +not find in his heart soon to leave a place where she so often +was; he passed the whole night in the garden, and found some +pleasure at least in seeing the same objects which she saw every +day; it was near sunrise before he thought of retiring; but as +last the fear of being discovered obliged him to go away. + +It was impossible for him to return to Court without seeing Madam +de Cleves; he made a visit to his sister the Duchess of Mercoeur, +at her house near Colomiers. She was extremely surprised at her +brother's arrival; but he invented so probable a pretence for his +journey, and conducted his plot so skilfully, that he drew her to +make the first proposal herself of visiting Madam de Cleves. +This proposal was executed that very day, and Monsieur de Nemours +told his sister, that he would leave her at Colomiers, in order +to go directly to the King; he formed this pretence of leaving +her at Colomiers in hopes she would take her leave before him, +and he thought he had found out by that means an infallible way +of speaking to Madam de Cleves. + +The Princess of Cleves, when they arrived, was walking in her +garden the sight of Monsieur de Nemours gave her no small +uneasiness, and put her out of doubt that it was he she had seen +the foregoing night. The certainty of his having done so bold +and imprudent a thing gave her some little resentment against +him, and the Duke observed an air of coldness in her face, which +sensibly grieved him; the conversation turned upon indifferent +matters, and yet he had the skill all the while to show so much +wit, complaisance, and admiration for Madam de Cleves, that part +of the coldness she expressed towards him at first left her in +spite of herself. + +When his fears were over and he began to take heart, he showed an +extreme curiosity to see the pavilion in the forest; he spoke of +it as of the most agreeable place in the world, and gave so exact +a description of it, that Madam de Mercoeur said he must needs +have been there several times to know all the particular beauties +of it so well. "And yet, I don't believe," replied Madam de +Cleves, "that the Duke de Nemours was ever there; it has been +finished but a little while." "It is not long since I was +there," replied the Duke, looking upon her, "and I don't know +if I ought not to be glad you have forgot you saw me there." +Madam de Mercoeur, being taken up in observing the beauties of +the gardens, did not attend to what her brother said; Madam de +Cleves blushed, and with her eyes cast down, without looking on +Monsieur de Nemours, "I don't remember," said she, "to have +seen you there; and if you have been there, it was without my +knowledge." "It is true, Madam," replied he, "I was there +without your orders, and I passed there the most sweet and cruel +moments of my life." + +Madam de Cleves understood very well what he said, but made him +no answer; her care was to prevent Madam de Mercoeur from going +into the bower, because the Duke de Nemours's picture was there, +and she had no mind she should see it; she managed the matter so +well, that the time passed away insensibly, and Madam de Mercoeur +began to talk of going home: but when Madam de Cleves found that +the Duke and his sister did not go together, she plainly saw to +what she was going to be exposed; she found herself under the +same embarrassment she was in at Paris, and took also the same +resolution; her fear, lest this visit should be a further +confirmation of her husband's suspicions, did not a little +contribute to determine her; and to the end Monsieur de Nemours +might not remain alone with her, she told Madam de Mercoeur she +would wait upon her to the borders of the forest, and ordered her +chariot to be got ready. The Duke was struck with such a violent +grief to find that Madam de Cleves still continued to exercise +the same rigours towards him, that he turned pale that moment. +Madam de Mercoeur asked him if he was ill, but he looked upon +Madam de Cleves without being perceived by anybody else, and made +her sensible by his looks that he had no other illness besides +despair: however, there was no remedy but he must let them go +together without daring to follow them; after what he had told +his sister, that he was to go directly to Court, he could not +return with her, but went to Paris, and set out from thence the +next day. + +Monsieur de Cleves's gentleman had observed him all the while; he +returned also to Paris, and when he found Monsieur de Nemours was +set out for Chambort, he took post to get thither before him, and +to give an account of his journey; his master expected his return +with impatience, as if the happiness or unhappiness of his life +depended upon it. + +As soon as he saw him, he judged from his countenance and his +silence, that the news he brought was very disagreeable; he was +struck with sorrow, and continued some time with his head hung +down, without being able to speak; at last he made signs with his +hand to him to withdraw; "Go," says he, "I see what you have +to say to me, but I have not the power to hear it." "I can +acquaint you with nothing," said the gentleman, "upon which one +can form any certain judgment; it is true, the Duke de Nemours +went two nights successively into the garden in the forest, and +the day after he was at Colomiers with the Duchess of Mercoeur." +"'Tis enough," replied Monsieur de Cleves, still making signs +to him to withdraw, "'tis enough; I want no further +information." The gentleman was forced to leave his master, +abandoned to his despair; nor ever was despair more violent. Few +men of so high a spirit, and so passionately in love, as the +Prince of Cleves, have experienced at the same time the grief +arising from the falsehood of a mistress, and the shame of being +deceived by a wife. + +Monsieur de Cleves could set no bounds to his affliction; he felt +ill of a fever that very night, and his distemper was accompanied +with such ill symptoms that it was thought very dangerous. Madam +de Cleves was informed of it, and came in all haste to him; when +she arrived, he was still worse; besides, she observed something +in him so cold and chilling with respect to her, that she was +equally surprised and grieved at it; he even seemed to receive +with pain the services she did him in his sickness, but at last +she imagined it was perhaps only the effect of his distemper. + +When she was come to Blois where the Court then was, the Duke de +Nemours was overjoyed to think she was at the same place where he +was; he endeavoured to see her, and went every day to the Prince +of Cleves's under pretence of enquiring how he did, but it was to +no purpose; she did not stir out of her husband's room, and was +grieved at heart for the condition he was in. It vexed Monsieur +de Nemours to see her under such affliction, an affliction which +he plainly saw revived the friendship she had for Monsieur de +Cleves, and diverted the passion that lay kindling in her heart. +The thought of this shocked him severely for some time; but the +extremity, to which Monsieur de Cleves's sickness was grown, +opened to him a scene of new hopes; he saw it was probable that +Madam de Cleves would be at liberty to follow her own +inclinations, and that he might expect for the future a series of +happiness and lasting pleasures; he could not support the ecstasy +of that thought, a thought so full of transport! he banished it +out of his mind for fear of becoming doubly wretched, if he +happened to be disappointed in his hopes. + +In the meantime Monsieur de Cleves was almost given over by his +physicians. One of the last days of his illness, after having +had a very bad night, he said in the morning, he had a desire to +sleep; but Madam de Cleves, who remained alone in his chamber, +found that instead of taking repose he was extremely restless; +she came to him, and fell on her knees by his bedside, her face +all covered with tears; and though Monsieur de Cleves had taken a +resolution not to show her the violent displeasure he had +conceived against her, yet the care she took of him, and the +sorrow she expressed, which sometimes he thought sincere, and at +other times the effect of her dissimulation and perfidiousness, +distracted him so violently with opposite sentiments full of woe, +that he could not forbear giving them vent. + +"You shed plenty of tears, Madam," said he, "for a death which +you are the cause of, and which cannot give you the trouble you +pretend to be in; I am no longer in a condition to reproach +you," added he with a voice weakened by sickness and grief; "I +die through the dreadful grief and discontent you have given me; +ought so extraordinary an action, as that of your speaking to me +at Colomiers, to have had so little consequences? Why did you +inform me of your passion for the Duke de Nemours, if your virtue +was no longer able to oppose it? I loved you to that extremity, +I would have been glad to have been deceived, I confess it to my +shame; I have regretted that pleasing false security out of which +you drew me; why did not you leave me in that blind tranquillity +which so many husbands enjoy? I should perhaps have been +ignorant all my life, that you was in love with Monsieur de +Nemours; I shall die," added he, "but know that you make death +pleasing to me, and that, after you have taken from me the esteem +and affection I had for you, life would be odious to me. What +should I live for? to spend my days with a person whom I have +loved so much, and by whom I have been so cruelly deceived; or to +live apart from her and break out openly into violences so +opposite to my temper, and the love I had for you? That love, +Madam, was far greater than it appeared to you; I concealed the +greatest part of it from you, for fear of being importunate, or +of losing somewhat in your esteem by a behaviour not becoming a +husband: in a word, I deserved your affection more than once, and +I die without regret, since I have not been able to obtain it, +and since I can no longer desire it. Adieu, Madam; you will one +day regret a man who loved you with a sincere and virtuous +passion; you will feel the anxiety which reasonable persons meet +with in intrigue and gallantry, and you will know the difference +between such a love as I had for you, and the love of people who +only profess admiration for you to gratify their vanity in +seducing you; but my death will leave you at liberty, and you may +make the Duke de Nemours happy without guilt: what signifies +anything that can happen when I am no more, and why should I have +the weakness to trouble myself about it? + +Madam de Cleves was so far from imagining that her husband +suspected her virtue, that she heard all this discourse without +comprehending the meaning of it, and without having any other +notion about it, except that he reproached her for her +inclination for the Duke de Nemours; at last, starting all of a +sudden out of her blindness, "I guilty!" cried she, "I am a +stranger to the very thought of guilt; the severest virtue could +not have inspired any other conduct than that which I have +followed, and I never acted anything but what I could have wished +you to have been witness to." "Could you have wished," +replied Monsieur de Cleves, looking on her with disdain, "I had +been a witness of those nights you passed with Monsieur de +Nemours? Ah! Madam; is it you I speak of, when I speak of a lady +that has passed nights with a man, not her husband?" "No, +sir," replied she, "it is not me you speak of; I never spent a +night nor a moment with the Duke de Nemours; he never saw me in +private, I never suffered him to do it, nor would give him a +hearing. I'll take all the oaths . . ." "Speak no more of +it," said he interrupting her, "false oaths or a confession +would perhaps give me equal pain." + +Madam de Cleves could not answer him; her tears and her grief +took away her speech; at last, struggling for utterance, "Look +on me at least, hear me," said she; "if my interest only were +concerned I would suffer these reproaches, but your life is at +stake; hear me for your own sake; I am so innocent, truth pleads +so strongly for me, it is impossible but I must convince you." +"Would to God you could!" cried he; "but what can you say? the +Duke de Nemours, has not he been at Colomiers with his sister? +And did not he pass the two foregoing nights with you in the +garden in the forest?" "If that be my crime," replied she, +"it is easy to justify myself; I do not desire you to believe +me, believe your servants and domestics; ask them if I went into +the garden the evening before Monsieur de Nemours came to +Colomiers, and if I did not go out, of it the night before two +hours sooner than I used to do." After this she told him how +she imagined she had seen somebody in the garden, and +acknowledged that she believed it to be the Duke de Nemours; she +spoke to him with so much confidence, and truth so naturally +persuades, even where it is not probable, that Monsieur de Cleves +was almost convinced of her innocence. "I don't know," said +he, "whether I ought to believe you; I am so near death, that I +would not know anything that might make me die with reluctance; +you have cleared your innocence too late; however it will be a +comfort to me to go away with the thought that you are worthy of +the esteem I have had for you; I beg you I may be assured of this +further comfort, that my memory will be dear to you, and that if +it had been in your power you would have had for me the same +passion which you had for another." He would have gone on, but +was so weak that his speech failed him. Madam de Cleves sent for +the physicians, who found him almost lifeless; yet he languished +some days, and died at last with admirable constancy. + +Madam de Cleves was afflicted to so violent a degree, that she +lost in a manner the use of her reason; the Queen was so kind as +to come to see her, and carried her to a convent without her +being sensible whither she was conducted; her sisters-in-law +brought her back to Paris, before she was in a condition to feel +distinctly even her griefs: when she was restored to her faculty +of thinking, and reflected what a husband she had lost, and +considered that she had caused his death by the passion which she +had for another, the horror she had for herself and the Duke de +Nemours was not to be expressed. + +The Duke in the beginning of her mourning durst pay her no other +respects but such as decency required; he knew Madam de Cleves +enough to be sensible that great importunities and eagerness +would be disagreeable to her; but what he learned afterwards +plainly convinced him that he ought to observe the same conduct a +great while longer. + +A servant of the Duke's informed him that Monsieur de Cleves's +gentleman, who was his intimate friend, had told him, in the +excess of his grief for the loss of his master, that Monsieur de +Nemours's journey to Colomiers was the occasion of his death. +The Duke was extremely surprised to hear this; but after having +reflected upon it, he guessed the truth in part, and rightly +judged what Madam de Cleves's sentiments would be at first, and +what a distance it would throw him from her, if she thought her +husband's illness was occasioned by his jealousy; he was of +opinion that he ought not so much as to put her in mind of his +name very soon, and he abided by that conduct, however severe it +appeared to him. + +He took a journey to Paris, nor could he forbear calling at her +house to enquire how she did. He was told, that she saw nobody, +and that she had even given strict orders that they should not +trouble her with an account of any that might come to see her; +those very strict orders, perhaps, were given with a view to the +Duke, and to prevent her hearing him spoken of; but he was too +much in love to be able to live so absolutely deprived of the +sight of Madam de Cleves; he resolved to find the means, let the +difficulty be what it would, to get out of a condition which was +so insupportable to him. + +The grief of that Princess exceeded the bounds of reason; a +husband dying, and dying on her account, and with so much +tenderness for her, never went out of her mind: she continually +revolved in her thoughts what she owed him, and she condemned +herself for not having had a passion for him, as if that had been +a thing which depended on herself; she found no consolation but +in the thought that she lamented him as he deserved to be +lamented, and that she would do nothing during the remainder of +her life, but what he would have been glad she should have done, +had he lived. + +She had often been thinking how he came to know, that the Duke de +Nemours had been at Colomiers; she could not suspect that the +Duke himself had told it; though it was indifferent to her +whether he had or no, she thought herself so perfectly cured of +the passion she had had for him; and yet she was grieved at the +heart to think that he was the cause of her husband's death; and +she remembered with pain the fear Monsieur de Cleves expressed, +when dying, lest she should marry the Duke; but all these griefs +were swallowed up in that for the loss of her husband, and she +thought she had no other but that one. + +After several months the violence of her grief abated, and she +fell into a languishing kind of melancholy. Madam de Martigues +made a journey to Paris, and constantly visited her during the +time she stayed there: she entertained her with an account of the +Court, and what passed there; and though Madam de Cleves appeared +unconcerned, yet still she continued talking on that subject in +hopes to divert her. + +She talked to her of the Viscount, of Monsieur de Guise, and of +all others that were distinguished either in person or merit. +"As for the Duke de Nemours," says she, "I don't know if State +affairs have not taken possession of his heart in the room of +gallantry; he is abundantly less gay than he used to be, and +seems wholly to decline the company of women; he often makes +journeys to Paris, and I believe he is there now." The Duke de +Nemours's name surprised Madam de Cleves, and made her blush; she +changed the discourse, nor did Madam de Martigues take notice of +her concern. + +The next day Madam de Cleves, who employed herself in things +suitable to the condition she was in, went to a man's house in +her neighbourhood, that was famous for working silk after a +particular manner, and she designed to bespeak some pieces for +herself; having seen several kinds of his work, she spied a +chamber door, where she thought there were more, and desired it +might be opened: the master answered, he had not the key, and +that the room was taken by a man, who came there sometimes in the +daytime to draw the plans and prospects of the fine houses and +gardens that were to be seen from his windows; "he is one of the +handsomest men I ever saw," added he, "and does not look much +like one that works for his living; whenever he comes here, I +observe he always looks towards the gardens and houses, but I +never see him work." + +Madam de Cleves listened to this story very attentively, and what +Madam de Martigues had told her of Monsieur de Nemours's coming +now and then to Paris, she applied in her fancy to that handsome +man, who came to a place so near her house; and this gave her an +idea of Monsieur de Nemours endeavouring to see her; which raised +a disorder in her, of which she did not know the cause: she went +towards the windows to see where they looked into, and she found +they overlooked all her gardens, and directly faced her +apartment: and when she was in her own room, she could easily see +that very window where she was told the man came to take his +prospects. The thought that it was the Duke de Nemours, entirely +changed the situation of her mind; she no longer found herself in +that pensive tranquillity which she had begun to enjoy, her +spirits were ruffled again as with a tempest: at last, not being +able to stay at home, she went abroad to take the air in a garden +without the suburbs, where she hoped to be alone; she walked +about a great while, and found no likelihood of anyone's being +there. + +Having crossed a little wilderness she perceived at the end of +the walk, in the most remote part of the garden, a kind of a +bower, open on all sides, and went towards it; when she was near, +she saw a man lying on the benches, who seemed sunk into a deep +contemplation, and she discovered it was the Duke de Nemours. +Upon this she stopped short: but her attendants made some noise, +which roused the Duke out of his musing: he took no notice who +the persons were that disturbed him, but got up in order to avoid +the company that was coming towards him, and making a low bow, +which hindered him from seeing those he saluted, he turned into +another walk. + +If he had known whom he avoided, with what eagerness would he +have returned? But he walked down the alley, and Madam de Cleves +saw him go out at a back door, where his coach waited for him. +What an effect did this transient view produce in the heart of +Madam de Cleves? What a flame rekindled out of the embers of her +love, and with what violence did it burn? She went and sat down +in the same place from which Monsieur de Nemours was newly risen, +and seemed perfectly overwhelmed; his image immediately possessed +her fancy, and she considered him as the most amiable person in +the world, as one who had long loved her with a passion full of +veneration and sincerity, slighting all for her, paying respect +even to her grief, to his own torture, labouring to see her +without a thought of being seen by her, quitting the Court +(though the Court's delight) to come and look on the walls where +she was shut up, and to pass his melancholy hours in places where +he could not hope to meet her; in a word, a man whose attachment +to her alone merited returns of love, and for whom she had so +strong an inclination, that she should have loved him, though she +had not been beloved by him; and besides, one whose quality was +suitable to hers: all the obstacles that could rise from duty and +virtue were now removed, and all the trace that remained on her +mind of their former condition was the passion the Duke de +Nemours had for her, and that which she had for him. + +All these ideas were new to her; her affliction for the death of +her husband had left her no room for thoughts of this kind, but +the sight of Monsieur de Nemours revived them, and they crowded +again into her mind; but when she had taken her fill of them, and +remembered that this very man, whom she considered as a proper +match for her, was the same she had loved in her husband's +lifetime, and was the cause of his death, and that on his +death-bed he had expressed a fear of her marrying him, her severe +virtue was so shocked at the imagination, that she thought it +would be as criminal in her to marry Monsieur de Nemours now, as +it was to love him before: in short, she abandoned herself to +these reflections so pernicious to her happiness, and fortified +herself in them by the inconveniency which she foresaw would +attend such a marriage. After two hours' stay in this place she +returned home, convinced that it was indispensably her duty to +avoid the sight of the man she loved. + +But this conviction, which was the effect of reason and virtue, +did not carry her heart along with it; her heart was so violently +fixed on the Duke de Nemours, that she became even an object of +compassion, and was wholly deprived of rest. Never did she pass +a night in so uneasy a manner; in the morning, the first thing +she did was to see if there was anybody at the window which +looked towards her apartment; she saw there Monsieur de Nemours, +and was so surprised upon it, and withdrew so hastily, as made +him judge she knew him; he had often wished to be seen by her, +ever since he had found out that method of seeing her, and when +he had no hopes of obtaining that satisfaction, his way was to go +to muse in the garden where she found him. + +Tired at last with so unfortunate and uncertain a condition, he +resolved to attempt something to determine his fate: "What +should I wait for?" said he. "I have long known she loves me; +she is free; she has no duty now to plead against me; why should +I submit myself to the hardship of seeing her, without being seen +by her or speaking to her? Is it possible for love so absolutely +to have deprived me of reason and courage, and to have rendered +me so different from what I have been in all my other amours? It +was fit I should pay a regard to Madam de Cleves's grief; but I +do it too long, and I give her leisure to extinguish the +inclination she had for me." + +After these reflections, he considered what measures he ought to +take to see her; he found he had no longer any reason to conceal +his passion from the Viscount de Chartres; he resolved to speak +to him of it, and to communicate to him his design with regard to +his niece. + +The Viscount was then at Paris, the town being extremely full, +and everybody busy in preparing equipages and dresses to attend +the King of Navarre, who was to conduct the Queen of Spain: +Monsieur de Nemours, went to the Viscount, and made an ingenuous +confession to him of all he had concealed hitherto, except Madam +de Cleves's sentiments, which he would not seem to know. + +The Viscount received what he told him with a great deal of +pleasure, and assured him, that though he was not acquainted with +his sentiments on that subject, he had often thought, since Madam +de Cleves had been a widow, that she was the only lady that +deserved him. Monsieur de Nemours entreated him to give him an +opportunity of speaking to her, and learning what disposition she +was in. + +The Viscount proposed to carry him to her house, but the Duke was +of opinion she would be shocked at it, because as yet she saw +nobody; so that they agreed, it would be better for the Viscount +to ask her to come to him, under some pretence, and for the Duke +to come to them by a private staircase, that he might not be +observed. Accordingly this was executed; Madam de Cleves came, +the Viscount went to receive her, and led her into a great closet +at the end of his apartment; some time after Monsieur de Nemours +came in, as by chance: Madam de Cleves was in great surprise to +see him; she blushed and endeavoured to hide it; the Viscount at +first spoke of indifferent matters, and then went out, as if he +had some orders to give, telling Madam de Cleves he must desire +her to entertain the Duke in his stead, and that he would return +immediately. + +It is impossible to express the sentiments of Monsieur de +Nemours, and Madam de Cleves, when they saw themselves alone, and +at liberty to speak to one another, as they had never been +before: they continued silent a while; at length, said Monsieur +de Nemours, "Can you, Madam, pardon the Viscount for giving me +an opportunity of seeing you, and speaking to you, an opportunity +which you have always so cruelly denied me?" "I ought not to +pardon him," replied she, "for having forgot the condition I am +in, and to what he exposes my reputation." Having spoke these +words, she would have gone away; but Monsieur de Nemours stopping +her, "Fear not, Madam," said he; "you have nothing to +apprehend; nobody knows I am here; hear me, Madam, hear me, if +not out of goodness, yet at least for your own sake, and to free +yourself from the extravagancies which a passion I am no longer +master of will infallibly hurry me into." Madam de Cleves now +first yielded to the inclination she had for the Duke de Nemours, +and beholding him with eyes full of softness and charms, "But +what can you hope for," says she, "from the complaisance you +desire of me? You will perhaps repent that you have obtained it, +and I shall certainly repent that I have granted it. You deserve +a happier fortune than you have hitherto had, or than you can +have for the future, unless you seek it elsewhere." "I, +Madam," said he, "seek happiness anywhere else? Or is there +any happiness for me, but in your love? Though I never spoke of +it before, I cannot believe, Madam, that you are not acquainted +with my passion, or that you do not know it to be the greatest +and most sincere that ever was; what trials has it suffered in +things you are a stranger to? What trials have you put it to by +your rigour?" + +"Since you are desirous I should open myself to you," answered +Madam de Cleves, "I'll comply with your desire, and I'll do it +with a sincerity that is rarely to be met with in persons of my +sex: I shall not tell you that I have not observed your passion +for me; perhaps you would not believe me if I should tell you so; +I confess therefore to you, not only that I have observed it, but +that I have observed it in such lights as you yourself could wish +it might appear to me in." "And if you have seen my passion, +Madam," said he, "is it possible for you not to have been moved +by it? And may I venture to ask, if it has made no impression on +your heart?" "You should have judged of that from my +conduct," replied she; "but I should be glad to know what you +thought of it." "I ought to be in a happier condition," +replied he, "to venture to inform you; my fortune would +contradict what I should say; all I can tell you, Madam, is that +I heartily wished you had not acknowledged to Monsieur de Cleves +what you concealed from me, and that you had concealed from him +what you made appear to me." "How came you to discover," +replied she blushing, "that I acknowledged anything to Monsieur +de Cleves?" "I learned it from yourself, Madam," replied he; +"but that you may the better pardon the boldness I showed in +listening to what you said, remember if I have made an ill use of +what I heard, if my hopes rose upon it, or if I was the more +encouraged to speak to you." + +Here he began to relate how he had overheard her conversation +with Monsieur de Cleves; but she interrupted him before he had +finished; "Say no more of it," said she, "I see how you came +to be so well informed; I suspected you knew the business but too +well at the Queen-Dauphin's, who learned this adventure from +those you had entrusted with it." + +Upon this Monsieur de Nemours informed her in what manner the +thing came to pass; "No excuses," says she; "I have long +forgiven you, without being informed how it was brought about; +but since you have learned from my ownself what I designed to +conceal from you all my life, I will acknowledge to you that you +have inspired me with sentiments I was unacquainted with before I +saw you, and of which I had so slender an idea, that they gave me +at first a surprise which still added to the pain that constantly +attends them: I am the less ashamed to make you this confession, +because I do it at a time when I may do it without a crime, and +because you have seen that my conduct has not been governed by my +affections." + +"Can you believe, Madam," said Monsieur de Nemours, falling on +his knees, "but I shall expire at your feet with joy and +transport?" "I have told you nothing," said she smiling, +"but what you knew too well before." "Ah! Madam," said he, +"what a difference is there between learning it by chance, and +knowing it from yourself, and seeing withal that you are pleased +I know it." "It is true," answered she, "I would have you +know it, and I find a pleasure in telling it you; I don't even +know if I do not tell it you more for my own sake, than for +yours; for, after all, this confession will have no consequences, +and I shall follow the austere rules which my duty imposes upon +me." "How! Madam; you are not of this opinion," replied +Monsieur de Nemours; "you are no longer under any obligation of +duty; you are at liberty; and if I durst, I should even tell you, +that it is in your power to act so, that your duty shall one day +oblige you to preserve the sentiments you have for me." "My +duty," replied she, "forbids me to think of any man, but of you +the last in the world, and for reasons which are unknown to +you." "Those reasons perhaps are not unknown to me," answered +he, "but they are far from being good ones. I believe that +Monsieur de Cleves thought me happier than I was, and imagined +that you approved of those extravagancies which my passion led me +into without your approbation." "Let us talk no more of that +adventure," said she; "I cannot bear the thought of it, it +giving me shame, and the consequences of it have been such that +it is too melancholy a subject to be spoken of; it is but too +true that you were the cause of Monsieur de Cleves's death; the +suspicions which your inconsiderate conduct gave him, cost him +his life as much as if you had taken it away with your own hands: +judge what I ought to have done, had you two fought a duel, and +he been killed; I know very well, it is not the same thing in the +eye of the world, but with me there's no difference, since I know +that his death was owing to you, and that it was on my account." +"Ah! Madam," said Monsieur de Nemours, "what phantom of duty +do you oppose to my happiness? What! Madam, shall a vain and +groundless fancy hinder you from making a man happy, for whom you +have an inclination? What, have I had some ground to hope I +might pass my life with you? has my fate led me to love the most +deserving lady in the world? have I observed in her all that can +make a mistress adorable? Has she had no disliking to me? Have +I found in her conduct everything which perhaps I could wish for +in a wife? For in short, Madam, you are perhaps the only person +in whom those two characters have ever concurred to the degree +they are in you; those who marry mistresses, by whom they are +loved, tremble when they marry them, and cannot but fear lest +they should observe the same conduct towards others which they +observed towards them; but in you, Madam, I can fear nothing, I +see nothing in you but matter of admiration: have I had a +prospect of so much felicity for no other end but to see it +obstructed by you? Ah! Madam, you forget, that you have +distinguished me above other men; or rather, you have not +distinguished me; you have deceived yourself, and I have +flattered myself." + +"You have not flattered yourself," replied she; "the reasons +of my duty would not perhaps appear so strong to me without that +distinction of which you doubt, and it is that which makes me +apprehend unfortunate consequences from your alliance." "I +have nothing to answer, Madam," replied he, "when you tell me +you apprehend unfortunate consequences; but I own, that after all +you have been pleased to say to me, I did not expect from you so +cruel a reason." "The reason you speak of," replied Madam de +Cleves, "is so little disobliging as to you, that I don't know +how to tell it you." "Alas! Madam," said he, " how can you +fear I should flatter myself too much after what you have been +saying to me?" "I shall continue to speak to you," says she, +"with the same sincerity with which I begun, and I'll lay aside +that delicacy and reserve that modesty obliges one to in a first +conversation, but I conjure you to hear me without interruption. + +"I think I owe the affection you have for me, the poor +recompsense not to hide from you any of my thoughts, and to let +you see them such as they really are; this in all probability +will be the only time I shall allow myself the freedom to +discover them to you; and I cannot confess without a blush, that +the certainty of not being loved by you, as I am, appears to me +so dreadful a misfortune, that if I had not invincible reasons +grounded on my duty, I could not resolve to subject myself to it; +I know that you are free, that I am so too, and that +circumstances are such, that the public perhaps would have no +reason to blame either you or me, should we unite ourselves +forever; but do men continue to love, when under engagements for +life? Ought I to expect a miracle in my favour? And shall I +place myself in a condition of seeing certainly that passion come +to an end, in which I should place all my felicity? Monsieur de +Cleves was perhaps the only man in the world capable of +continuing to love after marriage; it was my ill fate that I was +not able to enjoy that happiness, and perhaps his passion had not +lasted but that he found none, in me; but I should not have the, +same way of preserving yours; I even think your constancy is +owing to the obstacles you have met with; you have met with +enough to animate you to conquer them; and my unguarded actions, +or what you learned by chance, gave you hopes enough not to be +discouraged." "Ah! Madam," replied Monsieur de Nemours, "I +cannot keep the silence you enjoined me; you do me too much +injustice, and make it appear too clearly that you are far from +being prepossessed in my favour." "I confess," answered she, +"that my passions may lead me, but they cannot blind me; nothing +can hinder me from knowing that you are born with a disposition +for gallantry, and have all the qualities proper to give success; +you have already had a great many amours, and you will have more; +I should no longer be she you placed your happiness in; I should +see you as warm for another as you had been for me; this would +grievously vex me, and I am not sure I should not have the +torment of jealousy; I have said too much to conceal from you +that you have already made me know what jealousy is, and that I +suffered such cruel inquietudes the evening the Queen gave me +Madam de Themines's letter, which it was said was addressed to +you, that to this moment I retain an idea of it, which makes me +believe it is the worst of all ills. + +"There is scarce a woman but out of vanity or inclination +desires to engage you; there are very few whom you do not please, +and my own experience would make me believe, that there are none +whom it is not in your power to please; I should think you always +in love and beloved, nor should I be often mistaken; and yet in +this case I should have no remedy but patience, nay I question if +I should dare to complain: a lover may be reproached; but can a +husband be so, when one has nothing to urge, but that he loves +one no longer? But admit I could accustom myself to bear a +misfortune of this nature, yet how could I bear that of imagining +I constantly saw Monsieur de Cleves, accusing you of his death, +reproaching me with having loved you, with having married you, +and showing me the difference betwixt his affection and yours? +It is impossible to over-rule such strong reasons as these; I +must continue in the condition I am in, and in the resolution I +have taken never to alter it." "Do you believe you have the +power to do it, Madam?" cried the Duke de Nemours. "Do you +think your resolution can hold out against a man who adores, and +who has the happiness to please you? It is more difficult than +you imagine, Madam, to resist a person who pleases and loves one +at the same time; you have done it by an austerity of virtue, +which is almost without example; but that virtue no longer +opposes your inclinations, and I hope you will follow them in +spite of yourself." "I know nothing can be more difficult than +what I undertake," replied Madam de Cleves; "I distrust my +strength in the midst of my reasons; what I think I owe to the +memory of Monsieur de Cleves would be a weak consideration, if +not supported by the interest of my ease and repose; and the +reasons of my repose have need to be supported by those of my +duty; but though I distrust myself, I believe I shall never +overcome my scruples, nor do I so much as hope to overcome the +inclination I have for you; that inclination will make me +unhappy, and I will deny myself the sight of you, whatever +violence it is to me: I conjure you, by all the power I have +over you, to seek no occasion of seeing me; I am in a condition +which makes that criminal which might be lawful at another time; +decency forbids all commerce between us." Monsieur de Nemours +threw himself at her feet, and gave a loose to all the violent +motions with which he was agitated; he expressed both by his +words and tears the liveliest and most tender passion that ever +heart was touched with; nor was the heart of Madam de Cleves +insensible; she looked upon him with eyes swelled with tears: +"Why was it," cries she, "that I can charge you with Monsieur +de Cleves's death? Why did not my first acquaintance with you +begin since I have been at liberty, or why did not I know you +before I was engaged? Why does fate separate us by such +invincible obstacles?" "There are no obstacles, Madam," +replied Monsieur de Nemours; "it is you alone oppose my +happiness; you impose on yourself a law which virtue and reason +do not require you to obey." "'Tis true," says she, "I +sacrifice a great deal to a duty which does not subsist but in my +imagination; have patience, and expect what time may produce; +Monsieur de Cleves is but just expired, and that mournful object +is too near to leave me clear and distinct views; in the meantime +enjoy the satisfaction to know you have gained the heart of a +person who would never have loved anyone, had she not seen you: +believe the inclination I have for you will last forever, and +that it will be uniform and the same, whatever becomes of me: +Adieu," said she; "this is a conversation I ought to blush for; +however, give an account of it to the Viscount; I agree to it, +and desire you to do it." + +With these words she went away, nor could Monsieur de Nemours +detain her. In the next room she met with the Viscount, who +seeing her under so much concern would not speak to her, but led +her to her coach without saying a word; he returned to Monsieur +de Nemours, who was so full of joy, grief, admiration, and of all +those affections that attend a passion full of hope and fear, +that he had not the use of his reason. It was a long time ere +the Viscount could get from him an account of the conversation; +at last the Duke related it to him, and Monsieur de Chartres, +without being in love, no less admired the virtue, wit and merit +of Madam de Cleves, than did Monsieur de Nemours himself; they +began to examine what issue could reasonably be hoped for in this +affair; and however fearful the Duke de Nemours was from his +love, he agreed with the Viscount, that it was impossible Madam +de Cleves should continue in the resolution she was in; they were +of opinion nevertheless that it was necessary to follow her +orders, for fear, upon the public's perceiving the inclination he +had for her, she should make declarations and enter into +engagements with respect to the world, that she would afterwards +abide by, lest it should be thought she loved him in her +husband's lifetime. + +Monsieur de Nemours determined to follow the King; it was a +journey he could not well excuse himself from, and so he resolved +to go without endeavouring to see Madam de Cleves again from the +window out of which he had sometimes seen her; he begged the +Viscount to speak to her; and what did he not desire him to say +in his behalf? What an infinite number of reasons did he furnish +him with, to persuade her to conquer her scruples? In short, +great part of the night was spent before he thought of going +away. + +As for Madam de Cleves, she was in no condition to rest; it was a +thing so new to her to have broke loose from the restraints she +had laid on herself, to have endured the first declarations of +love that ever were made to her, and to have confessed that she +herself was in love with him that made them, all this was so new +to her, that she seemed quite another person; she was surprised +at what she had done; she repented of it; she was glad of it; all +her thoughts were full of anxiety and passion; she examined again +the reasons of her duty, which obstructed her happiness; she was +grieved to find them so strong, and was sorry that she had made +them out so clear to Monsieur de Nemours: though she had +entertained thoughts of marrying him, as soon as she beheld him +in the garden of the suburbs, yet her late conversation with him +made a much greater impression on her mind; at some moments she +could not comprehend how she could be unhappy by marrying him, +and she was ready to say in her heart, that her scruples as to +what was past, and her fears for the future, were equally +groundless: at other times, reason and her duty prevailed in her +thoughts, and violently hurried her into a resolution not to +marry again, and never to see Monsieur de Nemours; but this was a +resolution hard to be established in a heart so softened as hers, +and so lately abandoned to the charms of love. At last, to give +herself a little ease, she concluded that it was not yet +necessary to do herself the violence of coming to any resolution, +and decency allowed her a considerable time to determine what to +do: however she resolved to continue firm in having no commerce +with Monsieur de Nemours. The Viscount came to see her, and +pleaded his friend's cause with all the wit and application +imaginable, but could not make her alter her conduct, or recall +the severe orders she had given to Monsieur de Nemours; she told +him her design was not to change her condition; that she knew how +difficult it was to stand to that design, but that she hoped she +should be able to do it; she made him so sensible how far she was +affected with the opinion that Monsieur de Nemours was the cause +of her husband's death, and how much she was convinced that it +would be contrary to her duty to marry him, that the Viscount was +afraid it would be very difficult to take away those impressions; +he did not, however, tell the Duke what he thought, when he gave +him an account of his conversation with her, but left him as much +hope as a man who is loved may reasonably have. + +They set out the next day, and went after the King; the Viscount +wrote to Madam de Cleves at Monsieur de Nemours's request, and in +a second letter, which soon followed the first, the Duke wrote a +line or two in his own hand; but Madam de Cleves determined not +to depart from the rules she had prescribed herself, and fearing +the accidents that might happen from letters, informed the +Viscount that she would receive his letters no more, if he +continued to speak of Monsieur de Nemours, and did it in so +peremptory a manner, that the Duke desired him not to mention +him. + +During the absence of the Court, which was gone to conduct the +Queen of Spain as far as Poitou, Madam de Cleves continued at +home; and the more distant she was from Monsieur de Nemours, and +from everything that could put her in mind of him, the more she +recalled the memory of the Prince of Cleves, which she made it +her glory to preserve; the reasons she had not to marry the Duke +de Nemours appeared strong with respect to her duty, but +invincible with respect to her quiet; the opinion she had, that +marriage would put an end to his love, and the torments of +jealousy, which she thought the infallible consequences of +marriage, gave her the prospect of a certain unhappiness if she +consented to his desires; on the other hand, she thought it +impossible, if he were present, to refuse the most amiable man in +the world, the man who loved her, and whom she loved, and to +oppose him in a thing that was neither inconsistent with virtue +nor decency: she thought that nothing but absence and distance +could give her the power to do it; and she found she stood in +need of them, not only to support her resolution not to marry, +but even to keep her from seeing Monsieur de Nemours; she +resolved therefore to take a long journey, in order to pass away +the time which decency obliged her to spend in retirement; the +fine estate she had near the Pyrenees seemed the most proper +place she could make choice of; she set out a few days before the +Court returned, and wrote at parting to the Viscount to conjure +him not to think of once enquiring after her, or of writing to her. + +Monsieur de Nemours was as much troubled at this journey as +another would have been for the death of his mistress; the +thought of being deprived so long a time of the sight of Madam de +Cleves grieved him to the soul, especially as it happened at a +time when he had lately enjoyed the pleasure of seeing her, and +of seeing her moved by his passion; however he could do nothing +but afflict himself, and his affliction increased every day. +Madam de Cleves, whose spirits had been so much agitated, was no +sooner arrived at her country seat, but she fell desperately ill; +the news of it was brought to Court; Monsieur de Nemours was +inconsolable; his grief proceeded even to despair and +extravagance; the Viscount had much a-do to hinder him from +discovering his passion in public, and as much a-do to keep him +from going in person to know how she did; the relation and +friendship between her and the Viscount served as an excuse for +sending frequent messengers; at last they heard she was out of +the extremity of danger she had been in, but continued in a +languishing malady that left but little hopes of life. + +The nature of her disease gave her a prospect of death both near, +and at a distance, and showed her the things of this life in a +very different view from that in which they are seen by people in +health; the necessity of dying, to which she saw herself so near, +taught her to wean herself from the world, and the lingeringness +of her distemper brought her to a habit in it; yet when she was a +little recovered, she found that Monsieur de Nemours was not +effaced from her heart; but to defend herself against him, she +called to her aid all the reasons which she thought she had never +to marry him; after a long conflict in herself, she subdued the +relics of that passion which had been weakened by the sentiments +her illness had given her; the thoughts of death had reproached +her with the memory of Monsieur de Cleves, and this remembrance +was so agreeable to her duty, that it made deep impressions in +her heart; the passions and engagements of the world appeared to +her in the light, in which they appear to persons who have more +great and more distant views. The weakness of her body, which +was brought very low, aided her in preserving these sentiments; +but as she knew what power opportunities have over the wisest +resolutions, she would not hazard the breach of those she had +taken, by returning into any place where she might see him she +loved; she retired, under pretence of change of air, into a +convent, but without declaring a settled resolution of quitting +the Court. + +Upon the first news of it, Monsieur de Nemours felt the weight of +this retreat, and saw the importance of it; he presently thought +he had nothing more to hope, but omitted not anything that might +oblige her to return; he prevailed with the Queen to write; he +made the Viscount not only write, but go to her, but all to no +purpose; the Viscount saw her, but she did not tell him she had +fixed her resolution; and yet he judged, she would never return +to Court; at last Monsieur de Nemours himself went to her, under +pretence of using the waters; she was extremely grieved and +surprised to hear he was come, and sent him word by a person of +merit about her, that she desired him not to take it ill if she +did not expose herself to the danger of seeing him, and of +destroying by his presence those sentiments she was obliged to +preserve; that she desired he should know, that having found it +both against her duty and peace of mind to yield to the +inclination she had to be his, all things else were become so +indifferent to her, that she had renounced them for ever; that +she thought only of another life, and had no sentiment remaining +as to this, but the desire of seeing him in the same dispositions +she was in. + +Monsieur de Nemours was like to have expired in the presence of +the lady who told him this; he begged her a thousand times to +return to Madam de Cleves, and to get leave for him to see her; +but she told him the Princess had not only forbidden her to come +back with any message from him, but even to report the +conversation that should pass between them. At length Monsieur +de Nemours was obliged to go back, oppressed with the heaviest +grief a man is capable of, who has lost all hopes of ever seeing +again a person, whom he loved not only with the most violent, +but most natural and sincere passion that ever was; yet still he +was not utterly discouraged, but used all imaginable methods to +make her alter her resolution; at last, after several years, time +and absence abated his grief, and extinguished his passion. +Madam de Cleves lived in a manner that left no probability of her +ever returning to Court; she spent one part of the year in that +religious house, and the other at her own, but still continued +the austerity of retirement, and constantly employed herself in +exercises more holy than the severest convents can pretend to; +and her life, though it was short, left examples of inimitable virtues. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg Etext of The Princess of Cleves + diff --git a/old/pclev10.zip b/old/pclev10.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..4b2e846 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/pclev10.zip |