MEMOIRS AND HISTORICAL CHRONICLES OF THE COURTS OF EUROPE

[Illustration: THE CHILD MOZART, INVITED BY MADAME DE POMPADOURTO PLAY AT HER COURT. _From the painting by V. De Paredes. _]

MEMOIRS OF MARGUERITE DE VALOIS

_Queen of France, Wife of Henri IV_

OF MADAME DE POMPADOUR

_Of the Court of Louis XV_

AND OF CATHERINE DE MEDICI

_Queen of France, Wife of Henri II_

CONTENTS

LETTER I

Introduction. --Anecdotes of Marguerite's Infancy. --EndeavoursUsed to Convert Her to the New Religion. --She Is Confirmed inCatholicism. --The Court on a Progress. --A Grand Festivity SuddenlyInterrupted. --The Confusion in Consequence

LETTER II

Message from the Duc d'Anjou, Afterwards Henri III. , to KingCharles His Brother and the Queen-mother. --Her Fondness for HerChildren. --Their Interview. --Anjou's Eloquent Harangue. --TheQueen-mother's Character. --Discourse of the Duc d'Anjou withMarguerite. --She Discovers Her Own Importance. --Engages to ServeHer Brother Anjou. --Is in High Favour with the Queen-mother

LETTER III

Le Guast. --His Character. --Anjou Affects to Be Jealous of theGuises. --Dissuades the Queen-mother from Reposing Confidencein Marguerite. --She Loses the Favour of the Queen-mother andFalls Sick. --Anjou's Hypocrisy. --He Introduces De Guise intoMarguerite's Sick Chamber. --Marguerite Demanded in Marriage bythe King of Portugal. --Made Uneasy on That Account. --Contrivesto Relieve Herself. --The Match with Portugal Broken off

LETTER IV

Death of the Queen of Navarre. --Marguerite's Marriage with HerSon, the King of Navarre, Afterwards Henri IV. Of France. --ThePreparations for That Solemnisation Described. --The CircumstancesWhich Led to the Massacre of the Huguenots on St. Bartholomew'sDay

LETTER V

The Massacre of St. Bartholomew's Day

LETTER VI

Henri, Duc d'Anjou, Elected King of Poland, Leaves France. --HuguenotPlots to Withdraw the Duc d'Alençon and the King of Navarre fromCourt. --Discovered and Defeated by Marguerite's Vigilance. --SheDraws Up an Eloquent Defence, Which Her Husband Delivers before aCommittee from the Court of Parliament. --Alençon and Her Husband, under a Close Arrest, Regain Their Liberty by the Death of CharlesIX

LETTER VII

Accession of Henri III. --A Journey to Lyons. --Marguerite's Faithin Supernatural Intelligence

LETTER VIII

What Happened at Lyons

LETTER IX

Fresh Intrigues. --Marriage of Henri III. --Bussi Arrives at Courtand Narrowly Escapes Assassination

LETTER X

Bussi Is Sent from Court. --Marguerite's Husband Attacked with aFit of Epilepsy. --Her Great Care of Him. --Torigni Dismissed fromMarguerite's Service. --The King of Navarre and the Duc d'AlençonSecretly Leave the Court

LETTER XI

Queen Marguerite under Arrest. --Attempt on Torigni's Life. --HerFortunate Deliverance

LETTER XII

The Peace of Sens betwixt Henri III. And the Huguenots

LETTER XIII

The League. --War Declared against the Huguenots. --Queen MargueriteSets out for Spa

LETTER XIV

Description of Queen Marguerite's Equipage. --Her Journey to LiègeDescribed. --She Enters with Success upon Her Mission. --StrikingInstance of Maternal Duty and Affection in a Great Lady. --Disastersnear the Close of the Journey

LETTER XV

The City of Liège Described. --Affecting Story of Mademoisellede Tournon. --Fatal Effects of Suppressed Anguish of Mind

LETTER XVI

Queen Marguerite, on Her Return from Liège, Is In Danger of BeingMade a Prisoner. --She Arrives, after Some Narrow Escapes, at LaFère

LETTER XVII

Good Effects of Queen Marguerite's Negotiations in Flanders. --SheObtains Leave to Go to the King of Navarre Her Husband, but HerJourney Is Delayed. --Court Intrigues and Plots. --The Duc d'AlençonAgain Put under Arrest

LETTER XVIII

The Brothers Reconciled. --Alençon Restored to His Liberty

LETTER XIX

The Duc d'Alençon Makes His Escape from Court. --Queen Marguerite'sFidelity Put to a Severe Trial

LETTER XX

Queen Marguerite Permitted to Go to the King Her Husband. --IsAccompanied by the Queen-mother. --Marguerite Insulted by HerHusband's Secretary. --She Harbours Jealousy. --Her Attention to theKing Her Husband during an Indisposition. --Their Reconciliation. --TheWar Breaks Out Afresh. --Affront Received from Maréchal de Biron

LETTER XXI

Situation of Affairs in Flanders. --Peace Brought About by Ducd'Alençon's Negotiation. --Maréchal de Biron Apologises for Firingon Nérac. --Henri Desperately in Love with Fosseuse. --Queen MargueriteDiscovers Fosseuse to Be Pregnant, Which She Denies. --Fosseuse inLabour. --Marguerite's Generous Behavior to Her. --Marguerite'sReturn to Paris

INTRODUCTION

The _Secret Memoirs_ of Henry of Navarre's famous queen possessa value which the passage of time seems but to heighten. Emanatingas they undoubtedly do from one of the chief actors in a momentouscrisis in French history, and in the religious history of Europeas well, their importance as first-hand documents can hardlybe overestimated. While the interest which attaches to theirintimate discussions of people and manners of the day will appealto the reader at the outset. 

Marguerite de Valois was the French contemporary of Queen Elizabethof England, and their careers furnish several curious points ofparallel. Marguerite was the daughter of the famous Catherinede Médicis, and was given in marriage by her scheming motherto Henry of Navarre, whose ascendant Bourbon star threatenedto eclipse (as afterwards it did) the waning house of Valois. Catherine had four sons, three of whom successively mounted thethrone of France, but all were childless. Although the king ofthe petty state of Navarre was a Protestant, and Catherine wasthe most fanatical of Catholics, she made this marriage a pretextfor welding the two houses; but actually it seems to have beena snare to lure him to Paris, for it was at this precise timethat the bloody Massacre of St. Bartholomew's day was ordered. Henry himself escaped--it is said, through the protection ofMarguerite, his bride, --but his adherents in the Protestant partywere slain by the thousands. A wedded life begun under suchsanguinary auspices was not destined to end happily. Indeed, theirmarriage resembled nothing so much as an armed truce, peaceable, and allowing both to pursue their several paths, and finallydissolved by mutual consent, in 1598, when Queen Marguerite wasforty-five. The closing years of her life were spent in strictseclusion, at the Castle of Usson, in Auvergne, and it was atthis time that she probably wrote her _Memoirs_. 

In the original, the _Memoirs_ are written in a clear vigorousFrench, and in epistolary form. Their first editor divided them intothree sections, or books. As a whole they cover the secret historyof the Court of France from the years 1565 to 1582--seventeen yearsof extraordinary interest, comprising, as they do, the Massacre ofSt. Bartholomew, already referred to, the formation of the famousLeague, the Peace of Sens, and the bitter religious persecutionswhich were at last ended by the Edict of Nantes issued after Henryof Navarre became Henry IV. Of France. Besides the politicalbearing of the letters, they give a picturesque account of Courtlife at the end of the 16th century, the fashions and mannersof the time, piquant descriptions, and amusing gossip, such asonly a witty woman--as Marguerite certainly was--could injectinto such subjects. The letters, indeed, abound in sprightlyanecdote and small-talk, which yet have their value in lighteningup the whole situation. 

The period covered coincides very nearly with the first halfof Marguerite's own life. Incidents of her girlhood are given, leading to more important matters, personal and political, upto the twenty-ninth year of her age. The letters end, therefore, some seven years prior to the death of her brother, Henry III. Of France, and while she was still merely Queen of Navarre. Itwill always be a matter of regret that the latter half of herlife was not likewise covered. 

These _Memoirs_ first appeared in printed form in 1628, thirteenyears after their author's death. They enjoyed great popularity, and in 1656 were translated into English and published in London, with the following erroneous title: "The grand Cabinet Counselsunlocked; or, the most faithful Transaction of Court Affairs andGrowth and Continuance of the Civil Wars in France, during theReigns of Charles the last, Henry III. , and Henry IV. , commonlycalled the Great. Most excellently written, in the French Tongue, by Margaret de Valois, Sister to the two first Kings, and Wife ofthe last. Faithfully translated by Robert Codrington, Master ofArts. " Two years later the work was again translated, this timeunder the title of "Memorials of Court Affairs. " The misleadingportion of Codrington's title is in regard to the reign of HenryIV. As already shown, the letters cease before that time, althoughchronicling many events of his early career. The present carefultranslation has been made direct from the original, adheringas closely as permissible to the rugged but clear-cut verbalexpressions of 16th century France. 

Queen Marguerite herself is described by historians and novelistsas a singularly attractive woman, both physically and mentally. Of a little above the average height, her figure was well-roundedand graceful, her carriage dignified and commanding. One writerthus describes her: "Her eyes were full, black, and sparkling;she had bright, chestnut-coloured hair, and complexion fresh andblooming. Her skin was delicately white, and her neck admirablywell formed; and this so generally admired beauty, the fashionof dress, in her time, admitted of being fully displayed. " Toher personal charms were added a ready wit and polished manners. Her thoughts, whether spoken or written, were always clearlyand gracefully expressed. In her retirement, at the close ofher life, she often amused herself by writing verses which sheset to music and afterwards sang, accompanying herself upon thelute, which she performed upon skilfully. 

Regarding her personal character there has been diversity ofopinion--as, indeed, there has been in the case of nearly everyexalted personage. After her separation from the king, she was thesubject of a scandalous attack, entitled _Le Divorce Satyrique, oules Amours de la Reyne Marguerite de Valois_; but this anonymouslibel was never seriously considered. M. Pierre de Bourdeville, Sieur de Brantôme (better known by the final name), who givesmany facts concerning her later life in his _Anecdotes des Roisde France_, is a staunch adherent of hers. Ronsard, the Courtpoet, is also extravagant in his praises of her, but chiefly ofher beauty. Numerous other poets and romancers have found herlife a favourite subject. Meyerbeer's opera, _Les Huguenots_, is based upon her wedding, and the ensuing Massacre. Dumas'swell-known novel, _Marguerite de Valois_, gives her a somewhatdubious reputation, as half-tool, half-agent for Catherine, andas the mistress of the historical La Mole. This doubtful phase, however, if true, was but in keeping with the fashion of thetimes. It is mentioned merely as a possible line completing theportrait of this brilliant woman, who lives again for us in thepages of her _Memoirs_. 

 ON MARGUERITE DE VALOIS. 

 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 

 Dear native land! and you, proud castles! say (Where grandsire, [1] father, [2] and three brothers[3] lay, Who each, in turn, the crown imperial wore), Me will you own, your daughter whom you bore? Me, once your greatest boast and chiefest pride, By Bourbon and Lorraine, [4] when sought a bride; Now widowed wife, [5] a queen without a throne, Midst rocks and mountains[6] wander I alone. Nor yet hath Fortune vented all her spite, But sets one up, [7] who now enjoys my right, Points to the boy, [8] who henceforth claims the throne And crown, a son of mine should call his own. But ah, alas! for me 'tis now too late[9] To strive 'gainst Fortune and contend with Fate; Of those I slighted, can I beg relief?[10] No; let me die the victim of my grief. And can I then be justly said to live? Dead in estate, do I then yet survive? Last of the name, I carry to the grave All the remains the House of Valois have. 

[Footnote 1: François I. ]

[Footnote 2: Henri II. ]

[Footnote 3: François II. , Charles IX. , and Henri III. ]

[Footnote 4: Henri, King of Navarre, and Henri, Duc de Guise. ]

[Footnote 5: Alluding to her divorce from Henri IV. ]

[Footnote 6: The castle of Usson. ]

[Footnote 7: Marie de' Medici, whom Henri married after his divorcefrom Marguerite. ]

[Footnote 8: Louis XIII. , the son of Henri and his queen, Mariede' Medici. ]

[Footnote 9: Alluding to the differences betwixt Marguerite andHenri, her husband. ]

[Footnote 10: This is said with allusion to the supposition thatshe was rather inclined to favour the suit of the Duc de Guiseand reject Henri for a husband. ]

THE MEMOIRS OF MARGUERITE DE VALOIS

LETTER I

I should commend your work much more were I myself less praisedin it; but I am unwilling to do so, lest my praises should seemrather the effect of self-love than to be founded on reason andjustice. I am fearful that, like Themistocles, I should appearto admire their eloquence the most who are most forward to praiseme. It is the usual frailty of our sex to be fond of flattery. Iblame this in other women, and should wish not to be chargeablewith it myself. Yet I confess that I take a pride in being paintedby the hand of so able a master, however flattering the likenessmay be. If I ever were possessed of the graces you have assignedto me, trouble and vexation render them no longer visible, andhave even effaced them from my own recollection, So that I viewmyself in your Memoirs, and say, with old Madame de Rendan, who, not having consulted her glass since her husband's death, onseeing her own face in the mirror of another lady, exclaimed, "Whois this?". Whatever my friends tell me when they see me now, I aminclined to think proceeds from the partiality of their affection. I am sure that you yourself, when you consider more impartiallywhat you have said, will be induced to believe, according tothese lines of Du Bellay:

 "C'est chercher Rome en Rome, Et rien de Rome en Rome ne trouver. "

 ('Tis to seek Rome, in Rome to go, And Rome herself at Rome not know. )

But as we read with pleasure the history of the Siege of Troy, the magnificence of Athens, and other splendid cities, whichonce flourished, but are now so entirely destroyed that scarcelythe spot whereon they stood can be traced, so you please yourselfwith describing these excellences of beauty which are no more, and which will be discoverable only in your writings. 

If you had taken upon you to contrast Nature and Fortune, youcould not have chosen a happier theme upon which to descant, for both have made a trial of their strength on the subject ofyour Memoirs. What Nature did, you had the evidence of your owneyes to vouch for, but what was done by Fortune, you know onlyfrom hearsay; and hearsay, I need not tell you, is liable tobe influenced by ignorance or malice, and, therefore, is notto be depended on. You will for that reason, I make no doubt, be pleased to receive these Memoirs from the hand which is mostinterested in the truth of them. 

I have been induced to undertake writing my Memoirs the morefrom five or six observations which I have had occasion to makeupon your work, as you appear to have been misinformed respectingcertain particulars. For example, in that part where mention ismade of Pau, and of my journey in France; likewise where youspeak of the late Maréchal de Biron, of Agen, and of the sallyof the Marquis de Camillac from that place. 

These Memoirs might merit the honourable name of history from thetruths contained in them, as I shall prefer truth to embellishment. In fact, to embellish my story I have neither leisure nor ability;I shall, therefore, do no more than give a simple narration ofevents. They are the labours of my evenings, and will come toyou an unformed mass, to receive its shape from your hands, oras a chaos on which you have already thrown light. Mine is ahistory most assuredly worthy to come from a man of honour, onewho is a true Frenchman, born of illustrious parents, broughtup in the Court of the Kings my father and brothers, allied inblood and friendship to the most virtuous and accomplished womenof our times, of which society I have had the good fortune tobe the bond of union. 

I shall begin these Memoirs in the reign of Charles IX. , andset out with the first remarkable event of my life which fellwithin my remembrance. Herein I follow the example of geographicalwriters, who having described the places within their knowledge, tell you that all beyond them are sandy deserts, countries withoutinhabitants, or seas never navigated. Thus I might say that allprior to the commencement of these Memoirs was the barrenness ofmy infancy, when we can only be said to vegetate like plants, or live, like brutes, according to instinct, and not as humancreatures, guided by reason. To those who had the direction ofmy earliest years I leave the task of relating the transactionsof my infancy, if they find them as worthy of being recorded asthe infantine exploits of Themistocles and Alexander, --the oneexposing himself to be trampled on by the horses of a charioteer, who would not stop them when requested to do so, and the otherrefusing to run a race unless kings were to enter the contestagainst him. Amongst such memorable things might be related theanswer I made the King my father, a short time before the fatalaccident which deprived France of peace, and our family of itschief glory. I was then about four or five years of age, whenthe King, placing me on his knee, entered familiarly into chatwith me. There were, in the same room, playing and divertingthemselves, the Prince de Joinville, since the great and unfortunateDuc de Guise, and the Marquis de Beaupréau, son of the Princede la Roche-sur-Yon, who died in his fourteenth year, and bywhose death his country lost a youth of most promising talents. Amongst other discourse, the King asked which of the two Princesthat were before me I liked best. I replied, "The Marquis. " TheKing said, "Why so? He is not the handsomest. " The Prince deJoinville was fair, with light-coloured hair, and the Marquisde Beaupréau brown, with dark hair. I answered, "Because he isthe best behaved; whilst the Prince is always making mischief, and will be master over everybody. "

This was a presage of what we have seen happen since, when thewhole Court was infected with heresy, about the time of theConference of Poissy. It was with great difficulty that I resistedand preserved myself from a change of religion at that time. Many ladies and lords belonging to Court strove to convert me toHuguenotism. The Duc d'Anjou, since King Henri III. Of France, then in his infancy, had been prevailed on to change his religion, and he often snatched my "Hours" out of my hand, and flung theminto the fire, giving me Psalm Books and books of Huguenot prayers, insisting on my using them. I took the first opportunity to givethem up to my governess, Madame de Curton, whom God, out of hismercy to me, caused to continue steadfast in the Catholic religion. She frequently took me to that pious, good man, the Cardinalde Tournon, who gave me good advice, and strengthened me in aperseverance in my religion, furnishing me with books and chapletsof beads in the room of those my brother Anjou took from me andburnt. 

Many of my brother's most intimate friends had resolved on myruin, and rated me severely upon my refusal to change, sayingit proceeded from a childish obstinacy; that if I had the leastunderstanding, and would listen, like other discreet persons, tothe sermons that were preached, I should abjure my uncharitablebigotry; but I was, said they, as foolish as my governess. Mybrother Anjou added threats, and said the Queen my mother wouldgive orders that I should be whipped. But this he said of hisown head, for the Queen my mother did not, at that time, know ofthe errors he had embraced. As soon as it came to her knowledge, she took him to task, and severely reprimanded his governors, insisting upon their correcting him, and instructing him in theholy and ancient religion of his forefathers, from which sheherself never swerved. When he used those menaces, as I havebefore related, I was a child seven or eight years old, and atthat tender age would reply to him, "Well, get me whipped ifyou can; I will suffer whipping, and even death, rather than bedamned. "

I could furnish you with many other replies of the like kind, which gave proof of the early ripeness of my judgment and mycourage; but I shall not trouble myself with such researches, choosing rather to begin these Memoirs at the time when I residedconstantly with the Queen my mother. 

Immediately after the Conference of Poissy, the civil wars commenced, and my brother Alençon and myself, on account of pur youth, weresent to Amboise, whither all the ladies of the country repairedto us. With them came your aunt, Madame de Dampierre, who enteredinto a firm friendship with me, which was never interrupted untilher death broke it off. There was likewise your cousin, the Duchessede Rais, who had the good fortune to hear there of the deathof her brute of a husband, killed at the battle of Dreux. Thehusband I mean was the first she had, named M. D'Annebaut, whowas unworthy to have for a wife so accomplished and charming awoman as your cousin. She and I were not then so intimate friendsas we have become since, and shall ever remain. The reason wasthat, though older than I, she was yet young, and young girlsseldom take much notice of children, whereas your aunt was of anage when women admire their innocence and engaging simplicity. 

I remained at Amboise until the Queen my mother was ready toset out on her grand progress, at which time she sent for me tocome to her Court, which I did not quit afterwards. 

Of this progress I will not undertake to give you a description, being still so young that, though the whole is within myrecollection, yet the particular passages of it appear to mebut as a dream, and are now lost. I leave this task to others, of riper years, as you were yourself. You can well remember themagnificence that was displayed everywhere, particularly at thebaptism of my nephew, the Duc de Lorraine, at Bar-le-Duc; atthe meeting of M. And Madame de Savoy, in the city of Lyons;the interview at Bayonne betwixt my sister, the Queen of Spain, the Queen my mother, and King Charles my brother. In your accountof this interview you would not forget to make mention of thenoble entertainment given by the Queen my mother, on an island, with the grand dances, and the form of the _salon_, which seemedappropriated by nature for such a purpose, it being a large meadowin the middle of the island, in the shape of an oval, surroundedon every side by tall spreading trees. In this meadow the Queenmy mother had disposed a circle of niches, each of them largeenough to contain a table of twelve covers. At one end a platformwas raised, ascended by four steps formed of turf. Here theirMajesties were seated at a table under a lofty canopy. The tableswere all served by troops of shepherdesses dressed in cloth ofgold and satin, after the fashion of the different provinces ofFrance. These shepherdesses, during the passage of the superbboats from Bayonne to the island, were placed in separate bands, in a meadow on each side of the causeway, raised with turf; andwhilst their Majesties and the company were passing through thegreat _salon_, they danced. On their passage by water, the bargeswere followed by other boats, having on board vocal and instrumentalmusicians, habited like Nereids, singing and playing the wholetime. After landing, the shepherdesses I have mentioned beforereceived the company in separate troops, with songs and dances, after the fashion and accompanied by the music of the provinces theyrepresented, --the Poitevins playing on bagpipes; the Provençaleson the viol and cymbal; the Burgundians and Champagners on thehautboy, bass viol, and tambourine; in like manner the Bretonsand other provincialists. After the collation was served and thefeast at an end, a large troop of musicians, habited like satyrs, was seen to come out of the opening of a rock, well lighted up, whilst nymphs were descending from the top in rich habits, who, as they came down, formed into a grand dance, --when, lo! fortuneno longer favouring this brilliant festival, a sudden storm ofrain came on, and all were glad to get off in the boats and makefor town as fast as they could. The confusion in consequence ofthis precipitate retreat afforded as much matter to laugh atthe next day as the splendour of the entertainment had excitedadmiration. In short, the festivity of this day was not forgotten, on one account or the other, amidst the variety of the like naturewhich succeeded it in the course of this progress. 

LETTER II

At the time my magnanimous brother Charles reigned over France, andsome few years after our return from the grand progress mentioned inmy last letter, the Huguenots having renewed the war, a gentleman, despatched from my brother Anjou (afterwards Henri III. Of France), came to Paris to inform the King and the Queen my mother thatthe Huguenot army was reduced to such an extremity that he hopedin a few days to force them to give him battle. He added hisearnest wish for the honour of seeing them at Tours before thathappened, so that, in case Fortune, envying him the glory hehad already achieved at so early an age, should, on the so muchlooked-for day, after the good service he had done his religionand his King, crown the victory with his death, he might not havecause to regret leaving this world without the satisfaction ofreceiving their approbation of his conduct from their own mouths, --asatisfaction which would be more valuable, in his opinion, thanthe trophies he had gained by his two former victories. 

I leave to your own imagination to suggest to you the impressionwhich such a message from a dearly beloved son made on the mindof a mother who doted on all her children, and was always ready tosacrifice her own repose, nay, even her life, for their happiness. 

She resolved immediately to set off and take the King with her. She had, besides myself, her usual small company of femaleattendants, together with Mesdames de Rais and de Sauves. Sheflew on the wings of maternal affection, and reached Tours inthree days and a half. A journey from Paris, made with suchprecipitation, was not unattended with accidents and someinconveniences, of a nature to occasion much mirth and laughter. The poor Cardinal de Bourbon, who never quitted her, and whosetemper of mind, strength of body, and habits of life were illsuited to encounter privations and hardships, suffered greatlyfrom this rapid journey. 

We found my brother Anjou at Plessis-les-Tours, with the principalofficers of his army, who were the flower of the princes andnobles of France. In their presence he delivered a harangue tothe King, giving a detail of his conduct in the execution of hischarge, beginning from the time he left the Court. His discoursewas framed with so much eloquence, and spoken so gracefully, thatit was admired by all present. It appeared matter of astonishmentthat a youth of sixteen should reason with all the gravity andpowers of an orator of ripe years. The comeliness of his person, which at all times pleads powerfully in favour of a speaker, was in him set off by the laurels obtained in two victories. Inshort, it was difficult to say which most contributed to makehim the admiration of all his hearers. 

It is equally as impossible for me to describe in words the feelingsof my mother on this occasion, who loved him above all her children, as it was for the painter to represent on canvas the grief ofIphigenia's father. Such an overflow of joy would have beendiscoverable in the looks and actions of any other woman, butshe had her passions so much under the control of prudence anddiscretion that there was nothing to be perceived in her countenance, or gathered from her words, of what she felt inwardly in her mind. She was, indeed, a perfect mistress of herself, and regulatedher discourse and her actions by the rules of wisdom and soundpolicy, showing that a person of discretion does upon all occasionsonly what is proper to be done. She did not amuse herself onthis occasion with listening to the praises which issued fromevery mouth, and sanction them with her own approbation; but, selecting the chief points in the speech relative to the futureconduct of the war, she laid them before the Princes and greatlords, to be deliberated upon, in order to settle a plan ofoperations. 

To arrange such a plan a delay of some days was requisite. Duringthis interval, the Queen my mother walking in the park with someof the Princes, my brother Anjou begged me to take a turn or twowith him in a retired walk. He then addressed me in the followingwords: "Dear sister, the nearness of blood; as well as our havingbeen brought up together, naturally, as they ought, attach usto each other. You must already have discovered the partialityI have had for you above my brothers, and I think that I haveperceived the same in you for me. We have been hitherto led tothis by nature, without deriving any other advantage from itthan the sole pleasure of conversing together. So far might bewell enough for our childhood, but now we are no longer children. You know the high situation in which, by the favour of God andour good mother the Queen, I am here placed. You may be assuredthat, as you are the person in the world whom I love and esteemthe most, you will always be a partaker of my advancement. I knowyou are not wanting in wit and discretion, and I am sensibleyou have it in your power to do me service with the Queen ourmother, and preserve me in my present employments. It is a greatpoint obtained for me, always to stand well in her favour. Iam fearful that my absence may be prejudicial to that purpose, and I must necessarily be at a distance from Court. Whilst I amaway, the King my brother is with her, and has it in his powerto insinuate himself into her good graces. This I fear, in theend, may be of disservice to me. The King my brother is growingolder every day. He does not want for courage, and, though he nowdiverts himself with hunting, he may grow ambitious, and chooserather to chase men than beasts; in such a case I must resign tohim my commission as his lieutenant. This would prove the greatestmortification that could happen to me, and I would even prefer deathto it. Under such an apprehension I have considered of the meansof prevention, and see none so feasible as having a confidentialperson about the Queen my mother, who shall always be ready toespouse and support my cause. I know no one so proper for thatpurpose as yourself, who will be, I doubt not, as attentive tomy interest as I should be myself. You have wit, discretion, andfidelity, which are all that are wanting, provided you will beso kind as to undertake such a good office. In that case I shallhave only to beg of you not to neglect attending her morning andevening, to be the first with her and the last to leave her. This will induce her to repose a confidence and open her mind toyou. To make her the more ready to do this, I shall take everyopportunity to commend your good sense and understanding, and totell her that I shall take it kind in her to leave off treatingyou as a child, which, I shall say, will contribute to her owncomfort and satisfaction. I am well convinced that she will listento my advice. Do you speak to her with the same confidence asyou do to me, and be assured that she will approve of it. Itwill conduce to your own happiness to obtain her favour. You maydo yourself service whilst you are labouring for my interest;and you may rest satisfied that, after God, I shall think I oweall the good fortune which may befall me to yourself. "

This was entirely a new kind of language to me. I had hithertothought of nothing but amusements, of dancing, hunting, and thelike diversions; nay, I had never yet discovered any inclinationof setting myself off to advantage by dress, and exciting anadmiration of my person and figure. I had no ambition of anykind, and had been so strictly brought up under the Queen mymother that I scarcely durst speak before her; and if she chancedto turn her eyes towards me I trembled, for fear that I had donesomething to displease her. At the conclusion of my brother'sharangue, I was half inclined to reply to him in the words ofMoses, when he was spoken to from the burning bush: "Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh? Send, I pray thee, by the handof him whom thou wilt send. "

However, his words inspired me with resolution and powers I didnot think myself possessed of before. I had naturally a degreeof courage, and, as soon as I recovered from my astonishment, Ifound I was quite an altered person. His address pleased me, andwrought in me a confidence in myself; and I found I was become ofmore consequence than I had ever conceived I had been. Accordingly, I replied to him thus: "Brother, if God grant me the power ofspeaking to the Queen our mother as I have the will to do, nothingcan be wanting for your service, and you may expect to derive allthe good you hope from it, and from my solicitude and attentionfor your interest. With respect to my undertaking such a matterfor you, you will soon perceive that I shall sacrifice all thepleasures in this world to my watchfulness for your service. Youmay perfectly rely on me, as there is no one that honours orregards you more than I do. Be well assured that I shall actfor you with the Queen my mother as zealously as you would foryourself. "

These sentiments were more strongly impressed upon my mind thanthe words I made use of were capable of conveying an idea of. This will appear more fully in my following letters. 

As soon as we were returned from walking, the Queen my motherretired with me into her closet, and addressed the followingwords to me: "Your brother has been relating the conversationyou have had together; he considers you no longer as a child, neither shall I. It will be a great comfort to me to conversewith you as I would with your brother. For the future you willfreely speak your mind, and have no apprehensions of taking toogreat a liberty, for it is what I wish. " These words gave mea pleasure then which I am now unable to express. I felt asatisfaction and a joy which nothing before had ever caused meto feel. I now considered the pastimes of my childhood as vainamusements. I shunned the society of my former companions ofthe same age. I disliked dancing and hunting, which I thoughtbeneath my attention. I strictly complied with her agreeableinjunction, and never missed being with her at her rising inthe morning and going to rest at night. She did me the honour, sometimes, to hold me in conversation for two and three hoursat a time. God was so gracious with me that I gave her greatsatisfaction; and she thought she could not sufficiently praiseme to those ladies who were about her. I spoke of my brother'saffairs to her, and he was constantly apprised by me of hersentiments and opinion; so that he had every reason to supposeI was firmly attached to his interest. 

LETTER III

I continued to pass my time with the Queen my mother, greatlyto my satisfaction, until after the battle of Moncontour. Bythe same despatch that brought the news of this victory to theCourt, my brother, who was ever desirous to be near the Queenmy mother, wrote her word that he was about to lay siege to St. Jean d'Angely, and that it would be necessary that the King shouldbe present whilst it was going on. She, more anxious to see himthan he could be to have her near him, hastened to set out onthe journey, taking me with her, and her customary train ofattendants. I likewise experienced great joy upon the occasion, having no suspicion that any mischief awaited me. I was stillyoung and without experience, and I thought the happiness I enjoyedwas always to continue; but the malice of Fortune prepared forme at this interview a reverse that I little expected, afterthe fidelity with which I had discharged the trust my brotherhad reposed in me. 

Soon after our last meeting, it seems, my brother Anjou had takenLe Guast to be near his person, who had ingratiated himself sofar into his favour and confidence that he saw only with hiseyes, and spoke but as he dictated. This evil-disposed man, whosewhole life was one continued scene of wickedness, had pervertedhis mind and filled it with maxims of the most atrocious nature. He advised him to have no regard but for his own interest; neitherto love nor put trust in anyone; and not to promote the views oradvantage of either brother or sister. These and other maximsof the like nature, drawn from the school of Machiavelli, he wascontinually suggesting to him. He had so frequently inculcatedthem that they were strongly impressed on his mind, insomuchthat, upon our arrival, when, after the first compliments, mymother began to open in my praise and express the attachment Ihad discovered for him, this was his reply, which he deliveredwith the utmost coldness: "He was well pleased, " he said, "to havesucceeded in the request he had made to me; but that prudencedirected us not to continue to make use of the same expedients, forwhat was profitable at one time might not be so at another. " Sheasked him why he made that observation. This question afforded theopportunity he wished for, of relating a story he had fabricated, purposely to ruin me with her. 

He began with observing to her that I was grown very handsome, and that M. De Guise wished to marry me; that his uncles, too, were very desirous of such a match; and, if I should entertain alike passion for him, there would be danger of my discovering tohim all she said to me; that she well knew the ambition of thathouse, and how ready they were, on all occasions, to circumventours. It would, therefore, be proper that she should not, for thefuture, communicate any matter of State to me, but, by degrees, withdraw her confidence. 

I discovered the evil effects proceeding from this perniciousadvice on the very same evening. I remarked an unwillingnesson her part to speak to me before my brother; and, as soon asshe entered into discourse with him, she commanded me to go tobed. This command she repeated two or three times. I quitted hercloset, and left them together in conversation; but, as soon ashe was gone, I returned and entreated her to let me know if I hadbeen so unhappy as to have done anything, through ignorance, whichhad given her offence. She was at first inclined to dissemble withme; but at length she said to me thus: "Daughter, your brotheris prudent and cautious; you ought not to be displeased withhim for what he does, and you must believe what I shall tellyou is right and proper. " She then related the conversation shehad with my brother, as I have just written it; and she thenordered me never to speak to her in my brother's presence. 

These words were like so many daggers plunged into my breast. In my disgrace, I experienced as much grief as I had before joyon being received into her favour and confidence. I did not omitto say everything to convince her of my entire ignorance of whatmy brother had told her. I said it was a matter I had never heardmentioned before; and that, had I known it, I should certainlyhave made her immediately acquainted with it. All I said was tono purpose; my brother's words had made the first impression; theywere constantly present in her mind, and outweighed probabilityand truth. When I discovered this, I told her that I felt lessuneasiness at being deprived of my happiness than I did joy whenI had acquired it; for my brother had taken it from me, as hehad given it. He had given it without reason; he had taken itaway without cause. He had praised me for discretion and prudencewhen I did not merit it, and he suspected my fidelity on groundswholly imaginary and fictitious. I concluded with assuring herthat I should never forget my brother's behaviour on this occasion. 

Hereupon she flew into a passion and commanded me not to makethe least show of resentment at his behaviour. From that hourshe gradually withdrew her favour from me. Her son became thegod of her idolatry, at the shrine of whose will she sacrificedeverything. 

The grief which I inwardly felt was very great and overpoweredall my faculties, until it wrought so far on my constitution asto contribute to my receiving the infection which then prevailedin the army. A few days after I fell sick of a raging fever, attended with purple spots, a malady which carried off numbers, and, amongst the rest, the two principal physicians belongingto the King and Queen, Chappelain and Castelan. Indeed, few gotover the disorder after being attacked with it. 

In this extremity the Queen my mother, who partly guessed thecause of my illness, omitted nothing that might serve to removeit; and, without fear of consequences, visited me frequently. Her goodness contributed much to my recovery; but my brother'shypocrisy was sufficient to destroy all the benefit I receivedfrom her attention, after having been guilty of so treacherous aproceeding. After he had proved so ungrateful to me, he came andsat at the foot of my bed from morning to night, and appeared asanxiously attentive as if we had been the most perfect friends. My mouth was shut up by the command I had received from the Queenour mother, so that I only answered his dissembled concern withsighs, like Burrus in the presence of Nero, when he was dying bythe poison administered by the hands of that tyrant. The sighs, however, which I vented in my brother's presence, might convincehim that I attributed my sickness rather to his ill offices thanto the prevailing contagion. 

God had mercy on me, and supported me through this dangerousillness. After I had kept my bed a fortnight, the army changedits quarters, and I was conveyed away with it in a litter. Atthe end of each day's march, I found King Charles at the door ofmy quarters, ready, with the rest of the good gentlemen belongingto the Court, to carry my litter up to my bedside. In this mannerI came to Angers from St. Jean d'Angely, sick in body, but moresick in mind. Here, to my misfortune, M. De Guise and his uncleshad arrived before me. This was a circumstance which gave my goodbrother great pleasure, as it afforded a colourable appearanceto his story. I soon discovered the advantage my brother wouldmake of it to increase my already too great mortification; forhe came daily to see me, and as constantly brought M. De Guiseinto my chamber with him. He pretended the sincerest regard forDe Guise, and, to make him believe it, would take frequentopportunities of embracing him, crying out at the same time;"Would to God you were my brother!" This he often put in practicebefore me, which M. De Guise seemed not to comprehend; but I, who knew his malicious designs, lost all patience, yet did notdare to reproach him with his hypocrisy. 

As soon as I was recovered, a treaty was set on foot for a marriagebetwixt the King of Portugal and me, an ambassador having beensent for that purpose. The Queen my mother commanded me to prepareto give the ambassador an audience; which I did accordingly. Mybrother had made her believe that I was averse to this marriage;accordingly, she took me to task upon it, and questioned me onthe subject, expecting she should find some cause to be angrywith me. I told her my will had always been guided by her own, and that whatever she thought right for me to do, I should doit. She answered me, angrily, according as she had been wroughtupon, that I did not speak the sentiments of my heart, for shewell knew that the Cardinal de Lorraine had persuaded me intoa promise of having his nephew. I begged her to forward thismatch with the King of Portugal, and I would convince her of myobedience to her commands. Every day some new matter was reportedto incense her against me. All these were machinations worked upby the mind of Le Guast. In short, I was constantly receivingsome fresh mortification, so that I hardly passed a day in quiet. On one side, the King of Spain was using his utmost endeavours tobreak off the match with Portugal, and M. De Guise, continuingat Court, furnished grounds for persecuting me on the other. Still, not a single person of the Guises ever mentioned a wordto me on the subject; and it was well known that, for more thana twelvemonth, M. De Guise had been paying his addresses to thePrincesse de Porcian; but the slow progress made in bringingthis match to a conclusion was said to be owing to his designsupon me. 

As soon as I made this discovery I resolved to write to my sister, Madame de Lorraine, who had a great influence in the House ofPorcian, begging her to use her endeavours to withdraw M. De Guisefrom Court, and make him conclude his match with the Princess, laying open to her the plot which had been concerted to ruinthe Guises and me. She readily saw through it, came immediatelyto Court, and concluded the match, which delivered me from theaspersions cast on my character, and convinced the Queen my motherthat what I had told her was the real truth. This at the sametime stopped the mouths of my enemies and gave me some repose. 

At length the King of Spain, unwilling that the King of Portugalshould marry out of his family, broke off the treaty which hadbeen entered upon for my marriage with him. 

LETTER IV

Some short time after this a marriage was projected betwixt thePrince of Navarre, now our renowned King Henri IV. , and me. 

The Queen my mother, as she sat at table, discoursed for a longtime upon the subject with M. De W Meru, the House of Montmorencyhaving first proposed the match. After the Queen had risen fromtable, he told me she had commanded him to mention it to me. I replied that it was quite unnecessary, as I had no will buther own; however, I should wish she would be pleased to rememberthat I was a Catholic, and that I should dislike to marry anyone of a contrary persuasion. 

Soon after this the Queen sent for me to attend her in her closet. She there informed me that the Montmorencys had proposed this matchto her, and that she was desirous to learn my sentiments upon it. I answered that my choice was governed by her pleasure, and thatI only begged her not to forget that I was a good Catholic. 

This treaty was in negotiation for some time after this conversation, and was not finally settled until the arrival of the Queen ofNavarre, his mother, at Court, where she died soon after. 

Whilst the Queen of Navarre lay on her death-bed, a circumstancehappened of so whimsical a nature that, though hot of consequenceto merit a place in the history, it may very well deserve to berelated by me to you. Madame de Nevers, whose oddities you wellknow, attended the Cardinal de Bourbon, Madame de Guise, thePrincesse de Condé, her sisters, and myself to the late Queenof Navarre's apartments, whither we all went to pay those lastduties which her rank and our nearness of blood demanded of us. We found the Queen in bed with her curtains undrawn, the chambernot disposed with the pomp and ceremonies of our religion, butafter the simple manner of the Huguenots; that is to say, therewere no priests, no cross, nor any holy water. We kept ourselvesat some distance from the bed, but Madame de Nevers, whom youknow the Queen hated more than any woman besides, and which shehad shown both in speech and by actions, --Madame de Nevers, Isay, approached the bedside, and, to the great astonishment ofall present, who well knew the enmity subsisting betwixt them, took the Queen's hand, with many low curtseys, and kissed it;after which, making another curtsey to the very ground, she retiredand rejoined us. 

A few months after the Queen's death, the Prince of Navarre, orrather, as he was then styled, the King, came to Paris in deepmourning, attended by eight hundred gentlemen, all in mourninghabits. He was received with every honour by King Charles and thewhole Court, and, in a few days after his arrival, our marriage wassolemnised with all possible magnificence; the King of Navarre andhis retinue putting off their mourning and dressing themselves inthe most costly manner. The whole Court, too, was richly attired;all which you can better conceive than I am able to express. For my own part, I was set out in a most royal manner; I wore acrown on my head with the _coët_, or regal close gown of ermine, and I blazed in diamonds. My blue-coloured robe had a train to itof four ells in length, which was supported by three princesses. A platform had been raised, some height from the ground, whichled from the Bishop's palace to the Church of Notre-Dame. It washung with cloth of gold; and below it stood the people in throngsto view the procession, stifling with heat. We were received atthe church door by the Cardinal de Bourbon, who officiated forthat day, and pronounced the nuptial benediction. After this weproceeded on the same platform to the tribune which separates thenave from the choir, where was a double staircase, one leadinginto the choir, the other through the nave to the church door. The King of Navarre passed by the latter and went out of church. 

But fortune, which is ever changing, did not fail soon to disturbthe felicity of this union. This was occasioned by the woundreceived by the Admiral, which had wrought the Huguenots up toa degree of desperation. The Queen my mother was reproached onthat account in such terms by the elder Pardaillan and some otherprincipal Huguenots, that she began to apprehend some evil design. M. De Guise and my brother the King of Poland, since Henri III. Of France, gave it as their advice to be beforehand with theHuguenots. King Charles was of a contrary opinion. He had a greatesteem for M. De La Rochefoucauld, Teligny, La Nouë, and someother leading men of the same religion; and, as I have sinceheard him say, it was with the greatest difficulty he could beprevailed upon to give his consent, and not before he had beenmade to understand that his own life and the safety of his kingdomdepended upon it. 

The King having learned that Maurevel had made an attempt uponthe Admiral's life, by firing a pistol at him through a window, --inwhich attempt he failed, having wounded the Admiral only in theshoulder, --and supposing that Maurevel had done this at the instanceof M. De Guise, to revenge the death of his father, whom theAdmiral had caused to be killed in the same manner by Poltrot, he was so much incensed against M. De Guise that he declaredwith an oath that he would make an example of him; and, indeed, the King would have put M. De Guise under an arrest, if he hadnot kept out of his sight the whole day. The Queen my mother usedevery argument to convince King Charles that what had been donewas for the good of the State; and this because, as I observedbefore, the King had so great a regard for the Admiral, La Nouë, and Teligny, on account of their bravery, being himself a princeof a gallant and noble spirit, and esteeming others in whom hefound a similar disposition. Moreover, these designing men hadinsinuated themselves into the King's favour by proposing anexpedition to Flanders, with a view of extending his dominionsand aggrandising his power, propositions which they well knewwould secure to themselves an influence over his royal and generousmind. 

Upon this occasion, the Queen my mother represented to the Kingthat the attempt of M. De Guise upon the Admiral's life was excusablein a son who, being denied justice, had no other means of avenginghis father's death. Moreover, the Admiral, she said, had deprivedher by assassination, during his minority and her regency, ofa faithful servant in the person of Charri, commander of theKing's body-guard, which rendered him deserving of the liketreatment. 

Notwithstanding that the Queen my mother spoke thus to the King, discovering by her expressions and in her looks all the grief whichshe inwardly felt on the recollection of the loss of persons whohad been useful to her; yet, so much was King Charles inclinedto save those who, as he thought, would one day be serviceableto him, that he still persisted in his determination to punishM. De Guise, for whom he ordered strict search to be made. 

At length Pardaillan, disclosing by his menaces, during the supperof the Queen my mother, the evil intentions of the Huguenots, sheplainly perceived that things were brought to so near a crisis, that, unless steps were taken that very night to prevent it, theKing and herself were in danger of being assassinated. She, therefore, came to the resolution of declaring to King Charleshis real situation. For this purpose she thought of the Maréchalde Rais as the most proper person to break the matter to theKing, the Marshal being greatly in his favour and confidence. 

Accordingly, the Marshal went to the King in his closet, betweenthe hours of nine and ten, and told him he was come as a faithfulservant to discharge his duty, and lay before him the danger inwhich he stood, if he persisted in his resolution of punishingM. De Guise, as he ought now to be informed that the attemptmade upon the Admiral's life was not set on foot by him alone, but that his (the King's) brother the King of Poland, and theQueen his mother, had their shares in it; that he must be sensiblehow much the Queen lamented Charri's assassination, for whichshe had great reason, having very few servants about her uponwhom she could rely, and as it happened during the King'sminority, --at the time, moreover, when France was divided betweenthe Catholics and the Huguenots, M. De Guise being at the headof the former, and the Prince de Condé of the latter, both alikestriving to deprive him of his crown; that through Providence, both his crown and kingdom had been preserved by the prudenceand good conduct of the Queen Regent, who in this extremity foundherself powerfully aided by the said Charri, for which reasonshe had vowed to avenge his death; that, as to the Admiral, hemust be ever considered as dangerous to the State, and whatevershow he might make of affection for his Majesty's person, andzeal for his service in Flanders, they must be considered as merepretences, which he used to cover his real design of reducingthe kingdom to a state of confusion. 

The Marshal concluded with observing that the original intentionhad been to make away with the Admiral only, as the most obnoxiousman in the kingdom; but Maurevel having been so unfortunate asto fail in his attempt, and the Huguenots becoming desperateenough to resolve to take up arms, with design to attack, notonly M. De Guise, but the Queen his mother, and his brother theKing of Poland, supposing them, as well as his Majesty, to havecommanded Maurevel to make his attempt, he saw nothing but causeof alarm for his Majesty's safety, --as well on the part of theCatholics, if he persisted in his resolution to punish M. DeGuise, as of the Huguenots, for the reasons which he had justlaid before him. 

LETTER V

King Charles, a prince of great prudence, always paying a particulardeference to his mother, and being much attached to the Catholicreligion, now convinced of the intentions of the Huguenots, adopteda sudden resolution of following his mother's counsel, and puttinghimself under the safeguard of the Catholics. It was not, however, without extreme regret that he found he had it not in his powerto save Teligny, La Nouë; and M. De La Rochefoucauld. 

He went to the apartments of the Queen his mother, and sendingfor M. De Guise and all the Princes and Catholic officers, the"Massacre of St. Bartholomew" was that night resolved upon. 

Immediately every hand was at work; chains were drawn across thestreets, the alarm-bells were sounded, and every man repairedto his post, according to the orders he had received, whetherit was to attack the Admiral's quarters, or those of the otherHuguenots. M. De Guise hastened to the Admiral's, and Besme, agentleman in the service of the former, a German by birth, forcedinto his chamber, and having slain him with a dagger, threw hisbody out of a window to his master. 

I was perfectly ignorant of what was going forward. I observedeveryone to be in motion: the Huguenots, driven to despair bythe attack upon the Admiral's life, and the Guises, fearing theyshould not have justice done them, whispering all they met inthe ear. 

The Huguenots were suspicious of me because I was a Catholic, and the Catholics because I was married to the King of Navarre, who was a Huguenot. This being the case, no one spoke a syllableof the matter to me. 

At night, when I went into the bedchamber of the Queen my mother, I placed myself on a coffer, next my sister Lorraine, who, Icould not but remark, appeared greatly cast down. The Queen mymother was in conversation with some one, but, as soon as sheespied me, she bade me go to bed. As I was taking leave, my sisterseized me by the hand and stopped me, at the same time sheddinga flood of tears: "For the love of God, " cried she, "do not stirout of this chamber!" I was greatly alarmed at this exclamation;perceiving which, the Queen my mother called my sister to her, and chid her very severely. My sister replied it was sending meaway to be sacrificed; for, if any discovery should be made, Ishould be the first victim of their revenge. The Queen my mothermade answer that, if it pleased God, I should receive no hurt, but it was necessary I should go, to prevent the suspicion thatmight arise from my staying. 

I perceived there was something on foot which I was not to know, but what it was I could not make out from anything they said. 

The Queen again bade me go to bed in a peremptory tone. My sisterwished me a good night, her tears flowing apace, but she did notdare to say a word more; and I left the bedchamber more deadthan alive. 

As soon as I reached my own closet, I threw myself upon my kneesand prayed to God to take me into his protection and save me; butfrom whom or what, I was ignorant. Hereupon the King my husband, who was already in bed, sent for me. I went to him, and found thebed surrounded by thirty or forty Huguenots, who were entirelyunknown to me; for I had been then but a very short time married. Their whole discourse, during the night, was upon what had happenedto the Admiral, and they all came to a resolution of the nextday demanding justice of the King against M. De Guise; and, ifit was refused, to take it themselves. 

For my part, I was unable to sleep a wink the whole night, forthinking of my sister's tears and distress, which had greatlyalarmed me, although I had not the least knowledge of the realcause. As soon as day broke, the King my husband said he wouldrise and play at tennis until King Charles was risen, when hewould go to him immediately and demand justice. He left thebedchamber, and all his gentlemen followed. 

As soon as I beheld it was broad day, I apprehended all the dangermy sister had spoken of was over; and being inclined to sleep, Ibade my nurse make the door fast, and I applied myself to takesome repose. In about an hour I was awakened by a violent noiseat the door, made with both hands and feet, and a voice callingout, "Navarre! Navarre!" My nurse, supposing the King my husbandto be at the door, hastened to open it, when a gentleman, namedM. De Teian, ran in, and threw himself immediately upon my bed. He had received a wound in his arm from a sword, and another bya pike, and was then pursued by four archers, who followed himinto the bedchamber. Perceiving these last, I jumped out of bed, and the poor gentleman after me, holding me fast by the waist. I did not then know him; neither was I sure that he came to do meno harm, or whether the archers were in pursuit of him or me. Inthis situation I screamed aloud, and he cried out likewise, forour fright was mutual. At length, by God's providence, M. DeNançay, captain of the guard, came into the bedchamber, and, seeing me thus surrounded, though he could not help pitying me, he was scarcely able to refrain from laughter. However, hereprimanded the archers very severely for their indiscretion, and drove them out of the chamber. At my request he granted thepoor gentleman his life, and I had him put to bed in my closet, caused his wounds to be dressed, and did not suffer him to quitmy apartment until he was perfectly cured. I changed my shift, because it was stained with the blood of this man, and, whilstI was doing so, De Nançay gave me an account of the transactionsof the foregoing night, assuring me that the King my husband wassafe, and actually at that moment in the King's bed-chamber. He made me muffle myself up in a cloak, and conducted me to theapartment of my sister, Madame de Lorraine, whither I arrivedmore than half dead. As we passed through the antechamber, allthe doors of which were wide open, a gentleman of the name ofBourse, pursued by archers, was run through the body with a pike, and fell dead at my feet. As if I had been killed by the samestroke, I fell, and was caught by M. De Nançay before I reachedthe ground. As soon as I recovered from this fainting-fit, Iwent into my sister's bedchamber, and was immediately followedby M. De Mioflano, first gentleman to the King my husband, andArmagnac, his first _valet de chambre_, who both came to beg meto save their lives. I went and threw myself on my knees beforethe King and the Queen my mother, and obtained the lives of bothof them. 

Five or six days afterwards, those who were engaged in this plot, considering that it was incomplete whilst the King my husbandand the Prince de Condé remained alive, as their design was notonly to dispose of the Huguenots, but of the Princes of the bloodlikewise; and knowing that no attempt could be made on my husbandwhilst I continued to be his wife, devised a scheme which theysuggested to the Queen my mother for divorcing me from him. Accordingly, one holiday, when I waited upon her to chapel, shecharged me to declare to her, upon my oath, whether I believedmy husband to be like other men. "Because, " said she, "if heis not, I can easily procure you a divorce from him. " I beggedher to believe that I was not sufficiently competent to answersuch a question, and could only reply, as the Roman lady didto her husband, when he chid her for not informing him of hisstinking breath, that, never having approached any other mannear enough to know a difference, she thought all men had beenalike in that respect. "But, " said I, "Madame, since you haveput the question to me, I can only declare I am content to remainas I am;" and this I said because I suspected the design ofseparating me from my husband was in order to work some mischiefagainst him. 

LETTER VI

We accompanied the King of Poland as far as Beaumont. For somemonths before he quitted France, he had used every endeavourto efface from my mind the ill offices he had so ungratefullydone me. He solicited to obtain the same place in my esteem whichhe held during our infancy; and, on taking leave of me, made meconfirm it by oaths and promises. His departure from France, and King Charles's sickness, which happened just about the sametime, excited the spirit of the two factions into which the kingdomwas divided, to form a variety of plots. The Huguenots, on thedeath of the Admiral, had obtained from the King my husband, andmy brother Alençon, a written obligation to avenge it. Before St. Bartholomew's Day, they had gained my brother over to their party, by the hope of securing Flanders for him. They now persuaded myhusband and him to leave the King and Queen on their return, and pass into Champagne, there to join some troops which werein waiting to receive them. 

M. De Miossans, a Catholic gentleman, having received an intimationof this design, considered it so prejudicial to the interestsof the King his master, that he communicated it to me with theintention of frustrating a plot of so much danger to themselvesand to the State. I went immediately to the King and the Queenmy mother, and informed them that I had a matter of the utmostimportance to lay before them; but that I could not declare itunless they would be pleased to promise me that no harm shouldensue from it to such as I should name to them, and that theywould put a stop to what was going forward without publishingtheir knowledge of it. Having obtained my request, I told themthat my brother Alençon and the King my husband had an intention, on the very next day, of joining some Huguenot troops, whichexpected them, in order to fulfil the engagement they had madeupon the Admiral's death; and for this their intention, I beggedthey might be excused, and that they might be prevented fromgoing away without any discovery being made that their designshad been found out. All this was granted me, and measures wereso prudently taken to stay them, that they had not the leastsuspicion that their intended evasion was known. Soon after, wearrived at St. Germain, where we stayed some time, on accountof the King's indisposition. All this while my brother Alençonused every means he could devise to ingratiate himself with me, until at last I promised him my friendship, as I had before doneto my brother the King of Poland. As he had been brought up at adistance from Court, we had hitherto known very little of eachother, and kept ourselves at a distance. Now that he had madethe first advances, in so respectful and affectionate a manner, I resolved to receive him into a firm friendship, and to interestmyself in whatever concerned him, without prejudice, however, to the interests of my good brother King Charles, whom I lovedmore than any one besides, and who continued to entertain a greatregard for me, of which he gave me proofs as long as he lived. 

Meanwhile King Charles was daily growing worse, and the Huguenotsconstantly forming new plots. They were very desirous to getmy brother the Duc d'Alençon and the King my husband away fromCourt. I got intelligence, from time to time, of their designs;and, providentially, the Queen my mother defeated their intentionswhen a day had been fixed on for the arrival of the Huguenottroops at St. Germain. To avoid this visit, we set off the nightbefore for Paris, two hours after midnight, putting King Charlesin a litter, and the Queen my mother taking my brother and theKing my husband with her in her own carriage. 

They did not experience on this occasion such mild treatmentas they had hitherto done, for the King going to the Wood ofVincennes, they were not permitted to set foot out of the palace. This misunderstanding was so far from being mitigated by time, that the mistrust and discontent were continually increasing, owing to the insinuations and bad advice offered to the King bythose who wished the ruin and downfall of our house. To such aheight had these jealousies risen that the Maréchaux de Montmorencyand de Cossé were put under a close arrest, and La Mole and theComte de Donas executed. Matters were now arrived at such a pitchthat commissioners were appointed from the Court of Parliamentto hear and determine upon the case of my brother and the Kingmy husband. 

My husband, having no counsellor to assist him, desired me todraw up his defence in such a manner that he might not implicateany person, and, at the same time, clear my brother and himselffrom any criminality of conduct. With God's help I accomplishedthis task to his great satisfaction, and to the surprise of thecommissioners, who did not expect to find them so well preparedto justify themselves. 

As it was apprehended, after the death of La Mole and the Comtede Donas, that their lives were likewise in danger, I had resolvedto save them at the hazard of my own ruin with the King, whosefavour I entirely enjoyed at that time. I was suffered to passto and from them in my coach, with my women, who were not evenrequired by the guard to unmask, nor was my coach ever searched. This being the case, I had intended to convey away one of themdisguised in a female habit. But the difficulty lay in settlingbetwixt themselves which should remain behind in prison, theybeing closely watched by their guards, and the escape of onebringing the other's life into hazard. Thus they could neveragree upon the point, each of them wishing to be the person Ishould deliver from confinement. 

But Providence put a period to their imprisonment by a meanswhich proved very unfortunate for me. This was no other thanthe death of King Charles, who was the only stay and support ofmy life, --a brother from whose hands I never received anythingbut good; who, during the persecution I underwent at Angers, through my brother Anjou, assisted me with all his advice andcredit. In a word, when I lost King Charles, I lost everything. 

LETTER VII

After this fatal event, which was as unfortunate for France asfor me, we went to Lyons to give the meeting to the King of Poland, now Henri III. Of France. The new King was as much governed byLe Guast as ever, and had left this intriguing, mischievous manbehind in France to keep his party together. Through this man'sinsinuations he had conceived the most confirmed jealousy of mybrother Alençon. He suspected that I was the bond that connectedthe King my husband and my brother, and that, to dissolve theirunion, it would be necessary to create a coolness between me andmy husband, and to work up a quarrel of rivalship betwixt themboth by means of Madame de Sauves, whom they both visited. Thisabominable plot, which proved the source of so much disquietudeand unhappiness, as well to my brother as myself, was as artfullyconducted as it was wickedly designed. 

Many have held that God has great personages more immediatelyunder his protection, and that minds of superior excellence havebestowed on them a good genius, or secret intelligencer, to apprisethem of good, or warn them against evil. Of this number I mightreckon the Queen my mother, who has had frequent intimationsof the kind; particularly the very night before the tournamentwhich proved so fatal to the King my father, she dreamed that shesaw him wounded in the eye, as it really happened; upon which sheawoke, and begged him not to run a course that day, but contenthimself with looking on. Fate prevented the nation from enjoying somuch happiness as it would have done had he followed her advice. Whenever she lost a child, she beheld a bright flame shining beforeher, and would immediately cry out, "God save my children!" wellknowing it was the harbinger of the death of some one of them, which melancholy news was sure to be confirmed very shortly after. During her very dangerous illness at Metz, where she caught apestilential fever, either from the coal fires, or by visitingsome of the nunneries which had been infected, and from whichshe was restored to health and to the kingdom through the greatskill and experience of that modern Æsculapius, M. De Castilian herphysician--I say, during that illness, her bed being surrounded bymy brother King Charles, my brother and sister Lorraine, severalmembers of the Council, besides many ladies and princesses, notchoosing to quit her, though without hopes of her life, she washeard to cry out, as if she saw the battle of Jarnac: "There!see how they flee! My son, follow them to victory! Ah, my sonfalls! O my God, save him! See there! the Prince de Condé isdead!" All who were present looked upon these words as proceedingfrom her delirium, as she knew that my brother Anjou was on thepoint of giving battle, and thought no more of it. On the nightfollowing, M. De Losses brought the news of the battle; and, itbeing supposed that she would be pleased to hear of it, she wasawakened, at which she appeared to be angry, saying: "Did I notknow it yesterday?" It was then that those about her recollectedwhat I have now related, and concluded that it was no delirium, but one of those revelations made by God to great and illustriouspersons. Ancient history furnishes many examples of the likekind amongst the pagans, as the apparition of Brutus and manyothers, which I shall not mention, it not being my intention toillustrate these Memoirs with such narratives, but only to relatethe truth, and that with as much expedition as I am able, thatyou may be the sooner in possession of my story. 

I am far from supposing that I am worthy of these divine admonitions;nevertheless, I should accuse myself of ingratitude towards my Godfor the benefits I have received, which I esteem myself obligedto acknowledge whilst I live; and I further believe myself boundto bear testimony of his goodness and power, and the mercies hehath shown me, so that I can declare no extraordinary accidentever befell me, whether fortunate or otherwise, but I receivedsome warning of it, either by dream or in some other way, sothat I may say with the poet--

 "De mon bien, ou mon mal, Mon esprit m'est oracle. "

 (Whate'er of good or ill befell, My mind was oracle to tell. )

And of this I had a convincing proof on the arrival of the Kingof Poland, when the Queen my mother went to meet him. Amidstthe embraces and compliments of welcome in that warm season, crowded as we were together and stifling with heat, I found auniversal shivering come over me, which was plainly perceivedby those near me. It was with difficulty I could conceal whatI felt when the King, having saluted the Queen my mother, cameforward to salute me. This secret intimation of what was to happenthereafter made a strong impression on my mind at the moment, andI thought of it shortly after, when I discovered that the Kinghad conceived a hatred of me through the malicious suggestionsof Le Guast, who had made him believe, since the King's death, that I espoused my brother Alençon's party during his absence, and cemented a friendship betwixt the King my husband and him. 

LETTER VIII

An opportunity was diligently sought by my enemies to effect theirdesign of bringing about a misunderstanding betwixt my brotherAlençon, the King my husband, and me, by creating a jealousy ofme in my husband, and in my brother and husband, on account oftheir mutual love for Madame de Sauves. 

One afternoon, the Queen my mother having retired to her closetto finish some despatches which were likely to detain her therefor some time, Madame de Nevers, your kinswoman, Madame de Rais, another of your relations, Bourdeille, and Surgères asked mewhether I would not wish to see a little of the city. WhereuponMademoiselle de Montigny, the niece of Madame Usez, observing tous that the Abbey of St. Pierre was a beautiful convent, we allresolved to visit it. She then begged to go with us, as she saidshe had an aunt in that convent, and as it was not easy to gainadmission into it, except in the company of persons of distinction. Accordingly, she went with us; and there being six of us, thecarriage was crowded. Over and above those I have mentioned, there was Madame de Curton, the lady of my bed-chamber, who alwaysattended me. Liancourt, first esquire to the King, and Camilleplaced themselves on the steps of Torigni's carriage, supportingthemselves as well as they were able, making themselves merryon the occasion, and saying they would go and see the handsomenuns, too. I look upon it as ordered by Divine Providence that Ishould have Mademoiselle de Montigny with me, who was not wellacquainted with any lady of the company, and that the two gentlemenjust mentioned, who were in the confidence of King Henri, shouldlikewise be of the party, as they were able to clear me of thecalumny intended, to be fixed upon me. 

Whilst we were viewing the convent, my carriage waited for us inthe square. In the square many gentlemen belonging to the Courthad their lodgings. My carriage was easily to be distinguished, as it was gilt and lined with yellow velvet trimmed with silver. We had not come out of the convent when the King passed throughthe square on his way to see Quelus, who was then sick. He hadwith him the King my husband, D'O----, and the fat fellow Ruffé. 

The King, observing no one in my carriage, turned to my husbandand said: "There is your wife's coach, and that is the housewhere Bidé lodges. Bidé is sick, and I will engage my word sheis gone upon a visit to him. Go, " said he to Ruffé, "and seewhether she is not there. " In saying this, the King addressedhimself to a proper tool for his malicious purpose, for thisfellow Ruffé was entirely devoted to Le Guast. I need not tell youhe did not find me there; however, knowing the King's intention, he, to favour it, said loud enough for the King my husband tohear him: "The birds have been there, but they are now flown. "This furnished sufficient matter for conversation until theyreached home. 

Upon this occasion, the King my husband displayed all the goodsense and generosity of temper for which he is remarkable. Hesaw through the design, and he despised the maliciousness ofit. The King my brother was anxious to see the Queen my motherbefore me, to whom he imparted the pretended discovery, and she, whether to please a son on whom she doted, or whether she reallygave credit to the story had related it to some ladies with muchseeming anger. 

Soon afterwards I returned with the ladies who had accompaniedme to St. Pierre's, entirely ignorant of what had happened. Ifound the King my husband in our apartments, who began to laughon seeing me, and said: "Go immediately to the Queen your mother, but I promise you you will not return very well pleased. " I askedhim the reason, and what had happened. He answered: "I shalltell you nothing; but be assured of this, that I do not givethe least credit to the story, which I plainly perceive to befabricated in order to stir up a difference betwixt us two, andbreak off the friendly intercourse between your brother and me. "

Finding I could get no further information on the subject fromhim, I went to the apartment of the Queen my mother. I met M. DeGuise in the antechamber, who was not displeased at the prospectof a dissension in our family, hoping that he might make someadvantage of it. He addressed me in these words: "I waited hereexpecting to see you, in order to inform you that some ill officehas been done you with the Queen. " He then told me the story hehad learned of D'O----, who, being intimate with your kinswoman, had informed M. De Guise of it, that he might apprise us. 

I went into the Queen's bedchamber, but did not find my motherthere. However, I saw Madame de Nemours, the rest of the princesses, and other ladies, who all exclaimed on seeing me: "Good God! theQueen your mother is in such a rage; we would advise you, forthe present, to keep out of her sight. "

"Yes, " said I, "so I would, had I been guilty of what the Kinghas reported; but I assure you all I am entirely innocent, andmust therefore speak with her and clear myself. "

I then went into her closet, which was separated from the bedchamberby a slight partition only, so that our whole conversation couldbe distinctly heard. She no sooner set eyes upon me than sheflew into a great passion, and said everything that the furyof her resentment suggested. I related to her the whole truth, and begged to refer her to the company which attended me, tothe number of ten or twelve persons, desiring her not to relyon the testimony of those more immediately about me, but examineMademoiselle Montigny, who did not belong to me, and Liancourtand Camille, who were the King's servants. 

She would not hear a word I had to offer, but continued to rateme in a furious manner; whether it was through fear, or affectionfor her son, or whether she believed the story in earnest, I knownot. When I observed to her that I understood the King had doneme this ill office in her opinion, her anger was redoubled, andshe endeavoured to make me believe that she had been informed ofthe circumstance by one of her own _valets de chambre_, who hadhimself seen me at the place. Perceiving that I gave no creditto this account of the matter, she became more and more incensedagainst me. 

All that was said was perfectly heard by those in the next room. At length I left her closet, much chagrined; and returning tomy own apartments, I found the King my husband there, who saidto me: "Well, was it not as I told you?"

He, seeing me under great concern, desired me not to grieve aboutit, adding that "Liancourt and Camille would attend the Kingthat night in his bedchamber, and relate the affair as it reallywas; and to-morrow, " continued he, "the Queen your mother willreceive you in a very different manner. "

"But, monsieur, " I replied, "I have received too gross an affrontin public to forgive those who were the occasion of it; but thatis nothing when compared with the malicious intention of causingso heavy a misfortune to befall me as to create a variance betwixtyou and me. "

"But, " said he, "God be thanked, they have failed in it. "

"For that, " answered I, "I am the more beholden to God and youramiable disposition. However, " continued I, "we may derive thisgood from it, that it ought to be a warning to us to put ourselvesupon our guard against the King's stratagems to bring about adisunion betwixt you and my brother, by causing a rupture betwixtyou and me. "

Whilst I was saying this, my brother entered the apartment, andI made them renew their protestations of friendship. But whatoaths or promises can prevail against love! This will appearmore fully in the sequel of my story. 

An Italian banker, who had concerns with my brother, came to himthe next morning, and invited him, the King my husband, myself, the princesses, and other ladies, to partake of an entertainmentin a garden belonging to him. Having made it a constant rule, before and after I married, as long as I remained in the Courtof the Queen my mother, to go to no place without her permission, I waited on her, at her return from mass, and asked leave to bepresent at this banquet. She refused to give any leave, and saidshe did not care where I went. I leave you to judge, who know mytemper, whether I was not greatly mortified at this rebuff. 

Whilst we were enjoying this entertainment, the King, havingspoken with Liancourt, Camille, and Mademoiselle Montigny, wasapprised of the mistake which the malice or misapprehension ofRuffé had led him into. Accordingly, he went to the Queen mymother and related the whole truth, entreating her to removeany ill impressions that might remain with me, as he perceivedthat I was not deficient in point of understanding; and fearedthat I might be induced to engage in some plan of revenge. 

When I returned from the banquet before mentioned, I found thatwhat the King my husband had foretold was come to pass; for theQueen my mother sent for me into her back closet, which was adjoiningthe King's, and told me that she was now acquainted with thetruth, and found I had not deceived her with a false story. Shehad discovered, she said, that there was not the least foundationfor the report her _valet de chambre_ had made, and should dismisshim from her service as a bad man. As she perceived by my looksthat I saw through this disguise, she said everything she couldthink of to persuade me to a belief that the King had not mentionedit to her. She continued her arguments, and I still appearedincredulous. At length the King entered the closet, and mademany apologies, declaring he had been imposed on, and assuringme of his most cordial friendship and esteem; and thus matterswere set to rights again. 

LETTER IX

After staying some time at Lyons, we went to Avignon. Le Guast, not daring to hazard any fresh imposture, and finding that myconduct afforded no ground for jealousy on the part of my husband, plainly perceived that he could not, by that means, bring abouta misunderstanding betwixt my brother and the King my husband. He therefore resolved to try what he could effect through Madamede Sauves. In order to do this, he obtained such an influenceover her that she acted entirely as he directed; insomuch that, by his artful instructions, the passion which these young menhad conceived, hitherto wavering and cold, as is generally thecase at their time of life, became of a sudden so violent thatambition and every obligation of duty were at once absorbed bytheir attentions to this woman. 

This occasioned such a jealousy betwixt them that, though herfavours were divided with M. De Guise, Le Guast, De Souvray, and others, anyone of whom she preferred to the brothers-in-law, such was the infatuation of these last, that each consideredthe other as his only rival. 

To carry on De Guast's sinister designs, this woman persuaded theKing my husband that I was jealous of her, and on that accountit was that I joined with my brother. As we are ready to giveear and credit to those we love, he believed all she said. Fromthis time he became distant and reserved towards me, shunning mypresence as much as possible; whereas, before, he was open andcommunicative to me as to a sister, well knowing that I yielded tohis pleasure in all things, and was far from harbouring jealousyof any kind. 

What I had dreaded, I now perceived had come to pass. This wasthe loss of his favour and good opinion; to preserve which Ihad studied to gain his confidence by a ready compliance withhis wishes, well knowing that mistrust is the sure forerunnerof hatred. 

I now turned my mind to an endeavour to wean my brother's affectionfrom Madame de Sauves, in order to counterplot Le Guast in hisdesign to bring about a division, and thereby to effect our ruin. I used every means with my brother to divert his passion; butthe fascination was too strong, and my pains proved ineffectual. In anything else, my brother would have suffered himself to beruled by me; but the charms of this Circe, aided by that sorcerer, Le Guast, were too powerful to be dissolved by my advice. So farwas he from profiting by my counsel that he was weak enough tocommunicate it to her. So blind are lovers!

Her vengeance was excited by this communication, and she nowentered more fully into the designs of Le Guast. In consequence, she used all her art to make the King my husband conceive anaversion for me; insomuch that he scarcely ever spoke with me. He left her late at night, and, to prevent our meeting in themorning, she directed him to come to her at the Queen's levée, which she duly attended; after which he passed the rest of theday with her. My brother likewise followed her with the greatestassiduity, and she had the artifice to make each of them thinkthat he alone had any place in her esteem. Thus was a jealousykept up betwixt them, and, in consequence, disunion and mutualruin!

We made a considerable stay at Avignon, whence we proceeded throughBurgundy and Champagne to Rheims, where the King's marriage wascelebrated. From Rheims we came to Paris, things going on intheir usual train, and Le Guast prosecuting his designs withall the success he could wish. At Paris my brother was joinedby Bussi, whom he received with all the favour which his braverymerited. He was inseparable from my brother, in consequence ofwhich I frequently saw him, for my brother and I were alwaystogether, his household being equally at my devotion as if itwere my own. Your aunt, remarking this harmony betwixt us, hasoften told me that it called to her recollection the times ofmy uncle, M. D'Orléans, and my aunt, Madame de Savoie. 

Le Guast thought this a favourable circumstance to complete hisdesign. Accordingly, he suggested to Madame de Sauves to make myhusband believe that it was on account of Bussi that I frequentedmy brother's apartments so constantly. 

The King my husband, being fully informed of all my proceedingsfrom persons in his service who attended me everywhere, couldnot be induced to lend an ear to this story. Le Guast, findinghimself foiled in this quarter, applied to the King, who was wellinclined to listen to the tale, on account of his dislike to mybrother and me, whose friendship for each other was unpleasingto him. 

Besides this, he was incensed against Bussi, who, being formerlyattached to him, had now devoted himself wholly to my brother, --anacquisition which, on account of the celebrity of Bussi's famefor parts and valour, redounded greatly to my brother's honour, whilst it increased the malice and envy of his enemies. 

The King, thus worked upon by Le Guast, mentioned it to the Queenmy mother, thinking it would have the same effect on her as thetale which was trumped up at Lyons. But she, seeing through thewhole design, showed him the improbability of the story, addingthat he must have some wicked people about him, who could putsuch notions in his head, observing that I was very unfortunateto have fallen upon such evil times. "In my younger days, " saidshe, "we were allowed to converse freely with all the gentlemenwho belonged to the King our father, the Dauphin, and M. D'Orléans, your uncles. It was common for them to assemble in the bedchamberof Madame Marguerite, your aunt, as well as in mine, and nothingwas thought of it. Neither ought it to appear strange that Bussisees my daughter in the presence of her husband's servants. Theyare not shut up together. Bussi is a person of quality, and holdsthe first place in your brother's family. What grounds are therefor such a calumny? At Lyons you caused me to offer her an affront, which I fear she will never forget. "

The King was astonished to hear his mother talk in this manner, and interrupted her with saying: "Madame, I only relate whatI have heard. "

"But who is it, " answered she, "that tells you all this? I fearno one that intends you any good, but rather one that wishesto create divisions amongst you all. "

As soon as the King had left her she told me all that had passed, and said: "You are unfortunate to live in these times. " Then callingyour aunt, Madame de Dampierre, they entered into a discourseconcerning the pleasures and innocent freedoms of the times theyhad seen, when scandal and malevolence were unknown at Court. 

Le Guast, finding this plot miscarry, was not long in contrivinganother. He addressed himself for this purpose to certain gentlemenwho attended the King my husband. These had been formerly thefriends of Bussi, but, envying the glory he had obtained, werenow become his enemies. Under the mask of zeal for their master, they disguised the envy which they harboured in their breasts. They entered into a design of assassinating Bussi as he leftmy brother to go to his own lodgings, which was generally ata late hour. They knew that he was always accompanied home byfifteen or sixteen gentlemen, belonging to my brother, and that, notwithstanding he wore no sword, having been lately wounded inthe right arm, his presence was sufficient to inspire the restwith courage. 

In order, therefore, to make sure work, they resolved on attackinghim with two or three hundred men, thinking that night wouldthrow a veil over the disgrace of such an assassination. 

Le Guast, who commanded a regiment of guards, furnished the requisitenumber of men, whom he disposed in five or six divisions, in thestreet through which he was to pass. Their orders were to putout the torches and _flambeaux_, and then to fire their pieces, after which they were to charge his company, observing particularlyto attack one who had his right arm slung in a scarf. 

Fortunately they escaped the intended massacre, and, fightingtheir way through, reached Bussi's lodgings, one gentleman onlybeing killed, who was particularly attached to M. De Bussi, andwho was probably mistaken for him, as he had his arm likewiseslung in a scarf. 

An Italian gentleman, who belonged to my brother, left them atthe beginning of the attack, and came running back to the Louvre. As soon as he reached my brother's chamber door, he cried outaloud: "Bussi is assassinated!" My brother was going out, butI, hearing the cry of assassination, left my chamber, by goodfortune not being undressed, and stopped my brother. I then sentfor the Queen my mother to come with all haste in order to preventhim from going out, as he was resolved to do, regardless of whatmight happen. It was with difficulty we could stay him, though theQueen my mother represented the hazard he ran from the darknessof the night, and his ignorance of the nature of the attack, which might have been purposely designed by Le Guast to takeaway his life. Her entreaties and persuasions would have beenof little avail if she had not used her authority to order allthe doors to be barred, and taken the resolution of remainingwhere she was until she had learned what had really happened. 

Bussi, whom God had thus miraculously preserved, with that presenceof mind which he was so remarkable for in time of battle andthe most imminent danger, considering within himself when hereached home the anxiety of his master's mind should he havereceived any false report, and fearing he might expose himselfto hazard upon the first alarm being given (which certainly wouldhave been the case, if my mother had not interfered and preventedit), immediately despatched one of his people to let him knowevery circumstance. 

The next day Bussi showed himself at the Louvre without the leastdread of enemies, as if what had happened had been merely theattack of a tournament. My brother exhibited much pleasure atthe sight of Bussi, but expressed great resentment at such adaring attempt to deprive him of so brave and valuable a servant, a man whom Le Guast durst not attack in any other way than bya base assassination. 

LETTER X

The Queen my mother, a woman endowed with the greatest prudenceand foresight of any one I ever knew, apprehensive of evilconsequences from this affair, and fearing a dissension betwixther two sons, advised my brother to fall upon some pretence forsending Bussi away from Court. In this advice I joined her, andthrough our united counsel and request, my brother was prevailedupon to give his consent. I had every reason to suppose thatLe Guast would take advantage of the rencounter to foment thecoolness which already existed betwixt my brother and the Kingmy husband into an open rupture: Bussi, who implicitly followedmy brother's directions in everything, departed with a companyof the bravest noblemen that were about the latter's person. 

Bussi was now removed from the machinations of Le Guast, wholikewise failed in accomplishing a design he had long projected, --todisunite the King my husband and me. 

One night my husband was attacked with a fit, and continuedinsensible for the space of an hour, --occasioned, I supposed, by his excesses with women, for I never knew anything of thekind to happen to him before. However, as it was my duty so todo, I attended him with so much care and assiduity that, whenhe recovered, he spoke of it to everyone, declaring that, ifI had not perceived his indisposition and called for the helpof my women, he should not have survived the fit. 

From this time he treated me with more kindness, and the cordialitybetwixt my brother and him was again revived, as if I had beenthe point of union at which they were to meet, or the cementthat joined them together. 

Le Guast was now at his wit's end for some fresh contrivance tobreed disunion in the Court. 

He had lately persuaded the King to remove from about the personof the Queen-consort, a princess of the greatest virtue and mostamiable qualities, a female attendant of the name of Changi, for whom the Queen entertained a particular esteem, as havingbeen brought up with her. Being successful in this measure, henow thought of making the King my husband send away Torigni, whom I greatly regarded. 

The argument he used with the King was, that young princessesought to have no favourites about them. 

The King, yielding to this man's persuasions, spoke of it tomy husband, who observed that it would be a matter that wouldgreatly distress me; that if I had an esteem for Torigni it wasnot without cause, as she had been brought up with the Queenof Spain and me from our infancy; that, moreover, Torigni wasa young lady of good understanding, and had been of great useto him during his confinement at Vincennes; that it would bethe greatest ingratitude in him to overlook services of such anature, and that he remembered well when his Majesty had expressedthe same sentiments. 

Thus did he defend himself against the performance of so ungratefulan action. However, the King listened only to the arguments ofLe Guast, and told my husband that he should have no more lovefor him if he did not remove Torigni from about me the very nextmorning. 

He was forced to comply, greatly contrary to his will, and, ashe has since declared to me, with much regret. Joining entreatiesto commands, he laid his injunctions on me accordingly. 

How displeasing this separation was I plainly discovered by themany tears I shed on receiving his orders. It was in vain torepresent to him the injury done to my character by the suddenremoval of one who had been with me from my earliest years, andwas so greatly in my esteem and confidence; he could not givean ear to my reasons, being firmly bound by the promise he hadmade to the King. 

Accordingly, Torigni left me that very day, and went to the houseof a relation, M. Chastelas. I was so greatly offended with thisfresh indignity, after so many of the kind formerly received, that I could not help yielding to resentment; and my grief andconcern getting the upper hand of my prudence, I exhibited agreat coolness and indifference towards my husband. Le Guast andMadame de Sauves were successful in creating a like indifferenceon his part, which, coinciding with mine, separated us altogether, and we neither spoke to each other nor slept in the same bed. 

A few days after this, some faithful servants about the personof the King my husband remarked to him the plot which had beenconcerted with so much artifice to lead him to his ruin, by creatinga division, first betwixt him and my brother, and next betwixthim and me, thereby separating him from those in whom only hecould hope for his principal support. They observed to him thatalready matters were brought to such a pass that the King showedlittle regard for him, and even appeared to despise him. 

They afterwards addressed themselves to my brother, whose situationwas not in the least mended since the departure of Bussi, LeGuast causing fresh indignities to be offered him daily. Theyrepresented to him that the King my husband and he were bothcircumstanced alike, and equally in disgrace, as Le Guast hadeverything under his direction; so that both of them were underthe necessity of soliciting, through him, any favours which theymight want of the King, and which, when demanded, were constantlyrefused them with great contempt. Moreover, it was become dangerousto offer them service, as it was inevitable ruin for anyone todo so. 

"Since, then, " said they, "your dissensions appear to be so likelyto prove fatal to both, it would be advisable in you both to uniteand come to a determination of leaving the Court; and, aftercollecting together your friends and servants, to require from theKing an establishment suitable to your ranks. " They observed tomy brother that he had never yet been put in possession of hisappanage, and received for his subsistence only some certainallowances, which were not regularly paid him, as they passedthrough the hands of Le Guast, and were at his disposal, to bedischarged or kept back, as he judged proper. They concludedwith observing that, with regard to the King my husband, thegovernment of Guyenne was taken out of his hands; neither washe permitted to visit that or any other of his dominions. 

It was hereupon resolved to pursue the counsel now given, and thatthe King my husband and my brother should immediately withdrawthemselves from Court. My brother made me acquainted with thisresolution, observing to me, as my husband and he were now friendsagain, that I ought to forget all that had passed; that my husbandhad declared to him that he was sorry things had so happened, thatwe had been outwitted by our enemies, but that he was resolved, from henceforward, to show me every attention and give me everyproof of his love and esteem, and he concluded with begging meto make my husband every show of affection, and to be watchfulfor their interest during their absence. 

It was concerted betwixt them that my brother should depart first, making off in a carriage in the best manner he could; that, ina few days afterwards, the King my husband should follow, underpretence of going on a hunting party. They both expressed theirconcern that they could not take me with them, assuring me thatI had no occasion to have any apprehensions, as it would soonappear that they had no design to disturb the peace of the kingdom, but merely to ensure the safety of their own persons, and tosettle their establishments. In short, it might well be supposedthat, in their present situation, they had reason to apprehenddanger to themselves from such as had evil designs against theirfamily. 

Accordingly, as soon as it was dusk and before the King'ssupper-time, my brother changed his cloak, and concealing thelower part of his face to his nose in it, left the palace, attendedby a servant who was little known, and went on foot to the gateof St. Honoré, where he found Simier waiting for him in a coach, borrowed of a lady for the purpose. 

My brother threw himself into it, and went to a house about aquarter of a league out of Paris, where horses were stationedready; and at the distance of about a league farther, he joineda party of two or three hundred horsemen of his servants, whowere awaiting his coming. My brother was not missed till nineo'clock, when the King and the Queen my mother asked me the reasonhe did not come to sup with them as usual, and if I knew of hisbeing indisposed. I told them I had not seen him since noon. Thereupon they sent to his apartments. Word was brought backthat he was not there. Orders were then given to inquire at theapartments of the ladies whom he was accustomed to visit. He wasnowhere to be found. There was now a general alarm. The Kingflew into a great passion, and began to threaten me. He thensent for all the Princes and the great officers of the Court;and giving orders for a pursuit to be made, and to bring himback, dead or alive, cried out: "He is gone to make war againstme; but I will show him what it is to contend with a king ofmy power. "

Many of the Princes and officers of State remonstrated againstthese orders, which they observed ought to be well weighed. Theysaid that, as their duty directed, they were willing to venturetheir lives in the King's service; but to act against his brotherthey were certain would not be pleasing to the King himself; thatthey were well convinced his brother would undertake nothingthat should give his Majesty displeasure, or be productive ofdanger to the realm; that perhaps his leaving the Court was owingto some disgust, which it would be more advisable to send andinquire into. Others, on the contrary, were for putting the King'sorders into execution; but, whatever expedition they could use, it was day before they set off; and as it was then too late toovertake my brother, they returned, being only equipped for thepursuit. 

I was in tears the whole night of my brother's departure, andthe next day was seized with a violent cold, which was succeededby a fever that confined me to my bed. 

Meanwhile my husband was preparing for his departure, which tookup all the time he could spare from his visits to Madame de Sauves;so that he did not think of me. He returned as usual at two orthree in the morning, and, as we had separate beds, I seldomheard him; and in the morning, before I was awake, he went tomy mother's levée, where he met Madame de Sauves, as usual. 

This being the case, he quite forgot his promise to my brotherof speaking to me; and when he went away, it was without takingleave of me. 

The King did not show my husband more favour after my brother'sevasion, but continued to behave with his former coolness. Thisthe more confirmed him in the resolution of leaving the Court, so that in a few days, under the pretence of hunting, he wentaway. 

LETTER XI

The King, supposing that I was a principal instrument in aidingthe Princes in their desertion, was greatly incensed againstme, and his rage became at length so violent that, had not theQueen my mother moderated it, I am inclined to think my lifehad been in danger. Giving way to her counsel, he became morecalm, but insisted upon a guard being placed over me, that Imight not follow the King my husband, neither have communicationwith any one, so as to give the Princes intelligence of whatwas going on at Court. The Queen my mother gave her consent tothis measure, as being the least violent, and was well pleasedto find his anger cooled in so great a degree. She, however, requested that she might be permitted to discourse with me, inorder to reconcile me to a submission to treatment of so differenta kind from what I had hitherto known. At the same time she advisedthe King to consider that these troubles might not be lasting;that everything in the world bore a double aspect; that whatnow appeared to him horrible and alarming, might, upon a secondview, assume a more pleasing and tranquil look; that, as thingschanged, so should measures change with them; that there mightcome a time when he might have occasion for my services; that, as prudence counselled us not to repose too much confidence inour friends, lest they should one day become our enemies, so wasit advisable to conduct ourselves in such a manner to our enemiesas if we had hopes they should hereafter become our friends. By such prudent remonstrances did the Queen my mother restrainthe King from proceeding to extremities with me, as he wouldotherwise possibly have done. 

Le Guast now endeavoured to divert his fury to another object, in order to wound me in a most sensitive part. He prevailed onthe King to adopt a design for seizing Torigni, at the houseof her cousin Chastelas, and, under pretence of bringing herbefore the King, to drown her in a river which they were to cross. The party sent upon this errand was admitted by Chastelas, notsuspecting any evil design, without the least difficulty, intohis house. As soon as they had gained admission they proceededto execute the cruel business they were sent upon, by fasteningTorigni with cords and locking her up in a chamber, whilst theirhorses were baiting. Meantime, according to the French custom, they crammed themselves, like gluttons, with the best eatablesthe house afforded. Chastelas, who was a man of discretion, wasnot displeased to gain time at the expense of some part of hissubstance, considering that the suspension of a sentence is aprolongation of life, and that during this respite the King'sheart might relent, and he might countermand his former orders. With these considerations he was induced to submit, though itwas in his power to have called for assistance to repel thisviolence. But God, who hath constantly regarded my afflictionsand afforded me protection against the malicious designs of myenemies, was pleased to order poor Torigni to be delivered bymeans which I could never have devised had I been acquaintedwith the plot, of which I was totally ignorant. Several of thedomestics, male as well as female, had left the house in a fright, fearing the insolence and rude treatment of this troop of soldiers, who behaved as riotously as if they were in a house given upto pillage. Some of these, at the distance of a quarter of aleague from the house, by God's providence, fell in with Fertéand Avantigni, at the head of their troops, in number about twohundred horse, on their march to join my brother. Ferté, remarkinga labourer, whom he knew to belong to Chastelas, apparently ingreat distress, inquired of him what was the matter, and whetherhe had been ill-used by any of the soldiery. The man relatedto him all he knew, and in what state he had left his master'shouse. Hereupon Ferté and Avantigni resolved, out of regard tome, to effect Torigni's deliverance, returning thanks to God forhaving afforded them so favourable an opportunity of testifyingthe respect they had always entertained towards me. 

Accordingly, they proceeded to the house with all expedition, andarrived just at the moment these soldiers were setting Torigni onhorseback, for the purpose of conveying her to the river whereinthey had orders to plunge her. Galloping into the courtyard, sword in hand, they cried out: "Assassins, if you dare to offerthat lady the least injury, you are dead men!" So saying, theyattacked them and drove them to flight, leaving their prisonerbehind, nearly as dead with joy as she was before with fear andapprehension. After returning thanks to God and her deliverers forso opportune and unexpected a rescue, she and her cousin Chastelasset off in a carriage, under the escort of their rescuers, andjoined my brother, who, since he could not have me with him, was happy to have one so dear to me about him. She remained undermy brother's protection as long as any danger was apprehended, and was treated with as much respect as if she had been withme. 

Whilst the King was giving directions for this notable expedition, for the purpose of sacrificing Torigni to his vengeance, theQueen my mother, who had not received the least intimation ofit, came to my apartment as I was dressing to go abroad, in orderto observe how I should be received after what had passed atCourt, having still some alarms on account of my husband andbrother. I had hitherto confined myself to my chamber, not havingperfectly recovered my health, and, in reality, being all thetime as much indisposed in mind as in body. 

My mother, perceiving my intention, addressed me in these words:"My child, you are giving yourself unnecessary trouble in dressingto go abroad. Do not be alarmed at what I am going to tell you. Your own good sense will dictate to you that you ought not tobe surprised if the King resents the conduct of your brotherand husband, and as he knows the love and friendship that existbetween you three, should suppose that you were privy to theirdesign of leaving the Court. He has, for this reason, resolvedto detain you in it, as a hostage for them. He is sensible howmuch you are beloved by your husband, and thinks he can holdno pledge that is more dear to him. On this account it is thatthe King has ordered his guards to be placed, with directionsnot to suffer you to leave your apartments. He has done thiswith the advice of his counsellors, by whom it was suggestedthat, if you had your free liberty, you, might be induced toadvise your brother and husband of their deliberations. I begyou will not be offended with these measures, which, if it soplease God, may not be of long continuance. I beg, moreover, you will not be displeased with me if I do not pay you frequentvisits, as I should be unwilling to create any suspicions in theKing's mind. However, you may rest assured that I shall preventany further steps from being taken that may prove disagreeableto you, and that I shall use my utmost endeavours to bring abouta reconciliation betwixt your brothers. "

I represented to her, in reply, the great indignity that wasoffered to me by putting me under arrest; that it was true mybrother had all along communicated to me the just cause he had tobe dissatisfied, but that, with respect to the King my husband, from the time Torigni was taken from me we had not spoken toeach other; neither had he visited me during my indisposition, nor did he even take leave of me when he left Court. "This, "says she, "is nothing at all; it is merely a trifling differencebetwixt man and wife, which a few sweet words, conveyed in aletter, will set to rights. When, by such means, he has regainedyour affections, he has only to write to you to come to him, and you will set off at the very first opportunity. Now, thisis what the King my son wishes to prevent. "

LETTER XII

The Queen my mother left me, saying these words. For my part, Iremained a close prisoner, without a visit from a single person, none of my most intimate friends daring to come near me, throughthe apprehension that such a step might prove injurious to theirinterests. Thus it is ever in Courts. Adversity is solitary, while prosperity dwells in a crowd; the object of persecutionbeing sure to be shunned by his nearest friends and dearestconnections. The brave Grillon was the only one who venturedto visit me, at the hazard of incurring disgrace. He came fiveor six times to see me, and my guards were so much astonishedat his resolution, and awed by his presence, that not a singleCerberus of them all would venture to refuse him entrance tomy apartments. 

Meanwhile, the King my husband reached the States under hisgovernment. Being joined there by his friends and dependents, they all represented to him the indignity offered to me by hisquitting the Court without taking leave of me. They observedto him that I was a princess of good understanding, and thatit would be for his interest to regain my esteem; that, whenmatters were put on their former footing, he might derive tohimself great advantage from my presence at Court. Now that hewas at a distance from his Circe, Madame de Sauves, he couldlisten to good advice. Absence having abated the force of hercharms, his eyes were opened; he discovered the plots andmachinations of our enemies, and clearly perceived that a rupturecould not but tend to the ruin of us both. 

Accordingly, he wrote me a very affectionate letter, wherein heentreated me to forget all that had passed betwixt us, assuringme that from thenceforth he would ever love me, and would giveme every demonstration that he did so, desiring me to informhim of what was going on at Court, and how it fared with me andmy brother. My brother was in Champagne and the King my husbandin Gascony, and there had been no communication betwixt them, though they were on terms of friendship. 

I received this letter during my imprisonment, and it gave megreat comfort under that situation. Although my guards had strictorders not to permit me to set pen to paper, yet, as necessityis said to be the mother of invention, I found means to writemany letters to him. 

Some few days after I had been put under arrest, my brother hadintelligence of it, which chagrined him so much that, had notthe love of his country prevailed with him, the effects of hisresentment would have been shown in a cruel civil war, to whichpurpose he had a sufficient force entirely at his devotion. Hewas, however, withheld by his patriotism, and contented himselfwith writing to the Queen my mother, informing her that, if I wasthus treated, he should be driven upon some desperate measure. She, fearing the consequence of an open rupture, and dreadinglest, if blows were once struck, she should be deprived of thepower of bringing about a reconciliation betwixt the brothers, represented the consequences to the King, and found him welldisposed to lend an ear to her reasons, as his anger was nowcooled by the apprehensions of being attacked in Gascony, Dauphiny, Languedoc, and Poitou, with all the strength of the Huguenotsunder the King my husband. 

Besides the many strong places held by the Huguenots, my brotherhad an army with him in Champagne, composed chiefly of nobility, the bravest and best in France. The King found, since my brother'sdeparture, that he could not, either by threats or rewards, inducea single person among the princes and great lords to act againsthim, so much did everyone fear to intermeddle in this quarrel, which they considered as of a family nature; and after havingmaturely reflected on his situation, he acquiesced in my mother'sopinion, and begged her to fall upon some means of reconciliation. She thereupon proposed going to my brother and taking me withher. To the measure of taking me, the King had an objection, ashe considered me as the hostage for my husband and brother. Shethen agreed to leave me behind, and set off without my knowledgeof the matter. At their interview, my brother represented to theQueen my mother that he could not but be greatly dissatisfiedwith the King after the many mortifications he had received atCourt; that the cruelty and injustice of confining me hurt himequally as if done to himself; observing, moreover, that, asif my arrest were not a sufficient mortification, poor Torignimust be made to suffer; and concluding with the declaration ofhis firm resolution not to listen to any terms of peace untilI was restored to my liberty, and reparation made me for theindignity I had sustained. The Queen my mother being unable toobtain any other answer, returned to Court and acquainted theKing with my brother's determination. Her advice was to go backagain with me, for going without me, she said, would answer verylittle purpose; and if I went with her in disgust, it would domore harm than good. Besides, there was reason to fear, in thatcase, I should insist upon going to my husband. "In short, " saysshe, "my daughter's guard must be removed, and she must be satisfiedin the best way we can. "

The King agreed to follow her advice, and was now, on a sudden, as eager to reconcile matters betwixt us as she was herself. Hereupon I was sent for, and when I came to her, she informedme that she had paved the way for peace; that it was for thegood of the State, which she was sensible I must be as desirousto promote as my brother; that she had it now in her power tomake a peace which would be as satisfactory as my brother coulddesire, and would put us entirely out of the reach of Le Guast'smachinations, or those of any one else who might have an influenceover the King's mind. She observed that, by assisting her toprocure a good understanding betwixt the King and my brother, Ishould relieve her from that cruel disquietude under which sheat present laboured, as, should things come to an open rupture, she could not but be grieved, whichever party prevailed, as theywere both her sons. She therefore expressed her hopes that Iwould forget the injuries I had received, and dispose myself toconcur in a peace, rather than join in any plan of revenge. Sheassured me that the King was sorry for what had happened; thathe had even expressed his regret to her with tears in his eyes, and had declared that he was ready to give me every satisfaction. I replied that I was willing to sacrifice everything for thegood of my brothers and of the State; that I wished for nothingso much as peace, and that I would exert myself to the utmostto bring it about. 

As I uttered these words, the King came into the closet, and, witha number of fine speeches, endeavoured to soften my resentmentand to recover my friendship, to which I made such returns asmight show him I harboured no ill-will for the injuries I hadreceived. I was induced to such behaviour rather out of contempt, and because it was good policy to let the King go away satisfiedwith me. 

Besides, I had found a secret pleasure, during my confinement, from the perusal of good books, to which I had given myself upwith a delight I never before experienced. I consider this as anobligation I owe to fortune, or, rather, to Divine Providence, in order to prepare me, by such efficacious means, to bear upagainst the misfortunes and calamities that awaited me. By tracingnature in the universal book which is opened to all mankind, Iwas led to the knowledge of the Divine Author. Science conductsus, step by step, through the whole range of creation, until wearrive, at length, at God. Misfortune prompts us to summon ourutmost strength to oppose grief and recover tranquillity, untilat length we find a powerful aid in the knowledge and love ofGod, whilst prosperity hurries us away until we are overwhelmedby our passions. My captivity and its consequent solitude affordedme the double advantage of exciting a passion for study, and aninclination for devotion, advantages I had never experiencedduring the vanities and splendour of my prosperity. 

As I have already observed, the King, discovering in me no signsof discontent, informed me that the Queen my mother was goinginto Champagne to have an interview with my brother, in orderto bring about a peace, and begged me to accompany her thitherand to use my best endeavours to forward his views, as he knewmy brother was always well disposed to follow my counsel; andhe concluded with saying that the peace, when accomplished, heshould ever consider as being due to my good offices, and shouldesteem himself obliged to me for it. I promised to exert myselfin so good a work, which I plainly perceived was both for mybrother's advantage and the benefit of the State. 

The Queen my mother and I set off for Sens the next day. Theconference was agreed to be held in a gentleman's château, ata distance of about a league from that place. My brother waswaiting for us, accompanied by a small body of troops and theprincipal Catholic noblemen and princes of his army. Amongstthese were the Duc Casimir and Colonel Poux, who had broughthim six thousand German horse, raised by the Huguenots, theyhaving joined my brother, as the King my husband and he actedin conjunction. 

The treaty was continued for several days, the conditions ofpeace requiring much discussion, especially such articles of itas related to religion. With respect to these, when at lengthagreed upon, they were too much to the advantage of the Huguenots, as it appeared afterwards, to be kept; but the Queen my mothergave in to them, in order to have a peace, and that the Germancavalry before mentioned might be disbanded. She was, moreover, desirous to get my brother out of the hands of the Huguenots;and he was himself as willing to leave them, being always a verygood Catholic, and joining the Huguenots only through necessity. 

One condition of the peace was, that my brother should have asuitable establishment. My brother likewise stipulated for me, that my marriage portion should be assigned in lands, and M. DeBeauvais, a commissioner on his part, insisted much upon it. My mother, however, opposed it, and persuaded me to join her init, assuring me that I should obtain from the King all I couldrequire. Thereupon I begged I might not be included in the articlesof peace, observing that I would rather owe whatever I was toreceive to the particular favour of the King and the Queen mymother, and should, besides, consider it as more secure whenobtained by such means. 

The peace being thus concluded and ratified on both sides, theQueen my mother prepared to return. At this instant I receivedletters from the King my husband, in which he expressed a greatdesire to see me, begging me, as soon as peace was agreed on, toask leave to go to him. I communicated my husband's wish, to theQueen my mother, and added my own entreaties. She expressed herselfgreatly averse to such a measure, and used every argument to setme against it. She observed that, when I refused her proposalof a divorce after St. Bartholomew's Day, she gave way to myrefusal, and commended me for it, because my husband was thenconverted to the Catholic religion; but now that he had abjuredCatholicism, and was turned Huguenot again, she could not giveher consent that I should go to him. When I still insisted upongoing, she burst into a flood of tears, and said, if I did notreturn with her, it would prove her ruin; that the King wouldbelieve it was her doing; that she had promised to bring me backwith her; and that, when my brother returned to Court, whichwould be soon, she would give her consent. 

We now returned to Paris, and found the King well satisfied thatwe had made a peace; though not, however, pleased with the articlesconcluded in favour of the Huguenots. He therefore resolved withinhimself, as soon as my brother should return to Court, to findsome pretext for renewing the war. These advantageous conditionswere, indeed, only granted the Huguenots to get my brother outof their hands, who was detained near two months, being employedin disbanding his German horse and the rest of his army. 

LETTER XIII

At length my brother returned to Court, accompanied by all theCatholic nobility who had followed his fortunes. The King receivedhim very graciously, and showed, by his reception of him, howmuch he was pleased at his return. Bussi, who returned with mybrother, met likewise with a gracious reception. Le Guast wasnow no more, having died under the operation of a particularregimen ordered for him by his physician. He had given himselfup to every kind of debauchery; and his death seemed the judgmentof the Almighty on one whose body had long been perishing, andwhose soul had been made over to the prince of demons as the priceof assistance through the means of diabolical magic, which heconstantly practised. The King, though now without this instrumentof his malicious contrivances, turned his thoughts entirely uponthe destruction of the Huguenots. To effect this, he strove toengage my brother against them, and thereby make them his enemies;and that I might be considered as another enemy, he used everymeans to prevent me from going to the King my husband. Accordinglyhe showed every mark of attention to both of us, and manifestedan inclination to gratify all our wishes. 

After some time, M. De Duras arrived at Court, sent by the Kingmy husband to hasten my departure. Hereupon, I pressed the Kinggreatly to think well of it, and give me his leave. He, to colourhis refusal, told me he could not part with me at present, asI was the chief ornament of his Court; that he must keep me alittle longer, after which he would accompany me himself on myway as far as Poitiers. With this answer and assurance, he sentM. De Duras back. These excuses were purposely framed in orderto gain time until everything was prepared for declaring waragainst the Huguenots, and, in consequence, against the King myhusband, as he fully designed to do. 

As a pretence to break with the Huguenots, a report was spreadabroad that the Catholics were dissatisfied with the Peace of Sens, and thought the terms of it too advantageous for the Huguenots. This rumour succeeded, and produced all that discontent amongstthe Catholics intended by it. A league was formed in the provincesand great cities, which was joined by numbers of the Catholics. M. De Guise was named as the head of all. This was well known tothe King, who pretended to be ignorant of what was going forward, though nothing else was talked of at Court. 

The States were convened to meet at Blois. Previous to the openingof this assembly, the King called my brother to his closet, wherewere present the Queen my mother and some of the King's counsellors. He represented the great consequence the Catholic league wasto his State and authority, even though they should appoint DeGuise as the head of it; that such a measure was of the highestimportance to them both, meaning my brother and himself; that theCatholics had very just reason to be dissatisfied with the peace, and that it behoved him, addressing himself to my brother, ratherto join the Catholics than the Huguenots, and this from conscienceas well as interest. He concluded his address to my brother withconjuring him, as a son of France and a good Catholic, to assisthim with his aid and counsel in this critical juncture, when hiscrown and the Catholic religion were both at stake. He furthersaid that, in order to get the start of so formidable a league, he ought to form one himself, and become the head of it, as wellto show his zeal for religion as to prevent the Catholics fromuniting under any other leader. He then proposed to declare himselfthe head of a league, which should be joined by my brother, theprinces, nobles, governors, and others holding offices underthe Government. Thus was my brother reduced to the necessityof making his Majesty a tender of his services for the supportand maintenance of the Catholic religion. 

The King, having now obtained assurances of my brother's assistancein the event of a war, which was his sole view in the leaguewhich he had formed with so much art, assembled together theprinces and chief noblemen of his Court, and, calling for theroll of the league, signed it first himself, next calling uponmy brother to sign it, and, lastly, upon all present. 

The next day the States opened their meeting, when the King, calling upon the Bishops of Lyons, Ambrune, Vienne, and otherprelates there present, for their advice, was told that, afterthe oath taken at his coronation, no oath made to heretics couldbind him, and therefore he was absolved from his engagementswith the Huguenots. 

This declaration being made at the opening of the assembly, andwar declared against the Huguenots, the King abruptly dismissedfrom Court the Huguenot, Genisac, who had arrived a few daysbefore, charged by the King my husband with a commission to hastenmy departure. The King very sharply told him that his sister hadbeen given to a Catholic, and not to a Huguenot; and that ifthe King my husband expected to have me, he must declare himselfa Catholic. 

Every preparation for war was made, and nothing else talked ofat Court; and, to make my brother still more obnoxious to theHuguenots, he had the command of an army given him. Genisac cameand informed me of the rough message he had been dismissed with. Hereupon I went directly to the closet of the Queen my mother, where I found the King. I expressed my resentment at being deceivedby him, and at being cajoled by his promise to accompany me fromParis to Poitiers, which, as it now appeared, was a mere pretence. I represented that I did not marry by my own choice, but entirelyagreeable to the advice of King Charles, the Queen my mother, and himself; that, since they had given him to me for a husband, they ought not to hinder me from partaking of his fortunes; thatI was resolved to go to him, and that if I had not their leave, I would get away how I could, even at the hazard of my life. The King answered: "Sister, it is not now a time to importuneme for leave. I acknowledge that I have, as you say, hithertoprevented you from going, in order to forbid it altogether. Fromthe time the King of Navarre changed his religion, and againbecame a Huguenot, I have been against your going to him. What theQueen my mother and I are doing is for your good. I am determinedto carry on a war of extermination until this wretched religionof the Huguenots, which is of so mischievous a nature, is nomore. Consider, my sister, if you, who are a Catholic, were oncein their hands, you would become a hostage for me, and preventmy design. And who knows but they might seek their revenge uponme by taking away your life? No, you shall not go amongst them;and if you leave us in the manner you have now mentioned, relyupon it that you will make the Queen your mother and me yourbitterest enemies, and that we shall use every means to makeyou feel the effects of our resentment; and, moreover, you willmake your husband's situation worse instead of better. "

I went from this audience with much dissatisfaction, and, takingadvice of the principal persons of both sexes belonging to Courtwhom I esteemed my friends, I found them all of opinion that itwould be exceedingly improper for me to remain in a Court nowat open variance with the King my husband. They recommended menot to stay at Court whilst the war lasted, saying it would bemore honourable for me to leave the kingdom under the pretenceof a pilgrimage, or a visit to some of my kindred. The Princessede Roche-sur-Yon was amongst those I consulted upon the occasion, who was on the point of setting off for Spa to take the watersthere. 

My brother was likewise present at the consultation, and broughtwith him Mondoucet, who had been to Flanders in quality of theKing's agent, whence he was just returned to represent to the Kingthe discontent that had arisen amongst the Flemings on accountof infringements made by the Spanish Government on the Frenchlaws. He stated that he was commissioned by several nobles, andthe municipalities of several towns, to declare how much theywere inclined in their hearts towards France, and how ready theywere to come under a French government. Mondoucet, perceivingthe King not inclined to listen to his representation, as havinghis mind wholly occupied by the war he had entered into withthe Huguenots, whom he was resolved to punish for having joinedmy brother, had ceased to move in it further to the King, andaddressed himself on the subject to my brother. My brother, withthat princely spirit which led him to undertake great achievements, readily lent an ear to Mondoucet's proposition, and promised toengage in it, for he was born rather to conquer than to keepwhat he conquered. Mondoucet's proposition was the more pleasingto him as it was not unjust, --it being, in fact, to recover toFrance what had been usurped by Spain. 

Mondoucet had now engaged himself in my brother's service, andwas to return to Flanders under a pretence of accompanying thePrincesse de Roche-sur-Yon in her journey to Spa; and as thisagent perceived my counsellors to be at a loss for some pretencefor my leaving Court and quitting France during the war, andthat at first Savoy was proposed for my retreat, then Lorraine, and then Our Lady of Loretto, he suggested to my brother that Imight be of great use to him in Flanders, if, under the colourof any complaint, I should be recommended to drink the Spa waters, and go with the Princesse de Roche-sur-Yon. My brother acquiescedin this opinion, and came up to me, saying: "Oh, Queen! you needbe no longer at a loss for a place to go to. I have observedthat you have frequently an erysipelas on your arm, and you mustaccompany the Princess to Spa. You must say your physicians hadordered those waters for the complaint; but when they did so, itwas not the season to take them. That season is now approaching, and you hope to have the King's leave to go there. "

My brother did not deliver all he wished to say at that time, because the Cardinal de Bourbon was present, whom he knew tobe a friend to the Guises and to Spain. However, I saw throughhis real design, and that he wished me to promote his views inFlanders. 

The company approved of my brother's advice, and the Princessede Roche-sur-Yon heard the proposal with great joy, having agreat regard for me. She promised to attend me to the Queen mymother when I should ask her consent. 

The next day I found the Queen alone, and represented to her theextreme regret I experienced in finding that a war was inevitablebetwixt the King my husband and his Majesty, and that I mustcontinue in a state of separation from my husband; that, as longas the war lasted, it was neither decent nor honourable for meto stay at Court, where I must be in one or other, or both, ofthese cruel situations: either that the King my husband shouldbelieve that I continued in it out of inclination, and think medeficient in the duty I owed him; or that his Majesty shouldentertain suspicions of my giving intelligence to the King myhusband. Either of these cases, I observed, could not but proveinjurious to me. I therefore prayed her not to take it amissif I desired to remove myself from Court, and from becoming sounpleasantly situated; adding that my physicians had for sometime recommended me to take the Spa waters for an erysipelas--towhich I had been long subject--on my arm; the season for takingthese waters was now approaching, and that if she approved ofit, I would use the present opportunity, by which means I shouldbe at a distance from Court, and show my husband that, as I couldnot be with him, I was unwilling to remain amongst his enemies. I further expressed my hopes that, through her prudence, a peacemight be effected in a short time betwixt the King my husbandand his Majesty, and that my husband might be restored to thefavour he formerly enjoyed; that whenever I learned the news ofso joyful an event, I would renew my solicitations to be permittedto go to my husband. In the meantime, I should hope for herpermission to have the honour of accompanying the Princesse deRoche-sur-Yon, there present, in her journey to Spa. 

She approved of what I proposed, and expressed her satisfactionthat I had taken so prudent a resolution. She observed how muchshe was chagrined when she found that the King, through the evilpersuasions of the bishops, had resolved to break through theconditions of the last peace, which she had concluded in hisname. She saw already the ill effects of this hasty proceeding, as it had removed from the King's Council many of his ablestand best servants. This gave her, she said, much concern, asit did likewise to think I could not remain at Court withoutoffending my husband, or creating jealousy and suspicion in theKing's mind. This being certainly what was likely to be theconsequence of my staying, she would advise the King to give meleave to set out on this journey. 

She was as good as her word, and the King discoursed with me onthe subject without exhibiting the smallest resentment. Indeed, he was well pleased now that he had prevented me from going tothe King my husband, for whom he had conceived the greatestanimosity. 

He ordered a courier to be immediately despatched to Don John ofAustria, --who commanded for the King of Spain in Flanders, --toobtain from him the necessary passports for a free passage inthe countries under his command, as I should be obliged to crossa part of Flanders to reach Spa, which is in the bishopric ofLiège. 

All matters being thus arranged, we separated in a few days afterthis interview. The short time my brother and I remained togetherwas employed by him in giving me instructions for the commissionI had undertaken to execute for him in Flanders. The King andthe Queen my mother set out for Poitiers, to be near the army ofM. De Mayenne, then besieging Brouage, which place being reduced, it was intended to march into Gascony and attack the King myhusband. 

My brother had the command of another army, ordered to besiegeIssoire and some other towns, which he soon after took. 

For my part, I set out on my journey to Flanders accompanied bythe Princesse de Roche-sur-Yon, Madame de Tournon, the lady ofmy bedchamber, Madame de Moüy of Picardy, Madame de Chastelaine, De Millon, Mademoiselle d'Atric, Mademoiselle de Tournon, andseven or eight other young ladies. My male attendants were theCardinal de Lenoncourt, the Bishop of Langres, and M. De Moüy, Seigneur de Picardy, at present father-in-law to the brother ofQueen Louise, called the Comte de Chaligny, with my principalsteward of the household, my chief esquires, and the other gentlemenof my establishment. 

LETTER XIV

The cavalcade that attended me excited great curiosity as itpassed through the several towns in the course of my journey, and reflected no small degree of credit on France, as it wassplendidly set out, and made a handsome appearance. I travelledin a litter raised with pillars. The lining of it was Spanishvelvet, of a crimson colour, embroidered in various devices withgold and different coloured silk thread. The windows were ofglass, painted in devices. The lining and windows had, in thewhole, forty devices, all different and alluding to the sun andits effects. Each device had its motto, either in the Spanishor Italian language. My litter was followed by two others; inthe one was the Princesse de Roche-sur-Yon, and in the otherMadame de Tournon, my lady of the bedchamber. After them followedten maids of honour, on horseback, with their governess; and, lastof all, six coaches and chariots, with the rest of the ladiesand all our female attendants. 

I took the road of Picardy, the towns in which province had receivedthe King's orders to pay me all due honours. Being arrived atLe Catelet, a strong place, about three leagues distant fromthe frontier of the Cambrésis, the Bishop of Cambray (anecclesiastical State acknowledging the King of Spain only asa guarantee) sent a gentleman to inquire of me at what hour Ishould leave the place, as he intended to meet me on the bordersof his territory. 

Accordingly I found him there, attended by a number of his people, who appeared to be true Flemings, and to have all the rusticityand unpolished manners of their country. The Bishop was of theHouse of Barlemont, one of the principal families in Flanders. All of this house have shown themselves Spaniards at heart, andat that time were firmly attached to Don John. The Bishop receivedme with great politeness and not a little of the Spanish ceremony. 

Although the city of Cambray is not so well built as some of ourtowns in France, I thought it, notwithstanding, far more pleasantthan many of these, as the streets and squares are larger andbetter disposed. The churches are grand and highly ornamented, which is, indeed, common to France; but what I admired, aboveall, was the citadel, which is the finest and best constructedin Christendom. The Spaniards experienced it to be strong whilstmy brother had it in his possession. The governor of the citadelat this time was a worthy gentleman named M. D'Ainsi, who was, in every respect, a polite and well-accomplished man, havingthe carriage and behaviour of one of our most perfect courtiers, very different from the rude incivility which appears to be thecharacteristic of a Fleming. 

The Bishop gave us a grand supper, and after supper a ball, towhich he had invited all the ladies of the city. As soon as the ballwas opened he withdrew, in accordance with the Spanish ceremony; butM. D'Ainsi did the honours for him, and kept me company during theball, conducting me afterwards to a collation, which, consideringhis command at the citadel, was, I thought, imprudent. _I speakfrom experience, having been taught, to my cost, and contrary tomy desire, the caution and vigilance necessary to be observedin keeping such places. _ As my regard for my brother was alwayspredominant in me, I continually had his instructions in mind, and now thought I had a fair opportunity to open my commissionand forward his views in Flanders, this town of Cambray, andespecially the citadel, being, as it were, a key to that country. Accordingly I employed all the talents God had given me to makeM. D'Ainsi a friend to France, and attach him to my brother'sinterest. Through God's assistance I succeeded with him, and somuch was M. D'Ainsi pleased with my conversation that he came tothe resolution of soliciting the Bishop, his master, to grant himleave to accompany me as far as Namur, where Don John of Austriawas in waiting to receive me, observing that he had a great desireto witness so splendid an interview. This _Spanish_ Fleming, the Bishop, had the weakness to grant M. D'Ainsi's request, whocontinued following in my train for ten or twelve days. Duringthis time he took every opportunity of discoursing with me, andshowed that, in his heart, he was well disposed to embrace theservice of France, wishing no better master than the Prince mybrother, and declaring that he heartily despised being under thecommand of his Bishop, who, though his sovereign, was not hissuperior by birth, being born a private gentleman like himself, and, in every other respect, greatly his inferior. 

Leaving Cambray, I set out to sleep at Valenciennes, the chiefcity of a part of Flanders called by the same name. Where thiscountry is divided from Cambrésis (as far as which I was conductedby the Bishop of Cambray), the Comte de Lalain, M. De Montignyhis brother, and a number of gentlemen, to the amount of twoor three hundred, came to meet me. 

Valenciennes is a town inferior to Cambray in point of strength, but equal to it for the beauty of its squares, and churches, --theformer ornamented with fountains, as the latter are with curiousclocks. The ingenuity of the Germans in the construction of theirclocks was a matter of great surprise to all my attendants, fewamongst whom had ever before seen clocks exhibiting a numberof moving figures, and playing a variety of tunes in the mostagreeable manner. 

The Comte de Lalain, the governor of the city, invited the lordsand gentlemen of my train to a banquet, reserving himself to givean entertainment to the ladies on our arrival at Mons, wherewe should find the Countess his wife, his sister-in-law Madamed'Aurec, and other ladies of distinction. Accordingly the Count, with his attendants, conducted us thither the next day. He claimeda relationship with the King my husband, and was, in reality, a person who carried great weight and authority. He was muchdissatisfied with the Spanish Government, and had conceived agreat dislike for it since the execution of Count Egmont, whowas his near kinsman. 

Although he had hitherto abstained from entering into the leaguewith the Prince of Orange and the Huguenots, being himself asteady Catholic, yet he had not admitted of an interview withDon John, neither would he suffer him, nor anyone in the interestof Spain, to enter upon his territories. Don John was unwillingto give the Count any umbrage, lest he should force him to unitethe Catholic League of Flanders, called the League of the States, to that of the Prince of Orange and the Huguenots, well foreseeingthat such a union would prove fatal to the Spanish interest, asother governors have since experienced. With this disposition ofmind, the Comte de Lalain thought he could not give me sufficientdemonstrations of the joy he felt by my presence; and he couldnot have shown more honour to his natural prince, nor displayedgreater marks of zeal and affection. 

On our arrival at Mons, I was lodged in his house, and foundthere the Countess his wife, and a Court consisting of eightyor a hundred ladies of the city and country. My reception wasrather that of their sovereign lady than of a foreign princess. The Flemish ladies are naturally lively, affable, and engaging. The Comtesse de Lalain is remarkably so, and is, moreover, a womanof great sense and elevation of mind, in which particular, as wellas in air and countenance, she carries a striking resemblanceto the lady your cousin. We became immediately intimate, andcommenced a firm friendship at our first meeting. When the supperhour came, we sat down to a banquet, which was succeeded by aball; and this rule the Count observed as long as I stayed atMons, which was, indeed, longer than I intended. It had beenmy intention to stay at Mons one night only, but the Count'sobliging lady prevailed on me to pass a whole week there. I stroveto excuse myself from so long a stay, imagining it might beinconvenient to them; but whatever I could say availed nothingwith the Count and his lady, and I was under the necessity ofremaining with them eight days. The Countess and I were on sofamiliar a footing that she stayed in my bedchamber till a latehour, and would not have left me then had she not imposed uponherself a task very rarely performed by persons of her rank, which, however, placed the goodness of her disposition in themost amiable light. In fact, she gave suck to her infant son;and one day at table, sitting next me, whose whole attention wasabsorbed in the promotion of my brother's interest, --the tablebeing the place where, according to the custom of the country, all are familiar and ceremony is laid aside, --she, dressed out inthe richest manner and blazing with diamonds, gave the breast toher child without rising from her seat, the infant being broughtto the table as superbly habited as its nurse, the mother. Sheperformed this maternal duty with so much good humour, and with agracefulness peculiar to herself, that this charitable office--whichwould have appeared disgusting and been considered as an affrontif done by some others of equal rank--gave pleasure to all whosat at table, and, accordingly, they signified their approbationby their applause. 

The tables being removed, the dances commenced in the same roomwherein we had supped, which was magnificent and large. The Countessand I sitting side by side, I expressed the pleasure I receivedfrom her conversation, and that I should place this meeting amongstthe happiest events of my life. "Indeed, " said I, "I shall havecause to regret that it ever did take place, as I shall departhence so unwillingly, there being so little probability of ourmeeting again soon. Why did Heaven deny our being born in thesame country!"

This was said in order to introduce my brother's business. Shereplied: "This country did, indeed, formerly belong to France, and our lawyers' now plead their causes in the French language. The greater part of the people here still retain an affectionfor the French nation. For my part, " added the Countess, "I havehad a strong attachment to your country ever since I have hadthe honour of seeing you. This country has been long in thepossession of the House of Austria, but the regard of the peoplefor that house has been greatly weakened by the death of CountEgmont, M. De Horne, M. De Montigny, and others of the same party, some of them our near relations, and all of the best familiesof the country. We entertain the utmost dislike for the SpanishGovernment, and wish for nothing so much as to throw off theyoke of their tyranny; but, as the country is divided betwixtdifferent religions, we are at a loss how to effect it. If wecould unite, we should soon drive out the Spaniards; but thisdivision amongst ourselves renders us weak. Would to God theKing your brother would come to a resolution of reconqueringthis country, to which he has an ancient claim! We should allreceive him with open arms. "

This was a frank declaration, made by the Countess withoutpremeditation, but it had been long agitated in the minds ofthe people, who considered that it was from France they were tohope for redress from the evils with which they were afflicted. I now found I had as favourable an opening as I could wish for todeclare my errand. I told her that the King of France my brotherwas averse to engaging in foreign war, and the more so as theHuguenots in his kingdom were too strong to admit of his sendingany large force out of it. "My brother Alençon, " said I, "hassufficient means, and might be induced to undertake it. He hasequal valour, prudence, and benevolence with the King my brotheror any of his ancestors. He has been bred to arms, and is esteemedone of the bravest generals of these times. He has the commandof the King's army against the Huguenots, and has lately takena well-fortified town, called Issoire, and some other placesthat were in their possession. You could not invite to yourassistance a prince who has it so much in his power to give it;being not only a neighbour, but having a kingdom like France athis devotion, whence he may expect to derive the necessary aidand succour. The Count your husband may be assured that if hedo my brother this good office he will not find him ungrateful, but may set what price he pleases upon his meritorious service. My brother is of a noble and generous disposition, and ready torequite those who do him favours. He is, moreover, an admirerof men of honour and gallantry, and accordingly is followed bythe bravest and best men France has to boast of. I am in hopesthat a peace will soon be reëstablished with the Huguenots, andexpect to find it so on my return to France. If the Count yourhusband think as you do, and will permit me to speak to him on thesubject, I will engage to bring my brother over to the proposal, and, in that case, your country in general, and your house inparticular, will be well satisfied with him. If, through yourmeans, my brother should establish himself here, you may dependon seeing me often, there being no brother or sister who hasa stronger affection for each other. "

The Countess appeared to listen to what I said with great pleasure, and acknowledged that she had not entered upon this discoursewithout design. She observed that, having perceived I did herthe honour to have some regard for her, she had resolved withinherself not to let me depart out of the country without explainingto me the situation of it, and begging me to procure the aidof France to relieve them from the apprehensions of living ina state of perpetual war or of submitting to Spanish tyranny. She thereupon entreated me to allow her to relate our presentconversation to her husband, and permit them both to confer withme on the subject the next day. To this I readily gave my consent. 

Thus we passed the evening in discourse upon the object of mymission, and I observed that she took a singular pleasure intalking upon it in all our succeeding conferences when I thoughtproper to introduce it. The ball being ended, we went to hearvespers at the church of the Canonesses, an order of nuns ofwhich we have none in France. These are young ladies who areentered in these communities at a tender age, in order to improvetheir fortunes till they are of an age to be married. They do notall sleep under the same roof, but in detached houses within anenclosure. In each of these houses are three, four, or perhaps sixyoung girls, under the care of an old woman. These governesses, together with the abbess, are of the number of such as have neverbeen married. These girls never wear the habit of the order butin church; and the service there ended, they dress like others, pay visits, frequent balls, and go where they please. They wereconstant visitors at the Count's entertainments, and danced athis balls. 

The Countess thought the time long until the night, when shehad an opportunity of relating to the Count the conversation shehad with me, and the opening of the business. The next morningshe came to me, and brought her husband with her. He enteredinto a detail of the grievances the country laboured under, andthe just reasons he had for ridding it of the tyranny of Spain. In doing this, he said, he should not consider himself as actingagainst his natural sovereign, because he well knew he ought tolook for him in the person of the King of France. He explained tome the means whereby my brother might establish himself in Flanders, having possession of Hainault, which extended as far as Brussels. He said the difficulty lay in securing the Cambrésis. Which issituated betwixt Hainault and Flanders. It would, therefore, be necessary to engage M. D'Ainsi in the business. To this Ireplied that, as he was his neighbour and friend, it might bebetter that he should open the matter to him; and I begged hewould do so. I next assured him that he might have the most perfectreliance on the gratitude and friendship of my brother, and becertain of receiving as large a share of power and authority assuch a service done by a person of his rank merited. Lastly, weagreed upon an interview betwixt my brother and M. De Montigny, the brother of the Count, which was to take place at La Fère, upon my return, when this business should be arranged. Duringthe time I stayed at Mons, I said all I could to confirm theCount in this resolution, in which I found myself seconded bythe Countess. 

The day of my departure was now arrived, to the great regret ofthe ladies of Mons, as well as myself. The Countess expressedherself in terms which showed she had conceived the warmestfriendship for me, and made me promise to return by way of thatcity. I presented the Countess with a diamond bracelet, and tothe Count I gave a riband and diamond star of considerable value. But these presents, valuable as they were, became more so, intheir estimation, as I was the donor. 

Of the ladies, none accompanied me from this place, except Madamed'Aurec. She went with me to Namur, where I slept that night, and where she expected to find her husband and the Duc d'Arscot, her brother-in-law, who had been there since the peace betwixtthe King of Spain and the States of Flanders. For though theywere both of the party of the States, yet the Duc d'Arscot, beingan old courtier and having attended King Philip in Flanders andEngland, could not withdraw himself from Court and the societyof the great. The Comte de Lalain, with all his nobles, conductedme two leagues beyond his government, and until he saw Don John'scompany in the distance advancing to meet me. He then took hisleave of me, being unwilling to meet Don John; but M. D'Ainsistayed with me, as his master, the Bishop of Cambray, was inthe Spanish interest. 

This gallant company having left me, I was soon after met by DonJohn of Austria, preceded by a great number of running footmen, and escorted by only twenty or thirty horsemen. He was attendedby a number of noblemen, and amongst the rest the Duc d'Arscot, M. D'Aurec, the Marquis de Varenbon, and the younger Balençon, governor, for the King of Spain, of the county of Burgundy. Theselast two, who are brothers, had ridden post to meet me. Of DonJohn's household there was only Louis de Gonzago of any rank. Hecalled himself a relation of the Duke of Mantua; the others weremean-looking people, and of no consideration. Don John alightedfrom his horse to salute me in my litter, which was opened forthe purpose. I returned the salute after the French fashion tohim, the Duc d'Arscot, and M. D'Aurec. After an exchange ofcompliments, he mounted his horse, but continued in discoursewith me until we reached the city, which was not before it grewdark, as I set off late, the ladies of Mons keeping me as longas they could, amusing themselves with viewing my litter, andrequiring an explanation of the different mottoes and devices. However, as the Spaniards excel in preserving good order, Namurappeared with particular advantage, for the streets were welllighted, every house being illuminated, so that the blaze exceededthat of daylight. 

Our supper was served to us in our respective apartments, DonJohn being unwilling, after the fatigue of so long a journey, to incommode us with a banquet. The house in which I was lodgedhad been newly furnished for the purpose of receiving me. Itconsisted of a magnificent large _salon_, with a private apartment, consisting of lodging rooms and closets, furnished in the mostcostly manner, with furniture of every kind, and hung with therichest tapestry of velvet and satin, divided into compartmentsby columns of silver embroidery, with knobs of gold, all wroughtin the most superb manner. Within these compartments were figuresin antique habits, embroidered in gold and silver. 

The Cardinal de Lenoncourt. A man of taste and curiosity, beingone day in these apartments with the Duc d'Arscot, who, as I havebefore observed, was an ornament to Don John's Court, remarkedto him that this furniture seemed more proper for a great kingthan a young unmarried prince like Don John. To which the Ducd'Arscot replied that it came to him as a present, having beensent to him by a bashaw belonging to the Grand Seignior, whosesons he had made prisoners in a signal victory obtained overthe Turks. Don John having sent the bashaw's sons back withoutransom, the father, in return, made him a present of a largequantity of gold, silver, and silk stuffs, which he caused to bewrought into tapestry at Milan, where there are curious workmenin this way; and he had the Queen's bedchamber hung with tapestryrepresenting the battle in which he had so gloriously defeatedthe Turks. 

The next morning Don John conducted us to chapel, where we heardmass celebrated after the Spanish manner, with all kinds of music, after which we partook of a banquet prepared by Don John. Heand I were seated at a separate table, at a distance of threeyards from which stood the great one, of which the honours weredone by Madame d'Aurec. At this table the ladies and principallords took their seats. Don John was served with drink by Louisde Gonzago, kneeling. The tables being removed, the ball wasopened, and the dancing continued the whole afternoon. The eveningwas spent in conversation betwixt Don John and me, who told meI greatly resembled the Queen his mistress, by whom he meantthe late Queen my sister, and for whom he professed to haveentertained a very high esteem. In short, Don John manifested, by every mark of attention and politeness, as well to me as tomy attendants, the very great pleasure he had in receiving me. 

The boats which were to convey me upon the Meuse to Liège not allbeing ready, I was under the necessity of staying another day. The morning was passed as that of the day before. After dinner, we embarked on the river in a very beautiful boat, surrounded byothers having on board musicians playing on hautboys, horns, and violins, and landed at an island where Don John had causeda collation to be prepared in a large bower formed with branchesof ivy, in which the musicians were placed in small recesses, playing on their instruments during the time of supper. The tablesbeing removed, the dances began, and lasted till it was time toreturn, which I did in the same boat that conveyed me thither, and which was that provided for my voyage. 

The next morning Don John conducted me to the boat, and theretook a most polite and courteous leave, charging M. And Madamed'Aurec to see me safe to Huy, the first town belonging to theBishop of Liège, where I was to sleep. As soon as Don John hadgone on shore, M. D'Ainsi, who remained in the boat, and whohad the Bishop of Cambray's permission to go to Namur only, tookleave of me with many protestations of fidelity and attachmentto my brother and myself. 

But Fortune, envious of my hitherto prosperous journey, gave metwo omens of the sinister events of my return. 

The first was the sudden illness which attacked Mademoisellede Tournon, the daughter of the lady of my bedchamber, a youngperson, accomplished, with every grace and virtue, and for whomI had the most perfect regard. No sooner had the boat left theshore than this young lady was seized with an alarming disorder, which, from the great pain attending it, caused her to scream inthe most doleful manner. The physicians attributed the cause tospasms of the heart, which, notwithstanding the utmost exertionsof their skill, carried her off a few days after my arrival atLiège. As the history of this young lady is remarkable, I shallrelate it in my next letter. 

The other omen was what happened to us at Huy, immediately upon ourarrival there. This town is built on the declivity of a mountain, at the foot of which runs the river Meuse. As we were about toland, there fell a torrent of rain, which, coming down the steepsides of the mountain, swelled the river instantly to such adegree that we had only time to leap out of the boat and runto the top, the flood reaching the very highest street, nextto where I was to lodge. There we were forced to put up withsuch accommodation as could be procured in the house, as it wasimpossible to remove the smallest article of our baggage fromthe boats, or even to stir out of the house we were in, the wholecity being under water. However, the town was as suddenly relievedfrom this calamity as it had been afflicted with it, for, onthe next morning, the whole inundation had ceased, the watershaving run off, and the river being confined within its usualchannel. 

Leaving Huy, M. And Madame d'Aurec returned to Don John at Namur, and I proceeded, in the boat, to sleep that night at Liège. 

LETTER XV

The Bishop of Liège, who is the sovereign of the city and province, received me with all the cordiality and respect that could beexpected from a personage of his dignity and great accomplishments. He was, indeed, a nobleman endowed with singular prudence andvirtue, agreeable in his person and conversation, gracious andmagnificent in his carriage and behaviour, to which I may addthat he spoke the French language perfectly. 

He was constantly attended by his chapter, with several of hiscanons, who are all sons of dukes, counts, or great German lords. The bishopric is itself a sovereign State, which brings in aconsiderable revenue, and includes a number of fine cities. Thebishop is chosen from amongst the canons, who must be of nobledescent, and resident one year. The city is larger than Lyons, and much resembles it, having the Meuse running through it. Thehouses in which the canons reside have the appearance of noblepalaces. The streets of the city are regular and spacious, thehouses of the citizens well built, the squares large, and ornamentedwith curious fountains. The churches appear as if raised entirelyof marble, of which there are considerable quarries in theneighbourhood; they are all of them ornamented with beautifulclocks, and exhibit a variety of moving figures. 

The Bishop received me as I landed from the boat, and conducted meto his magnificent residence, ornamented with delicious fountainsand gardens, set off with galleries, all painted, superbly gilt, and enriched with marble, beyond description. 

The spring which affords the waters of Spa being distant no morethan three or four leagues from the city of Liège, and therebeing only a village, consisting of three or four small houses, on the spot, the Princesse de Roche-sur-Yon was advised by herphysicians to stay at Liège and have the waters brought to her, which they assured her would have equal efficacy, if taken aftersunset and before sunrise, as if drunk at the spring. I was wellpleased that she resolved to follow the advice of the doctors, as we were more comfortably lodged and had an agreeable society;for, besides his Grace (so the bishop is styled, as a king isaddressed his Majesty, and a prince his Highness), the news ofmy arrival being spread about, many lords and ladies came fromGermany to visit me. Amongst these was the Countess d'Aremberg, who had the honour to accompany Queen Elizabeth to Mezières, towhich place she came to marry King Charles my brother, a ladyvery high in the estimation of the Empress, the Emperor, andall the princes in Christendom. With her came her sister theLandgravine, Madame d'Aremberg her daughter, M. D'Aremberg herson, a gallant and accomplished nobleman, the perfect image ofhis father, who brought the Spanish succours to King Charles mybrother, and returned with great honour and additional reputation. This meeting, so honourable to me, and so much to my satisfaction, was damped by the grief and concern occasioned by the loss ofMademoiselle de Tournon, whose story, being of a singular nature, I shall now relate to you, agreeably to the promise I made inmy last letter. 

I must begin with observing to you that Madame de Tournon, atthis time lady of my bedchamber, had several daughters, the eldestof whom married M. De Balençon, governor, for the King of Spain, in the county of Burgundy. This daughter, upon her marriage, had solicited her mother to admit of her taking her sister, theyoung lady whose story I am now about to relate, to live withher, as she was going to a country strange to her, and whereinshe had no relations. To this her mother consented; and the younglady, being universally admired for her modesty and gracefulaccomplishments, for which she certainly deserved admiration, attracted the notice of the Marquis de Varenbon. The Marquis, as I before mentioned, is the brother of M. De Balençon, andwas intended for the Church; but, being violently enamoured ofMademoiselle de Tournon (who, as he lived in the same house, hehad frequent opportunities of seeing), he now begged his brother'spermission to marry her, not having yet taken orders. The younglady's family, to whom he had likewise communicated his wish, readily gave their consent, but his brother refused his, stronglyadvising him to change his resolution and put on the gown. 

Thus were matters situated when her mother, Madame de Tournon, avirtuous and pious lady, thinking she had cause to be offended, ordered her daughter to leave the house of her sister, Madamede Balençon, and come to her. The mother, a woman of a violentspirit, not considering that her daughter was grown, up and meriteda mild treatment, was continually scolding the poor young lady, so that she was for ever with tears in her eyes. Still, therewas nothing to blame in the young girl's conduct, but such wasthe severity of the mother's disposition. The daughter, as youmay well suppose, wished to be from under the mother's tyrannicalgovernment, and was accordingly delighted with the thoughts ofattending me in this journey to Flanders, hoping, as it happened, that she should meet the Marquis de Varenbon somewhere on the road, and that, as he had now abandoned all thoughts of the Church, he would renew his proposal of marriage, and take her from hermother. 

I have before mentioned that the Marquis de Varenbon and theyounger Balençon joined us at Namur. Young Balençon, who wasfar from being so agreeable as his brother, addressed himselfto the young lady, but the Marquis, during the whole time westayed at Namur, paid not the least attention to her, and seemedas if he had never been acquainted with her. 

The resentment, grief, and disappointment occasioned by a behaviourso slighting and unnatural was necessarily stifled in her breast, as decorum and her sex's pride obliged her to appear as if shedisregarded it; but when, after taking leave, all of them left theboat, the anguish of her mind, which she had hitherto suppressed, could no longer be restrained, and, labouring for vent, it stoppedher respiration, and forced from her those lamentable outcrieswhich I have already spoken of. Her youth combated for eight dayswith this uncommon disorder, but at the expiration of that timeshe died, to the great grief of her mother, as well as myself. I say of her mother, for, though she was so rigidly severe overthis daughter, she tenderly loved her. 

The funeral of this unfortunate young lady was solemnized withall proper ceremonies, and conducted in the most honourable manner, as she was descended from a great family, allied to the Queen mymother. When the day of interment arrived, four of my gentlemenwere appointed bearers, one of whom was named La Boëssière. Thisman had entertained a secret passion for her, which he never durstdeclare on account of the inferiority of his family and station. He was now destined to bear the remains of her, dead, for whomhe had long been dying, and was now as near dying for her lossas he had before been for her love. The melancholy processionwas marching slowly along, when it was met by the Marquis deVarenbon, who had been the sole occasion of it. We had not leftNamur long when the Marquis reflected upon his cruel behaviourtowards this unhappy young lady; and his passion (wonderful torelate) being revived by the absence of her who inspired it, though scarcely alive while she was present, he had resolved tocome and ask her of her mother in marriage. He made no doubt, perhaps, of success, as he seldom failed in enterprises of love;witness the great lady he has since obtained for a wife, inopposition to the will of her family. He might, besides, haveflattered himself that he should easily have gained a pardon fromher by whom he was beloved, according to the Italian proverb, "Che la forza d'amore non riguarda al delitto" (Lovers are notcriminal in the estimation of one another). Accordingly, theMarquis solicited Don John to be despatched to me on some errand, and arrived, as I said before, at the very instant the corpseof this ill-fated young lady was being borne to the grave. Hewas stopped by the crowd occasioned by this solemn procession. He contemplates it for some time. He observes a long train ofpersons in mourning, and remarks the coffin to be covered with awhite pall, and that there are chaplets of flowers laid upon thecoffin. He inquires whose funeral it is. The answer he receivesis, that it is the funeral of a young lady. Unfortunately forhim, this reply fails to satisfy his curiosity. He makes up toone who led the procession, and eagerly asks the name of theyoung lady they are proceeding to bury. When, oh, fatal answer!Love, willing to avenge the victim of his ingratitude and neglect, suggests a reply which had nearly deprived him of life. He nosooner hears the name of Mademoiselle de Tournon pronounced thanhe falls from his horse in a swoon. He is taken up for dead, and conveyed to the nearest house, where he lies for a timeinsensible; his soul, no doubt, leaving his body to obtain pardonfrom her whom he had hastened to a premature grave, to returnto taste the bitterness of death a second time. 

Having performed the last offices to the remains of this pooryoung lady, I was unwilling to discompose the gaiety of the societyassembled here on my account by any show of grief. Accordingly, Ijoined the Bishop, or, as he is called, his Grace, and his canons, in their entertainments at different houses, and in gardens, of which the city and its neighbourhood afforded a variety. Iwas every morning attended by a numerous company to the garden, in which I drank the waters, the exercise of walking beingrecommended to be used with them. As the physician who advisedme to take them was my own brother, they did not fail of theireffect with me; and for these six or seven years which are goneover my head since I drank them, I have been free from any complaintof erysipelas on my arm. From this garden we usually proceededto the place where we were invited to dinner. After dinner wewere amused with a ball; from the ball we went to some convent, where we heard vespers; from vespers to supper, and that over, we had another ball, or music on the river. 

LETTER XVI

In this manner we passed the six weeks, which is the usual timefor taking these waters, at the expiration of which the Princessede Roche-sur-Yon was desirous to return to France; but Madamed'Aurec, who just then returned to us from Namur, on her way torejoin her husband in Lorraine, brought us news of an extraordinarychange of affairs in that town and province since we had passedthrough it. 

It appeared from this lady's account that, on the very day weleft Namur, Don John, after quitting the boat, mounted his horseunder pretence of taking the diversion of hunting, and, as hepassed the gate of the castle of Namur, expressed a desire ofseeing it; that, having entered, he took possession of it, notwithstanding he held it for the States, agreeably to a convention. Don John, moreover, arrested the persons of the Duc d'Arscotand M. D'Aurec, and also made Madame d'Aurec a prisoner. Aftersome remonstrances and entreaties, he had set her husband andbrother-in-law at liberty, but detained her as a hostage forthem. In consequence of these measures, the whole country wasin arms. The province of Namur was divided into three parties:the first whereof was that of the States, or the Catholic partyof Flanders; the second that of the Prince of Orange and theHuguenots; the third, the Spanish party, of which Don John wasthe head. 

By letters which I received just at this time from my brother, through the hands of a gentleman named Lescar, I found I was ingreat danger of falling into the hands of one or other of theseparties. 

These letters informed me that, since my departure from Court, God had dealt favourably with my brother, and enabled him toacquit himself of the command of the army confided to him, greatlyto the benefit of the King's service; so that he had taken all thetowns and driven the Huguenots out of the provinces, agreeablyto the design for which the army was raised; that he had returnedto the Court at Poitiers, where the King stayed during the siegeof Brouage, to be near to M. De Mayenne, in order to afford himwhatever succours he stood in need of; that, as the Court is aProteus, forever putting on a new face, he had found it entirelychanged, so that he had been no more considered than if he haddone the King no service whatever; and that Bussi, who had beenso graciously looked upon before and during this last war, haddone great personal service, and had lost a brother at the stormingof Issoire, was very coolly received, and even as maliciouslypersecuted as in the time of Le Guast; in consequence of whicheither he or Bussi experienced some indignity or other. He furthermentioned that the King's favourites had been practising withhis most faithful servants, Maugiron, La Valette, Mauléon, andHivarrot, and several other good and trusty men, to desert him, and enter into the King's service; and, lastly, that the Kinghad repented of giving me leave to go to Flanders, and that, to counteract my brother, a plan was laid to intercept me onmy return, either by the Spaniards, for which purpose they hadbeen told that I had treated for delivering up the country tohim, or by the Huguenots, in revenge of the war my brother hadcarried on against them, after having formerly assisted them. 

This intelligence required to be well considered, as there seemedto be an utter impossibility of avoiding both parties. I had, however, the pleasure to think that two of the principal personsof my company stood well with either one or another party. TheCardinal de Lenoncourt had been thought to favour the Huguenotparty, and M. Descartes, brother to the Bishop of Lisieux, wassupposed to have the Spanish interest at heart. I communicatedour difficult situation to the Princesse de Roche-sur-Yon andMadame de Tournon, who, considering that we could not reach LaFère in less than five or six days, answered me, with tears intheir eyes, that God only had it in his power to preserve us, that I should recommend myself to his protection, and then followsuch measures as should seem advisable. They observed that, asone of them was in a weak state of health, and the other advancedin years, I might affect to make short journeys on their account, and they would put up with every inconvenience to extricate mefrom the danger I was in. 

I next consulted with the Bishop of Liège, who most certainlyacted towards me like a father, and gave directions to the grandmaster of his household to attend me with his horses as far asI should think proper. As it was necessary that we should havea passport from the Prince of Orange, I sent Mondoucet to him toobtain one, as he was acquainted with the Prince and was knownto favour his religion. Mondoucet did not return, and I believeI might have waited for him until this time to no purpose. Iwas advised by the Cardinal de Lenoncourt and my first esquire, the Chevalier Salviati, who were of the same party, not to stirwithout a passport; but, as I suspected a plan was laid to entrapme, I resolved to set out the next morning. 

They now saw that this pretence was insufficient to detain me;accordingly, the Chevalier Salviati prevailed with my treasurer, who was secretly a Huguenot, to declare he had not money enoughin his hands to discharge the expenses we had incurred at Liège, and that, in consequence, my horses were detained. I afterwardsdiscovered that this was false, for, on my arrival at La Fère, I called for his accounts, and found he had then a balance inhis hands which would have enabled him to pay the expenses of myfamily for six or seven weeks. The Princesse de Roche-sur-Yon, incensed at the affront put upon me, and seeing the danger Iincurred by staying, advanced the money that was required, totheir great confusion; and I took my leave of his Grace the Bishop, presenting him with a diamond worth three thousand crowns, andgiving his domestics gold chains and rings. Having thus takenour leave, we proceeded to Huy, without any other passport thanGod's good providence. 

This town, as I observed before, belongs to the Bishop of Liège, but was now in a state of tumult and confusion, on account ofthe general revolt of the Low Countries, the townsmen takingpart with the Netherlanders, notwithstanding the bishopric wasa neutral State. On this account they paid no respect to thegrand master of the Bishop's household, who accompanied us, but, knowing Don John had taken the castle of Namur in order, as theysupposed, to intercept me on my return, these brutal people, assoon as I had got into my quarters, rang the alarm-bell, drewup their artillery, placed chains across the streets, and keptus thus confined and separated the whole night, giving us noopportunity to expostulate with them on such conduct. In themorning we were suffered to leave the town without furthermolestation, and the streets we passed through were lined witharmed men. 

From there we proceeded to Dinant, where we intended to sleep;but, unfortunately for us, the townspeople had on that day chosentheir burghermasters, a kind of officers like the consuls inGascony and France. In consequence of this election, it was aday of tumult, riot, and debauchery; every one in the town wasdrunk, no magistrate was acknowledged. In a word, all was inconfusion. To render our situation still worse, the grand masterof the Bishop's household had formerly done the town some illoffice, and was considered as its enemy. The people of the town, when in their sober senses, were inclined to favour the partyof the States, but under the influence of Bacchus they paid noregard to any party, not even to themselves. 

As soon as I had reached the suburbs, they were alarmed at thenumber of my company, quitted the bottle and glass to take uptheir arms, and immediately shut the gates against me. I hadsent a gentleman before me, with my harbinger and quartermasters, to beg the magistrates to admit me to stay one night in the town, but I found my officers had been put under an arrest. They bawledout to us from within, to tell us their situation, but could notmake themselves heard. At length I raised myself up in my litter, and, taking off my mask, made a sign to a townsman nearest me, of the best appearance, that I was desirous to speak with him. As soon as he drew near me, I begged him to call out for silence, which being with some difficulty obtained, I represented to himwho I was, and the occasion of my journey; that it was far frommy intention to do them harm; but, to prevent any suspicions ofthe kind, I only begged to be admitted to go into their citywith my women, and as few others of my attendants as they thoughtproper, and that we might be permitted to stay there for onenight, whilst the rest of my company remained within the suburbs. 

They agreed to this proposal, and opened their gates for myadmission. I then entered the city with the principal personsof my company, and the grand master of the Bishop's household. This reverend personage, who was eighty years of age, and wore abeard as white as snow, which reached down to his girdle, --thisvenerable old man, I say, was no sooner recognized by the drunkenand armed rabble than he was accosted with the grossest abuse, andit was with difficulty they were restrained from laying violenthands upon him. At length I got him into my lodgings, but themob fired at the house, the walls of which were only of plaster. Upon being thus attacked, I inquired for the master of the house, who, fortunately, was within. I entreated him to speak from thewindow, to some one without, to obtain permission for my beingheard. I had some difficulty to get him to venture doing so. Atlength, after much bawling from the window, the burghermasterscame to speak to me, but were so drunk that they scarcely knewwhat they said. I explained to them that I was entirely ignorantthat the grand master of the Bishop's household was a personto whom they had a dislike, and I begged them to consider theconsequences of giving offence to a person like me, who was afriend of the principal lords of the States, and I assured themthat the Comte de Lalain, in particular, would be greatly displeasedwhen he should hear how I had been received there. 

The name of the Comte de Lalain produced an instant effect, muchmore than if I had mentioned all the sovereign princes I wasrelated to. The principal person amongst them asked me, withsome hesitation and stammering, if I was really a particularfriend of the Count's. Perceiving that to claim kindred withthe Count would do me more service than being related to allthe Powers in Christendom, I answered that I was both a friendand a relation. They then made me many apologies and _congés_, stretching forth their hands in token of friendship; in short, they now behaved with as much civility as before with rudeness. They begged my pardon for what had happened, and promised thatthe good old man, the grand master of the Bishop's household, should be no more insulted, but be suffered to leave the cityquietly, the next morning, with me. 

As soon as morning came, and while I was preparing to go to hearmass, there arrived the King's agent to Don John, named Du Bois, a man much attached to the Spanish interest. He informed me thathe had received orders from the King my brother to conduct mein safety on my return. He said that he had prevailed on DonJohn to permit Barlemont to escort me to Namur with a troop ofcavalry, and begged me to obtain leave of the citizens to admitBarlemont and his troop to enter the town, that they might receivemy orders. 

Thus had they concerted a double plot; the one to get possessionof the town, the other of my person. I saw through the whole design, and consulted with the Cardinal de Lenoncourt, communicating tohim my suspicions. The Cardinal was as unwilling to fall intothe hands of the Spaniards as I could be; he therefore thought itadvisable to acquaint the townspeople with the plot, and make ourescape from the city by another road, in order to avoid meetingBarlemont's troop. It was agreed betwixt us that the Cardinalshould keep Du Bois in discourse, whilst I consulted the principalcitizens in another apartment. Accordingly, I assembled as manyas I could, to whom I represented that if they admitted Barlemontand his troop within the town, he would most certainly takepossession of it for Don John. I gave it as my advice to make ashow of defence, to declare they would not be taken by surprise, and to offer to admit Barlemont, and no one else, within theirgates. They resolved to act according to my counsel, and offeredto serve me at the hazard of their lives. They promised to procureme a guide, who should conduct me by a road by following which Ishould put the river betwixt me and Don John's forces, wherebyI should be out of his reach, and could be lodged in houses andtowns which were in the interest of the States only. 

This point being settled, I despatched them to give admissionto M. De Barlemont, who, as soon as he entered within the gates, begged hard that his troop might come in likewise. Hereupon, the citizens flew into a violent rage, and were near puttinghim to death. They told him that if he did not order his menout of sight of the town, they would fire upon them with theirgreat guns. This was done with design to give me time to leave thetown before they could follow in pursuit of me. M. De Barlemontand the agent, Du Bois, used every argument they could deviseto persuade me to go to Namur, where they said Don John waitedto receive me. 

I appeared to give way to their persuasions, and, after hearingmass and taking a hasty dinner, I left my lodgings, escortedby two or three hundred armed citizens, some of them engagingBarlemont and Du Bois in conversation. We all took the way tothe gate which opens to the river, and directly opposite to thatleading to Namur. Du Bois and his colleague told me I was notgoing the right way, but I continued talking, and as if I didnot hear them. But when we reached the gate I hastened into theboat, and my people after me. M. De Barlemont and the agent DuBois, calling out to me from the bank, told me I was doing verywrong and acting directly contrary to the King's intention, whohad directed that I should return by way of Namur. 

In spite of all their remonstrances we crossed the river withall possible expedition, and, during the two or three crossingswhich were necessary to convey over the litters and horses, thecitizens, to give me the more time to escape, were debating withBarlemont and Du Bois concerning a number of grievances andcomplaints, telling them, in their coarse language, that DonJohn had broken the peace and falsified his engagements withthe States; and they even rehearsed the old quarrel of the deathof Egmont, and, lastly, declared that if the troop made itsappearance before their walls again, they would fire upon it withtheir artillery. 

I had by this means sufficient time to reach a secure distance, and was, by the help of God and the assistance of my guide, outof all apprehensions of danger from Batlemont and his troop. 

I intended to lodge that night in a strong castle, called Fleurines, which belonged to a gentleman of the Party of the States, whomI had seen with the Comte de Lalain. Unfortunately for me, thegentleman was absent, and his lady only was in the castle. Thecourtyard being open, we entered it, which put the lady intosuch a fright that she ordered the bridge to be drawn up, andfled to the strong tower. Nothing we could say would induce herto give us entrance. In the meantime, three hundred gentlemen, whom Don John had sent off to intercept our passage, and takepossession of the castle of Fleurines, judging that I should takeup my quarters there, made their appearance upon an eminence, atthe distance of about a thousand yards. They, seeing our carriagesin the courtyard, and supposing that we ourselves had taken tothe strong tower, resolved to stay where they were that night, hoping to intercept me the next morning. 

In this cruel situation were we placed, in a courtyard surroundedby a wall by no means strong, and shut up by a gate equally asweak and as capable of being forced, remonstrating from timeto time with the lady, who was deaf to all our prayers andentreaties. 

Through God's mercy, her husband, M. De Fleurines, himself appearedjust as night approached. We then gained instant admission, and thelady was greatly reprimanded by her husband for her incivility andindiscreet behaviour. This gentleman had been sent by the Comte deLalain, with directions to conduct me through the several townsbelonging to the States, the Count himself not being able toleave the army of the States, of which he had the chief command, to accompany me. 

This was as favourable a circumstance for me as I could wish;for, M. De Fleurines offering to accompany me into France, thetowns we had to pass through being of the party of the States, we were everywhere quietly and honourably received. I had onlythe mortification of not being able to visit Mons, agreeably tomy promise made to the Comtesse de Lalain, not passing nearerto it than Nivelle, seven long leagues distant from it. The Countbeing at Antwerp, and the war being hottest in the neighbourhoodof Mons, I thus was prevented seeing either of them on my return. I could only write to the Countess by a servant of the gentlemanwho was now my conductor. As soon as she learned I was at Nivelle, she sent some gentlemen, natives of the part of Flanders I wasin, with a strong injunction to see me safe on the frontier ofFrance. 

I had to pass through the Cambrésis, partly in favour of Spainand partly of the States. Accordingly, I set out with thesegentlemen, to lodge at Cateau-Cambrésis. There they took leave ofme, in order to return to Mons, and by them I sent the Countessa gown of mine, which had been greatly admired by her when Iwore it at Mons; it was of black satin, curiously embroidered, and cost nine hundred crowns. 

When I arrived at Cateau-Cambrésis, I had intelligence sent methat a party of the Huguenot troops had a design to attack meon the frontiers of Flanders and France. This intelligence Icommunicated to a few only of my company, and prepared to set offan hour before daybreak. When I sent for my litters and horses, I found much such a kind of delay from the Chevalier Salviati asI had before experienced at Liège, and suspecting it was donedesignedly, I left my litter behind, and mounted on horseback, with such of my attendants as were ready to follow me. By thismeans, with God's assistance, I escaped being waylaid by my enemies, and reached Catelet at ten in the morning. From there I went tomy house at La Fère, where I intended to reside until I learnedthat peace was concluded upon. 

At La Fère I found a messenger in waiting from my brother, whohad orders to return with all expedition, as soon as I arrived, and inform him of it. My brother wrote me word, by that messenger, that peace was concluded, and the King returned to Paris; that, as to himself, his situation was rather worse than better; thathe and his people were daily receiving some affront or other, and continual quarrels were excited betwixt the King's favouritesand Bussi and my brother's principal attendants. This, he added, had made him impatient for my return, that he might come andvisit me. 

I sent his messenger back, and immediately after, my brothersent Bussi and all his household to Angers, and, taking withhim fifteen or twenty attendants, he rode post to me at La Fère. It was a great satisfaction to me to see one whom I so tenderlyloved and greatly honoured, once more. I considered it amongstthe greatest felicities I ever enjoyed, and, accordingly, itbecame my chief study to make his residence here agreeable tohim. He himself seemed delighted with this change of situation, and would willingly have continued in it longer had not the noblegenerosity of his mind called him forth to great achievements. The quiet of our Court, when compared with that he had just left, affected him so powerfully that he could not but express thesatisfaction he felt by frequently exclaiming, "Oh, Queen! howhappy I am with you. My God! your society is a paradise whereinI enjoy every delight, and I seem to have lately escaped fromhell, with all its furies and tortures!"

LETTER XVII

We passed nearly two months together, which appeared to us onlyas so many days. I gave him an account of what I had done for himin Flanders, and the state in which I had left the business. Heapproved of the interview with the Comte de Lalain's brother inorder to settle the plan of operations and exchange assurances. Accordingly, the Comte de Montigny arrived, with four or fiveother leading men of the county of Hainault. One of these wascharged with a letter from M. D'Ainsi, offering his servicesto my brother, and assuring him of the citadel of Cambray. M. De Montigny delivered his brother's declaration and engagementto give up the counties of Hainault and Artois, which included anumber of fine cities. These offers made and accepted, my brotherdismissed them with presents of gold medals, bearing his and myeffigies, and every assurance of his future favour; and theyreturned to prepare everything for his coming. In the meanwhilemy brother considered on the necessary measures to be used forraising a sufficient force, for which purpose he returned tothe King, to prevail with him to assist him in this enterprise. 

As I was anxious to go to Gascony, I made ready for the journey, and set off for Paris, my brother meeting me at the distanceof one day's journey. 

At St. Denis I was met by the King, the Queen my mother, QueenLouise, and the whole Court. It was at St. Denis that I was tostop and dine, and there it was that I had the honour of themeeting I have just mentioned. 

I was received very graciously, and most sumptuously entertained. I was made to recount the particulars of my triumphant journeyto Liège, and perilous return. The magnificent entertainmentsI had received excited their admiration, and they rejoiced atmy narrow escapes. With such conversation I amused the Queenmy mother and the rest of the company in her coach, on our wayto Paris, where, supper and the ball being ended, I took anopportunity, when I saw the King and the Queen my mother together, to address them. 

I expressed my hopes that they would not now oppose my going tothe King my husband; that now, by the peace, the chief objectionto it was removed, and if I delayed going, in the present situationof affairs, it might be prejudicial and discreditable to me. Bothof them approved of my request, and commended my resolution. TheQueen my mother added that she would accompany me on my journey, asit would be for the King's service that she did so. She said theKing must furnish me with the necessary means for the journey, to which he readily assented. I thought this a proper time tosettle everything, and prevent another journey to Court, whichwould be no longer pleasing after my brother left it, who was nowpressing his expedition to Flanders with all haste. I thereforebegged the Queen my mother to recollect the promise she had mademy brother and me as soon as peace was agreed upon, which wasthat, before my departure for Gascony, I should have my marriageportion assigned to me in lands. She said that she recollectedit well, and the King thought it very reasonable, and promisedthat it should be done. I entreated that it might be concludedspeedily, as I wished to set off, with their permission, at thebeginning of the next month. This, too, was granted me, but grantedafter the mode of the Court; that is to say, notwithstandingmy constant solicitations, instead of despatch, I experiencedonly delay; and thus it continued for five or six months innegotiation. 

My brother met with the like treatment, though he was continuallyurging the necessity for his setting out for Flanders, andrepresenting that his expedition was for the glory and advantageof France, --for its glory, as such an enterprise would, likePiedmont, prove a school of war for the young nobility, whereinfuture Montlucs, Brissacs, Termes, and Bellegardes would be bred, all of them instructed in these wars, and afterwards, asfield-marshals, of the greatest service to their country; and itwould be for the advantage of France, as it would prevent civilwars; for Flanders would then be no longer a country whereinsuch discontented spirits as aimed at novelty could assemble tobrood over their malice and hatch plots for the disturbance oftheir native land. 

These representations, which were both reasonable and consonantwith truth, had no weight when put into the scale against theenvy excited by this advancement of my brother's fortune. Accordingly, every delay was used to hinder him from collectinghis forces together, and stop his expedition to Flanders. Bussiand his other dependents were offered a thousand indignities. Everystratagem was tried, by day as well as by night, to pick quarrelswith Bussi, --now by Quélus, at another time by Grammont, --withthe hope that my brother would engage in them. This was unknownto the King; but Maugiron, who had engrossed the King's favour, and who had quitted my brother's service, sought every means toruin him, as it is usual for those who have given offence tohate the offended party. 

Thus did this man take every occasion to brave and insult mybrother; and relying upon the countenance and blind affectionshown him by the King. Had leagued himself with Quélus, Saint-Luc, Saint-Maigrin, Grammont, Mauléon, Hivarrot, and other young menwho enjoyed the King's favour. As those who are favourites finda number of followers at Court, these licentious young courtiersthought they might do whatever they pleased. Some new disputebetwixt them and Bussi was constantly starting. Bussi had a degreeof courage which knew not how to give way to anyone; and my brother, unwilling to give umbrage to the King, and foreseeing that suchproceedings would not forward his expedition, to avoid quarrelsand, at the same time, to promote his plans, resolved to despatchBussi to his duchy of Alençon, in order to discipline such troopsas he should find there. My brother's amiable qualities excitedthe jealousy of Maugiron and the rest of his cabal about theKing's person, and their dislike for Bussi was not so much on hisown account as because he was strongly attached to my brother. The slights and disrespect shown to my brother were remarked byeveryone at Court; but his prudence, and the patience naturalto his disposition, enabled him to put up with their insults, inhopes of finishing the business of his Flemish expedition, whichwould remove him to a distance from them and their machinations. This persecution was the more mortifying and discreditable asit even extended to his servants, whom they strove to injure byevery means they could employ. M. De la Chastre at this time hada lawsuit of considerable consequence decided against him, becausehe had lately attached himself to my brother. At the instanceof Maugiron and Saint-Luc, the King was induced to solicit thecause in favour of Madame de Sénetaire, their friend. M. De laChastre, being greatly injured by it, complained to my brotherof the injustice done him, with all the concern such a proceedingmay be supposed to have occasioned. 

About this time Saint-Luc's marriage was celebrated. My brotherresolved not to be present at it, and begged of me to join himin the same resolution. The Queen my mother was greatly uneasyon account of the behaviour of these young men, fearing that, if my brother did not join them in this festivity, it might beattended with some bad consequence, especially as the day waslikely to produce scenes of revelry and debauch; she, therefore, prevailed on the King to permit her to dine on the wedding-dayat St. Maur, and take my brother and me with her. This was theday before Shrove Tuesday; and we returned in the evening, theQueen my mother having well lectured my brother, and made himconsent to appear at the ball, in order not to displease theKing. 

But this rather served to make matters worse than better, forMaugiron and his party began to attack him with such insolentspeeches as would have offended any one of far less consequence. They said he needed not to have given himself the trouble ofdressing, for he was not missed in the afternoon; but now, theysupposed, he came at night at the most suitable time; with otherallusions to the meanness of his figure and smallness of stature. All this was addressed to the bride, who sat near him, but spokenout on purpose that he might hear it. My brother, perceiving thiswas purposely said to provoke an answer and occasion his givingoffence to the King, removed from his seat full of resentment;and, consulting with M. De la Chastre, he came to the resolutionof leaving the Court in a few days on a hunting party. He stillthought his absence might stay their malice, and afford him anopportunity the more easily of settling his preparations forthe Flemish expedition with the King. He went immediately to theQueen my mother, who was present at the ball, and was extremelysorry to learn what had happened, and imparted her resolution, in his absence, to solicit the King to hasten his expedition toFlanders. M. De Villequier being present, she bade him acquaintthe King with my brother's intention of taking the diversion ofhunting a few days; which she thought very proper herself, asit would put a stop to the disputes which had arisen betwixthim and the young men, Maugiron, Saint-Luc, Quélus, and the rest. 

My brother retired to his apartment, and, considering his leaveas granted, gave orders to his domestics to prepare to set offthe next morning for St. Germain, where he should hunt the stagfor a few days. He directed the grand huntsman to be ready withthe hounds, and retired to rest, thinking to withdraw awhile fromthe intrigues of the Court, and amuse himself with the sportsof the field. M. De Villequier, agreeably to the command he hadreceived from the Queen my mother, asked for leave, and obtainedit. The King, however, staying in his closet, like Rehoboam, withhis council of five or six young men, they suggested suspicionsin his mind respecting my brother's departure from Court. Inshort, they worked upon his fears and apprehensions so greatly, that he took one of the most rash and inconsiderate steps thatwas ever decided upon in our time; which was to put my brotherand all his principal servants under an arrest. This measurewas executed with as much indiscretion as it had been resolvedupon. The King, under this agitation of mind, late as it was, hastened to the Queen my mother, and seemed as if there was ageneral alarm and the enemy at the gates, for he exclaimed onseeing her: "How could you, Madame, think of asking me to letmy brother go hence? Do you not perceive how dangerous his goingwill prove to my kingdom? Depend upon it that this hunting ismerely a pretence to cover some treacherous design. I am goingto put him and his people under an arrest, and have his papersexamined. I am sure we shall make some great discoveries. "

At the time he said this he had with him the Sieur de Cossé, captain of the guard, and a number of Scottish archers. The Queenmy mother, fearing, from the King's haste and trepidation, thatsome mischief might happen to my brother, begged to go with him. Accordingly, undressed as she was, wrapping herself up in anight-gown, she followed the King to my brother's bedchamber. The King knocked at the door with great violence, ordering it tobe immediately opened, for that he was there himself. My brotherstarted up in his bed, awakened by the noise, and, knowing thathe had done nothing that he need fear, ordered Cangé, his _valetde chambre_, to open the door. The King entered in a great rage, and asked him when he would have done plotting against him. "ButI will show you, " said he, "what it is to plot against yoursovereign. " Hereupon he ordered the archers to take away allthe trunks, and turn the _valets de chambre_ out of the room. Hesearched my brother's bed himself, to see if he could find anypapers concealed in it. My brother had that evening received aletter from Madame de Sauves, which he kept in his hand, unwillingthat it should be seen. The King endeavoured to force it from him. He refused to part with it, and earnestly entreated the Kingwould not insist upon seeing it. This only excited the King'sanxiety the more to have it in his possession, as he now supposedit to be the key to the whole plot, and the very document whichwould at once bring conviction home to him. At length, the Kinghaving got it into his hands, he opened it in the presence ofthe Queen my mother, and they were both as much confounded, whenthey read the contents, as Cato was when he obtained a letterfrom Cæsar, in the Senate, which the latter was unwilling togive up; and which Cato, supposing it to contain a conspiracyagainst the Republic, found to be no other than a love-letterfrom his own sister. 

But the shame of this disappointment served only to increasethe King's anger, who, without condescending to make a replyto my brother, when repeatedly asked what he had been accusedof, gave him in charge of M. De Cossé and his Scots, commandingthem not to admit a single person to speak with him. 

It was one o'clock in the morning when my brother was made aprisoner in the manner I have now related. He feared some fatalevent might succeed these violent proceedings, and he was underthe greatest concern on my account, supposing me to be undera like arrest. He observed M. De Cossé to be much affected bythe scene he had been witness to, even to shedding tears. Asthe archers were in the room he would not venture to enter intodiscourse with him, but only asked what was become of me. M. DeCossé answered that I remained at full liberty. My brother thensaid it was a great comfort to him to hear that news; "but, "added he, "as I know she loves me so entirely that she wouldrather be confined with me than have her liberty whilst I wasin confinement, I beg you will go to the Queen my mother, anddesire her to obtain leave for my sister to be with me. " He didso, and it was granted. 

The reliance which my brother displayed upon this occasion inthe sincerity of my friendship and regard for him conferred sogreat an obligation in my mind that, though I have received manyparticular favours since from him, this has always held the foremostplace in my grateful remembrance. 

By the time he had received permission for my being with him, daylight made its appearance. Seeing this, my brother beggedM. De Cossé to send one of his archers to acquaint me with hissituation, and beg me to come to him. 

LETTER XVIII

I was ignorant of what had happened to my brother, and when theScottish archer came into my bedchamber, I was still asleep. Hedrew the curtains of the bed, and told me, in his broken French, that my brother wished to see me. I stared at the man, half awakeas I was, and thought it a dream. After a short pause, and beingthoroughly awakened, I asked him if he was not a Scottish archer. He answered me in the affirmative. "What!" cried I, "has my brotherno one else to send a message by?" He replied he had not, for allhis domestics had been put under an arrest. He then proceededto relate, as well as he could explain himself, the events ofthe preceding night, and the leave granted my brother for mybeing with him during his imprisonment. 

The poor fellow, observing me to be much affected by thisintelligence, drew near, and whispered me to this purport: "Donot grieve yourself about this matter; I know a way of settingyour brother at liberty, and you may depend upon it, that I willdo it; but, in that case, I must go off with him. " I assuredhim that he might rely upon being as amply rewarded as he couldwish for such assistance, and, huddling on my clothes, I followedhim alone to my brother's apartments. In going thither, I hadoccasion to traverse the whole gallery, which was filled withpeople, who, at another time, would have pressed forward to paytheir respects to me; but, now that Fortune seemed to frown uponme, they all avoided me, or appeared as if they did not see me. 

Coming into my brother's apartments, I found him not at all affectedby what had happened; for such was the constancy of his mind, that his arrest had wrought no change, and he received me withhis usual cheerfulness. He ran to meet me, and taking me in hisarms, he said:

"Queen! I beg you to dry up your tears; in my present situation, nothing can grieve me so much as to find you under any concern; formy own part, I am so conscious of my innocence and the integrityof my conduct, that I can defy the utmost malice of my enemies. If I should chance to fall the victim of their injustice, mydeath would prove a more cruel punishment to them than to me, who have courage sufficient to meet it in a just cause. It isnot death I fear, because I have tasted sufficiently of thecalamities and evils of life, and am ready to leave this world, which I have found only the abode of sorrow; but the circumstanceI dread most is, that, not finding me sufficiently guilty todoom me to death, I shall be condemned to a long, solitaryimprisonment; though I should even despise their tyranny in thatrespect, could I but have the assurance of being comforted byyour presence. "

These words, instead of stopping my tears, only served to makethem stream afresh. I answered, sobbing, that my life and fortunewere at his devotion; that the power of God alone could preventme from affording him my assistance under every extremity; that, if he should be transported from that place, and I should bewithheld from following him, I would kill myself on the spot. 

Changing our discourse, we framed a number of conjectures onwhat might be the probable cause of the King's angry proceedingsagainst him, but found ourselves at a loss what to assign themto. 

Whilst we were discussing this matter the hour came for openingthe palace gates, when a simple young man belonging to Bussipresented himself for entrance. Being stopped by the guard andquestioned as to whither he was going, he, panic-struck, repliedhe was going to M. De Bussi, his master. This answer was carriedto the King, and gave fresh grounds for suspicion. It seems mybrother, supposing he should not be able to go to Flanders forsome time, and resolving to send Bussi to his duchy of Alençonas I have already mentioned, had lodged him in the Louvre, thathe might be near him to take instructions at every opportunity. 

L'Archant, the general of the guard, had received the King'scommands to make a search in the Louvre for him and Simier, andput them both under arrest. He entered upon this business withgreat unwillingness, as he was intimate with Bussi, who wasaccustomed to call him "father. " L'Archant, going to Simier'sapartment, arrested him; and though he judged Bussi was theretoo, yet being unwilling to find him, he was going away. Bussi, however, who had concealed himself under the bed, as not knowingto whom the orders for his arrest might be given, finding he wasto be left there, and sensible that he should be well treatedby L'Archant, called out to him, as he was leaving the room, inhis droll manner:

"What, papa, are you going without me? Don't you think I am asgreat a rogue as that Simier?"

"Ah, son, " replied L'Archant, "I would much rather have lost myarm than have met with you!"

Bussi, being a man devoid of all fear, observed that it was asign that things went well with him; then, turning to Simier, whostood trembling with fear, he jeered him upon his pusillanimity. L'Archant removed them both, and set a guard over them; and, inthe next place, proceeded to arrest M. De la Chastre, whom hetook to the Bastille. 

Meanwhile M. De l'Oste was appointed to the command of the guardwhich was set over my brother. This was a good sort of old man, who had been appointed governor to the King my husband, and lovedme as if I had been his own child. Sensible of the injustice doneto my brother and me, and lamenting the bad counsel by whichthe King was guided, and being, moreover, willing to serve us, he resolved to deliver my brother from arrest. In order to makehis intention known to us he ordered the Scottish archers towait on the stairs without, keeping only two whom he could trustin the room. Then taking me aside, he said:

"There is not a good Frenchman living who does not bleed at hisheart to see what we see. I have served the King your father, andI am ready to lay down my life to serve his children. I expectto have the guard of the Prince your brother, wherever he shallchance to be confined; and, depend upon it, at the hazard of mylife, I will restore him to his liberty. But, " added he, "thatno suspicions may arise that such is my design, it will be properthat we be not seen together in conversation; however, you mayrely upon my word. "

This afforded me great consolation; and, assuming a degree ofcourage hereupon, I observed to my brother that we ought not toremain there without knowing for what reason we were detained, as if we were in the Inquisition; and that to treat us in sucha manner was to consider us as persons of no account. I thenbegged M. De l'Oste to entreat the King, in our name, if theQueen our mother was not permitted to come to us, to send someone to acquaint us with the crime for which we were kept inconfinement. 

M. De Combaut, who was at the head of the young counsellors, wasaccordingly sent to us; and he, with a great deal of gravity, informed us that he came from the King to inquire what it waswe wished to communicate to his Majesty. We answered that wewished to speak to some one near the King's person, in order toour being informed what we were kept in confinement for, as wewere unable to assign any reason for it ourselves. He answered, with great solemnity, that we ought not to ask of God or theKing reasons for what they did; as all their actions emanatedfrom wisdom and justice. We replied that we were not persons tobe treated like those shut up in the Inquisition, who are leftto guess at the cause of their being there. 

We could obtain from him, after all we said, no other satisfactionthan his promise to interest himself in our behalf, and to dous all the service in his power. At this my brother broke outinto a fit of laughter; but I confess I was too much alarmedto treat his message with such indifference, and could scarcelyrefrain from talking to this messenger as he deserved. 

Whilst he was making his report to the King, the Queen my motherkept her chamber, being under great concern, as may well be supposed, to witness such proceedings. She plainly foresaw, in her prudence, that these excesses would end fatally, should the mildness ofmy brother's disposition, and his regard for the welfare of theState, be once wearied out with submitting to such repeated actsof injustice. She therefore sent for the senior members of theCouncil, the chancellor, princes, nobles, and marshals of France, who all were greatly scandalised at the bad counsel which hadbeen given to the King, and told the Queen my mother that sheought to remonstrate with the King upon the injustice of hisproceedings. They observed that what had been done could not nowbe recalled, but matters might yet be set upon a right footing. The Queen my mother hereupon went to the King, followed by thesecounsellors, and represented to him the ill consequences whichmight proceed from the steps he had taken. 

The King's eyes were by this time opened, and he saw that hehad been ill advised. He therefore begged the Queen my motherto set things to rights, and to prevail on my brother to forgetall that had happened, and to bear no resentment against theseyoung men, but to make up the breach betwixt Bussi and Quélus. 

Things being thus set to rights again, the guard which had beenplaced over my brother was dismissed, and the Queen my mother, coming to his apartment, told him he ought to return thanks toGod for his deliverance, for that there had been a moment wheneven she herself despaired of saving his life; that since hemust now have discovered that the King's temper of mind was suchthat he took the alarm at the very imagination of danger, andthat, when once he was resolved upon a measure, no advice thatshe or any other could give would prevent him from putting itinto execution, she would recommend it to him to submit himselfto the King's pleasure in everything, in order to prevent thelike in future; and, for the present, to take the earliestopportunity of seeing the King, and to appear as if he thoughtno more about the past. 

We replied that we were both of us sensible of God's great mercyin delivering us from the injustice of our enemies, and that, next to God, our greatest obligation was to her; but that mybrother's rank did not admit of his being put in confinementwithout cause, and released from it again without the formalityof an acknowledgment. Upon this, the Queen observed that it wasnot in the power even of God himself to undo what had been done;that what could be effected to save his honour, and give himsatisfaction for the irregularity of the arrest, should haveplace. My brother, therefore, she observed, ought to strive tomollify the King by addressing him with expressions of regard tohis person and attachment to his service; and, in the meantime, use his influence over Bussi to reconcile him to Quélus, andto end all disputes betwixt them. She then declared that theprincipal motive for putting my brother and his servants underarrest was to prevent the combat for which old Bussi, the bravefather of a brave son, had solicited the King's leave, whereinhe proposed to be his son's second, whilst the father of Quéluswas to be his. These four had agreed in this way to determinethe matter in dispute, and give the Court no further disturbance. 

My brother now engaged himself to the Queen that, as Bussi wouldsee he could not be permitted to decide his quarrel by combat, he should, in order to deliver himself from his arrest, do asshe had commanded. 

The Queen my mother, going down to the King, prevailed with himto restore my brother to liberty with every honour. In order towhich the King came to her apartment, followed by the princes, noblemen, and other members of the Council, and sent for us by M. De Villequier. As we went along we found all the rooms crowdedwith people, who, with tears in their eyes, blessed God for ourdeliverance. Coming into the apartments of the Queen my mother, we found the King attended as I before related. The King desiredmy brother not to take anything ill that had been done, as themotive for it was his concern for the good of his kingdom, andnot any bad intention towards himself. My brother replied that hehad, as he ought, devoted his life to his service, and, therefore, was governed by his pleasure; but that he most humbly begged himto consider that his fidelity and attachment did not merit thereturn he had met with; that, notwithstanding, he should impute itentirely to his own ill-fortune, and should be perfectly satisfiedif the King acknowledged his innocence. Hereupon the King saidthat he entertained not the least doubt of his innocence, andonly desired him to believe he held the same place in his esteemhe ever had. The Queen my mother then, taking both of them bythe hand, made them embrace each other. 

Afterwards the King commanded Bussi to be brought forth, to makea reconciliation betwixt him and Quélus, giving orders, at thesame time, for the release of Simier and M. De la Chastre. Bussicoming into the room with his usual grace, the King told him hemust be reconciled with Quélus, and forbade him to say a wordmore concerning their quarrel. He then commanded them to embrace. "Sire, " said Bussi, "if it is your pleasure that we kiss and arefriends again, I am ready to obey your command;" then, puttinghimself in the attitude of Pantaloon, he went up to Quélus andgave him a hug, which set all present in a titter, notwithstandingthey had been seriously affected by the scene which had passedjust before. 

Many persons of discretion thought what had been done was tooslight a reparation for the injuries my brother had received. When all was over, the King and the Queen my mother, coming up tome, said it would be incumbent on me to use my utmost endeavoursto prevent my brother from calling to mind anything past whichshould make him swerve from the duty and affection he owed theKing. I replied that my brother was so prudent, and so stronglyattached to the King's service, that he needed no admonitionon that head from me or anyone else; and that, with respect tomyself, I had never given him any other advice than to conformhimself to the King's pleasure and the duty he owed him. 

LETTER XIX

It was now three o'clock in the afternoon, and no one presenthad yet dined. The Queen my mother was desirous that we shouldeat together, and, after dinner, she ordered my brother and meto change our dress (as the clothes we had on were suitable onlyto our late melancholy situation) and come to the King's supperand ball. We complied with her orders as far as a change of dress, but our countenances still retained the impressions of griefand resentment which we inwardly felt. 

I must inform you that when the tragi-comedy I have given youan account of was over, the Queen my mother turned round to theChevalier de Seurre, whom she recommended to my brother to sleepin his bedchamber, and in whose conversation she sometimes tookdelight because he was a man of some humour, but rather inclinedto be cynical. 

"Well, " said she, "M. De Seurre, what do you think of all this?"

"Madame, I think there is too much of it for earnest, and notenough for jest. "

Then addressing himself to me, he said, but not loud enough forthe Queen to hear him: "I do not believe all is over yet; I amvery much mistaken if this young man" (meaning my brother) "restssatisfied with this. "

This day having passed in the manner before related, the woundbeing only skinned over and far from healed, the young men aboutthe King's person set themselves to operate in order to breakit out afresh. 

These persons, judging of my brother by themselves, and not havingsufficient experience to know the power of duty over the minds ofpersonages of exalted rank and high birth, persuaded the King, still connecting his case with their own, that it was impossiblemy brother should ever forgive the affront he had received, andnot seek to avenge himself with the first opportunity. The King, forgetting the ill-judged steps these young men had so latelyinduced him to take, hereupon receives this new impression, andgives orders to the officers of the guard to keep strict watchat the gates that his brother go not out, and that his peoplebe made to leave the Louvre every evening, except such of themas usually slept in his bedchamber or wardrobe. 

My brother, seeing himself thus exposed to the caprices of theseheadstrong young fellows, who led the King according to theirown fancies, and fearing something worse might happen than whathe had yet experienced, at the end of three days, during whichtime he laboured under apprehensions of this kind, came to adetermination to leave the Court, and never more return to it, but retire to his principality and make preparations with allhaste for his expedition to Flanders. 

He communicated his design to me, and I approved of it, as Iconsidered he had no other view in it than providing for hisown safety, and that neither the King nor his government werelikely to sustain any injury by it. 

When we consulted upon the means of its accomplishment, we couldfind no other than his descending from my window, which was on thesecond story and opened to the ditch, for the gates were so closelywatched that it was impossible to pass them, the face of everyonegoing out of the Louvre being curiously examined. He begged ofme, therefore, to procure for him a rope of sufficient strengthand long enough for the purpose. This I set about immediately, for, having the sacking of a bed that wanted mending, I sentit out of the palace by a lad whom I could trust, with ordersto bring it back repaired, and to wrap up the proper length ofrope inside. 

When all was prepared, one evening, at supper time, I went tothe Queen my mother, who supped alone in her own apartment, itbeing fast-day and the King eating no supper. My brother, whoon most occasions was patient and discreet, spurred on by theindignities he had received, and anxious to extricate himselffrom danger and regain his liberty, came to me as I was risingfrom table, and whispered to me to make haste and come to himin my own apartment. M. De Matignon, at that time a marshal, a sly, cunning Norman, and one who had no love for my brother, whether he had some knowledge of his design from some one whocould not keep a secret, or only guessed at it, observed to theQueen my mother as she left the room (which I overheard, beingnear her, and circumspectly watching every word and motion, asmay well be imagined, situated as I was betwixt fear and hope, and involved in perplexity) that my brother had undoubtedly anintention of withdrawing himself, and would not be there thenext day; adding that he was assured of it, and she might takeher measures accordingly. 

I observed that she was much disconcerted by this observation, and I had my fears lest we should be discovered. When we cameinto her closet, she drew me aside and asked if I heard whatMatignon had said. 

I replied: "I did not hear it, Madame, but I observe that it hasgiven you uneasiness. "

"Yes, " said she, "a great deal of uneasiness, for you know I havepledged myself to the King that your brother shall not departhence, and Matignon has declared that he knows very well he willnot be here to-morrow. "

I now found myself under a great embarrassment; I was in dangereither of proving unfaithful to my brother, and thereby bringinghis life into jeopardy, or of being obliged to declare that tobe truth which I knew to be false, and this I would have diedrather than be guilty of. 

In this extremity, if I had not been aided by God, my countenance, without speaking, would plainly have discovered what I wishedto conceal. But God, who assists those who mean well, and whosedivine goodness was discoverable in my brother's escape, enabledme to compose my looks and suggested to me such a reply as gaveher to understand no more than I wished her to know, and clearedmy conscience from making any declaration contrary to the truth. I answered her in these words:

"You cannot, Madame, but be sensible that M. De Matignon is notone of my brother's friends, and that he is, besides, a busy, meddling kind of man, who is sorry to find a reconciliation hastaken place with us; and, as to my brother, I will answer forhim with my life in case he goes hence, of which, if he had anydesign, I should, as I am well assured, not be ignorant, he neverhaving yet concealed anything he meant to do from me. "

All this was said by me with the assurance that, after my brother'sescape, they would not dare to do me any injury; and in case ofthe worst, and when we should be discovered, I had much ratherpledge my life than hazard my soul by a false declaration, andendanger my brother's life. Without scrutinising the import ofmy speech, she replied: "Remember what you now say, --you willbe bound for him on the penalty of your life. "

I smiled and answered that such was my intention. Then, wishingher a good night, I retired to my own bedchamber, where, undressingmyself in haste and getting into bed, in order to dismiss theladies and maids of honour, and there then remaining only mychamber-women, my brother came in, accompanied by Simier andCangé. Rising from my bed, we made the cord fast, and havinglooked out at the window to discover if anyone was in the ditch, with the assistance of three of my women, who slept in my room, and the lad who had brought in the rope, we let down my brother, who laughed and joked upon the occasion without the leastapprehension, notwithstanding the height was considerable. Wenext lowered Simier into the ditch, who was in such a frightthat he had scarcely strength to hold the rope fast; and lastlydescended my brother's _valet de chambre_, Cangé. 

Through God's providence my brother got off undiscovered, andgoing to Ste. Geneviève, he found Bussi waiting there for him. By consent of the abbot, a hole had been made in the city wall, through which they passed, and horses being provided and in waiting, they mounted, and reached Angers without the least accident. 

Whilst we were lowering down Cangé, who, as I mentioned before, was the last, we observed a man rising out of the ditch, who rantowards the lodge adjoining to the tennis-court, in the directway leading to the guard-house. I had no apprehensions on myown account, all my fears being absorbed by those I entertainedfor my brother; and now I was almost dead with alarm, supposingthis might be a spy placed there by M. De Matignon, and thatmy brother would be taken. Whilst I was in this cruel state ofanxiety, which can be judged of only by those who have experienceda similar situation, my women took a precaution for my safetyand their own, which did not suggest itself to me. This was toburn the rope, that it might not appear to our conviction incase the man in question had been placed there to watch us. Thisrope occasioned so great a flame in burning, that it set fire tothe chimney, which, being seen from without, alarmed the guard, who ran to us, knocking violently at the door, calling for itto be opened. 

I now concluded that my brother was stopped, and that we wereboth undone. However, as, by the blessing of God and throughhis divine mercy alone, I have, amidst every danger with which Ihave been repeatedly surrounded, constantly preserved a presenceof mind which directed what was best to be done, and observingthat the rope was not more than half consumed, I told my womento go to the door, and speaking softly, as if I was asleep, toask the men what they wanted. They did so, and the archers repliedthat the chimney was on fire, and they came to extinguish it. Mywomen answered it was of no consequence, and they could put it outthemselves, begging them not to awake me. This alarm thus passedoff quietly, and they went away; but, in two hours afterward, M. De Cossé came for me to go to the King and the Queen my mother, to give an account of my brother's escape, of which they hadreceived intelligence by the Abbot of Ste. Geneviève. 

It seems it had been concerted betwixt my brother and the abbot, in order to prevent the latter from falling under disgrace, that, when my brother might be supposed to have reached a sufficientdistance, the abbot should go to Court, and say that he had beenput into confinement whilst the hole was being made, and thathe came to inform the King as soon as he had released himself. 

I was in bed, for it was yet night; and rising hastily, I puton my night-clothes. One of my women was indiscreet enough tohold me round the waist, and exclaim aloud, shedding a flood oftears, that she should never see me more. M. De Cossé, pushingher away, said to me: "If I were not a person thoroughly devotedto your service, this woman has said enough to bring you intotrouble. But, " continued he, "fear nothing. God be praised, bythis time the Prince your brother is out of danger. "

These words were very necessary, in the present state of my mind, to fortify it against the reproaches and threats I had reasonto expect from the King. I found him sitting at the foot of theQueen my mother's bed, in such a violent rage that I am inclinedto believe I should have felt the effects of it, had he not beenrestrained by the absence of my brother and my mother's presence. They both told me that I had assured them my brother would notleave the Court, and that I pledged myself for his stay. I repliedthat it was true that he had deceived me, as he had them; however, I was ready still to pledge my life that his departure wouldnot operate to the prejudice of the King's service, and that itwould appear he was only gone to his own principality to giveorders and forward his expedition to Flanders. 

The King appeared to be somewhat mollified by this declaration, and now gave me permission to return to my own apartments. Soonafterwards he received letters from my brother, containing assurancesof his attachment, in the terms I had before expressed. Thiscaused a cessation of complaints, but by no means removed theKing's dissatisfaction, who made a show of affording assistanceto his expedition, but was secretly using every means to frustrateand defeat it. 

LETTER XX

I now renewed my application for leave to go to the King my husband, which I continued to press on every opportunity. The King, perceivingthat he could not refuse my leave any longer, was willing I shoulddepart satisfied. He had this further view in complying with mywishes, that by this means he should withdraw me from my attachmentto my brother. He therefore strove to oblige me in every way hecould think of, and, to fulfil the promise made by the Queenmy mother at the Peace of Sens, he gave me an assignment of myportion in territory, with the power of nomination to all vacantbenefices and all offices; and, over and above the customarypension to the daughters of France, he gave another out of hisprivy purse. 

He daily paid me a visit in my apartment, in which he took occasionto represent to me how useful his friendship would be to me; whereasthat of my brother could be only injurious, --with arguments ofthe like kind. 

However, all he could say was insufficient to prevail on me toswerve from the fidelity I had vowed to observe to my brother. The King was able to draw from me no other declaration than this:that it ever was, and should be, my earnest wish to see my brotherfirmly established in his gracious favour, which he had neverappeared to me to have forfeited; that I was well assured hewould exert himself to the utmost to regain it by every act ofduty and meritorious service; that, with respect to myself, Ithought I was so much obliged to him for the great honour hedid me by repeated acts of generosity, that he might be assured, when I was with the King my husband I should consider myselfbound in duty to obey all such commands as he should be pleasedto give me; and that it would be my whole study to maintain theKing my husband in a submission to his pleasure. 

My brother was now on the point of leaving Alençon to go to Flanders;the Queen my mother was desirous to see him before his departure. I begged the King to permit me to take the opportunity ofaccompanying her to take leave of my brother, which he granted;but, as it seemed, with great unwillingness. When we returnedfrom Alençon, I solicited the King to permit me to take leave ofhimself, as I had everything prepared for my journey. The Queenmy mother being desirous to go to Gascony, where her presence wasnecessary for the King's service, was unwilling that I shoulddepart without her. When we left Paris, the King accompanied uson the way as far as his palace of Dolinville. There we stayedwith him a few days, and there we took our leave, and in a littletime reached Guienne, which belonging to, and being under thegovernment of the King my husband, I was everywhere received asQueen. My husband gave the Queen my mother a meeting at Réolle, which was held by the Huguenots as a cautionary town; and thecountry not being sufficiently quieted, she was permitted togo no further. 

It was the intention of the Queen my mother to make but a shortstay; but so many accidents arose from disputes betwixt the Huguenotsand Catholics, that she was under the necessity of stopping thereeighteen months. As this was very much against her inclination, she was sometimes inclined to think there was a design to keepher, in order to have the company of her maids of honour. For myhusband had been greatly smitten with Dayelle, and M. De Thurènewas in love with La Vergne. However, I received every mark ofhonour and attention from the King that I could expect or desire. He related to me, as soon as we met, the artifices which hadbeen put in practice whilst he remained at Court to create amisunderstanding betwixt him and me; all this, he said, he knewwas with a design to cause a rupture betwixt my brother and him, and thereby ruin us all three, as there was an exceeding greatjealousy entertained of the friendship which existed betwixtus. 

We remained in the disagreeable situation I have before describedall the time the Queen my mother stayed in Gascony; but, as soonas she could reestablish peace, she, by desire of the King myhusband, removed the King's lieutenant, the Marquis de Villars, putting in his place the Maréchal de Biron. She then departedfor Languedoc, and we conducted her to Castelnaudary; where, taking our leave, we returned to Pau, in Béarn; in which place, the Catholic religion not being tolerated, I was only allowedto have mass celebrated in a chapel of about three or four feetin length, and so narrow that it could scarcely hold seven oreight persons. During the celebration of mass, the bridge ofthe castle was drawn up to prevent the Catholics of the townand country from coming to assist at it; who having been, forsome years, deprived of the benefit of following their own modeof worship, would have gladly been present. Actuated by so holyand laudable a desire, some of the inhabitants of Pau, onWhit-sunday, found means to get into the castle before the bridgewas drawn up, and were present at the celebration of mass, notbeing discovered until it was nearly over. At length the Huguenotsespied them, and ran to acquaint Le Pin, secretary to the Kingmy husband, who was greatly in his favour, and who conductedthe whole business relating to the new religion. Upon receivingthis intelligence, Le Pin ordered the guard to arrest these poorpeople, who were severely beaten in my presence, and afterwardslocked up in prison, whence they were not released without payinga considerable fine. 

This indignity gave me great offence, as I never expected anythingof the kind. Accordingly, I complained of it to the King my husband, begging him to give orders for the release of these poor Catholics, who did not deserve to be punished for coming to my chapel to hearmass, a celebration of which they had been so long deprived ofthe benefit. Le Pin, with the greatest disrespect to his master, took upon him to reply, without waiting to hear what the King hadto say. He told me that I ought not to trouble the King my husbandabout such matters; that what had been done was very right andproper; that those people had justly merited the treatment theymet with, and all I could say would go for nothing, for it mustbe so; and that I ought to rest satisfied with being permittedto have mass said to me and my servants. This insolent speechfrom a person of his inferior condition incensed me greatly, and I entreated the King my husband, if I had the least share inhis good graces, to do me justice, and avenge the insult offeredme by this low man. 

The King my husband, perceiving that I was offended, as I hadreason to be, with this gross indignity, ordered Le Pin to quitour presence immediately; and, expressing his concern at hissecretary's behaviour, who, he said, was overzealous in the causeof religion, he promised that he would make an example of him. As to the Catholic prisoners, he said he would advise with hisparliament what ought to be done for my satisfaction. 

Having said this, he went to his closet, where he found Le Pin, who, by dint of persuasion, made him change his resolution; insomuchthat, fearing I should insist upon his dismissing his secretary, he avoided meeting me. At last, finding that I was firmly resolvedto leave him, unless he dismissed Le Pin, he took advice of somepersons, who, having themselves a dislike to the secretary, represented that he ought not to give me cause of displeasurefor the sake of a man of his small importance, --especially onewho, like him, had given me just reason to be offended; that, when it became known to the King my brother and the Queen mymother, they would certainly take it ill that he had not onlynot resented it, but, on the contrary, still kept him near hisperson. 

This counsel prevailed with him, and he at length discarded hissecretary. The King, however, continued to behave to me withgreat coolness, being influenced, as he afterwards confessed, by the counsel of M. De Pibrac, who acted the part of a doubledealer, telling me that I ought not to pardon an affront offeredby such a mean fellow, but insist upon his being dismissed; whilsthe persuaded the King my husband that there was no reason forparting with a man so useful to him, for such a trivial cause. This was done by M. De Pibrac, thinking I might be induced, fromsuch mortifications, to return to France, where he enjoyed theoffices of president and King's counsellor. 

I now met with a fresh cause for disquietude in my present situation, for, Dayelle being gone, the King my husband placed his affectionson Rebours. She was an artful young person, and had no regardfor me; accordingly, she did me all the ill offices in her powerwith him. In the midst of these trials, I put my trust in God, and he, moved with pity by my tears, gave permission for ourleaving Pau, that "little Geneva;" and, fortunately for me, Rebourswas taken ill and stayed behind. The King my husband no soonerlost sight of her than he forgot her; he now turned his eyesand attention towards Fosseuse. She was much handsomer than theother, and was at that time young, and really a very amiableperson. 

Pursuing the road to Montauban, we stopped at a little town calledEause, where, in the night, the King my husband was attackedwith a high fever, accompanied with most violent pains in hishead. This fever lasted for seventeen days, during which time hehad no rest night or day, but was continually removed from onebed to another. I nursed him the whole time, never stirring fromhis bedside, and never putting off my clothes. He took notice ofmy extraordinary tenderness, and spoke of it to several persons, and particularly to my cousin M----, who, acting the part ofan affectionate relation, restored me to his favour, insomuchthat I never stood so highly in it before. This happiness I hadthe good fortune to enjoy during the four or five years thatI remained with him in Gascony. 

Our residence, for the most part of the time I have mentioned, was at Nérac, where our Court was so brilliant that we had nocause to regret our absence from the Court of France. We hadwith us the Princesse de Navarre, my husband's sister, sincemarried to the Duc de Bar; there were besides a number of ladiesbelonging to myself. The King my husband was attended by a numerousbody of lords and gentlemen, all as gallant persons as I haveseen in any Court; and we had only to lament that they wereHuguenots. This difference of religion, however, caused no disputeamong us; the King my husband and the Princess his sister hearda sermon, whilst I and my servants heard mass. I had a chapel inthe park for the purpose, and, as soon as the service of bothreligions was over, we joined company in a beautiful garden, ornamented with long walks shaded with laurel and cypress trees. Sometimes we took a walk in the park on the banks of the river, bordered by an avenue of trees three thousand yards in length. The rest of the day was passed in innocent amusements; and inthe afternoon, or at night, we commonly had a ball. 

The King was very assiduous with Fosseuse, who, being dependent onme, kept herself within the strict bounds of honour and virtue. Hadshe always done so, she had not brought upon herself a misfortunewhich has proved of such fatal consequence to myself as well asto her. 

But our happiness was too great to be of long continuance, andfresh troubles broke out betwixt the King my husband and theCatholics, and gave rise to a new war. The King my husband andthe Maréchal de Biron, who was the King's lieutenant in Guienne, had a difference, which was aggravated by the Huguenots. Thisbreach became in a short time so wide that all my efforts toclose it were useless. They made their separate complaints tothe King. The King my husband insisted on the removal of theMaréchal de Biron, and the Marshal charged the King my husband, and the rest of those who were of the pretended reformed religion, with designs contrary to peace. I saw, with great concern, thataffairs were likely soon to come to an open rupture; and I hadno power to prevent it. 

The Marshal advised the King to come to Guienne himself, sayingthat in his presence matters might be settled. The Huguenots, hearing of this proposal, supposed the King would take possessionof their towns, and, thereupon, came to a resolution to takeup arms. This was what I feared; I was become a sharer in theKing my husband's fortune, and was now to be in opposition tothe King my brother and the religion I had been bred up in. Igave my opinion upon this war to the King my husband and hisCouncil, and strove to dissuade them from engaging in it. Irepresented to them the hazards of carrying on a war when theywere to be opposed against so able a general as the Maréchal deBiron, who would not spare them, as other generals had done, he being their private enemy. I begged them to consider that, ifthe King brought his whole force against them, with intentionto exterminate their religion, it would not be in their powerto oppose or prevent it. But they were so headstrong, and soblinded with the hope of succeeding in the surprise of certaintowns in Languedoc and Gascony, that, though the King did me thehonour, upon all occasions, to listen to my advice, as did mostof the Huguenots, yet I could not prevail on them to follow itin the present situation of affairs, until it was too late, andafter they had found, to their cost, that my counsel was good. The torrent was now burst forth, and there was no possibility ofstopping its course until it had spent its utmost strength. 

Before that period arrived, foreseeing the consequences, I hadoften written to the King and the Queen my mother, to offer somethingto the King my husband by way of accommodating matters. But theywere bent against it, and seemed to be pleased that matters hadtaken such a turn, being assured by Maréchal de Biron that hehad it in his power to crush the Huguenots whenever he pleased. In this crisis my advice was not attended to, the dissensionsincreased, and recourse was had to arms. 

The Huguenots had reckoned upon a force more considerable thanthey were able to collect together, and the King my husband foundhimself outnumbered by Maréchal de Biron. In consequence, those ofthe pretended reformed religion failed in all their plans, excepttheir attack upon Cahors, which they took with petards, afterhaving lost a great number of men, --M. De Vezins, who commanded inthe town, disputing their entrance for two or three days, fromstreet to street, and even from house to house. The King my husbanddisplayed great valour and conduct upon the occasion, and showedhimself to be a gallant and brave general. Though the Huguenotssucceeded in this attempt, their loss was so great that theygained nothing from it. Maréchal de Biron kept the field, andtook every place that declared for the Huguenots, putting allthat opposed him to the sword. 

From the commencement of this war, the King my husband doingme the honour to love me, and commanding me not to leave him, Ihad resolved to share his fortune, not without extreme regret, in observing that this war was of such a nature that I could not, in conscience, wish success to either side; for if the Huguenotsgot the upper hand, the religion which I cherished as much asmy life was lost, and if the Catholics prevailed, the King myhusband was undone. But, being thus attached to my husband, bythe duty I owed him, and obliged by the attentions he was pleasedto show me, I could only acquaint the King and the Queen my motherwith the situation to which I was reduced, occasioned by my adviceto them not having been attended to. I, therefore, prayed them, if they could not extinguish the flames of war in the midst ofwhich I was placed, at least to give orders to Maréchal de Bironto consider the town I resided in, and three leagues round it, as neutral ground, and that I would get the King my husband todo the same. This the King granted me for Nérac, provided myhusband was not there; but if he should enter it, the neutralitywas to cease, and so to remain as long as he continued there. Thisconvention was observed, on both sides, with all the exactness Icould desire. However, the King my husband was not to be preventedfrom often visiting Nérac, which was the residence of his sisterand me. He was fond of the society of ladies, and, moreover, wasat that time greatly enamoured with Fosseuse, who held the placein his affections which Rebours had lately occupied. Fosseuse didme no ill offices, so that the King my husband and I continued tolive on very good terms, especially as he perceived me unwillingto oppose his inclinations. 

Led by such inducements, he came to Nérac, once, with a bodyof troops, and stayed three days, not being able to leave theagreeable company he found there. Maréchal de Biron, who wishedfor nothing so much as such an opportunity, was apprised of it, and, under pretence of joining M. De Cornusson, the seneschal ofToulouse, who was expected with a reinforcement for his army, he began his march; but, instead of pursuing the road, accordingto the orders he had issued, he suddenly ordered his troops tofile off towards Nérac, and, before nine in the morning, hiswhole force was drawn up within sight of the town, and withincannonshot of it. 

The King my husband had received intelligence, the evening before, of the expected arrival of M. De Cornusson, and was desirous ofpreventing the junction, for which purpose he resolved to attackhim and the Marshal separately. As he had been lately joinedby M. De La Rochefoucauld, with a corps of cavalry consistingof eight hundred men, formed from the nobility of Saintonge, he found himself sufficiently strong to undertake such a plan. He, therefore, set out before break of day to make his attackas they crossed the river. But his intelligence did not proveto be correct, for De Cornusson passed it the evening before. My husband, being thus disappointed in his design, returned toNérac, and entered at one gate just as Maréchal de Biron drewup his troops before the other. There fell so heavy a rain atthat moment that the musketry was of no use. The King my husband, however, threw a body of his troops into a vineyard to stop theMarshal's progress, not being able to do more on account of theunfavourableness of the weather. 

In the meantime, the Marshal continued with his troops drawn upin order of battle, permitting only two or three of his men toadvance, who challenged a like number to break lances in honourof their mistresses. The rest of the army kept their ground, tomask their artillery, which, being ready to play, they openedto the right and left, and fired seven or eight shots upon thetown, one of which struck the palace. The Marshal, having donethis, marched off, despatching a trumpeter to me with his excuse. He acquainted me that, had I been alone, he would on no accounthave fired on the town; but the terms of neutrality for the town, agreed upon by the King, were, as I well knew, in case the Kingmy husband should not be found in it, and, if otherwise, theywere void. Besides which, his orders were to attack the Kingmy husband wherever he should find him. 

I must acknowledge on every other occasion the Marshal showed methe greatest respect, and appeared to be much my friend. Duringthe war my letters have frequently fallen into his hands, whenhe as constantly forwarded them to me unopened. And whenever mypeople have happened to be taken prisoners by his army, theywere always well treated as soon as they mentioned to whom theybelonged. 

I answered his message by the trumpeter, saying that I well knewwhat he had done was strictly agreeable to the convention madeand the orders he had received, but that a gallant officer likehim would know how to do his duty without giving his friendscause of offence; that he might have permitted me the enjoymentof the King my husband's company in Nérac for three days, adding, that he could not attack him, in my presence, without attackingme; and concluding that, certainly, I was greatly offended byhis conduct, and would take the first opportunity of making mycomplaint to the King my brother. 

LETTER XXI

The war lasted some time longer, but with disadvantage to theHuguenots. The King my husband at length became desirous to makea peace. I wrote on the subject to the King and the Queen mymother; but so elated were they both with Maréchal de Biron'ssuccess that they would not agree to any terms. 

About the time this war broke out, Cambray, which had been deliveredup to my brother by M. D'Ainsi, according to his engagement withme, as I have before related, was besieged by the forces of Spain. My brother received the news of this siege at his castle ofPlessis-les-Tours, whither he had retired after his return fromFlanders, where, by the assistance of the Comte de Lalain, hehad been invested with the government of Mons, Valenciennes, and their dependencies. 

My brother, being anxious to relieve Cambray, set about raisingan army with all the expedition possible; but, finding it couldnot be accomplished very speedily, he sent forward a reinforcementunder the command of M. De Balagny, to succour the place untilhe arrived himself with a sufficient force to raise the siege. Whilst he was in the midst of these preparations this Huguenotwar broke out, and the men he had raised left him to incorporatethemselves with the King's army, which had reached Gascony. 

My brother was now without hope of raising the siege, and to loseCambray would be attended with the loss of the other countrieshe had just obtained. Besides, what he should regret more, suchlosses would reduce to great straits M. De Balagny and the gallanttroops so nobly defending the place. 

His grief on this occasion was poignant, and, as his excellentjudgment furnished him with expedients under all his difficulties, he resolved to endeavour to bring about a peace. Accordingly hedespatched a gentleman to the King with his advice to accede toterms, offering to undertake the treaty himself. His design inoffering himself as negotiator was to prevent the treaty beingdrawn out to too great a length, as might be the case if confidedto others. It was necessary that he should speedily relieve Cambray, for M. De Balagny, who had thrown himself into the city as I havebefore mentioned, had written to him that he should be able todefend the place for six months; but, if he received no succourswithin that time, his provisions would be all expended, and heshould be obliged to give way to the clamours of the inhabitants, and surrender the town. 

By God's favour, the King was induced to listen to my brother'sproposal of undertaking a negotiation for a peace. The King hopedthereby to disappoint him in his expectations in Flanders, whichhe never had approved. Accordingly he sent word back to my brotherthat he should accept his proffer of negotiating a peace, andwould send him for his coadjutors, M. De Villeroy and M. DeBellièvre. The commission my brother was charged with succeeded, and, after a stay of seven months in Gascony, he settled a peaceand left us, his thoughts being employed during the whole timeon the means of relieving Cambray, which the satisfaction hefound in being with us could not altogether abate. 

The peace my brother made, as I have just mentioned, was sojudiciously framed that it gave equal satisfaction to the Kingand the Catholics, and to the King my husband and the Huguenots, and obtained him the affections of both parties. He likewiseacquired from it the assistance of that able general, Maréchalde Biron, who undertook the command of the army destined to raisethe siege of Cambray. The King my husband was equally gratifiedin the Marshal's removal from Gascony and having Maréchal deMatignon in his place. 

Before my brother set off he was desirous to bring about areconciliation betwixt the King my husband and Maréchal de Biron, provided the latter should make his apologies to me for his conductat Nérac. My brother had desired me to treat him with all disdain, but I used this hasty advice with discretion, considering thatmy brother might one day or other repent having given it, ashe had everything to hope, in his present situation, from thebravery of this officer. 

My brother returned to France accompanied by Maréchal de Biron. By his negotiation of a peace he had acquired to himself greatcredit with both parties, and secured a powerful force for thepurpose of raising the siege of Cambray. But honours and successare followed by envy. The King beheld this accession of glory tohis brother with great dissatisfaction. He had been for sevenmonths, while my brother and I were together in Gascony, broodingover his malice, and produced the strangest invention that canbe imagined. He pretended to believe (what the King my husbandcan easily prove to be false) that I instigated him to go towar that I might procure for my brother the credit of makingpeace. This is not at all probable when it is considered theprejudice my brother's affairs in Flanders sustained by the war. But envy and malice are self-deceivers, and pretend to discoverwhat no one else can perceive. On this frail foundation the Kingraised an altar of hatred, on which he swore never to cease tillhe had accomplished my brother's ruin and mine. He had neverforgiven me for the attachment I had discovered for my brother'sinterest during the time he was in Poland and since. 

Fortune chose to favour the King's animosity; for, during theseven months that my brother stayed in Gascony, he conceiveda passion for Fosseuse, who was become the doting piece of theKing my husband, as I have already mentioned, since he had quittedRebours. This new passion in my brother had induced the King myhusband to treat me with coldness, supposing that I countenanced mybrother's addresses. I no sooner discovered this than I remonstratedwith my brother, as I knew he would make every sacrifice formy repose. I begged him to give over his pursuit, and not tospeak to her again. I succeeded this way to defeat the maliceof my ill-fortune; but there was still behind another secretambush, and that of a more fatal nature; for Fosseuse, who waspassionately fond of the King my husband, but had hitherto grantedno favours inconsistent with prudence and modesty, piqued by hisjealousy of my brother, gave herself up suddenly to his will, andunfortunately became pregnant. She no sooner made this discovery, than she altered her conduct towards me entirely from what itwas before. She now shunned my presence as much as she had beenaccustomed to seek it, and whereas before she strove to do meevery good office with the King my husband, she now endeavouredto make all the mischief she was able betwixt us. For his part, he avoided me; he grew cold and indifferent, and since Fosseuseceased to conduct herself with discretion, the happy moments thatwe experienced during the four or five years we were togetherin Gascony were no more. 

Peace being restored, and my brother departed for France, asI have already related, the King my husband and I returned toNérac. We were no sooner there than Fosseuse persuaded the Kingmy husband to make a journey to the waters of Aigues-Caudes, in Béarn, perhaps with a design to rid herself of her burdenthere. I begged the King my husband to excuse my accompanyinghim, as, since the affront that I had received at Pau, I hadmade a vow never to set foot in Béarn until the Catholic religionwas reestablished there. He pressed me much to go with him, andgrew angry at my persisting to refuse his request. He told methat his _little girl_ (for so he affected to call Fosseuse)was desirous to go there on account of a colic, which she feltfrequent returns of. I answered that I had no objection to histaking her with him. He then said that she could not go unlessI went; that it would occasion scandal, which might as well beavoided. He continued to press me to accompany him, but at lengthI prevailed with him to consent to go without me, and to takeher with him, and, with her, two of her companions, Rebours andVille-Savin, together with the governess. They set out accordingly, and I waited their return at Bavière. 

I had every day news from Rebours, informing me how matters went. This Rebours I have mentioned before to have been the object of myhusband's passion, but she was now cast off, and, consequently, wasno friend to Fosseuse, who had gained that place in his affectionshe had before held. She, therefore, strove all she could tocircumvent her; and, indeed, she was fully qualified for sucha purpose, as she was a cunning, deceitful young person. Shegave me to understand that Fosseuse laboured to do me every illoffice in her power; that she spoke of me with the greatestdisrespect on all occasions, and expressed her expectations ofmarrying the King herself, in case she should be delivered ofa son, when I was to be divorced. She had said, further, thatwhen the King my husband returned to Bavière, he had resolvedto go to Pau, and that I should go with him, whether I wouldor not. 

This intelligence was far from being agreeable to me, and I knewnot what to think of it. I trusted in the goodness of God, andI had a reliance on the generosity of the King my husband; yetI passed the time I waited for his return but uncomfortably, and often thought I shed more tears than they drank water. TheCatholic nobility of the neighbourhood of Bavière used their utmostendeavours to divert my chagrin, for the month or five weeks thatthe King my husband and Fosseuse stayed at Aigues-Caudes. 

On his return, a certain nobleman acquainted the King my husbandwith the concern I was under lest he should go to Pau, whereuponhe did not press me on the subject, but only said he should havebeen glad if I had consented to go with him. Perceiving, by mytears and the expressions I made use of, that I should prefereven death to such a journey, he altered his intentions and wereturned to Nérac. 

The pregnancy of Fosseuse was now no longer a secret. The wholeCourt talked of it, and not only the Court, but all the country. Iwas willing to prevent the scandal from spreading, and accordinglyresolved to talk to her on the subject. With this resolution, I took her into my closet, and spoke to her thus: "Though youhave for some time estranged yourself from me, and, as it hasbeen reported to me, striven to do me many ill offices with theKing my husband, yet the regard I once had for you, and the esteemwhich I still entertain for those honourable persons to whosefamily you belong, do not admit of my neglecting to afford youall the assistance in my power in your present unhappy situation. I beg you, therefore, not to conceal the truth, it being bothfor your interest and mine, under whose protection you are, todeclare it. Tell me the truth, and I will act towards you asa mother. You know that a contagious disorder has broken outin the place, and, under pretence of avoiding it, I will go toMas-d'Agenois, which is a house belonging to the King my husband, in a very retired situation. I will take you with me, and suchother persons as you shall name. Whilst we are there, the Kingwill take the diversion of hunting in some other part of thecountry, and I shall not stir thence before your delivery. Bythis means we shall put a stop to the scandalous reports whichare now current, and which concern you more than myself. "

So far from showing any contrition, or returning thanks for mykindness, she replied, with the utmost arrogance, that she wouldprove all those to be liars who had reported such things of her;that, for my part, I had ceased for a long time to show her anymarks of regard, and she saw that I was determined upon her ruin. These words she delivered in as loud a tone as mine had beenmildly expressed; and, leaving me abruptly, she flew in a rageto the King my husband, to relate to him what I had said to her. He was very angry upon the occasion, and declared he would makethem all liars who had laid such things to her charge. From thatmoment until the hour of her delivery, which was a few monthsafter, he never spoke to me. 

She found the pains of labour come upon her about daybreak, whilstshe was in bed in the chamber where the maids of honour slept. She sent for my physician, and begged him to go and acquaintthe King my husband that she was taken ill. We slept in separatebeds in the same chamber, and had done so for some time. 

The physician delivered the message as he was directed, whichgreatly embarrassed my husband. What to do he did not know. Onthe one hand, he was fearful of a discovery; on the other, heforesaw that, without proper assistance, there was danger oflosing one he so much loved. In this dilemma, he resolved toapply to me, confess all, and implore my aid and advice, wellknowing that, notwithstanding what had passed, I should be readyto do him a pleasure. Having come to this resolution, he withdrewmy curtains, and spoke to me thus: "My dear, I have concealed amatter from you which I now confess. I beg you to forgive me, and to think no more about what I have said to you on the subject. Will you oblige me so far as to rise and go to Fosseuse, who istaken very ill? I am well assured that, in her present situation, you will forget everything and resent nothing. You know how dearlyI love her, and I hope you will comply with my request. " I answeredthat I had too great a respect for him to be offended at anythinghe should do, and that I would go to her immediately, and do asmuch for her as if she were a child of my own. I advised him, in the meantime, to go out and hunt, by which means he woulddraw away all his people, and prevent tattling. 

I removed Fosseuse, with all convenient haste, from the chamberin which the maids of honours were, to one in a more retired partof the palace, got a physician and some women about her, and sawthat she wanted for nothing that was proper in her situation. Itpleased God that she should bring forth a daughter, since dead. As soon as she was delivered I ordered her to be taken back tothe chamber from which she had been brought. Notwithstandingthese precautions, it was not possible to prevent the story fromcirculating through the palace. When the King my husband returnedfrom hunting he paid her a visit, according to custom. She beggedthat I might come and see her, as was usual with me when anyone ofmy maids of honour was taken ill. By this means she expected toput a stop to stories to her prejudice. The King my husband camefrom her into my bedchamber, and found me in bed, as I was fatiguedand required rest, after having been called up so early. He beggedme to get up and pay her a visit. I told him I went according tohis desire before, when she stood in need of assistance, butnow she wanted no help; that to visit her at this time wouldbe only exposing her more, and cause myself to be pointed atby all the world. He seemed to be greatly displeased at what Isaid, which vexed me the more as I thought I did not deserve suchtreatment after what I had done at his request in the morning;she likewise contributed all in her power to aggravate mattersbetwixt him and me. 

In the meantime, the King my brother, always well informed ofwhat is passing in the families of the nobility of his kingdom, was not ignorant of the transactions of our Court. He wasparticularly curious to learn everything that happened with us, and knew every minute circumstance that I have now related. Thinkingthis a favourable occasion to wreak his vengeance on me for havingbeen the means of my brother acquiring so much reputation by thepeace he had brought about, he made use of the accident thathappened in our Court to withdraw me from the King my husband, and thereby reduce me to the state of misery he wished to plungeme in. To this purpose he prevailed on the Queen my mother towrite to me, and express her anxious desire to see me after anabsence of five or six years. She added that a journey of thissort to Court would be serviceable to the affairs of the Kingmy husband as well as my own; that the King my brother himselfwas desirous of seeing me, and that if I wanted money for thejourney he would send it me. The King wrote to the same purpose, and despatched Manique, the steward of his household, withinstructions to use every persuasion with me to undertake thejourney. The length of time I had been absent in Gascony, andthe unkind usage I received on account of Fosseuse, contributedto induce me to listen to the proposal made me. 

The King and the Queen both wrote to me. I received three letters, in quick succession; and, that I might have no pretence for staying, I had the sum of fifteen hundred crowns paid me to defray theexpenses of my journey. The Queen my mother wrote that she wouldgive me the meeting in Saintonge, and that, if the King my husbandwould accompany me so far, she would treat with him there, andgive him every satisfaction with respect to the King. But theKing and she were desirous to have him at their Court, as hehad been before with my brother; and the Maréchal de Matignonhad pressed the matter with the King, that he might have no oneto interfere with him in Gascony. I had had too long experienceof what was to be expected at their Court to hope much from allthe fine promises that were made to me. I had resolved, however, to avail myself of the opportunity of an absence of a few months, thinking it might prove the means of setting matters to rights. Besides which, I thought that, as I should take Fosseuse withme, it was possible that the King's passion for her might coolwhen she was no longer in his sight, or he might attach himselfto some other that was less inclined to do me mischief. 

It was with some difficulty that the King my husband would consentto a removal, so unwilling was he to leave his Fosseuse. He paidmore attention to me, in hopes that I should refuse to set outon this journey to France; but, as I had given my word in myletters to the King and the Queen my mother that I would go, and as I had even received money for the purpose, I could notdo otherwise. 

And herein my ill-fortune prevailed over the reluctance I hadto leave the King my husband, after the instances of renewedlove and regard which he had begun to show me. 

THE MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. AND OF MADAME DE POMPADOUR

ON MADAME DE POMPADOUR

"Madame de Pompadour was not merely a grisette, as her enemiesattempted to say, and as Voltaire repeated in one of his maliciousdays. She was the prettiest woman in Paris, spirituelle, elegant, adorned with a thousand gifts and a thousand talents, but with asort of sentiment which had not the grandeur of an aristocraticambition. She loved the king for himself, as the finest man in thekingdom, as the person who appeared to her the most admirable. She loved him sincerely, with a degree of sentimentalism, ifnot with a profound passion. Her ideal had been on arriving atthe court to fascinate him, to keep him amused by a thousanddiversions suggested by art or intellect, to make him happy andcontented in a circle of ever-changing enchantments and pleasures. A Watteau-like country, plays, comedies, pastorals in the shade, a continual embarking for Cytherea, that would have been thesetting she preferred. But once she had set foot on the shiftingsoil of the court, she could only realize her ideal imperfectly. Naturally obliging and good-hearted, she had to face enmity openand concealed, and to take the offensive to avoid her downfall. Necessity drove her into politics, and to become a minister ofstate. Madame de Pompadour can be considered as the last king'smistress, deserving of the name. The race of the royal mistressescan then be said, if not ended, to have been at least greatlybroken. And Madame de Pompadour remains in our eyes the lastin our history, and the most brilliant. "

SAINTE-BEUVE. 

INTRODUCTION

It is one of the oldest of truisms that truth is stranger thanfiction. The present volume is but another striking example inpoint. The legend of King Cophetua and the Beggar Maid pallsbefore the historic story of a certain Jeanne Poisson, an obscureFrench girl who won a king's favor and wielded his sceptre fortwenty years. We do not hear anything further from the BeggarMaid, after she became queen; but the famous Pompadour becamethe most powerful figure of her day in all France, not exceptingthe king himself. 

These veritable _Memoirs_ of her reign are ascribed to her attendant, Madame du Hausset, a woman of good family and, above all, ofgood memory, who has here given us a faithful account of herremarkable subject. Her opportunities for exact knowledge maybe gathered from her mistress's own words: "The king and I trustyou so completely that we look upon you as we might a cat or adog, and talk ahead with as much freedom as though you were notthere. " And the critic, Sainte-Beuve, adds: "When the destiny ofa nation is in a woman's bedroom, the best place for the historianis in the ante-chamber. Madame du Hausset seemed created forthis rôle of a Suetonius by her position and her character.... A good woman, furthermore, incapable of lying, and remainingon the whole quite respectable. "

After the death of Madame de Pompadour, the journal of thiswaiting-woman fell into the hands of M. De Marigny, brother ofthe favorite, with whom it remained in manuscript form for someyears. It was finally published, in 1802, ostensibly as "Drawnfrom the Portfolio of the Maréchale D---- by Soulavie"; but theFrench editors, MM. Vitrac and Galopin, assert that Soulavieonly lent his name to the work. They also call attention to thefact that a _History of Madame de Pompadour_, by Mlle. Fouqué, was published in London, as early as 1759. But no such generalhistory, or biography, could possibly have the intimate value ofa document written at the closest range of its subject. "These_Memoirs_, " say the French editors, "give a faithful portrait ofMadame de Pompadour.... They are clearly hostile, as are nearlyall documents preserved about her; for it was one of the evilfortunes of Madame de Pompadour to be made known to us chieflythrough her enemies, D'Argenson, the Duc de Luynes, and Richelieu. "

The above opinion sums up neatly the consensus of historicalopinion concerning this famous woman. She has, indeed, been inthe hands of her enemies, ever since the day of her death, in1764. But this fact is not surprising. The mistress of a weakmonarch, she made use of her large influence over him to furtherher own ends and appoint her own ministers to power. She was, infact, "the King. " Michelet, the historian, asserts in so many wordsthat she "reigned twenty years, " and he admits that "although ofmean birth, she had some patriotic ideas. " However, leaving thequestion of her political career aside, for the moment, the readerwill be interested to make the acquaintance of this remarkablewoman, herself. Who was she? What was the secret of her longcontinued hold upon the King? Louis XV. Was a notoriously ficklemonarch, whose many amours have become a part of history. But noneexercised the influence over him--and over all France, throughhim--as did this person of "mean birth. " Even her enemies havehad to admit her wonderful executive ability, in addition toher womanly charms. These _Memoirs_, though rambling and withoutstrict sequence, answer our many questions interestingly. Theyhave been written, very evidently, by an inmate of the household. They give, in addition, much of the secret history of the Court atthis important period, and point out, to the discerning reader, a few of the chief causes which were to make possible the FrenchRevolution, at the century's close. 

Madame de Pompadour's elevation to power was the result neitherof chance nor of romance. It was brought about by a carefullylaid plan, on the part of her parents and certain schemingpoliticians, to make use of a beautiful girl to advance theirown interests. Jeanne Poisson was born in 1722, and at an earlyage gave evidence of such unusual qualities, that her mother andher guardian, M. Le Normant de Tournehem (who also is believedto be her father), devoted their energies to making her worthyof a place at court. She had a fine natural talent for music, drawing, and engraving--some excellent examples of her work inthe latter field still being preserved--and she united with thesea rare physical beauty. M. Leroy, Keeper of the Park of Versailles, thus describes her at the time of her meeting with the King: "Shewas taller than the average, graceful, supple, and elegant. Herfeatures comported well with her stature, a perfect oval face, framed by beautiful hair of a light shade, large eyes markedby eyebrows of the same hue, a perfect nose, a charming mouth, teeth of exceptional beauty displayed in a delicious smile, therarest of complexions, " etc. , etc. He continues his superlativeadjectives, indicating that the King was not the only susceptibleperson in the Park, finally adding: "The features of the Marquisewere lighted by the play of infinite variety, but never couldone perceive any discordance. All was harmony and grace. " Truly, a worthy portrait of a famous beauty!

At the age of nineteen, Mlle. Poisson gave her hand to a kinsmanof her guardian, M. Le Normant d'Etoiles. The marriage seemsto have been the result of a sincere passion on his part, butwas looked upon merely as a matter of convenience by everybodyelse; for not long thereafter we find her luring the King withher "delicious smile, " while he was hunting in the forest ofSenart; and in 1745 she was formally installed at Court, underthe title of the Marquise de Pompadour. This story, unadorned, may sound paltry, even commercial, but we should not fall intothe error of judging it by twentieth century standards. The moralsof the French Court, never austere, were especially lax in thereign of Louis XV. , and _galanteries_ were the fashion, ratherthan the exception; while for the post of King's favorite therewas a continual rivalry among high-born dames. 

Once in this coveted position, the Marquise devoted her energiesto two things, and these she kept ever before her, --the pleasingof her royal master, and the furthering of her party's interests. How well she succeeded, this book shows. She entertained andamused the King by elaborate pageants, in the various châteauxwhich she built, or remodelled. Bellevue, Choisy, the Hermitageat Versailles, Menars, La Celle, Montretout, --these are amongthe monuments of her lavish career, and in these palaces sheaccumulated costly art objects, such as the Saxe porcelains, theBoulle marbles, and the sumptuous hangings and fittings whichhave later been known as "Pompadour. " Herself an artist andconnoisseur, she "set the pace" during a period of unbridledluxury. She was patroness of the famous Sèvres ware. She drewaround her such painters and littérateurs as Bouchardon, CarleVan Loo, Marmontel, Bernis, Crébillon, and Duclos. To her Voltairededicated his _Tancrède_. 

This was her brilliant side; but upon the deplorable side mustbe reckoned her extravagance and her meddling in statecraft. Ambitious for power, she surrounded the doting monarch with her"creatures"--Rouillé, Saint Florentin, Puisieux, Machault. With theexception of the Duc de Choiseul, her appointees were notoriouslyweak--and this at a time when the War of the Austrian Successionand the Seven Years' War called for strong government. Won overby the cajoleries of Maria Theresa, who called her "cousin, " sheinduced the King to accept the Austrian Alliance; and again, in 1758, despite Bernis and other ministers, she prevailed uponhim to maintain it throughout the disastrous war which was onlyended by the Treaty of Paris. In addition to this, she becameembroiled with the Church party, being especially bitter againstthe Jesuits. It is no wonder, therefore, that she left her memoryin the hands of her enemies. It is no wonder that the seeds ofher folly and extravagance, as well as those of her successor, DuBarry, resulted in the bloody harvest of the Revolution. "Aprèsnous le déluge!" ("After us the deluge") was her sinister motto, nowfamous in history, and it carried with it the weight of prophecy. 

To the end she remained, exteriorally, in full power. In 1752the Marquise was made Duchesse de Pompadour; and four years later"Dame d'Honneur" to the Queen, a title of charmingly unconsciousirony! The day of her demise (1764) was stormy, and the King issaid to have been genuinely grieved over the loss, remarking:"Madame la Marquise has ill weather for her journey. "

But to the last she herself was charming, débonnaire, masterful. She had smiled her way into power, and she smiled even in theface of death. "She felt it a duty to maintain to the end thepose of elegance which she had established for herself, " sayher French critics. "For the last time she applied the touchof rouge to her cheeks, by which she had hidden, for severalyears, the slow ravages of decay; set her lips in a final smile;and with the air of a coquette uttered to the priest, who extendedto her the last rites of religion, this laughing quip (motd'élégance): "Attendez-moi, monsieur le curé, nous partironsensemble" ("Wait a moment, monsieur, and we will set forthtogether"). 

THE MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. 

AND OF

MADAME DE POMPADOUR

SECTION I

An early friend of mine, who married well at Paris, and who hasthe reputation of being a very clever woman, has often askedme to write down what daily passed under my notice; to pleaseher, I made little notes, of three or four lines each, to recallto my memory the most singular or interesting facts; as, forinstance--_attempt to assassinate the King; he orders Madamede Pompadour to leave the Court; M. De Machault's ingratitude_, etc. I always promised my friend that I would, some time or other, reduce all these materials into the form of a regular narrative. She mentioned the "Recollections of Madame de Caylus, " which were, however, not then printed; and pressed me so much to produce asimilar work, that I have taken advantage of a few leisure momentsto write this, which I intend to give her, in order that she mayarrange it and correct the style. I was for a long time aboutthe person of Madame de Pompadour, and my birth procured for merespectful treatment from herself, and from some distinguishedpersons who conceived a regard for me. I soon became the intimatefriend of Doctor Quesnay, who frequently came to pass two orthree hours with me. 

His house was frequented by people of all parties, but the numberwas small, and restricted to those who were on terms of greatestintimacy with him. All subjects were handled with the utmostfreedom; and it is infinitely to his honour and theirs that nothingwas ever repeated. 

The Countess D---- also visited me. She was a frank and livelywoman, and much liked by Madame de Pompadour. The Baschi familypaid me great attention. M. De Marigny had received some littleservices from me, in the course of the frequent quarrels betweenhim and his sister, and he had a great friendship for me. TheKing was in the constant habit of seeing me; and an accident, which I shall have occasion to relate, rendered him very familiarwith me. He talked without any constraint when I was in the room. During Madame de Pompadour's illness I scarcely ever left herchamber, and passed the night there. Sometimes, though rarely, I accompanied her in her carriage with Doctor Quesnay, to whomshe scarcely spoke a word, though he was a man of great talents. When I was alone with her, she talked of many affairs which nearlyconcerned her, and she once said to me, "The King and I have suchimplicit confidence in you, that we look upon you as a cat, ora dog, and go on talking as if you were not there. " There was alittle nook, adjoining her chamber, which has since been altered, where she knew I usually sat when I was alone, and where I heardeverything that was said in the room, unless it was spoken in alow voice. But when the King wanted to speak to her in private, or in the presence of any of his Ministers, he went with her intoa closet, by the side of the chamber, whither she also retiredwhen she had secret business with the Ministers, or with otherimportant persons; as, for instance, the Lieutenant of Police, the Postmaster-General, etc. All these circumstances brought tomy knowledge a great many things which probity will neither allowme to tell or to record. I generally wrote without order of time, so that a fact may be related before others which preceded it. Madame de Pompadour had a great friendship for three Ministers;the first was M. De Machault, to whom she was indebted for theregulation of her income, and the payment of her debts. She gavehim the seals, and he retained the first place in her regard tillthe attempt to assassinate the King. Many people said that hisconduct on that occasion was not attributable to bad intentions;that he thought it his duty to obey the King without making himselfin any way a party to the affair, and that his cold manners gavehim the appearance of an indifference which he did not feel. Madame de Pompadour regarded him in the light of a faithlessfriend; and, perhaps, there was some justice on both sides. Butfor the Abbé de Bernis, M. De Machault might, probably, haveretained his place. 

The second Minister, whom Madame de Pompadour liked, was theAbbé de Bernis. She was soon disgusted with him when she sawthe absurdity of his conduct. He gave a singular specimen ofthis on the very day of his dismissal. He had invited a greatmany people of distinction to a splendid entertainment, which wasto have taken place on the very day when he received his orderof banishment, and had written in the notes of invitation--_M. LeComte de Lusace will be there_. This Count was the brother ofthe Dauphine, and this mention of him was deservedly thoughtimpertinent. The King said, wittily enough, "_Lambert and Molièrewill be there_. " She scarcely ever spoke of the Cardinal de Bernisafter his dismissal from the Court. 

He was extremely ridiculous, but he was a good sort of man. Madame, the Infanta, died a little time before, and, by the way, of such acomplication of putrid and malignant diseases, that the Capuchinswho bore the body, and the men who committed it to the grave, were overcome by the effluvia. Her papers appeared no less impurein the eyes of the King. He discovered that the Abbé de Bernishad been intriguing with her, and that they had deceived him, and had obtained the Cardinal's hat by making use of his name. The King was so indignant that he was very near refusing him the_barrette_. He did grant it--but just as he would have throwna bone to a dog. The Abbé had always the air of a protégé whenhe was in the company of Madame de Pompadour. She had known himin positive distress. The Duc de Choiseul was very differentlysituated; his birth, his air, his manners, gave him claims toconsideration, and he far exceeded every other man in the artof ingratiating himself with Madame de Pompadour. She lookedupon him as one of the most illustrious nobles of the Court, as the most able Minister, and the most agreeable man. M. DeChoiseul had a sister and a wife, whom he had introduced to her, and who sedulously cultivated her favourable sentiments towardshim. From the time he was Minister, she saw only with his eyes;he had the talent of amusing her, and his manners to women, generally, were extremely agreeable. 

Two persons--the Lieutenant of Police and thePostmaster-General--were very much in Madame de Pompadour'sconfidence; the latter, however, became less necessary to herfrom the time that the King communicated to M. De Choiseul thesecret of the post-office, that is to say, the system of openingletters and extracting matter from them: this had never beenimparted to M. D'Argenson, in spite of the high favour he enjoyed. I have heard that M. De Choiseul abused the confidence reposed inhim, and related to his friends the ludicrous stories, and thelove affairs contained in the letters which were broken open. The plan they pursued, as I have heard, was very simple. Sixor seven clerks of the post-office picked out the letters theywere ordered to break open, and took the impression of the sealswith a ball of quicksilver. Then they put each letter, with theseal downwards, over a glass of hot water, which melted the waxwithout injuring the paper. It was then opened, the desired matterextracted, and it was sealed again, by means of the impression. Thisis the account of the matter I have heard. The Postmaster-Generalcarried the extracts to the King on Sundays. He was seen comingand going on this noble errand as openly as the Ministers. DoctorQuesnay often, in my presence, flew in such a rage about that_infamous_ Minister, as he called him, that he foamed at themouth. "I would as soon dine with the hangman as with thePostmaster-General, " said the Doctor. It must be acknowledgedthat this was astonishing language to be uttered in the apartmentsof the King's mistress; yet it went on for twenty years withoutbeing talked of. "It was probity speaking with earnestness, "said M. De Marigny, "and not a mere burst of spite or malignity. "

The Duc de Gontaut was the brother-in-law and friend of M. DeChoiseul, and was assiduous in his attendance on Madame de Pompadour. The sister of M. De Choiseul, Madame de Grammont, and his wifewere equally constant in their attentions. This will sufficientlyaccount for the ascendency of M. De Choiseul, whom nobody wouldhave ventured to attack. Chance, however, discovered to me asecret correspondence of the King, with a man in a very obscurestation. This man, who had a place in the Farmers General, offrom two to three hundred a year, was related to one of the youngladies of the Parc-aux-cerfs, by whom he was recommended to theKing. He was also connected in some way with M. De Broglie, inwhom the King placed great confidence. Wearied with finding thatthis correspondence procured him no advancement, he took theresolution of writing to me, and requesting an interview, whichI granted, after acquainting Madame de Pompadour with thecircumstance. After a great deal of preamble and of flattery, he said to me, "Can you give me your word of hour, and that ofMadame de Pompadour, that no mention whatever of what I am goingto tell you will be made to the King?" "I think I can assure youthat, if you require such a promise from Madame de Pompadour, and if it can produce no ill consequence to the King's service, she will give it you. " He gave me his word that what he requestedwould have no bad effect; upon which I listened to what he had tosay. He shewed me several memorials, containing accusations ofM. De Choiseul, and revealed some curious circumstances relativeto the secret functions of the Comte de Broglie. These, however, led rather to conjectures than to certainty, as to the natureof the services he rendered to the King. Lastly, he shewed meseveral letters in the King's handwriting. "I request, " said he, "that the Marquise de Pompadour will procure for me the placeof Receiver-General of Finances; I will give her informationof whatever I send the King; I will write according to herinstructions, and I will send her his answers. " As I did notchoose to take liberties with the King's papers, I only undertookto deliver the memorials. Madame de Pompadour having given meher word according to the conditions on which I had receivedthe communication, I revealed to her everything I had heard. She sent the memorials to M. De Choiseul, who thought them verymaliciously and very cleverly written. Madame de Pompadour andhe had a long conference as to the reply that was to be givento the person by whom those disclosures were made. What I wascommissioned to say was this: that the place of Receiver-Generalwas at present too important, and would occasion too much surpriseand speculation; that it would not do to go beyond a place worthfifteen thousand to twenty thousand francs a year; that theyhad no desire to pry into the King's secrets; and that hiscorrespondence ought not to be communicated to anyone; that thisdid not apply to papers like those of which I was the bearer, which might fall into his hands; that he would confer an obligationby communicating them, in order that blows aimed in the dark, and directed by malignity and imposture, might be parried. Theanswer was respectful and proper, in what related to the King;it was, however, calculated to counteract the schemes of theComte de Broglie, by making M. De Choiseul acquainted with hisattacks, and with the nature of the weapons he employed. It wasfrom the Count that he received statements relating to the warand to the navy; but he had no communication with him concerningforeign affairs, which the Count, as it was said, transactedimmediately with the King. The Duc de Choiseul got the man whospoke to me recommended to the Controller-General, without hisappearing in the business; he had the place which was agreedupon, and the hope of a still better, and he entrusted to methe King's correspondence, which I told him I should not mentionto Madame de Pompadour, according to her injunctions. He sentseveral memorials to M. De Choiseul, containing accusations ofhim, addressed to the King. This timely information enabled himto refute them triumphantly. 

The King was very fond of having little private correspondences, very often unknown to Madame de Pompadour: she knew, however, of the existence of some, for he passed part of his mornings inwriting to his family, to the King of Spain, to Cardinal Tencin, to the Abbé de Broglie, and also to some obscure persons. "Itis, doubtless, from such people as these, " said she to me, oneday, "that the King learns expressions which perfectly surpriseme. For instance, he said to me yesterday, when he saw a manpass with an old coat on, '_il y a là un habit bien examiné. _'He once said to me, when he meant to express that a thing wasprobable, '_il y a gros_'; I am told this is a saying of the commonpeople, meaning, _il y a gros à parier_. " I took the liberty tosay, "But is it not more likely from his young ladies at theParc, that he learns these elegant expressions?" She laughed, and said, "You are right; _il y a gros_. " The King, however, used these expressions designedly, and with a laugh. 

The King knew a great many anecdotes, and there were people enoughwho furnished him with such as were likely to mortify the self-loveof others. One day, at Choisy, he went into a room where somepeople were employed about embroidered furniture, to see howthey were going on; and looking out of the window, he saw atthe end of a long avenue two men in the Choisy uniform. "Whoare those two noblemen?" said he. Madame de Pompadour took upher glass, and said, "They are the Duc d'Aumont, and ----. " "Ah!"said the King; "the Duc d'Aumont's grandfather would be greatlyastonished if he could see his grandson arm in arm with the grandsonof his _valet de Chambre_, L----, in a dress which may be calleda patent of nobility!" He went on to tell Madame de Pompadour along history, to prove the truth of what he said. The King wentout to accompany her into the garden; and, soon after, Quesnayand M. De Marigny came in. I spoke with contempt of some one whowas very fond of money. At this the Doctor laughed, and said, "I had a curious dream last night: I was in the country of theancient Germans; I had a large house, stacks of corn, herds ofcattle, a great number of horses, and huge barrels of ale; but Isuffered dreadfully from rheumatism, and knew not how to manage togo to a fountain, at fifty leagues' distance, the waters of whichwould cure me. I was to go among a strange people. An enchanterappeared before me, and said to me, 'I pity your distress; here, I will give you a little packet of the powder of _prelinpinpin_;whoever receives a little of this from you will lodge you, feedyou, and pay you all sorts of civilities. ' I took the powder, and thanked him. " "Ah!" said I, "how I should like to have somepowder of _prelinpinpin!_ I wish I had a chest full. " "Well, "said the Doctor, "that powder is _money_, for which you have sogreat a contempt. Tell me who, of all the men who come hither, receives the greatest attentions?" "I do not know, " said I. "Why, "said he, "it is M. De Monmartel, who comes four or five times ayear. " "Why does he enjoy so much consideration?" "Because hiscoffers are full of the powder of _prelinpinpin_. Everything inexistence, " said he, taking a handful of louis from his pocket, "is contained in these little pieces of metal, which will conveyyou commodiously from one end of the world to the other. All menobey those who possess this powder, and eagerly tender them theirservices. To despise money, is to despise happiness, liberty, inshort, enjoyments of every kind. " A _cordon bleu_ passed underthe window. "That nobleman, " said I, "is much more delighted withhis _cordon bleu_ than he would be with ten thousand of yourpieces of metal. " "When I ask the King for a pension, " repliedQuesnay, "I say to him, 'Give me the means of having a betterdinner, a warmer coat, a carriage to shelter me from the weather, and to transport me from place to place without fatigue. ' Butthe man who asks him for that fine blue ribbon would say, ifhe had the courage and the honesty to speak as he feels, 'I amvain, and it will give me great satisfaction to see people lookat me, as I pass, with an eye of stupid admiration, and makeway for me; I wish, when I enter a room, to produce an effect, and to excite the attention of those who may, perhaps, laughat me when I am gone; I wish to be called _Monseigneur_ by themultitude. ' Is not all this mere empty air? In scarcely any countrywill this ribbon be of the slightest use to him; it will give himno power. My pieces of metal will give me the power of assistingthe unfortunate everywhere. Long live the omnipotent powder of_prelinpinpin!_" At these last words, we heard a burst of laughterfrom the adjoining room, which was only separated by a door fromthe one we were in. The door opened, and in came the King, Madamede Pompadour, and M. De Gontaut. "Long live the powder of_prelinpinpin!_" said the King. "Doctor, can you get me any ofit?" It happened that, when the King returned from his walk, hewas struck with a fancy to listen to our conversation. Madamede Pompadour was extremely kind to the Doctor, and the King wentout laughing, and talking with great admiration of the powder. I went away, and so did the Doctor. I immediately sat down tocommit this conversation to writing. I was afterwards told that M. Quesnay was very learned in certain matters relating to finance, and that he was a great _économiste_. But I do not know verywell what that means. What I do know for certain is, that hewas very clever, very gay and witty, and a very able physician. 

[Illustration: Madame de Pompadour learns of the likelihood ofher success in meeting her admirer, the King. _From the paintingby Casanova y Estorach. _]

The illness of the little Duke of Burgundy, whose intelligencewas much talked of, for a long time occupied the attention of theCourt. Great endeavours were made to find out the cause of hismalady, and ill-nature went so far as to assert that his nurse, who had an excellent situation at Versailles, had communicated tohim a nasty disease. The King shewed Madame de Pompadour theinformation he had procured from the province she came from, asto her conduct. A silly Bishop thought proper to say she hadbeen very licentious in her youth. The poor nurse was told ofthis, and begged that he might be made to explain himself. TheBishop replied, that she had been at several balls in the town inwhich she lived, and that she had gone with her neck uncovered. The poor man actually thought this the height of licentiousness. The King, who had been at first uneasy, when he came to this, called out, "_What a fool!_" After having long been a source ofanxiety to the Court, the Duke died. Nothing produces a strongerimpression upon Princes, than the spectacle of their equals dying. Everybody is occupied about them while ill--but as soon as theyare dead, nobody mentions them. The King frequently talked aboutdeath--and about funerals, and places of burial. Nobody couldbe of a more melancholy temperament. Madame de Pompadour oncetold me that he experienced a painful sensation whenever he wasforced to laugh, and that he had often begged her to break offa droll story. He smiled, and that was all. In general, he hadthe most gloomy ideas concerning almost all events. When therewas a new Minister, he used to say, "_He displays his wares likeall the rest, and promises the finest things in the world, notone of which will be fulfilled. He does not know this country--hewill see. _" When new projects for reinforcing the navy were laidbefore him, he said, "This is the twentieth time I have heardthis talked of--France never will have a navy, I think. " ThisI heard from M. De Marigny. 

I never saw Madame de Pompadour so rejoiced as at the takingof Mahon. The King was very glad, too, but he had no belief inthe merit of his courtiers--he looked upon their success as theeffect of chance. Maréchal Saxe was, as I have been told, theonly man who inspired him with great esteem. But he had scarcelyever seen him in his closet, or playing the courtier. 

M. D'Argenson picked a quarrel with M. De Richelieu, after hisvictory, about his return to Paris. This was intended to preventhis coming to enjoy his triumph. He tried to throw the thingupon Madame de Pompadour, who was enthusiastic about him, andcalled him by no other name than the "_Minorcan_. " The Chevalierde Montaign was the favourite of the Dauphin, and much belovedby him for his great devotion. He fell ill, and underwent anoperation called _l'empième_, which is performed by making anincision between the ribs, in order to let out the pus; it had, to all appearance, a favourable result, but the patient grewworse, and could not breathe. His medical attendants could notconceive what occasioned this accident and retarded his cure. He died almost in the arms of the Dauphin, who went every day tosee him. The singularity of his disease determined the surgeonsto open the body, and they found, in his chest, part of the leadensyringe with which decoctions had, as was usual, been injected intothe part in a state of suppuration. The surgeon, who committedthis act of negligence, took care not to boast of his feat, andhis patient was the victim. This incident was much talked ofby the King, who related it, I believe, not less than thirtytimes, according to his custom; but what occasioned still moreconversation about the Chevalier de Montaign, was a box, foundby his bed's side, containing haircloths, and shirts, and whips, stained with blood. This circumstance was spoken of one eveningat supper, at Madame de Pompadour's, and not one of the guestsseemed at all tempted to imitate the Chevalier. Eight or tendays afterwards, the following tale was sent to the King, toMadame de Pompadour, to the Baschi, and to the Duc d'Ayen. Atfirst nobody could understand to what it referred: at last, theDuc d'Ayen exclaimed. "How stupid we are; this is a joke on theausterities of the Chevalier de Montaign!" This appeared clearenough--so much the more so, as the copies were sent to the Dauphin, the Dauphine, the Abbé de St. Cyr, and to the Duc de V----. Thelatter had the character of a pretender to devotion, and, inhis copy, there was this addition, "_You would not be such afool, my dear Duke, as to be a faquir--confess that you wouldbe very glad to be one of those good monks who lead such a jollylife. _" The Duc de Richelieu was suspected of having employedone of his wits to write the story. The King was scandalised atit, and ordered the Lieutenant of Police to endeavour to findout the author, but either he could not succeed or he would notbetray him. 

_Japanese Tale. _

At a distance of three leagues from the capital of Japan, thereis a temple celebrated for the concourse of persons, of bothsexes, and of all ranks, who crowd thither to worship an idolbelieved to work miracles. Three hundred men consecrated to theservice of religion, and who can give proofs of ancient andillustrious descent, serve this temple, and present to the idolthe offerings which are brought from all the provinces of theempire. They inhabit a vast and magnificent edifice, belongingto the temple, and surrounded with gardens where art has combinedwith nature to produce enchantment. I obtained permission tosee the temple, and to walk in the gardens. A monk advanced inyears, but still full of vigour and vivacity, accompanied me. Isaw several others, of different ages, who were walking there. But what surprised me was to see a great many of them amusingthemselves by various agreeable and sportive games with younggirls elegantly dressed, listening to their songs, and joining intheir dances. The monk, who accompanied me, listened with greatcivility and kindness to the questions I put to him concerninghis order. The following is the sum of his answers to my numerousinterrogations. The God Faraki, whom we worship, is so calledfrom a word which signifies the _fabricator_. He made all thatwe behold--the earth, the stars, the sun, etc. He has endowedmen with senses, which are so many sources of pleasure, and wethink the only way of shewing our gratitude is to use them. Thisopinion will, doubtless, appear to you much more rational thanthat of the faquirs of India, who pass their lives in thwartingnature, and who inflict upon themselves the most melancholyprivations and the most severe sufferings. 

As soon as the sun rises, we repair to the mountain you see beforeus, at the foot of which flows a stream of the most limpid water, which meanders in graceful windings through that meadow--enamelledwith the loveliest flowers. We gather the most fragrant of them, which we carry and lay upon the altar, together with variousfruits, which we receive from the bounty of Faraki. We then singhis praises, and execute dances expressive of our thankfulness, and of all the enjoyments we owe to this beneficent deity. Thehighest of these is that which love produces, and we testifyour ardent gratitude by the manner in which we avail ourselvesof this inestimable gift of Faraki. Having left the temple, wego into several shady thickets, where we take a light repast;after which, each of us employs himself in some unoppressivelabour. Some embroider, others apply themselves to painting, others cultivate flowers or fruits, others turn little implementsfor our use. Many of these little works are sold to the people, who purchase them with eagerness. The money arising from thissale forms a considerable part of our revenue. Our morning isthus devoted to the worship of God and to the exercise of thesense of Sight, which begins with the first rays of the sun. The sense of Taste is gratified by our dinner, and we add to itthe pleasure of Smell. The most delicious viands are spread forus in apartments strewed with flowers. The table is adorned withthem, and the most exquisite wines are handed to us in crystalgoblets. When we have glorified God, by the agreeable use of thepalate, and the olfactory nerve, we enjoy a delightful sleepof two hours, in bowers of orange trees, roses, and myrtles. Having acquired a fresh store of strength and spirits, we returnto our occupations, that we may thus mingle labour with pleasure, which would lose its zest by long continuance. After our work, we return to the temple, to thank God, and to offer him incense. From thence we go to the most delightful part of the garden, where we find three hundred young girls, some of whom form livelydances with the younger of our monks; the others execute seriousdances, which require neither strength nor agility, and whichonly keep time to the sound of musical instruments. 

We talk and laugh with our companions, who are dressed in a lightgauze, and whose tresses are adorned with flowers; we press themto partake of exquisite sherbets, differently prepared. The hourof supper being arrived, we repair to rooms illuminated with thelustre of a thousand tapers fragrant with amber. The supper-room issurrounded by three vast galleries, in which are placed musicians, whose various instruments fill the mind with the most pleasurableand the softest emotions. The young girls are seated at tablewith us, and, towards the conclusion of the repast, they singsongs, which are hymns in honour of the God who has endowed uswith senses which shed such a charm over existence, and whichpromise us new pleasure from every fresh exercise of them. Afterthe repast is ended, we return to the dance, and, when the hourof repose arrives, we draw from a kind of lottery, in which everyone is sure of a prize that is a sumptuously decorated sleepingroom for the night. These rooms are allotted to each by chanceto avoid jealousy, since some rooms are handsomer than others. Thus ends the day and gives place to a night of exquisite reposein which we enjoy well-earned sleep, that most divine of earthlygifts. 

We admire the wisdom and the goodness of Faraki, who has implantedan unconscious mutual attraction between the sexes that constantlydraws them towards each other. It is this mutual love, theseinvisible ties, that make the world brighter, cheerier, happier. It has been truly said that those who selfishly cut themselvesaway from these ties, those that lead narrow, lonely, morbid lives, lose most of life's joys. What should we say to the favourite ofa King from whom he had received a beautiful house, and fineestates, and who chose to spoil the house, to let it fall inruins, to abandon the cultivation of the land, and let it becomesterile, and covered with thorns? Such is the conduct of thefaquirs of India, who condemn themselves to the most melancholyprivations, and to the most severe sufferings. Is not this insultingFaraki? Is it not saying to him, I despise your gifts? Is it notmisrepresenting him and saying, You are malevolent and cruel, and I know that I can no otherwise please you than by offeringyou the spectacle of my miseries? "I am told, " added he, "thatyou have, in your country, faquirs not less insane, not lesscruel to themselves. " I thought, with some reason, that he meantthe fathers of La Trappe. The recital of the matter afforded memuch matter for reflection, and I admired how strange are thesystems to which perverted reason gives birth. 

The Duc de V---- was a nobleman of high rank and great wealth. He said to the King one evening at supper, "Your Majesty doesme the favour to treat me with great kindness: I should beinconsolable if I had the misfortune to fall under your displeasure. If such a calamity were to befall me, I should endeavour to divertmy grief by improving some beautiful estates of mine in suchand such a province;" and he thereupon gave a description ofthree or four fine seats. About a month after, talking of thedisgrace of a Minister, he said, "I hope your Majesty will notwithdraw your favour from me; but if I had the misfortune tolose it, I should be more to be pitied than anybody, for I haveno asylum in which to hide my head. " All those present, who hadheard the description of the beautiful country houses, looked ateach other and laughed. The King said to Madame de Pompadour, who sat next to him at table, "_People are very right in sayingthat a liar ought to have a good memory. _"

An event, which made me tremble, as well as Madame, procured methe familiarity of the King. In the middle of the night, Madamecame into my chamber, _en chemise_, and in a state of distraction. "Here! Here!" said she, "the King is dying. " My alarm may beeasily imagined. I put on a petticoat, and found the King in herbed, panting. What was to be done?--it was an indigestion. Wethrew water upon him, and he came to himself. I made him swallowsome Hoffman's drops, and he said to me, "Do not make any noise, but go to Quesnay; say that your mistress is ill; and tell theDoctor's servants to say nothing about it. " Quesnay, who lodgedclose by, came immediately, and was much astonished to see theKing in that state. He felt his pulse, and said, "The crisis isover; but, if the King were sixty years old, this might havebeen serious. " He went to seek some drug, and, on his return, setabout inundating the King with perfumed water. I forget the nameof the medicine he made him take, but the effect was wonderful. I believe it was the _drops of Général Lamotte_. I called upone of the girls of the wardrobe to make tea, as if for myself. The King took three cups, put on his _robe de chambre_ and hisstockings, and went to his own room, leaning upon the Doctor. What a sight it was to see us all three half naked! Madame puton a robe as soon as possible, and I did the same, and the Kingchanged his clothes behind the curtains, which were very decentlyclosed. He afterwards spoke of this short attack, and expressedhis sense of the attentions shown him. An hour after, I felt thegreatest possible terror in thinking that the King might havedied in our hands. Happily, he quickly recovered himself, andnone of the domestics perceived what had taken place. I merelytold the girl of the wardrobe to put everything to rights, andshe thought it was Madame who had been indisposed. The King, the next morning, gave secretly to Quesnay a little note forMadame, in which he said, _Ma chère amie must have had a greatfright, but let her reassure herself--I am now well, which theDoctor will certify to you. _ From that moment the King becameaccustomed to me, and, touched by the interest I had shown forhim, he often gave me one of his peculiarly gracious glances, and made me little presents, and, on every New Year's Day, sentme porcelain to the amount of twenty louis d'or. He told Madamethat he looked upon me in the apartment as a picture or statue, andnever put any constraint upon himself on account of my presence. Doctor Quesnay received a pension of a thousand crowns for hisattention and silence, and the promise of a place for his son. TheKing gave me an order upon the Treasury for four thousand francs, and Madame had presented to her a very handsome chiming-clockand the King's portrait in a snuffbox. 

The King was habitually melancholy, and liked everything whichrecalled the idea of death, in spite of the strongest fears ofit. Of this, the following is an instance: Madame de Pompadourwas on her way to Crécy, when one of the King's grooms made a signto her coachman to stop, and told him that the King's carriage hadbroken down, and that, knowing her to be at no great distance, His Majesty had sent him forward to beg her to wait for him. Hesoon overtook us, and seated himself in Madame de Pompadour'scarriage, in which were, I think, Madame de Château-Rénaud, andMadame de Mirepoix. The lords in attendance placed themselves insome other carriages. I was behind, in a chaise, with Gourbillon, Madame de Pompadour's _valet de chambre_. We were surprised in ashort time by the King stopping his carriage. Those which followed, of course stopped also. The King called a groom, and said tohim, "You see that little eminence; there are crosses; it mustcertainly be a burying-ground; go and see whether there are anygraves newly dug. " The groom galloped up to it, returned, andsaid to the King, "There are three quite freshly made. " Madamede Pompadour, as she told me, turned away her head with horror;and the little Maréchale gaily said, "_This is indeed enough tomake one's mouth water. _" Madame de Pompadour spoke of it whenI was undressing her in the evening. "What a strange pleasure, "said she, "to endeavour to fill one's mind with images which oneought to endeavour to banish, especially when one is surroundedby so many sources of happiness! But that is the King's way; heloves to talk about death. He said, some days ago, to M. DeFontanieu, who was seized with a bleeding at the nose, at thelevée, 'Take care of yourself; at your age it is a forerunnerof apoplexy. ' The poor man went home frightened, and absolutelyill. "

I never saw the King so agitated as during the illness of theDauphin. The physicians came incessantly to the apartments ofMadame de Pompadour, where the King interrogated them. Therewas one from Paris, a very odd man, called Pousse, who once saidto him, "You are a good papa; I like you for that. But you knowwe are all your children, and share your distress. Take courage, however; your son will recover. " Everybody's eyes were upon theDuc d'Orléans, who knew not how to look. He would have becomeheir to the crown, the Queen being past the age to have children. Madame de ---- said to me, one day, when I was expressing mysurprise at the King's grief, "It would annoy him beyond measureto have a Prince of the blood heir apparent. He does not likethem, and looks upon their relationship to him as so remote, that he would feel humiliated by it. " And, in fact, when hisson recovered, he said, "The King of Spain would have had a finechance. " It was thought that he was right in this, and that itwould have been agreeable to justice; but that, if the Duc d'Orléanshad been supported by a party, he might have supported hispretensions to the crown. It was, doubtless, to remove thisimpression that he gave a magnificent fête at St. Cloud on theoccasion of the Dauphin's recovery. Madame de Pompadour said toMadame de Brancas, speaking of this fête, "He wishes to makeus forget the _château en Espagne_ he has been dreaming of; in_Spain_, however, they build them of solider materials. " Thepeople did not shew so much joy at the Dauphin's recovery. Theylooked upon him as a devotee, who did nothing but sing psalms. They loved the Duc d'Orléans, who lived in the capital, and hadacquired the name of the _King of Paris_. These sentiments werenot just; the Dauphin only sang psalms when imitating the tonesof one of the choristers of the chapel. The people afterwardsacknowledged their error, and did justice to his virtues. The Ducd'Orléans paid the most assiduous court to Madame de Pompadour:the Duchess, on the contrary, detested her. It is possible thatwords were put into the Duchess's mouth which she never uttered;but she, certainly, often said most cutting things. The King wouldhave sent her into exile, had he listened only to his resentment;but he feared the éclat of such a proceeding, and he knew thatshe would only be the more malicious. The Duc d'Orléans was, justthen, extremely jealous of the Comte de Melfort; and the Lieutenantof Police told the King he had strong reasons for believing thatthe Duke would stick at nothing to rid himself of this gallant, and that he thought it his duty to give the Count notice, that heought to be upon his guard. The King said, "He would not dare toattempt any such violence as you seem to apprehend; but there isa better way: let him try to surprise them, and he will find mevery well inclined to have his cursed wife shut up; but if hegot rid of this lover, she would have another to-morrow. Nay, she has others at this moment; for instance, the Chevalier deColbert, and the Comte de l'Aigle. " Madame de Pompadour, however, told me these two last affairs were not certain. 

An adventure happened about the same time, which the Lieutenantof Police reported to the King. The Duchesse d'Orléans had amusedherself one evening, about eight o'clock, with ogling a handsomeyoung Dutchman, whom she took a fancy to, from a window of thePalais Royal. The young man, taking her for a woman of the town, wanted to make short work, at which she was very much shocked. She called a Swiss, and made herself known. The stranger wasarrested; but he defended himself by affirming that she had talkedvery loosely to him. He was dismissed, and the Duc d'Orléansgave his wife a severe reprimand. 

The King (who hated her so much that he spoke of her withoutthe slightest restraint) one day said to Madame de Pompadour, in my presence, "Her mother knew what she was, for, before hermarriage, she never suffered her to say more than yes and no. Do you know her joke on the nomination of Moras? She sent tocongratulate him upon it: two minutes after, she called backthe messenger she had sent, and said, before everybody present, 'Before you speak to him, ask the Swiss if he still has the place. '"Madame de Pompadour was not vindictive, and, in spite of themalicious speeches of the Duchesse d'Orléans, she tried to excuseher conduct. "Almost all women, " she said, "have lovers; shehas not all that are imputed to her: but her free manners, andher conversation, which is beyond all bounds, have brought herinto general disrepute. "

My companion came into my room the other day, quite delighted. She had been with M. De Chenevières, first Clerk in the War-office, and a constant correspondent of Voltaire, whom she looks uponas a god. She was, by the bye, put into a great rage one day, lately, by a print-seller in the street, who was crying, "Hereis Voltaire, the famous Prussian; here you see him, with a greatbear-skin cap, to keep him from the cold! Here is the famousPrussian, for six sous!" "What a profanation!" said she. To returnto my story: M. De Chenevières had shewn her some letters fromVoltaire, and M. Marmontel had read an _Epistle to his Library_. 

M. Quesnay came in for a moment; she told him all this: and, ashe did not appear to take any great interest in it, she askedhim if he did not admire great poets. "Oh, yes; just as I admiregreat bilboquet players, " said he, in that tone of his, whichrendered everything he said diverting. "I have written some verses, however, " said he, "and I will repeat them to you; they are upona certain M. Rodot, an Intendant of the Marine, who was veryfond of abusing medicine and medical men. I made these versesto revenge Æsculapius and Hippocrates. 

 Antoine se medicina En decriant ta medicine, Et de ses propres mains mina Les fondemens de sa machine: Très rarement il opina Sans humeur bizarre ou chagrine, Et, l'esprit qui le domina Etait affiché sur sa mine. 

"What do you say to them?" said the Doctor. My companion thoughtthem very pretty, and the Doctor gave me them in his handwriting, begging me, at the same time, not to give any copies. 

Madame de Pompadour joked my companion about her _bel-esprit_, but sometimes she reposed confidence in her. Knowing that shewas often writing, she said to her, "You are writing a novel, which will appear some day or other; or, perhaps, the age of LouisXV. : I beg you to treat me well. " I have no reason to complainof her. It signifies very little to me that she can talk morelearnedly than I can about prose and verse. 

She never told me her real name; but one day I was maliciousenough to say to her, "Some one was maintaining, yesterday, thatthe family of Madame de Mar---- was of more importance than manyof good extraction. They say it is the first in Cadiz. She had veryhonourable alliances, and yet she has thought it no degradationto be governess to Madame de Pompadour's daughter. One day youwill see her sons or her nephews Farmers General, and hergranddaughters married to Dukes. " I had remarked that Madame dePompadour for some days had taken chocolate, _à triple vanilleet ambré_, at her breakfast; and that she ate truffles and celerysoup: finding her in a very heated state, lone day remonstratedwith her about her diet, to which she paid no attention. I thenthought it right to speak to her friend, the Duchesse de Brancas. "I had remarked the same thing, " said she, "and I will speakto her about it before you. " After she was dressed, Madame deBrancas, accordingly, told her she was uneasy about her health. "I have just been talking to her about it, " said the Duchess, pointing to me, "and she is of my opinion. " Madame de Pompadourseemed a little displeased; at last, she burst into tears. Iimmediately went out, shut the door, and returned to my placeto listen. "My dear friend, " she said to Madame de Brancas, "Iam agitated by the fear of losing the King's heart by ceasing tobe attractive to him. Men, you know, set great value on certainthings, and I have the misfortune to be of a very cold temperament. I, therefore, determined to adopt a heating diet, in order toremedy this defect, and for two days this elixir has been ofgreat service to me, or, at least, I have thought I felt itsgood effects. " The Duchesse de Brancas took the phial which wasupon the toilet, and after having smelt at it, "Fie!" said she, and threw it into the fire. Madame de Pompadour scolded her, and said, "I don't like to be treated like a child. " She weptagain, and said, "You don't know what happened to me a week ago. The King, under pretext of the heat of the weather, lay downupon my sofa, and passed half the night there. He will take adisgust to me and have another mistress. " "You will not avoidthat, " replied the Duchess, "by following your new diet, and thatdiet will kill you; render your company more and more precious tothe King by your gentleness: do not repulse him in his fond moments, and let time do the rest; the chains of habit will bind him to youfor ever. " They then embraced; Madame de Pompadour recommendedsecrecy to Madame de Brancas, and the diet was abandoned. 

A little while after, she said to me, "Our master is better pleasedwith me. This is since I spoke to Quesnay, without, however, telling him all. He told me, that to accomplish my end, I musttry to be in good health, to digest well, and, for that purpose, take exercise. I think the Doctor is right. I feel quite a differentcreature. I adore that man (the King), I wish so earnestly to beagreeable to him! But, alas! sometimes he says I am a _macreuse_(a cold-blooded aquatic bird). I would give my life to pleasehim. "

One day, the King came in very much heated. I withdrew to mypost, where I listened. "What is the matter?" said Madame dePompadour. "The long robes and the clergy, " replied he, "arealways at drawn daggers, they distract me by their quarrels. But I detest the long robes the most. My clergy, on the whole, is attached and faithful to me; the others want to keep me ina state of tutelage. " "Firmness, " said Madame de Pompadour, "isthe only thing that can subdue them. " "Robert Saint Vincent isan incendiary, whom I wish I could banish, but that would makea terrible tumult. On the other hand, the Archbishop is aniron-hearted fellow, who tries to pick quarrels. Happily, thereare some in the Parliament upon whom I can rely, and who affectto be very violent, but can be softened upon occasion. It costsme a few abbeys, and a few secret pensions, to accomplish this. There is a certain V---- who serves me very well, while he appearsto be furious on the other side. " "I can tell you some news ofhim, Sire, " said Madame de Pompadour. "He wrote to me yesterday, pretending that he is related to me, and begging for an interview. ""Well, " said the King, "let him come. See him; and if he behaveswell, we shall have a pretext for giving him something. " M. DeGontaut came in, and seeing that they were talking seriously, said nothing. The King walked about in an agitated manner, andsuddenly exclaimed, "The Regent was very wrong in restoring tothem the right of remonstrating; they will end in ruining theState. " "Ah, Sire, " said M. De Gontaut, "it is too strong to beshaken by a set of petty justices. " "You don't know what theydo, nor what they think. They are an assembly of republicans;however, here is enough of the subject. Things will last as theyare as long as I shall. Talk about this on Sunday, Madame, withM. Berrier. " Madame d'Amblimont and Madame d'Esparbès came in. "Ah! here come my kittens, " said Madame de Pompadour; "all thatwe are about is Greek to them; but their gaiety restores mytranquillity, and enables me to attend again to serious affairs. You, Sire, have the chase to divert you--they answer the samepurpose to me. " The King then began to talk about his morning'ssport, and Lansmatte. It was necessary to let the King go onupon these subjects, and even, sometimes, to hear the same storythree or four times over, if new persons came into the room. Madame de Pompadour never betrayed the least ennui. She evensometimes persuaded him to begin his story anew. 

I one day said to her, "It appears to me, Madame, that you arefonder than ever of the Comtesse d'Amblimont. " "I have reason tobe so, " said she. "She is unique, I think, for her fidelity toher friends, and for her honour. Listen, but tell nobody--fourdays ago, the King, passing her to go to supper, approached her, under the pretence of tickling her, and tried to slip a noteinto her hand. D'Amblimont, in her madcap way, put her handsbehind her back, and the King was obliged to pick up the note, which had fallen on the ground. Gontaut was the only person whosaw all this, and after supper, he went up to the little lady, and said, 'You are an excellent friend. ' 'I did my duty, ' saidshe, and immediately put her finger on her lips to enjoin him tobe silent. He, however, informed me of this act of friendship ofthe little heroine, who had not told me of it herself. " I admiredthe Countess's virtue, and Madame de Pompadour said, "She is giddyand headlong; but she has more sense and more feeling than athousand prudes and devotees. D'Esparbès would not do as much--mostlikely she would meet him more than half-way. The King appeareddisconcerted, but he still pays her great attentions. " "You will, doubtless, Madame, " said I, "show your sense of such admirableconduct. " "You need not doubt it, " said she, "but I don't wishher to think that I am informed of it. " The King, prompted eitherby the remains of his liking, or from the suggestions of Madamede Pompadour, one morning went to call on Madame d'Amblimont, at Choisy, and threw round her neck a collar of diamonds andemeralds, worth between fifty thousand and seventy-five thousandfrancs. This happened a long time after the circumstance I havejust related. 

There was a large sofa in a little room adjoining Madame dePompadour's, upon which I often reposed. 

One evening, towards midnight, a bat flew into the apartmentwhere the Court was; the King immediately cried out, "Where isGeneral Crillon?" (He had just left the room. ) "He is the Generalto command against the bats. " This set everybody calling out, "_Où etais-tu, Crillon?_" M. De Crillon soon after came in, andwas told where the enemy was. He immediately threw off his coat, drew his sword, and commenced an attack upon the bat, which flewinto the closet where I was fast asleep. I started out of sleepat the noise, and saw the King and all the company around me. Thisfurnished amusement for the rest of the evening. M. De Crillonwas a very excellent and agreeable man, but he had the fault ofindulging in buffooneries of this kind, which, however, werethe result of his natural gaiety, and not of any subserviency ofcharacter. Such, however, was not the case with another exaltednobleman, a Knight of the Golden Fleece, whom Madame saw one dayshaking hands with her _valet de chambre_. As he was one of thevainest men at Court, Madame could not refrain from telling thecircumstance to the King; and, as he had no employment at Court, the King scarcely ever after named him on the Supper List. 

I had a cousin at Saint Cyr, who was married. She was greatlydistressed at having a relation waiting woman to Madame de Pompadour, and often treated me in the most mortifying manner. Madame knewthis from Colin, her steward, and spoke of it to the King. "Iam not surprised at it, " said he; "this is a specimen of thesilly women of Saint Cyr. Madame de Maintenon had excellentintentions, but she made a great mistake. These girls are broughtup in such a manner, that, unless they are all made ladies ofthe palace, they are unhappy and impertinent. "

Some time after, this relation of mine was at my house. Colin, who knew her, though she did not know him, came in. He said to me, "Do you know that the Prince de Chimay has made a violent attackupon the Chevalier d'Henin for being equerry to the Marquise. " Atthese words, my cousin looked very much astonished, and said, "Was he not right?" "I don't mean to enter into that question, "said Colin--"but only to repeat his words, which were these: 'Ifyou were only a man of moderately good family and poor, I shouldnot blame you, knowing, as I do, that there are hundreds such, whowould quarrel for your place, as young ladies of family would, to be about your mistress. But, recollect, that your relationsare princes of the Empire, and that you bear their name. '" "What, sir, " said my relation, "the Marquise's equerry of a princelyhouse?" "Of the house of Chimay, " said he; "they take the nameof Alsace"--witness the Cardinal of that name. Colin went outdelighted at what he had said. 

"I cannot get over my surprise at what I have heard, " said myrelation. "It is, nevertheless, very true, " replied I; "you maysee the Chevalier d'Henin (that is the family name of the Princesde Chimay), with the cloak of Madame upon his arm, and walkingalongside her sedan-chair, in order that he may be ready, onher getting in, to cover her shoulders with her cloak, and thenremain in the antechamber, if there is no other room, till herreturn. "

From that time, my cousin let me alone; nay, she even appliedto me to get a company of horse for her husband, who was veryloath to come and thank me. His wife wished him to thank Madamede Pompadour; but the fear he had lest she should tell him, thatit was in consideration of his relationship to her waiting-womanthat he commanded fifty horse, prevented him. It was, however, a most surprising thing that a man belonging to the house ofChimay should be in the service of any lady whatever; and thecommander of Alsace returned from Malta on purpose to get himout of Madame de Pompadour's household. He got him a pensionof a hundred louis from his family, and the Marquise gave hima company of horse. The Chevalier d'Henin had been page to theMaréchal de Luxembourg, and one can hardly imagine how he couldhave put his relation in such a situation; for, generally speaking, all great houses keep up the consequence of their members. M. DeMachault, the Keeper of the Seals, had, at the same time, asequerry, a Knight of St. Louis, and a man of family--the Chevalierde Peribuse--who carried his portfolio, and walked by the sideof the chair. 

Whether it was from ambition, or from tenderness, Madame de Pompadourhad a regard for her daughter, which seemed to proceed from thebottom of her heart. She was brought up like a Princess, and, like persons of that rank, was called by her Christian name alone. The first persons at Court had an eye to this alliance, but hermother had, perhaps, a better project. The King had a son byMadame de Vintimille, who resembled him in face, gesture, andmanners. He was called the Comte du ----. Madame de Pompadourhad him brought to Bellevue. Colin, her steward, was employedto find means to persuade his tutor to bring him thither. Theytook some refreshment at the house of the Swiss, and the Marquise, in the course of her walk, appeared to meet them by accident. She asked the name of the child, and admired his beauty. Herdaughter came up at the same moment, and Madame de Pompadourled them into a part of the garden where she knew the King wouldcome. He did come, and asked the child's name. He was told, andlooked embarrassed when Madame, pointing to them, said they wouldbe a beautiful couple. The King played with the girl, withoutappearing to take any notice of the boy, who, while he was eatingsome figs and cakes which were brought, his attitudes and gestureswere so like those of the King, that Madame de Pompadour was inthe utmost astonishment. "Ah!" said she, "Sire, look at ----""At what?" said he. "Nothing, " replied Madame, "except that onewould think one saw his father. "

"I did not know, " said the King, smiling, "that you were sointimately acquainted with the Comte du L----. " "You ought toembrace him, " said she, "he is very handsome. " "I will begin, then, with the young lady, " said the King, and embraced themin a cold, constrained manner. I was present, having joinedMademoiselle's governess. I remarked to Madame, in the evening, that the King had not appeared very cordial in his caresses. "That is his way, " said she; "but do not those children appearmade for each other? If it was Louis XIV. , he would make a Ducdu Maine of the little boy; I do not ask so much; but a placeand a dukedom for his son is very little; and it is because he ishis son that I prefer him to all the little Dukes of the Court. My grandchildren would blend the resemblance of their grandfatherand grandmother; and this combination, which I hope to live tosee, would, one day, be my greatest delight. " The tears cameinto her eyes as she spoke. Alas! alas! only six months elapsed, when her darling daughter, the hope of her advanced years, theobject of her fondest wishes, died suddenly. Madame de Pompadourwas inconsolable, and I must do M. De Marigny the justice tosay that he was deeply afflicted. His niece was beautiful asan angel, and destined to the highest fortunes, and I alwaysthought that he had formed the design of marrying her. A dukedomwould have given him rank; and that, joined to his place, andto the wealth which she would have had from her mother, wouldhave made him a man of great importance. The difference of agewas not sufficient to be a great obstacle. People, as usual, saidthe young lady was poisoned; for the unexpected death of personswho command a large portion of public attention always gives birthto these rumours. The King shewed great regret, but more forthe grief of Madame than on account of the loss itself, thoughhe had often caressed the child, and loaded her with presents. Iowe it, also, to justice, to say that M. De Marigny, the heirof all Madame de Pompadour's fortune, after the death of herdaughter, evinced the sincerest and deepest regret every timeshe was seriously ill. She, soon after, began to lay plans forhis establishment. Several young ladies of the highest birth werethought of; and, perhaps, he would have been made a Duke, buthis turn of mind indisposed him for schemes either of marriageor ambition. Ten times he might have been made Prime Minister, yet he never aspired to it. "That is a man, " said Quesnay to me, one day, "who is very little known; nobody talks of his talentsor acquirements, nor of his zealous and efficient patronage of thearts: no man, since Colbert, has done so much in his situation:he is, moreover, an extremely honourable man, but people willnot see in him anything but the brother of the favourite; and, because he is fat, he is thought dull and heavy. " This was allperfectly true. M. De Marigny had travelled in Italy with veryable artists, and had acquired taste, and much more informationthan any of his predecessors had possessed. As for the heavinessof his air, it only came upon him when he grew fat; before that, he had a delightful face. He was then as handsome as his sister. He paid court to nobody, had no vanity, and confined himself tothe society of persons with whom he was at his ease. He wentrather more into company at Court after the King had taken himto ride with him in his carriage, thinking it then his duty toshew himself among the courtiers. 

Madame called me, one day, into her closet, where the King waswalking up and down in a very serious mood. "You must, " said she, "pass some days in a house in the Avenue de St. Cloud, whitherI shall send you. You will there find a young lady about to liein. " The King said nothing, and I was mute from astonishment. "You will be mistress of the house, and preside, like one ofthe fabulous goddesses, at the accouchement. Your presence isnecessary, in order that everything may pass secretly, and accordingto the King's wish. You will be present at the baptism, and namethe father and mother. " The King began to laugh, and said, "Thefather is a very honest man;" Madame added, "beloved by everyone, and adored by those who know him. " Madame then took froma little cupboard a small box, and drew from it an aigrette ofdiamonds, at the same time saying to the King, "I have my reasonsfor it not being handsomer. " "It is but too much so, " said theKing; "how kind you are;" and he then embraced Madame, who weptwith emotion, and, putting her hand upon the King's heart, said, "This is what I wish to secure. " The King's eyes then filledwith tears, and I also began weeping, without knowing why. Afterwards, the King said, "Guimard will call upon you everyday, to assist you with his advice, and at the critical momentyou will send for him. You will say that you expect the sponsors, and a moment after you will pretend to have received a letter, stating that they cannot come. You will, of course, affect tobe very much embarrassed; and Guimard will then say that thereis nothing for it but to take the first comers. You will thenappoint as godfather and godmother some beggar, or chairman, and the servant girl of the house, and to whom you will give buttwelve francs, in order not to attract attention. " "A louis, "added Madame, "to obviate anything singular, on the other hand. ""It is you who make me economical, under certain circumstances, "said the King. "Do you remember the driver of the _fiacre_? Iwanted to give him a louis, and Duc d'Ayen said, 'You will beknown;' so that I gave him a crown. " He was going to tell thewhole story. Madame made a sign to him to be silent, which heobeyed, not without considerable reluctance. She afterwards toldme that at the time of the fêtes given on occasion of the Dauphin'smarriage, the King came to see her at her mother's house in ahackney-coach. The coachman would not go on, and the King wouldhave given him a louis. "The police will hear of it, if you do, "said the Duc d'Ayen, "and its spies will make inquiries, whichwill, perhaps, lead to a discovery. "

"Guimard, " continued the King, "will tell you the names of thefather and mother; he will be present at the ceremony, and makethe usual presents. It is but fair that you also should receiveyours;" and, as he said this, he gave me fifty louis, with thatgracious air that he could so well assume upon certain occasions, and which no person in the kingdom had but himself. I kissedhis hand and wept. "You will take care of the _accouchée_, willyou not? She is a good creature, who has not invented gunpowder, and I confide her entirely to your direction; my chancellor willtell you the rest, " he said, turning to Madame, and then quittedthe room. "Well, what think you of the part I am playing?" askedMadame. "It is that of a superior woman, and an excellent friend, "I replied. "It is his heart I wish to secure, " said she; "andall those young girls who have no education will not run awaywith it from me. I should not be equally confident were I tosee some fine woman belonging to the Court, or the city, attempthis conquest. "

I asked Madame, if the young lady knew that the King was thefather of her child? "I do not think she does, " replied she;"but, as he appeared fond of her, there is some reason to fearthat those about her might be too ready to tell her; otherwise, "said she, shrugging her shoulders, "she, and all the others, are told that he is a Polish nobleman, a relation of the Queen, who has apartments in the castle. " This story was contrived onaccount of the _cordon bleu_, which the King has not always timeto lay aside, because, to do that, he must change his coat, andin order to account for his having a lodging in the castle sonear the King. There were two little rooms by the side of thechapel, whither the King retired from his apartment, withoutbeing seen by anybody but a sentinel, who had his orders, and whodid not know who passed through those rooms. The King sometimeswent to the Parc-aux-cerfs, or received those young ladies inthe apartments I have mentioned. 

I must here interrupt my narrative, to relate a singular adventure, which is only known to six or seven persons, masters or valets. At the time of the attempt to assassinate the King, a young girl, whom he had seen several times, and for whom he had manifestedmore tenderness than for most, was distracted at this horribleevent. The Mother-Abbess of the Parc-aux-cerfs perceived herextraordinary grief, and managed so as to make her confess thatshe knew the Polish Count was the King of France. She confessedthat she had taken from his pocket two letters, one of which wasfrom the King of Spain, the other from the Abbé de Broglie. Thiswas discovered afterwards, for neither she nor the Mother-Abbessknew the names of the writers. The girl was scolded, and M. Lebel, first _valet de chambre_, who had the management of all theseaffairs, was called; he took the letters, and carried them tothe King, who was very much embarrassed in what manner to meet aperson so well informed of his condition. The girl in question, having perceived that the King came secretly to see her companion, while she was neglected, watched his arrival, and, at the momenthe entered with the Abbess, who was about to withdraw, she rusheddistractedly into the room where her rival was. She immediatelythrew herself at the King's feet. "Yes, " said she, "you are Kingof all France; but that would be nothing to me if you were notalso monarch of my heart: do not forsake me, my beloved sovereign;I was nearly mad when your life was attempted!" The Mother-Abbesscried out, "You are mad now. " The King embraced her, which appearedto restore her to tranquillity. They succeeded in getting herout of the room, and a few days afterwards the unhappy girl wastaken to a madhouse, where she was treated as if she had beeninsane, for some days. But she knew well enough that she was notso, and that the King had really been her lover. This lamentableaffair was related to me by the Mother-Abbess, when I had someacquaintance with her at the time of the accouchement I havespoken of, which I never had before, nor since. 

To return to my history: Madame de Pompadour said to me, "Beconstantly with the _accouchée_, to prevent any stranger, oreven the people of the house, from speaking to her. You willalways say that he is a very rich Polish nobleman, who is obligedto conceal himself on account of his relationship to the Queen, who is very devout. You will find a wet-nurse in the house, towhom you will deliver the child. Guimard will manage all therest. You will go to church as a witness; everything must beconducted as if for a substantial citizen. The young lady expectsto lie in in five or six days; you will dine with her, and willnot leave her till she is in a state of health to return to theParc-aux-cerfs, which she may do in a fortnight, as I imagine, without running any risk. " I went, that same evening, to the Avenuede Saint Cloud, where I found the Abbess and Guimard, an attendantbelonging to the castle, but without his blue coat. There were, besides, a nurse, a wet-nurse, two old men-servants, and a girl, who was something between a servant and a waiting-woman. The younglady was extremely pretty, and dressed very elegantly, thoughnot too remarkably. I supped with her and the Mother-Abbess, whowas called Madame Bertrand. I had presented the aigrette Madamede Pompadour gave me before supper, which had greatly delightedthe young lady, and she was in high spirits. Madame Bertrandhad been housekeeper to M. Lebel, first _valet de chambre_ tothe King. He called her Dominique, and she was entirely in hisconfidence. The young lady chatted with us after supper; sheappeared to be very _naïve_. The next day, I talked to her inprivate. She said to me, "How is the Count?" (It was the Kingwhom she called by this title. ) "He will be very sorry not to bewith me now; but he was obliged to set off on a long journey. "I assented to what she said. "He is very handsome, " said she, "and loves me with all his heart. He promised me an allowance;but I love him disinterestedly; and, if he would let me, I wouldfollow him to Poland. " She afterwards talked to me about herparents, and about M. Lebel, whom she knew by the name of Durand. "My mother, " said she, "kept a large grocer's shop, and my fatherwas a man of some consequence; he belonged to the Six Corps, andthat, as everybody knows, is an excellent thing. He was twicevery near being head-bailiff. " Her mother had become bankrupt ather father's death, but _the Count_ had come to her assistance, and settled upon her fifteen hundred francs a year, besides givingher six thousand francs down. On the sixth day, she was broughtto bed, and, according to my instructions, she was told the childwas a girl, though it reality it was a boy; she was soon to betold that it was dead, in order that no trace of its existencemight remain for a certain time. It was eventually to be restoredto its mother. The King gave each of his children about ten thousandfrancs a year. They inherited after each other as they died off, and seven or eight were already dead. I returned to Madame dePompadour, to whom I had written every day by Guimard. The nextday, the King sent for me into the room; he did not say a wordas to the business I had been employed upon; but he gave me alarge gold snuff-box, containing two rouleaux of twenty-fivelouis each. I curtsied to him, and retired. Madame asked me agreat many questions of the young lady, and laughed heartily ather simplicity, and at all she had said about the Polish nobleman. "He is disgusted with the Princess, and, I think, will return toPoland for ever, in two months. " "And the young lady?" said I. "She will be married in the country, " said she, "with a portionof forty thousand crowns at the most and a few diamonds. " Thislittle adventure, which initiated me into the King's secrets, far from procuring for me increased marks of kindness from him, seemed to produce a coldness towards me; probably because he wasashamed of my knowing his obscure amours. He was also embarrassedby the services Madame de Pompadour had rendered him on thisoccasion. 

Besides the little mistresses of the Parc-aux-cerfs, the Kinghad sometimes intrigues with ladies of the Court, or from Paris, who wrote to him. There was a Madame de L----, who, though marriedto a young and amiable man, with two hundred thousand francs ayear, wished absolutely to become his mistress. She contrivedto have n meeting with him: and the King, who knew who she was, was persuaded that she was really madly in love with him. Thereis no knowing what might have happened, had she not died. Madamewas very much alarmed, and was only relieved by her death frominquietude. A circumstance took place at this time which doubledMadame's friendship for me. A rich man, who had a situation inthe Revenue Department, called on me one day very secretly, andtold me that he had something of importance to communicate toMadame la Marquise, but that he should find himself very muchembarrassed in communicating it to her personally, and that heshould prefer acquainting me with it. He then told me, what Ialready knew, that he had a very beautiful wife, of whom he waspassionately fond; that having on one occasion perceived herkissing a little _porte-feuille_, he endeavoured to get possessionof it, supposing there was some mystery attached to it. One daythat she suddenly left the room to go upstairs to see her sister, who had been brought to bed, he took the opportunity of openingthe _porte-feuille_, and was very much surprised to find in ita portrait of the King, and a very tender letter written by HisMajesty. Of the latter he took a copy, as also of an unfinishedletter of his wife, in which she vehemently entreated the Kingto allow her to have the pleasure of an interview--the meansshe pointed out. She was to go masked to the public ball atVersailles, where His Majesty could meet her under favour of amask. I assured M. De ---- that I should acquaint Madame withthe affair, who would, no doubt, feel very grateful for thecommunication. He then added, "Tell Madame la Marquise that mywife is very clever and very intriguing. I adore her, and shouldrun distracted were she to be taken from me. " I lost not a momentin acquainting Madame with the affair and gave her the letter. She became serious and pensive, and I since learned that sheconsulted M. Berrier, Lieutenant of Police, who, by a very simplebut ingeniously conceived plan, put an end to the designs of thislady. He demanded an audience of the King, and told him that therewas a lady in Paris who was making free with His Majesty's name;that he had been given the copy of a letter, supposed to havebeen written by His Majesty to the lady in question. The copyhe put into the King's hands, who read it in great confusion, and then tore it furiously to pieces. M. Berrier added, thatit was rumoured that this lady was to meet His Majesty at thepublic ball, and, at this very moment, it so happened that aletter was put into the King's hand, which proved to be fromthe lady, appointing the meeting; at least, M. Berrier judgedso, as the King appeared very much surprised on reading it, andsaid, "It must be allowed, M. Le Lieutenant of Police, that youare well informed. " M. Berrier added, "I think it my duty totell Your Majesty that this lady passes for a very intriguingperson. " "I believe, " replied the King, "that it is not withoutdeserving it that she has got that character. "

Madame de Pompadour had many vexations in the midst of all hergrandeur. She often received anonymous letters, threatening herwith poison or assassination: her greatest fear, however, wasthat of being supplanted by a rival. I never saw her in a greateragitation than, one evening, on her return from the drawing-roomat Marly. She threw down her cloak and muff, the instant shecame in, with an air of ill-humour, and undressed herself ina hurried manner. Having dismissed her other women, she saidto me, "I think I never saw anybody so insolent as Madame deCoaslin. I was seated at the same table with her this evening, at a game of _brelan_, and you cannot imagine what I suffered. The men and women seemed to come in relays to watch us. Madamede Coaslin said two or three times, looking at me, _Va tout_, in the most insulting manner. I thought I should have fainted, when she said, in a triumphant tone, I have the _brelan_ of kings. I wish you had seen her courtesy to me on parting. " "Did theKing, " said I, "show her particular attention?" "You don't knowhim, " said she; "if he were going to lodge her this very nightin my apartment, he would behave coldly to her before people, and would treat me with the utmost kindness. This is the effectof his education, for he is, by nature, kind-hearted and frank. "Madame de Pompadour's alarms lasted for some months, when she, one day, said to me, "That haughty Marquise has missed her aim;she frightened the King by her grand airs, and was incessantlyteasing him for money. Now you, perhaps, may not know that the Kingwould sign an order for forty thousand louis without a thought, and would give a hundred out of his little private treasury withthe greatest reluctance. Lebel, who likes me better than he woulda new mistress in my place, either by chance or design had broughta charming little sultana to the Parc-aux-cerfs, who has cooledthe King a little towards the haughty Vashti, by giving himoccupation, ---- has received a hundred thousand francs, somejewels, and an estate. Jannette has rendered me great service, by showing the King extracts from the letters broken open atthe post-office, concerning the report that Madame de Coaslinwas coming into favour. The King was much impressed by a letterfrom an old counsellor of the Parliament, who wrote to one ofhis friends as follows: "It is quite as reasonable that the Kingshould have a female friend and confidante--as that we, in ourseveral degrees, should so indulge ourselves; but it is desirablethat he should keep the one he has; she is gentle, injures nobody, and her fortune is made. The one who is now talked of will be ashaughty as high birth can make her. She must have an allowanceof a million francs a year, since she is said to be excessivelyextravagant; her relations must be made Dukes, Governors ofprovinces, and Marshals, and, in the end, will surround the King, and overawe the Ministers. "

Madame de Pompadour had this passage, which had been sent toher by M. Jannette, the Intendant of the Police, who enjoyed theKing's entire confidence. He had carefully watched the King'slook, while he read the letter, and he saw that the arguments ofthis counsellor, who was not a disaffected person, made a greatimpression upon him. Some time afterwards, Madame de Pompadour saidto me, "The haughty Marquise behaved like Mademoiselle Deschamps, and she is _turned off_. " This was not Madame's only subjectof alarm. A relation of Madame d'Estrades, wife to the Marquisde C----, had made the most pointed advances to the King, muchmore than were necessary for a man who justly thought himself thehandsomest man in France, and who was, moreover, a King. He wasperfectly persuaded that every woman would yield to the slightestdesire he might deign to manifest. He, therefore, thought it amere matter of course that women fell in love with him. M. DeStainville had a hand in marring the success of that intrigue;and, soon afterwards, the Marquise de C----, who was confinedto her apartments at Marly, by her relations, escaped througha closet to a rendezvous, and was caught with a young man in acorridor. The Spanish Ambassador, coming out of his apartmentswith flambeaux, was the person who witnessed this scene. Madamed'Estrades affected to know nothing of her cousin's intrigues, and kept up an appearance of the tenderest attachment to Madamede Pompadour, whom she was habitually betraying. She acted as spyfor M. D'Argenson, in the cabinets, and in Madame de Pompadour'sapartments; and, when she could discover nothing, she had recourseto her invention, in order that she might not lose her importancewith her lover. This Madame d'Estrades owed her whole existenceto the bounties of Madame, and yet, ugly as she was, she hadtried to get the King away from her. One day, when he had gotrather drunk at Choisy (I think, the only time that ever happenedto him), he went on board a beautiful barge, whither Madame, being ill of an indigestion, could not accompany him. Madamed'Estrades seized this opportunity. She got into the barge, and, on their return, as it was dark, she followed the King into aprivate closet, where he was believed to be sleeping on a couch, and there went somewhat beyond any ordinary advances to him. Her account of the matter to Madame was, that she had gone intothe closet upon her own affairs, and that the King had followedher, and had tried to ravish her. She was at full liberty tomake what story she pleased, for the King knew neither what hehad said, nor what he had done. I shall finish this subject bya short history concerning a young lady. I had been, one day, to the theatre at Compiègne. When I returned, Madame asked meseveral questions about the play; whether there was much company, and whether I did not see a very beautiful girl. I replied, "Thatthere was, indeed, a girl in a box near mine, who was surroundedby all the young men about the Court. " She smiled, and said, "That is Mademoiselle Dorothée; she went, this evening, to seethe King sup in public, and to-morrow she is to be taken to thehunt. You are surprised to find me so well informed, but I knowa great deal more about her. She was brought here by a Gascon, named Dubarré or Dubarri, who is the greatest scoundrel in France. He founds all his hopes of advancement on Mademoiselle Dorothée'scharms, which he thinks the King cannot resist. She is, really, very beautiful. She was pointed out to me in my little garden, whither she was taken to walk on purpose. She is the daughter ofa water-carrier, at Strasbourg, and her charming lover demandsto be sent Minister to Cologne, as a beginning. " "Is it possible, Madame, that you can have been rendered uneasy by such a creatureas that?" "Nothing is impossible, " replied she; "though I thinkthe King would scarcely dare to give such a scandal. Besides, happily, Lebel, to quiet his conscience, told the King that thebeautiful Dorothée's lover is infected with a horrid disease;"and, added he, "Your Majesty would not get rid of that as youhave done of the scrofula. " This was quite enough to keep theyoung lady at a distance. 

"I pity you sincerely, Madame, " said I, "while everybody elseenvies you. " "Ah!" replied she, "my life is that of the Christian, a perpetual warfare. This was not the case with the woman whoenjoyed the favour of Louis XIV. Madame de La Vallière sufferedherself to be deceived by Madame de Montespan, but it was herown fault, or, rather, the effect of her extreme good nature. She was entirely devoid of suspicion at first, because she couldnot believe her friend perfidious. Madame de Montespan's empirewas shaken by Madame de Fontanges, and overthrown by Madame deMaintenon; but her haughtiness, her caprices, had already alienatedthe King. He had not, however, such rivals as mine; it is true, their baseness is my security. I have, in general, little tofear but casual infidelities, and the chance that they may notall be sufficiently transitory for my safety. The King likesvariety, but he is also bound by habit; he fears éclats, anddetests manoeuvring women. The little Maréchale (de Mirepoix)one day said to me, 'It is your staircase that the King loves;he is accustomed to go up and down it. But, if he found anotherwoman to whom he could talk of hunting and business as he doesto you, it would be just the same to him in three days. '"

I write without plan, order, or date, just as things come intomy mind; and I shall now go to the Abbé de Bernis. Whom I likedvery much, because he was good-natured, and treated me kindly. One day, just as Madame de Pompadour had finished dressing, M. De Noailles asked to speak to her in private. I, accordingly, retired. The Count looked full of important business. I heardtheir conversation, as there was only the door between us. 

"A circumstance has taken place, " said he, "which I think it myduty to communicate to the King; but I would not do so withoutfirst informing you of it, since it concerns one of your friendsfor whom I have the utmost regard and respect. The Abbé de Bernishad a mind to shoot, this morning, and went, with two or threeof his people, armed with guns, into the little park, where theDauphin would not venture to shoot without asking the King'spermission. The guards, surprised at hearing the report of guns, ran to the spot, and were greatly astonished at the sight of M. DeBernis. They very respectfully asked to see his permission, whenthey found, to their astonishment, that he had none. They beggedof him to desist, telling him that, if they did their duty, theyshould arrest him; but they must, at all events, instantly acquaintme with the circumstance, as Ranger of the Park of Versailles. They added, that the King must have heard the firing, and thatthey begged of him to retire. The Abbé apologized, on the score ofignorance, and assured them that he had my permission. 'The Comtede Noailles, ' said they, 'could only grant permission to shoot inthe more remote parts, and in the great park. '" The Count madea great merit of his eagerness to give the earliest informationto Madame. She told him to leave the task of communicating itto the King to her, and begged of him to say nothing about thematter. M. De Marigny, who did not like the Abbé, came to seeme in the evening; and I affected to know nothing of the story, and to hear it for the first time from him. "He must have been outof his senses, " said he, "to shoot under the King's windows, "--andenlarged much on the airs he gave himself. Madame de Pompadourgave this affair the best colouring she could: the King was, nevertheless, greatly disgusted at it, and twenty times, sincethe Abbé's disgrace, when he passed over that part of the park, he said, "This is where the Abbé took his pleasure. " The Kingnever liked him; and Madame de Pompadour told me one night, afterhis disgrace, when I was sitting up with her in her illness, that she saw, before he had been Minister a week, that he wasnot fit for his office. "If that hypocritical Bishop, " said she, speaking of the Bishop of Mirepoix, "had not prevented the Kingfrom granting him a pension of four hundred louis a year, which hehad promised me, he would never have been appointed Ambassador. I should, afterwards, have been able to give him an income ofeight hundred louis a year, perhaps the place of master of thechapel. Thus he would have been happier, and I should have hadnothing to regret. " I took the liberty of saying that I did notagree with her. That he had yet remaining advantages, of whichhe could not be deprived; that his exile would terminate; and thathe would then be a Cardinal, with an income of eight thousandlouis a year. "That is true, " she replied; "but I think of themortifications he has undergone, and of the ambition which devourshim; and, lastly, I think of myself. I should have still enjoyedhis society, and should have had, in my declining years, an oldand amiable friend, if he had not been Minister. " The King senthim away in anger, and was strongly inclined to refuse him thehat. M. Quesnay told me, some months afterwards, that the Abbéwanted to be Prime Minister; that he had drawn up a memorial, setting forth that in difficult crises the public good requiredthat there should be a _central point_ (that was his expression), towards which everything should be directed. Madame de Pompadourwould not present the memorial; he insisted, though she said tohim, "_You will ruin yourself. _" The King cast his eyes over it, and said "_central point_"--that is to say himself, he wants tobe Prime Minister. Madame tried to apologize for him, and said, "That expression might refer to the Maréchal de Belle-Isle. " "Ishe not just about to be made Cardinal?" said the King. "Thisis a fine manoeuvre; he knows well enough that, by means of thatdignity, he would compel the Ministers to assemble at his house, and then M. L'Abbé would be the _central point_. Wherever thereis a Cardinal in the council, he is sure, in the end, to takethe lead. Louis XIV. , for this reason, did not choose to admitthe Cardinal de Janson into the council, in spite of his greatesteem for him. The Cardinal de Fleury told me the same thing. Hehad some desire that the Cardinal de Tencin should succeed him;but his sister was such an intrigante that Cardinal de Fleuryadvised me to have nothing to do with the matter, and I behavedso as to destroy all his hopes, and to undeceive others. M. D'Argenson has strongly impressed me with the same opinion, andhas succeeded in destroying all my respect for him. " This iswhat the King said, according to my friend Quesnay, who, by thebye, was a great genius, as everybody said, and a very lively, agreeable man. He liked to chat with me about the country. Ihad been bred up there, and he used to set me a talking aboutthe meadows of Normandy and Poitou, the wealth of the farmers, and the modes of culture. He was the best-natured man in theworld, and the farthest removed from petty intrigue. While helived at Court, he was much more occupied with the best manner ofcultivating land than with anything that passed around him. Theman whom he esteemed the most was M. De la Rivière, a Counsellorof Parliament, who was also Intendant of Martinique; he lookedupon him as a man of the greatest genius, and thought him theonly person fit for the financial department of administration. 

The Comtesse d'Estrades, who owed everything to Madame de Pompadour, was incessantly intriguing against her. She was clever enough todestroy all proofs of her manoeuvres, but she could not so easilyprevent suspicion. Her intimate connection with M. D'Argenson gaveoffence to Madame, and, for some time, she was more reserved withher. She, afterwards, did a thing which justly irritated theKing and Madame. The King, who wrote a great deal, had writtento Madame de Pompadour a long letter concerning an assembly of theChambers of Parliament, and had enclosed a letter of M. Berrier. Madame was ill, and laid those letters on a little table by herbedside. M. De Gontaut came in, and gossipped about trifles, asusual. Madame d'Amblimont also came, and stayed but very littletime. Just as I was going to resume a book which I had been readingto Madame, the Comtesse d'Estrades entered, placed herself nearMadame's bed, and talked to her for some time. As soon as shewas gone, Madame called me, asked what was o'clock, and said, "Order my door to be shut, the King will soon be here. " I gavethe order, and returned; and Madame told me to give her the King'sletter, which was on the table with some other papers. I gaveher the papers, and told her there was nothing else. She wasvery uneasy at not finding the letter, and, after enumeratingthe persons who had been in the room, she said, "It cannot bethe little Countess, nor Gontaut, who has taken this letter. It can only be the Comtesse d'Estrades;--and that is too bad. "The King came, and was extremely angry, as Madame told me. Twodays afterwards, he sent Madame d'Estrades into exile. There wasno doubt that she took the letter; the King's handwriting hadprobably awakened her curiosity. This occurrence gave great painto M. D'Argenson, who was bound to her, as Madame de Pompadoursaid, by his love of intrigue. This redoubled his hatred of Madame, and she accused him of favouring the publication of a libel, in which she was represented as a worn-out mistress, reducedto the vile occupation of providing new objects to please herlover's appetite. She was characterised as superintendent ofthe Parc-aux-cerfs, which was said to cost hundreds of thousandsof louis a year. Madame de Pompadour did, indeed, try to concealsome of the King's weaknesses, but she never knew one of thesultanas of that seraglio. There were, however, scarcely evermore than two at once, and often only one. When they married, theyreceived some jewels, and four thousand louis. The Parc-aux-cerfswas sometimes vacant for five or six months. I was surprised, some time after, at seeing the Duchesse de Luynes, Lady of Honourto the Queen, come privately to see Madame de Pompadour. Sheafterwards came openly. One evening, after Madame was in bed, shecalled me, and said, "My dear, you will be delighted; the Queenhas given me the place of Lady of the Palace; tomorrow I am to bepresented to her: you must make me look well. " I knew that theKing was not so well pleased at this as she was; he was afraidthat it would give rise to scandal, and that it might be thoughthe had forced this nomination upon the Queen. He had, however, done no such thing. It had been represented to the Queen thatit was an act of heroism on her part to forget the past; thatall scandal would be obliterated when Madame de Pompadour wasseen to belong to the Court in an honourable manner; and thatit would be the best proof that nothing more than friendship nowsubsisted between the King and the favourite. The Queen receivedher very graciously. The devotees flattered themselves they shouldbe protected by Madame, and, for some time, were full of herpraises. Several of the Dauphin's friends came in private to seeher, and some obtained promotion. The Chevalier du Muy, however, refused to come. The King had the greatest possible contempt forthem, and granted them nothing with a good grace. He, one day, said of a man of great family, who wished to be made Captainof the Guards, "He is a double spy, who wants to be paid on bothsides. " This was the moment at which Madame de Pompadour seemedto me to enjoy the most complete satisfaction. The devotees cameto visit her without scruple, and did not forget to make useof every opportunity of serving themselves. Madame de Lu----had set them the example. The Doctor laughed at this change inaffairs, and was very merry at the expense of the saints. "Youmust allow, however, that they are consistent, " said I, "andmay be sincere. " "Yes, " said he; "but then they should not askfor anything. "

One day, I was at Doctor Quesnay's, whilst Madame de Pompadourwas at the theatre. The Marquis de Mirabeau came in, and theconversation was, for some time, extremely tedious to me, runningentirely on _net produce_; at length, they talked of other things. 

Mirabeau said, "I think the King looks ill, he grows old. " "Somuch the worse, a thousand times so much the worse, " said Quesnay;"it would be the greatest possible loss to France if he died;"and he raised his hands, and sighed deeply. "I do not doubt thatyou are attached to the King, and with reason, " said Mirabeau;"I am attached to him too; but I never saw you so much moved. ""Ah!" said. Quesnay, "I think of what would follow. " "Well, the Dauphin is virtuous. " "Yes; and full of good intentions;nor is he deficient in understanding; but canting hypocriteswould possess an absolute empire over a Prince who regards themas oracles. The Jesuits would govern the kingdom, as they did atthe end of Louis XIV. 's reign: and you would see the fanaticalBishop of Verdun Prime Minister, and La Vauguyon all-powerfulunder some other title. The Parliaments must then mind how theybehave; they will not be better treated than my friends thephilosophers. " "But they go too far, " said Mirabeau; "why openlyattack religion?" "I allow that, " replied the Doctor; "but howis it possible not to be rendered indignant by the fanaticism ofothers, and by recollecting all the blood that has flowed duringthe last two hundred years? You must not then again irritatethem, and revive in France the time of Mary in England. But whatis done is done, and I often exhort them to be moderate; I wishthey would follow the example of our friend Duclos. " "You areright, " replied Mirabeau; "he said to me a few days ago, 'Thesephilosophers are going on at such a rate that they will forceme to go to vespers and high mass;' but, in fine, the Dauphinis virtuous, well-informed, and intellectual. " "It is thecommencement of his reign, I fear, " said Quesnay, "when the imprudentproceedings of our friends will be represented to him in the mostunfavourable point of view; when the Jansenists and Molinists willmake common cause, and be strongly supported by the Dauphine. Ithought that M. De Muy was moderate, and that he would temper theheadlong fury of the others; but I heard him say that Voltairemerited condign punishment. Be assured, sir, that the times ofJohn Huss and Jerome of Prague will return; but I hope not tolive to see it. I approve of Voltaire having hunted down thePompignans: were it not for the ridicule with which he coveredthem, that _bourgeois_ Marquis would have been preceptor to theyoung Princes, and, aided by his brother, would have succeededin again lighting the faggots of persecution. " "What ought togive you confidence in the Dauphin, " said Mirabeau, "is, that, notwithstanding the devotion of Pompignan, he turns him intoridicule. A short time back, seeing him strutting about with anair of inflated pride, he said to a person, who told it to me, 'Our friend Pompignan thinks that he is something. '" On returninghome, I wrote down this conversation. 

I, one day, found Quesnay in great distress. "Mirabeau, " saidhe, "is sent to Vincennes, for his work on taxation. The FarmersGeneral have denounced him, and procured his arrest; his wifeis going to throw herself at the feet of Madame de Pompadourto-day. " A few minutes afterwards, I went into Madame's apartment, to assist at her toilet, and the Doctor came in. Madame said tohim, "You must be much concerned at the disgrace of your friendMirabeau. I am sorry for it too, for I like his brother. " Quesnayreplied, "I am very far from believing him to be actuated by badintentions, Madame; he loves the King and the people. " "Yes, "said she; "his _Ami des Hommes_ did him great honour. " At thismoment the Lieutenant of Police entered, and Madame said to him, "Have you seen M. De Mirabeau's book?" "Yes, Madame; but it wasnot I who denounced it?" "What do you think of it?" "I think hemight have said almost all it contains with impunity, if he hadbeen more circumspect as to the manner; there is, among otherobjectionable passages, this, which occurs at the beginning:_Your Majesty has about twenty millions of subjects; it is onlyby means of money that you can obtain their services, and thereis no money. _" "What, is there really that, Doctor?" said Madame. "It is true, they are the first lines in the book, and I confessthat they are imprudent; but, in reading the work, it is clearthat he laments that patriotism is extinct in the hearts of hisfellow-citizens, and that he desires to rekindle it. " The Kingentered: we went out, and I wrote down on Quesnay's table whatI had just heard. I then returned to finish dressing Madame dePompadour: she said to me, "The King is extremely angry withMirabeau; but I tried to soften him, and so did the Lieutenantof Police. This will increase Quesnay's fears. Do you know whathe said to me to-day? The King had been talking to him in myroom, and the Doctor appeared timid and agitated. After the Kingwas gone, I said to him, 'You always seem so embarrassed in theKing's presence, and yet he is so good-natured. ' 'Madame, ' saidhe, 'I left my native village at the age of forty, and I havevery little experience of the world, nor can I accustom myselfto its usages without great difficulty. When I am in a room withthe King, I say to myself, 'This is a man who can order my headto be cut off; and that idea embarrasses me. ' 'But do not theKing's justice and kindness set you at ease?' 'That is very truein reasoning, ' said he; 'but the sentiment is more prompt, andinspires me with fear before I have time to say to myself allthat is calculated to allay it. '"

I got her to repeat this conversation, and wrote it down immediately, that I might not forget it. 

An anonymous letter was addressed to the King and Madame dePompadour; and, as the author was very anxious that it shouldnot miscarry, he sent copies to the Lieutenant of Police, sealedand directed _to the King, to Madame de Pompadour, and to M. DeMarigny_. This letter produced a strong impression on Madame, andon the King, and still more, I believe, on the Duc de Choiseul, whohad received a similar one. I went on my knees to M. De Marigny, to prevail on him to allow me to copy it, that I might show itto the Doctor. It is as follows:

"Sire--It is a zealous servant who writes to Your Majesty. Truthis always better, particularly to Kings; habituated to flattery, they see objects only under those colours most likely to pleasethem. I have reflected, and read much; and here is what mymeditations have suggested to me to lay before Your Majesty. They have accustomed you to be invisible, and inspired you witha timidity which prevents you from speaking; thus all directcommunication is cut off between the master and his subjects. Shut up in the interior of your palace, you are becoming everyday like the Emperors of the East; but see, Sire, their fate!'I have troops, ' Your Majesty will say; such, also, is theirsupport: but, when the only security of a King rests upon histroops; when he is only, as one may say, a King of the soldiers, these latter feel their own strength, and abuse it. Your financesare in the greatest disorder, and the great majority of stateshave perished through this cause. A patriotic spirit sustainedthe ancient states, and united all classes for the safety oftheir country. In the present times, money has taken the placeof this spirit; it has become the universal lever, and you are inwant of it. A spirit of finance affects every department of thestate; it reigns triumphant at Court; all have become venal; andall distinction of rank is broken up. Your Ministers are withoutgenius and capacity since the dismissal of MM. D'Argenson and deMachault. You alone cannot judge of their incapacity, becausethey lay before you what has been prepared by skilful clerks, butwhich they pass as their own. They provide only for the necessityof the day, but there is no spirit of government in their acts. The military changes that have taken place disgust the troops, and cause the most deserving officers to resign; a seditious flamehas sprung up in the very bosom of the Parliaments; you seekto corrupt them, and the remedy is worse than the disease. It isintroducing vice into the sanctuary of justice, and gangrene intothe vital parts of the commonwealth. Would a corrupted Parliamenthave braved the fury of the League, in order to preserve thecrown for the legitimate sovereign? Forgetting the maxims ofLouis XIV. , who well understood the danger of confiding theadministration to noblemen, you have chosen M. De Choiseul, andeven given him three departments; which is a much heavier burdenthan that which he would have to support as Prime Minister, becausethe latter has only to oversee the details executed by theSecretaries of State. The public fully appreciate this dazzlingMinister. He is nothing more than a _petit-maître_, without talentsor information, who has a little phosphorus in his mind. Thereis a thing well worthy of remark, Sire; that is, the open warcarried on against religion. Henceforward there can spring up nonew sects, because the general belief has been shaken, that noone feels inclined to occupy himself with difference of sentimentupon some of the articles. The Encyclopedists, under pretence ofenlightening mankind, are sapping the foundations of religion. All the different kinds of liberty are connected; the Philosophersand the Protestants tend towards republicanism, as well as theJansenists. The Philosophers strike at the root, the others lopthe branches; and their efforts, without being concerted, willone day lay the tree low. Add to these the Economists, whoseobject is political liberty, as that of the others is liberty ofworship, and the Government may find itself, in twenty or thirtyyears, undermined in every direction, and will then fall with acrash. If Your Majesty, struck by this picture, but too true, should ask me for a remedy, I should say, that it is necessary tobring back the Government to its principles, and, above all, tolose no time in restoring order to the state of the finances, because the embarrassments incident to a country in a state ofdebt necessitate fresh taxes, which, after grinding the people, induce them towards revolt. It is my opinion that Your Majestywould do well to appear more among your people; to shew yourapprobation of useful services, and your displeasure of errorsand prevarications, and neglect of duty: in a word, to let it beseen that rewards and punishments, appointments and dismissals, proceed from yourself. You will then inspire gratitude by yourfavours, and fear by your reproaches; you will then be the objectof immediate and personal attachment, instead of which, everythingis now referred to your Ministers. The confidence in the King, which is habitual to your people, is shewn by the exclamation, so common among them, 'Ah! if the King knew it. ' They love tobelieve that the King would remedy all their evils, if he knewof them. But, on the other hand, what sort of ideas must theyform of Kings, whose duty it is to be informed of everything, and to superintend everything, that concerns the public, but whoare, nevertheless, ignorant of everything which the dischargeof their functions requires them to know? _Rex, roi, regere, régir, conduire_--to rule, to conduct--these words sufficientlydenote their duties. What would be said of a father who got ridof the charge of his children as of a burthen?

"A time will come, Sire, when the people shall be enlightened--andthat time is probably approaching. Resume the reins of government, hold them with a firm hand, and act, so that it cannot be saidof you, _Foeminas et scorta volvit animo et hoec principatûsproemia putat:_--Sire, if I see that my sincere advice shouldhave produced any change, I shall continue it, and enter intomore details; if not, I shall remain silent. "

Now that I am upon the subject of anonymous letters to the King, I must just mention that it is impossible to conceive how frequentthey were. People were extremely assiduous in telling eitherunpleasant truths, or alarming lies, with a view to injure others. As an instance, I shall transcribe one concerning Voltaire, whopaid great court to Madame de Pompadour when he was in France. This letter was written long after the former. 

"Madame--M. De Voltaire has just dedicated his tragedy of _Tancred_to you; this ought to be an offering of respect and gratitude;but it is, in fact, an insult, and you will form the same opinionof it as the public has done if you read it with attention. Youwill see that this distinguished writer appears to betray aconsciousness that the subject of his encomiums is not worthy ofthem, and to endeavour to excuse himself for them to the public. These are his words: 'I have seen your graces and talents unfoldthemselves from your infancy. At all periods of your life I havereceived proofs of your uniform and unchanging kindness. If anycritic be found to censure the homage I pay you, he must have aheart formed for ingratitude. I am under great obligations toyou, Madame, and these obligations it is my duty to proclaim. '

"What do these words really signify, unless that Voltaire feelsit may be thought extraordinary that he should dedicate his workto a woman who possesses but a small share of the public esteem, and that the sentiment of gratitude must plead his excuse? Whyshould he suppose that the homage he pays you will be censured, whilst we daily see dedications addressed to silly gossips who haveneither rank nor celebrity, or to women of exceptional conduct, without any censure being attracted by it? "

M. De Marigny, and Colin, Madame de Pompadour's steward, wereof the same opinion as Quesnay, that the author of this letterwas extremely malicious; that he insulted Madame, and tried toinjure Voltaire; but that he was, in fact, right. Voltaire, fromthat moment, was entirely out of favour with Madame, and withthe King, and he certainly never discovered the cause. 

The King, who admired everything of the age of Louis XIV. , andrecollected that the Boileaus and Racines had been protected bythat monarch, who was indebted to them, in part, for the lustreof his reign, was flattered at having such a man as Voltaire amonghis subjects. But still he feared him, and had but little esteemfor him. He could not help saying, "Moreover, I have treatedhim as well as Louis XIV. Treated Racine and Boileau. I havegiven him, as Louis XIV. Gave to Racine, some pensions, and aplace of gentleman in ordinary. It is not my fault if he hascommitted absurdities, and has had the pretension to become achamberlain, to wear an order, and sup with a King. It is notthe fashion in France; and, as there are here a few more menof wit and noblemen than in Prussia, it would require that Ishould have a very large table to assemble them all at it. " Andthen he reckoned upon his fingers, Maupertuis, Fontenelle, LaMothe, Voltaire, Piron, Destouches, Montesquieu, the CardinalPolignac. "Your Majesty forgets, " said some one, "D'Alembert andClairaut. " "And Crébillon, " said he. "And la Chaussée, and theyounger Crébillon, " said some one. "He ought to be more agreeablethan his father. " "And there are also the Abbés Prévôt and d'Olivet. ""Pretty well, " said the King; "and for the last twenty years _allthat (tout cela)_ would have dined and supped at my table. "

Madame de Pompadour repeated to me this conversation, which Iwrote down the same evening. M. De Marigny, also, talked to meabout it. "Voltaire, " said he, "has always had a fancy for beingAmbassador, and he did all he could to make the people believethat he was charged with some political mission, the first timehe visited Prussia. "

The people heard of the attempt on the King's life with transportsof fury, and with the greatest distress. Their cries were heardunder the windows of Madame de Pompadour's apartment. Mobs werecollected, and Madame feared the fate of Madame de Châteauroux. Her friends came in, every minute, to give her intelligence. Her room was, at all times, like a church; everybody seemed toclaim a right to go in and out when he chose. Some came, underpretence of sympathising, to observe her countenance and manner. She did nothing but weep and faint away. Doctor Quesnay neverleft her, nor did I. M. De St. Florentin came to see her severaltimes, so did the Comptroller-General, and M. Rouillé; but M. De Machault did not come. The Duchesse de Brancas came veryfrequently. The Abbé de Bernis never left us, except to go toenquire for the King. The tears came in his eyes whenever helooked at Madame. Doctor Quesnay saw the King five or six timesa day. "There is nothing to fear, " said he to Madame. "If itwere anybody else, he might go to a ball. " My son went the nextday, as he had done the day the event occurred, to see what wasgoing on at the Castle. He told us, on his return, that the Keeperof the Seals was with the King. I sent him back, to see whatcourse he took on leaving the King. He came running back in halfan hour, to tell me that the Keeper of the Seals had gone to hisown house, followed by a crowd of people. When I told this toMadame, she burst into tears, and said, "_Is that a friend?_"The Abbé de Bernis said, "You must not judge him hastily, insuch a moment as this. " I returned into the drawing-room aboutan hour after, when the Keeper of the Seals entered. He passedme, with his usual cold and severe look. "How is Madame dePompadour?" said he. "Alas!" replied I, "as you may imagine!"He passed on to her closet. Everybody retired, and he remainedfor half an hour. The Abbé returned and Madame rang. I went intoher room, the Abbé following me. She was in tears. "I must go, mydear Abbé, " said she. I made her take some orange-flower water, in a silver goblet, for her teeth chattered. She then told me tocall her equerry. He came in, and she calmly gave him her orders, to have everything prepared at her hotel, in Paris; to tell allher people to get ready to go; and to desire her coachman notto be out of the way. She then shut herself up, to confer withthe Abbé de Bernis, who left her, to go to the Council. Her doorwas then shut, except to the ladies with whom she was particularlyintimate, M. De Soubise, M. De Gontaut, the Ministers, and someothers. Several ladies, in the greatest distress, came to talkto me in my room: they compared the conduct of M. De Machaultwith that of M. De Richelieu, at Metz. Madame had related tothem the circumstances extremely to the honour of the Duke, and, by contrast, the severest satire on the Keeper of the Seals. "He thinks, or pretends to think, " said she, "that the priestswill be clamorous for my dismissal; but Quesnay and all thephysicians declare that there is not the slightest danger. " Madamehaving sent for me, I saw the Maréchale de Mirepoix coming in. While she was at the door, she cried out, "What are all thosetrunks, Madame? Your people tell me you are going. " "Alas! mydear friend, such is our Master's desire, as M. De Machault tellsme. " "And what does he advise?" said the Maréchale. "That I shouldgo without delay. " During this conversation, I was undressingMadame, who wished to be at her ease on her chaise-longue. "YourKeeper of the Seals wants to get the power into his own hands, and betrays you; he who quits the field loses it. " I went out. M. De Soubise entered, then the Abbé and M. De Marigny. The latter, who was very kind to me, came into my room an hour afterwards. I was alone. "She will remain, " said he; "but, hush!--she willmake an appearance of going, in order not to set her enemiesat work. It is the little Maréchale who prevailed upon her tostay: her keeper (so she called M. De Machault) will pay forit. " Quesnay came in, and, having heard what was said, with hismonkey airs, began to relate a fable of a fox, who, being atdinner with other beasts, persuaded one of them that his enemieswere seeking him, in order that he might get possession of hisshare in his absence. I did not see Madame again till very late, at her going to bed. She was more calm. Things improved, from dayto day, and de Machault, the faithless friend, was dismissed. The King returned to Madame de Pompadour, as usual. I learnt, by M. De Marigny, that the Abbé had been, one day, with M. D'Argenson, to endeavour to persuade him to live on friendlyterms with Madame, and that he had been very coldly received. "He is the more arrogant, " said he, "on account of Machault'sdismissal, which leaves the field clear for him, who has moreexperience, and more talent; and I fear that he will, therefore, be disposed to declare _war till death_. " The next day, Madamehaving ordered her chaise, I was curious to know where she wasgoing, for she went out but little, except to church, and tothe houses of the Ministers. I was told that she was gone tovisit M. D'Argenson. She returned in an hour, at farthest, andseemed very much out of spirits. She leaned on the chimney-piece, with her eyes fixed on the border of it. M. De Bernis entered. I waited for her to take off her cloak and gloves. She had herhands in her muff. The Abbé stood looking at her for some minutes;at last he said, "You look like a sheep in a reflecting mood. " Sheawoke from her reverie, and, throwing her muff on the easy-chair, replied, "It is a wolf who makes the sheep reflect. " I went out:the King entered shortly after, and I heard Madame de Pompadoursobbing. The Abbé came into my room, and told me to bring someHoffman's drops: the King himself mixed the draught with sugar, and presented it to her in the kindest manner possible. She smiled, and kissed the King's hands. I left the room. Two days after, very early in the morning, I heard of M. D'Argenson's exile. It was her doing, and was, indeed, the strongest proof of herinfluence that could be given. The King was much attached toM. D'Argenson, and the war, then carrying on, both by sea andland, rendered the dismissal of two such Ministers extremelyimprudent. This was the universal opinion at the time. 

Many people talk of the letter of the Comte d'Argenson to Madamed'Esparbès. I give it, according to the most correct version:"The doubtful is, at length, decided. The Keeper of the Sealsis dismissed. You will be recalled, my dear Countess, and weshall be masters of the field. "

It is much less generally known that Arboulin, whom Madame callsBou-bou, was supposed to be the person who, on the very day ofthe dismissal of the Keeper of the Seals, bribed the Count'sconfidential courier, who gave him this letter. Is this reportfounded on truth? I cannot swear that it is; but it is assertedthat the letter is written in the Count's style. Besides, whocould so immediately have invented it? It, however, appearedcertain, from the extreme displeasure of the King, that he hadsome other subject of complaint against M. D'Argenson, besideshis refusing to be reconciled with Madame. Nobody dares to showthe slightest attachment to the disgraced Minister. I asked theladies who were most intimate with Madame de Pompadour, as wellas my own friends, what they knew of the matter; but they knewnothing. I can understand why Madame did not let them into herconfidence at that moment. She will be less reserved in time. I care very little about it, since I see that she is well, andappears happy. 

The King said a thing, which did him honour, to a person whosename Madame withheld from me. A nobleman, who had been a mostassiduous courtier of the Count, said, rubbing his hands withan air of great joy, "I have just seen the Comte d'Argenson'sbaggage set out. " When the King heard him, he went up to Madame, shrugged his shoulders, and said, "And immediately the cock crew. "

I believe this is taken from Scripture, where Peter denies OurLord. I confess, this circumstance gave me great pleasure. Itshowed that the King is not the dupe of those around him, andthat he hates treachery and ingratitude. 

Madame sent for me yesterday evening, at seven o'clock, to readsomething to her; the ladies who were intimate with her were atParis, and M. De Gontaut ill. "The King, " said she, "will staylate at the Council this evening; they are occupied with theaffairs of the Parliament again. " She bade me leave off reading, and I was going to quit the room, but she called out, "Stop. " Sherose; a letter was brought in for her, and she took it with anair of impatience and ill-humour. After a considerable time shebegan to talk openly, which only happened when she was extremelyvexed; and, as none of her confidential friends were at hand, shesaid to me, "This is from my brother. It is what he would nothave dared to say to me, so he writes. I had arranged a marriagefor him with the daughter of a man of title; he appeared to bewell inclined to it, and I, therefore, pledged my word. He nowtells me that he has made inquiries; that the parents are peopleof insupportable hauteur; that the daughter is very badly educated;and that he knows, from authority not to be doubted, that whenshe heard this marriage discussed, she spoke of the connectionwith the most supreme contempt; that he is certain of this fact;and that I was still more contemptuously spoken of than himself. In a word, he begs me to break off the treaty. But he has let mego too far; and now he will make these people my irreconcilableenemies. This has been put in his head by some of his flatterers;they do not wish him to change his way of living; and very few ofthem would be received by his wife. " I tried to soften Madame, and, though I did not venture to tell her so, I thought her brotherright. She persisted in saying these were lies, and, on the followingSunday, treated her brother very coldly. He said nothing to meat that time; if he had, he would have embarrassed me greatly. Madame atoned for everything by procuring favours, which were themeans of facilitating the young lady's marriage with a gentlemanof the Court. Her conduct, two months after marriage, compelledMadame to confess that her brother had been perfectly right. 

I saw my friend, Madame du Chiron. "Why, " said she, "is the Marquiseso violent an enemy to the Jesuits? I assure you she is wrong. All-powerful as she is, she may find herself the worse for theirenmity. " I replied that I knew nothing about the matter. "Itis, however, unquestionably a fact; and she does not feel thata word more or less might decide her fate. " "How do you mean?"said I. 

"Well, I will explain myself fully, " said she. "You know whattook place at the time the King was stabbed: an attempt was madeto get her out of the Castle instantly. The Jesuits have no otherobject than the salvation of their penitents; but they are men, and hatred may, without their being aware of it, influence theirminds, and inspire them with a greater degree of severity thancircumstances absolutely demand. Favour and partiality may, on theother hand, induce the confessor to make great concessions; andthe shortest interval may suffice to save a favourite, especiallyif any decent pretext can be found for prolonging her stay atCourt. " I agreed with her in all she said, but I told her that Idared not touch that string. On reflecting on this conversationafterwards, I was forcibly struck with this fresh proof of theintrigues of the Jesuits, which, indeed, I knew well already. Ithought that, in spite of what I had replied to Madame du Chiron, I ought to communicate this to Madame de Pompadour, for the ease ofmy conscience; but that I would abstain from making any reflectionupon it. "Your friend, Madame du Chiron, " said she, "is, I perceive, affiliated to the Jesuits, and what she says does not originatewith herself. She is commissioned by some reverend father, andI will know by whom. " Spies were, accordingly, set to watch hermovements, and they discovered that one Father de Saci, and, stillmore particularly, one Father Frey, guided this lady's conduct, "What a pity, " said Madame to me, "that the Abbé Chauvelin cannotknow this. " He was the most formidable enemy of the reverendfathers. Madame du Chiron always looked upon me as a Jansenist, because I would not espouse the interests of the good fatherswith as much warmth as she did. 

Madame is completely absorbed in the Abbé de Bernis, whom shethinks capable of anything; she talks of him incessantly. Aproposof this Abbé, I must relate an anecdote, which almost makes onebelieve in conjurors. A year, or fifteen months, before her disgrace, Madame de Pompadour, being at Fontainebleau, sat down to write ata desk, over which hung a portrait of the King. While she wasshutting the desk, after she had finished writing, the picturefell, and struck her violently on the head. The persons who sawthe accident were alarmed, and sent for Dr. Quesnay. He asked thecircumstances of the case, and ordered bleeding and anodynes. Justas she had been bled, Madame de Brancas entered, and saw us all inconfusion and agitation, and Madame lying on her chaise-longue. She asked what was the matter, and was told. After having expressedher regret, and having consoled her, she said, "I ask it as afavour of Madame, and of the King (who had just come in), thatthey will instantly send a courier to the Abbé de Bernis, andthat the Marquise will have the goodness to write a letter, merelyrequesting him to inform her what his fortune-tellers told him, and to withhold nothing from the fear of making her uneasy. "The thing was done as she desired, and she then told us that LaBontemps had predicted, from the dregs in the coffee-cup, inwhich she read everything, that the head of her best friend wasin danger, but that no fatal consequences would ensue. 

The next day, the Abbé wrote word that Madame Bontemps also saidto him, "You came into the world almost black, " and that this wasthe fact. This colour, which lasted for some time, was attributedto a picture which hung at the foot of his mother's bed, andwhich she often looked at. It represented a Moor bringing toCleopatra a basket of flowers, containing the asp by whose biteshe destroyed herself. He said that she also told him, "You havea great deal of money about you, but it does not belong to you;"and that he had actually in his pocket two hundred louis forthe Duc de La Vallière. Lastly, he informed us that she said, looking in the cup, "I see one of your friends--the best--adistinguished lady, threatened with an accident;" that he confessedthat, in spite of all his philosophy, he turned pale; that sheremarked this, looked again into the cup, and continued, "Herhead will be slightly in danger, but of this no appearance willremain half an hour afterwards. " It was impossible to doubt thefacts. They appeared so surprising to the King, that he desiredsome inquiry to be made concerning the fortune-teller. Madame, however, protected her from the pursuit of the Police. 

A man, who was quite as astonishing as this fortune-teller, oftenvisited Madame de Pompadour. This was the Comte de St. Germain, who wished to have it believed that he had lived several centuries. One day, at her toilet, Madame said to him, in my presence, "Whatwas the personal appearance of Francis I. ? He was a King I shouldhave liked. " "He was, indeed, very captivating, " said St. Germain;and he proceeded to describe his face and person as one doesthat of a man one has accurately observed. "It is a pity he wastoo ardent. I could have given him some good advice, which wouldhave saved him from all his misfortunes; but he would not havefollowed it; for it seems as if a fatality attended Princes, forcing them to shut their ears, those of the mind, at least, tothe best advice, and especially in the most critical moments. ""And the Constable, " said Madame, "what do you say of him?" "Icannot say much good or much harm of him, " replied he. "Wasthe Court of Francis I. Very brilliant?" "Very brilliant; butthose of his grandsons infinitely surpassed it. In the time ofMary Stuart and Margaret of Valois it was a land of enchantment--atemple, sacred to pleasures of every kind; those of the mindwere not neglected. The two Queens were learned, wrote verses, and spoke with captivating grace and eloquence. " Madame said, laughing, "You seem to have seen all this. " "I have an excellentmemory, " said he, "and have read the history of France with greatcare. I sometimes amuse myself, not by _making_, but by _letting_it be believed that I lived in old times. " "You do not tell meyour age, however, and you give yourself out for very old. TheComtesse de Gergy, who was Ambassadress to Venice, I think, fiftyyears ago, says she knew you there exactly what you are now. ""It is true, Madame, that I have known Madame de Gergy a longtime. " "But, according to what she says, you would be more thana hundred. " "That is not impossible, " said he, laughing; "butit is, I allow, still more possible that Madame de Gergy, forwhom I have the greatest respect, may be in her dotage. " "Youhave given her an elixir, the effect of which is surprising. She declares that for a long time she has felt as if she wasonly four-and-twenty years of age; why don't you give some tothe King?" "Ah! Madame, " said he, with a sort of terror, "I mustbe mad to think of giving the King an unknown drug. " I went intomy room to write down this conversation. 

Some days afterwards, the King, Madame de Pompadour, some Lordsof the Court, and the Comte de St. Germain, were talking abouthis secret for causing the spots in diamonds to disappear. TheKing ordered a diamond of middling size, which had a spot, tobe brought. It was weighed; and the King said to the Count, "Itis valued at two hundred and forty louis; but it would be worthfour hundred if it had no spot. Will you try to put a hundredand sixty louis into my pocket?" He examined it carefully, andsaid, "It may be done; and I will bring it you again in a month. "At the time appointed, the Count brought back the diamond withouta spot, and gave it to the King. It was wrapped in a cloth ofamianthus, which he took off. The King had it weighed, and foundit but very little diminished. The King sent it to his jewellerby M. De Gontaut, without telling him anything of what had passed. The jeweller gave three hundred and eighty louis for it. The King, however, sent for it back again, and kept it as a curiosity. Hecould not overcome his surprise, and said that M. De St. Germainmust be worth millions, especially if he had also the secret ofmaking large diamonds out of a number of small ones. He neithersaid that he had, nor that he had not; but he positively assertedthat he could make pearls grow, and give them the finest water. The King paid him great attention, and so did Madame de Pompadour. It was from her I learnt what I have just related. M. Quesnaysaid, talking of the pearls, "They are produced by a diseasein the oyster. It is possible to know the cause of it; but, bethat as it may, he is not the less a quack, since he pretendsto have the _elixir vitoe_, and to have lived several centuries. Our master is, however, infatuated by him, and sometimes talksof him as if his descent were illustrious. "

I have seen him frequently: he appeared to be about fifty; he wasneither fat nor thin; he had an acute, intelligent look, dressedvery simply, but in good taste; he wore very fine diamonds in hisrings, watch, and snuff-box. He came, one day, to visit Madamede Pompadour, at a time when the Court was in full splendour, withknee and shoe-buckles of diamonds so fine and brilliant thatMadame said she did not believe the King had any equal to them. He went into the antechamber to take them off, and brought them tobe examined; they were compared with others in the room, and theDuc de Gontaut, who was present, said they were both at leasteight thousand louis. He wore, at the same time, a snuff-box ofinestimable value, and ruby sleeve-buttons, which were perfectlydazzling. Nobody could find out by what means this man becameso rich and so remarkable; but the King would not suffer himto be spoken of with ridicule or contempt. He was said to be abastard son of the King of Portugal. 

I learnt, from M. De Marigny, that the relations of the goodlittle Maréchale (de Mirepoix) had been extremely severe upon her, for what they called the baseness of her conduct, with regard toMadame de Pompadour. They said she held the stones of the cherrieswhich Madame ate in her carriage, in her beautiful little hands, and that she sate in the front of the carriage, while Madameoccupied the whole seat in the inside. The truth was, that, ingoing to Crécy, on an insupportably hot day, they both wished tosit alone, that they might be cooler; and as to the matter ofthe cherries, the villagers having brought them some, they atethem to refresh themselves, while the horses were changed; andthe Maréchale emptied her pocket-handkerchief, into which theyhad both thrown the cherry-stones, out of the carriage window. Thepeople who were changing the horses had given their own versionof the affair. 

I had, as you know, a very pretty room at Madame's hotel, whitherI generally went privately. I had, one day, had visits from two orthree Paris representatives, who told me news; and Madame, havingsent for me, I went to her, and found her with M. De Gontaut. Icould not help instantly saying to her, "You must be much pleased, Madame, at the noble action of the Marquis de ----. " Madame replied, drily, "Hold your tongue, and listen to what I have to say toyou. " I returned to my little room, where I found the Comtessed'Amblimont, to whom I mentioned Madame's reception of me. "Iknow what is the matter, " said she; "it has no relation to you. I will explain it to you. The Marquis de ---- has told all Paris, that, some days ago, going home at night, alone, and on foot, he heard cries in a street called Férou, which is dark, and, in great part, arched over; that he drew his sword, and wentdown the street, in which he saw, by the light of a lamp, a veryhandsome woman, to whom some ruffians were offering violence;that he approached, and that the woman cried out, 'Save me! saveme!' that he rushed upon the wretches, two of whom fought him, sword in hand, whilst a third held the woman, and tried to stopher mouth; that he wounded one in the arm; and that the ruffians, hearing people pass at the end of the street, and fearing theymight come to his assistance, fled; that he went up to the lady, who told him that they were not robbers, but villains, one ofwhom was desperately in love with her; and that the lady knewnot how to express her gratitude; that she had begged him notto follow her, after he had conducted her to a _fiacre_; thatshe would not tell him her name, but that she insisted on hisaccepting a little ring, as a token of remembrance; and that shepromised to see him again, and to tell him her whole history, if he gave her his address; that he complied with this requestof the lady, whom he represented as a charming person, and who, in the overflowing of her gratitude, embraced him several times. This is all very fine, so far, " said Madame d'Amblimont, "buthear the rest. The Marquis de ---- exhibited himself everywherethe next day, with a black ribbon bound round his arm, near thewrist, in which part he said he had received the wound. He relatedhis story to everybody, and everybody commented upon it afterhis own fashion. He went to dine with the Dauphin, who spoketo him of his bravery, and of his fair unknown, and told himthat he had already complimented the Duc de C---- on the affair. I forgot to tell you, " continued Madame d'Amblimont, "that, onthe very night of the adventure, he called on Madame d'Estillac, an old gambler, whose house is open till four in the morning;that everybody there was surprised at the disordered state inwhich he appeared; that his bagwig had fallen off, one skirt ofhis coat was cut, and his right hand bleeding. That they instantlybound it up, and gave him some Rota wine. Four days ago, the Ducde C---- supped with the King, and sat near M. De St. Florentin. He talked to him of his relation's adventure, and asked him if hehad made any inquiries concerning the lady. M. De St. Florentincoldly answered, 'No;' and M. De C---- remarked, on asking himsome further questions, that he kept his eyes fixed on his plate, looking embarrassed, and answered in monosyllables. He asked himthe reason of this, upon which M. De Florentin told him that itwas extremely distressing to him to see him under such a mistake. 'How can you know that, supposing it to be the fact?' said M. De ----. 'Nothing is more easy to prove, ' replied M. De St. Florentin. 'You may imagine that, as soon as I was informed ofthe Marquis de ----'s adventure, I set on foot inquiries, theresult of which was, that, on the night when this affair was saidto have taken place, a party of the watch was set in ambuscadein this very street, for the purpose of catching a thief whowas coming out of the gaming house; that this party was therefour hours, and heard not the slightest noise. ' M. De C---- wasgreatly incensed at this recital, which M. De St. Florentin ought, indeed, to have communicated to the King. He has ordered, orwill order, his relation to retire to his province. 

[Illustration: Madame de Pompadour. _From the original paintingby Nattier in the Royal Gallery in Scotland. _]

"After this, you will judge, my dear, whether you were very likelyto be graciously received when you went open-mouthed with yourcompliment to the Marquise. This adventure, " continued she, "remindedthe King of one which occurred about fifteen years ago. The Comted'E----, who was what is called _enfant d'honneur_ to the Dauphin, and about fourteen years of age, came into the Dauphin's apartments, one evening, with his bag-wig snatched off, and his ruffles torn, and said that, having walked rather late near the piece of water_des Suisses_, he had been attacked by two robbers; that he hadrefused to give them anything, drawn his sword, and put himselfin art attitude of defence; that one of the robbers was armedwith a sword, the other with a large stick, from which he hadreceived several blows, but that he had wounded one in the arm, and that, hearing a noise at that moment, they had fled. Butunluckily for the little Count, it was known that people were onthe spot at the precise time he mentioned, and had heard nothing. The Count was pardoned, on account of his youth. The Dauphin madehim confess the truth, and it was looked upon as a childish freakto set people talking about him. "

The King disliked the King of Prussia because he knew that thelatter was in the habit of jesting upon his mistress, and thekind of life he led. It was Frederick's fault, as I have heard itsaid, that the king was not his most steadfast ally and friend, as much as sovereigns can be towards each other; but the jestingsof Frederick had stung him, and made him conclude the treaty ofVersailles. One day, he entered Madame's apartment with a paperin his hand, and said, "The King of Prussia is certainly a greatman; he loves men of talent, and, like Louis XIV. , he wishes tomake Europe ring with his favours towards foreign _savans_. Thereis a letter from him, addressed to Milord Marshal, ordering himto acquaint a _supérieur_ man of my kingdom (D'Alembert) that hehas granted him a pension;" and, looking at the letter, he readthe following words: "You must know that there is in Paris a manof the greatest merit, whose fortune is not proportionate to histalents and character. I may serve as eyes to the blind goddess, and repair in some measure the injustice, and I beg you to offeron that account. I flatter myself that he will accept this pensionbecause of the pleasure I shall feel in obliging a man who joinsbeauty of character to the most sublime intellectual talents. "The King here stopped, on seeing MM. D'Ayen and de Gontaut enter, and then recommenced reading the letter to them, and added, "Itwas given me by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, to whom itwas confided by Milord Marshal, for the purpose of obtaining mypermission for this _sublime genius_ to accept the favour. But, "said the King, "what do you think is the amount?" Some said six, eight, ten thousand livres. "You have not guessed, " said theKing; "it is twelve hundred livres. " "For sublime talents, " saidthe Duc d'Ayen, "it is not much. But the philosophers will makeEurope resound with this letter, and the King of Prussia will havethe pleasure of making a great noise at little expense. "

The Chevalier de Courten, who had been in Prussia, came in, and, hearing this story told, said, "I have seen what is much betterthan that: passing through a village in Prussia, I got out at thepost-house, while I was waiting for horses; and the post-master, who was a captain in the Prussian service, showed me severalletters in Frederick's handwriting, addressed to his uncle, whowas a man of rank, promising him to provide for his nephews;the provision he made for this, the eldest of these nephews, who was dreadfully wounded, was the postmastership which he thenheld. " M. De Marigny related this story at Quesnay's, and added, that the man of genius above mentioned was D'Alembert, and thatthe King had permitted him to accept the pension. He added, thathis sister had suggested to the King that he had better giveD'Alembert a pension of twice the value, and forbid him to takethe King of Prussia's. This advice he would not take, becausehe looked upon D'Alembert as an infidel. M. De Marigny took acopy of the letter, which he lent me. 

A certain nobleman, at one time, affected to cast tender glanceson Madame Adélaïde. She was wholly unconscious of it; but, asthere are Arguses at Court, the King was, of course, told ofit, and, indeed, he thought he had perceived it himself. I knowthat he came into Madame de Pompadour's room one day, in a greatpassion, and said, "Would you believe that there is a man inmy Court insolent enough to dare to raise his eyes to one ofmy daughters?" Madame had never seen him so exasperated, andthis illustrious nobleman was advised to feign a necessity forvisiting his estates. He remained there two months. Madame toldme, long after, that she thought that there were no tortures towhich the King would not have condemned any man who had seducedone of his daughters. Madame Adélaïde, at the time in question, was a charming person, and united infinite grace, and much talent, to a most agreeable face. 

A courier brought Madame de Pompadour a letter, on reading whichshe burst into tears. It contained the intelligence of the battleof Rosbach, which M. De Soubise sent her, with all the details. I heard her say to the Maréchal de Belle-Isle, wiping her eyes, "M. De Soubise is inconsolable; he does not try to excuse hisconduct, he sees nothing but the disastrous fortune which pursueshim. " "M. De Soubise must, however, have many things to urge inhis own behalf, " said M. De Belle-Isle, "and so I told the King. ""It is very noble in you, Marshal, not to suffer an unfortunateman to be overwhelmed; the public are furious against him, andwhat has he done to deserve it?" "There is not a more honourablenor a kinder man in the world. I only fulfil my duty in doingjustice to the truth, and to a man for whom I have the most profoundesteem. The King will explain to you, Madame, how M. De Soubisewas forced to give battle by the Prince of Saxe-Hildbourgshausen, whose troops fled first, and carried along the French troops. "Madame would have embraced the old Marshal if she had dared, she was so delighted with him. 

M. De Soubise, having gained a battle, was made Marshal of France:Madame was enchanted with her friend's success. But, either itwas unimportant, or the public were offended at his promotion;nobody talked of it but Madame's friends. This unpopularity wasconcealed from her, and she said to Colin, her steward, at hertoilet, "Are you not delighted at the victory M. De Soubise hasgained? What does the public say of it? He has taken his revengewell. " Colin was embarrassed, and knew not what to answer. Asshe pressed him further, he replied that he had been ill, andhad seen nobody for a week. 

M. De Marigny came to see me one day, very much out of humour. Iasked him the cause. "I have, " said he, "just been intreating mysister not to make M. Le Normand-de-Mezi Minister of the Marine. I told her that she was heaping coals of fire upon her own head. Afavourite ought not to multiply the points of attack upon herself. "The Doctor entered. "You, " said the Doctor, "are worth your weightin gold, for the good sense and capacity you have shewn in youroffice, and for your moderation, but you will never be appreciatedas you deserve; your advice is excellent; there will never bea ship taken but Madame will be held responsible for it to thepublic, and you are very wise not to think of being in the Ministryyourself. "

One day, when I was at Paris, I went to dine with the Doctor, who happened to be there at the same time; there were, contraryto his usual custom, a good many people, and, among others, ahandsome young Master of the Requests, who took a title fromsome place, the name of which I have forgotten, but who was ason of M. Turgot, the _prévôt des marchands_. They talked a greatdeal about administration, which was not very amusing to me;they then fell upon the subject of the love Frenchmen bear totheir Kings. M. Turgot here joined in the conversation, and said, "This is not a blind attachment; it is a deeply rooted sentiment, arising from an indistinct recollection of great benefits. TheFrench nation--I may go farther--Europe, and all mankind, owe toa King of France" (I have forgotten his name) "whatever libertythey enjoy. He established _communes_, and conferred on an immensenumber of men a civil existence. I am aware that it may be said, with justice, that he served his own interests by granting thesefranchises; that the cities paid him taxes, and that his designwas to use them as instruments of weakening the power of greatnobles; but what does that prove, but that this measure was atonce useful, politic, and humane?" From Kings in general theconversation turned upon Louis XV. , and M. Turgot remarked thathis reign would be always celebrated for the advancement of thesciences, the progress of knowledge, and of philosophy. He addedthat Louis XV. Was deficient in the quality which Louis XIV. Possessed to excess; that is to say, in a good opinion of himself;that he was well-informed; that nobody was more perfectly masterof the topography of France; that his opinion in the Council wasalways the most judicious; and that it was much to be lamentedthat he had not more confidence in himself, or that he did notrely upon some Minister who enjoyed the confidence of the nation. Everybody agreed with him. I begged M. Quesnay to write downwhat young Turgot had said, and showed it to Madame. She praisedthis Master of the Requests greatly, and spoke of him to theKing. "It is a good breed, " said he. 

One day, I went out to walk, and saw, on my return, a great manypeople going and coming, and speaking to each other privately: itwas evident that something extraordinary had happened. I askeda person of my acquaintance what was the matter. "Alas!" saidhe, with tears in his eyes, "some assassins, who had formed theproject of murdering the King, have inflicted several woundson a garde-du-corps, who overheard them in a dark corridor; heis carried to the hospital; and as he has described the colourof these men's coats, the Police are in quest of them in alldirections, and some people, dressed in clothes of that colour, are already arrested. " I saw Madame with M. De Gontaut, and Ihastened home. She found her door besieged by a multitude ofpeople, and was alarmed: when she got in, she found the Comtede Noailles. "What is all this, Count?" said she. He said he wascome expressly to speak to her, and they retired to her closettogether. The conference was not long. I had remained in thedrawing-room, with Madame's equerry, the Chevalier de Sosent, Gourbillon, her _valet de chambre_, and some strangers. A greatmany details were related; but, the wounds being little morethan scratches, and the garde-du-corps having let fall somecontradictions, it was thought that he was an impostor, who hadinvented all this story to bring himself into favour. Before thenight was over, this was proved to be the fact, and, I believe, from his own confession. The King came, that evening, to seeMadame de Pompadour; he spoke of this occurrence with great _sangfroid_, and said, "The gentleman who wanted to kill me was awicked madman; this is a low scoundrel. "

When he spoke of Damiens, which was only while his trial lasted, he never called him anything but _that gentleman_. 

I have heard it said that he proposed having him shut up in adungeon for life; but that the horrible nature of the crime madethe judges insist upon his suffering all the tortures inflictedupon like occasions. Great numbers, many of them women, had abarbarous curiosity to witness the execution; amongst others, Madame de P----, a very beautiful woman, and the wife of a FarmerGeneral. She hired two places at a window for twelve louis, andplayed a game of cards in the room whilst waiting for the executionto begin. On this being told to the King, he covered his eyeswith his hands and exclaimed, "_Fi, la Vilaine!_" I have beentold that she, and others, thought to pay their court in thisway, and signalise their attachment to the King's person. 

Two things were related to me by M. Duclos at the time of theattempt on the King's life. 

The first, relative to the Comte de Sponheim, who was the Ducde Deux-Ponts, and next in succession to the Palatinate andElectorate of Bavaria. He was thought to be a great friend tothe King, and had made several long sojourns in France. He camefrequently to see Madame. M. Duclos told us that the Duc deDeux-Ponts, having learned, at Deux-Ponts, the attempt on theKing's life, immediately set out in a carriage for Versailles:"But remark, " said he, "the spirit of _courtisanerie_ of a Prince, who may be Elector of Bavaria and the Palatinate to-morrow. Thiswas not enough. When he arrived within ten leagues of Paris, heput on an enormous pair of jack-boots, mounted a post-horse, and arrived in the court of the palace cracking his whip. Ifthis had been real impatience, and not charlatanism, he wouldhave taken horse twenty leagues from Paris. " "I don't agree withyou, " said a gentleman whom I did not know; "impatience sometimesseizes one towards the end of an undertaking, and one employsthe readiest means then in one's power. Besides, the Duc deDeux-Ponts might wish, by showing himself thus on horseback, toserve the King, to whom he is attached, by proving to Frenchmenhow greatly he is beloved and honoured in other countries. " Duclosresumed: "Well, " said he, "do you know the story of M. De C----?The first day the King saw company, after the attempt of Damiens, M. De C---- pushed so vigorously through the crowd that he wasone of the first to come into the King's presence, but he hadon so shabby a black coat that it caught the King's attention, who burst out laughing, and said, 'Look at C----, he has hadthe skirt of his coat torn off. ' M. De C---- looked as if he wasonly then first conscious of his loss, and said, 'Sire, thereis such a multitude hurrying to see Your Majesty, that I wasobliged to fight my way through them, and, in the effort, mycoat has been torn. ' 'Fortunately it was not worth much, ' saidthe Marquis de Souvré, 'and you could not have chosen a worseone to sacrifice on the occasion. '"

Madame de Pompadour had been very judiciously advised to get herhusband, M. Le Normand, sent to Constantinople, as Ambassador. This would have a little diminished the scandal caused by seeingMadame de Pompadour, with the title of Marquise, at Court, andher husband Farmer General at Paris. But he was so attached to aParis life, and to his opera habits, that he could not be prevailedupon to go. Madame employed a certain M. D'Arboulin, with whomshe had been acquainted before she was at Court, to negotiatethis affair. He applied to a Mademoiselle Rem, who had been anopera-dancer, and who was M. Le Normand's mistress. She madehim very fine promises; but she was like him, and preferred aParis life. She would do nothing in it. 

At the time that plays were acted in the little apartments, Iobtained a lieutenancy for one of my relations, by a singularmeans, which proves the value the greatest people set upon theslightest access to the Court. Madame did not like to ask anythingof M. D'Argenson, and, being pressed by my family, who couldnot imagine that, situated as I was, it could be difficult forme to obtain a command for a good soldier, I determined to goand ask the Comte d'Argenson. I made my request, and presentedmy memorial. He received me coldly, and gave me vague answers. I went out, and the Marquis de V----, who was in his closet, followed me. "You wish to obtain a command, " said he; "thereis one vacant, which is promised me for one of my protégés; butif you will do me a favour in return, or obtain one for me, Iwill give it to you. I want to be a _police officer_, and youhave it in your power to get me a place. " I told him I did notunderstand the purport of his jest. "I will tell you, " said he;"_Tartuffe_ is going to be acted in the cabinets, and there isthe part of a police officer, which only consists of a few lines. Prevail upon Madame de Pompadour to assign me that part, andthe command is yours. " I promised nothing, but I related thehistory to Madame, who said she would arrange it for me. Thething was done, and I obtained the command, and the Marquis deV---- thanked Madame as if she had made him a Duke. 

The King was often annoyed by the Parliaments, and said a veryremarkable thing concerning them, which M. De Gontaut repeatedto Doctor Quesnay in my presence. "Yesterday, " said he, "theKing walked up and down the room with an anxious air. Madamede Pompadour asked him if he was uneasy about his health, ashe had been, for some time, rather unwell. 'No, ' replied he;'but I am greatly annoyed by all these remonstrances. ' 'Whatcan come of them, ' said she, 'that need seriously disquiet YourMajesty? Are you not master of the Parliaments, as well as ofall the rest of the kingdom?' 'That is true, ' said the King;'but, if it had not been for these counsellors and presidents, I should never have been stabbed by _that gentleman_, (he alwayscalled Damiens so). 'Ah! Sire, ' cried Madame de Pompadour. 'Readthe trial, ' said he. 'It was the language of those gentlemenhe names which turned his head. ' 'But, ' said Madame, 'I haveoften thought that, if the Archbishop could be sent to Rome--''Find anybody who will accomplish that business, and I will givehim whatever he pleases. '" Quesnay said the King was right inall he had uttered. The Archbishop was exiled shortly after, and the King was seriously afflicted at being driven to takesuch a step. "What a pity, " he often said, "that so excellenta man should be so obstinate. " "And so shallow, " said somebody, one day. "Hold your tongue, " replied the King, somewhat sternly. The Archbishop was very charitable, and liberal to excess, buthe often granted pensions without discernment. He granted one ofan hundred louis to a pretty woman, who was very poor, and whoassumed an illustrious name, to which she had no right. The fearlest she should be plunged into vice led him to bestow such excessivebounty upon her; and the woman was an admirable dissembler. Shewent to the Archbishop's, covered with a great hood, and, whenshe left him, she amused herself with a variety of lovers. 

Great people have the bad habit of talking very indiscreetly beforetheir servants. M. De Gontaut once said these words covertly, as hethought, to the Duc de ----, "That measures had been taken whichwould, probably, have the effect of determining the Archbishop togo to Rome, with a Cardinal's hat; and that, if he desired it, he was to have a coadjutor. "

A very plausible pretext had been found for making this proposition, and for rendering it flattering to the Archbishop, and agreeableto his sentiments. The affair had been very adroitly begun, andsuccess appeared certain. The King had the air, towards theArchbishop, of entire unconsciousness of what was going on. Thenegotiator acted as if he were only following the suggestionsof his own mind, for the general good. He was a friend of theArchbishop, and was very sure of a liberal reward. A valet ofthe Duc de Gontaut, a very handsome young fellow, had perfectlycaught the sense of what was spoken in a mysterious manner. Hewas one of the lovers of the lady of the hundred louis a year, and had heard her talk of the Archbishop, whose relation shepretended to be. He thought he should secure her good gracesby informing her that great efforts were being made to induceher patron to reside at Rome, with a view to get him away fromParis. The lady instantly told the Archbishop, as she was afraidof losing her pension if he went. The information squared so wellwit the negotiation then on foot, that the Archbishop had nodoubt of its truth. He cooled, by degrees, in his conversationswith the negotiator, whom he regarded as a traitor, and endedby breaking with him. These details were not known till longafterwards. The lover of the lady having been sent to the Bicêtre, some letters were found among his papers, which gave a scent ofthe affair, and he was made to confess the rest. 

In order not to compromise the Duc de Gontaut, the King was toldthat the valet had come to a knowledge of the business from aletter which he had found in his master's clothes. The King tookhis revenge by humiliating the Archbishop, which he was enabledto do by means of the information he had obtained concerningthe conduct of the lady, his protégée. She was found guilty ofswindling, in concert with her beloved valet; but, before herpunishment was inflicted, the Lieutenant of Police was orderedto lay before Monseigneur a full account of the conduct of hisrelation and pensioner. The Archbishop had nothing to object toin the proofs which were submitted to him; he said, with perfectcalmness, that she was not his relation; and, raising his handsto heaven, "She is an unhappy wretch, " said he, "who has robbedme of the money which was destined for the poor. But God knowsthat, in giving her so large a pension, I did not act lightly. I had, at the time, before my eyes the example of a young womanwho once asked me to grant her seventy louis a year, promising methat she would always live very virtuously, as she had hithertodone. I refused her, and she said, on leaving me, 'I must turnto the left, Monseigneur, since the way on the right is closedagainst me. ' The unhappy creature has kept her word but too well. She found means of establish a faro-table at her house, whichis tolerated; and she joins to the most profligate conduct inher own person the infamous trade of a corrupter of youth; herhouse is the abode of every vice. Think, sir, after that, whetherit was not an act of prudence, on my part, to grant the womanin question a pension, suitable to the rank in which I thoughther born, to prevent her abusing the gifts of youth, beauty, and talents, which she possessed, to her own perdition, and thedestruction of others. " The Lieutenant of Police told the Kingthat he was touched with the candour and the noble simplicityof the prelate. "I never doubted his virtues, " replied the King, "but I wish he would be quiet. " This same Archbishop gave a pensionof fifty louis a year to the greatest scoundrel in Paris. He isa poet, who writes abominable verses; this pension is grantedon condition that his poems are never printed. I learned thisfact from M. De Marigny, to whom he recited some of his horribleverses one evening, when he supped with him, in company with somepeople of quality. He chinked the money in his pocket. "Thisis my good Archbishop's, " said he, laughing; "I keep my wordwith him: my poem will not be printed during my life, but I readit. What would the good prelate say if he knew that I shared mylast quarter's allowance with a charming little opera-dancer?'It is the Archbishop, then, who keeps me, ' said she to me; 'Oh, la! how droll that is!'" The King heard this, and was muchscandalised at it. "How difficult it is to do good!" said he. 

The King came into Madame de Pompadour's room, one day, as shewas finishing dressing. "I have just had a strange adventure, "said he: "would you believe that, in going out of my wardroominto my bedroom, I met a gentleman face to face?" "My God! Sire, "cried Madame, terrified. "It was nothing, " replied he; "but Iconfess I was greatly surprised: the man appeared speechlesswith consternation. 'What do you do here?' cried I, civilly. He threw himself on his knees, saying, 'Pardon me, Sire; and, above all, have me searched. ' He instantly emptied his pocketshimself; he pulled off his coat in the greatest agitation andterror: at last he told me that he was cook to -----, and a friendof Beccari, whom he came to visit; that he had mistaken thestaircase, and, finding all the doors open, he had wandered intothe room in which I found him, and which he would have instantlyleft: I rang; Guimard came, and was astonished enough at findingme tête-à-tête with a man in his shirt. He begged Guimard to gowith him into another room, and to search his whole person. Afterthis, the poor devil returned, and put on his coat. Guimard saidto me, 'He is certainly an honest man, and tells the truth; thismay, besides, be easily ascertained. ' Another of the servants ofthe palace came in, and happened to know him. 'I will answer forthis good man, ' said he, 'who, moreover, makes the best _boeufà l'écarlate_ in the world. ' As I saw the man was so agitatedthat he could not stand steady, I took fifty louis out of mybureau, and said, 'Here, sir, are fifty louis, to quiet youralarms. ' He went out, after throwing himself at my feet. " Madameexclaimed on the impropriety of having the King's bedroom thusaccessible to everybody. He talked with great calmness of thisstrange apparition, but it was evident that he controlled himself, and that he had, in fact, been much frightened, as, indeed, hehad reason to be. Madame highly approved of the gift; and shewas the more right in applauding it, as it was by no means inthe King's usual manner. M. De Marigny said, when I told himof this adventure, that he would have wagered a thousand louisagainst the King's making a present of fifty, if anybody butI had told him of the circumstance. "It is a singular fact, "continued he, "that all of the race of Valois have been liberalto excess; this is not precisely the case with the Bourbons, whoare rather reproached with avarice! Henri IV. Was said to beavaricious. He gave to his mistresses, because he could refusethem nothing; but he played with the eagerness of a man whose wholefortune depends on the game. Louis XIV. Gave through ostentation. It is most astonishing, " added he, "to reflect on what mighthave happened. The King might actually have been assassinatedin his chamber, without anybody knowing anything of the matterand without a possibility of discovering the murderer. " For morethan a fortnight Madame could not get over this incident. 

About that time she had a quarrel with her brother, and both werein the right. Proposals were made to him to marry the daughter ofone of the greatest noblemen of the Court, and the King consentedto create him a Duke, and even to make the title hereditary. Madame was right in wishing to aggrandise her brother, but hedeclared that he valued his liberty above all things, and thathe would not sacrifice it except for a person he really loved. He was a true Epicurean philosopher, and a man of great capacity, according to the report of those who knew him well, and judgedhim impartially. It was entirely at his option to have had thereversion of M. De St. Florentin's place, and the place of Ministerof Marine, when M. De Machault retired; he said to his sister, at the time, "I spare you many vexations, by depriving you of aslight satisfaction. The people would be unjust to me, howeverwell I might fulfil the duties of my office. As to M. De St. Florentin's place, he may live five-and-twenty years, so that Ishould not be the better for it. Kings' mistresses are hated enoughon their own account; they need not also draw upon themselves thehatred which is directed against Ministers. " M. Quesnay repeatedthis conversation to me. 

The King had another mistress, who gave Madame de Pompadour someuneasiness. She was a woman of quality, and the wife of one ofthe most assiduous courtiers. 

A man in immediate attendance on the King's person, and who hadthe care of his clothes, came to me one day, and told me that, as he was very much attached to Madame, because she was goodand useful to the King, he wished to inform me that, a letterhaving fallen out of the pocket of a coat which His Majesty hadtaken off, he had had the curiosity to read it, and found it tobe from the Comtesse de ----, who had already yielded to theKing's desires. In this letter, she required the King to giveher fifty thousand crowns in money, a regiment for one of herrelations, and a bishopric for another, and to dismiss, Madamein the space of fifteen days, etc. I acquainted Madame with whatthis man told me, and she acted with singular greatness of mind. She said to me, "I ought to inform the King of this breach oftrust of his servant, who may, by the same means, come to theknowledge of, and make a bad use of, important secrets; but Ifeel a repugnance to ruin the man: however, I cannot permit himto remain near the King's person, and here is what I shall do:Tell him that there is a place of ten thousand francs a yearvacant in one of the provinces; let him solicit the Minister ofFinance for it, and it shall be granted to him; but, if he shouldever disclose through what interest he has obtained it, the Kingshall be made acquainted with his conduct. By this means, I thinkI shall have done all that my attachment and duty prescribe. I ridthe King of a faithless domestic, without ruining the individual. "I did as Madame ordered me: her delicacy and address inspiredme with admiration. She was not alarmed on account of the lady, seeing what her pretensions were. "She drives too quick, " remarkedMadame, "and will certainly be overturned on the road. " The ladydied. 

"See what the Court is; all is corruption there, from the highestto the lowest, " said I to Madame, one day, when she was speakingto me of some facts that had come to my knowledge. "I could tellyou many others, " replied Madame; "but the little chamber, whereyou often remain, must furnish you with a sufficient number. "This was a little nook, from whence I could hear a great partof what passed in Madame's apartment. The Lieutenant of Policesometimes came secretly to this apartment, and waited there. Three or four persons, of high consideration, also found theirway in, in a mysterious manner, and several devotees, who were, in their hearts, enemies of Madame de Pompadour. But these menhad not petty objects in view: one required the government of aprovince; another, a seat in the Council; a third, a Captaincy ofthe Guards; and this man would have obtained it if the Maréchalede Mirepoix had not requested it for her brother, the Prince deBeauvan. The Chevalier du Muy was not among these apostates;not even the promise of being High Constable would have temptedhim to make up to Madame, still less to betray his master, theDauphin. The Prince was, to the last degree, weary of the stationhe held. Sometimes, when teased to death by ambitious people, who pretended to be Catos, or wonderfully devout, he took partagainst a Minister against whom he was prepossessed; then relapsedinto his accustomed state of inactivity and ennui. 

The King used to say, "My son is lazy; his temper is Polonese--hastyand changeable; he has no tastes; he cares nothing for hunting, for women, or for good living; perhaps he imagines that if hewere in my place he would be happy; at first, he would make greatchanges, create everything anew, as it were. In a short timehe would be as tired of the rank of King as he now is of hisown; he is only fit to live _en philosophe_, with clever peopleabout him. " The King added, "He loves what is right; he is trulyvirtuous, and does not want understanding. "

M. De St. Germain said, one day, to the King, "To think well ofmankind, one must be neither a Confessor, not a Minister, nora Lieutenant of Police. " "Nor a King, " said His Majesty. "Ah!Sire, " replied he, "you remember the fog we had a few days ago, when we could not see four steps before us. Kings are commonlysurrounded by still thicker fogs, collected around them by menof intriguing character, and faithless Ministers--all, of everyclass, unite in endeavouring to make things appear to Kings inany light but the true one. " I heard this from the mouth of thefamous Comte de St. Germain, as I was attending upon Madame, whowas ill in bed. The King was there; and the Count, who was awelcome visitor, had been admitted. There were also present, M. De Gontaut, Madame de Brancas, and the Abbé de Bernis. I rememberthat the very same day, after the Count was gone out, the Kingtalked in a style which gave Madame great pain. Speaking of theKing of Prussia, he said, "That is a madman, who will risk all togain all, and may, perhaps, win the game, though he has neitherreligion, morals, nor principles. He wants to make a noise inthe world, and he will succeed. Julian, the Apostate, did thesame. " "I never saw the King so animated before, " observed Madame, when he was gone out; "and really the comparison with Julian, the Apostate, is not amiss, considering the irreligion of theKing of Prussia. If he gets out of his perplexities, surroundedas he is by his enemies, he will be one of the greatest men inhistory. "

M. De Bernis remarked, "Madame is correct in her judgment, forshe has no reason to pronounce his praises; nor have I, thoughI agree with what she says. " Madame de Pompadour never enjoyedso much influence as at the time when M. De Choiseul became oneof the Ministry. From the time of the Abbé de Bernis she hadafforded him her constant support, and he had been employed inforeign affairs, of which he was said to know but little. Madamemade the Treaty of Vienna, though the first idea of I it wascertainly furnished her by the Abbé. I have been informed byseveral persons that the King often talked to Madame upon thissubject; for my own part, I never heard any conversation relativeto it, except the high praises bestowed by her on the Empressand the Prince de Kaunitz, whom she had known a good deal of. She said that he had a clear head, the head of a statesman. Oneday, when she was talking in this strain, some one tried to castridicule upon the Prince on account of the style in which hewore his hair, and the four _valets de chambre_, who made thehair-powder fly in all directions, while Kaunitz ran about thathe might only catch the superfine part of it. "Aye, " said Madame, "just as Alcibiades cut off his dog's tail in order to give theAthenians something to talk about, and to turn their attentionfrom those things he wished to conceal. "

Never was the public mind so inflamed against Madame de Pompadouras when news arrived of the battle of Rosbach. Every day she receivedanonymous letters, full of the grossest abuse; atrocious verses, threats of poison and assassination. She continued long a prey tothe most acute sorrow, and could get no sleep but from opiates. All this discontent was excited by her protecting the Prince ofSoubise; and the Lieutenant of Police had great difficulty inallaying the ferment of the people. The King affirmed that itwas not his fault. M. Du Verney was the confidant of Madame ineverything relating to war; a subject which he well understood, though not a military man by profession. The old Maréchal deNoailles called him, in derision, the General of the flour, butMaréchal Saxe, one day, told Madame that du Verney knew moreof military matters than the old Marshal. Du Verney once paida visit to Madame de Pompadour, and found her in company withthe King, the Minister of War, and two Marshals; he submitted tothem the plan of a campaign, which was generally applauded. Itwas through his influence that M. De Richelieu was appointed tothe command of the army, instead of the Maréchal d'Estrées. He cameto Quesnay two days after, when I was with him. The Doctor begantalking about the art of war, and I remember he said, "Militarymen make a great mystery of their art; but what is the reasonthat young Princes have always the most brilliant success? Why, because they are active and daring. When Sovereigns command theirtroops in person what exploits they perform! Clearly, becausethey are at liberty to run all risks. " These observations madea lasting impression on my mind. 

The first physician came, one day, to see Madame: he was talkingof madmen and madness. The King was present, and everything relatingto disease of any kind interested him. The first physician saidthat he could distinguish the symptoms of approaching madnesssix months beforehand. "Are there any persons about the Courtlikely to become mad?" said the King. "I know one who will beimbecile in less than three months, " replied he. The King pressedhim to tell the name. He excused himself for some time. At lasthe said, "It is M. De Séchelles, the Controller-General. " "Youhave a spite against him, " said Madame, "because he would notgrant what you asked. " "That is true, " said he, "but though thatmight possibly incline me to tell a disagreeable truth, it wouldnot make me invent one. He is losing his intellects from debility. He affects gallantry at his age, and I perceive the connection inhis ideas is becoming feeble and irregular. " The King laughed;but three months afterwards he came to Madame, saying, "Séchellesgives evident proofs of dotage in the Council. We must appointa successor to him. " Madame de Pompadour told me of this on theway to Choisy. Some time afterwards, the first physician came tosee Madame, and spoke to her in private. "You are attached to M. Berryer, Madame, " said he, "and I am sorry to have to warn you thathe will be attacked by madness, or by catalepsy, before long. I sawhim this morning at chapel, sitting on one of those very low littlechairs, which are only meant to kneel upon. His knees touched hischin. I went to his house after mass; his eyes were wild, andwhen his secretary spoke to him, he said, '_Hold your tongue, pen. A pen's business is to write, and not to speak. _'" Madame, who liked the Keeper of the Seals, was very much concerned, andbegged the first physician not to mention what he had perceived. Four days after this, M. Berryer was seized with catalepsy, afterhaving talked incoherently. This is a disease which I did notknow even by name, and got it written down for me. The patientremains in precisely the same position in which the fit seizeshim; one leg or arm elevated, the eyes wide open, or just as itmay happen. This latter affair was known to all the Court atthe death of the Keeper of the Seals. 

When the Maréchal de Belle-Isle's son was killed in battle, Madamepersuaded the King to pay his father a visit. He was ratherreluctant, and Madame said to him, with an air half angry, halfplayful:

 ----"Barbare! dont l'orgueil Croit le sang d'un sujet trop payé d'un coup d'oeil. "

The King laughed, and said, "Whose fine verses are those?""Voltaire's, " said Madame ----. "As barbarous as I am, I gavehim the place of gentleman in ordinary, and a pension, " saidthe King. 

The King went in state to call on the Marshal, followed by all theCourt; and it certainly appeared that this solemn visit consoledthe Marshal for the loss of his son, the sole heir to his name. 

When the Marshal died, he was carried to his house on a commonhand-barrow, covered with a shabby cloth. I met the body. Thebearers were laughing and singing. I thought it was some servant, and asked who it was. How great was my surprise at learning thatthese were the remains of a man abounding in honours and in riches. Such is the Court; the dead are always in fault, and cannot beput out of sight too soon. 

The King said, "M. Fouquet is dead, I hear. " "He was no longerFouquet, " replied the Duc d'Ayen; "Your Majesty had permittedhim to change that name, under which, however, he acquired allhis reputation. " The King shrugged his shoulders. His Majestyhad, in fact, granted him letters patent, permitting him not tosign Fouquet during his Ministry. I heard this on the occasionin question. M. De Choiseul had the war department at his death. He was every day more and more in favour. Madame treated him withgreater distinction than any previous Minister, and his mannerstowards her were the most agreeable it is possible to conceive, at once respectful and gallant. He never passed a day withoutseeing her. M. De Marigny could not endure M. De Choiseul, buthe never spoke of him, except to his intimate friends. Calling, one day, at Quesnay's, I found him there. They were talking ofM. De Choiseul. "He is a mere _petit maître_, " said the Doctor, "and, if he were handsome just fit to be one of Henri the Third'sfavourites. " The Marquis de Mirabeau and M. De La Rivière camein. "This kingdom, " said Mirabeau, "is in a deplorable state. There is neither national energy, nor the only substitute forit--money. "

"It can only be regenerated, " said La Rivière, "by a conquest, like that of China, or by some great internal convulsion; butwoe to those who live to see that! The French people do not dothings by halves. " These words made me tremble, and I hastened outof the room. M. De Marigny did the same, though without appearingat all affected by what had been said. "You heard De La Rivière, "said he, --"but don't be alarmed, the conversations that passat the Doctor's are never repeated; these are honourable men, though rather chimerical. They know not where to stop. I think, however, they are in the right way; only, unfortunately, theygo too far. " I wrote this down immediately. 

"The Comte de St. Germain came to see Madame de Pompadour, who wasill, and lay on the sofa. He shewed her a little box, containingtopazes, rubies, and emeralds. He appeared to have enough tofurnish a treasury. Madame sent for me to see all these beautifulthings. I looked at them with an air of the utmost astonishment, but I made signs to Madame that I thought them all false. TheCount felt for something in his pocketbook, about twice as largeas a spectacle-case, and, at length, drew out two or three littlepaper packets, which he unfolded, and exhibited a superb ruby. He threw on the table, with a contemptuous air, a little crossof green and white stones. I looked at it and said, "That isnot to be despised. " I put it on, and admired it greatly. TheCount begged me to accept it. I refused--he urged me to take it. Madame then refused it for me. At length, he pressed it upon meso warmly that Madame, seeing that it could not be worth aboveforty louis, made me a sign to accept it. I took the cross, muchpleased at the Count's politeness and, some days after, Madamepresented him with an enamelled box, upon which was the portraitof some Grecian sage (whose name I don't recollect), to whomshe compared him. I shewed the cross to a jeweller, who valuedit at sixty-five louis. The Count offered to bring Madame someenamel portraits, by Petitot, to look at, and she told him tobring them after dinner, while the King was hunting. He shewedhis portraits, after which Madame said to him, "I have heard agreat deal of a charming story you told two days ago, at supper, at M. Le Premier's, of an occurrence you witnessed fifty or sixtyyears ago. " He smiled and said, "It is rather long. " "So muchthe better, " said she, with an air of delight. Madame de Gontautand the ladies came in, and the door was shut; Madame made asign to me to sit down behind the screen. The Count made manyapologies for the ennui which his story would, perhaps, occasion. He said, "Sometimes one can tell a story pretty well; at othertimes it is quite a different thing. "

"At the beginning of this century, the Marquis de St. Gilleswas Ambassador from Spain to the Hague. In his youth he had beenparticularly intimate with the Count of Moncade, a grandee ofSpain, and one of the richest nobles of that country. Some monthsafter the Marquis's arrival at the Hague, he received a letterfrom the Count, entreating him, in the name of their formerfriendship, to render him the greatest possible service. 'Youknow, ' said he, 'my dear Marquis, the mortification I felt thatthe name of Moncade was likely to expire with me. At length, itpleased heaven to hear my prayers, and to grant me a son: hegave early promise of dispositions worthy of his birth, but he, some time since, formed an unfortunate and disgraceful attachmentto the most celebrated actress of the company of Toledo. I shut myeyes to this imprudence on the part of a young man whose conducthad, till then, caused me unmingled satisfaction. But, having learntthat he was so blinded by passion as to intend to marry this girl, and that he had even bound himself by a written promise to thateffect, I solicited the King to have her placed in confinement. Myson, having got information of the steps I had taken, defeatedmy intentions by escaping with the object of his passion. Formore than six months I have vainly endeavoured to discover wherehe has concealed himself, but I have now some reason to think heis at the Hague. ' The Count earnestly conjured the Marquis tomake the most rigid search, in order to discover his son's retreat, and to endeavour to prevail upon him to return to his home. 'Itis an act of justice, ' continued he, 'to provide for the girl, if she consents to give up the written promise of marriage whichshe has received, and I leave it to your discretion to do whatis right for her, as well as to determine the sum necessary tobring my son to Madrid in a manner suitable to his condition. I know not, ' concluded he, 'whether you are a father; if youare, you will be able to sympathise in my anxieties. ' The Countsubjoined to this letter an exact description of his son, and theyoung woman by whom he was accompanied. On the receipt of thisletter, the Marquis lost not a moment in sending to all the innsin Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and the Hague, but in vain--he could findno trace of them. He began to despair of success, when the ideastruck him that a young French page of his, remarkable for hisquickness and intelligence, might be employed with advantage. Hepromised to reward him handsomely if he succeeded in finding theyoung woman, who was the cause of so much anxiety, and gave himthe description of her person. The page visited all the publicplaces for many days, without success; at length, one evening, atthe play, he saw a young man and woman, in a box, who attractedhis attention. When he saw that they perceived he was lookingat them, and withdrew to the back of the box to avoid hisobservation, he felt confident that they were the objects ofhis search. He did not take his eyes from the box, and watchedevery movement in it. The instant the performance ended, he wasin the passage leading from the boxes to the door, and he remarkedthat the young man, who, doubtless, observed the dress he wore, tried to conceal himself, as he passed him, by putting hishandkerchief before his face. He followed him, at a distance, to the inn called the _Vicomte de Turenne_, which he saw himand the woman enter; and, being now certain of success, he ranto inform the Ambassador. The Marquis de St. Gilles immediatelyrepaired to the inn, wrapped in a cloak, and followed by hispage and two servants. He desired the landlord to show him tothe room of a young man and woman, who had lodged for some timein his house. The landlord, for some time, refused to do so, unless the Marquis would give their name. The page told him totake notice that he was speaking to the Spanish Ambassador, whohad strong reasons for wishing to see the persons in question. The innkeeper said they wished not to be known, and that they hadabsolutely forbidden him to admit anybody into their apartmentwho did not ask for them by name; but that, since the Ambassadordesired it, he would show him their room. He then conducted themup to a dirty, miserable garret. He knocked at the door, andwaited for some time; he then knocked again pretty loudly, uponwhich the door was half-opened. At the sight of the Ambassadorand his suite, the person who opened it immediately closed itagain, exclaiming that they had made a mistake. The Ambassadorpushed hard against him, forced his way in, made a sign to hispeople to wait outside, and remained in the room. He saw beforehim a very handsome young man, whose appearance perfectlycorresponded with the description, and a young woman, of greatbeauty, and remarkably fine person, whose countenance, form, colour of the hair, etc. , were also precisely those described bythe Count of Moncade. The young man spoke first. He complainedof the violence used in breaking into the apartment of a stranger, living in a free country, and under the protection of its laws. The Ambassador stepped forward to embrace him, and said, 'Itis useless to feign, my dear Count; I know you, and I do notcome here to give pain to you or to this lady, whose appearanceinterests me extremely. ' The young man replied that he was totallymistaken; that he was not a Count, but the son of a merchant ofCadiz; that the lady was his wife; and, that they were travellingfor pleasure. The Ambassador, casting his eyes round the miserablyfurnished room, which contained but one bed, and some packagesof the shabbiest kind, lying in disorder about the room, 'Isthis, my dear child (allow me to address you by a title whichis warranted by my tender regard for your father), is this afit residence for the son of the Count of Moncade?' The youngman still protested against the use of any such language, asaddressed to him. At length, overcome by the entreaties of theAmbassador, he confessed, weeping, that he was the son of theCount of Moncade, but declared that nothing should induce himto return to his father, if he must abandon a woman he adored. The young woman burst into tears; and threw herself at the feetof the Ambassador, telling him that she would not be the causeof the ruin of the young Count; and that generosity, or rather, love, would enable her to disregard her own happiness, and, forhis sake, to separate herself from him. The Ambassador admired hernoble disinterestedness. The young man, on the contrary, receivedher declaration with the most desperate grief. He reproached hismistress, and declared that he would never abandon so estimablea creature, nor suffer the sublime generosity of her heart to beturned against herself. The Ambassador told him that the Countof Moncade was far from wishing to render her miserable, andthat he was commissioned to provide her with a sum sufficientto enable her to return into Spain, or to live where she liked. Her noble sentiments, and genuine tenderness, he said, inspiredhim with the greatest interest for her, and would induce himto go to the utmost limits of his powers, in the sum he was togive her; that he, therefore, promised her ten thousand florins, that is to say, about twelve hundred louis, which would be givenher the moment she surrendered the promise of marriage she hadreceived, and the Count of Moncade took up his abode in theAmbassador's house, and promised to return to Spain. The youngwoman seemed perfectly indifferent to the sum proposed, and whollyabsorbed in her lover, and in the grief of leaving him. She seemedinsensible to everything but the cruel sacrifice which her reason, and her love itself, demanded. At length, drawing from a littleportfolio the promise of marriage, signed by the Count, 'I knowhis heart too well, ' said she, 'to need it. ' Then she kissed itagain and again, with a sort of transport, and delivered it tothe Ambassador, who stood by, astonished at the grandeur of soulhe witnessed. He promised her that he would never cease to takethe liveliest interest in her fate, and assured the Count of hisfather's forgiveness. 'He will receive with open arms, ' said he, 'the prodigal son, returning to the bosom of his distressed family;the heart of a father is an exhaustless mine of tenderness. Howgreat will be the felicity of my friend on the receipt of thesetidings, after his long anxiety and affliction; how happy do Iesteem myself, at being the instrument of that felicity!' Suchwas, in part, the language of the Ambassador, which appeared toproduce a strong impression on the young man. But, fearing lest, during the night, love should regain all his power, and shouldtriumph over the generous resolution of the lady, the Marquispressed the young Count to accompany him to his hotel. The tears, the cries of anguish, which marked this cruel separation, cannotbe described; they deeply touched the heart of the Ambassador, who promised to watch over the young lady. The Count's littlebaggage was not difficult to remove, and, that very evening, he was installed in the finest apartment of the Ambassador'shouse. The Marquis was overjoyed at having restored to theillustrious house of Moncade the heir of its greatness, and ofits magnificent domains. On the following morning, as soon asthe young Count was up, he found tailors, dealers in cloth, lace, stuffs, etc. , out of which he had only to choose. Two _valetsde chambre_, and three laquais, chosen by the Ambassador fortheir intelligence and good conduct, were in waiting in hisantechamber, and presented themselves, to receive his orders. TheAmbassador shewed the young Count the letter he had just writtento his father, in which he congratulated him on possessing a sonwhose noble sentiments and striking qualities were worthy of hisillustrious blood, and announced his speedy return. The young ladywas not forgotten; he confessed that to her generosity he waspartly indebted for the submission of her lover, and expressedhis conviction that the Count would not disapprove the gift hehad made her, of ten thousand florins. That sum was remitted, onthe same day, to this noble and interesting girl, who left theHague without delay. The preparations for the Count's journeywere made; a splendid wardrobe and an excellent carriage wereembarked at Rotterdam, in a ship bound for France, on board whicha passage was secured for the Count, who was to proceed from thatcountry to Spain. A considerable sum of money, and letters ofcredit on Paris, were given him at his departure; and the partingbetween the Ambassador and the young Count was most touching. The Marquis de St. Gilles awaited with impatience the Count'sanswer, and enjoyed his friend's delight by anticipation. Atthe expiration of four months, he received this long-expectedletter. It would be utterly impossible to describe his surpriseon reading the following words. 'Heaven, my dear Marquis, nevergranted me the happiness of becoming a father, and, in the midstof abundant wealth and honours, the grief of having no heirs, and seeing an illustrious race end in my person, has shed thegreatest bitterness over my whole existence. I see, with extremeregret, that you have been imposed upon by a young adventurer, who has taken advantage of the knowledge he had, by some means, obtained, of our old friendship. But your Excellency must notbe the sufferer. The Count of Moncade is, most assuredly, theperson whom you wished to serve; he is bound to repay what yourgenerous friendship hastened to advance, in order to procurehim a happiness which he would have felt most deeply. I hope, therefore, Marquis, that your Excellency will have no hesitationin accepting the remittance contained in this letter, of threethousand louis of France, of the disbursal of which you sentme an account. '"

The manner in which the Comte de St. Germain spoke, in the charactersof the young adventurer, his mistress, and the Ambassador, madehis audience weep and laugh by turns. The story is true in everyparticular, and the adventurer surpasses Gusman d'Alfarache inaddress, according to the report of some persons present. Madamede Pompadour thought of having a play written, founded on thisstory; and the Count sent it to her in writing, from which Itranscribed it. 

M. Duclos came to the Doctor's, and harangued with his usualwarmth. I heard him saying to two or three persons, "People areunjust to great men, Ministers and Princes; nothing, for instance, is more common than to undervalue their intellect. I astonishedone of these little gentlemen of the corps of the _infallibles_, by telling him that I could prove that there had been more menof ability in the house of Bourbon, for the last hundred years, than in any other family. " "You prove that?" said somebody, sneeringly. "Yes, " said Duclos; "and I will tell you how. Thegreat Condé, you will allow, was no fool; and the Duchesse deLongueville is cited as one of the wittiest women that ever lived. The Regent was a man who had few equals, in every kind of talentand acquirement. The Prince de Conti, who was elected King ofPoland, was celebrated for his intelligence, and, in poetry, was the successful rival of La Fare and St. Aulaire. The Duke ofBurgundy was learned and enlightened. His Duchess, the daughterof Louis XIV. , was remarkably clever, and wrote epigrams andcouplets. The Duc du Maine is generally spoken of only for hisweakness, but nobody had a more agreeable wit. His wife was mad, but she had an extensive acquaintance with letters, good taste inpoetry, and a brilliant and inexhaustible imagination. Here areinstances enough, I think, " said he; "and, as I am no flatterer, and hate to appear one, I will not speak of the living. " Hishearers were astonished at this enumeration, and all of themagreed in the truth of what he had said. He added, "Don't we dailyhear of _silly D'Argenson_, because he has a good-natured air, and a _bourgeois_ tone? and yet, I believe, there have not beenmany Ministers comparable to him in knowledge and in enlightenedviews. " I took a pen, which lay on the Doctor's table, and beggedM. Duclos to repeat to me all the names he had mentioned, andthe eulogium he had bestowed on each. "If, " said he, "you showthat to the Marquise, tell her how the conversation arose, andthat I did not say it in order that it might come to her ears, and eventually, perhaps, to those of another person. I am anhistoriographer, and I will render justice, but I shall, also, often inflict it. " "I will answer for that, " said the Doctor, "and our master will be represented as he really is. Louis XIV. Liked verses, and patronised poets; that was very well, perhaps, in his time, because one must begin with something; but thisage will be very superior to the last. It must be acknowledgedthat Louis XV. , in sending astronomers to Mexico and Peru, tomeasure the earth, has a higher claim to our respect than if hedirected an opera. He has thrown down the barriers which opposedthe progress of philosophy, in spite of the clamour of the devotees:the Encyclopædia will do honour to his reign. " Duclos, duringthis speech, shook his head. I went away, and tried to writedown all I had heard, while it was fresh. I had the part whichrelated to the Princes of the Bourbon race copied by a valet, who wrote a beautiful hand, and I gave it to Madame de Pompadour. But she said to me, "What! is Duclos an acquaintance of yours? Doyou want to play the _bel esprit_, my dear good woman? That willnot sit well upon you. " The truth is, that nothing can be furtherfrom my inclination. I told her that I met him accidentally atthe Doctor's, where he generally spent an hour when he came toVersailles. "The King knows him to be a worthy man, " said she. 

Madame de Pompadour was ill, and the King came to see her severaltimes a day. I generally left the room when he entered, but, having stayed a few minutes, on one occasion, to give her a glassof chicory water, I heard the King mention Madame d'Egmont. Madameraised her eyes to heaven, and said, "That name always recallsto me a most melancholy and barbarous affair; but it was not myfault. " These words dwelt in my mind, and, particularly, thetone in which they were uttered. As I stayed with Madame tillthree o'clock in the morning, reading to her a part of the time, it was easy for me to try to satisfy my curiosity. I seized amoment, when the reading was interrupted, to say, "You lookeddreadfully shocked, Madame, when the King pronounced the nameof D'Egmont. " At these words, she again raised her eyes, andsaid, "You would feel as I do, if you knew the affair. " "It must, then, be deeply affecting, for I do not think that it personallyconcerns you, Madame. " "No, " said she, "it does not; as, however, I am not the only person acquainted with this history, and asI know you to be discreet, I will tell it you. The last Comted'Egmont married a reputed daughter of the Duc de Villars; butthe Duchess had never lived with her husband, and the Comtessed'Egmont is, in fact, a daughter of the Chevalier d'Orléans. At the death of her husband, young, beautiful, agreeable, andheiress to an immense fortune, she attracted the suit and homageof all the most distinguished men at Court. Her mother's director, one day, came into her room and requested a private interview; hethen revealed to her that she was the offspring of an adulterousintercourse, for which her mother had been doing penance forfive-and-twenty years. 'She could not, ' said he, 'oppose yourformer marriage, although it caused her extreme distress. Heavendid not grant you children; but, if you marry again, you runthe risk, Madame, of transmitting to another family the immensewealth, which does not, in fact, belong to you, and which isthe price of crime. '

"The Comtesse d'Egmont heard this recital with horror. At thesame instant, her mother entered, and, on her knees, besoughther daughter to avert her eternal damnation. Madame d'Egmonttried to calm her own and her mother's mind. 'What can I do?'said she, to her. 'Consecrate yourself wholly to God, ' replied thedirector, 'and thus expiate your mother's crime. ' The Countess, in her terror, promised whatever they asked, and proposed toenter the Carmelites. I was informed of it, and spoke to theKing about the barbarous tyranny the Duchesse de Villars and thedirector were about to exercise over this unhappy young woman;but we knew not how to prevent it. The King, with the utmostkindness, prevailed on the Queen to offer her the situation ofLady of the Palace, and desired the Duchess's friends to persuadeher to endeavour to deter her daughter from becoming a Carmelite. It was all in vain; the wretched victim was sacrificed. "

Madame took it into her head to consult a fortune-teller, calledMadame Bontemps, who had told M. De Bernis's fortune, as I havealready related, and had surprised him by her predictions. M. DeChoiseul, to whom she mentioned the matter, said that the womanhad also foretold fine things that were to happen to him. "I knowit, " said she, "and, in return, you promised her a carriage, but the poor woman goes on foot still. " Madame told me this, and asked me how she could disguise herself, so as to see thewoman without being known. I dared not propose any scheme then, for fear it should not succeed; but, two days after, I talkedto her surgeon about the art, which some beggars practise, ofcounterfeiting sores, and altering their features. He said thatwas easy enough. I let the thing drop, and, after an intervalof some minutes, I said, "If one could change one's features, one might have great diversion at the opera, or at balls. Whatalterations would it be necessary to make in me, now, to renderit impossible to recognise me?" "In the first place, " said he, "you must alter the colour of your hair, then you must have afalse nose, and put a spot on some part of your face, or a wart, or a few hairs. " I laughed, and said, "Help me to contrive thisfor the next ball; I have not been to one for twenty years; butI am dying to puzzle somebody, and to tell him things which noone but I can tell him. I shall come home, and go to bed, in aquarter of an hour. " "I must take the measure of your nose, "said he; "or do you take it with wax, and I will have a nosemade: you can get a flaxen or brown wig. " I repeated to Madamewhat the surgeon had told me: she was delighted at it. I tookthe measure of her nose, and of my own, and carried them to thesurgeon, who, in two days, gave me the two noses, and a wart, which Madame stuck under her left eye, and some paint for theeyebrows. The noses were most delicately made, of a bladder, Ithink, and these, with the other disguises, rendered it impossibleto recognize the face, and yet did not produce any shockingappearance. All this being accomplished, nothing remained butto give notice to the fortune-teller; we waited for a littleexcursion to Paris, which Madame was to take, to look at herhouse. I then got a person, with whom I had no connection, tospeak to a waiting-woman of the Duchesse de Rufféc, to obtain aninterview with the woman. She made some difficulty, on accountof the Police; but we promised secrecy, and appointed the place ofmeeting. Nothing could be more contrary to Madame de Pompadour'scharacter, which was one of extreme timidity, than to engage insuch an adventure. But her curiosity was raised to the highestpitch, and, moreover, everything was so well arranged that therewas not the slightest risk. Madame had let M. De Gontaut, andher _valet de chambre_, into the secret. The latter had hiredtwo rooms for his niece, who was then ill, at Versailles, nearMadame's hotel. We went out in the evening, followed by the _valetde chambre_, who was a safe man, and by the Duke, all on foot. We had not, at farthest, above two hundred steps to go. We wereshown into two small rooms, in which were fires. The two menremained in one, and we in the other. Madame had thrown herselfon a sofa. She had on a night-cap, which concealed half her face, in an unstudied manner. I was near the fire, leaning on a table, on which were two candles. There were lying on the chairs, nearus, some clothes, of small value. The fortune-teller rang--alittle servant-girl let her in, and then went to wait in theroom where the gentlemen were. Coffee-cups, and a coffee-pot, were set; and I had taken care to place, upon a little buffet, some cakes, and a bottle of Malaga wine, having heard that MadameBontemps assisted her inspiration with that liquor. Her face, indeed, sufficiently proclaimed it. "Is that lady ill?" saidshe, seeing Madame de Pompadour stretched languidly on the sofa. I told her that she would soon be better, but that she had kepther room for a week. She heated the coffee, and prepared the twocups, which she carefully wiped, observing that nothing impuremust enter into this operation. I affected to be very anxiousfor a glass of wine, in order to give our oracle a pretext forassuaging her thirst, which she did, without, much entreaty. When she had drunk two or three small glasses (for I had takencare not to have large ones), she poured the coffee into oneof the two large cups. "This is yours, " said she; "and this isyour friend's; let them stand a little. " She then observed ourhands and our faces; after which she drew a looking-glass fromher pocket, into which she told us to look, while she looked atthe reflections of our faces. She next took a glass of wine, and immediately threw herself into a fit of enthusiasm, whileshe inspected my cup, and considered all the lines formed bythe dregs of the coffee she had poured out. She began by saying, "_That is well--prosperity--but there is a black mark--distresses. A man becomes a comforter. Here, in this corner, are friends, who support you. Ah! who is he that persecutes them? But justicetriumphs--after rain, sunshine--a long journey successful. There, do you see these little bags! That is money which has been paid--toyou, of course, I mean. That is well. Do you see that arm?" "Yes. ""That is an arm supporting something: a woman veiled; I see her;it is you. All this is clear to me. I hear, as it were, a voicespeaking to me. You are no longer attacked. I see it, because theclouds in that direction are passed off_ (pointing to a clearerspot). _But, stay--I see small lines which branch out from themain spot. These are sons, daughters, nephews--that is prettywell. "_ She appeared overpowered with the effort she was making. At length, she added, _"That is all. You have had good luckfirst--misfortune afterward. You have had a friend, who has exertedhimself with success to extricate you from it. You have hadlaw-suits--at length fortune has been reconciled to you, andwill change no more. _" She drank another glass of wine. "Yourhealth, Madame, " said she to the Marquise, and went through thesame ceremonies with the cup. At length, she broke out, "_Neitherfair nor foul. I see there, in the distance, a serene sky; andthen all these things that appear to ascend--all these thingsare applauses. Here is a grave man, who stretches out his arms. Do you see?--look attentively. " "That is true, "_ said Madame dePompadour, with surprise (there was, indeed, some appearanceof the kind). "_He points to something square--that is an opencoffer. --Fine weather. --But, look! there are clouds of azureand gold, which surround you. Do you see that ship on the highsea? How favourable the wind is! You are on board; you land ina beautiful country, of which you become the Queen. Ah! whatdo I see! Look there--look at that hideous, crooked, lame man, who is pursuing you--but he is going on a fool's errand. I see avery great man, who supports you in his arms. Here, look! he isa kind of giant. There is a great deal of gold and silver--a fewclouds here and there. But you have nothing to fear. The vesselwill be sometimes tossed about, but it will not be lost. Dixi. _"Madame said, "When shall I die, and of what disease?" "I neverspeak of that, " said she; "_see here, rather--but fate will notpermit it. I will shew you how fate confounds everything_"--shewingher several confused lumps of the coffee-dregs. "Well, nevermind as to the time, then, only tell me the kind of death. " Thefortune-teller looked in the cup, and said, "_You will have timeto prepare yourself. _" I gave her only two louis, to avoid doinganything remarkable. She left us, after begging us to keep hersecret, and we rejoined the Duc de Gontaut, to whom we relatedeverything that had passed. He laughed heartily, and said, "Hercoffee-dregs are like the clouds--you may see what you pleasein them. "

There was one thing in my horoscope which struck me, that wasthe comforter; because one of my uncles had taken great care ofme, and had rendered me the most essential services. It is alsotrue that I afterwards had an important lawsuit; and, lastly, there was the money which had come into my hands through Madame dePompadour's patronage and bounty. As for Madame, her husband wasrepresented accurately enough by the man with the coffer; then thecountry of which she became Queen seemed to relate to her presentsituation at Court; but the most remarkable thing was the crookedand lame man, in whom Madame thought she recognized the Duc deV----, who was very much deformed. Madame was delighted with heradventure and her horoscope, which she thought corresponded veryremarkably with the truth. Two days after, she sent for M. De St. Florentin, and begged him not to molest the fortune-teller. Helaughed, and replied that he knew why she interceded for this woman. Madame asked him why he laughed. He related every circumstance ofher expedition with astonishing exactness; but he knew nothingof what had been said, or, at least, so he pretended. He promisedMadame that, provided Bontemps did nothing which called for notice, she should not be obstructed in the exercise of her profession, especially if she followed it in secret. "I know her, " added he, "and I, like other people, have had the curiosity to consulther. She is the wife of a soldier in the guards. She is a cleverwoman in her way, but she drinks. Four or five years ago, shegot such hold on the mind of Madame de Rufféc, that she madeher believe she could procure her an elixir of beauty, whichwould restore her to what she was at twenty-five. The Duchesspays high for the drugs of which this elixir is compounded; andsometimes they are bad: sometimes, the sun, to which they wereexposed, was not powerful enough; sometimes, the influence of acertain constellation was wanting. Sometimes, she has the courageto assure the Duchess that she really is grown handsomer, andactually succeeds in making her believe it. " But the history ofthis woman's daughter is still more curious. She was exquisitelybeautiful, and the Duchess brought her up in her own house. Bontempspredicted to the girl, in the Duchess's presence, that she wouldmarry a man of two thousand louis a year. This was not very likelyto happen to the daughter of a soldier in the guards. It didhappen, nevertheless. The little Bontemps married the PresidentBeaudouin, who was mad. But, the tragical part of the story is, that her mother had also foretold that she would die in child-birthof her first child, and that she did actually die in child-birth, at the age of eighteen, doubtless under a strong impression of hermother's prophecy, to which the improbable event of her marriagehad given such extraordinary weight. Madame told the King of theadventure her curiosity had led her into, at which he laughed, and said he wished the Police had arrested her. He added a verysensible remark. "In order to judge, " said he, "of the truth orfalsehood of such predictions, one ought to collect fifty ofthem. It would be found that they are almost always made up ofthe same phrases, which are sometimes inapplicable, and sometimeshit the mark. But the first are rarely mentioned, while the othersare always insisted on. "

I have heard, and, indeed, it is certainly true, that M. De Bridgelived on terms of intimacy with Madame, when she was Madamed'Etioles. He used to ride on horseback with her, and, as he isso handsome a man that he has retained the name of _the handsomeman_, it was natural enough that he should be thought the loverof a very handsome woman. I have heard something more than this. I was told that the King said to M. De Bridge, "Confess, now, that you were her lover. She has acknowledged it to me, and Iexact from you this proof of sincerity. " M. De Bridge replied, that Madame de Pompadour was at liberty to say what she pleasedfor her own amusement, or for any other reason; but that he, forhis part, could not assert a falsehood; that he had been herfriend; that she was a charming companion, and had great talents;that he delighted in her society; but that his intercourse withher had never gone beyond the bounds of friendship. He added, that her husband was present in all their parties, that he watchedher with a jealous eye, and that he would, not have suffered himto be so much with her if he had conceived the least suspicionof the kind. The King persisted, and told him he was wrong toendeavour to conceal a fact which was unquestionable. It wasrumoured, also, that the Abbé de Bernis had been a favoured loverof hers. The said Abbé was rather a coxcomb; he had a handsomeface, and wrote poetry. Madame de Pompadour was the theme ofhis gallant verses. He sometimes received the compliments ofhis friends upon his success with a smile which left some roomfor conjecture, although he denied the thing in words. It was, for some time, reported at Court that she was in love with thePrince de Beauvau: he is a man distinguished for his gallantries, his air of rank and fashion, and his high play; he is brotherto the little Maréchale: for all these reasons, Madame is verycivil to him, but there is nothing marked in her behaviour. Sheknows, besides, that he is in love with a very agreeable woman. 

Now that I am on the subject of lovers, I cannot avoid speakingof M. De Choiseul. Madame likes him better than any of those Ihave just mentioned, but he is not her lover. A lady, whom Iknow perfectly well, but whom I do not choose to denounce toMadame, invented a story about them, which was utterly false. She said, as I have good reason to believe, that one day, hearingthe King coming, I ran to Madame's closet door; that I coughed ina particular manner; and that the King having, happily, stoppeda moment to talk to some ladies, there was time to adjust matters, so that Madame came out of the closet with me and M. De Choiseul, as if we had been all three sitting together. It is very truethat I went in to carry something to Madame, without knowingthat the King was come, and that she came out of the closet withM. De Choiseul, who had a paper in his hand, and that I followedher a few minutes after. The King asked M. De Choiseul what thatpaper was which he had in his hand. He replied that it containedthe remonstrance from the Parliament. 

Three or four ladies witnessed what I now relate, and as, withthe exception of one, they were all excellent women, and greatlyattached to Madame, my suspicions could fall on none but theone in question, whom I will not name, because her brother hasalways treated me with great kindness. Madame de Pompadour hada lively imagination and great sensibility, but nothing couldexceed the coldness of her temperament. It would, besides, havebeen extremely difficult for her, surrounded as she was, to keepup an intercourse of that kind with any man. It is true thatthis difficulty would have been diminished in the case of anall-powerful Minister, who had constant pretexts for seeing herin private. But there was a much more decisive fact--M. De Choiseulhad a charming mistress--the Princesse de R----, and Madame knewit, and often spoke of her. He had, besides, some remains ofliking for the Princesse de Kinski, who followed him from Vienna. It is true that he soon after discovered how ridiculous she was. All these circumstances combined were, surely, sufficient todeter Madame from engaging in a love affair with the Duke; buthis talents and agreeable qualities captivated her. He was nothandsome, but he had manners peculiar to himself, an agreeablevivacity, a delightful gaiety; this was the general opinion ofhis character. He was much attached to Madame, and though thismight, at first, be inspired by a consciousness of the importanceof her friendship to his interest, yet, after he had acquiredsufficient political strength to stand alone, he was not theless devoted to her, nor less assiduous in his attentions. Heknew her friendship for me, and he one day said to me, with greatfeeling, "I am afraid, my dear Madame du Hausset, that she willsink into a state of complete dejection, and die of melancholy. Try to divert her. " What a fate for the favourite of the greatestmonarch in existence! thought I. 

One day, Madame de Pompadour had retired to her closet with M. Berryer. Madame d'Amblimont stayed with Madame de Gontaut, whocalled me to talk about my son. A moment after, M. De Gontaut camein and said, "D'Amblimont, who shall have the Swiss guards?" "Stopa moment, " said she; "let me call my council----, M. De Choiseul. ""That is not so very bad a thought, " said M. De Gontaut, "butI assure you, you are the first person who has suggested it. "He immediately left us, and Madame d'Amblimont said, "I'll laya wager he is going to communicate my idea to M. De Choiseul. "He returned very shortly, and, M. Berryer having left the room, he said to Madame de Pompadour, "A singular thought has enteredd'Amblimont's head. " "What absurdity now?" said Madame. "Notso great an absurdity neither, " said he. "She says the Swissguards ought to be given to M. De Choiseul, and, really, if theKing has not positively promised M. De Soubise, I don't see whathe can do better. " "The King has promised nothing, " said Madame, "and the hopes I gave him were of the vaguest kind. I only toldhim it was possible. But though I have a great regard for M. De Soubise, I do not think his merits comparable to those ofM. De Choiseul. " When the King came in, Madame, doubtless, toldhim of this suggestion. A quarter of an hour afterwards, I wentinto the room to speak to her, and I heard the King say, "Youwill see that, because the Duc du Maine, and his children, hadthat place, he will think he ought to have it, on account ofhis rank as Prince (Soubise); but the Maréchal de Bassompièrrewas not a Prince; and, by the bye, the Duc de Choiseul is for himto be. Her name was Romans. She was Majesty is better acquaintedwith the history of France than anybody, " replied Madame. Twodays after this, Madame de ---- said to me, "I have two greatdelights; M. De Soubise will not have the Swiss guards, and Madamede Marsan will be ready to burst with rage at it; this is thefirst: and M. De Choiseul will have them; this is the greatest. "

There was a universal talk of a young lady with whom the King wasas much in love as it was possible for him to be. Her name wasRomans. She was said to be a charming girl. Madame de Pompadourknew of the King's visits, and her confidantes brought her mostalarming reports of the affair. The Maréchale de Mirepoix, whohad the best head in Madame's council, was the only one whoencouraged her. "I do not tell you, " said she, "that he lovesyou better than her; and if she could be transported hither bythe stroke of a fairy's wand; if she could entertain him thisevening at supper; if she were familiar with all his tastes, there would, perhaps, be sufficient reason for you to tremblefor your power. But Princes are, above all, pre-eminently theslaves of habit. The King's attachment to you is like that hebears to your apartment, your furniture. You have formed yourselfto his manners and habits; you know how to listen and reply tohis stories; he is under no constraint with you; he has no fearof _boring_ you. How do you think he could have resolution touproot all this in a day, to form a new establishment, and tomake a public exhibition of himself by so striking a change inhis arrangements?" The young lady became pregnant; the reportscurrent among the people, and even those at Court, alarmed Madamedreadfully. It was said that the King meant to legitimate thechild, and to give the mother a title. "All that, " said Madamede Mirepoix, "is in the style of Louis XIV. --such dignifiedproceedings are very unlike those of our master. " MademoiselleRomans lost all her influence over the King by her indiscreetboasting. She was even treated with harshness and violence, whichwere in no degree instigated by Madame. Her house was searched, and her papers seized; but the most important, those whichsubstantiated the fact of the King's paternity, had been withdrawn. At length she gave birth to a son, who was christened under thename of Bourbon, son of Charles de Bourbon, Captain of Horse. The mother thought the eyes of all France were fixed upon her, and beheld in her son a future Duc du Maine. She suckled himherself, and she used to carry him in a sort of basket to theBois de Boulogne. Both mother and child were covered with thefinest laces. She sat down upon the grass in a solitary spot, which, however, was soon well known, and there gave suck to herroyal babe. Madame had great curiosity to see her, and took me, one day, to the manufactory at Sèvres, without telling me whatshe projected. After she had bought some cups, she said, "I wantto go and walk in the Bois de Boulogne, " and gave orders to thecoachman to stop at a certain spot where she wished to alight. She had got the most accurate directions, and when she drew nearthe young lady's haunt she gave me her arm, drew her bonnet overher eyes, and held her pocket-handkerchief before the lower partof her face. We walked, for some minutes, in a path, from whencewe could see the lady suckling her child. Her jet black hair wasturned up, and confined by a diamond comb. She looked earnestlyat us. Madame bowed to her, and whispered to me, pushing me by theelbow, "Speak to her. " I stepped forward, and exclaimed, "Whata lovely child!" "Yes, Madame, " replied she, "I must confessthat he is, though I am his mother. " Madame, who had hold of myarm, trembled and I was not very firm. Mademoiselle Romans saidto me, "Do you live in this neighbourhood?" "Yes, Madame, " repliedI, "I live at Auteuil with this lady, who is just now sufferingfrom a most dreadful toothache. " "I pity her sincerely, for Iknow that tormenting pain well. " I looked all around, for fearany one should come up who might recognise us. I took courageto ask her whether the child's father was a handsome man. "Veryhandsome, and, if I told you his name, you would agree with me. ""I have the honour of knowing him, then, Madame?" "Most probablyyou do. " Madame, fearing, as I did, some rencontre, said a fewwords in a low tone, apologizing for having intruded upon her, and we took our leave. We looked behind us, repeatedly, to seeif we were followed, and got into the carriage without beingperceived. "It must be confessed that both mother and child arebeautiful creatures, " said Madame--"not to mention the father;the infant has his eyes. If the King had come up while we werethere, do you think he would have recognised us?" "I don't doubtthat he would, Madame, and then what an agitation I should havebeen in, and what a scene it would have been for the bystanders!and, above all, what a surprise to her!" In the evening Madamemade the King a present of the cups she had bought, but she didnot mention her walk, for fear Mademoiselle Romans should tellhim that two ladies, who knew him, had met her there such a day. Madame de Mirepoix said to Madame, "Be assured, the King caresvery little about children; he has enough of them, and he willnot be troubled with the mother or the son. See what sort ofnotice he takes of the Comte de L----, who is strikingly likehim. He never speaks of him, and I am convinced that he willnever do anything for him. Again and again I tell you, we do notlive under Louis XIV. " Madame de Mirepoix had been Ambassadressto London, and had often heard the English make this remark. 

Some alterations had been made in Madame de Pompadour's rooms, and I had no longer, as heretofore, the niche in which I hadbeen permitted to sit, to hear Caffarelli, and, in later times, Mademoiselle Fel and Jeliotte. I, therefore, went more frequentlyto my lodgings in town, where I usually received my friends: moreparticularly when Madame visited her little hermitage, whitherM. De Gontaut commonly accompanied her. Madame du Chiron, thewife of the Head Clerk in the War-Office, came to see me. "Ifeel, " said she, "greatly embarrassed, in speaking to you aboutan affair, which will, perhaps, embarrass you also. This is thestate of the case. A very poor woman, to whom I have sometimesgiven a little assistance, pretends to be a relation of the Marquisede Pompadour. Here is her petition. " I read it, and said thatthe woman had better write directly to Madame, and that I wassure, if what she asserted was true, her application would besuccessful. Madame du Chiron followed my advice. The woman wroteshe was in the lowest depth of poverty, and I learnt that Madamesent her six louis until she could gain more accurate informationas to the truth of her story. Colin, who was commissioned totake the money, made inquiries of M. De Malvoisin, a relationof Madame, and a very respectable officer. The fact was found tobe as she had stated it. Madame then sent her a hundred louis, and promised her a pension of sixty louis a year. All this wasdone with great expedition, and Madame had a visit of thanks fromher poor relation, as soon as she had procured decent clothesto come in. That day the King happened to come in at an unusualhour, and saw this person going out. He asked who it was. "Itis a very poor relation of mine, " replied Madame. "She came, then, to beg for some assistance?" "No, " said she. "What didshe come for, then?" "To thank me for a little service I haverendered her, " said she, blushing from the fear of seeming toboast of her liberality. "Well, " said the King; "since she isyour relation, allow me to have the pleasure of serving her too. I will give her fifty louis a year out of my private purse, and, you know, she may send for the first year's allowance to-morrow. "Madame burst into tears, and kissed the King's hand several times. She told me this three days afterwards, when I was nursing herin a slight attack of fever. I could not refrain from weepingmyself at this instance of the King's kindness. The next day, I called on Madame du Chiron to tell her of the good fortuneof her protégée; I forgot to say that, after Madame had relatedthe affair to me, I told her what part I had taken in it. Sheapproved my conduct, and allowed me to inform my friend of theKing's goodness. This action, which showed no less delicatepoliteness towards her than sensibility to the sufferings ofthe poor woman, made a deeper impression on Madame's heart thana pension of two thousand a year given to herself. 

Madame had terrible palpitations of the heart. Her heart actuallyseemed to leap. She consulted several physicians. I recollect thatone of them made her walk up and down the room, lift a weight, and move quickly. On her expressing some surprise, he said, "Ido this to ascertain whether the organ is diseased; in that casemotion quickens the pulsation; if that effect is not produced, the complaint proceeds from the nerves. " I repeated this to myoracle, Quesnay. He knew very little of this physician, but hesaid his treatment was that of a clever man. His name was Rénard;he was scarcely known beyond the Marais. Madame often appearedsuffocated, and sighed continually. One day, under pretence ofpresenting a petition to M. De Choiseul, as he was going out, I said, in a low voice, that I wished to see him a few minuteson an affair of importance to my mistress. He told me to come assoon as I pleased, and that I should be admitted. I told him thatMadame was extremely depressed; that she gave way to distressingthoughts, which she would not communicate; that she, one day, said to me, "The fortune-teller told me I _should have time toprepare myself_; I believe it, for I shall be worn to death bymelancholy. " M. De Choiseul appeared much affected; he praisedmy zeal, and said that he had already perceived some indicationsof what I told him; that he would not mention my name, but wouldtry to draw from her an explanation. I don't know what he said toher; but, from that time, she was much more calm. One day, butlong afterwards, Madame said to M. De Gontaut, "I am generallythought to have great influence, but if it were not for M. DeChoiseul, I should not be able to obtain a Cross of St. Louis. "

The King and Madame de Pompadour had a very high opinion of Madamede Choiseul. Madame said, "She always says the right thing inthe right place. " Madame de Grammont was not so agreeable tothem; and I think that this was to be attributed, in part, tothe sound of her voice, and to her blunt manner of speaking;for she was said to be a woman of great sense, and devotedlyattached to the King and Madame de Pompadour. Some people pretendedthat she tried to captivate the King, and to supplant Madame:nothing could be more false, or more ridiculously improbable. Madame saw a great deal of these two ladies, who were extremelyattentive to her. She one day remarked to the Duc d'Ayen, thatM. De Choiseul was very fond of his sisters. "I know it, Madame, "said he, "and many sisters are the better for that. " "What doyou mean?" said she. "Why, " said he, "as the Duc de Choiseulloves his sister, it is thought fashionable to do the same; andI know silly girls, whose brothers formerly cared nothing aboutthem, who are now most tenderly beloved. No sooner does theirlittle finger ache, than their brothers are running about to fetchphysicians from all corners of Paris. They flatter themselvesthat somebody will say, in M. De Choiseul's drawing-room, "Howpassionately M. De ---- loves his sister; he would certainlydie if he had the misfortune to lose her. " Madame related thisto her brother, in my presence, adding, that she could not giveit in the Duke's comic manner. M. De Marigny said, "I have hadthe start of them all, without making so much noise; and my dearlittle sister knows that I loved her tenderly before Madame deGrammont left her convent. The Duc d'Ayen, however, is not verywrong; he has made the most of it in his lively manner, but itis partly true. " "I forgot, " replied Madame, "that the Duke said, 'I want extremely to be in the fashion, but which sister shallI take up? Madame de Caumont is a devil incarnate, Madame deVillars drinks, Madame d'Armagnac is a bore, Madame de la Marckis half mad. '" "These are fine family portraits, Duke, " saidMadame. The Duc de Gontaut laughed, during the whole of thisconversation, immoderately. Madame repeated it, one day, whenshe kept her bed. M. De G---- also began to talk of his sister, Madame du Roure. I think, at least, that is the name he mentioned. He was very gay, and had the art of creating gaiety. Somebodysaid, he is an excellent piece of furniture for a favourite. Hemakes her laugh, and asks for nothing either for himself or forothers; he cannot excite jealousy, and he meddles in nothing. Hewas called the White Eunuch. Madame's illness increased so rapidlythat we were alarmed about her; but bleeding in the foot curedher as if by a miracle. The King watched her with the greatestsolicitude; and I don't know whether his attentions did notcontribute as much to the cure as the bleeding. M. De Choiseulremarked, some days after, that she appeared in better spirits. I told him that I thought this improvement might be attributedto the same cause. 

THE MEMOIRS OF CATHERINE DE MEDICI

BY THE ABBÉ BRANTÔME

INTRODUCTION

The figure of Catherine de Medici is remarkable in history as beingthe pivotal point for more controversy than has ever centred aboutany other Queen of France. Of Italian descent, she became the wifeof one French monarch, the mother of three others, and the dominantforce behind that glittering Court which Brantôme eulogises. Bothof her daughters likewise ascended thrones, --Elisabeth, becamethe wife of Philip II. Of Spain; while Marguerite (whose memoirsare found elsewhere in this volume) wedded Henry of Navarre, thelife-long rival of the ambitious Queen Mother, who was destinedto become Henry IV. , displacing her tottering dynasty. 

Brantôme's tribute to this famous Queen will be read with greatinterest, but it is unnecessary to caution the reader to acceptit _cum grana salis_, for Brantôme's likes and dislikes are atall times apt to run away with his historical judgment. SaysLouis Moland in an introduction to the French edition of theAbbé's works: "The admiration which he professes for these grandprincesses whom he has the honour of depicting so influences himthat, despite his notorious credulity on this point, he showsthem all, or nearly all, as perfectly virtuous. " Nevertheless, his portraits, though coloured with the most favourable tints, are of great value as portraits from life. "I saw it, " "I wasthere, " are his favourite expressions in narrating an incident. 

The study of Catherine is a typical example of his work. He hadlived at her Court and received many favours at her hands. He nowsets himself the task of answering her calumniators and payinga tribute to her memory. This spirit of chivalry is certainlyadmirable, albeit the results may show as more partisan thanaccurate. It is interesting to compare this with Honoré de Balzac'smore extended work, "Sur Catherine de Medicis, " which is designatedas a romance but is actually a careful historical portrait ofthe Queen. 

Catherine's whole life may be said to have combined romance withhistory. She was the daughter of Lorenzo de Medici, that famousruler of Florence for whom Machiavelli wrote his "Prince. " Havingbeen left an orphan at an early age, she was sent to a convent tobe educated, but left there at fourteen to become the wife of theDauphin, afterwards Henry II. Of France. Her royal father-in-lawwas the celebrated Francis I. , the life-long rival of Henry VIII. Of England, on the one hand, and the Emperor Charles V. , on theother. During his reign Catherine remained in obscurity, andwas even threatened with divorce, as for ten years she remainedchildless. On hearing that Francis was considering this decree forstate reasons, she planned her first bold stroke. With Italianfinesse she made her way to the King at a favourable moment, threwherself at his feet, and expressed her willingness to submit tothe royal will. "Do with me as you choose, sire, " she said; "letme remain the dutiful wife of your son; or if it may please you tochoose another, let me serve as one of her humblest attendants. "Her speech won the heart of Francis, she was reinstated in favour, and finally had the happiness of bringing him grandchildren erehe died. This was one reason for the great veneration in whichCatherine always held his memory, and to which Brantôme alludes. 

Indeed, the dominant trait with her throughout her long life wasloyalty to her family and their interests, --a loyalty fine in theabstract, but which was to lead her along many doubtful and deviousways. It caused her to match prince against prince, party againstparty, religion against religion, until the culminating horrorof St. Bartholomew's Massacre was reached, --chargeable directlyto her, despite the strenuous denials of Brantôme. Henry IV. , the royal son-in-law who suffered so much at her hands, wasbroad-minded enough to palliate her offences on the ground ofthis family loyalty. Claude Grouard quotes him as saying to aFlorentine ambassador in regard to Catherine: "I ask you whata poor woman could do, left by the death of her husband, withfive little children on her arms, and two families in Francewho were thinking to grasp the crown, --ours and the Guiges. Wasshe not compelled to play strange parts to deceive first one andthen the other, in order to guard, as she has done, her sonswho have successively reigned through the wise conduct of thatshrewd woman? I am only surprised that she never did worse. 

Sainte-Beuve in his "Causeries du Lundi" gives us additionalglimpses of this Queen, basing his views upon those of Mézeray, author of the older "History of France": Mézeray, who never thinksof the dramatic, nevertheless makes known to us at the start hisprincipal personages; he shows them more especially in action, without detaching them too much from the general sentiment andinterests of which they are the leaders and representatives, while, at the same time, he leaves to each his individualphysiognomy.... Catherine de Medici is painted there in all herdissimulation and her network of artifices, in which she herselfwas often caught; ambitious of sovereign power without possessingeither the force or the genius for it; striving to obtain it bycraft, and using for this purpose a continual system of whatwe should call today 'see-sawing'--'rousing and elevating for atime one faction, putting to sleep or lowering another; unitingherself sometimes with the feeblest side out of caution, lestthe stronger should crush her; sometimes with the stronger fromnecessity; at times standing neutral when she felt herself strongenough to command both sides, but without intention to extinguisheither. ' Far from being always too Catholic, there are moments whenshe seems to lean to the Reformed religion and to wish to granttoo much to that party; and this with more sincerity, perhaps, than belonged to her naturally. The Catherine de Medici, suchas she presents herself and is developed in plain truth on thepages of Mézeray is well calculated to tempt a modern writer. "

It is precisely to this temptation that Balzac has yielded, inhis book already mentioned. His summing-up of her character isas follows: "Catherine de Medici has suffered more from popularerror than almost any other woman... And yet she saved the throneof France, she maintained the royal authority under circumstancesto which more than one great prince would have succumbed. Face toface with such leaders of the factions, and ambitions of the housesof Guise and of Bourbon as the Cardinals de Lorraine and the two'Balafrés, ' the two Princes de Condé, Henry IV. , Montmorency, theColignys, she was forced to put forth the rarest fine qualities, the most essential gifts of statesmanship, under the fire of theCalvinist press. These, at any rate, are indisputable facts. Andto the student who digs deep into the history of the sixteenthcentury in France, the figure of Catherine de Medici stands outas that of a great king... 

"Hemmed in between a race of princes who proclaimed themselvesthe heirs of Charlemagne, and a factious younger branch that waseager to bury the Constable de Bourbon's treason under the throne;obliged too, to fight down a heresy on the verge of devouring themonarchy, without friends, and aware of treachery in the chiefsof the Catholic party and of republicanism in the Calvinists, Catherine used the most dangerous but the surest of politicalweapons--Craft. She determined to deceive by turns the partythat was anxious to secure the downfall of the house of Valois, the Bourbons who aimed at the Crown, and the Reformers.... Indeed, so long as she lived, the Valois sat on the throne. The greatM. De Thou understood the worth of this woman when he exclaimedon hearing of her death: 'It is not a woman, it is Royalty thatdies in her'!"

On the contrary, if one will follow the genial Dumas throughthe pages of his Valois Romances, he will find a French writerwho, while loyal to the kingly line, does not hesitate to paintthis woman in unlovely colors. She is here the low intriguer whodoes not stop at assassination to gain her ends. On only onepoint, indeed, do historians and romancers seem to agree: sheis always interesting--never commonplace. She fills a definiteniche in an important period, and her personal reputation mustbe handled as a thing apart. 

This portrait of her by Brantôme is one of a series of paperscomprising his "Lives of Illustrious Ladies, "--or as he preferredto call it, "Book of the Ladies. " Brantôme himself lived anadventurous life. Born in Perigord in 1537, he was only eighteenyears younger than the queen he here discusses. His family, thede Bourdeilles, was one of the oldest and most respected in thatprovince. "Not to boast of myself, " he says, "I can assert thatnone of my race has ever been home-keeping; they have spent asmuch time in travels and wars as any, no matter who they be, in France. " The young Pierre had his first experience in Courtlife, at the Court of Marguerite, sister of Francis I. , to whomhis mother was lady-in-waiting. As he was the youngest of thefamily, he was destined for the priesthood--which he always regardedfrom the militant, rather than the spiritual side--and when onlysixteen King Henry II. Bestowed upon him the Abbey of Brantôme. 

The record of his life thereafter is one of travel and adventurein many lands. It is the period of the Renaissance, when wars andconquests, intrigues and romances, poetry and song flourish, --inall of which our Abbé is equally at home! He goes with the Ducde Guise to escort the young widowed Queen, Mary, back to herScottish throne. He visits Marguerite de Valois in her retirementand is so smitten by her beauty that he dedicates all his books toher. And during his busy, adventurous life he finds time to setdown many things which he sees and hears. Some of these storiessmack of the scandalous, but all undoubtedly reflect the spiritand manners of the time. 

After a long life, Brantôme passed away in 1614, and although aclause in his will expressly related to the publication of hisworks they were left in MS. Form, in his castle of Richemont, for half a century. They were finally published in Leyden, in1665, and have been frequently reprinted since. 

THE MEMOIRS OF CATHERINE DE MEDICI

I have wondered a hundred times, and been astonished, that, withso many good writers as we have had in France in our day, noneof them have been inquisitive enough to bring out some sketcheson the life and deeds of the Queen-Mother, Catherine de Medici, since she has given ample material, and did as much fine workas ever was done by a queen--as once said the Emperor Charlesto Paolo Giovio on his return from his triumphant voyage in the"Goulette, " when wishing to declare war against King Francis, that it was only necessary to be provided with paper and ink, to supply him with any amount of work. 

True it is that this Queen cut out so much work, that any cleverand industrious writer might build from it a complete Iliad;but the writers have all proven lazy or ungrateful, althoughshe was never niggardly to learned men, or those writers of hertimes. I could name several who derived favors from the Queen, and for this reason do I accuse them of ingratitude. 

There was one, however, who did attempt to write of her, andwho brought out a little book which he called "The Life ofCatherine, " but it is an imposture and not worthy of belief, since it is more full of lies than truth, as she herself said, when she saw the book. The errors are so glaring as to be apparentto all, and are thus easily noted and rejected. 

The author wished her mortal harm, and was inimical to her name, to her station, to her life, to her honor and to her nature, and for this reason he should be rejected. 

As for myself, I would that I could speak well, or that I hada fluent pen at my command that I might exalt and praise heras she deserves. 

At any rate, be my pen what it may, I shall use it at all hazards. 

This Queen is descended, on her father's side, from the race ofthe Medici, one of the noblest and most illustrious families, not only in Italy but in Christendom. 

Whatever may be said, she was a foreigner to these parts, sincethe alliances of the royal houses cannot commonly be made withthose within their kingdoms. Nor is it often for the best, sinceforeign marriages are often more advantageous than those madenearer home. 

The House of the Medici has ever been allied with the Crown ofFrance, and still bears the _fleur-de-lys_ that King Louis XIgranted that house as a token of alliance and perpetualconfederation. 

On her mother's side she is descended from one of the noblesthouses of France; a house truly French in race, in heart andin affection, that great house of Boulogne and of the County ofAuvergne. 

Thus it is difficult to say or to decide which of these two housesis the grander, or which is the more memorable by its deeds. 

Here is what is said of them by the Archbishop of Bourges, he ofthe house of Beaune, as great a scholar and as worthy a prelateas there is in Christendom (although there are some who say thathe was a trifle unsteady in belief, and of little worth in thescales of M. Saint-Michel, who weighs good Christians for theday of judgment, or so 'tis said). It is found in the funeraloration which the Archbishop made upon the said Queen at Blois. 

In the days when that great captain of the Gauls, Brennus, ledhis forces through Italy and Greece, there were in his trooptwo French nobles, one named Felsinus, the other named Bono, who seeing the wicked designs of Brennus to invade and desecratethe temple of Delphos, after his great conquests, withdrew theirforces and passed into Asia with their ships and followers. 

They pushed on until they entered the sea of Medes, which is nearLydia and Persia. 

Thence, after gaining many victories and obtaining many conquests, they retired, and while returning through Italy on their way toFrance, Felsinus stopped on the site of what is now Florence, beside the river Arno, a place which he saw was beautiful andcommanding and situated much as another place which had pleasedhim much in the country of the Medes. 

There he built the city which to-day is Florence. 

His companion, Bono, built a second, and neighboring city whichhe called Bononia, the modern Bologna. 

Henceforth Felsinus was called Medicus by his intimates, incommemoration of his victories and conquests among the Medes, aname that became the family name, just as we read of Paulus beingsurnamed Macedonicus, on account of his conquest of Macedoniafrom Perseus, and of Scipio being called Africanus for doing thelike in Africa. 

I do not know from what source M. De Beaune got his history, but it is very probable, that, speaking as he did before theKing and such an august assembly, there convened for the funeralof the Queen, M. De Beaune would not have made the statementwithout good authority. 

This descent is very different from the modern story inventedand attributed without cause to the Medici family, according tothat lying book on the life of the Queen, which I have mentioned. 

Furthermore, continues the aforementioned Sieur de Beaune, onereads in the chronicles that a certain Everard de Medici, Sieurof Florence, many years afterwards, went with many of his subjectsto the assistance of Charlemagne in his expedition in Italy againstDidier, king of the Lombards, and having courageously succouredand assisted him was granted and invested with the lordship ofFlorence. 

Many years later, one Anemond de Medici, also a Sieur of Florence, accompanied, with many of his subjects, Godefroy de Bouillon tothe Holy Land, where he died at the siege of Nicæa in Asia. 

Such greatness continued in that family down to the time whenFlorence was reduced to a republic by the internecine wars inItaly between the emperors and the people, the illustrious membersof this family continually manifesting their valour and grandeurfrom time to time, as we see in these later days, how Cosmo deMedici, with his arms, his navy and ships struck terror intothe Turks on the Mediterranean and even in the distant East;so that none since his time, no matter how great he may havebeen, has surpassed him in strength, valour and wealth, as hasbeen recorded by Raffaelle Volaterano. 

The temples and sacred shrines built by him, the hospitals foundedby him, even as far as Jerusalem, all give ample proof of hispiety and magnanimity. 

Then there was Lorenzo de Medici, surnamed the Great on accountof his virtuous deeds, and the two great popes, Leo and Clement, besides many cardinals and great personages of the name, includingthe Grand Duke of Tuscany, Cosmo de Medici, a wise and wary man, if there ever was one. 

He succeeded in retaining his duchy, which he found invaded andin great distress when he inherited it. 

In short, nothing can rob this house of the Medici of its lustre, and of its nobleness and grandeur in all ways. 

As to the house of Boulogne and Auvergne, who can deny its greatness, descending as it does from that noble Eustache de Boulogne, whosebrother, Godefroy de Bouillon, who bore his arms and escutcheonswith that vast number of princes, seigneurs, chevaliers, andChristian soldiers even to Jerusalem and to the sepulchre ofour Saviour, where he would have made himself, by his sword andby the favour of God, king, not only of Jerusalem, but also ofthe greater part of the East, to the confusion of Mahomet, theSaracens, and the Mahometans, to the amazement of all the restof the world, and would have replanted Christianity in Asia whenit had fallen to the lowest depths?

Besides this house had ever been sought in alliance by all themonarchies of Christendom and by the great families, such asthose of France, England, Scotland, Hungary, and Portugal, whichlatter kingdom belonged to it of right, as I have heard Presidentde Thou say, and as the Queen herself did me the honor to tellme at Bordeaux, when she heard of the death of King Sebastian. The Medici were even allowed to argue the justice of their claimsat the last Assembly of States previous to the death of KingHenry. 

And it was for this reason that she armed M. De Strozzi for aninvasion of Portugal, where the King of Spain had usurped thekingdom. She was prevented from carrying out her well-chosenplans by reasons which I will explain at another time. 

I will leave it to you, therefore, whether the house of Boulognewas great: yea, so great it is that I once heard Pope Pius IVsay, while sitting at table at a dinner he gave after he hadmade Ferrara and Guise cardinals, that the house of Boulognewas so great and noble he knew none in France, no matter which, that could surpass it in antiquity, valour, and grandeur. 

All this is much against those malicious detractors, who havesaid that this Queen was a Florentine of lowly birth, as onecan see the contrary to be the case. 

Moreover, she was not so poor since she brought to France asportion of her marriage estates which are valued to-day twenty-sixthousand livres, such as the Counties of Auvergne and Lauragais, theseigneuries of Leverons, Donzenac, Boussac, Gorrèges, Hondecourt, and other lands--all inherited from her mother. 

Her dowry included also more than two hundred thousand ducats, which are worth to-day over four hundred thousand; as well asgreat quantities of furniture, precious stones, jewels, includingthe finest and the largest pearls ever seen in such quantities, pearls that she afterwards gave to the Queen of Scotland [MaryStuart], her daughter-in-law, whom I have seen wearing them. Besides all this, many manors, houses, deeds, and claims whichshe possessed in Italy. 

But, more than all else, her marriage caused a strengtheningin the fortunes of France, which had been so shaken by theimprisonment of the King and by his losses at Milan and Naples. 

King Francis, it is well known, knew that such a marriage greatlyhelped his interests. Therefore there was given to this Queen, asa device, a rainbow, which she bore as long as she was married, with these words in Greek, _phos pherei aede galaenaen_, which isthe equivalent of saying that just as this fire and bow in theheavens brings and signifies good weather, just so this Queen wasa true sign of clearness, of serenity and of the tranquillity ofpeace. The Greek is thus translated: _Lucem fert et serenitatem_--shebrings light and serenity. 

After that the Emperor [Charles V] no longer dared to push forwardhis ambitious motto: "Ever farther. " For, notwithstanding thetruce which existed between himself and King Francis, he wasnursing his ambition with the plan of gaining always from Francewhatever he could; and he was much surprised at this alliance withthe Pope [Clement VII], yet recognising the latter as an able, a courageous man, but vindictive on account of his imprisonmentby the imperial troops at the sack of Rome. 

Such a marriage was displeasing to him so much that I have hearda truthful lady of the Court say that if he had not been marriedto the Empress, he would have made an alliance with the Popehimself, and espoused his niece [Catherine de Medici], as muchfor the help of so strong a party as because he feared the Popewould help in losing for him Naples, Milan and Genoa; for thePope had promised King Francis, in an authentic document, whenhe had delivered the money of his niece's dowry and her rings andjewels, that he would make the dowry worthy of such a marriageby adding to it three pearls of inestimable value, the excessivesplendour of which caused envy and covetousness among the greatestof kings, meaning the three cities of Naples, Milan and Genoa. And it cannot be doubted that if the Pope had lived the naturalspan of his life he would have sold out the Emperor too, andmade him pay well for that imprisonment, in order to enrich hisniece and the kingdom to which she was joined. But Clement VIIdied too soon and all these expected gains could not withstandthis blow. So that our Queen, having lost her mother, Magdelainede Boulogne, and Lorenzo de Medici, Duke of Urbino, her father, in her early life, was given in marriage to France by her uncle, Pope Clement VII, and was brought by sea in great triumph toMarseilles, where at the age of fourteen she was wedded with greatceremony. 

She made herself so beloved by the King, her father-in-law, andby King Henry, her husband, that after ten years had passed andstill no heir being born to her, and though many persons endeavouredto persuade the King and the Dauphin, her husband, to divorceher, neither one would consent, so greatly did they love her. But after ten years, in accordance with the nature of the womenof the Medici family, who were ever slow in conceiving, she beganto furnish heirs, the first being King Francis II. 

After him was born the Queen of Spain, and then consecutively, that fine and illustrious progeny whom we have all seen, besidesothers who were no sooner born than they died, by great misfortuneand fatality. For this reason the King, her husband, loved hermore and more, and in such manner that he, who was naturallyof an amorous temperament, and who greatly liked to make loveand to vary his loves, often said that of all the women in theworld there was none who excelled his wife for love-making, nordid any equal her. 

He had good cause for saying this, for she truly was a princessbeautiful as well as lovable. She was of fine and stately presence;of great majesty, at the same time gentle when occasion requiredit; of noble appearance and good grace, her face handsome andagreeable, her bosom full, beautiful, and exquisitely fair, herbody also very fair, the flesh firm, the skin smooth, as I haveheard from several ladies-in-waiting; of a good plumpness aswell, the leg and thigh well formed (as I have heard too fromthe same ladies). 

She also took great pride in being well shod and in having herstockings tightly drawn up without wrinkles. Besides all thisshe possessed the most beautiful hand that was ever seen, as Ibelieve. The poets once praised Aurora for her fine hands andtapering fingers; but I think our Queen would surpass her inthat; and she carefully guarded and maintained this beauty toher dying day. 

King Henry III, her son, inherited much of this beauty of thehand. 

Moreover she always dressed herself well and superbly, oftenwith some new and pretty conceit. In short, she had many charmsin herself to make her well loved. I remember that at Lyons oneday she went to see a painter named Corneille who had paintedand exhibited in a spacious room portraits of all the greatseigneurs, princes, cavaliers, queens, princesses, ladies andmaids of honour of the Court, and she being in this room with uswe all saw there her portrait painted true to life, showing herin all her beauty and perfection, apparelled as a Frenchwoman witha cap, showing her great pearls, and a gown whose wide sleeves ofsilver tissue were trimmed with lynx--the whole picture, whichalso showed the portraits of her three daughters, was so perfectthat speech alone seemed lacking. 

The Queen took great pleasure in seeing the portrait, and theassembled company did likewise, and praised and admired her beautyabove all. 

She herself was so ravished at the sight of the portrait thatshe could not take her gaze from it, until M. De Nemours came toher and said, "Madame, I think you are so well portrayed therethat there remains nothing more to be said, and it seems to me, too, that your daughters do you great honour, for they do notexcel you, nor surpass you. "

To this the Queen replied, "My cousin, I think you can rememberthe period, the age, and the dress represented in this portrait, so that you can judge better than anyone present, you who haveseen me dressed as I am represented in this portrait, and cansay whether I was esteemed as much as they say, and whether Iever looked as I am portrayed there. "

There was not one in the whole company who did not lavish praiseand estimate her beauty highly, and who did not say that the motherwas worthy of the daughters and the daughters of the mother. Andthis beauty remained her portion through life, while married andwhile widowed, until her death; not that she had the freshnessof her more blooming and younger years, but still she remainedwell preserved, always agreeable, always desirable. 

Besides she was very good company, always of a good humour; lovingany becoming exercise, such as dancing, in which she exhibitedgreat grace and dignity. 

She also greatly loved hunting; about which I heard a lady of theCourt tell this tale: King Francis having chosen and gathered afew of his Court whom he called "the little band of Court ladies, "which included the handsomest, daintiest and most favoured, oftenescaped from the Court and went to other estates to hunt deerand while away the time, sometimes staying thus in retreat eightdays, ten days, sometimes more, sometimes less, just as the humourtook him. 

Our Queen (who was then simply Madame la Dauphine) seeing thatsuch parties were made up without her, and that even Mesdames hersisters-in-law were included while she was left at home, beggedthe King to always take her with him, and to further honour herby never allowing her to go about without being accompanied byhim. 

It's said that she, who was always shrewd and clever, did thisas much or more to watch the King's movements and to learn hissecrets and to be able to hear and know all that went on, asshe did it from pure liking for the chase. 

King Francis was so pleased with this request, showing, as itseemed, the love she had for his company, that he heartily grantedher request. He loved her more now than ever before and showeddelight in giving her the pleasures of the hunt, which she followed, riding at full speed and ever by his side. 

She was a good and fearless horseback rider, sitting her horsewith easy grace, and was the first to ride with the leg aroundthe pommel, which was more graceful and becoming than the formermode of sitting with feet upon a board. She loved to ride horsebackeven up to the time she was sixty years old and over, and whenher growing feebleness prevented her riding she pined for it. Itwas one of her greatest pleasures to ride far and fast, thoughshe had many falls, even breaking her leg and bruising her headso severely that it had to be trepanned. After she became a widowand had charge of the King and the kingdom, she accompanied theKing everywhere and took all her children with her; and when theKing, her husband, was still living she generally accompaniedhim to the stag and other hunts. If he played pall-mall she oftenwatched him, and sometimes played herself. She was also fond ofshooting baked clay balls with a cross-bow, and she shot welltoo; so that she always took with her her cross-bow when riding, in order if any game was seen she could shoot it. When she waskept indoors by bad weather she was forever devising some newdance or beautiful ballet. She invented games as well and passedher time by these devices, being quite unreserved, but knowinghow to be grave and austere when occasion demanded it. 

She was fond of seeing comedies and tragedies enacted, but after"Sophonisbe, " a tragedy written by M. De Saint-Gélais, was wellpresented at Blois by her daughters, maids-of-honor and otherladies as well as gentlemen of her Court during the celebrationattendant on the marriages of M. Du Cypière and the Marquisd'Elboeuf, she took the notion that tragedies were unlucky forstate affairs and so would not let them be played again. But shestill listened readily enough to comedies and tragi-comedies, even such as "Zani" and "Pantaloon" and took great pleasure inthem, laughing as heartily as anyone, for she liked laughter, being naturally of a happy disposition, loving a witty word andbeing ever ready with a witty rejoinder, knowing well when tocast a jest or a stone, and when to withhold it. 

In the afternoons she passed her time at work on her silkembroideries, in which she was as perfect as possible. 

In short the Queen liked and practiced all healthy exercises, and there was not one that was worthy of herself or her sex thatthe Queen did not wish to essay and practice. 

This is a brief description, avoiding prolixity, of the beautyof her person and of her various exercises. 

When she called anyone "my friend" it was because she eitherthought him a fool or was angry with him. This was so well knownthat once when she had thus addressed one of her attendant gentlemen, named M. De Bois-Fevrier, he made reply, "Alas, Madame, I wouldrather have you call me 'enemy, ' for to call me your friend isthe equivalent of saying either I am a fool or that you are angrywith me, for I have long known your nature. "

As for her mind, it was great and admirable, as is shown by somany fine and striking acts, by which her life has been madeillustrious forever. 

The King, her husband, as well as his Council of State esteemedher so highly that when the King left the kingdom on his journeyto Germany, he established and placed her as Regent and Governorthroughout his dominions during his absence by royal declarationsolemnly made before the Houses of Parliament in Paris. Thistrust she exercised so wisely that there was no disturbance, change, nor alteration in the State because of the King's absence;but, on the contrary, the Queen so carefully saw to affairs thatshe was able to assist the King with money, means, and men, andother kinds of aid; which greatly aided him in his return and forthe conquest which he made of cities in the duchy of Luxembourg, such as Yvoy, Montmedy, Dampvilliers, Chimay and others. 

I leave it to you what must be thought of him who wrote thatfine life when he slanders her by saying that never did the King, her husband, allow her to put her nose into matters of state. 

Was not this making her Regent in his absence giving her ampleopportunities to have full knowledge of them? And she did thisduring all the trips he made yearly in going to his armies. 

What did she do after the battle of Saint-Laurens, when the statewas so shaken and the King had hastened to Compiègne to raisea new army?

She became so wrapped up in state affairs that she so arousedand stirred up the gentlemen of Paris that they gave prompt aidto their King, which came at a good time, and included moneyand other things very necessary in war. 

Furthermore, when the King, her husband, was wounded, personswho were there and saw it cannot be uninformed of the great careshe took for his cure, and the vigils she kept by his bedside; theprayers she offered continuously; the processions and visitationsshe made to the churches; and the hurried journeys she made inall directions for doctors and surgeons. But the King's hourhad come; and when he passed from this world to the next, hergrief was so great and she shed so many tears that it would seemshe never could control them, and ever after, whenever his namewas spoken the tears welled up from the depths of her eyes. Forthis reason she assumed a device in keeping and suitable to hertears and mourning, namely, a mound of quicklime over which thedrops from heaven fall abundantly, with these words in Latin asa motto: _Adorem extincta testantur vivere flamma_ (Althoughthe flame is extinguished, this testifies that the fire stilllives). The drops of water, like her tears, show ardour, thoughthe flame has been extinguished. This device is allegorical ofthe nature of quicklime, which when watered burns strangely andshows its fire though the flame is wanting. Thus did our Queenshow her zeal and affection by her tears, though the flame, whichtypified her husband, was now extinct. And this was the same assaying that, although he was dead, she wished to show by hertears that she could never forget him, but would love him always. 

A similar device was formerly borne by Madame Valentine de Milan, Duchess d'Orléans, after the death of her husband, who was killedin Paris, for whom she grieved so much, that as a solace andcomfort in her mourning, she assumed as device a watering pot, above which was an S, meaning, it is said, _Seule, souvenir, soucis, soupirer_ (Lonely, remembrance, solicitude, sighing). And around the watering-pot were inscribed these words, _Rienne m'est plus; plus ne m'est rien_ (Nought is more to me; moreis to me nothing). This device is still to be seen in her chapelin the Church of the Franciscans at Blois. 

Good King René of Sicily having lost his wife Isabel, Duchessde Lorraine, suffered such great grief that he never was happyafterwards; and when his intimate friends and favourites triedto console him he was wont to lead them to his bedroom and thereshow them a picture, painted by himself (for he was an excellentpainter), depicting a Turkish bow unstrung, beneath, which waswritten, _Arco per lentare piaga non sana_ (The bow althoughunstrung heals not the wounds). 

Then King René would thus address them: "My friends, with thispicture I answer all your arguments. By unstringing a bow, orby breaking the string, the harm done by the arrow can quicklybe prevented, but the life of my dear spouse being broken andextinguished by death, the wound to the loyal love that everfilled my heart for her while she lived cannot be cured. " Invarious places in Angers these Turkish bows with broken stringscan be seen, with these words inscribed beneath, _Arco per lentarepiaga non sana_ (The loosened bow does not heal the wound). The sameis seen on the Franciscan church, in the Chapel of Saint-Bernardin, which he decorated. He assumed this device after the death ofhis Queen, although during her lifetime he had used another one. 

Our Queen, around her device, which I have described, placed manytrophies, such as cracked mirrors, fans, rumpled plumes, pearls, broken quivers, precious stones and jewels scattered about, bitsof broken chains, the whole to signify the abandoning of allworldly pomp, since, now that her husband was dead, her mourningfor him was never to cease, and without the grace of God and thecourage which He had given her, she would have succumbed to hergreat grief and distress. But she saw that her young children, aswell as France, needed her aid, as we ourselves have seen sinceby experience; for, like a Semiramis, or a second Athalie, shefoiled, saved, guarded and preserved these same young childrenfrom many enterprises planned against them during their earlyyears; and accomplished this with so much prudence and industrythat all thought her wonderful. 

She was Regent of this kingdom after the death of King Francis, her son, and during the minority of our kings by the ordinanceof the Estates of Orléans, and this, which well might have beengiven to the King of Navarre, who as premier prince of the bloodwished to be Regent in her place, and to be Governor over all. But she won over so easily and dexterously the said Estates thatif the King of Navarre had not gone elsewhere, she would havehad him attainted of the crime of _lèse-majesté_. 

And it is possible that but for Madame de Montpensier, who hadgreat influence over her, she would still have done so on accountof the intrigue against the Estates into which he forced thePrince de Condé. 

So the aforementioned King was obliged to content himself toserve under her, and this was one of the shrewd and subtle movesshe made in the beginning of her management of affairs. Afterwardsshe knew how to maintain her rank and authority so imperiouslythat no one dared deny it, no matter how grand or how strenuoushe might be, as was shown after a period of three months when, during a stay of the Court at Fontainebleau, this same King ofNavarre, wishing to show the resentment still in his heart, tookoffence because M. De Guise had the keys of the King's palacebrought to him each night, and kept them all night in his roomexactly like a grand master of the household (for that was oneof his appointments), so that no one could go out without hispermission. 

This angered greatly the King of Navarre, who himself wishedto keep the keys. On being refused the keys, he grew spitefuland rebellious to such an extent that one morning he suddenlycame to the King and Queen and announced his intention of takingleave of the Court, and of taking with him all the princes ofthe blood, whom he had won over, including M. Le Connétable deMontmorency, his children and nephew. 

The Queen, who did not expect this move, was astounded at first, and did all in her power to avert the blow, giving assurancesto the King of Navarre that if he would but be patient he wouldsome day be satisfied with affairs. 

But fair words gained her nothing with the King, who was determinedto leave. 

It was then that our Queen decided on this shrewd plan: She sentorders to M. Le Connétable, as principal, first and oldest officerof the crown, to remain near the person of the King, his master, as then his office demanded, and not to take his departure. 

M. Le Connétable, being a wise and judicious man, and being zealousfor his master's interests as well as alert to his grandeur andhonour, after reflecting on his duty and the orders sent him, went to the King and announced himself ready to fulfil his office. 

This greatly astonished the King of Navarre, who was on the pointof mounting his horse, waiting only the arrival of M. Le Connétableto depart. 

M. Le Connétable when he came explained his duty and theresponsibility of his office and endeavoured to persuade theKing of Navarre himself not to budge or take his departure. Thishe did so well that the King of Navarre at his urging went to seethe King and Queen, and after conferring with their majesties hegave up his journey and countermanded his orders for his mules, they having by that time arrived at Melun. 

So peace once more reigned, to the great joy of the King of Navarre. 

Not that M. De Guise diminished any of his claims pertaining tohis office, or yielded one atom of his honour, for he retainedhis pre-eminence and all that belonged to him, without beingshaken in the least, although he was not the stronger; but insuch affairs he was a man of the world and was never bewildered, but knew well how to face things courageously and to keep tohis rank, and to hold what he had. 

It cannot be doubted, as all the world knows, but that, if theQueen had not bethought herself of this scheme regarding M. LeConnétable, all that party would have gone to Paris and stirredup trouble for us, for which reason great credit should be giventhe Queen for her makeshift. 

I know, for I was there, that many said that the plan was notof her invention, but rather that of Cardinal de Tournon, a wiseand judicious prelate; but this is false, for, old hand as he wasfor prudence and counsel, my faith, the Queen knew more tricksthan he, or all the Council of the King put together. 

For often, when he was at fault, she would help him and put himon the track of what he ought to know, of which I might givemany examples; but it will be enough to cite this one instance, which is recent, and about which the Queen herself did me thehonour to disclose. 

It is as follows:

When she went to Guyenne, and, later, to Coignac to reconcile theprinces of the Religion and those of the League, and so give peaceto the kingdom again--for she saw that it would soon be ruinedby this division--she determined to declare a truce in order toformulate this peace; because of which the King of Navarre andthe Prince de Condé became very discontented and mutinous--forthe reason, they said, that this proclamation did them greatharm because of their foreign troops, who, having heard of it, might repent of their coming, or might delay in coming, thinkingthat the Queen had made it with that very intention. 

And they declared and resolved not to see the Queen nor to treatwith her until the said truce was revoked. 

Her Council, whom she had with her, though composed of able men, she found to be without much sense and weak, because they couldfind no means by which this truce could be rescinded. 

The Queen then said to them, "Truly, you are very stupid as tofinding a remedy. Don't you know any better? There is only onesolution to this. You have at Maillezais the Huguenot regimentof Neufvy and of Sorlu. Send for me from here, from Niort, allthe arquebusiers you can muster and cut the regiment to piecesand so you will have the truce broken and rescinded without anyfurther trouble. "

And as soon as she commanded it, it was done, the arquebusiersstarted, led by Captain l'Estelle, and forced their fort andbarricades so well that the Huguenot regiment was defeated, Sorlukilled, who was a valiant man, Neufvy taken prisoner and manyothers killed. Their flags were all captured and brought to theQueen at Niort. She showed her accustomed clemency by pardoningall, and sent them away with their ensigns and flags, which, as regards flags, is a very rare thing. 

But she wished to make this concession, she told me, on accountof its very rarity, so that the princes would now know that theyhad to deal with a very able princess, and that they should notapply to her such mockery as to make her revoke a truce by thevery heralds who had proclaimed it. For while they were planningto give her this insult, she had fallen upon them, and now sentword to them by the prisoners that it was not for them to affronther by demanding of her unseemly and unreasonable things, sinceit remained in her power to do them good or evil. 

In this manner this Queen knew how to give and drill in a lessonto her Council. I might tell of other instances, but I have otherpoints to treat upon, the first of which will be to answer thosewhom I have often heard accuse her of being the first to flyto arms, thus being the cause of our civil wars. 

Whoever will look to the source of the thing will not believeit; for, the triumvirate being created, with the King of Navarreat its head, she, seeing the plots that were being concocted, and knowing the change of faith made by the King of Navarre--whofrom being Huguenot and very strict, had turned Catholic--andknowing by this change she had cause to fear for the King, forthe kingdom, and for herself, and that he might move againstthem, she reflected and wondered to what tended such plots, suchnumerous meetings, colloquies and secret audiences; and, not beingable to fathom the mystery, it is said that one day she bethoughtherself to go to the room above which the secret session wasbeing held, and there, by means of a tube which she had causedto be surreptitiously inserted under the tapestry, she listenedunperceived to all their plans. 

Among other things she heard one that was very terrible and bitterfor her, and that was when Maréchal de Saint-André, one of thetriumvirate, proposed that the Queen be taken, put in a sack andflung into the river, since otherwise they would never succeedin their plans. 

But the late M. De Guise, who was always fair and generous, saidthat such a thing must not be, for it was going too far, andwas too unjust to thus cruelly slay the wife and mother of ourkings, and that he was utterly opposed to the plan. 

For this the said Queen has always loved him, and proved it byher treatment of his children, after his death, by giving themhis entire possessions. 

I leave to your imagination what such a sentence meant to theQueen, hearing it as she did with her own ears, and also whethershe did not have cause for fear, notwithstanding her defenceby M. De Guise. 

From what I have heard told by one of the Queen's intimates, the Queen feared, as indeed she had cause to, that they wouldstrike the blow without the knowledge of M. De Guise. For, ina deed so detestable, an upright man is to be distrusted, andshould never be informed of the act. She was thus compelled tolook out for her own safety, and to employ for it those who werealready under arms (the Prince de Condé and the leaders of theProtestant party), imploring them to have pity for a mother andher children. 

Such as it was, this was the sole cause of the Civil War. 

For this reason she would never go, with the others, to Orléans, nor allow them to have the King and her children, as she couldhave done; and she felt glad, and with reason, that amongst theuproar and rumour of strife, she and the King, her son, and herother children were in safety. 

Moreover she begged and obtained the promise from others, thatwhen she should summon them to lay down their arms that theywould do so, but this they would not do when the time came, notwithstanding the appeals she made to them, and the troubleshe took, and the great heat she endured at Talsy, trying toinduce them to listen to terms of peace which she could havemade favourable and lasting for France had they only listenedto her. And this conflagration, and others which we have seenlighted from this first brand, would have been stamped out foreverin France had they but believed in her. I know the zeal she showed, and I know what I myself have heard her say, with tears in hereyes. 

This is why they cannot tax her with the first spark of the CivilWar, nor yet with the second, which was that day's work at Meaux, for at that time she was thinking only of the hunt, and of givingpleasure to the King at her beautiful house at Monceaux. 

The warning came that M. Le Prince and those of the Religionwere under arms and in the field to surprise and seize the Kingunder pretext of presenting a request. 

God knows who was the cause of this new disturbance, and hadit not been for the six thousand Swiss troops, newly raised, noone knows what might not have happened. 

This levy of Swiss troops was the pretext for them to take uparms, and of saying and spreading broadcast that it was doneto force them into war. 

But it was they themselves who requested this levy of troopsfrom the King and Queen, as I know from being then at Court, onaccount of the march of the Duke of Alva and his army, fearingthat, under pretext of marching on Flanders, he might descend uponthe frontiers of France, and besides urging that it was alwaysthe custom to strengthen the frontiers whenever a neighbouringstate was arming. 

No one can be uniformed of how urgently they pressed this uponthe King and Queen, both by letters and by embassies. Even M. LePrince himself and M. L'Admiral (Coligny) came to see the Kingon this subject, at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, where I saw them. 

I should also like to ask (for all that I write here I saw myself), who it was who took up arms on Shrove Tuesday, and who bribed andbegged Monsieur, the King's brother, and the King of Navarre tolisten to the schemes for which Mole and Coconas were executedin Paris?

It was not the Queen, for it was by her wisdom that she preventedthem from uprising, holding Monsieur and the King of Navarreso imprisoned in the forest of Vincennes that they could notbreak out, and on the death of King Charles she held them astightly in Paris and the Louvre, even barring their windows onemorning--at least those of the King of Navarre, who was lodgedon the lower floor (this I know from the King of Navarre, whotold it me with tears in his eyes), and kept such strict watchover them that they could not escape as they intended. 

Their escape would have greatly embroiled the state and preventedthe return of Poland to the King, a thing for which they werestriving. 

I know this from having been invited to the fracas, which wasone of the finest strokes of policy ever made by the Queen. 

Starting from Paris, she carried them to the King at Lyons sowatchfully and skilfully that no one who saw them would thinkthat they were prisoners. 

They journeyed in the same coach with her, and she herself presentedthem to the King, who pardoned them soon after their arrival. 

Again, who was it that enticed Monsieur, the King's brother, to leave Paris one fine night, casting off the affection of hisbrother who loved him so much, and to take up arms and embroilall France?

M. De La Noue knows all this, and the plots which began at thesiege of La Rochelle, and what I told him about them. 

It was not the Queen Mother, for on this open and abrupt departureby her son, she felt such grief to see one brother banded againstanother brother, his King, that she swore she would die of griefif she could not reunite them as they were before, which sheaccomplished. I have heard her say at Blois, in conversationwith Monsieur, that she prayed for nothing so much as that Godwould grant the favour of this re-union, after which He mightsend her death and she would accept it with the best of heart. Orelse she would retire to her houses of Monceaux and Chenonceauxand never again meddle with the affairs of France, willing toend her days in tranquillity. 

In fact she really wished to do this, but the King begged herto refrain, for both he and his kingdom had great need of her. 

I am assured that had she not gained peace by this re-union, all would have been up with France, for there were then fiftythousand foreigners scattered over France who would have gladlyhelped to humble and destroy her. 

It was not, therefore, the Queen who brought about this takingup of arms, nor was it the State Assembly at Blois, who wantedbut one religion and proposed to abolish all contrary to theirown, and who demanded that, if the spiritual sword did not sufficeto abolish it, recourse should be had to the temporal. 

Some have stated that the Queen bribed them; this was wrong, for in each province there were authorities who would not haveyielded to her wishes. I do not say that she did not win themover later; that was a fine stroke of policy, showing herresourcefulness. But it was not she who summoned the Assembly. Onthe contrary, she laid all the blame on it, because it lessenedboth the King's authority and her own. It was the Church partywhich had long demanded the Assembly, and voluntarily called ittogether, and required by the articles of the last peace that itshould be convened and held; to which the Queen strongly objected, foreseeing this abuse of power. Nevertheless, to quiet theirincessant clamour, they were allowed to convoke it, to theirown confusion and injury, not to their profit and contentmentas they had thought; and for this reason they resorted to arms. Again it was not the Queen who did so. 

Neither was it she who caused certain of them to be seized whenthey captured Mont-de-Marsan, La Fere in Picardy, and Cahors. Irecall what the King said to M. De Moissans, who came to him onbehalf of the King of Navarre. He repulsed him roughly, tellinghim that while these men were cajoling him with fine speeches, they were taking up arms and seizing cities. 

This, then, is the way in which the Queen was the fomenter ofall our wars and civil fires, the which she not only did notlight but employed all her energies and efforts to extinguish, abhorring to see the death of so many nobles and landed gentlemen. And without that and her commiseration, those who bore againsther a mortal enmity would have found themselves in dire straits, themselves laid beneath the sod, and their party not flourishingas it now is. All this must be imputed to her goodness of heart, of which we now stand in sore need--so everybody agrees and thepoor people cry: "We no longer have the Queen Mother to makepeace for us!" It was not through lack of her efforts that shedid not succeed when she went to Guienne recently to treat forpeace, at Coignac and Jarnac, with the King of Navarre and thePrince de Condé. I know that which I have witnessed--the tearsin her eyes and the regret in her heart to which these princeswould not yield; and the result we possibly see in the evilswhich afflict us to-day. 

They have wished to accuse her of having been implicated in theWar of the League. Why, then, should she have undertaken to concludethe peace I have just mentioned, if she had been? Why should shehave appeased the riots of the barricades of Paris; and whyreconciled the King with the Duc de Guise, as we have seen, ifit were only to destroy the latter?

In short, no matter how much they slander her, never shall wehave in France another so active in peace. 

But the chief accusation against her is the massacre of Paris[of Saint Bartholomew]. All that is a sealed book to me, forI was just then setting out by boat from Brouage; but I haveheard it said on good authority that she was not the prime moverin it. Three or four others, whom I might name, were much moreactive in it than she, pushing her forward and making her believe, from threats made upon the wounding of Admiral Coligny, that theKing was to be killed, with herself and all her children, orelse that the country was to be still worse involved in arms. Certainly the Church party were very wrong to utter such threatsas they are said to have made, for they hastened the downwardsteps of the poor Admiral and procured his death. If they had kepttheir own counsel and uttered no word, and allowed the Admiral'swounds to heal, he could have left Paris in safety and quiet, and nothing else would have happened. M. De La Noue has beenstrongly of this opinion. Indeed, he and M. De Strozze and Ihave talked it over more than once, and he has never approvedthe bravados, the bold threats and the like which were openlymade in the King's Court and his city of Paris. And he blamedno less strongly his brother-in-law, M. De Theligny, who wasone of the hottest heads of them all, calling him a downrightfool and blockhead. The Admiral never was guilty of this loudtalk, at least not in public. I do not say that in secret orwith his closest friends he did not say things. And this wasthe true cause of his death and of the massacre of his friends, and not the Queen, as was charged, although there are many whonever have been able to get the idea out of their heads that thiswas a train long laid and a fuse well concealed. It is false. The least passionate agree with me, and the more violent andobstinate think otherwise; and thus very often we credit to kingsand great princes the ordering of the natural course of events, and say afterwards how prudent and provident they were and howwell they could dissimulate; when all the while they knew nothingmore about it than a plum. 

To return again to the Queen, her enemies have given it out thatshe was not a good Frenchwoman. God knows with what zeal she urgedthat the English be driven from Havre de Grâce, and what she saidabout it to M. Le Prince, and how she made him go, with manycavaliers of his party, with the crown-companies of M. Andelot, and other Huguenots, and how she herself led this army, usuallyon horseback, like a second beautiful Queen Marfisa, exposingherself to the arquebusades and the cannonades like one of hercaptains, always watching the batteries, and saying that shewould never be at ease until she had taken this city, and driventhe English out of France, and hating worse than poison those whohad sold it to them. And she accomplished so much that finallyshe restored it to France. 

When Rouen was besieged I saw her in the greatest of fury, whenshe saw enter English reinforcements, by means of a French galleycaptured the year before, fearing that this place, failing tobe captured by us, might fall into the control of the English. For this reason she "pushed hard at the wheel, " as the sayingis, to capture it, and never failed to come each day to the fortSainte-Catherine to hold council and to watch the bombardment. 

I have often seen her passing along the covered way toSainte-Catherine, while the arquebusades and cannonades rainedshot around her, and her paying no attention to them. Those whowere there saw it as well as I. There are living to-day ladieswho accompanied her, to whom the firing was not pleasant (I knowthis for I saw them there), and when M. Le Connétable and M. LeGuise remonstrated with her, telling her some accident mighthappen to her, she merely laughed and said that she saw no reasonwhy she should spare herself more than they, since her couragewas as good as theirs, although her sex had denied her the samestrength. As for hardship, she endured that very well, eitheron foot or horseback. I think that for a long time there neverwas a better queen or princess on horseback, nor one who sather mount with better grace; not seeming for all that like amasculine woman, formed like some fantastic Amazon, but a nobleprincess, beautiful, gracious and sweet. 

It was said of her that she was strongly Spanish. Certainly whileher good daughter was alive [Elizabeth, wife of Philip II ofSpain] she loved the Spanish. But after her daughter died weknew--at least some of us--whether she had cause to love eitherthe land or the people. It is true that she was always so prudentthat she desired to receive the Spanish King always as a goodson-in-law, to the end that he should treat her daughter thebetter, as is the way with good mothers; and also that he mightnever come to trouble us in France, nor make war here accordingto his warlike tastes and natural ambition. 

Others have charged that she never liked the nobles of Franceand was always glad to shed their blood. I refute that by themany times she made peace and spared bloodshed; and in additionto this one should take notice of the fact that while she wasRegent and her children in their minority, there were not seenat Court so many quarrels and duels as we have seen since, forshe would not countenance them, giving express orders againstsuch things and punishing those who disobeyed her. At other times, I have often seen her at Court when the King had gone away forsome time leaving her absolutely alone, at a time when quarrelswere rife and duels common--which she never would permit--I haveseen her suddenly give orders to the captain of the guards tomake arrests, and to the marshals and officers to regulate allsuch quarrels; so that, to speak the truth, she was more fearedthan the King, for she well knew how to deal with the disobedientand unruly and could reprimand them severely. 

I remember once, when the King had gone to the baths at Bourbon, that my late cousin La Chastaignerie had a quarrel with Pardailhan. She sent to seek him, warning him on his life not to fight aduel; but being unable to find him for two whole days she hadhim shadowed so well that, on a Sunday morning, the Grand Provostfound him on the island of Louviers, where he was awaiting hisenemy, arrested him there, and took him as a prisoner to theBastille, by the Queen's orders. But he remained there onlyovernight, and then she sent for him and gave him a reprimandpartly sharp, partly gentle, for she was naturally of good heart, and harsh only when she wished to be. I know very well what shesaid to me also, inasmuch as I was to be my cousin's second:that as I was older I ought to know better. 

The year that the King returned from Poland, a quarrel beganbetween De Grillon and D'Entaigues, both brave and valiant gentlemen, who being called out and ready to fight, the King gave ordersfor their arrest of M. De Rambouillet, one of his Captains ofthe Guards on duty; and also ordered M. De Nevers and Marshalde Retz to reconcile the two men, which they failed to do. TheQueen thereupon summoned them both, that evening, to her room;and as their quarrel was in regard to two great ladies of herhousehold, she commanded them sternly and then besought themgently to leave to her the settlement of their differences; forsince she had done them the honour to meddle in it, and the princes, marshals, and captains had failed to bring them together, shewished to have the credit and honour for so doing. By this meansshe made them friends, and they embraced unreservedly, taking allfrom her; so that by her prudence the subject of the quarrel, which touched upon the honour of the two ladies and was ratherdelicate, was never known publicly. This shows the great goodnessof the Princess! And then to charge that she never liked thenobility! Ha! If the truth were known she liked and esteemed ittoo much. I believe that there was not a house in her kingdomwith whom she was not personally acquainted. It is said that shelearned all about them from the great King Francis, who knewall the genealogies of the great families of his kingdom; whileas for her husband, the King, he had this faculty that after hehad once seen a gentleman he recognised him ever after, knowingnot only his face but also his deeds and his reputation. I haveseen this Queen, frequently and as a usual thing, when her son theKing was a minor, take the trouble to present to him personally thegentlemen of his realm, reminding him that "This one has renderedgood service to the King, your grandfather, " and such and suchthings "to the King, your father, " and so on; and commandinghim to be mindful of them, to cherish them, look after theirinterests, and remember them by name. And that he heeded heradvice was seen later, for, through this instruction, the Kingwas thoroughly informed of the gentlemen of rank and honourablerace who resided in his kingdom. 

These detractors have also said that she never loved her people. This does not appear. Did she ever levy as many taxes, subsidies, imposts and other duties, while she directed the Government duringthe minority of her children, as has been levied since in a singleyear? Have they ever discoverd any hoards of money here or inthe banks of Italy, as has been believed? On the contrary, afterher death they never found a solitary coin; and I have heardsome of her creditors and ladies say that after her death shewas found to be in debt to the sum of eight thousand crowns, thewages of her ladies, gentlemen, and officers of her householdfor an entire year, and the income of a year spent in advance;so that, some months before her death, her bankers remonstratedwith her over this deficit. But she laughed and said that onemust praise God for everything and enjoy it while one was alive. 

This, then, was her avarice, and the great wealth which she issaid to have amassed. She never saved anything, for she had aheart wholly noble, liberal and magnificent, in every way the equalof that of her great-uncle, the Pope Leo, and of the celebratedLorenzo de Medici. She spent and gave everything away; erectingbuildings or applying it to memorable spectacles; and takingdelight in giving entertainments to her people or Court, such asfestivals, balls, dances, combats, and tourneys, three speciallysuperb events being given during her lifetime. The first wasat Fontainebleau, a carnival after the first troubles, wherethere were tourneys, and breaking of lances, and combats at thebarrier; in brief, all sorts of joustings, followed by a comedyon the subject of the beautiful Genevra of Ariosto which wasplayed by Madame d'Angoulême and her most beautiful and virtuousprincesses and ladies and demoiselles of her Court, who certainlyplayed it very well, so that nothing more beautiful was everseen. The next was at Bayonne, at the interview between the Queenand her daughter, the Queen of Spain, where the magnificence wassuch in all things that the Spaniards, who are very disdainfulof other countries besides their own, swore that they had neverseen anything more splendid, and that their King could hardlyrival it; and so they returned home greatly edified. 

I know that many in France blamed this expense as quite unnecessary. But the Queen said she had done it to show other nations thatFrance was not so totally ruined and poverty-stricken by reasonof her recent wars as was supposed; and that, since she was ableto spend so much for frivolity, she would be able to do far morefor affairs of consequence and importance; and that France wasall the more to be esteemed and feared, whether through the sightof so much wealth and richness, or the spectacle of so great anarray of gentlemen, so brave and adroit at arms--for certainlythere was a goodly number and worthy to be admired. And so itwas for good and sufficient reason that our most Christian Queenmade this splendid festival; for be assured that if she had notdone so, the visitors would have derided us and returned homewith a poor opinion of France. 

A third exceedingly fine entertainment was given by her on thearrival of the Polish envoys in Paris, whom she dined superbly atthe Tuileries; and afterwards in a grand ball-room made especiallyfor the spectacle and entirely enclosed by a countless numberof torches, she presented the most beautiful ballet ever seenon earth (if I may say so), which comprised sixteen ladies anddemoiselles who were best suited to it. They appeared in a greatgrotto of silver, being seated in niches and clad as though invapour about its sides. These sixteen ladies represented the sixteenprovinces of France, with the most melodious music possible; andafter having made, in this grotto, the round of the hall likea review of troops, giving an opportunity for all to see them, they descended from the grotto and formed themselves into a littlecompany fantastically arranged, while an orchestra of thirty violinsdiscoursed sweet music, and marched to the melody of these violinsby a beautiful dance step, approaching and halting before theirmajesties. After this they danced their ballet, so fantasticallyinvented, with so many turns and convolutions, twinings andtwistings, in which no lady failed to find her own place again, that all the spectators were amazed at the accuracy and grace ofthe evolutions. This unique ballet lasted for at least an hour, after which the ladies representing, as I have said, the sixteenprovinces advanced to the King, the Queen, the King of Poland, Monsieur his brother, the King and Queen of Navarre, and othernotables of France and Poland, tendering to each a golden salveras large as the palm of the hand, finely enamelled and engraved, showing the fruits and products peculiar to each province, asfor example: In Provence, citrons and oranges; in Champagne, cereals; in Burgundy, wines; in Guienne, soldiers--certainly agreat honour to Guienne!--and so on through the various otherprovinces. 

At Bayonne similar gifts were bestowed, and a combat was foughtwhich I would willingly describe, but it would take too muchspace. But at Bayonne the men presented gifts to the ladies, while here it was the ladies giving to the men. And note thatall these inventions were derived from no other bounty and brainthan that of the Queen. She was mistress and deviser of everything. She had such a knack that, no matter what spectacles were offeredat Court, hers surpassed all the others. So they had a sayingthat only the Queen Mother knew how to do fine things. And ifsuch shows were expensive, they also gave great pleasure, andpeople used to say that she wished to imitate the Roman emperors, who studied how to exhibit games to the people and give thempleasure, and so amuse them that they had no time to get intomischief. 

In addition to the fact that she delighted to give pleasure toher people, she gave them much money to earn; for she greatlypreferred all kinds of skilled workmen and paid them well. Eachwas kept busy at his own work, so that they never lacked employment, especially masons and architects, as will be seen in her beautifulmansions--the Tuileries (still unfinished), Saint Maur, Monceaux, and Chenonceaux. Also she favoured men of genius and gladly read, or had read to her, the works which they presented to her orwhich she knew they had written, even the high-flown invectiveswhich they launched against her, at which she scoffed and laughed, but took no other notice of, calling the writers prattlers andpenny-liners. 

She wished to know everything. On the journey to Lorraine, duringthe second uprising, the Huguenots took with them a very fineculverin which they nicknamed the "queen mother. " They were obligedto bury it at Villenozze as they were unable to drag it furtherbecause of its excessive weight and poor harness; and they werenever able to find it again. The Queen Mother was curious toknow why they had named the gun for her, when she heard aboutit. Finally some one, after being strongly pressed by her forthe reason, replied: "Because, Madame, she has a greater calibreand is larger than any of the others. " The Queen was the firstto laugh at this reply. 

The Queen spared no pains to read anything which struck her fancy. On one occasion I saw her embarking at Blaye on her way to dineat Bourg, and occupying the whole journey by reading from aparchment, like some reporter or lawyer, a deposition made byDerdois, favourite secretary of the late M. Le Connétable, concerningcertain actions and information of which he had been accusedand for which imprisoned at Bayonne. She never lifted her eyesuntil she had finished reading the whole thing, and there weremore than ten pages of it. When she was not prevented she herselfread all letters of importance addressed to her, and often wrotethe reply with her own hand, whether to the most exalted orinsignificant person. I saw her once, after dinner, indite twentysuch letters of considerable length. 

She wrote and spoke French very well, although an Italian. Sheeven addressed those of her own nation often in French, so muchdid she honour it, making special effort to exhibit its finediction to strangers and ambassadors who came to pay her theirrespects after seeing the King. She would reply to them verypertinently, with grace and dignity, just as I have heard herspeak to the courts of parliament both publicly and privately;often keeping them well in hand when they were extravagant orover-cautious, and did not wish to yield to the royal edictsor to the wishes of the King or herself. You may be sure thatshe spoke as a Queen and made herself feared as such. I saw heronce at Bordeaux when she took her daughter, the Queen of Navarre, to her husband. She had commanded the Court to come with herand spoke urgently on the subject to these gentlemen, who didnot wish to abolish a certain fraternity which they had foundedand adhered to, and which she wished to dissolve, foreseeingthat it might lead to some end prejudicial to the state. Theycame to visit her in the Bishop's garden, where she was walkingone Sunday morning. One of them, the spokesman, showed to herthe usefulness of this fraternity and its good offices for thepeople. She, without preparation, responded so well, with suchapt words and cogent reasons to show why it was badly foundedand odious, that there was none present who could help but admirethe spirit of the Queen or remain astonished and confused at herlogic. She concluded with these words: "No, I wish it, and theKing my son wishes that this order shall be abolished and thatthe subject may never again be discussed, for secret reasonswhich I shall not give you, in addition to those which I havegiven; otherwise I shall make you sensible of what it means todisobey the King and me. " After that they all went their way, and nothing more was heard of the matter. 

She assumed this manner very often and kept in line the princesand haughty lords when they had committed some large indiscretionand made her angry. Then she put on her grandest air, and noother living person could be so proud and disdainful as she, when it was necessary, sparing the truth to no one. I have seenthe late M. De Savoie, who was a friend of the Emperor, the Kingof Spain, and many notables, fear and respect her more than ifshe had been his mother; and M. De Lorraine the same--in short, all the great people of Christendom. I could cite many instances, which at another time and in their own place I may do, but atpresent what I have said will suffice. 

Among all her other fine qualities, she was a good Christian andvery devout, always observing her fast days and never failing toattend daily service, either mass or vespers, which she made veryagreeable to worshippers by the good singers in her chapel, beingcareful to select the finest artists. She had a natural tastefor music and often entertained the Court in her own apartment, which was never closed to right-minded ladies and gentlemen. She saw each and every one, not denying admittance as was thecustom in Spain and also in her own country, Italy; nor yet asour other Queens, Elizabeth of Austria and Louise of Lorraine, have done; but saying, like King Francis, her father-in-law, whomshe greatly honoured as he had raised her to her high position, that she wished to maintain the true French spirit as the Kingher husband had also desired. So her rooms were always accessibleto the Court. 

Generally, she had very beautiful and virtuous maids of honour, who could be seen every day in her antechamber chatting withus and entertaining us so sensibly and modestly that none ofus would have dared do otherwise; for the gentlemen who fellshort of this were denied admittance, or warned of even worsepunishment, until she pardoned them and extended her favour again, which out of her good heart she was ready to do. 

In a word, her company and her Court were a real Paradise inthis world, and a school of honesty and virtue, the ornamentof France, as was well known and spoken of by its visitors; forthey were all well received, and in their honour her ladies werecommanded to adorn themselves like goddesses and devote themselvesto these guests instead of elsewhere; otherwise she would scoldand reprimand them severely. 

Indeed, such was her Court, that when she died all said thatwe would never have such another, and that never again wouldFrance have a real Queen Mother. What a Court it was! Its equal, I believe, was never held by an Emperor of Rome, in respect toits ladies, nor by any of our Kings of France. It is true thatthe great Emperor Charlemagne took great delight in maintaininga splendid and overflowing Court, with many peers, dukes, counts, paladins, barons, and chevaliers of France, with their wives anddaughters, and many from other countries to keep their companyat Court--as we read in many of the old romances of the time--andthat there were many jousts, tourneys and magnificent pageants. But what of that? These gorgeous assemblages did not come togethermore than three or four times a year, and at their close theydeparted and retired to their own estates, to remain until thenext time. Moreover, others say that Charlemagne in his old agewas much given to women, although they were always of good family, and that Louis the Debonair on ascending the throne was obligedto banish some of his sisters from Court, by reason of scandalouslove affairs which they had with men; and also that he dismissed alarge number of ladies who were of the joyous band. These courts, moreover, of Charlemagne were never long maintained in comparisonto his long reign, for he was chiefly devoted to his wars, as weread in the old romances; and in his old age the Court was toodissolute, as I have said. But the Court of our King, Henry II, and the Queen his wife, was an established thing both in war andpeace, and whether held in one place or another for months at atime, either in the pleasure houses or castles of our kings whowere never lacking in them, having more than any other sovereigns. This elegant and distinguished company always kept together, atleast for the greater part of the time, going and coming withthe Queen; so that as a usual thing her Court contained at leastthree hundred ladies and maids of honour. 

The chiefs of households and royal stewards affirmed that theyalways occupied at least one-half of all the apartments, as Imyself have seen during the thirty-three years that I lived atCourt, except during time of war, or while in foreign countries. But upon my return I was habitually there, for life there wasmost agreeable to me, and I never saw anything so attractiveelsewhere. And I think that the world, since then, has neverseen its equal; and as the list of those fair dames who assistedour Queen to ornament the Court should not be slighted, I shallmention some of them here as they occur to me, whom I saw afterthe Queen's marriage and during her widowhood. Before that timeI was too young. 

First of all, there were Mesdames, the daughters of France [theRoyal Princesses]. I head the list with them because they neverlost their high rank, and belong before all the others, so grandand noble was their house, viz. : Madame Elizabeth of France, afterwards Queen of Spain. 

Madame Claude, since Duchess of Lorraine. 

Madame Marguerite, afterwards Queen of Navarre. 

Madame, the King's sister, afterwards Duchess of Savoie. 

Mary Queen of Scots, afterwards Dauphiness and Queen of France. 

The Queen of Navarre, Jeanne d'Albret. 

Madame Catharine, her daughter, now Madame, the King's sister. 

Madame Diane, natural daughter of King Henry II, afterwardslegitimatised and made Duchess d'Angoulême. 

Madame D'Enghien, heiress of Estouteville. 

Madame the Princess of Condé. 

Madame de Nevers. 

Madame de Guise. 

Madame Diane de Poitiers [the King's favourite]. 

Mesdames, the Duchesses d'Aumale and de Bouillon, and theirdaughters. 

Madame de Montpensier. [1]

[Footnote 1: The author here continues with a long catalogueof names including some one hundred and fifty other ladies ofthe Court, belonging to various noble houses of France. ]

But why name any others? No, for my memory could not supply themall. Indeed, there are so many other ladies and maidens thatI beg of them to excuse me if I pass them by with a stroke ofthe pen. Not that I do not hold and esteem them highly, but Ishould dream over them and devote myself to them too much. I willsay, to conclude this, that in all this company I can name nonewho might be found fault with, for beauty abounded everywhere, and all was majesty, gentleness and grace. Lucky was the manwho might be touched with the love of such fair ones, and verylucky he who could escape it. I swear to you that I have namednone who were not very beautiful, agreeable and accomplished, and so endowed as to fire the whole world with passion. Indeed, some of them in their zenith did set fire to a good part of it, including those of us gentlemen of the Court who approached tooclose to the flames. Also to many were they sweet, amiable, favourable, and courteous. I allude now to certain ones of whomI wish to relate good stories in this book before I have endedit, and of others who are not included. But all will be toldso quietly and without scandal that none can take offence, forthe curtain of silence will cover their names; so that if anyof them should happen to read stories of themselves they willnot be displeased. For although the pleasures of love cannotlast forever, on account of too many hindrances, accidents andchanges, the memories of past joys delight us none the less. 

Now, in order to give proper consideration to them, it wouldbe necessary to see for oneself all this lovely array of damesand demoiselles, creatures more divine than human; it would benecessary to represent them in their entrances into Paris andother cities, or at the holy and splendid nuptials of the royalfamily--such as those of the Dauphin, King Charles, King HenryIII, the King of Spain, Madame de Lorraine, the Queen of Navarre, as well as other grand weddings of princes and princesses, suchas that of M. De Joyeuse, which would have surpassed them allif the Queen of Navarre had been present. Nor must we forgetthe interview at Bayonne, the Polish embassy, and an infinitenumber of similar spectacles which I should never be able tofinish counting, where could be seen an array of these ladies, eachseemingly more beautiful than the rest, and some more handsomelyapparelled than others, since at such festivities, in additionto their own wealth, the King or the Queen gave them splendidliveries of different kinds. 

In a word, no one ever saw anything finer, more dazzling, attractive, superb. The glory of Niquée [in the enchanted palace of "Amadis"]never approached it; for one could see all this glowing in theballrooms at the Palace or the Louvre, like the stars of heavenin the clear sky. The Queen desired and commanded that they shouldalways appear in lovely and expensive apparel, although she herself, during her widowhood, never dressed in worldly silks, unless ofsubdued tints, but always in good taste and well-fitting, sothat she looked the Queen above all others. It is true that onthe wedding days of her sons Charles and Henry she wore robesof black velvet, wishing, she said, to solemnise these occasionsin this way beyond all others. But while her husband the Kingwas alive, she dressed very richly and superbly, and looked thegreat lady that she was. It was a privilege to see and admireher, in the general processions which were held both at Parisand elsewhere, such as that of the Fête Dieu, and that of PalmSunday, carrying palms and torches with such grace, and that ofCandlemas Day, when all carried lighted candles whose flame viedwith their own splendour. In these three processions, which arethe most noteworthy, assuredly one could see nothing but beauty, grace, noble bearing, stately I marching and fine array--at sightof which all the bystanders were spellbound. 

It was also a fine sight in the earlier days to see the Queengoing about in her litter, or on horseback, when she was attendedby forty or fifty ladies all well mounted on handsome steeds finelycaparisoned and sitting their mounts with such ease that the mencould not exceed them, either in horsemanship or accoutrement. Their hats were richly decorated with plumes which floated backin the air seeming to offer a challenge of love or war. Virgil, who attempted to write of the beautiful apparel of Queen Didowhen she went hunting, does not rival in description the luxuryof our Queen and her ladies, whom I do not wish to displease, asI have already said. 

This Queen, established by the hand of the great King Francis, who introduced this beautiful pageantry, did not wish to forgetor neglect anything that she ever learned, but always wished toimitate it, to see if she could surpass it. I have heard hertalk on this subject three or four times. Those who have seenall the things that I have will feel the same delight of thesoul that I do, for what I say is true and I have seen it myself. 

This, then, was the Court of our Queen. How unfortunate was theday she died! I have heard it related that our present King [HenryIV], some eighteen months after he saw his prospects brighteningto become King, one day began to talk over with the late Marshalde Biron the designs and projects which he would set on foot tomake his Court well established, elegant, and closely similarto that which our Queen maintained; for it was then in the heydayof its lustre and splendour. The Marshal replied: "It is not inyour power, nor in that of any King who is to succeed, unlessyou make a compact with God that He resuscitate the Queen Motherand bring her back to your aid. " But that was not what the Kingdesired, for there was no one, at the time she died, whom hehated so much, and without reason that I could see. But he oughtto know better than I. 

How unlucky indeed was the day when such a Queen died, and atthe time when we had the greatest need of her, as we still have!

She died at Blois from melancholy over the massacre which occurredthere, and the sad tragedy which was enacted, seeing thatunthinkingly she had caused the princes to come there, thinkingto do the right thing; whereas, on the contrary, as the Cardinalde Bourbon said to her: "Alas, Madame! you have led us all tothe slaughter, without intending it. " That so touched her heart, and also the death of these poor gentlemen, that she took toher bed, having been previously ill, and never again rose fromit. 

They say that when the King told her of M. De Guise's death, saying that now he was King indeed, without rival or master, she asked him if he had put the affairs of his kingdom in orderbefore striking the blow. He replied that he had. "God grantit, my son!" said she. Very prudent that she was, she foresawclearly what might happen to him and to all the kingdom. 

Various reports have gone about concerning her death, some evensaying that it was from poison. Possibly so, possibly not; butshe is believed to have died of despair of soul, as she had reasonfor. She was placed upon her bed of state, as I have heard said, by one of her ladies, in pomp neither more nor less than QueenAnne, of whom I have spoken elsewhere, and clad in the same royalvesture, which has not served since her death for any others;and was then carried into the church of the castle, in the samepomp and solemnity as at the funeral of Queen Anne, where shestill lies and reposes. The King had wished to carry her bodyto Chartres, and thence to Saint Denis, to place it by the sideof the King her husband, in the same imposing vault which hehad caused to be built, but the ensuing war prevented him. 

This is what I can say at this time of our great Queen, who hasassuredly given us so worthy a subject to speak in praise of her, that this brief essay is not long enough to sing her praises. I know it well, and also that the quality of my mind does notsuffice, since better speakers than I would still be inadequate. However, such as it is, I lay this discourse in all humilityand devotion at her feet. And also I wish to avoid too greatprolixity, for which indeed I feel myself liable. But I earnestlyhope that in my discourse I shall not defraud her of much, althoughI am silent on many things, speaking only of essential mattersand those which her beautiful and unequalled virtues demand ofme; giving me ample material since I have seen all that I writeconcerning her; while as for that which took place before myday, I received it from very illustrious persons. 

 This queen the mother of so many kings, And queens as well, within our realm of France, Died when we needed her in many things, For none save she could give us such assistance.