THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 RIVERSIDE
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 RIVERSIDE
 
 THE LIFE 
 
 OF 
 
 MABGUERITE D'ANGOULEME, 
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES. 
 
 VOL. II.
 
 Seben Pfutrttrt anfc JFtftg Copteg reprinted for tije Burrofag 
 iSrotfjers Compang fig 3o^n flEtlgon anli Son, at ttje 
 , Camfitfoge, 
 
 No..
 
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 THE LIFE 
 
 OF 
 
 MARGUERITE D'ANGOULEME, 
 
 (wen of Wairam, Hucfjesse B'llenom anti Be Berrg, 
 
 SISTER OF FRANCIS I., KING OF FRANCE, AND AUTHOR OF 
 "THE HEPTAMERON." 
 
 FROM NUMEROUS UNPUBLISHED SOURCES, INCLUDING MS. DOCUMENTS IN THE 
 
 BIBLIOTHEQUE IMPERIALS, AND THE ARCHIVES DU HOYAUME DE 
 
 FRANCE, AND ALSO THE PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE OF 
 
 QUEEN MARGUERITE WITH FRANCIS I., ETC. 
 
 BY 
 
 MARTHA WALKER FREER. 
 
 "La Royne Marguerite, 
 La plua belle flour d 'elite, 
 Qu'onques la terra enfanta." 
 
 RONSABD. 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES. 
 
 VOL. II. 
 
 CLEVELAND: tyt HBurrotos Brothers 
 Company, PUBLISHERS M DCCC xcv.
 
 JXL/VJ-
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 MARGUERITE, QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE Queen of Navarre, after the celebration of her marriage, 
 remained at St. Germain-en- Lay e, while the king, accom- 
 panied by Madame, quitted Paris, and after visiting Blois, 
 and other towns of his dominions, took up his abode at 
 Fontainebleau. 
 
 For the first time in her life Marguerite beheld the departure 
 of Francis and his court without sorrow ; no expressions of 
 impatient anxiety to be with the king and her mother escape in 
 her correspondence. The sincerest attachment subsisted between 
 Marguerite and the King of Navarre, heightened perhaps by the 
 opposition that Francis had made to their union. A similarity of 
 tastes united them ; they both loved art, literature, and science ; 
 Henry also sympathized in her opinions on reform in the Church, 
 though those principles did not as yet exercise the same sway over 
 his mind. The dignified address of the King of Navarre, and his 
 energy of character, contributed to insure him the respect of his 
 consort. When the Emperor Charles V. visited the French court 
 some years subsequently he declared that, the accomplished 
 Francis I. excepted, the King of Navarre was the only man he 
 had seen in France who perfectly united the characters of the 
 valiant soldier and the refined gentleman. 1 The queen was, 
 therefore, gratified at her husband's pre-eminence, and at seeing 
 his abilities appreciated, and even compared with those of the 
 
 1 Cayet, Chronologic Novenaire. 
 
 VOL. II. 1
 
 2 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 king himself. The interest with which Marguerite mentions, in 
 all her letters, the name of the King of Navarre, taken in con- 
 trast with the utter silence she observed during the period of her 
 union with the Duke d'Alencon as to the latter's proceedings, 
 affords a strong proof of her domestic happiness. 
 
 In Marguerite, however, the relatives of her first husband 
 found a constant patroness. Her influence was ever exerted in 
 their behalf; though after the decease of the Duke d'Alencon his 
 heirs scrupled not to give her serious annoyance. The personal 
 estate of the Duke d'Alencon was claimed by his widow ; and a 
 considerable sum likewise at the time of Marguerite's second 
 marriage was owing to her by the Duchess de Vendome and the 
 Marchioness of Montferrat, on account of the restitution of her 
 dowry, which, as she bore the duke no children, she had a right 
 to demand back. The settlement of these claims, Marguerite, 
 with the consent of the King of Navarre, delayed until some 
 indefinite period ; and a considerable portion of the money owing, 
 she eventually altogether relinquished. Upon matters of import, 
 great or small, her relations unhesitatingly availed themselves of 
 Marguerite's credit ; and in numberless instances repaid her 
 protection by flagrant ingratitude. 
 
 Marguerite was residing in retirement at St. Germain with her 
 husband, when she received intelligence that the Duchess d'An- 
 gouleme had again fallen seriously ill. Madame, anxious for her 
 daughter's society, despatched Du Bellay, Bishop of Bayonne, to 
 conduct her back to court. The duchess was then sojourning at 
 Blois, or Fontainebleau, though probably at the former place. 
 When the bishop arrived at St. Germain Marguerite found 
 herself too indisposed to comply with her mother's desire. The 
 queen's illness arose from the probability which existed that she 
 would soon give an heir to the crown of Navarre ; and her trusty 
 physician, Jean Goinret, steadily opposed her desire to set out to 
 rejoin Madame, more especially as Marguerite had been confined 
 to her room for some days previous to the arrival of the bishop. 
 Marguerite, however, whose active spirit seldom yielded to illness 
 or fatigue, would not suffer the Bishop of Bayonne to depart, 
 hoping from day to day to be able to accompany him to Blois. 
 Her situation, meanwhile, was communicated as a matter of course 
 by Goinret to the king. Marguerite also wrote to request her 
 brother not to reveal her hope to Madame, that she might have
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 3 
 
 the pleasure of communicating it herself. 1 Madame, however, 
 soon began to grow impatient at her daughter's delay ; and she 
 commanded Montmorency to write to inquire the reason why she 
 heard nothing of her. This letter determined the queen to set 
 out, although Montmorency's letter, and one she subsequently 
 received from the king, assured her that the duchess was con- 
 valescent. "Mon nepveu," wrote the queen, in answer to 
 Montmorency, " never was woman in greater distress than I, on 
 learning that the illness of Madame has been more severe than I 
 was told. I praise God that you can send me news of her amend- 
 ment ; and I thank you for the trouble you take to afford me the , 
 consolation I prize most, which is often to send me tidings." The 
 illness of Madame was another severe attack of liver complaint, 
 attended with excruciating suffering. These periodical illnesses 
 profitably served to remind the proud and prosperous Louisa of 
 Savoy that her greatness could not exempt her from suffering 
 in its severest form, and that her power was delegated from One 
 under whose universal sceptre princes bowed. During the past 
 twelve years of her life Louisa had never experienced the 
 blessing of six months of uninterrupted health. Her sufferings 
 at times were intense ; medical science at that period had made 
 little progress, and a disease which probably in these days might 
 have received prompt alleviation was gradually making deadly 
 inroad on a constitution originally never very strong. 
 
 Marguerite, on her arrival at Blois, found her mother improved 
 in health ; but the joy felt by Madame at the return of her 
 daughter, and her anxiety about the king's affairs added to her 
 inability to join him, brought on another relapse. She persisted 
 in rising from bed earlier than it was thought prudent to do so 
 by her medical attendants ; and this, and various mental exertions 
 which Madame could not be persuaded to refrain from, produced 
 very serious effects on her health. The king was sojourning at 
 Paris ; Marguerite wrote to him there on her mother's condition : 
 " Monseigneur, the honour and the good which it gives me often 
 to receive your much prized letters increase the delight I am 
 feeling at the probable results of my present indisposition. But, 
 monseigneur, even this joy is often converted into sorrow, 
 perceiving, as I do, that the health of Madame is not yet equal to 
 accomplish her desire of rejoining you. Since Wednesday last 
 
 1 MS. Bibl. Roy., F. de Beth., No. 8550.
 
 4 LITE OF MARGUERITK, 
 
 she has been much worse than she has ever been from the time 
 she first rose from bed; and in trying to do more than her 
 strength permits she retards her cure. This morning again she 
 had a terrible fit of sickness. After all, I believe that her greatest 
 evil and pain consists in being separated from you ; but consid- 
 ering her debility and the bad weather, she could not travel 
 without incurring danger." l Madame's recovery was tedious ; 
 Marguerite remained with her at Blois, while the King of Navarre 
 joined the king at Paris or at St. Germain-en-Laye ; for pressing 
 affairs compelled Francis to remain in the vicinity of his capital. 
 
 The king, nevertheless, fascinated by the charms of Made- 
 moiselle de Heilly, seemed to have lost all energy. Having given 
 rein to his impetuous resentment against the emperor, and solaced 
 by his open defiance of the stipulations enforced upon him and 
 his public acceptance of the League, Francis resumed his luxuri- 
 ous pleasures. The court, as heretofore, became an assemblage 
 of all that was most eminent in the kingdom for talents, rank, 
 beauty, and accomplishments. The same round of splendid 
 entertainments recommenced ; and the king, immersed in intellec- 
 tual enjoyments, and in the distractions afforded by brilliant 
 pageants of perpetual recurrence, suffered even his enmity to 
 Charles V. to become inactive. 
 
 Aware of this inertness on her son's part, Madame was there- 
 fore doubly anxious to supply the deficiency by her own energy 
 and decision. The consequence of the king's careless indifference 
 already manifested itself in most disastrous form. The greatest 
 disorganization prevailed amongst the allies ; the League, com- 
 posed of princes possessing such opposite and conflicting inter- 
 ests, instead of presenting, as at first, an harmonious whole, was 
 split into endless factions. Though all outwardly acknowledged 
 the League as proclaimed at Cognac, and tardy military prepara- 
 tions were adopted conformably, yet each power was busily en- 
 gaged in private negotiation. The emperor, against whom this 
 vast confederation was arrayed, had been formally invited to join 
 the League. Provided Charles tendered his adhesion, it was con- 
 siderately stipulated by the allies that he was to retain the 
 kingdom of Naples, and cede only the Milanese. The emperor's 
 response to this summons was an attempt to undermine the fabric 
 of the hostile confederation. Well versed in Italian politics, and 
 1 MS. Bibl. Boy., F. du Suppl. Fran., No. 62.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 5 
 
 aware that self-interest and expediency were incentives far more 
 powerful than patriotism in the breast of the numerous petty 
 potentates who reigned over Italy, he commenced by artfully 
 arousing the besetting passion of each. 
 
 Sforza was still besieged in his citadel of Milan when the 
 Duke de Bourbon arrived in Italy. The emperor, nevertheless, 
 continued to negotiate with the Duke of Milan, to induce him to 
 submit, notwithstanding his gift of the duchy to Bourbon ; with 
 the King of France he still maintained secret relations to prevail 
 upon him to fulfil the treaty of Madrid. The pope he tried to 
 lure to his interests by promising him support against the house 
 of Colonna, inimical to Clement from hereditary as well as politi- 
 cal feuds. The Colonni, in their turn, the emperor excited to 
 take arms against the pope ; and the Venetians he tempted to 
 betray the interests of the League, by promises tending to aug- 
 ment their maritime superiority. The confederated powers were 
 employed between themselves in similar negotiations. The Mar- 
 quis of Saluzzo arrived, meantime, in Italy, leading the French 
 reinforcements of 500 lancers and 4,000 infantry, and formed a 
 junction with the Duke of Urbino at Lodi. Mutual jealousies, 
 however, divided the chiefs of the League. The Duke of Urbino 
 refused to employ his undoubted military abilities to insure the 
 triumph of the Medici, his hereditary foes ; and his delays enabled 
 Bourbon to capture the citadel of Milan. Italy presented a 
 spectacle of appalling division : the feuds of the Sforza and the 
 Orsini, of the house of Saluzzo with that of Gonzaga, of the 
 Medici with the Colonna and the Eovere, the princely chiefs of 
 these hostile families, with the exception of the Colonna, being 
 outwardly banded together for the defence of Italian indepen- 
 dence, filled the country with cabals, and afforded the emperor 
 unbounded facilities for paralyzing the operations intended to 
 overthrow his supremacy. 
 
 The Duke de Bourbon, meantime, continued his march. At 
 one time Bologna seemed menaced with destruction, then Pla- 
 cenza. At length the duke entered the Tuscan territory ; the rich 
 and populous city of Florence, the cradle of the Medici, recoiled 
 in terror before his approach. Another few days of suspense en- 
 sued, when Bourbon's projects were revealed ; his soldiery poured 
 into the Campagna, and were soon under the walls of Rome. 
 
 In this emergency Clement took the only course in his power
 
 6 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 to adopt, by retiring, with thirteen of his cardinals, into the castle 
 of St. Angelo. The gates of the city were closed, and every 
 possible defensive operation practised. At two o'clock in the 
 morning of the 6th of May, 1527, the assault commenced. With 
 his own hands Bourbon raised the first scaling-ladder to the 
 walls of Rome. The first to mount the breach, Bourbon was 
 inciting his troops to the charge, when he was shot through the 
 lungs by the bullet of an arquebuse fired from the city by some 
 unknown hand. 1 He instantly fell ; but fearful lest the catas- 
 trophe might daunt the courage of his troops, Bourbon bade an 
 old adherent 2 who was near him to conceal his fall, and to 
 cover him with his cloak. The command then devolved upon 
 the Prince of Orange, who had witnessed the duke's fall. The 
 storui of the city continued with unabated fury ; and at length, 
 amid the incessant fire of the besieged, the ramparts were car- 
 ried. The prince then informed the soldiery of the fall of their 
 idolized leader. With cries of " Came*, carne' ! Sangre", sangre* ! 
 Bourbon, Bourbon ! " the soldiers, thirsting for blood and ven- 
 geance, rushed upon the prostrate city. 
 
 The horrors to which the city was subjected defy descriptiqn. 
 Never even was pagan Rome so desecrated. For the space of 
 two months the city was delivered over to rapine and violence. 
 The churches were pillaged, and murders were committed under 
 circumstances too horrible for description. The licentious sol- 
 diery roamed the streets perpetrating dreadful outrage. The 
 convents were forced, and the priesthood was subject to atro- 
 cious insult. The German Lutherans were surpassed only in 
 deeds of plunder and violence by the soldiers of Catholic Spain. 
 Women of the most exalted rank fared no better than the wives 
 and daughters of the humble Roman citizen. "Never before 
 was seen such calamity, misery, damage, cruelty, and inhuman- 
 ity as that committed by the German heretics ; so much so that 
 the work of slaughter proceeded without intermission for the 
 space of fifteen days, during which period eight thousand of the 
 Roman people were slain, whose cries, clamours, and wailings 
 converted the city into a hell." 8 The palaces of the principal 
 
 1 The celebrated scnlptor Benvenuto Cellini claims to be the person who 
 fired the fatal shot. 
 
 2 The duke's equerry, Combaud, Brantfime, Capitaines Illustres. 
 
 1 Paradin, Hist, de Notre Temps. "The tumult was so great," says Bran- 
 t3me, " what with the reports of artillery, the cries of the vanquished, the groans
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 7 
 
 nobles were reduced to ashes. Many were compelled to ransom 
 their lives by a donation of all their wealth. The priests and 
 cardinals who had not sought timely refuge within the fortress 
 of St. Angelo were subjected to scandalous outrage : they were 
 paraded through the streets of Koine seated on asses, and beaten 
 by the soldiery during their progress. Bourbon, meanwhile, had 
 been transported by the soldiers into the city on their first 
 entrance. He lingered for some hours after the successful ter- 
 mination of the conflict, and expired in great agony. He was 
 bewailed with frantic sorrow by the troops, and his loss har- 
 dened them against showing compassion to the unhappy Eoman 
 people. 
 
 The pope, meantime, closely besieged by the Prince of Orange 
 in the fortress of St. Angelo, was soon reduced to a condition of 
 absolute starvation. The Duke of Urbino made no effectual 
 attempt to relieve the pontiff. His resentment was gratified by 
 his knowledge of Clement's extreme need, and that he, who 
 had been once despoiled by the house of Medici, held the pope's 
 fate, and the very integrity of the States of the Church, at his 
 disposal. He created a thousand causes for delay, stopping his 
 march upon frivolous pretences. Suddenly the banners of the 
 League would rise over the brow of the hills bounding the hori- 
 zon in front of the fortress of St. Angelo ; then, when Clement's 
 expectation of rescue became most intense, the duke retreated 
 to some distant city, to appear again on the morrow, ever cru- 
 elly tantalizing his enemy by fallacious hopes. Clement at 
 length felt convinced that it was the intention of the Duke of 
 Urbino to suffer him to perish in torments the most humiliating 
 and vindictive. He therefore hastened to capitulate, for there 
 no longer remained within the strong towers of St. Angelo food 
 sufficient for the sustenance of its garrison for another day. The 
 Prince of Orange received the pope's surrender in the name of 
 the emperor, who thus, in less than the space of three years, 
 held captive two of the most potent sovereigns in Europe. The 
 terms of Clement's capitulation were rigorous in the extreme. 
 He consented to pay the sum of 400,000 ducats to the soldiers ; 
 to cede to the ernperor the castle of St. Angelo, the citadels of 
 Ostia, Civita Vecchia, and Civita Castallana, and the towns of 
 
 of the wounded, the diversity of tongues, the clash of weapons, and the roar of 
 drums, that the very thunder of heaven would not have been heard. "
 
 g LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 Parma, Placenza, and Modena. He promised to grant absolu- 
 tion to the Colonni, and to the invading hosts then holding him 
 captive, and agreed to remain a prisoner, with his thirteen 
 cardinals, at St. Angelo, until these conditions were performed. 
 The unfortunate pontiff was then committed to the care of 
 Alarcon, the old gaoler of Francis I. 
 
 It is often the subject of historical inquiry whether the em- 
 peror was privy to the atrocities committed by the imperial 
 army, especially in the sack of Rome and the captivity of the 
 pope. In the case of a sovereign less addicted to habitual dis- 
 simulation, the presumptive evidence of Charles's non-complicity 
 would be sufficiently strong to acquit him of the charge. The 
 imperial army set at naught the commands of the Viceroy of 
 Naples, Charles's representative in Italy, and refused to accept 
 the treaty concluded by him with Clement. The army, more- 
 over, though nominally termed imperial, was for the greater part 
 composed of irregular levies of mercenary troops, yielding obe- 
 dience alone to the chieftain under whose banner they had been 
 enrolled. The Marquis del Guasto, Alar^on, and several others, 
 retired from Bourbon's army when he was on his way to Rome, 
 on receiving the commands of the viceroy, whose orders, as the 
 representative of the emperor, they conceived themselves bound 
 to obey. Nevertheless, after the pillage of the holy city, the 
 viceroy himself, accompanied by these two officers, returned to 
 Rome to share in the spoils with the Prince of Orange. The 
 emperor, on learning the news of the imprisonment of the sov- 
 ereign pontiff, displayed the greatest sympathy for his misfor- 
 tune. He arrayed himself in mourning garments, and ordered 
 public processions and prayers to obtain from Heaven the release 
 of the pope ; and the rejoicings for the nativity of a son, whom 
 the Empress Isabel had given birth to a few days previously, 
 were postponed. These outward manifestations cannot be ac- 
 cepted as proofs of the sincerity of the emperor's sorrow ; he 
 displayed as much compunction or more when informed of the 
 captivity of Francis I. In this instance the scandal to Christen- 
 dom was tenfold greater ; it behooved the emperor, therefore, as 
 much for his reputation as for his interest, to disavow Bourbon's 
 sacrilegious act in so far as he could without relinquishing the 
 political advantages to be gained thereby. The question whether 
 Charles was accessory to these excesses can never be solved, as
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 9 
 
 it rests on the nature of the secret instructions given by the 
 emperor to the Duke de Bourbon before he dismissed him from 
 Spain to act as his generalissimo against the revolted Duke of 
 Milan and the confederates, of whom the pope was one, who 
 supported Sforza in his rebellion. It seems, however, scarcely 
 probable that Bourbon, to whom the emperor had assigned the 
 magnificent reward of the Milanese, and whose ambitious hopes 
 centred exclusively in Charles's favour, would have ventured to 
 defy the authority of the viceroy and lead his troops to dethrone 
 the pope, unless tolerably certain of the secret countenance of his 
 imperial master. Placed under ban by the Emperor Charles V., 
 and pursued by the just resentment of the King of France, what 
 territory could Bourbon hope to hold in Italy despite of these 
 two potentates ? The uncertainty which exists as to Bourbon's 
 motives and the impulses under which he acted has induced 
 some historians to believe that his conduct was the result of a 
 secret understanding with Francis, and that after the fall of 
 Borne he intended the invasion and conquest of Naples for his 
 royal master, to efface the stain of his treason, and to merit his 
 restoration to the country he so fervently regretted. Some, in 
 their zeal to reconcile these discrepancies in Bourbon's conduct, 
 quote a letter supposed to have been written by him to the 
 king, in which these words occur : " Sire, Naples will give you, 
 proof of my repentance, and excuse my fault." No proofs of 
 any such design on the part of the fallen constable exist ; while 
 on the contrary we have abundant evidence of his inimical sen- 
 timents toward Francis, aggravated now to still greater hostility 
 by the evasion of the treaty of Madrid, which had restored to 
 Bourbon his hereditary rank and patrimony. 
 
 In France, the constable's trial for high treason had been 
 resumed soon after the king's return ; for these proceedings were 
 suspended during his absence by the prudent policy of Madame. 
 The parliament pronounced its final decision two months after 
 the decease of Bourbon. The decree, which was published 
 July 26, 1527, erased the name of Charles de Bourbon from the 
 genealogy of his illustrious house, as one " having notoriously 
 degenerated from the loyalty and fidelity of his ancestors of the 
 said house of Bourbon." On the following day an officer deputed 
 by the parliament effaced the arms, ciphers, and devices of the 
 constable from all edifices once appertaining to him ; and, as a
 
 10 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 mark of infamy, the noble escutcheon of his armorial bearings 
 over the portal of the Hotel du Petit Bourbon in Paris was 
 smeared with saffron. His estates were formally confiscated; 
 and his nephew and heir, the Prince de la Eoche-sur-Yon, son 
 of his eldest sister, Louise de Bourbon, was debarred by a special 
 decree from preferring his claims to the inheritance of his uncle's 
 vast wealth. 1 The king bestowed the greater portion of the lands 
 of Bourbon on his mother. A document to this effect was 
 executed between the king and Madame at La Fere-sur-Oise, 
 August 25, 1527, in which the claims of the crown to the 
 appanages of the deceased constable, and the pretensions of 
 Madame as heiress of Bourbon were defined. This great judicial 
 act, and the evidence afforded by the operations of the Marquis 
 de Saluzzo in Italy that Francis meditated a total infringement 
 of the treaty of Madrid, transported the emperor with fury. 
 Notwithstanding his mourning robes, and his emphatic dis- 
 avowal of the horrors perpetrated in Rome, he treated the 
 dauphin and his brother with cruel rigour. The poor children 
 hitherto had been suffered to live in the fortress of Berlanga, 
 under the care of Don Juan de Tovar, son of the Constable of 
 Castile, Velasco, Duke de Frias. An intimation was given, 
 just about this period, to the Imperial Council intelligence 
 probably invented to serve the emperor's purpose that a plot 
 was in agitation to favour the escape of the young princes from 
 Spain. Under this pretext they were separated from their 
 French attendants, conveyed to Pedraco, and shut up in a dismal 
 fortress. Their only room was a small chamber lighted by a 
 window a foot and a half square ; here none but Spaniards were 
 allowed to communicate with the princes. Queen Eleanor was 
 forbidden to approach their abode ; and a favorite dwarf belong- 
 ing to the dauphin, and the only playmate of the young princes 
 for many dreary weeks, was taken from them by the express 
 
 1 Before the decease of his consort, Suzanne de Bourbon, the constable made 
 his will. This document is dated Chantelle, A. D. 1521. In case he died child- 
 less, Bourbon bequeathed his possessions to his mother-in-law, Anne de France, 
 Duchess de Bourbon Beaujeu, with remainder to his nephew Louis, Prince de la 
 Roche-sur-Yon, the son of his eldest sister Louise. In case of the decease of 
 Louis, Charles, the younger son of his sister, was substituted. To Renee, Duchess 
 de Lorraine, his younger sister, the constable left the sum of 100,000 livres. The 
 annual revenues of the Constable de Bourbon amounted, it is supposed, to the 
 sum, enormous in those days, of from 800,000 to a million of livres.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 11 
 
 command of the emperor. Mademoiselle de Chavigny, their 
 gouvemante, was detained in arrest ; and many of the officers of 
 their household, including Beauvais, the personage accused of 
 plotting their evasion, were sent to the galleys. 1 This cruel 
 severity is sufficient of itself to expose the hollowness of the 
 professions of concern with which the emperor feigned to de- 
 plore the calamities of Italy, when under his own sign manual 
 he doomed his poor little captives to such rigorous confinement. 
 
 As soon as Madame was able to travel Marguerite accompa- 
 nied her for change of air to Fontainebleau. This palace was the 
 favourite residence of Francis ; and he lavished all that money 
 and art could produce for its magnificent embellishment. Her 
 residence here always proved a source of great pleasure to Queen 
 Marguerite. In a letter to Montmorency written at this period, 
 after the departure of Madame and the king for La Fere-sur- 
 Oise, Marguerite, whose health was too delicate to accompany 
 them, says : " I assure you that my illness does not prevent me 
 from visiting twice a day these beautiful gardens ; for here I find 
 myself marvellously at my ease." Madame, though she was 
 scarcely recovered from her illness, had insisted on accompanying 
 the king, who was about to proceed to Amiens to meet Cardinal 
 Wolsey, sent by the King of England to confer with Francis, 
 to obtain his confirmation of their ancient treaty against the 
 emperor, and to negotiate fresh articles of alliance. Marguerite, 
 it appears, was left quite alone at Fontainebleau ; the King of 
 Navarre followed the court to La Fere, where the king remained 
 for some time. " Madame has left me here," wrote Marguerite 
 to Montmoreucy, "in charge of certain of her effects, that is 
 to say, of her parrot and her jesters, which I like because they 
 contribute to her amusement." 2 
 
 The object of this letter of Marguerite's to the marshal was 
 to obtain the admission of the son of the governess of these 
 female jesters into the royal kitchen ; as Montmorency, in the 
 exercise of his office of grand master of the household, enjoyed 
 the exclusive patronage of all posts, from the highest to the 
 lowest. Marguerite never refused her good offices to her 
 humblest dependant ; and the number of letters she wrote 
 
 1 Eloges des enfans de France, par le P. Hilarion de Coste ; Mem de Du Bellay ; 
 Sandoval, Hist, de la vida del Emp. Carlos V. 
 
 2 MS. Bibl. Roy., F. de Beth., No. 9127.
 
 12 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 requesting appointments of the lowest kind in the household 
 of her brother and of Madame for her poorer proteges is 
 astonishing. 
 
 During her solitary sojourn at Fontainebleau, Marguerite 
 suffered occasionally from great depression of spirits. She was 
 often seriously indisposed, and unable to take exercise in " those 
 delicious gardens," which she mentions with such delight. Her 
 separation from her brother weighed upon her mind ; they were 
 not to meet again until after her accouchement, and gloomy fore- 
 bodings seem to have often oppressed Marguerite. She was 
 also tormented by an incessant cough, which greatly exhausted 
 her strength ; and in several of her letters to the king she speaks 
 despairingly of her recovery. It is in an epistle in verse, com- 
 posed about this time, and sent by Marguerite to her brother, 
 that she unfolds to him her anxieties, and her affliction at their 
 separation at a period when the failing health of the Duchess 
 d'Angoulgme and the urgency of political affairs rendered her 
 presence doubly necessary to him. She commences her letter 
 by describing to Francis her regret that illness prevents her 
 from rendering him devoted service; nor could she, from the 
 same cause, write as frequently as the desire arose. She proceeds 
 then to recount to her brother how sorrowfully the lonely days 
 pass at Fontainebleau. She says : 1 
 
 " Je ne vous puis au long mander ma vie, 
 De vous dormer tel ennuy n'ay envye ; 
 Mais s'il vous plaist scavoir quelle je suis, 
 Comparaison mieulx bailler ne vous puis 
 Que du rochier de Ceres, dont racompte 
 Eurialo, qui d'asseurer n'a honte 
 Que par donleur la pierre fut contraincte 
 A recevoir de leurs lartnes l'empraincte. 
 Ce dur chaillou, monsieur, je vous envoye 
 Que j'ay trouve en ce desert sans voye, 
 II supplera a ma pauvre escripture 
 Vous demonstrant quelle est ma pourtraicture." 
 
 Francis hastens to send a reply, also in verse, to this epistle. 
 He tenderly chides his sister for her melancholy presentiments, 
 and admonishes her that, by indulging in thoughts and fore- 
 bodings not shared by Madame and himself, she was disloyal to 
 " their trinity." 
 
 1 Docum. sur la Captivite de Francois I., edited by M. Champollion Figeac.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 13 
 
 " Parquoy, si 1'ceil de ton corps veult plourer, 
 Arreste-le, faisaut le demourer, 
 En luy disant. corps ! tu n'as puissance 
 Rien exercer ; amour t'en faict deffence. 
 Deux aultres sont qui, sans les ofFenser, 
 Tu ne pourroys ung triste ennu) 7 penser : 
 Car la chose qni a trois est commune 
 Impossible est sans les deux estre k une. 
 Soient doncq cessez vos plainctz et vos ennuytz, 
 Soient convertiz eu plaisans jours vos nuits ; 
 Soit donne lieu et plaisante scilence 
 A ton regret : plus en toy n'ayt puissance 
 En lieu de fiers souspirs ennuyeulx, 
 Soit toute chose agreable a tes yeulx : 
 Ainsi faisaut, tu donras a ta mere 
 Joye et plaisir, ostant douleur amere ; 
 Et a- ton frere rendras, par telle joye, 
 Chemin heureulx et plaisante sa voye." 
 
 The king concludes his epistle with these words, which doubt- 
 less proved consolatory to Marguerite in her depression : - 
 
 "Mais avec ce seul mot fera conclusion 
 Que pour jamais sera 1'affection 
 De mon vouloir a la tienne mesure, 
 Passe, present, et le futur t'asseure." 
 
 Marguerite, in her response, enthusiastically acknowledged her 
 allegiance to that inseparable trinity of love, sentiment, and 
 interest, which subsisted between herself, the king, and Madame. 
 She exclaims in the opening lines of her epistle, which is writ- 
 ten throughout with elegance and fervour : 
 
 " Ce m'est tel bien de sentir 1'amytie 
 Que Dieu a mise en nostre trinite, 
 Daignant aux deux me joindre pour tiers nombre 
 Qui ne suis digne a m'eii estimer 1'ombre ; 
 Que tout mon heur et ma gloire y consists, 
 Et le pouvoir dont contre ennuy resiste." 
 
 It had been providentially ordained for Marguerite's happiness 
 that her destiny led her not away from France. As the consort 
 of a foreign sovereign, her life must have passed in perpetual 
 solicitude. Her uneasiness when submitting even to a tem- 
 porary separation from her brother was distressing to her above 
 measure ; and she solaced her impatience by ceaseless correspon-
 
 14 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 dence with him, both in prose and verse. Her poems and mis- 
 cellaneous pieces have almost invariably Francis for their hero. 
 His mind alone partook of the texture of her own. The deep 
 feeling which characterizes Marguerite's writings, her graceful 
 pleasantry and pointed wit, met with fervent response from her 
 chivalrous and accomplished brother ; but he partook not in the 
 overflowings of her devout spirit, nor of that lowly humility 
 which veiled the radiance of intellectual acquirements so strik- 
 ing and rare. Detraction never impaired Marguerite's literary 
 fame ; none were envious of one who spoke so humbly of her 
 own powers, and yet whose superiority was unquestioned. Un- 
 assuming and courteous, Marguerite in the most graceful manner 
 possible lays aside the great princess in her varied correspondence 
 with the learned men of Europe, and prays to become their dis- 
 ciple ; while they, grateful for her patronage, and appreciating 
 the refinement and condescension which, when she conferred a 
 favour, prompted her to appear herself its recipient, have extolled, 
 without one particle of depreciation, her mental endowments. 
 
 The whole of the month of October was probably spent by 
 Marguerite at Fontainebleau. The King of Navarre was actively 
 employed on the king's service in securing to Francis promises 
 of support amongst the various lay and ecclesiastical peers sum- 
 moned to meet in Paris during the ensuing month of December. 
 So that her husband rendered good service to the king, Mar- 
 guerite was content to submit to his absence. Francis placed 
 great confidence in the abilities of the King of Navarre. Often, 
 with little consideration for his sister, he summoned Henry away 
 from her. Throughout her life these separations from her hus- 
 band were amongst the most bitter of the sacrifices so unhesi- 
 tatingly made by Marguerite for her brother. 
 
 During Marguerite's sojourn at Fontainebleau she received a 
 second letter from Erasmus. Absorbed by a multitude of anxie- 
 ties, it appears that after her return from Spain she had omitted 
 to answer his first letter, which she received while at Madrid. 
 The letter reached her in a moment of deep sorrow ; its strain 
 of elevated feeling, and, above all, the eulogium pronounced by 
 the illustrious Erasmus upon her conduct, doubtless afforded 
 encouragement to one so susceptible of good as was Marguerite. 
 His eloquent pen again sent her words of comfort in a season of 
 affliction and gloom :
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 15 
 
 ERASMUS TO MARGUERITE, QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 
 
 Queen ! more illustrious for piety and virtue than for the lustre of 
 your crown and lineage, I am assailed by numberless solicitations to 
 address you ; or, rather, I am reproached because my letters do not more 
 frequently intrude upon your Majesty. I have no pretence, no cause 
 to address you ; besides, I am oppressed with business, and am aware 
 also that your occupations leave you little leisure to peruse useless let- 
 ters ; for to the epistle which I sent you some time past, at the per- 
 suasion of these same personages, I have received no written response, 
 but only a simple verbal acknowledgment. I have been told that you 
 have since written to me by a certain Polish gentleman, whom death 
 arrested on his road here. I know not whether this be truth. I 
 would desire that the prosperity of persons depended on their piety ; 
 but He who directs all things for the welfare of those whom He loves 
 knows what is needful to us, and when it shall seem good to Him will 
 give a favourable termination to affairs apparently most adverse ; for 
 when human counsel is cast down, then especially is the inscrutable 
 wisdom of God revealed. To him who thus heartily casts the anchor 
 of his hope can no evil come but what must redound to his eternal 
 good. To God, therefore, we commit all things. 
 
 In that which regards yourself, it rather behooves me to render you 
 grateful thanks for what you have already done than to seek to stimu- 
 late you by exhortations to continue to protect letters and the sincere 
 friends of Christ from the persecutions of the wicked ; for they al- 
 ready owe you much as also to your brother, the very Christian king, 
 and to that wise, excellent, and religious lady, your mother. May the 
 Lord Jesus bestow every felicity upon you all. If you have any com- 
 mands to signify, I am ready to obey. 
 
 Bale, written these ides of August, MDXXVU. 1 
 
 The works of Erasmus, notwithstanding the signal protection 
 vouchsafed him by Francis, were still undergoing the critical 
 ordeal of the university. The Sorbonne, in obedience to the 
 royal command, named commissioners to examine Bdda's thesis 
 against Lefevre and Erasmus, but delayed to pronounce a deci- 
 sion upon it, while they hastily concluded their censure on the 
 works of his opponents. This condemnation of the writings of 
 Erasmus, prepared December 16, 1527, two months after Mar- 
 guerite received his letter, was not promulgated until four years 
 
 1 Lib. xx., ep. xii., ed. Londini, p. 971.
 
 16 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 afterwards; 1 at this time the king's favourable sentiments 
 towards the reformers, and Erasmus in particular, rendered its 
 suppression politic. 
 
 The successes of the Marshal de Lautrec in Italy, meantime, 
 inspired Marguerite with great content, as the news reached her 
 amid the solitudes of Fontainebleau. Lautrec, in accordance 
 with a treaty offensive and defensive, concluded between Francis 
 and Henry VIII., 2 entered Italy at the head of an army of 
 27,000 men, and after making some important conquests, laid 
 siege to Pavia, and carried the city by assault. The news of the 
 capture of Pavia was received with triumph throughout France. 
 That city, the very name of which recalled reminiscences so 
 humiliating, was prostrate, and subject to the ravages of the 
 French soldiery ; who, but for the exertions of the Marshal de 
 Lautrec, would have reduced it to ashes. 
 
 Marguerite heard of the fall of Pavia from the secretary 
 Robertet, and from De la Barre, High-Bailiff of Paris, her devoted 
 adherent. She remarks thus upon it in a letter which she wrote 
 to congratulate the king. She also takes the opportunity to ani- 
 madvert in exulting strains on the emperor's past deportment : 
 " Monseigneur, our joy has been so great at the news which we 
 have received in detail of the capture of Pavia that I can 
 scarcely find language to express it. For when I recall the sor- 
 row that place was the occasion of to Madame, and to all who 
 love you, it appears as if God would now afford us recompense 
 for those tears ; for if M. de Lautrec thus successfully continues 
 the campaign, the emperor will be compelled to give us that 
 satisfaction which without such compulsion he ought eagerly to 
 have sought. His need is becoming so great that if our love 3 
 did not surpass his necessity, he ought to crave from us now 
 what we are content to ask from him. But He who witnesses 
 that you have preferred the way of honour and courtesy above 
 all other means at your disposal will soon show you that His 
 
 1 The Colloquies of Erasmus had been separately condemned by the Sorbonne, 
 May 26, 1526. The Faculty applied to them the following words : " Corrumpunt 
 bonos mores Colloquia prava." 
 
 3 Francis signed two treaties with Henry VIII. The first was concluded at 
 Hampton Court, August 8, 1526. The second was signed at Westminster May 
 27, 1527. 
 
 8 The love borne towards the dauphin and his brother, captives in Spain, by the 
 king, Madame, and Marguerite.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 17 
 
 goodness is as infinite to convert your present sorrow into joy 
 as His power was absolute to inflict evil." 
 
 Marguerite had by no means forgiven the emperor for his 
 obduracy and his discourteous intents towards herself. He had 
 foiled her diplomacy, and defeated the most fervent wish she 
 had ever formed, which was to be the instrument of her brother's 
 release from captivity ; and if Charles had not absolutely rejected 
 her hand, he had at any rate ungallantly omitted to demonstrate 
 his gratitude for a proposal so unadvisedly made by Madame at 
 a season of great political difficulty. The remembrance of her 
 "grandes journe'es," when flying from Spain to escape arrest, 
 was still vividly graven on Marguerite's mind. Neither had she 
 forgotten the sundry methods taken by the emperor to manifest 
 his ill-will, in a spirit of narrow-mindedness highly unbecoming 
 to his imperial dignity. She remembered how constantly and 
 designedly the presence of the traitor Constable de Bourbon was 
 intruded upon herself and her brother during their sojourn in 
 Spain. Charles, in short, had availed himself of every petty 
 means to demonstrate his enmity. There had been no courteous 
 generosity and nobleness of spirit displayed in his treatment of 
 the king ; and few there were who sympathized with him in his 
 alleged wrongs, or regretted that the sordid spirit which desired 
 to grasp all found itself disappointed when apparently most 
 secure of its spoil. 
 
 During the course of the month of November Marguerite 
 despatched her physician, Jean Goinret, to the king, to give him 
 a detailed account of her health and proceedings at Fontainebleau ; 
 for the desponding tone in which his sister often wrote alarmed 
 Francis. In a letter written before the departure of Goinret 
 Marguerite said, when speaking of the future devotion which she 
 and the King of Navarre intended to display towards her brother, 
 " that is, if God is pleased to prolong my life, which I hope for, 
 despite the admonition given me by my failing health ; for since 
 I have seen you, monseigneur, my cough has tormented me 
 beyond measure, and I feel so feeble that, without being sus- 
 tained by the prospect of soon seeing you again, I should despair 
 of surviving even until All Saints' Day." Marguerite speaks 
 much more cheerfully of her health in the letter she intrusted to 
 Goinret ; she praises greatly the effects of some medicated water 
 which she had taken daily by the advice of the king's second 
 
 VOL. II. 2
 
 jg LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 physician, Noel Ramard, and she beseeches Francis to try also 
 a remedy that she considers to be the surest means that she has 
 yet known to prolong both life and strength." l Notwithstand- 
 ing Marguerite's faith in Maitre Noel's specific, the true elixir 
 which revived her sinking spirits was probably her delight at 
 the approaching arrival of Madame, accompanied by the little 
 Duke d'AngouleTne and his two sisters. After the departure of 
 Cardinal Wolsey from Amiens the king proceeded to Paris to 
 hold the important Assembly of Notables, accompanied by Ma- 
 dame, the King of Navarre, and by Montmorency ; after which 
 the duchess was to rejoin her daughter at Fontainebleau. This 
 assembly, summoned with extraordinary solemnity, commenced 
 its sittings on the 16th of December, 1527. Its objects were 
 twofold : first, to pronounce an authoritative and final decision 
 on the question whether, in consequence of the non-fulfilment 
 of the treaty of Madrid, the King of France was obliged, accord- 
 ing to his solemn oath, to return again to Madrid and surrender 
 himself the emperor's prisoner ; or, if the assembly decided this 
 point in the negative, to empower the king to raise an extraordi- 
 nary levy of two millions of golden crowns for the ransom of 
 his sons. In the suite of Francis were all the princes of the 
 blood, many cardinals and prelates, the knights of the Order of 
 St. Michael, and a multitude of noblemen and gentlemen. 
 Madame occupied a latticed gallery to the right of the throne ; 
 she was attended by the Duchess de VendSme, and by her two 
 principal chamberlains, the Count de Nevers and Guillaume de 
 Montmorency. The assembly consisted of the parliament of Paris, 
 of deputies from the parliaments of Toulouse, Bordeaux, Rouen, 
 Dijon, Grenoble, and Aix, and of the municipality of Paris. 2 
 
 The conference was opened by the king, who sat upon a mag- 
 nificent throne, covered with blue velvet spangled with fleurs- 
 de-lis. Francis first commanded an oath of secrecy to be 
 administered to every member of the assembly. When this 
 ceremony was over, the king rose from his throne and eloquently 
 recapitulated the leading events of his reign. He stated what 
 reforms he had introduced for the benefit of his people, and 
 reminded them that on his accession he found a deficit in the 
 finances amounting to the sum of one million eight hundred 
 
 1 MS. Bibl. Roy., F. de Beth., No. 8557- 
 
 2 Godefroy, Grand Cerem. Franijais.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 19 
 
 thousand livres, with vast arrears of pay owing to the 
 gendarmerie. He then related the history of his captivity, and 
 entered into minute details of the various negotiations at 
 Madrid and Toledo with the emperor ; and with cutting 
 sarcasm he developed the various subtle devices Charles had 
 resorted to in order to prolong his captivity, and the emperor's 
 despotic and fraudulent intents. He then related how he had 
 caused an act, abdicating the crown in favour of the dauphin, 
 to be drawn by the first president, De Selve, which he signed 
 and despatched into France by the Marshal de Montmorency. 
 Here Montmorency rose from his seat and declared that the 
 edict had so been delivered to him, and yet remained in his 
 possession ; then unfolding the document the marshal read it 
 aloud to the assembly. 1 Francis then resumed his address : he 
 avowed that by the treaty of Madrid he had pledged his royal 
 word to return into Spain if within the space of four months 
 the treaty was not executed. " But," added the king, with a 
 sophistry uuworthy of his chivalrous mind, " that word I gave 
 knowing that it obliged me to nothing on account of my prison, 
 and that not being a free agent I was not bound to fulfil any 
 promise given under such circumstances." 
 
 Francis then explained how much money the state of the 
 finances permitted him to contribute towards the ransom of his 
 sons. He boldly requested the remainder as a voluntary gift 
 from his people, if after mature deliberation their representatives 
 declared him absolved from his promise. 
 
 The clergy replied to the king's address, through the Cardinal 
 de Bourbon, that the Church would counsel him conscientiously, 
 and aid him in every possible way. The Duke de Vendorne 
 promised the same on behalf of the high nobility, adding that 
 they were ready to serve the king with their swords and their 
 estates. The first president, De Selve, rose to reply on behalf 
 of the commons, the parliament of Paris, and the municipalities 
 consulted. De Selve, who partly ascribed the king's release 
 from captivity to the effect produced on the emperor by his 
 wordy orations, eagerly seized the opportunity to harangue. He 
 thanked the king with most humble expressions of gratitude for 
 all he had suffered in defence of the liberties of the kingdom, 
 
 1 Godefroy, Grand Ceremonial de France, Discours du roi a. 1'Assemblee dea 
 Notables ; Ciairembault, vol. xxxix.
 
 20 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 and for his condescension in consulting his subjects on a matter 
 which his royal will might have decided. He lauded his hero- 
 ism, patience, and fortitude during the lonely hours of his 
 incarceration in the citadel of Madrid ; he avowed his thankful 
 delight that Francis had so wisely committed the great question, 
 as to whether the treaty of Madrid ought to be binding on his 
 conscience and actions, to the decision of his loyal subjects 
 assembled in parliament. The president rapturously applied 
 to Francis the words used by Esdras to King Artaxerxes : 
 " Benedictus Dominus Detis, qui dedit hauc voluntatein in cor 
 regis." * 
 
 It was then decided that each estate should deliberate apart 
 on the question laid before the assembly by the king, and sepa- 
 rately communicate its decision on a given day. The suspense 
 of Francis was great during this interval ; for signal as were 
 his injuries at the hands of the emperor, yet this violation of his 
 solemn oath struck keen compunction into the heart of the king. 
 The deliberations of the states lasted four days ; their decision 
 was unanimously given, and was to the effect that, not only 
 was the king not bound to return to Madrid, or to execute the 
 treaty, but his duty, as their anointed sovereign lord and king, 
 absolutely forbade such a design without their previous sanction. 
 The assembly also pronounced that Francis might justly aud 
 righteously levy on his subjects an extraordinary aid of two 
 millions for the ransom of his sons, and for the other pressing 
 necessities of the state. 2 
 
 After obtaining this solemn judicial decision, Francis displayed 
 much greater alacrity in prosecuting the war against the emperor. 
 Conscious that his honour was sullied by the implied prevarica- 
 tion of his plighted word, Francis shrank before the manifestoes 
 issued by the emperor at all foreign courts, in which the King 
 of France was branded as a perjurer and a deliberate falsifier of 
 his solemn promise. Moreover, in language as unfeeling as it 
 was unkingly, the emperor proclaimed his regret that he had 
 not detained Francis in captivity, as the king had broken his 
 word given on the faith of a prince and a cavalier. 
 
 If ever excuse can be made for the deliberate violation of an 
 engagement accepted with sacred solemnities, it must be found 
 in the case of Francis. Four times was the treaty of Madrid 
 
 1 Godcfroy, Grand Cereui. de Frauce. 2 Ibid.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 21 
 
 presented to the king in the name of the emperor, and as many 
 times peremptorily rejected. With unparalleled pertinacity, the 
 emperor each time added something to his demands. Possessing 
 an intimate knowledge of the laws and usages of the French 
 monarchy, Charles knew that his demands could not be legally 
 conceded by Francis. Absolute as were then the prerogatives 
 of the King of France, when once the estates of the realm were 
 convoked the sovereign had called into being, for the time, a 
 power superior to his own ; while the emperor was well aware 
 that without the assent of the states every surrender made by 
 Francis of the inherent rights of the French monarchy was 
 invalid. Twice Francis had publicly protested, in the presence 
 of the Viceroy of Naples and other of Charles's ministers, that 
 if he were compelled, in order to regain his liberty, to make 
 concessions injurious to the honour of the French people, or to 
 alienate the territories of the crown, such compact he should 
 eventually deem null and void ; twice, also, did the king 
 privately protest, with circumstances of great solemnity, against 
 the arbitrary extortions of the emperor. Charles was warned 
 by his chancellor, and by a number of his Privy Councillors, 
 that the treaty of Madrid could not be executed. He was im- 
 plored to accept another convention, one equitable, moderate, 
 and which might be unhesitatingly agreed to by the king ; but 
 his ungenerous desire to humiliate his popular and hitherto 
 prosperous competitor for pre-eminence in the counsels of 
 Europe prevailed, and against his own better judgment Charles 
 persisted in his demands. The emperor's distrust and vacilla- 
 tion after the treaty was signed demonstrated his little reliance 
 on its eventual execution. On his arrival in France the king 
 offered to fulfil every clause of the treaty, save and except that 
 in which he had ceded Burgundy ; but in exchange for the 
 duchy he offered the emperor the sum of two millions of livres. 
 At the same time he assured the emperor of that which Charles 
 was well aware of, namely, that he had not the power to enforce 
 the acceptance of the treaty of Madrid upon the French nation. 
 To all pacific overtures attempted by Francis after his return, 
 the emperor returned replies of contemptuous refusal ; he 
 traduced the king in foreign courts, and his conduct towards 
 the captive princes was rigorous in the extreme. The irritation 
 growing in the bosom of the king was at length converted into
 
 22 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 a frenzy of hate ; and he threw himself into the contest with 
 the ardour of one actuated by vehement revenge. 
 
 If Francis needed further encouragement to violate the treaty 
 extorted from him by the emperor than what he received from, 
 his people, his conscience was tranquillized by the express 
 sanction given to his contemplated measures by Pope Clement 
 VII. ; and in that age, greatly as the papal prerogatives had 
 fallen into disrepute, the Church's countenance divested the act 
 of Francis of much of the lingering feeling of odium which must 
 ever attach itself to the violation of a solemn pledge, however 
 real and valid may be the reasons pleaded in extenuation.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 23 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE king, during his sojourn in Paris, continued to maintain 
 an active correspondence with his sister ; amidst his vexa- 
 tious political embarrassments Francis found consolation in her 
 faithful sympathy. 
 
 On the closing of the Assembly, the king proposed to visit 
 Fontainebleau. Marguerite hailed this announcement with 
 delight; and she wrote to beseech her brother to hasten his 
 journey, that they might meet again before her hour of peril 
 arrived. Madame remained in tolerable health, as did also the 
 children of Francis. The little Duke d'Angoulgme was growing 
 up a bold and beautiful boy, and seems to have been Marguerite's 
 greatest solace. Under the training of the learned and judicious 
 Lefevre, the young prince was making astonishing progress in 
 knowledge. Marguerite, at this period, enjoyed unrestricted 
 commune with Lefevre, who accompanied his pupil to Fontaine- 
 bleau. Probably then the warm friendship commenced which 
 ever afterwards united the queen to Lefevre. Before, Marguerite 
 had protected the doctor of Staples from the fury of the Sor- 
 bonnists for the principles which he professed, and out of 
 compassionate feeling for one so oppressed; henceforth, how- 
 ever, he shared much of her personal regard. Could the dis- 
 course be put on record which passed between the eloquent 
 doctor and Marguerite amid the shady avenues of Fontainebleau, 
 great, doubtless, would be the profit and edification to be derived. 
 Often must* they have mourned the weakness displayed by the 
 Bishop of Meaux, that star which once shone brightly amidst 
 the hierarchy of France, but which now was fallen and obscured. 
 Serious and impressive also, no doubt, was Lefevre's admonition 
 to Marguerite to cast aside the earthly affections which prevented 
 the more perfect avowal of her religious convictions ; and from 
 his lips she must have heard that the dread of offending the
 
 24 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 brother she loved could be no palliation before God for her delay 
 in openly professing herself of the communion in which He was 
 worshipped in purity and truth. 
 
 The devotion felt by Marguerite for Francis I. silenced the 
 promptings of conscience. She could not endure to give him 
 affliction, or to rend the unity of that trinity at once the joy and 
 pride of her life ; but indirectly she vowed to serve the cause of 
 God and of reform with all the weight of her influence at court. 
 This compromise made by Marguerite with her conscience was 
 fatally visited on her posterity. Her secret yet powerful inter- 
 position ever served to keep alive the spark of reform throughout 
 France, when, but for her, the policy of Francis I. would have 
 doomed it to extinction ; and persecuted as the reformers were 
 during the latter part of this reign, the earnest entreaties of the 
 Queen of Navarre saved them from universal proscription. Had 
 Marguerite fearlessly avowed herself their protectress and the 
 partaker in their faith, many hidden supporters of the reformed 
 church in France, emboldened by the example set them by the 
 sister of the king, would have openly joined that communion ; 
 and strong in numbers and unity the Church might have defied 
 her enemies and obtained toleration, if not recognition, in the 
 state. But depressed by the caution and silence observed by 
 Marguerite, by the apostasy of Briconnet, and by the contro- 
 versies of sects, the spread of the Keformation in France was 
 uncertain. While its adherents deliberated and sought a leader, 
 the Church of Borne, armed with her terrible decrees against 
 heresy, interposed. With the exception of one or two of the 
 braver spirits, who expiated their heresy at the stake, the reform- 
 ers fell back. Vainly in sorrow and incertitude they looked to 
 the Queen of Navarre, whose influence was boundless over the 
 king ; but Marguerite, who might have infused courage, unity, 
 and a spirit of submission to the laws in those whose opinions 
 she shared, refrained from outward sympathy, and feared to 
 obtain by her intercession the edict so ardently desired, granting 
 to all liberty of conscience, to be exercised in external obedience 
 to the laws of the realm. The result was that the reformed 
 opinions, stifled in their outward development, throve, as they 
 only could, in secret, and obtained an ascendency during the 
 reign of Francis which prepared the catastrophes of the succeed- 
 ing half-century. Oppression matured their growth, and for
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 25 
 
 years afterwards religious conflicts deluged the land with blood; 
 until at length both the Valois and the Bourbon fell, ingulfed 
 alike in the anarchy of the times. 
 
 The connection of the Queen of Navarre with the theologian 
 Ge'rard Roussel commenced about this period. During Lefevre's 
 sojourn in the city of Strasbourg he became acquainted with 
 Eoussel, who was like himself a religious refugee. The warmest 
 friendship soon united Leievre and Eoussel, and the latter was 
 invited to participate in the conferences holden by the direction 
 of Marguerite to consider on the most feasible means of extend- 
 ing the principles of reform. Roussel soon after returned 
 into France, probably on the cessation of the persecution which 
 occurred during the captivity of the king, and that Marguerite 
 caused to be suppressed by her intercession. The learning and 
 piety of Roussel merited greater commendation than his discre- 
 tion ; and his oratorical displays in Paris attracted the searching 
 inquisition of the Sorbonne. Roussel's heresy was proclaimed 
 by the Faculty to be impious and most subtle ; for he advocated 
 that the holy communion should be administered in both kinds 
 to the laity. An order of arrest was obtained, and Roussel 
 speedily found himself transferred from the pulpit to a dungeon 
 in the ChStelet. This event probably occurred during the sum- 
 mer of the year 1527, whilst Marguerite was sojourning alone 
 at Fontainebleau. At the intercession of the Queen of Navarre 
 Francis ordered Roussel to be set at liberty, and by Marguerite's 
 permission he withdrew into Bdarn. The gentleness and benev- 
 olent charity of Roussel's disposition recommended him to 
 Marguerite's notice ; and he eventually became one of the most 
 prominent personages at the court of NeVac. Soon after his 
 retreat into Be'arn, Marguerite caused the abbey of Clairac 1 to 
 be bestowed upon Roussel. This appointment, which gave 
 great offence to the Romish Church, was the first benefice con- 
 ferred by Marguerite on any of the adherents of reform after 
 her marriage with the King of Navarre. 
 
 Marguerite's time passed thus pleasantly in the society of 
 Madame and of Lefevre, until the commencement of the month 
 of January, 1528. Nevertheless she desired greatly the presence 
 of the King of Navarre, from whom she had been long separated. 
 
 1 The abbey of Clairac was in the diocese of Agen. The community was of 
 the order of St. Benedict.
 
 26 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 Henry was then employed on a mission of infinite importance to 
 Francis. When the king sent his officers to levy the extraordi- 
 nary aid granted to him by the Assembly of Notables he found 
 himself beset with obstacles of the most serious description. It 
 was easier for the assembly to vote to the king the large sum of 
 two millions of golden crowns, twelve hundred thousand of which 
 had to be raised, than to indicate a way for its levy. The pope 
 granted Francis four-tenths of all ecclesiastical benefices in the 
 kingdom ; and the rest of the sum voted and by far its largest 
 portion it was determined to demand from the nobles as a 
 voluntary donation on their part. Before the government had 
 recourse to this disagreeable expedient, Duprat in vain taxed his 
 versatile genius and his knowledge of legal chicanery to devise 
 a more popular method for supplying the king's necessity. 
 " Touching the matter of the money about which you and the 
 king write to me," said the chancellor, in a letter to Montmo- 
 rency, 1 " I have tried every way in the world to raise it through 
 the banks, and from other quarters ; but as soon as I mention 
 the loan every one drops his ears and refuses to listen to me. 
 I shall try again to-morrow morning what I can do." Neither 
 was the intelligence which Montmorency received from Bourges 
 more encouraging. " Monsieur de Brienne has not a single blank 
 form at his disposal," wrote the archbishop ; " he says that if 
 Madame and the king do not look better after their concerns, 
 'its donneront du museau en terre.'"* The king's necessity 
 was positive and peremptory, and as he refused to permit any 
 alienation of the royal domains, there remained no other resource 
 but to assemble the nobility by dioceses, and propose to them 
 the tax. As Duprat had foreseen, the demand was unanimously 
 rejected; and with greater tenderness for their purses than 
 regard to their repute as loyal subjects, a deputation of these 
 thrifty barons proceeded to Paris, to consult a conclave of 
 lawyers, hastily convoked, on the question whether the nobles 
 were responsible for the ransom of the king. 3 The nobles of 
 Marguerite's duchy of Berry showed themselves especially inflex- 
 ible in their refusal of the demand, as did also the nobility of 
 
 1 MS. de Beth., No. 8573. 2 ibid., No. 8608. 
 
 8 The advocates employed were men who rose to the highest dignities in the 
 state. The report of the consultation is signed by Lizet, N. Chartier, De Mou- 
 tholon, Aillegret, Poyet, and Charmolue.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 27 
 
 Limousin. The mission of the King of Navarre, therefore, was 
 to overcome this resistance and to induce the nobles, by his 
 persuasive eloquence, to yield to their sovereign's request aud to 
 grant the subsidy. 
 
 In spite of the eager interest which Marguerite took in these 
 events, her spirits continued much depressed. As the period of 
 her accouchement approached, her dread that she should not 
 survive, even to look upon her infant, appears to have become 
 morbidly intense. The absence of her brother increased her 
 melancholy, and with nervous restlessness she watched for the 
 arrival of every courier, in the hope that he might bear tidings 
 of the king's departure from the capital. Francis, however, was 
 suffering from illness himself; and harassed by political events, 
 he had been advised not to quit Paris before more propitious 
 news reached him from the provinces. Marguerite's condition 
 occasioned great distress to Madame, who earnestly requested 
 her son to hasten to Fontainebleau as soon as his health per- 
 mitted, but, in the mean time, to write frequently to his sister. 
 " I entreat you, monseigneur," wrote Louisa to the king, " write 
 such a letter to you* sister, which, while it gives her present 
 comfort, may strengthen her to bear her impending trial more 
 courageously, in the event of your absence from her at that 
 time. Nevertheless, continue to give her hopes of your presence ; 
 for I assure you, monseigneur, that her fear is great, and that 
 she has not written to tell you so without good reason, as I 
 will explain after your eagerly desired return to us." l The 
 king, whose pain was infinite that Marguerite should implore 
 his presence while state affairs prevented him from flying to her 
 side, immediately complied with his mother's request ; and from 
 the reply written by the queen, he seems to have offered, despite 
 the critical state of his own health and the exigencies of the 
 government, to set out without delay for Fontainebleau. Madame, 
 in the following letter, describes to her son Marguerite's happi- 
 ness and delight while reading this letter, which was brought 
 by the physician Goinret, whom Francis despatched from at- 
 tendance upon himself, to remain with his sister until after her 
 accouchement. "You will readily believe, monseigneur, how 
 very welcome to us was the arrival of Maitre Jehan Goinret. He 
 has greatly appeased the anxiety which your sister and I have 
 
 1 MS. Bibl'. Roy.
 
 28 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 felt concerning your health, for none but he could give us such 
 satisfactory accounts. I am not surprised that your perfect cure 
 is tedious, considering the bad weather we have. I entreat you 
 to be patient for a few days longer, and do not commit any rash 
 act, that you may become free from danger of relapse ; for your 
 health is dearer to us than our own lives. The long letter that 
 you sent to your sister so comforted her heart and composed 
 her mind, that it seems to me as if she had suddenly acquired 
 double courage. She read your letter twice through in my 
 presence, with tears in her eyes. I beg you, monseigneur, to 
 send somebody to visit her from you about Sunday next, as I 
 think this will be near the period when to hear of you will be 
 of more service to her than all the medicines and remedies we 
 can devise, as I well know the virtue and power your words 
 exercise over her mind, as they do, also, over that of your tres 
 humble et bonne mere et subjede LOYSE." 1 Before her ac- 
 couchement Marguerite answered her brother's letter thus : 
 
 QUEEN MARGARET TO FRANCIS I. 2 
 
 MONSEIGNEUR, The honour which you have conferred upon me 
 by writing such a letter as the one I have just received is such that I 
 cannot sufficiently esteem it ; lor it has given me delight so infinite 
 that, despite the illness I have been suffering from since I saw you, I 
 cannot now refrain from feeling good hope of regaining the health 
 which I imagined had fled forever. I believe, monseigneur, that your 
 goodness appreciated my great necessity ; for you could not have de- 
 vised a better remedy for my relief than that afforded by a knowledge 
 of your continued remembrance and favour. I assure you, mon- 
 seigneur, that the fear I feel at my approaching trial which I dread 
 as much as for many reasons I earnestly desire it is almost converted 
 into certain hope, seeing my sorrow so affects you that to relieve it you 
 would even sacrifice the health so dear to me, and in comparison of 
 which I esteem my life as nothing ; nor can I endure pain so great as 
 that which would befall me did any harm happen to you. I hope, never- 
 theless, that God will permit me to see you before my hour arrives ; 
 but if this happiness is not to be mine I will cause your letter to be 
 read to me, instead of the life of St. Marguerite, 8 as, being written 
 by your hand, it will not fail to inspire me with courage. I cannot, 
 however, believe that my child will presume to be born without your 
 
 1 MS. Bibl. Roy. a MS. Bibl. Roy., F. Suppl. Fran., No. 41. 
 
 8 This saint was considered the especial patroness of pregnant women.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 29 
 
 command ; to the last, therefore, I shall eagerly expect your much- 
 desired arrival. 
 
 Your very humble and very obedient sister and subject, 
 
 MARGUERITE. 
 
 On Tuesday, January 7, the Queen of Navarre gave birth to 
 a princess, the renowned Jeanne d'Albret, afterwards so famous 
 for the signal protection which she bestowed upon reform. Mar- 
 guerite had several times predicted that a daughter would be 
 born to her ; and her delight at her infant's birth appears to have 
 been without alloy, except that the continued absence of the King 
 of Navarre afflicted her. It is a remarkable fact that Lefevre 
 should have been at Fontainebleau at the period of Marguerite's 
 accouchement, and one of the first to welcome the young prin- 
 cess into the world whose future career was so signally to 
 influence the cause of reform. 
 
 It is not very certain whether Marguerite's earnest desire was 
 gratified by the arrival of her brother before the birth of her 
 daughter. The probabilities are that Francis did not visit Fon- 
 tainebleau until the summer of the year 1528. 
 
 Notwithstanding her misgivings, Marguerite's recovery from 
 her accouchement was favourable and rapid ; and in the space of 
 a few days afterwards we find her busily employed in dictating 
 letters on her brother's affairs, addressed to Montrnorency and 
 others. The little princess was a lively and beautiful child ; 
 and before she was a year old began to give indications of that 
 superabundance of energy for which she was afterwards so cele- 
 brated. Madame de Silly, 1 one of Marguerite's most favoured 
 ladies, was appointed gouvernante to the young princess. This 
 lady, by her tact and ability, rendered great services to the king 
 during his captivity in Spain, where she accompanied her royal 
 mistress ; and probably the post conferred upon her was given 
 in recognition of her fidelity at that critical period. 
 
 The refusal of her nobles of Berry to contribute towards the 
 ransom of the dauphin and his brother, had proved a serious 
 source of annoyance to Queen Marguerite. It gave her great 
 satisfaction, therefore, to hear that, mollified by the expostula- 
 
 1 Aymee de la Fayette, widow of Frai^ois de Silly, Seigneur de Lonray et de 
 Fay, gentleman of the chamber to the king, bailiff and captain of Caen, deceased 
 in 1524.
 
 30 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 tions of the King of Navarre, they had unanimously granted the 
 king a levy of a tenth on their fiefs and estates held in tenure 
 from the crown. This good news the King of Navarre imparted 
 to Francis in a letter dated from Bourges, in which town he 
 was sojourning at the time of his daughter's birth. 
 
 The king was too glad to gather this large subsidy into his 
 coffers to manifest inexorable resentment at the refusals he at 
 first encountered. The sum presented to the king by his nobles, 
 lay and ecclesiastical, was not, however, applied for the ransom 
 of the dauphin and his brother ; for the emperor peremptorily 
 refused to accept other terms of peace than those stipulated in 
 the treaty of Madrid. Charles's indignation became excessive 
 when he was informed of the march of Lautrec into Italy ; and 
 with a hastiness of conduct of which he was seldom guilty, he 
 banished the Bishop of Tarbes, ambassador extraordinary of 
 Francis, and the President de Calvirnont, 1 the resident French 
 ambassador at Toledo, twenty leagues from court, and committed 
 them to the custody of guards. He treated in the same manner 
 the ambassadors of all the confederate powers. Francis retaliated 
 by commanding the arrest of Granvelle, 2 the emperor's ambassa- 
 dor in Paris. Charles soon became sensible of the error he had 
 committed ; the ambassadors were released, and afterwards in- 
 stantly quitted Spain, in obedience to orders from their respective 
 courts, transmitted during the period of their arrest. The release 
 of the ambassadors, nevertheless, was not effected until after the 
 arrival of the English and French heralds, Clarencieux and 
 Guyenne, with a formal declaration of war on the part of their 
 respective sovereigns. Charles received the heralds with great 
 state, seated on his throne, and surrounded by his ministers and 
 nobles. In reply to the address of the French herald, Guyenne, 
 the emperor's language was calculated to inflame the hostility 
 of the King of France. " I am surprised," said he, " that your 
 master should think it necessary formally to proclaim a war 
 which has been ceaseless between us for the last seven years. 
 This proceeding would be irregular if your master were free ; but 
 it amounts to insolent temerity under present circumstances, as 
 he is my captive, having given me his word of honour to return 
 
 1 First president of the parliament of Bordeaux. 
 
 2 Nicholas Perrenot de Grauvelle, Seigneur de Granvelle, afterwards chancellor 
 to Charles V. He was father of the celebrated Cardinal de Granvelle.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 31 
 
 if the treaty of Madrid was not executed. I cannot believe, 
 however, that this hero so jealous of his glory, this cavalier who 
 considers the maxims of honour as sacred and inviolable, wishes 
 to evade the proposal which I made two years ago at Grenada to 
 Calvimont, his ambassador. However, whether this ambassador 
 chose to be silent, or your master is pleased to feign ignorance, I 
 charge you expressly to repeat my words to him, it is the duty of 
 your office ; and on this condition alone you enjoy immunity at my 
 court ! " 1 The herald Guyenne, on the termination of the audience, 
 was furnished with his passports and conducted to the frontier. 
 
 The sarcastic severity of Charles's language transported 
 Francis with fury, and without delay he despatched a messenger 
 to Calvimont, with orders for the ambassador to transmit a 
 literal transcript of the emperor's mysterious words spoken 
 when at Grenada. Calvimont had not the slightest recollection 
 of the circumstance. He addressed a respectful letter to the 
 emperor requesting him to repeat the language he used at 
 Grenada, as the king his master menaced him with dis- 
 grace unless he transmitted a satisfactory explanation within 
 a given time. Charles replied, " he had told the ambassador 
 that Francis had basely, and in a most cowardly manner, vio- 
 lated his word ; and that if the king ventured to deny it he 
 would maintain the truth of his charge to his teeth and with 
 his sword ; for that while Christendom was threatened by the 
 infidels, it was unbecoming for kings to shed the blood of their 
 subjects for other causes than in defence of religion, and there- 
 fore he was ready to settle this, their quarrel, by personal com- 
 bat." From these words, used probably partly in bravado by 
 the emperor, sprang that strange episode in the history of these 
 eventful times, of the challenge to mortal combat exchanged 
 between the two most powerful monarchs of Europe. The pre- 
 liminaries were conducted with the solemn ceremonies usual 
 in the middle ages when princely foes defied each other. 
 Heralds, with their blazoned tabards and wands, carried the 
 challenges and delivered them to the respective sovereigns, who 
 granted them audiences surrounded by the pomp of royalty. 
 The design of the actual personal encounter of the two mon- 
 archs was, nevertheless, felt to be impracticable; the solemn 
 missions of the heralds, Guyenne and Bourgogne, therefore, had 
 
 1 Gailliard, Hist, de Franjois I.
 
 32 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 no other result than to dazzle the multitude and to afford a 
 channel for the recriminations of the hostile sovereigns. 
 
 The animosity of the French, nevertheless, was the source 
 but of a small portion of the anxieties which preyed on the 
 mind of the Emperor Charles V. The ruler of an empire vast 
 as that of Charlemagne, his ambition was gratified by the almost 
 universal homage of the continental nations. But the sixteenth 
 century was the era of renaissance; throughout Europe the 
 fetters of despotism were falling. A great political and religious 
 reaction was in progress, and the thirst for freedom, so long 
 arbitrarily repressed, manifested itself in acts of aggression and 
 defiance of constituted authority. War, tumult, faction, and 
 infidelity are the prominent features of the age j and during the 
 reign of Charles V. and Francis I., the greatest potentates of the 
 continent, this social convulsion continued. The people, exulting 
 in, though not yet confirmed in, their newly acquired liberties, 
 gave a loose rein to the most terrible excesses ; so that Europe 
 presented the spectacle of constant popular outbreaks, and the 
 bloody repression of tumult on the part of its various sove- 
 reigns. Amongst the diversity of races gathered under Charles's 
 imperial sceptre, the only people upon whose fidelity he could 
 rely, and against whom he never drew his avenging sword, were 
 the inhabitants of Franche-Comte'. Proud of owing allegiance 
 to the royal house of Burgundy, the royal devotion of these 
 hardy mountaineers was without reproach. In Spain, the revo- 
 lutionary spirit displayed by the communeros, and the encroach- 
 ments of the hidalgos, gave Charles perpetual care. The 
 powerful and haughty Spanish nobles exercised then an au- 
 thority and influence little short of that possessed by the great 
 barons of France before the reign of Louis XI. ; and the prin- 
 ciples which animated the chiefs of the Santa Junta, the 
 formidable league that threatened to dethrone the heir and 
 grandson of Isabel the Catholic, were not extirpated from 
 the soil of Castile. To counteract these democratic principles, 
 the epidemic of the age, and from which even loyal and aristo- 
 cratic Spain was not exempt, Charles conferred vast privileges 
 upon the municipalities of his kingdom ; and to propitiate the 
 nobles, he constituted that brilliant court of ricos-hombres, 
 grandees of Spain of the first class, upon whom he bestowed 
 splendid privileges and honours. In the Low Countries the
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 33 
 
 spirit of sedition needed constant repression ; the turbulent 
 burghers of Ghent, Bruges, and Liege, the merchant princes of 
 Europe, fought for their privileges, and defied their princes. 
 Proscriptions, executions, and the sword often and often again 
 decimated their flourishing cities ; but the citizens yet rose to 
 arms to defend their commerce, or to repel the fiscal exactions of 
 their rulers. Germany was a focus of revolt, democracy, and 
 calamity. The states were at variance one with the other ; 
 reform agitated all minds, kindling dissension between the 
 authorities of the cities and their inhabitants, between individu- 
 als and their relatives, and plunging the ministers of the Re- 
 formed Church into controversy with the Roman Catholic 
 priesthood, embittering every social relation. Upon this mass 
 of political and religious disorganization Soliman II. poured his 
 hordes of infidels, making war alike on all who opposed them- 
 selves to the conquests and the creed of the Mussulmans. Enough 
 had Charles alone, in this one division of his vast empire, to 
 exhaust the faculties of a legislator of much more compre- 
 hensive genius than himself. In addition to these weighty 
 cares, the emperor had to legislate for his vast colonial empire, 
 often also on the point of revolt, which he governed through 
 viceroys, amenable to his imperial authority, and instructed to 
 enforce no edict of importance unsanctioned by the Cortes of 
 Spain and his own sign manual. Overwhelmed by cares of 
 such magnitude, well might the spirit of the emperor become 
 morose, and the solitude and comparative freedom from anxiety 
 in which he ended his days be regarded as a boon by a mind 
 worn by the unparalleled labours of the past. No human legis- 
 lator, however, could restore the equilibrium of Europe ; the 
 preaching of Luther aroused a spirit of fearless inquiry. Men 
 became sensible of their religious and political freedom and 
 responsibility ; so that a system which embodied and realized 
 the past yearning of every bosom for social reform met with all 
 but universal acceptance. 
 
 During the few months of comparative tranquillity which 
 ensued in France after the king had despatched his cartel to 
 the emperor, the activity of the opponents of reform revived. 
 To the great grief of Marguerite, her brother showed himself 
 far less favourable to toleration. The relation given him by 
 Madame of the dissensions raised during her regency by the 
 
 VOL. II. 3
 
 34 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 preaching of the reformers, and the desire of Francis that his 
 zeal for the Romish Church should present a contrast to the 
 conduct of the emperor, who had laid sacrilegious hands on the 
 pope, rendered him indisposed to favour his Lutheran subjects. 
 Duprat, therefore, convoked a diocesan synod of the clergy of 
 his archiepiscopal see of Sens, to meet in Paris during the 
 month of February, 1528. An adept in duplicity and in 
 the arts of chicane, this cardinal chancellor had nothing of the 
 churchman about him ; he persecuted, not out of zeal for the 
 purity of the faith, but in arrogant indignation that any in 
 the realm presumed to hold opinions which he condemned. 
 During the session of the Council a circumstance occurred 
 
 O 
 
 which increased the fiery zeal of the bigots whose counsels 
 unhappily predominated at court. At the angle of the Rue des 
 Rosiers and the Rue des Juifs, in the Quartier St. Antoine, was 
 an image of the Virgin Mary. One morning the inhabitants of 
 the district were horrified at discovering that during the night 
 some miscreant had stabbed the miraculous image with a pon- 
 iard. The affair created the greatest scandal and excitement, 
 and most rigorous measures were adopted, without effect, to dis- 
 cover the author of the outrage. Solemn processions and 
 prayers were commanded to expiate the sacrilegious deed, and 
 the king caused a statue of the Virgin to be wrought in silver 
 to replace the one so impiously defaced. Transported with a 
 fever of religious zeal, Francis resolved to proceed, attended by 
 his court, to re-establish the image in its niche. Accordingly on 
 the llth day of June, 1528, the king went in state to hear mass 
 in the church of the Convent of St. Catherine, attended by the 
 princes of the blood, the great officers of the crown, the ambas- 
 sadors, the suffragan bishops of the diocese, the municipality of 
 Paris, the chapters of the cathedral churches, the university, 
 and the monks of the capital Mass was said by the Bishop of 
 Paris, 1 and at its conclusion the king, carrying a blazing torch, 
 and followed by this imposing assemblage of prelates and 
 nobles, proceeded on foot to the Rue des Rosiers. The Bishop 
 of Lisieux, 2 Grand Almoner of France, attired in his sacerdotal 
 vestments, preceded the king, bearing aloft the silver statue. 
 
 1 Paris was then a see under the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Sens, at that 
 time the Cardinal Duprat. 
 
 3 Jean le Veneur, created a cardinal when the pope visited France in 1533.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 35 
 
 Francis with his own hands replaced the Virgin in her niche ; 
 he afterwards caused a strong trellis of iron-work to be placed 
 before the statue to guard it from similar desecration. 1 This 
 affair sounded the tocsin for a general persecution of the reform- 
 ers throughout France. Edicts were launched by the Council 
 and eagerly registered by the parliament, prohibiting the public 
 meetings, or " preches" as they were then termed, of the Hugue- 
 nots ; their books were rigidly scrutinized by the theologians of 
 Paris and suppressed, and though for some months after the 
 adventure of the Virgin of the Eue des Eosiers there were 
 no public executions for heresy, yet those suspected of de- 
 fection from the Church of Rome were subjected to irksome 
 surveillance. 
 
 It was during the autumn of this year that Marguerite, sad 
 and foreseeing the calamities about to overwhelm her friends, 
 resolved to quit the court for a season and accompany her hus- 
 band into his hereditary dominions of Be*arn. The queen prob- 
 ably commenced her journey in the month of September or at 
 the beginning of October. The season, nevertheless, was un- 
 propitious for a long journey, as sickness, infection, and famine 
 pervaded the kingdom. The elements themselves partook in 
 the disorganization of all things. The months of January and 
 February had been so oppressively warm that the trees budded 
 and expanded into leaf, and the fruit formed to wither before it 
 attained to maturity. The corn broke into ear before the usual 
 harvest season ; but the sun possessed not sufficient fervour to 
 ripen the crops. For five consecutive years this weather con- 
 tinued, and during this period a slight frost, lasting two days, 
 was only seen in France. The ground swarmed with insects, 
 which devoured every species of vegetation, and the most ter- 
 rible famine ensued, followed by a fatal epidemic. Such was 
 the scarcity of provisions that in many provinces the sole sus- 
 tenance of the peasant was a cake composed of fern leaves, 
 acorns, and beech-masts. 2 
 
 The Queen of Navarre wrote to her brother after her arrival at 
 
 * This precious statue was stolen during the reign of Francis. It was replaced 
 by one of wood. The Huguenots hewed this image in pieces during the year 
 1551, when the vacant niche was again filled by a marble figure of the Virgin, 
 which was installed by the Bishop of Paris with great ceremony. 
 
 2 Paradin, Hist, de Notre Temps.
 
 36 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 Pau. The idiom of the country perplexed Marguerite, and pre- 
 vented her from responding as warmly as she wished to the en- 
 thusiastic welcome which the brave Bdaruois gave to the queen. 
 " Monseigneur, It is only five days ago since I arrived here, 
 and I am now just beginning to understand the language. 
 Therefore I shall leave the King of Navarre to render you 
 account of the condition of your frontier, whom you have 
 intrusted with its defence. He will not fail to use good dili- 
 gence in your service ; for since the king's arrival here he has 
 alone occupied himself with your affairs, leaving to me the sole 
 conduct of his own ; which, however, cannot prosper, inon- 
 seigneur, without your loving favour, to which, as humbly as is 
 possible, he commends your very humble and very obedient 
 sister and mignonne, MARGUERITE." The union subsisting 
 between the King and Queen of Navarre must have been cordial 
 indeed, when Marguerite consents to be commended to the 
 favour of Francis. In many of her letters Marguerite's anxious 
 desire that Francis should appreciate her husband is perceptible ; 
 wherever she can she invariably unites his name with her own, 
 that Henry may be a sharer with herself in her brother's 
 confidence. 
 
 Marguerite spent the Christmas of 1528 in Bdarn. Her little 
 daughter remained during the queen's absence at Lonray, a 
 residence belonging to Madame de Silly, 1 close to Alen$on. At 
 Pau Marguerite studied at leisure the doctrine of the reformers, 
 probably aided by Gerard Eoussel, who had found refuge from 
 persecution in Bdarn. Undisturbed by the religious factions of 
 the capital, Marguerite here continued her poem of " Le Miroir 
 de 1'Ame Pecheresse," although a presentiment of coming evil 
 clouded her tranquil enjoyments. She, who could read her 
 brother's mind almost as her own, knew that sentiments bitterly 
 hostile to reform possessed him, and that the inconsiderate zeal 
 of converts to the " new doctrines " had been exaggerated to the 
 king, so as to kindle a deep aversion towards men represented 
 as the abettors of sedition throughout the realm. The king's 
 foreign policy, his love of pompous ceremonial, the counsels of 
 Madame, and the solicitations of Duprat were powerful incen- 
 
 1 The castle of Lonray eraitnally became the property of the House of 
 Montmorency.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVAERE. 37 
 
 tives to her brother to discountenance the so-called heresy. One 
 day the king expressed some displeasure, while conversing with 
 the papal nuncio, relative to the lukewarmness displayed by the 
 pope, and significantly hinted that further vacillation on the 
 part of the supreme pontiff might be balanced, in a political 
 sense, by the closer alliance of France with the German 
 Lutherans, and the consequent toleration of their creed through- 
 out the kingdom. " Sire," promptly responded the papal envoy, 
 " you would be the first to repent of such a measure, as you 
 would be a much greater loser than the pope. A new religion, 
 adopted by an entire people, involves eventually the change of 
 their prince and of his dynasty." 1 The reply of the legate 
 appeared to make a deep impression on the king ; it was 
 impossible to touch upon a more sensitive chord, as jealous 
 assertion of his kingly prerogatives was a prominent trait in 
 the character of Francis. 
 
 The king's umbrage at the spread of Lutheranism in France 
 was increased by additional acts of intemperate zeal on the part 
 of its professors. Despite the signal proof of displeasure he had 
 given at the outrage perpetrated on the statue of the Virgin of 
 the Rue des Hosiers, several images of saints, placed along the 
 public thoroughfares of Paris, were torn from their niches and 
 mutilated. So manifest a defiance of authority, and of the 
 decrees of the Council of Sens, it was deemed prudent to repress ; 
 for the daring independence displayed by the sectarians alarmed 
 the upholders of absolutism in the Council. Just at this critical 
 period, when the king's natural clemency of disposition and the 
 exhortations of his sister and the Duchess d'Estampes balanced 
 the intolerant counsels of Madame, Duprat, and of Montmorency, 
 Louis de Berquin was imprudent enough to become again the 
 assailant of the Sorbonne. In vain Erasmus exhorted him to 
 moderation. Once before he had checked Berquiu's zeal with 
 the words : " Remember that hornets must not be irritated ; 
 enjoy, therefore, your studies in peace. Above all, do not 
 involve me in your disputes ; it would be of no profit either to 
 you or to me." 2 Relying, nevertheless, on his influence at 
 court, Berquin attacked the university, and clamorously de- 
 
 1 BrantSme. 
 
 2 Berquin wrote word back in reply to Erasmus, " that the time was arrived to 
 humble the arrogance of the schoolmen."
 
 38 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 manded the reversal of the censures pronounced on the works of 
 his friend Erasmus, and redress for its past persecutions of himself- 
 He presented memorial after memorial to the king, praying after 
 justice, in language highly irritating to the Romish theologians. 
 The Sorbonne was not backward in its retaliation : it renewed 
 its solemn charge of heresy against Berquin, and demanded that 
 in accordance with the canons of the recent Council of Sens he 
 should be again put on his trial for heresy. Duprat strenuously 
 supported the demand made by the Faculty. Movements of 
 extraordinary velocity result often from small impetus ; so the 
 king, predisposed to severity, adopted the opinions of his Council, 
 and signed an ordonnance permitting the resumption of Berquin's 
 trial, which, unhappily, was but a prelude for countless acts of 
 similar import. Twelve judges, selected from the members of 
 the parliament of Paris, were chosen by the king [amongst 
 whom was the celebrated Guillaume Bude'e to preside at the 
 trial, which opened with a ceremonial hitherto unknown in 
 France upon an arraignment for heresy. 1 
 
 When too late, Berquin became sensible of his imprudence. 
 Daunted by the threatening aspect of the court, the friends who 
 had before served him so faithfully withdrew themselves. The 
 Queen of Navarre was in Be*arn ; the Duchess d'Estampes lived in 
 subservience to Madame ; Duprat, the unscrupulous yet wary 
 churchman, possessed the king's ear. To Marguerite, however, 
 Berquin appealed, Marguerite, who from her distant home in 
 Be'arn watched with solicitude the events of the capital. If 
 earthly intercession could avail to move the king's purpose, 
 Berquin knew that there existed no more powerful mediator 
 than the Queen of Navarre. 
 
 The peril which menaced Berquin aroused Marguerite's pro- 
 found sympathy. With little hope of success she yet determined 
 to intercede in his behalf; arraigned for the third time before 
 the Sorbonne, she felt that one whose writings identified him so 
 completely with the proscribed opinions would not be suffered 
 to escape the heretic's doom. With sorrowful earnestness 
 Marguerite addressed the king thus: 
 
 MONSEIGNEUR, Poor Berquin, who acknowledges that through 
 your clemency God has twice preserved his life, will shortly appear 
 
 1 Gailliard, Hist, de Frai^ois I.; Bayle.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 39 
 
 again before you, having no person to explain his innocence and to 
 intercede with you ; but knowing, raonseigneur, how greatly you esteem 
 him, and the desire which inspires him to serve you, I fear not to 
 beseech you by letter, instead of by word of mouth, that it will please 
 you again to take pity upon him. If you will deign to interest yourself 
 in his cause, I hope that the trutli which he may demonstrate will con- 
 vict those forgers of heretics 1 of being rather slanderers, and dis- 
 obedient to you, than zealous for the faith. But, monseigneur, assured 
 as I am that you comprehend every plea that may be advanced in his 
 favour, and do so maintain equity that righteous men need no inter- 
 cessor to recommend them to your gracious clemency, I will cease to 
 plead. I beseech Him who has endowed you with so many ex- 
 cellent graces and virtues to give you a long and prosperous life, so 
 that by you He may be praised long in this world, and eternally in 
 that which is to come. 
 
 Your very humble and obedient subject and sister, 
 
 MARGUERITE.* 
 
 Marguerite's intercession did not prevail to stay the trial, the 
 king possibly having pledged himself to try the effect of severity 
 for the suppression of reform ; but her influence mitigated in the 
 first instance the rigour of the sentence pronounced. Berquin, 
 instead of being consigned at once to the flames, was condemned 
 to make amende honorable by a public abjuration of his heresy 
 at the porch of Notre Dame. His books and writings were to 
 be burned before his face by the public executioner ; his tongue 
 was to be pierced ; his forehead branded with the fleur-de-lis as 
 a perpetual mark of ignominy ; and he was to be incarcerated 
 for life in the diocesan prison of Paris. 3 Berquin firmly refused 
 to make his abjuration, and appealed from the other portions of 
 his sentence to the king and the pope. The learned Bude"e, who 
 had been placed on this commission of inquiry against his will, 
 implored Berquin to recant, and avert the dreadful doom, the lot 
 of the contumacious heretic. Berquin, however, had partaken too 
 deeply of the consolations which the Scriptures in their simplicity 
 and beauty bestow to be tempted to purchase a remnant of life 
 by apostasy. In his hour of extremity and desertion one faith- 
 ful friend still mourned with Berquin, and made ceaseless inter- 
 cession for him before both the heavenly and the earthly 
 
 1 The University. 2 MS. Bibl. Roy., F. du Suppl. Fran., No. 93. 
 
 8 MSS. de St. Germain, No. 1556, Arret rendu centre Louis de Berquin.
 
 40 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 tribunal. Marguerite wrote to the king after his sentence had 
 been recorded : 
 
 MONSIEUR, I conjure you deign to take pity upon poor Berquin. 
 I know that be suffers tribulation only because he loves to read the 
 Word of God, and to obey you. For which those who during your 
 captivity did the contrary, being disobedient, have hated him ; so much 
 so that their malice and hypocrisy have found accusers, who have art- 
 fully rendered you oblivious of his guileless faith in God and his devo- 
 tion to yourself. If you will not condescend to hear from himself 
 touching this matter, you will reduce him to despair. I beseech you, 
 monseigneur, to act so as it may not be said that absence has made 
 you forget your very humble and obedient subject and sister, 
 
 MARGUERITE. 1 
 
 The entreaties of the Queen of Navarre were useless ; the 
 " hornets " who surrounded Berquin were merciless in the torture 
 which they inflicted. A few days after his sentence had been 
 pronounced he was again brought before his judges, and con- 
 demned to the flames as an obstinate and contumacious heretic. 
 Twenty thousand spectators assembled to witness the departure 
 of the martyr from the Palais back to the diocesan prison, the 
 Chatelet, where he was incarcerated. Berquin's sentence was 
 executed on Saturday, April 24, 1529 ; he was conveyed to the 
 Place de Greve in a tumbril, and suffered death with heroic 
 fortitude in the presence of an immense assemblage. 2 
 
 Early at the commencement of the year 1529 the Queen of 
 Navarre returned to Paris. The position of parties afforded her 
 little inducement to mingle in the turbulent scenes enacting in 
 the capital. The rivalry of Brion and the Marshal de Montmo- 
 rency divided the court. The admiral, supple, insinuating, and 
 dexterous, maintained his position with the king by a refinement 
 and suavity of deportment always acceptable to Francis. He was 
 likewise favoured by Madame d'Estampes, who ever gave him 
 preference over Moutmorency. The latter, however, possessed 
 unquestioned influence in State affairs ; his intimate liaison with 
 the Duchess d'Angoulgme and with the Queen of Navarre in- 
 vested him, in the eyes of the king, with an importance tenfold 
 
 1 MS. Bibl. Roy., F. du Suppl. Fran., No. 31. 
 
 a Arret de Louis de Berquin, MSS. de St. Germain, No. 1556 ; Bayle, Diet. 
 Hist.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 41 
 
 greater than that accruing to Brion from the patronage of 
 Madame d'Estampes. Francis gave his confidence to Montmo- 
 rency, but Brion was the favoured companion of his hours of 
 relaxation. The marshal's unbending and warlike spirit was not 
 able to adapt itself to the persiflage and witty trifles in which 
 the king delighted ; he could not, like Brion, partake in the 
 enthusiasm of Francis for a sonnet, a beautiful picture, or share 
 in his master's raptures at the sculptor's wondrous art. In the 
 Council, at court solemnities, or in headlong chase in pursuit of 
 the stag through the deep glades of the forest of Fontainebleau, 
 Montmorency knew no competitor. Jealous, nevertheless, of 
 Brion's favour, inferior as it really was to his own, the marshal 
 opposed the former in every possible manner. While Madame 
 lived neither of the rival factions obtained preponderance at 
 court ; she alike dominated over Montmorency and the Duchess 
 d'Estampes, and ruled the court by her absolute will ; privately, 
 however, both she and Marguerite expressed their sympathy 
 with Montmorency in his broils with the admiral. The Queen 
 of Navarre wrote to Montmorency on her road to Blois. She 
 expresses infinite impatience to arrive at the end of her journey ; 
 perhaps Marguerite hoped yet to save Berquin, as she reached 
 Paris before his execution. After making a brief sojourn with 
 the king and with Madame at Blois, the queen proceeded to 
 Alencon, to visit her little daughter at Lonray, and to administer 
 divers affairs of importance connected with the government of 
 the duchy. Marguerite found the Princess Jeanne in flourish- 
 ing health, but grown so frolicsome that the queen tells Moiit- 
 morency, on her arrival at Lonray, she tried in vain to take repose 
 with the little princess by her side, but with playful mischief the 
 child would not permit her to sleep. 1 
 
 When the queen had accomplished the object of her journey 
 to the duchy, she quitted Lonray, and joined Madame at St. 
 Germain. The King of Navarre had accompanied the king on a 
 grand hunting excursion ; for Francis carried his passion for the 
 chase to excess. Amid the trackless forests which existed then 
 in France, the king pursued his sport, sometimes for days together, 
 traversing extraordinary distances. Occasionally an accident 
 would separate him from his train amid the intricacies of the 
 
 1 Lettre de la Reine de Navarre a M. le Grand Maitre, MS. Bibl. Roy., F. de 
 Beth., No. 8549.
 
 42 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 forest ; and the varied incidents springing from an adventure of 
 this kind, Francis loved to recount. Often the inhabitants of 
 some secluded hamlet buried in the depths of the woods, were 
 roused by the sight of the royal piqneurs in their brilliant 
 uniforms, and by the deep tones of hounds in full cry. Suddenly 
 then, riding at the head of a splendid train of courtiers, the king 
 appeared ; but ere the astonished peasants had leisure to utter 
 their loyal vivas, the corttye vanished. An invitation to accom- 
 pany Francis on one of these roving expeditions was considered 
 as a mark of high distinction. The Duchess d'Estampes, and 
 some of the more daring ladies of the court often joined in them 
 out of complaisance to the king, but the name of the Queen of 
 Navarre is never found on the list of these adventurous darnes. 
 The most magnificent entertainments were given by Francis at 
 the various palaces in which he sojourned ; gambling was often 
 indulged in to a great extent by the dissipated nobles, freed then 
 from the scrutiny of Madame, who kept a watchful eye on their 
 proceedings. Marguerite seems to have had some apprehension 
 that the King of Navarre might be seduced to play by the bad 
 example of those around. She therefore writes expressly to com- 
 mend him to the care of the prudent and sage Montmorency. 
 " I commend to you the King of Navarre and his suite," says 
 she ; " you know that he is now with a party which will not spare 
 him at play ; therefore aid him by your good counsel." l 
 
 Meantime the fortune of the war in Italy continued less in 
 favour of the French arms. An expedition against Naples proved 
 a failure ; but the most fatal blow to the success of the French 
 was the decease of the Marshal de Lautrec, who expired of the 
 plague. The command then devolved upon the Marquis of 
 Saluzzo, " a man," says Guicciardini, "calculated to shine in a 
 tournament, rather than at the head of an army." The circum- 
 stance which contributed powerfully to the failure of the siege of 
 Naples was the disaffection and final desertion from the cause 
 of Francis of the renowned Andrea Doria. The triumphs of 
 Charles V. sprang almost invariably from the oversights com- 
 mitted by his impetuous and pleasure-loving rival. Remember- 
 ing the havoc made in his fleet before Marseilles, and latterly in 
 the naval combat in the Gulf of Salerno, by the veteran Genoese 
 
 1 Lettre de la Reine de Navarre a M. le Grand Maitre, MS. Bibl. Roy., F. de 
 Beth., No. 86-20.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 43 
 
 admiral, the emperor gladly received Doria's overtures. Bour- 
 bon, Orange, and Doria names so renowned in the history of 
 this century, men of the highest eminence both in the field and 
 in the cabinet twined more laurels round the emperor's brow 
 than any culled for him by his own generals. The two first, 
 subjects born of France, one a prince of the blood, the other the 
 head of the illustrious family of Chalons, and connected with 
 the royal house of Bourbon, Doria, also, bound by long ser- 
 vices, and an intimate political as well as a personal interest to 
 France, were alienated by cold disregard of their services, and 
 their culpable sacrifice by the king to the caprices and animosity 
 of his reigning favourites. To the treason of Bourbon and 
 Orange may be traced the reverses and calamities of the reign 
 of Francis. The most splendid victory ever achieved by Charles 
 was won for him at Pavia by the military science of the Con- 
 stable de Bourbon ; the capture of the pope, the sack of Eome, and 
 the final predominance of .the imperial arms in Italy after the 
 raising of the siege of Naples, the emperor owed not to his own 
 generals, Monqada and Leyva, but to the subject of France, the 
 gallant young Prince of Orange. 
 
 By the defection of Andrea Doria France lost the empire of 
 the sea ; and to balance the maritime superiority thereby accruing 
 to the emperor, the king was eventually compelled to form that 
 alliance offensive and defensive with the Sultan Soliman II. 
 which drew upon him the reproaches of Christendom. 
 
 The war with Italy languished after the retreat of the French 
 forces from before Naples. The recapture of Pavia by the French 
 was more than counterbalanced by the conquest of Genoa by 
 Doria, to whom the more politic Charles had granted the demands 
 refused him by the King of France. The last event of the war 
 was the surprise of Landriano by Antonio de Leyva, and the 
 capitulation of the Count de St. Paul and the French garrison. 
 After this the imperialists, as well as their opponents, by mutual 
 consent suspended hostilities. The devastation of the country, 
 the starving population, the ravages of pestilence, and the ruin of 
 the fairest cities of Italy, battered and pillaged of their wealth, 
 presented a spectacle of such utter desolation that her fierce in- 
 vaders themselves refrained from adding to calamity so appalling. 
 The pope, who had by turns endured every evil which war of the 
 most aggravated description can inflict, was the first to make
 
 44 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 overtures for peace. The despotic authority of the Medici over 
 the Florentines had been totally overthrown during the troubles 
 in Italy, and their family banished from Florence. To obtain the 
 restoration of his aspiring house was the project paramount above 
 others in the negotiations of Clement with the emperor. Charles 
 desired to receive the imperial crown from the pope's hands ; for 
 until after the ceremony of his coronation his dignity was deemed 
 imperfect, and in state documents from foreign powers he was 
 addressed only as the " elect emperor." Private interests, there- 
 fore, blending thus with political and patriotic motives, a treaty 
 was negotiated between the emperor and the pope, and proclaimed 
 with great ceremony in the cathedral of Barcelona during the 
 month of June, 1529. Its principal stipulations were that the 
 emperor should re-establish the Medici in Florence, and bestow 
 his natural daughter, Marguerite, in marriage on Alexander de 
 Medici, Clement's nephew, and that all the places and ports ap- 
 pertaining to the territories of the Holy See should be restored. 
 The pope, on his part, granted the investiture of Naples to 
 Charles and his successors, on condition of the annual presenta- 
 tion of a white horse in token of the vassalage of the sovereign of 
 Naples to the Holy See. The pope, moreover, agreed to share 
 with the emperor the right of nominating to ecclesiastical bene- 
 fices within the Neapolitan dominions. 1 
 
 This treaty satisfactorily concluded, the most difficult task re- 
 mained yet to accomplish, which was to restore the equilibrium 
 of Europe by the reconciliation of the emperor with Francis I. 
 The personal enmity of the two princes had to be vanquished, as 
 well as their political differences adjusted ; for the recollection 
 of the insulting epithets so liberally applied at the period of 
 their mutual defiance still rankled in their hearts. The neces- 
 sity, however, was imperative: France stood on the brink of 
 ruin ; another adverse campaign was sufficient to exhaust her 
 financial resources. Neither was the condition of the emperor 
 much superior to that of his rival : the devastations of the Infi- 
 dels in Hungary and in the duchy of Austria, the fierce conten- 
 tions agitating Germany, and the spirit of democracy which 
 ranged at large in the provinces of the Low Countries, and from 
 which Spain herself was not exempt, warned Charles to make 
 timely concession. The Duchess d'Angoulgiue offered to under- 
 
 1 Mezeray, Abrege Chronolog.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 45 
 
 take this important negotiation, while the emperor nominated 
 his aunt, the Archduchess Marguerite of Austria, widow of 
 Philibert II., Duke of Savoy, and Eegent of the Low Countries. 
 The town of Cambray was selected for the theatre of the 
 negotiations. The Duchess d'Angoul^nie arrived there in the 
 month of July, 1529, accompanied by Marguerite and the King 
 of Navarre, and attended by a numerous suite. It was always a 
 part of the policy of Francis I. to impress the emperor with an 
 exalted idea of the wealth and boundless resources of his king- 
 dom. Madame, therefore, made her entry into Cambray with 
 ostentatious parade. She was preceded by an almost intermi- 
 nable train of baggage-wagons, cars, and mules laden with 
 coffers. The number of these vans is stated to have been three 
 thousand, and that the procession took more than three hours to 
 defile through the gates of the town. The cars, when emptied 
 of their contents at the palace assigned to the Duchess d'Angou- 
 leme, were then driven outside the town to an open space, where 
 a huge encampment, with tents for the shelter of the numerous 
 attendants and the beasts of burden, was formed. When the 
 baggage had passed, the Bishop of Cambray, and the principal 
 Flemish and Spanish nobility of the court of the archduchess 
 rode out in procession to receive and escort Madame and her 
 suite into the town. Four hundred pages and gentlemen-at- 
 arms, clad in gorgeous costumes, preceded a brilliant cavalcade 
 of the chief nobles of France, who rode two and two before the 
 open litter in which sat the Duchess d'Angoule"rne and the 
 Queen of Navarre. Amongst the nobles were the Chancellor 
 Duprat, Cardinal de Sens, the Marshal de Montmorency, the 
 Admiral de Brion, the Counts de la Tour, de Humieres, and de 
 Chateaubriand, with many other nobles and prelates. Around 
 the litter in which Madame and her daughter sat, inarched 
 four-and-twenty Swiss guards, bareheaded, carrying halberds 
 and wearing chains of gold. Another very richly adorned litter 
 followed that occupied by Madame, in which rode the Duchess 
 de Vendome and her mother-in-law, the Duchess-dowager de 
 Vendome, and the Countess de la Trimouille, a lady also of the 
 blood-royal of France. Then followed a great number of the 
 unmarried ladies of the court, mounted on palfreys superbly 
 trapped with housings of crimson velvet fringed with gold. 
 Another detachment of guards and archers attended this long
 
 46 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 procession of horsewomen ; and the cavalcade closed by a line 
 of chariots drawn by mules, conveying the attendants of all the 
 royal and noble ladies in the procession. 1 
 
 Madame and the Queen of Navarre proceeded to the Abbaye 
 de St. Aubert to visit the Archduchess Marguerite, who awaited 
 them with impatience. The princesses embraced with cordial- 
 ity, and they afterwards conversed apart for some minutes. 
 Marguerite and her mother then retired to the lodgings pre- 
 pared for their reception in the Hotel de St. Paul ; yet, despite 
 the cordiality of their reception, the remembrance of the com- 
 plicated negotiations at Toledo, and the inflexibility then dis- 
 played by the emperor and his ministers, caused many a boding 
 presentiment to rise in the mind of Madame and her daughter. 
 
 All the European powers watched with indescribable interest 
 the opening of the conferences. Ambassadors arrived at Carn- 
 bray from the confederated princes of Italy; Henry VIII. , King 
 of England, despatched the Bishop of London and Sir Thomas 
 More to aid in a negotiation to restore to France the children 
 " of his very dear brother and perpetual ally." 2 Madame and 
 the Archduchess Marguerite continued to meet on terms of 
 cordial amity ; and in order to conduct their conferences with 
 greater secrecy, a private communication was opened between 
 their abodes, which were contiguous. 8 
 
 The old ground of the negotiation was industriously retraced 
 by the two illustrious ladies, the emperor, at first, insisting on 
 nothing less than the adoption of the treaty of Madrid without 
 modifications. Madame, however, proved inflexible as Margue- 
 rite had been during her sojourn at Toledo in rejecting its many 
 objectionable clauses; and at one time affairs took so adverse 
 a turn that the plenipotentiaries were on the point of closing 
 their parley. If Madame had not possessed more moderation 
 and patience than her impetuous son, Europe might have de- 
 plored the prospective miseries of a renewed contest. The 
 
 1 Sandoval, Historia del Emperador Carlos V. , lib. xvii. Louisa, in the opin- 
 ion of the Spanish historians, put the crowning point to the haughtiness of her 
 deportment by demanding that the keys of the town of Cambray should be de- 
 livered to her every night. This request the authorities of the town contrived 
 to evade. 
 
 2 Letter of the Cardinal Wolsey to the Duchess d'Angouleme, MSS. de Beth., 
 No. 8530, fol. 15. This letter is published by Capefigue, Hist, de Francois I. 
 
 8 Sandoval, Hist, del Emperador Carlos V.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 47 
 
 Duchess d'Angouleme despatched Du Bellay with letters to the 
 king, who was at Compiegne, detailing the obstacles she met 
 with. Irritated beyond measure, Francis, as soon as he had 
 perused his mother's despatch, wrote as follows : " Madame, 1 
 Langey is just arrived, and has made me comprehend the treat- 
 ment you have received, and their last reply to your proposals. 
 As you justly observe, God is on our side, who is judge of the 
 sincerity with which we have proceeded in the matter of this 
 peace ; therefore, Madame, I regret the trouble that you have 
 taken, which, however, cannot be said to be without its fruit, if 
 only for the example of courteous deportment that you have 
 displayed before them. Since the emperor esteems my friend- 
 ship so little, and has so great a desire to achieve the ruin of 
 my kingdom, I have good faith in God that ere long he will be 
 made to feel that I should have proved as desirable a friend as 
 I am now a desperate foe. Therefore, Madame, I pray you be- 
 lieve that God does everything for the best, and give yourself no 
 more concern, but return to me without delay." 
 
 Madame, however, aware how indispensable was peace to her 
 son's affairs, determined to persevere. In a few days the arch- 
 duchess wrote to inform her that the emperor consented at last to 
 waive his claim to Burgundy, and to accept the two millions of 
 golden crowns in lieu, so long fruitlessly tendered by Francis. 
 This grand impediment removed, Madame and the archduchess 
 renewed their conference. The greatest mystery was observed 
 by the two princesses, and the dissimulation of the Duchess 
 d'Angoul6me effectually baffled the precautions of the ambassa- 
 dors of the League, who were fearful and, as it proved, not 
 without reason that their interests would be overlooked in 
 the treaty then under consideration. At length the convention, 
 which it had required four years of perpetual recrimination to 
 complete, was proclaimed to be accomplished. The clauses of 
 the treaty of Madrid were rigidly adopted, except in the matter 
 touching the cession of Burgundy ; in lieu of which, and for the 
 ransom of his sons, Francis was to pay the emperor the sum of 
 two millions of golden crowns, or 200,000 pounds sterling. The 
 marriage of the King of France with Queen Eleanor was con- 
 firmed ; but an additional clause was inserted in the treaty, 
 stipulating " that if sons should be born to Francis and Eleanor, 
 
 1 Bihl. Roy. MSS. de Beth., No. 8506; Capefigue.
 
 48 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 they should inherit the duchy of Burgundy to the prejudice of 
 the elder children of the king." The emperor stipulated, more- 
 over, for the reversal of Bourbon's attainder, and that his heirs 
 should be reinstated ; the principality of Orange was likewise to 
 be restored to Philibert de Chalons, and an indemnity for its 
 sequestration paid to the prince of 10,000 golden ducats. 
 Francis agreed to undertake the liquidation of the emperor's 
 debt to Henry VIII., as before arranged ; and, moreover, to re- 
 deem from the King of England, for the sum of 50,000 crowns, 
 a golden fleur-de-lis, richly jewelled, and containing a fragment 
 of the true cross, which had been left in pledge to Henry VII. 
 by the emperor's father, the Archduke Don Philip, on his pas- 
 sage through England in 1506. 1 
 
 Francis thus obtained, as far as he was himself concerned, 
 the reception of the terms that he had offered to the emperor's 
 envoy, the Sieur de Praet, at Bayonne, immediately after his 
 return from captivity. Though the treaty of Cambray con- 
 firmed the king in the possession of the duchy of Burgundy, he 
 was reduced to the humiliating necessity of abandoning his 
 allies to the mercy of the emperor. 2 Great, therefore, was the 
 consternation felt by the representatives of the confederate 
 princes assembled at Cambray when they were apprised of the 
 nature of the treaty concluded between the royal ladies ; the 
 assurances of the Duchess d'Augoule'nie that nothing should be 
 concluded against or without the assent of the late allies of her 
 son, had inspired a degree of confidence which augmented their 
 disappointment. Yet the very existence of France depended on 
 the successful negotiation of peace ; and this fact was, unhappily, 
 so notorious that the ambassadors of the Italian princes seemed 
 almost to indulge in wilful delusion by supposing that France, 
 in her extremity, could afford to stipulate for other interests 
 than her own. 
 
 The peace so urgently needed was signed on the 24th of July, 
 between the hours of ten and eleven at night, and proclaimed 
 with great ceremony in the church of Notre Dame de Cambray, 
 in the presence of the Queen of Navarre, of the Duchess d'An- 
 gouleme, and of the Archduchess Marguerite of Austria, on the 
 
 1 Mem. de Du Bellay, Sleidan Comnientar. ; Sandoval, Hist, del Emp. 
 Carlos V. 
 
 3 Mezeray, Abrege Chrouolog.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 49 
 
 4th day of August, 1529. 1 High mass was first chanted by the 
 Bishop of Cambray. When this service concluded, the Duchess 
 d'Angouleme, the Archduchess Marguerite, and the Duke of 
 Suffolk, envoy-extraordinary from the King of England, rose 
 simultaneously from their seats, and approaching the high altar 
 kneeled on cushions of cloth of gold. The Bishop of Cambray 
 then received the oath for the solemn maintenance of the treaty, 
 made in the name of the emperor and the kings of France and 
 England by the two duchesses and the Duke of Suffolk, who 
 each laid a hand on the Holy Scriptures and upon a fragment 
 of the true cross during the ceremony. Te Deum was then 
 chanted, and largesse proclaimed to the people. Madame after- 
 wards adopted a singular method of testifying her liberality in 
 celebration of this happy event. She caused a magnificent plat- 
 form to be erected outside the Hotel de St. Paul, the palace 
 she occupied in Cambray. A buffet of rich plate, consisting of 
 drinking-vessels and platters, was placed upon it by her com- 
 mand, and throughout that day and the following one spiced 
 wines, hypocras, and other refreshments were liberally served 
 to all who presented themselves. 2 
 
 Madame next hastened to apprise her son of the circumstance. 
 " The security, monsieur, in which your royal person is placed 
 by the peace which it has pleased God to bestow upon you 
 gives me such contentment that I esteem my own life as nothing 
 in comparison to this blessing," wrote the duchess 3 to her 
 idolized son immediately after the ceremony concluded. "As 
 I understand by your letters, and from M. le Grand Maitre,* 
 that all I have done meets with your complete approbation, I 
 regard my past toils as hours spent in pleasant and delightful 
 repose ; and I certify to you, monseigneur, that you have been 
 communicating with one whose highest happiness and glory it 
 is to see you satisfied and prosperous." 
 
 The king immediately repaired to Cambray to give his per- 
 sonal ratification to the Paix des Dames, and to confer with the 
 archduchess regent of the Low Countries. It is related that for 
 several days Francis excused himself from granting audience to 
 
 1 Eloges des Enfans de France, par Hilarion de Coste. 
 
 2 Sandoval, Hist, del Emp. Carlos V., lib. xvii. 
 
 8 Bibl. du Roi, MSS. de Beth., No. 8471 ; Capefigue, Hist, de Francois I. 
 4 The Marshal de Montmoreucy. 
 
 VOL. II. 4
 
 60 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 the ambassadors of his late allies, and that when at length their 
 demand for an interview could no longer be evaded, the king 
 received them with painful restraint. Francis shrank from 
 making even the implied avowal that the banner of France was 
 no longer potent enough to shield his allies. He excused him- 
 self for giving assent to such a treaty by pleading the necessity 
 of his kingdom, and his ardent impatience to deliver his sons 
 from captivity. 
 
 Such was the final issue of the battle of Pavia. The conditions 
 of peace which had been so peremptorily rejected by Marguerite 
 while at Toledo were accepted after her departure as a dernier 
 ressort by Montmorency, and afterwards by the king, to meet 
 with disavowal on the return of Francis to his kingdom. The 
 articles then proposed by the king and rejected by Charles V., 
 after nearly three years of bloodshed and calamity, were even- 
 tually received by the emperor, and formed the basis of the peace 
 of Cambray. 
 
 To Madame, 
 
 Mere a bon droit, qui soy-mem e s'oblye 
 Pour conserver ceulx-lk qui d'elle ont vie ! 1 
 
 was reserved the glory of concluding the pacification which 
 restored comparative prosperity to France, and that repaired 
 in some degree the calamities occasioned by the rebellion of the 
 Constable de Bourbon, an event which her own pride and 
 avarice so fatally influenced. 
 
 1 Ejtitre du Roi a Madame Marguerite, sa soeur.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 51 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE King and the Queen of Navarre, meantime, took their 
 departure from Cambray soon after the arrival of the 
 king, and journeyed to Blois, where they remained together 
 until joined by Madame after the conclusion of her conference 
 with the archduchess regent. 
 
 Notwithstanding the poverty of the kingdom, Francis con- 
 tinued to enlarge and embellish his numerous palaces ; and im- 
 provements on an extensive scale were in progress at Blois when 
 Marguerite and her husband arrived there. The queen issued 
 directions that great expedition should be made to complete the 
 works before the arrival of Madame and the king. The build- 
 ings, nevertheless, progressed so slowly that when this event 
 occurred Madame found the castle in so comfortless a condition 
 that, needing repose after her recent exertions, she removed with 
 Marguerite to Fontainebleau. 
 
 The King of Navarre then returned to Paris to superintend the 
 collection of the money requisite for the ransom of the dauphin 
 and his brother ; for the sum previously granted to the king for 
 the purpose had been expended in the prosecution of the war. 
 During the four months subsequent to the ratification of the 
 treaty of Cambray the greatest activity prevailed. The sum of 
 twelve hundred thousand gold crowns, which Charles had stipu- 
 lated for to be paid by the 1st of March, 1530, before the young 
 princes were permitted to touch the soil of France, was an 
 amount of money so enormous, especially in the impoverished 
 condition of the French exchequer, as apparently to render its 
 collection impossible in so short a period. To Duprat, his dex- 
 terous finance minister, Francis confided the levy of this gen- 
 eral subsidy for the ransom of his sons. Every town through- 
 out the realm contributed with promptitude to the call. Paris 
 gave four thousand gold crowns. The church, the nobles, and
 
 52 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 hundreds of private gentlemen contributed largely. Loans were 
 joyfully lent on the sole security of treasury bonds, by numbers 
 of individuals, a dangerous experiment under the ministry of 
 the unscrupulous chancellor. With all these contributions, still 
 the required amount fell short. Francis then appealed again to 
 his nobles, after first setting the example of sending to the mint 
 articles of virtu to an immense amount in gold, to be melted 
 down and coined into crowns. The King of Navarre, who had 
 so zealously served the king before in a similar emergency, ren- 
 dered now still more effectual service. He gave silver vessels 
 of very considerable value to be coined into money ; while Mar- 
 guerite sacrificed her gold and silver plate for the same purpose. 
 The example set by the royal family was followed by the cardinal 
 chancellor, by the Marshal de Montmoreucy, the Admiral de 
 Brion, the Archbishop of Bourges, and by the high bailiff, the 
 provost, and the governor of Paris, who all, upon receiving a 
 simple acknowledgment, sacrificed their argentine for the deliver- 
 ance of the royal children. 1 It redounds to the credit of Francis 
 to state that at a more prosperous period of his reign exact resti- 
 tution was made by him of all the articles so liberally lent. The 
 most remarkable incident connected with this spontaneous levy 
 is that nowhere is the contribution made by the Duchess d'An- 
 goulme to purchase the freedom of her grandchildren on record. 
 She then possessed enormous wealth from the confiscated estates 
 of the unfortunate Constable de Bourbon, assigned her by the 
 king ; besides, it was ascertained after her decease that, at the 
 time the kingdom was taxed to the utmost to raise the sum de- 
 manded by the emperor, Madame had eleven hundred thousand 
 gold crowns in her private treasury. It can only be presumed, 
 therefore, from the repeated marks of devotion to the cause of 
 her son which Madame had given, that, perceiving the liberal 
 disposition of the nobles to contribute for the ransom of the 
 princes, she reserved her treasures for contingencies which 
 under the improvident rule of Francis were sure to occur of a 
 nature less likely to enlist popular sympathy. 
 
 When a sufficient quantity of precious metal was amassed, 
 another difficulty arose in the apparent impossibility of coining 
 so large an amount of money by the period specified in the 
 treaty. The emperor's subtle tactics were so much dreaded that, 
 
 1 Capefigue, Hist, de Frar^ois I., et la Renaissance.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 53 
 
 lest he should make any unavoidable delay a pretext to declare 
 the treaty null, Francis instructed his ambassador to request 
 Charles to accept part of the treasure in ingots, a prayer the 
 Imperial Council thought proper to refuse. 
 
 Guillaume du Bellay 1 was next despatched to London to 
 treat with Henry VIII. respecting the sum of nine hundred 
 thousand crowns which Francis had taken upon himself to 
 liquidate for the emperor, in addition to the two millions payable 
 for the ransom of the princes. King Henry behaved in the most 
 noble and generous manner towards his " dear friend and per- 
 petual ally." He remitted altogether the five hundred thousand 
 golden crowns which the emperor owed him as an indemnity for 
 the violation of his marriage contract with the Princess Mary ; 
 he declined to receive payment of the remaining sum of 400,000 
 crowns for the space of five years ; and presented the jewel which 
 the king had engaged to redeem for the sum of 50,000 crowns, 
 as a gift, to his godson the Duke of Orleans. 2 
 
 During these negotiations the Queen of Navarre remained at 
 Fontainebleau with Madame, whose health was daily becoming 
 more uncertain. About this time Marguerite took into her 
 service the brother of the king's painter Jannet, an artist of 
 considerable merit. The queen wrote to the chancellor of her 
 duchy of Alencon, directing that a pension of 200 might be 
 assigned Januet, whom she desires may be despatched to her at 
 Fontainebleau, as she had present need for the exercise of his 
 talent. 3 Both Francis and his sister accorded munificent 
 patronage to art of every description. Painters, poets, and 
 sculptors found cordial welcome at the court of France, and 
 with noble liberality the king dispensed to them pensions out of 
 his private revenues. The privy-purse accounts of the reign of 
 Francis are filled with memoranda of his generosity and his 
 patronage of art and science whenever the opportunity to do so 
 presented itself. In works of art in gold, silver, and jewels, 
 Francis expended enormous sums. His palaces were adorned by 
 the exquisite sculptures of Benvenuto Cellini. Cups, shields, 
 and rich carvings of Scriptural subjects, glittering with jewels, 
 adorned his buffets. The decorations of the altars in his chapels 
 dazzled the beholder ; ivory and gold were moulded into vases, 
 
 1 Sieur <ie Langey. 2 Mem. de Martin Du Bellay. 
 
 MS. Bibl. Roy., F. de Beth., 8516.
 
 54 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 chalices, and reliquaries by the wonderful art of Finiguerra or 
 Cellini. Images of the saints, and especially of the Holy Virgin, 
 of exquisite beauty, kindled the fervour of the faithful; and 
 shrines of filigree work, studded with gems of priceless worth, 
 adorned the chapels of the Louvre, and those of the palaces 
 of Fontainebleau and Blois. 
 
 The looms of Flanders and of Genoa yielded the magnificent 
 king and his court fabrics of silk, velvet, cloth of gold and of 
 silver, and damasks. Marguerite's usual article of apparel was 
 velvet, when not attired for court ceremonies ; on such occasions 
 etiquette required that she should array herself in a costly robe 
 of cloth of gold glittering with jewels. Madame d'Estampes 
 usually selected cloth of silver for her habits of ceremony, 
 which harmonized well with the transparent clearness of her 
 complexion. 
 
 In the adornment of the chambers of his palace, Francis 
 showed no less profusion. Carvings in wood of marvellous finish 
 wreathed the portals and the ceilings of innumerable apartments 
 in the king's favourite castles of Chambord and Fontainebleau. 
 Venetian mirrors, in frames elaborately adorned, reflected the rich 
 silken hangings powdered with fleur-de-lis, or embossed with the 
 king's device and initial, and the ebony cabinets inlaid with gold, 
 silver, and mother of pearl, placed in all the apartments. Within 
 these cabinets were inestimable treasures of art : enamel portraits 
 of the most beautiful women of the court ; gems engraved with 
 Scriptural subjects ; silver filigree work ; jewelled medallions of 
 saints ; and scent-boxes filled with rare perfumes. Musk was the 
 favourite perfume at the court of Francis, because its costliness 
 was excessive. Books richly blazoned were dispersed throughout 
 the royal apartments for the edification of the courtiers : some 
 contained records of the chivalrous deeds of renowned knights of 
 old, or during the earlier period of the reign of Francis ; beneath 
 the gorgeous covers of others reposed the heretical yet eloquent 
 orations of Lefevre, or of his patron the Bishop of Meaux, of 
 Erasmus, or of Louis de Berquin. Almost all things that the world 
 then produced beautiful to the eye or ravishing to the senses were 
 to be found within the palaces of the King of France. Marguerite, 
 therefore, when absent at her distant palaces of Argentan or 
 Ne'rac, never felt completely happy, or ceased to pine for the 
 refinements of her brother's court. Identified with the king as
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 55 
 
 the sharer of his confidence and his magnificence, Marguerite, 
 his "second self," his "mignonne," as Francis called her, was 
 his constant companion, and the only personage with whom, 
 throughout his reign, the king unbent at all times both in public 
 and in private. Great as was the secret influence of Madame 
 d'Estampes, she was not exempted from the profound deference 
 exacted by the king from every member of his court towards the 
 royal family ; and one of the causes which tended most to per- 
 petuate her power was her pliability of character, and her defer- 
 ence to the imperious will animating the son of Louisa of Savoy. 
 Marguerite was at this period again within little more than 
 four months of her accouchement ; consequently, not being able to 
 travel rapidly, she quitted Fontainebleau very early in the month 
 of March for Blois, leaving the king and Madame to follow. It 
 was Marguerite's great desire to accompany her brother to 
 Bayonne to meet Queen Eleanor and the young princes. Her 
 disappointment was therefore severe that her condition rendered 
 the accomplishment of this wish uncertain ; though, if no impedi- 
 ment arose to retard the exchange of the princes, the queen hoped 
 to be able to witness Eleanor's marriage. Accordingly, escorted 
 by the King of Navarre, she commenced the first stage of her 
 journey southward. On the day following Marguerite's arrival 
 at t Blois the King of Navarre set out to join Montmorency at 
 Bayonne. The queen hastened to write to the marshal to inform 
 him of her husband's departure from Blois ; by her perpetual 
 recommendations of him to Montmorency's care, it would seem 
 as if Marguerite dreaded the effects of the dissipations of the 
 court on the king's character. "When the King of Navarre 
 arrives," wrote Marguerite to the marshal, " I pray you counsel 
 him in all that he has to do, for we both place perfect confidence 
 in you. As you are with him, I fear not that everything will go 
 well, excepting that I am afraid you cannot prevent him from 
 paying assiduous court to the Spanish ladies." 1 Though the 
 firmest mutual attachment subsisted between the King and Queen 
 of Navarre, Henry's devoted homage to the fair dames of the 
 court was a subject upon which, throughout her life, Marguerite 
 was susceptible. Being both fascinating and gallant, the popu- 
 larity of the King of Navarre was great ; and his joyous dis- 
 position sometimes led him into greater compliances with 
 
 1 MS. Bibl. Roy., F. de Bth., No. 8549.
 
 56 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 the dissipated fashions of the court than Marguerite quite 
 approved. 
 
 The king and the Duchess d'Angouleme arrived at Blois be- 
 fore the 8th of March, on their road to Bayonne. Marguerite, 
 however, whose health always suffered dreadfully during her 
 pregnancies, was so much indisposed as to render it unsafe, in 
 the opinion of Madame, for her to continue her journey. The 
 duchess, therefore, at once decided that her daughter should 
 remain at Blois until after her accouchement. If Madame had 
 then continued her journey to the frontier the disappointment 
 would have been overwhelming to Marguerite ; but suddenly the 
 most serious interruption occurred to Montmorency's embassy, 
 which, but for the decision evinced by Queen Eleanor, would 
 have again met with an untimely and disgraceful failure. The 
 cardinal chancellor, whose artifice was never at rest, conceived 
 the notable project, unknown to his royal master, of authorizing 
 an alloy of the precious metal coined into crowns, in order to 
 appropriate the surplus to replenish the treasury. 1 A rumour of 
 this fraudulent device coming to the ears of the imperial envoys, 
 the metal was tested, and found to be a mixture of gold and 
 copper. The indignation of the fiery Constable of Castile, Velasco, 
 Duke de Frias, chief of the Spanish deputies, was unbounded ; he 
 suspended all negotiation, and but for the remonstrance of Queen 
 Eleanor would instantly have remanded the young princes to 
 their dreary prison at Pedraco. Eleanor wrote pressing letters 
 to Madame, praying her to interpose ; and in consequence of the 
 queen's representations orders were despatched authorizing 
 Montmorency to offer compensation to the Spanish deputies for 
 the deficiency in the weight and value of the specie. The 
 negotiation was at length resumed ; but as no reliance could be 
 placed in the integrity of Duprat, the most humiliating scrutiny 
 commenced of the moneys delivered. The masters of the French 
 and of the Spanish mints met on the frontier ; each gold piece 
 was separately tested, weighed, and deposited in a strong chest 
 supplied by the Spaniards. 2 Forty-eight cases were thus filled, 
 and sealed with the signets of the French and imperial envoys, 
 each one containing the sura of 25,000 crowns. Four months 
 were consumed in this tedious process, during which Queen 
 
 1 Mem. de Du Bellay ; Dupleix. 
 
 ? Ibid.; Eloges des Enfans de France, par Hilarion de Coste.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 57 
 
 Eleanor and the young princes remained at Fuenterrabia, under 
 the surveillance of the Constable of Castile. 
 
 This delay rendered it totally impossible for the Queen of 
 Navarre to accompany Madame to Bayonne. The consort of the 
 Marshal de Montmorency, meantime, who was likewise prevented 
 from sharing in the fatiguing ceremonies of the queen's reception , 
 was invited by Madame to pass the interval of her absence with 
 Marguerite. Madame also decided that the Duchess de Vendome 
 should remain with the Queen of Navarre, to afford her pleasant 
 society and consolation. Marguerite expressed great eagerness 
 for the arrival of Madame de Montmorency ; and Madame even 
 condescended to write to the marshal, and request that he would 
 hasten the departure of his consort for Blois. The queen offered 
 to send her barge and rowers up the river Loire to Gien to meet 
 Madame de Montmorency, 1 who, nevertheless, for some reason 
 which appears to have been satisfactory to Marguerite and her 
 mother, declined the invitation, and remained at Chantilly. 
 
 The king and Madame quitted Blois about the end of April 
 and journeyed to Amboise. Here Francis entertained his expec- 
 tant court with a fight between the lions kept in the royal 
 menagerie at Amboise and a bull. After a brief sojourn at the 
 castle the king advanced by slow journeys to Bordeaux, where 
 he took up his abode pending the settlement of the fierce dis- 
 putes of daily occurrence between the deputies on the frontier. 
 Marguerite assigns unbounded praise to Montmoreucy for the 
 temper and diplomacy which he manifested, and the tact dis- 
 played by him in rescuing the French cabinet from the embar- 
 rassing position in which it was placed by Duprat's artifice. In 
 a letter which Marguerite wrote to Madame de ChStillon, sister 
 of the Marshal de Montmorency, 2 she says : " If M. de Bayonne 
 returns to aid the grand-master in his negotiation, beg him to 
 say to the latter from me that there is nobody who thanks God 
 with greater sincerity than I do that this affair is likely to 
 terminate so honourably for him ; and that not only does he lay 
 both master and mistress under the deepest obligation, but he 
 
 1 MS. Bibl. Roy., F. de Beth., No. 8550. 
 
 2 Louise de Montmorency, daughter of Guillaume, Baron de Montmorency, 
 and of Anne Pot. She espoused, first, Ferry de Mailly, S. de Conty, and secondly, 
 Gaspard de Chatillon, Count de Coligny, Marshal of France. The Marshal de 
 Chatillon died in 1522.
 
 58 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 binds our race in gratitude to him and his, even to the fourth 
 generation." 1 In another letter, written to Montraorency him- 
 self, Marguerite, after lamenting her absence from the scene of 
 negotiation, and her separation from Madame and the king, 
 writes : " I thank God, after so many hindrances and vexations, 
 that He has at length given you grace to attain our ends with 
 such credit and honour that father, grandmother, and all who 
 love the princes must be either very ignorant or very ungrateful 
 who did not feel more obligation to you than to any other 
 individual." 3 The end that Marguerite congratulated Mont- 
 morency so greatly on having attained was the consent of the 
 Constable of Castile to deliver over the royal children and 
 Queen Eleanor on condition that a further sum of 40,000 crowns 
 was paid as an indemnity for Duprat's base coinage, after he had 
 detained the king and the highest dignitaries of France for 
 upwards of two months on the frontier. 
 
 At length the forty-eight cases of crowns having been duly 
 examined and sealed, preparations were made for the exchange. 
 The same ceremonial was observed as at the release of Francis. 
 A large barge was moored in the centre of the river Bidassoa ; 
 two French gentlemen and two Spanish cavaliers, before the 
 exchange took place, crossed to either bank of the river to 
 examine and proclaim that no surprise was meditated by either 
 nation on the other, and that neither the French nor the 
 Spanish noblemen empowered to effect the exchange wore other 
 arms than a sword three feet long, and a poniard. 3 The gentle- 
 men having satisfied themselves on these points returned and 
 stationed themselves in the barge lying in the centre of the 
 stream. Both parties then appeared on the banks of the river : 
 Queen Eleanor, with the dauphin and his brother, standing 
 within sight, beneath a magnificent tent erected just outside 
 the town of Fuenterrabia ; Montmorency, the Archbishop of 
 Bourges, and the Count de Tende, taking their station in front 
 of the boat, which was laden with the cases of treasure. The 
 dauphin and the Marshal de Montmorency then simultaneously 
 entered a boat. A brief delay then occurred ; for Queen Eleanor, 
 before she quitted the Spanish territory, addressed the haughty 
 Constable of Castile, and publicly expressed her displeasure at the 
 
 i MS. Bibl. Roy., F. de Beth., No. 8549. 2 Ibid. 
 
 8 Hilarion de Coste, Eloges dee Eiifans de France.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 59 
 
 harsh treatment which the royal children had experienced, in 
 order, says the chronicler, " to demonstrate the affection she felt 
 for M. le dauphin and his brother, and her respect for and 
 desire to espouse their father the king." 1 We know not 
 with what demeanour Don Hernandez Velasco received this 
 reprimand from the lips of the royal sister of his sovereign ; 
 but doubtless Eleanor was heartily weary of the fastidious 
 punctilio displayed by her countrymen during the protracted 
 negotiations. 
 
 It was between six and seven in the evening of Sunday, 
 July 3, 1530, when the boats put off with their precious freights. 
 In the one boat sat Queen Eleanor, the two princes, the Con- 
 stable of Castile, and another Spanish nobleman ; in the other 
 was Montmorency with the treasure, accompanied by the Arch- 
 bishop of Bourges and the Count de Tende. The exchange took 
 place in a few minutes, so great was the alacrity of the queen 
 and the young princes to touch French ground. A most melo- 
 dious burst of music greeted the princes and Queen Eleanor 
 on their landing ; the rolling of drums, and the shrill notes of 
 trumpets and clarions mingled with shouts of welcome from the 
 masses of people crowding down to the river's bank and pressing 
 round to gaze on their long absent princes. The Marchioness of 
 Nassau, grand mistress to Queen Eleanor, and four-and-twenty 
 young Spanish ladies, meanwhile, had been conveyed across the 
 river, and surrounded the queen as she stepped into her litter. 
 This litter was exceedingly splendid ; it was composed of cloth 
 of gold, embroidered & Vantique in a most sumptuous manner. 
 The young princes mounted two palfreys, which were presented 
 to them by the Marshal de Montmorency, and placing them- 
 selves on each side of the litter occupied by Queen Eleanor, the 
 cavalcade proceeded to St. Jean de Luz. The progress of the 
 royal party, however, was so frequently interrupted by the enthu- 
 siasm of the multitudes that it grew quite dark long before the 
 cortege reached St. Jean. Queen Eleanor then requested the 
 princes to dismount and enter her litter, which they accordingly 
 did. At about the distance of a mile from St. Jean the proces- 
 sion was met by a deputation of five hundred of the chief 
 inhabitants of the town, who each carried a flaming torch. 
 
 1 Hilarion de Coste, Eloges des Enfans de France.
 
 CO LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 Thus escorted, Eleanor and the princes entered St. Jean de Luz, 
 where they spent the night. 1 
 
 The Marshal de Montmorency, meantime, despatched Mont- 
 pezat to announce the approach of the queen and the princes 
 to King Francis, who was sojourning with Madame at the castle 
 of Toiiars, a place about three miles from Bordeaux. The 
 fatigue of the journey from Amboise had produced serious 
 effects on the precarious health of the Duchess d'AngoulSme ; 
 and when Montpezat arrived with intelligence of the return 
 of her grandchildren from captivity, Madame was confined to 
 her bed. 2 
 
 Leaving his mother at Toiiars, the king departed during the 
 evening of Monday, July 4, and went by water to Langon, a 
 town on the river Garonne. The following morning he pro- 
 ceeded to Bazas, and from thence to Eochefort de Marsan, where 
 Francis determined to await the arrival of his bride and the 
 princes. The king was accompanied by the King of Navarre, 
 whose splendid equipage attracted universal admiration. Mar- 
 guerite experienced great contentment that her husband was the 
 favoured companion of the king. " Monseigneur," wrote she, in 
 a letter to her brother which he received during his sojourn at 
 Eochefort, " as to the excuses you have been pleased to make 
 relative to your retaining the King of Navarre, it is conferring 
 so great an honour upon him that I assure you you could not 
 bestow upon him a higher pleasure in this world than to ordain 
 that he should remain near you to render you service. As for 
 myself, I feel only too happy, as I cannot be with you, that he 
 should accompany you." 3 The king and his brother-in-law 
 were attended by the Cardinal-chancellor Duprat, by the Counts 
 de Guise and de St. Paul, and by a multitude of ambassadors, 
 prelates, and chamberlains. A hundred gentlemen-at-arms, 
 arrayed in uniforms of crimson satin and gold, their pennons 
 borne before them by pages in rich liveries, escorted the 
 sovereign, " so that it was an admirable sight to witness such 
 order ; for none of these noble cavaliers surpassed the other 
 in splendour of attire, but all was so well and satisfactorily 
 arranged that no fault could be found." 4 
 
 1 De Coste, Eloges des Enfans de France ; Vie de Frai^ois de France, XV. 
 dauphin de Viennois. 
 
 2 Godefroy, Grand Ceremonial de France. 
 
 8 MS. Bibl. Roy., F. du Suppl. Fran., No. 121. 
 * Godefroy, Grand Ceremonial de France.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 61 
 
 Queen Eleanor and the princes, meanwhile, quitted St. Jean 
 de Luz, and made their entry into the town of Bayonne on Tues- 
 day, the 5th of July. The greatest enthusiasm prevailed, the 
 town being magnificently adorned for their reception. Eleanor 
 rested one night in the castle of Bayonue, and the following 
 morning she continued her journey. At length, late on the 
 third day after her entry into France, which was Wednesday, 
 July 6, a great discharge of artillery and the clash of martial 
 instruments of music suddenly apprised Eleanor that the king, 
 impatient to greet her and to embrace his children, had advanced 
 to meet them from the little town of Captieux. The king was 
 preceded by two hundred gentlemen of the chamber, and a 
 notable array of noblemen and prelates followed. Queen Eleanor 
 alighted from her litter as soon as she perceived the king ; and 
 taking the young princes by the hand, she advanced and pre- 
 sented them to their father. Francis dismounted from his horse 
 and gracefully saluted the queen; then turning towards his 
 children he clasped them in his arms, shedding tears of joy. 
 The dauphin was greatly affected on beholding his father ; but 
 recovering himself he replied to the congratulations of the 
 courtiers who pressed round him, with a gravity and dignity 
 beyond his years, which filled every one with amazement. The 
 young Duke of Orleans, however, manifested his joy by clinging 
 round his father's neck, capering about, and indulging in a 
 thousand antics. Queen Eleanor then resumed her place in the 
 litter ; and with the king riding on horseback by her side, she 
 arrived after nightfall at the abbey of Captieux, a monastery 
 of Urbanist monks, where her marriage with Francis was to be 
 solemnized. 1 
 
 The queen reposed for a few hours after her arrival at Captieux ; 
 but at midnight she rose to attire herself for the nuptial ceremony, 
 which was performed at two o'clock in the morning in the abbey 
 chapel by the Archbishop of Bourges, upon whom the pope had 
 just conferred a cardinal's hat, assisted by the king's almoner, 
 the Bishop of Lisieux. 2 It had been stipulated by the emperor 
 that his sister's marriage should be solemnized immediately after 
 her first interview with the king, which must account for the 
 strangeness of the hour selected by Francis for this ceremony. 
 
 1 GoJefroy, Grand Ceremonial de France. 
 
 2 Ibid ; De Coste, Eloges des Enfans de France.
 
 62 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 Having thus scrupulously performed his engagement, the king, 
 though he surrounded Eleanor with every outward homage, 
 manifested not the slightest affection for his new consort. The 
 intense aversion felt by Francis for the emperor recoiled on every- 
 thing belonging to Charles ; and he had learned to regard his 
 marriage with Eleanor as the most grievous of the penalties 
 imposed by the treaty of Madrid. The queen's formal gravity 
 wearied Francis ; he contrasted the sprightly graces of his 
 beautiful mistress, Mademoiselle de Heilly, 1 who was then at 
 Toiiars in attendance upon Madame, with the unbending dignity 
 of Eleanor's deportment. Doubtless, however, the queen was 
 wounded by the coldness and neglect which she experienced from 
 Francis, and displeased that the king could so have forgotten 
 propriety and consideration for her dignity as to nominate Made- 
 moiselle de Heilly to be one of the noble ladies appointed to 
 meet her on her entrance into France. Eleanor possessed not 
 sufficient firmness of character to decline to admit Mademoiselle 
 de Heilly, or to insist on her dismissal from court. She had 
 no influence with Francis, and her approbation and displeasure 
 were subjects of utter indifference to the king, who from the 
 first seldom saw the queen, except in the presence of the court. 
 Thus abandoned by her husband, Eleanor sought counsel of the 
 Marshal de Montmorency, whose influence with his royal master 
 was apparent ; and during the first months after her arrival in 
 France she was guided by his advice. 
 
 From Captieux, meantime, Francis despatched a courier to 
 Blois, to convey news of the safe arrival of his children to Mar- 
 guerite. The king wrote to his sister in strains of the deepest 
 affection ; in relating to her his meeting with the young princes, 
 he calls his sons " her children," and bids her rejoice at the pros- 
 pect of so soon embracing them. Marguerite, in reply to her 
 brother, sends him fervent thanks for making her a participator 
 in his joy : " As it has pleased you, monseigneur, to call your 
 children mine, I will not disavow so signal an honour, for I feel 
 a certainty that I can never love my own children, whom you 
 term yours, so well." 2 In a letter which she despatched to 
 Montmorency by the same courier, Marguerite desires to be 
 
 1 Mademoiselle de Heilly at this period had not bestowed her hand on the Duke 
 d'Estampes. Her marriage took place in 1536. 
 
 2 MS. Bibl. Roy., F. du Suppl. Fran., No. 57.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 63 
 
 humbly commended to the queen and to Messieurs ; and she 
 bids the marshal assure them of her regret at not being able 
 to see them as soon as she wished. " My messenger will tell 
 you also how many joyful tears we shed on receiving this happy 
 intelligence of their release. My sister De Vend6me * is staying 
 here with me, and remains until after my accouchement, which 
 event will happen when it pleases God." 2 
 
 Francis, meanwhile, conducted the queen to Bordeaux, where 
 she made a magnificent entry into the city. The royal pair 
 arrived by water from Langon. When about half-way between 
 that town and Bordeaux the barge anchored, and Francis took 
 leave of the queen and proceeded to visit Madame at Toiiars, 
 leaving Eleanor, according to regal etiquette, to make her entry 
 into the city alone. The most sumptuous preparation had been 
 made by the loyal Bordelais to receive their queen ; and if the 
 cheers and enthusiasm of her new subjects, and their eager 
 desire to gaze upon her, could atone to Eleanor for the coldness 
 manifested by her royal consort, consolation was now amply 
 awarded her. 
 
 Early on Monday, the llth of July, the day of the queen's 
 entry into Bordeaux, the Countess of Nevers, 3 accompanied by 
 thirty-four noble French ladies, arrived to receive the queen, and 
 to attend her throughout the solemnities of the day. Amongst 
 these ladies were the Duchess de la Tremouille, 4 the Mare"chale de 
 la Marck, 6 the Grand Se'ue'chale of Normandy, Diane de Poitiers, 
 Madame de Mirabeau, Mademoiselle de Heilly, and Mademoiselle 
 de Riberac. The ladies of most illustrious rank were attired 
 alike in robes of crimson velvet. The younger ladies were 
 arrayed in crimson satin lined with velvet, their robes being 
 very curiously embroidered with gold thread. 6 
 
 1 Fran9oise d'Alengon, Duchess de Vend6me, sister of Marguerite's first husband, 
 the Duke of Alenfon. 
 
 2 MS. Bibl. Roy., F. de Beth., No. 8546. 
 
 3 Marie d'Albret, widow of Charles de Cleves, Count de Nevers. This lady 
 was of the royal house of Navarre, arid daughter of Jean d'Albret, Sieur d'Orval, 
 and of Charlotte de Bourgogne, Countess de Rhetal. 
 
 * Louise de Coitivy, daughter of Charles de Coitivy, Count de Taillebourg, and 
 of Jeanne d'Orleans, only daughter of John, Count d'Angouleme, and Marguerite 
 de Rohan. She married Charles de la Trimouille, Prince de Talmond, Duke de 
 Thouars and de la Trimouille. This lady was first cousin to King Francis. 
 
 6 Francoise de Breze, daughter of Louis de Breze, Count de Maulevrier, Grand 
 Senechal of Normandy, and of the celebrated Diane de Poitiers. This lady mar- 
 ried Robert de la Marck, Duke de Bouillon, Marshal of France. 
 
 6 Godefroy, Grand Ceretn. de France.
 
 64 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 The Countess de Nevers and her colleagues were entertained 
 by the Archbishop of Toulouse at a magnificent collation in the 
 episcopal palace ; and afterwards the countess summoned the 
 Cardinal de Tournon, 1 the Viscount de Turenne, and the Lords of 
 Humieres, de la Roche, Beaucourt, and de Lude, to a conference, 
 to regulate the ceremonial to be observed on their introduction 
 to the queen. Whilst they were so engaged the roar of artillery 
 from the harbour announced that the royal galleys were approach- 
 ing. The Countess de Nevers repaired to the pavilion erected 
 on the banks of the Garonne, and entered the state barge in 
 which she was to go down the river to meet the queen. The 
 ships in the harbour were gaily decorated with flags and stand- 
 ards; all the bells in the town of Bordeaux rang merrily, 
 and salutes of cannon continued at intervals to echo along the 
 shore. 2 
 
 It was about two o'clock in the afternoon when Madame de 
 Nevers quitted Bordeaux. A band of music preceded the barge, 
 diffusing " most delicious harmony around." It was followed by 
 a procession of four hundred galleys, boats, and vessels of every 
 description. As the barge, adorned with streamers and flags, 
 floated down the river, the vessels following it suddenly com- 
 menced pouring forth salutes of artillery, and amidst the cheers 
 of the crews the cortege came to a halt. Madame de Nevers and 
 the other ladies rose, wondering what had happened ; in a few 
 minutes the king passed on his way to Toiiars. Francis grace- 
 fully saluted the ladies ; then, specially addressing himself to the 
 Countess de Nevers, he exclaimed: "Allez, allez, madame, et 
 faites bien votre devoir." 3 
 
 At length the state galleys conveying Queen Eleanor and her 
 suite came in sight. A grand feu de joie was then fired by all 
 the vessels on the river, which, we are told, resounded for leagues. 
 The two vessels speedily came alongside of each other. The 
 Countess de Nevers was handed from her barge on to the deck of 
 the queen's vessel by the Duke de Guise and the Count de St. 
 Paul ; and preceded by the grand-master of the household, the 
 Marshal de Montmorency, she advanced towards the spot 
 where Queen Eleanor stood, accompanied by the dauphin and 
 his brother. 
 
 1 Frangois de Tournon, Archbishop of Embrun, translated to the archi- 
 episcopal see of Bourges and created a cardinal in March, 1530. 
 
 2 Godefroy, Grand Cerem. de France. 8 Ibid.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 65 
 
 The magnificence of Eleanor's attire on this occasion exceeded 
 anything that had been before witnessed ; she seemed literally 
 overwhelmed with the weight of the gold and precious stones 
 with which she was adorned. She wore a robe of crimson vel- 
 vet, lined with white taffety, slashed and puffed on the sleeves 
 and the skirt. The slashings were bordered with bands of jewels ; 
 the bottom of the robe and the queen's train were also decorated 
 with gems. Her surcoat was of white satin, adorned in front with 
 knots of gold cord, and bordered by strings of rubies, emeralds, 
 and diamonds. The queen's hair floated loosely on her shoulders, 
 confined only by a net of gold thread. The abundance of her 
 hair was Eleanor's pre-eminent personal charm ; and such was 
 the luxuriance of her fair tresses that, we are told, they touched 
 the ground. Eleanor wore a cap of crimson velvet, bordered with 
 pearls and ornamented by a small white plume. Her earrings 
 were two diamonds, set transparently, each one of the size of a 
 small nut ; round her neck the queen wore a necklace of diamonds 
 and rubies, which had been presented to her by the king as his 
 nuptial gift. The centre jewel was a diamond of immense value, 
 of the size, it is recorded, of a crown piece. Eleanor's fingers, 
 moreover, were covered with jewels ; one ruby ring which she wore 
 was said to be of almost priceless worth, and had been presented 
 by Louis XII. to Anne de Bretagne, who bequeathed it to her 
 daughter, Queen Claude. The queen's shoes were of black 
 velvet; and she carried a feather fan in her hand. A little 
 behind Eleanor stood her lady of honour, the Countess of Nassau, 
 attired in robes of black velvet, it being the custom for Spanish 
 ladies of high rank to wear mourning when their husbands were 
 absent on warlike expeditions, and the Count de Nassau was at 
 that time invested by his imperial master with a high command 
 in Germany. 1 
 
 Preceded by Montmorency, the Countess de Nevers advanced 
 before the queen and made three profound reverences. She then 
 stooped to kiss the queen's hand, but Eleanor embraced the 
 countess on both cheeks, and spoke to her in a most affable man- 
 ner. Turning then towards the young princes, she presented 
 them to the countess, saying with a smile : Voyez, ma cousine, 
 si ces mignons sont empires en Espagne ! " After Madame de 
 Nevers had made a suitable reply, the queen requested her to 
 
 1 Godefroy, Grand Ceremonial de France.
 
 66 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 present the other ladies, all of whom she cordially embraced. 
 The word of command was then given for the galleys to steer 
 into the port of Bordeaux. During the way the queen conversed 
 alternately in French and Spanish, with a condescension which 
 enchanted everybody. At the landing-place a splendid pavilion 
 was erected, beneath which a group of noblemen stood to receive 
 the queen, and amongst whom was the cardinal chancellor. As 
 soon as Eleanor quitted the vessel a salute from thirty-three can- 
 nons, twenty-four fauconets, and thirty-two culverins signified the 
 event to the more distant quarters of the city. The firing con- 
 tinued without intermission for upwards of an hour ; and so great 
 was the uproar, what with the pealing of bells and the shouts of 
 the populace, that even the thunder of heaven itself, we are told, 
 would not have been heard. 
 
 On leaving the barge, the queen entered the pavilion and 
 placed herself beneath a canopy of state to receive the address of 
 the municipality of Bordeaux. Madame de Nevers stood on her 
 right hand, and supported her Majesty's train; for the functions 
 of the Countess de Nassau were superseded after the arrival of the 
 ladies of Eleanor's household as Queen of France. The queen 
 returned a gracious reply to the address of the Provost of Bor- 
 deaux, and was also pleased to accept the present offered to her by 
 the authorities of the city. This was a model, in fine gold, of a 
 ship filled with gold crowns. 1 The queen then entered her litter, 
 and the procession moved towards the cathedral. First marched 
 the different trades and guilds with banners and emblems ; the 
 archers and the town sergeants following, playing merrily on flutes 
 and drums. Next rode the Archbishop of Toulouse, between the 
 bishops of Condom and Saintes, followed by a train of ecclesias- 
 tics. The Provost of Bordeaux appeared next, immediately pre- 
 ceding the captain of the king's Swiss guards, who was attended 
 by three hundred soldiers of his band. Then came a very full 
 band of musicians "playing most delectably." Next marched 
 the parliament of Bordeaux, the members clad in their robes of 
 ceremony. A group of noblemen followed, carrying their wands 
 of office. Then came the Venetian ambassador, riding between 
 the Count d'Eu and the Duke de Longueville, the papal nuncio 
 and the Duke de Vend6me, the Duke de Guise and the English 
 ambassador. These noble personages were followed by the Duke 
 
 1 Godefroy, Grand Ceremonial de France.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 67 
 
 de Nemours and the Count de St. Paul. Afterwards came the 
 Cardinals de Tournon and de Lorraine, riding immediately before 
 the papal legate in ordinary, the Cardinal-chancellor Duprat, 1 
 who rode alone. Then came the dauphin and the Duke of Or- 
 leans, surrounded by a hundred gentlemen of the chamber. 
 Next came the queen's majesty. Eleanor sat in an open litter, 
 " so that all men might reverently gaze upon her ; " the litter was 
 surrounded by a hundred gentlemen at arms, with their battle- 
 axes raised. The Countess de Nassau and Madame de Nevers 
 rode close to the queen's litter. The other princesses followed, 
 riding two and two, the French ladies mounted on palfreys, 
 and Spanish ladies on mules. The procession was closed by 
 the archers of the king's guard, armed with halberds. 2 
 
 The streets were sumptuously decorated from the Palais to the 
 cathedral ; the objects which attracted most attention were three 
 large stages, or theatres, upon which actors performed comedies 
 of edifying import. The front of each of these theatres was 
 adorned with the armorial bearings of members of the royal family, 
 surrounded by an inscription. Eleanor's attention was especially 
 attracted by these devices ; and she caused the procession to halt 
 that she might leisurely gaze upon them. The first theatre was 
 resplendent with the arms of the king, the dauphin, and the Duke 
 d'Orldans. The legend round the arms of Francis contained a 
 warmer greeting to Eleanor than any she had yet received per- 
 sonally from her royal spouse ; it was, " Veni, sponsa mea, veni 
 de Libano et coronaberis." The motto surrounding the armorial 
 bearings of the princes was, " Timete Dominum, filii mei, et He- 
 gem honorate." The second stage was adorned with the effigies 
 of the queen, of Madame, and of the Queen of Navarre. This 
 theatre presented a most superb sight, we are told, from the in- 
 genuity of its decorations. The armorial bearings of the prin- 
 cesses were blazoned over their effigies. The motto surrounding 
 the arms of the queen was, " Filia, inclina aurem tuam obliuis- 
 cere domum patris tui" That addressed to Madame was, 
 " Manent immota tuorum fata tibi" The loyal Bordelais caused 
 Marguerite to exclaim : " Ego regina Jouisque soror, ac Palladis 
 filial " 3 
 
 1 Duprat, Cardinal de Sens, et de Ste. Praxede, had just been nominated legate 
 a latere in France, by Pope Clement VII. 
 
 2 Godefroy, Grand Cerern. de France. * Ibid.
 
 68 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 After the conclusion of the religious ceremony in the cathedral, 
 Queen Eleanor was conducted to the hotel of the first president 
 of the parliament of Bordeaux, where lodgings were prepared for 
 her. It was then veiy late, for the queen made her entry into 
 the city at four o'clock in the afternoon. After conversing with 
 her Majesty for some little time, Madame de Nevers took leave, 
 to conduct the young princes to Toiiars to visit Madame, whose 
 impatience was extreme to embrace her grandchildren. Late 
 during the same night, Francis, leaving his children at Toiiars, 
 returned to Bordeaux, and took up his abode with the queen in 
 the hotel of the first president. 
 
 On the following morning, the king, anxious to present Elea- 
 nor to his mother, conducted her to Toiiars. Madame was still 
 exceedingly indisposed^ and unable to bear fatigue or excitement. 
 She however attired herself sumptuously to receive Eleanor ; and 
 as soon as she was informed of her approach, she insisted on 
 rising, supported by one of her ladies, from the couch on which 
 she reposed. Madame advanced to the door of her chamber to 
 meet the queen. Eleanor inclined profoundly before the re- 
 doubtable mother of King Francis, and with great humility 
 stooped to kiss her hand. Madame, however, would not accept 
 this homage, but with very gracious demeanour she kissed the 
 lips of her new daughter, and taking her by the hand led her, 
 followed by the king, to the couch from which she had risen, 
 and close to which a chair had been placed for the queen. The 
 duchess, with her son's assistance, then resumed her recumbent- 
 position ; but presently, the better to converse with the queen, she 
 caused a large pillow to be brought and placed so that she might 
 recline nearly in a sitting posture. The interview lasted for some 
 time, when the king and queen took leave of Madame and 
 returned to Bordeaux. 1 
 
 The Queen of Navarre resorted to various devices to vary the 
 monotony of her residence at Blois. Her correspondence at this 
 period was incessant ; indeed Marguerite must have lived with a 
 pen in her hand almost at all times. She writes frequently to 
 Montmorency to prefer a variety of petitions ; for the marshal, as 
 grand-master of the household, disposed of every office in his 
 department. Marguerite's petitioners were numerous, and of 
 every rank in life. During the sojourn of the marshal in the 
 
 1 Godefroy, Grand Cerem. de France.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 69 
 
 South, the queen wrote to request the following appointments : 
 a post in the household of the dauphin, for the grandson of 
 Monsieur de Villene ; 1 the office of controller of the gold and 
 silver plate belonging to Queen Eleanor, for Marc Marchant, who 
 held the same post in the household of the deceased queen ; the 
 post of furrier to Queen Eleanor, for her faithful servant Bro- 
 deau, 2 who had served in the same capacity the deceased queens 
 Anne and Claude ; the appointment of Charles Mesnager as 
 silversmith in ordinary to Queen Eleanor. Marguerite, more- 
 over, solicited that a valet-de-chambre late in the service of the 
 dauphin might be reinstated in his post, as he had been pre- 
 vented by an attack of fever from accompanying the princes into 
 Spain; she asks also that one Pierre Binet may be retained 
 again as treasurer to the princes. She indites a long letter to 
 pray that the butler and pantler of the princes before their 
 departure into Spain may be re-established ; " also," continues 
 the queen, " I have heard that Jehaune la Eaye, his wife, who 
 washed the table linen of the late Queen Claude (whom God 
 assoilize), wishes to enter the household of Queen Eleanor in the 
 same capacity." 3 Marguerite earnestly supplicates Montmo- 
 rency so to decree. The queen also solicits that the post of 
 chief watchman of Paris may be bestowed on her gentleman 
 of the chamber, Monsieur de Gonez, who greatly desired the 
 appointment. 
 
 Marguerite also took great delight in superintending the for- 
 mation of the new gardens at Blois, which the king was con- 
 structing at an immense expense. At length, about the 16th of 
 July, Marguerite was safely delivered of a prince. Louise de 
 Toirviron, the queen's principal midwife, immediately wrote to 
 announce the happy news to Madame, who was still sojourning 
 at the castle of Toliars. The letter describes Marguerite's em- 
 ployments on the day preceding her accouchement; it is as 
 follows : 
 
 LOUISE DE TOIRVIRON TO MADAME.* 
 
 MADAME, This letter is to inform you that the queen your daughter 
 was slightly indisposed yesterday, but was well enough to attend ves- 
 
 1 Jean de Brinon, S. de Villaines, chancellor of the duchy of Alen9on. 
 
 2 Victor Brodeau, valet-de-chambre to King Francis, and under-secretary to 
 Marguerite. 
 
 8 MS. Bibl. Roy., F. de Beth., No. 8549. * Ibid., No. 8595.
 
 70 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 pers in the evening, in the church of St. Calais ; afterwards she walked 
 for some time in the gardens ; she then supped very heartily, and retired 
 to bed about nine o'clock. About one o'clock her illness increased, and 
 at three in the morning she gave birth to a prince. I assure you, 
 Madame, that by God's blessing both the queen and her little son are 
 as well as can be. I beseech God, Madame, to give you a long and 
 prosperous life. Written at Blois, Friday, at three hours past midnight. 
 Your very humble and very obedient subject and servant, 
 
 L. DE TOIRVIRON. 
 
 The king and queen were at Angoulgme when intelligence 
 reached them of the accouchement of Marguerite. Francis was 
 transported with joy ; he despatched a courier to bear his con- 
 gratulations to Marguerite, and published an edict bestowing 
 upon his sister and her husband the privilege of creating a 
 freeman in every guild throughout the realm, "in order to 
 manifest to my very dear and beloved brother-in-law, the King 
 of Navarre, and to our sister, his consort, the joy we feel at the 
 birth of our very dear and beloved nephew, John, Prince of 
 Navarre." l The little prince was privately baptized ; and a 
 few days afterwards he was committed to the care of Madame 
 de Silly, to be reared at the castle of Lonray, with his sister 
 the Princess Jeanne. 
 
 Marguerite's recovery was rapid, and corresponded with her 
 eager desire to be well by the time the king arrived at Blois, 
 that she might accompany the court to Fontainebleau. Francis 
 was conducting the queen to visit all his royal palaces in succes- 
 sion, and seemed to take pride in displaying the wealth and 
 magnificence of his court to the sister of Charles V. 
 
 The king arrived at Blois early in August; it appears also 
 that the health of Madame had improved enough to enable her 
 to undertake the journey thither from Toiiars, as Queen 
 Marguerite, in a letter to the king, speaks of her mother as 
 being with her, and earnestly desiring his presence. After 
 sojourning at Blois for a few days the court removed to Fon- 
 tainebleau, a palace which Madame liked better than any of the 
 other royal residences of France, because she found the air there 
 most salubrious. 
 
 Madame de Montmorency, meantime, had presented her 
 
 1 Ordomiances de Frai^ois I, t. ii,, Archives Judiciaires.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 71 
 
 husband with an heir l to his proud titles ; and as soon as she 
 was able to travel she journeyed to pay her respects to the 
 queen at Fontainebleau, where Francis held his court with great 
 splendour for some months. Marguerite wrote warm congratu- 
 lations on this event to the marshal ; for Montmorency was 
 still detained by the Spanish deputies at Bayonne, who seem to 
 have been very backward in tendering receipts for the large 
 ransom they had received. Her own health, Marguerite stated, 
 was improving ; but she relates that she retarded her recovery 
 by standing, one day, longer than it was advisable, in conver- 
 sation with the Countess de Nassau, who was yet in attendance 
 on her late royal mistress. 2 Probably Eleanor manifested great 
 unwillingness to part with her Spanish attendants, whose 
 departure would leave her almost friendless in the midst of a 
 court where the name of the emperor her brother was execrated, 
 and where all the calamity which afflicted France was ascribed 
 to his faithless policy. It had been ardently hoped, at one time, 
 that the queen's influence might induce the king to break off 
 his liaison with Mademoiselle de Heilly. But the stipulation 
 made by the emperor in the treaty of Cambray, that the duchy 
 of Burgundy should be inherited by any children which might 
 be borne to Eleanor, to the prejudice of the king's elder sons, 
 added to the artful insinuations of Mademoiselle de Heilly that 
 Charles had accomplished the union of his sister with the king 
 in order to have a trusty spy at the Court of France, alienated 
 Francis more and more from his queen. It must also have 
 been painful for Eleanor to witness the national poverty and 
 the dearth of money which ensued after the payment of the 
 ransom of the princes, calamities openly laid to the charge 
 of the emperor ; for it was impossible that she should refrain 
 from associating herself in some degree with the popular 
 obloquy under which her house had fallen. The king's privy 
 purse had likewise suffered to a serious extent, as all the sums 
 expended on the queen's sumptuous entry into the kingdom 
 were defrayed by Francis. The buildings at Fontainebleau 
 were in consequence suspended for want of funds ; this was a 
 
 1 The eldest son of the Constable de Montmorency was born at Chantilly in 
 July, 1530. 
 
 2 Lettre de la Reine de Navarre au Marechal de Montmorency, MSS. Bibl 
 Roy., F. Beth., No. 8550.
 
 72 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 privation beyond the fortitude of Francis to submit to, for these 
 " buildings " were his especial delight. He therefore issued an 
 order commanding a great sale of timber, to the amount of one 
 hundred thousand pounds, in his forest at Fontainebleau, to be 
 proceeded with most expeditiously. "Nevertheless," adds the 
 king, " not to lose time, and that my buildings may not be 
 retarded, it is iny will that the provost of Paris and others take 
 counsel together, and find some merchant who will be willing, 
 on the faith of my commission authorizing the sale of timber, 
 to advance a sufficient sum of money without delay for my 
 said buildings." J These, the favourite " buildings " of the king 
 at Fontainebleau, were on a most extensive scale. The works 
 were confided to the famous painter Primaticcio, who furnished 
 many of the architectural designs, besides contributing by his 
 pencil to the embellishment of the interior of the palace. It 
 was to defray part of the expenses for the construction of the 
 Cour Ovale and the magnificent chateau du Donjon that 
 Francis commanded this sale of timber at Fontainebleau. The 
 galerie, now called that of Francois I., was likewise in progress. 
 This splendid gallery is one hundred and eighty feet long and 
 eighteen in width ; the ceiling was painted in fresco by II Rosso, 
 whom Francis greatly favoured, and the artist has there repre- 
 sented, under mythological guise, some of the chief events in 
 the life of the king. This noble apartment led to another, the 
 favoured retreat of Francis and his gifted sister, and one in 
 which they passed many delightful hours together. It was here 
 Francis placed the library which he had collected with such 
 care and expense : books purchased from every city in Europe 
 thronged his cabinets ; rare manuscripts also were there trea- 
 sured ; some brought from the East by the Greek savants, who 
 found so cordial a welcome in France ; others, gorgeous with 
 rich blazonry, developed the gradual progress of art in elegance 
 of design and colour, and in exquisite finish. The two most 
 beautiful illuminated manuscripts of the age, " Les Heures de la 
 Eeine Anne de Bretagne," and the " Livre des Tournois du roi 
 Ke'neV were included in the king's collection. A poet himself, 
 Francis delighted in the chivalrous ballads of the middle ages, 
 and in the lays of the trouv&re ; the imagery of the Southern 
 
 1 Lettre du roi au Grand Maitre de Montmorency, MSS. de Beth., No. 8564, 
 Bibl. Roy. This letter is published by Capefigue, Hist, de Francois I.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 73 
 
 poets, clothed in the harmonious cadence of the ancient Proven- 
 9al dialect, afforded him unceasing pleasure. With Marguerite 
 sitting by his side, and surrounded by everything that was 
 beautiful in sculpture, painting, and carving in precious metals, 
 Francis here admitted to audience the learned men and artists 
 whom his munificent patronage encouraged. One day Bude'e 
 delivered before the illustrious pair some eloquent and learned 
 oration on the literature of Greece or Home, or Guillaume 
 Petit, Bishop of Senlis, the friend of Erasmus, read aloud the 
 works of that theologian ; another day Benvenuto Cellini would 
 present himself to submit the marvellous produce of his chisel ; 
 or Leonardo de Vinci, to lay at the feet of his royal patrons the 
 portrait of one of those Madonnas, with golden tresses and 
 pensive features, which his pencil so often reproduced. Mar- 
 guerite excelled in needlework of every description ; and during 
 these seances her fingers were busily employed in tapestry 
 work, or in embroidering for some graceful design furnished 
 her by the artists whom her brother had summoned to France 
 to improve and superintend the silk fabrics of his loyal city of 
 Lyons. , 
 
 But duty soon summoned Marguerite from the splendours and 
 intellectual enjoyments of her brother's court. The little prince 
 of Navarre, despite the care of his faithful gouvernante, Madame 
 de Silly, seemed gradually wasting away, without suffering from 
 any malady which the physicians could detect. Late in the 
 autumn of the year 1530, therefore, Marguerite and her husband 
 took leave of the king, and removed to their castle of Alencon, 
 which was about three miles distant from Lonray, where the 
 young prince and princess of Navarre resided. Marguerite 
 found her son in a very weakly condition, and presenting a 
 painful contrast to his sister the Princess Jeanne, who was a 
 robust and merry child of nearly three years old. The pre- 
 carious state of her infant proved a great affliction to the queen, 
 and her letters at this period are written in a most desponding 
 tone. Her own health soon began to suffer from anxiety, in- 
 creased by the bad news which she constantly received of 
 Madame's condition. 
 
 The queen, amid these chagrins, solaced herself in laying out 
 the gardens and embellishing the park attached to the castle of 
 Alen<?on. The site of Marguerite's garden at Alencon, we are
 
 74 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 told, was very beautiful ; it was planted with groves of ever- 
 greens and fragrant shrubs, " so that in summer it resembled a 
 terrestrial paradise;" all which trees and flowers she caused to 
 be tended with the greatest care. Probably her infant, also, 
 was brought from Lonray to be under her watchful eye. Never- 
 theless, despite the care lavished upon him, and the treatment 
 of the learned Maitre Jehan Goinret, the little prince drooped, 
 and expired on Christmas Day, 1530, at the age of five months 
 and a half. It was a melancholy close of the year for Marguerite, 
 and her grief was vehement. The queen took an affecting way 
 of apprising her subjects of Alen^on of the loss she had sus- 
 tained, and of her resignation to the dispensations of Providence. 
 She commanded placards to be posted in the principal quarters 
 of the town announcing the sorrowful event. Beneath were 
 these words : " Dieu 1'avoit donne*, Dieu 1'a oste* ! " l The 
 little prince was interred in the mausoleum of the Dukes 
 d'Alenpon at the Church of the Holy Virgin in Alencon, on the 
 day following his decease. After the funeral obsequies termi- 
 nated, the queen caused a solemn Te Deurn to be chanted, in 
 thanksgiving for her infant's happy release from the world. 2 
 She then wrote the following letter to her brother : 
 
 QUEEN MARGUERITE TO THE KING.* 
 
 MONSEIGNEUR, As it pleased God to take to Himself him whom 
 you acknowledged as your own little son, and whom you honoured so 
 greatly as to rejoice with me at his birth, I write in the fear that 
 you and Madame may be deeply grieved at this sorrowful event to 
 beseech you both rather to rejoice at the glory to which he has been 
 translated than to bewail his departure. If it pleases God to preserve 
 you both in good health, I will try to bear all other earthly tribula- 
 tions patiently ; for, monseigneur, the King of Navarre and myself are 
 content to submit to the will of Him who can, if it pleases Him, give 
 us many more children to serve you and Messieurs your children. 
 To your good favour and affection, monseigneur, we very humbly com- 
 mend ourselves ; and beseeching you to pardon me for not having 
 written to you sooner, and more in detail, I remain 
 
 Your very humble and very obedient sister and subject, 
 
 MARGUERITE. 
 
 1 Oraison Funebre de Marguerite, par Charles de Ste. Marthe. 
 
 2 Ibid. MS. de Beth., No. 8624, Bibl. Roy.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 75 
 
 Ever sensitive to the afflictions and vicissitudes which befell 
 his sister, Francis hastened to console her. The Duchess 
 d'Angouleme was too ill to be informed of her daughter's loss, 
 but the king sent the Bishop of Bayonne l to Alencon to con- 
 dole with Marguerite, and to deliver this letter : 
 
 KING FRANCIS TO HIS SISTER, THE QUEEN OP NAVARRE.* 
 
 If Fortune, ma mignonne, had not for many years made trial of our 
 fortitude, I should applaud her for seeking fresh proof of her power 
 over us ; but, knowing from long experience that all things belonging 
 to me are yours, she ought to have divined that what is yours is also 
 mine. Therefore, if you endured grief for the loss of my children, 
 which were yours also, and the first children belonging to you de- 
 ceased, it is my turn now to bear this sorrow. Rebel not, therefore, 
 and do not cease to combat misfortune, our old and persevering foe, 
 but think that this is the third child of yours, and the last of mine, 
 whom God has called to join the glorious company above, a con- 
 summation attained by them with little toil, but one which we our- 
 selves are still earnestly labouring to achieve. Wipe away, therefore, 
 your bitter tears ; render obedience to God, and give proof of your 
 accustomed fortitude by applying to this your own case the pure and 
 wholesome counsel which, under similar adversity, you tendered to me. 
 By thus doing, instead of fruitlessly lamenting this grievous death, 
 you will render your company very agreeable to us and to our mother, 
 who, with her gout and her accustomed sorrows, seems at this moment 
 to be unconsciously celebrating in her own body the obsequies of her 
 offspring. If you rejoice, therefore, only in the comfort you are con- 
 ferring on your friends, you will console her in the midst of her heavy 
 affliction, and will bestow on your brother a joy the plenitude of 
 which you alone are capable of appreciating. 
 
 The Bishop of Bayonne was, moreover, instructed by the king 
 to press for Marguerite's immediate departure for St. Germain, 
 where the court was sojourning. But the affliction which had 
 recently befallen her greatly affected the queen's health and 
 spirits, and she felt as yet unable to travel, or, when arrived at 
 court, to partake in the excitement caused by the preparations 
 then going forwards for the approaching coronation of Queen 
 Eleanor at St. Denis. In reply to Montmorency's letter of 
 condolence on her loss Marguerite wrote : " Mon nepven, your 
 
 1 Jean du Bellay. 2 MSS. Beth., No. 8624, Bibl. Roy.
 
 76 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 letter, I assure you, gave me as much consolation as any I have 
 received. You have aided me to bear the burden of grief, which 
 without the help of God I should have found more grievous 
 than I thought. I was very glad to hear of your return to 
 court, and I beg you to believe that, however short your dis- 
 tance may be from it, your absence is felt there all the same. 
 We will not fail to follow your advice and quit this place l as 
 soon as we can ; for since we have been here, although the King 
 of Navarre finds himself in good health, I have been so indis- 
 posed and feeble that it will be a great effort to me to travel. 
 Believe, however, that I feel marvellous concern at being so far 
 from Madame, when I know that she continues to suffer so seri- 
 ously, and I shall never be at ease until I rejoin her. I beg 
 that my recent affliction may not be mentioned to her until 
 after my arrival. You may say to her, however, that since my 
 abode in this place I have been much indisposed, but that I 
 shall quit it without delay." 2 
 
 The King and Queen of Navarre probably arrived at St. Ger- 
 main some time during the month of February, 1531. It was a 
 great effort for Marguerite to depart from Alencon, to enter 011 
 the splendid festivities of her brother's court, at which all the 
 great and illustrious of the kingdom were congregated to attend 
 the queen at her coronation. Marguerite, nevertheless, was 
 compelled to put restraint on her feelings, and to take her 
 place in the festivals and pageants with which this event was 
 celebrated. 
 
 1 Alen9on. * MSS. de Beth., No. 8549, Bibl. Royale.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 77 
 
 CHAPTEE IV. 
 
 r I ""HE health of the Queen of Navarre still continuing very 
 -L feeble and indifferent, she was advised by her physician 
 Goinret to try change of air. Early, therefore, in the month of 
 May Marguerite took up her abode at St. Cloud, a village, 
 though it boasted then of only an episcopal palace, 1 that was 
 much frequented for the purity of the air and for the virtue 
 of its water, which was supposed to possess rare medicinal 
 qualities. 
 
 Marguerite derived great benefit from her sojourn at St. Cloud ; 
 nevertheless her residence there was short, for Madame, whose 
 health had not failed throughout the recent fatiguing ceremonies, 
 suffered a relapse, and impatiently asked for her daughter's 
 society. Louisa's constitution was exhausted by the frequent 
 returns of the disorder from which she suffered. Medicine failed 
 now to afford her relief, but seemed to aggravate the pains which 
 she endured. Her mind, nevertheless, was clear and energetic 
 as ever ; and with that wonderful self-command which always 
 distinguished her, Madame continued to take the same active 
 share in her sou's counsels. There were seasons, however, when 
 this mental activity was succeeded by hours of gloomy depres- 
 sion ; and she was admonished, by a warning voice within, that 
 human skill could no longer arrest the progress of the malady 
 bearing her to the grave. Religion exercised few softening in- 
 fluences over the stern character of Louisa ; and no fervent trust 
 that God would assuage the severity of her suffering, and cheer 
 the sorrowful hours intervening before her inevitable separation 
 from those she loved most on earth by inspiring the sure hope 
 of future reunion, as yet shed gladness over the sick chamber of 
 Madame. For days, sometimes, her weakness was so great that 
 
 1 The summer residence of the Bishop of Paris.
 
 78 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 she could not rise from her bed ; but Louisa endured the sharpest 
 pain and submitted to the treatment deemed requisite by her 
 medical attendants with unflinching fortitude. No one dared to 
 apprise her of her danger, for she always evinced a morbid dread 
 of death ; and it was understood at court that the preacher who 
 often made that solemn subject the theme of his discourses was 
 sure to lose her favour, and upon some pretext to receive his 
 dismissal. " As if one did not know sufficiently well that the 
 fate of all is to die," Louisa used scoftingly to remark. " Preach- 
 ers, when they are at a loss what to say in their sermons, and 
 have run the length of their knowledge, invariably take refuge 
 by discussing this one everlasting subject of death ! " 1 The 
 theme, however, was one of very present and deep interest to 
 Louisa ; though her known displeasure at being reminded of her 
 decease prevented her physicians from admonishing her betimes 
 of the fatal symptoms which had recently developed themselves 
 in her malady. 
 
 On her return to St. Germain the Queen of Navarre was dis- 
 tressed at the change in her mother's condition. Tormented day 
 and night by acute pains in the stomach, and by continued sick- 
 ness combined with her usual sufferings from gout, Madame's 
 existence had become a burden to her. Notwithstanding her 
 illness, Louisa still admitted Duprat to daily audience, and im- 
 parted her opinions on state affairs. Braillon, one of her physi- 
 cians, alone gave Madame hope of recovery, and even promised 
 to undertake her cure. By his advice, probably, the duchess 
 resolved to remove from St. Germain to Fontainebleau, a place 
 which agreed remarkably well with her constitution. Accom- 
 panied by Marguerite, Madame performed the journey by slow 
 stages, reposing in her litter. This painful journey was prob- 
 ably commenced about the end of June. Madame look leave of 
 her son at St. Germain, who promised to visit her at Fontaine- 
 bleau as soon as political affairs rendered it possible for him to 
 quit the capital. 
 
 Before she left the court a trifling misunderstanding occurred 
 between Marguerite and her brother, which occasioned the 
 queen great uneasiness. It arose merely about a word that 
 Marguerite had unthinkingly used when speaking of the pre- 
 carious condition of Madame, and of her fears respecting her 
 
 1 Brantome.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 79 
 
 brother's health, which had been reported to the king by the 
 officious interference of some person whose name is not re- 
 corded. Francis watched, almost with a lover's jealousy, every 
 word uttered respecting him by his beloved sister. Iri this 
 matter, however, the king seems to have been most needlessly 
 susceptible ; for the whole of Marguerite's offence was that, in 
 conversation, she had expressed a conviction that she should 
 survive both her brother and Madame. This assertion appeared 
 to Francis as treason against their " loyal trinity," and a crime 
 for Marguerite to contemplate such a possibility. On taking 
 leave of his sister, therefore, before her departure from St. Ger- 
 main, the king reproachfully repeated her words, and added 
 " that, perhaps, as she had said, God had ordained that her life 
 should exceed his own, and that of Madame." These words, 
 but especially the manner in which they were uttered, distressed 
 Marguerite greatly, and at the end of the first day's journey she 
 wrote the following vindication to her brother : 
 
 QUEEN MARGUERITE TO FRANCIS I. 1 
 
 MONSEIGNEUR, You well know that it is not in my power to 
 conceal from you anything, or even to dissimulate my thoughts ; for 
 all my life long it has been my habit to speak to you without fear or 
 reserve, expressing my wishes as to my brother, in order afterwards 
 to receive your command as that of one who stands to me in stead of 
 a father, and from whom I receive all that I possess or can hope for in 
 this world, and for whom I have esteemed the sacrifice of my own will 
 a privilege, and should deem either my life happy, or my death 
 glorious, if only I might render you service. But, monseigneur, it 
 cannot be that God has doomed me to the misfortune that this my 
 constant aim is unknown to you, and that the voluntary obedience 
 which I have tendered out of love for you should have produced so 
 contrary an effect as to put into your mind that which mine cannot 
 even dwell upon without insupportable pain. From the purgatory of 
 this fear, I very humbly beseech you, monseigneur, to give me relief, 
 and to do me the honour to believe that if I have said that I ought to 
 be the last survivor, it was thinking to receive the summit and perfec- 
 tion of every misfortune and sorrow that God can inflict upon one of 
 His creatures ; for, monseigneur, if my desire corresponded with the 
 fear that I expressed I should have taken more trouble to preserve my 
 
 1 Bibl. Roy., F. du Suppl. Fran., MS. No. 99.
 
 80 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 life and my health than I have done. I feel sure, monseigneur, that 
 you do me the justice to believe this ; but the words that you said to 
 me when we took leave of you, " that perhaps God had ordained that 
 my life should exceed your own, and that of Madame," have since 
 weighed so heavily upon my heart that, unless I had written this 
 letter in the hope of receiving the reply from you which *I so greatly 
 need, I am sure my life could not long have sustained this suspense ; 
 for I have neither aim, hope, nor intention, but to live and die 
 Your very humble and very obedient subject and sister, 
 
 MARGUERITE. 
 
 This explanation appears to have given satisfaction to the 
 king and to have effaced every painful feeling from his mind. 
 Francis exacted from his sister a perfect unity of thought, sen- 
 timent, and affection with himself. The pure sisterly love which 
 Marguerite bore him, so unselfish in its devotion, was inex- 
 pressibly soothing to Francis, oppressed as he often was by 
 cares of no slight magnitude. The sympathy which Marguerite 
 deeply felt and expressed so well, the king always depended 
 upon. No one could supply the place of Marguerite. Madame 
 dominated in the Council ; the Duchesse d'Estampes ruled 
 during the hours which the king gave to pleasure and dissipa- 
 tion ; Montmoreucy and Brion, when Francis gathered his noble 
 cavaliers to indulge in manly and chivalrous pastimes : but his 
 sister was his dearest friend and counsellor, Marguerite's 
 voice and her caresses consoled the king in his hours of depres- 
 sion. Her admonitions also, spoken with the freedom alone 
 becoming to the king's sister, were yet devoid of the authorita- 
 tive peremptoriness which Madame occasionally assumed while 
 privately conferring with her son. Francis made Marguerite 
 the depository of his secrets and future designs. Every act of 
 Marguerite's life testified how fervently she returned the trust 
 reposed in her by her brother. She employed her skilful pen 
 in recording his praises, in prose and verse, and in writing 
 those numerous letters so carefully treasured by Francis, and 
 which have descended to these days. Her diplomatic talents 
 were always at his service, and her knowledge of languages 
 aided the king and his ministers on many occasions, where, but 
 for her, a most inconvenient revelation of political measures, 
 not yet matured, must have ensued had assistance been asked 
 from the learned men of the capital.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 81 
 
 Marguerite wrote the following sonnet, addressed to her 
 brother, on some occasion when his jealous umbrage had 
 taken alarm : 
 
 " Ce n'est qu'ung cueur, et ne sera jamais 
 De vous et moy, ainsi je le promectz, 
 Quelque chose que vous puisse advenir. 
 Le sang ne peult au contraire venir 
 Ny la raison : aussi je m'y soubzmectz. 
 
 " Ma vonlonte a la vostre remectz, 
 
 Parolle et faictz entre voz mains je meotz ; 
 Puisque je veulx vostre ainsi devenir, 
 Ce n'est qu'un cueur ! 
 
 " Ainsi du tout a vous je me commectz, 
 Qui vostre suis et seray desormais 
 Mieulx qu'oncques ; mais plaise vous souvenir 
 De nostre accord, pour nous y maintenir 
 A toujoursmais : puisqu'en vous me desmectz 
 Ce n'est qu'un cueur ! " l 
 
 The fatal epidemic, meanwhile, continued to ravage France, 
 decimating the population. The scarcity of provision had 
 rather augmented than decreased : the rain, which had fallen 
 almost without cessation from the month of January was suc- 
 ceeded by a hot burning sun, which, pouring its fierce rays on 
 the stagnant pools and marshy districts of the country, fearfully 
 increased the infection. 2 The people were tormented by swarms 
 of loathsome insects, generated by the unwholesome condition 
 of the atmosphere. In vain the labourer sowed his crops ; the 
 seed was either destroyed, or the young shoots devoured as soon 
 as they reached the surface of the earth. Several cases of 
 plague had occurred amongst the inhabitants of the little hamlet 
 of Fontainebleau ; yet though Madame was aware of the fact, 
 her restless desire for change predominated over her fear of 
 infection. Orders, however, were transmitted for the immediate 
 removal of the royal children from Fontainebleau to the Castle 
 of Amboise, around which measures were taken to cut off 
 communication with adjoining districts. 
 
 Madame arrived at Fontainebleau about the middle of June, 
 1531. She was followed by the king and queen ; for the anxiety 
 which Francis felt about his mother's health was extreme. The 
 
 1 Captivite du roi Fra^ois I. 2 Paradin, Hist, de Notre Temps. 
 
 VOL. II. 6
 
 82 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 change of air seerns to have wrought a temporary benefit in the 
 condition of Madame. She was no longer wholly confined to 
 her couch, and she found herself able occasionally to take exer- 
 cise in the gardens. Seeing that Madame was improving in 
 health beyond his most anxious expectations, Francis made but 
 a brief sojourn at Fontainebleau, and, accompanied by Eleanor, 
 he proceeded to Blois, where his " buildings " needed inspec- 
 tion, having previously received a promise from his mother that 
 she would join him there as soon as she felt equal to renew her 
 journey. At the desire of Madame, the king sent a command 
 to the governor of the princes at Amboise, authorizing their 
 return to Fontainebleau to visit their grandmother. 
 
 The princes arrived a few days after the departure of Francis, 
 when Madame was suffering more than usual from depression 
 and weakness ; for a secret presentiment haunted her that she 
 had taken her last farewell of her idolized son. The coming of 
 her nephews, therefore, was hailed by Marguerite as a most op- 
 portune event. The endearments of her favourite grandson, the 
 little Duke d'Augouleme, roused Louisa from her melancholy 
 bodings, while he cheered her by his childish mirth. It was 
 the nature of Louisa's malady to excite hopes which sometimes 
 the brief interval of a night cruelly dissipated. Anything that 
 afforded distraction to her mother's mind and relieved it from 
 gloomy depression was therefore joyfully welcomed by Mar- 
 guerite, and she hastened to communicate her delight to her 
 brother at the cheering effect this visit of the princes had had 
 upon the spirits of Madame. Aware of the king's partiality for 
 his third son, Marguerite reports to him a speech made by the 
 little duke, then a bold and forward boy of nine years old, which 
 she thought would give him pleasure. 
 
 QUEEN MARGUERITE TO FRANCIS I. 1 
 
 MONSEIQNEUR, I have not feared to trouble you with this letter, 
 in order to report the improvement in the health of Madame, which 
 has failed her gravely since your departure until this afternoon, when 
 she received a visit from three little doctors, who speedily made her 
 forget her pain. I assure you it is impossible she could have derived 
 greater benefit than she has done from this visit. The princes, how- 
 
 1 Bibl. Roy., F. du Suppl. Fran., MS. No. 70.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 83 
 
 ever, were very sorrowful and discontented when they learned your 
 departure ; for M. d'Angoulgme had made up his mind that if he 
 could only see you again, never to loose your hand, for he says that 
 even if you go to hunt the wild boar, he knows that you will take 
 good care that nothing hurts him. Believe me, monseigneur, that 
 Madame, while listening to this and other discourse, could not refrain 
 from shedding abundance of tears, which have done her great good ; 
 for you know the saying 
 
 " Qui pleure larmes par amour, 
 N'en sent jamais mal ny douleur." 
 
 I close my letter by assuring you of the good health of the princes, 
 whom I beg that God may speedily restore to you. Monseigneur 
 d'Aire l has given me ample assurance that they are healthy and under 
 good treatment, as I hope you will soon judge for yourself. I beseech 
 you, monseigneur, always to hold in gracious favour 
 
 Your very humble and very obedient subject and mignonne, 
 
 MARGUERITE. 
 
 For some few days the health of Madame seemed making 
 steady progress. Accompanied by her daughter, she went to 
 hear complines in a nunnery in the neighbourhood of Fontaine- 
 bleau ; her spirits rose, and she spoke of being soon able to join 
 her son at Blois. The Cardinal de Tournon remained in attend- 
 ance upon the duchess ; but Louisa, in the sanguine hope which 
 this temporary improvement in her health inspired, insisted on 
 despatching him to Blois to inform the king of the favourable 
 change. " Madame, after hearing complines with the nuns, 
 found herself so much better that her discourse became brisk 
 and stirring as ever, as our messenger will inform you, mon- 
 seigueur," wrote Marguerite to her brother. " Madame com- 
 manded him to return to you because, as she jestingly said, she 
 had come to tbe conclusion that he was a better sportsman than 
 an ecclesiastic." 2 The opinion which Louisa playfully expressed 
 of the Cardinal de Tournon was true enough ; the fulfilment of 
 his ecclesiastical duties was seldom permitted to interfere with 
 his assiduous attendance on the court ; and the pleasures of the 
 chase, because patronized by the king, were far from being ab- 
 jured by tbe dexterous cardinal. The unusual exertion made 
 
 1 Snb-preceptor to the dauphin and his brothers. 
 
 2 Bibl. Roy., F. du Suppl. Fran., MS. No. 129.
 
 84 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 by the Duchess d'Angouleme occasioned, however, a relapse of 
 her malady. About midnight, after sleeping comfortably for 
 several hours, she awoke suffering excruciating pain, and was 
 soon after seized with sickness, which continued during a con- 
 siderable part of the night. Towards morning Madame was able 
 to take some slight repose; and though much weakened, she 
 was again free from pain before the departure of the cardinal. 
 Marguerite wrote a detail of Madame's sudden indisposition to 
 the king; but not satisfied with the message which she desired 
 her daughter to give, to the effect that she felt herself tolerably 
 well again, Louisa sent Francis a few lines to express her dis- 
 appointment at the inevitable delay she was consequently com- 
 pelled to make in her journey to Blois. " Monseigneur," wrote 
 Madame to her sou, whom she so yearned to embrace, 1 " your 
 own feelings must testify to you, better than I can express it, 
 the depth and fervour of the extreme desire which I have to see 
 you, and how displeasing it is to me that I cannot set out from 
 hence to-morrow. But, monseigneur, as you have doubtless 
 learned from the courier, Plessis, I suffered the day before yes- 
 terday from violent pains, and though it is true that I feel better 
 to-day, yet I am not well enough to travel ; for it is not worth 
 while to set out in order to be compelled to take up my abode 
 in the first house by the wayside which I come to." In this 
 world, however, there were to be no more bright days for Ma- 
 dame, but hours only of restless agony or of utter prostration, 
 both mental and bodily. " Yesterday Madame found herself 
 very feeble, and nearly fainted away. I was not with her at 
 the time, but heard of it afterwards from herself," 2 wrote the 
 Queen of Navarre to Montmorency, who was with the court at 
 Blois. Marguerite, however, develops at length her fears and 
 anxieties respecting her mother's health in a letter which she 
 addressed to the king, probably about the middle of August, 
 1531. The physicians attributed the increase of many of the 
 most aggravated symptoms of Madame's disorder to her pining 
 anxiety to rejoin her son. Marguerite entreats her brother, 
 therefore, to contrive some way for the safe removal of the 
 duchess to Blois. She gives also an affecting account of the 
 way in which the once haughty and strong-minded Louisa of 
 
 * Bibl. Roy., MSS. de Bethune. 
 
 MS. Bibl. Roy., F. de Beth., No. 8514.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 85 
 
 Savoy passed her time when enjoying a temporary respite from 
 the pain which constantly oppressed her. Her greatest solace 
 was to assemble the sick and infirm, and with her own hands 
 to dress their wounds, in order to make essay of the virtues of 
 an ointment which she believed to possess extraordinary healing 
 powers. 
 
 QUEEN MARGUERITE TO FRANCIS I. 1 
 
 MONSEIGNEUR, I do not know how to express forcibly enough the 
 anxiety and tribulation which afflicts us here ; for the good we have 
 been accustomed to enjoy during your absence, which was the society 
 of Madame, gives us now greater grief than consolation. Whatever 
 constraint Madame puts upon her feelings, it is easy to perceive, 
 monseigneur, the lamentable change which lias occurred in her con- 
 dition ; never have I seen her so altered and depressed during any 
 one of your previous absences. If it pleases you to be informed of 
 her greatest recreation, it is this : after dinner, at the hour when she 
 is accustomed to grant audiences, instead of employing herself with 
 her needle as usual, she sends in quest of poor people afflicted with 
 grievous wounds, which she dresses with her own hands, in order to 
 try the efficacy of an ointment that she believes possesses singular 
 virtue. Besides, nothing happens that does not seem to add to her 
 depression, so that I am compelled to lament thus to you ; but I be- 
 seech you, monseigneur, do not betray what I have written to her, as 
 she would be displeased. I have, therefore, to entreat you, monsei- 
 gneur, not to leave Madame longer here, deprived of your society ; but 
 when your own health permits, it would be advisable to send for her 
 that she may rejoin you, accompanied by only a few of her attendants. 
 The remainder of her train can remain here with messieurs. I will 
 stay, also, if it pleases you, a plan which will give infinite content- 
 ment to the duke 2 and his brothers. If I thought that the illness of 
 Madame would terminate favourably, I should not trouble you thus ; 
 but the symptoms which I see have determined me to write to you as 
 to one from whom it is my duty to conceal nothing, for the love and 
 affection which I bear you, and the strict confidence subsisting between 
 us, a privilege you have always permitted. 
 
 Your very humble and very obedient subject and sister, 
 
 MARGUERITE. 
 
 Rumours, meanwhile, of the fierce persecution carried on by 
 the parliament of Paris against the adherents of reform reached 
 
 i MS. Bibl. Roy., F. <le Beth., No. 8595. 
 3 Prince Charles, Duke d'Angouleme.
 
 86 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 the ears of the Queen of Navarre in her retreat at Fontainebleau, 
 which, surrounded as the palace was by a plague-infected dis- 
 trict, was almost cut off from communication with the capital. 
 Certain of support from the government, even in its most san- 
 guinary designs, the Sorboune proscribed, censured, and pun- 
 ished with fearless rigour. Its terrible authority few now dared 
 defy ; and the theologians of Paris once more beheld themselves 
 and their doctrine paramount throughout the realm. It was, 
 however, only by showing profound deference to the arbitrary 
 Duprat, and by adopting the decrees of the Council of Sens as 
 the foundation for all ecclesiastical procedures, that the univer- 
 sity triumphed. The amour-propre of the powerful minister 
 was flattered by being considered as both the civil and the 
 ecclesiastical legislator of France ; and he was as little prepared 
 to suffer the infringement of one of the canons of his Council as 
 to permit the violation of any edict which had passed the great 
 seal. 
 
 There was one man in France, hitherto almost privileged to 
 avow his preference for the doctrines of the Reformation, living 
 unmolested, secure in the powerful protection of the Queen of 
 Navarre, and in the gratitude manifested towards him by the 
 king for the talent and assiduity which he had displayed in the 
 education of the princes. Lefevre for it was he upon whom 
 the Sorbonne again affixed its terrible glance had thrice defied 
 the censures of the university, and escaped the doom it decreed 
 for the heretic. The doctor was residing at Blois, in the enjoy- 
 ment of constant intercourse with the king, and yearly increas- 
 ing his influence over the minds of the young dauphin and his 
 brothers. Lefevre's meekness of character and his learning ren- 
 dered him at all times an acceptable companion to Francis ; the 
 library at Blois increased greatly under his superintendence, 
 and the refined taste of the scholar opened to the king many 
 paths of literature hitherto unexplored, and which Francis pur- 
 sued with eager avidity. Admitted often to the royal table, 
 Lefevre's eloquence and his skill in polemical discussion at once 
 interested and surprised the king. At different periods the king 
 had in vain offered the highest ecclesiastical dignities in the 
 kingdom to Letevre ; but sensible that his religion must always 
 render him a mark for the malice and enmity of the universities, 
 he constantly refused episcopal honours. Not in the least molli-
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 87 
 
 fied by this tacit submission to their ban, the Sorbonnists now 
 resolved on the expulsion of the aged Lefevre from France ; and 
 proceedings were instituted, according to the canons of Sens, to 
 recommence the process for heresy, which the university had 
 before been compelled to suspend. Some friend of Lefevre's, 
 however, gave him timely notice of the contemplated act, and 
 warned him to save himself by flight. The doctor of Etaples, 
 however, had experienced too many perils and vicissitudes to 
 adopt this hasty counsel at the age of eighty-eight. Marguerite, 
 his former gracious patroness, was now his firm friend ; and the 
 king owed him both protection and gratitude for his care of the 
 young Prince Charles. 
 
 The Queen of Navarre at once responded to Lefevre's appli- 
 cation by offering him an asylum at Ndrac ; and she, moreover, 
 undertook to obtain for him honourable permission to depart 
 from Blois. Accordingly, Marguerite wrote to the Marshal de 
 Montmorency, under whose control as grand master, Lefevre, 
 the royal librarian, was nominally placed, requesting permission 
 for the doctor to absent himself from Blois, in order to recruit 
 his health by paying a visit to a friend. In religious matters 
 Marguerite no longer placed the same dependence on Montmo- 
 rency as formerly ; therefore she carefully concealed her inten- 
 tion of affording Lefevre a refuge in Bdarn. The arbitrary 
 disposition of the marshal took umbrage at the temerity of the 
 upholders of the new doctrines, in presuming to emancipate 
 themselves from the ancient and proscriptive homage paid to 
 the Church of Rome. " When kings and nobles render obedi- 
 ence, and states proffer homage to the universal father of Chris- 
 tendom, the Pope, shall humble and insignificant individuals, 
 men of the pen and the robe, dare to abstain, and create schism 
 and civil warfare, where but for them all would be unity ? " ar- 
 gued the haughty marshal, whose influence in affairs of religion 
 had been latterly at the command of the chancellor cardinal, in 
 defiance, as Moutmorency well knew, of Marguerite's wishes. 
 
 Knowing that her brother was surrounded by men inimical to 
 Lefevre's principles, Marguerite made her demand with great 
 apparent indifference and circumspection. She said : " The good 
 man, Lefevre, writes to me that he finds himself indisposed 
 at Blois. He is, besides, menaced with molestation elsewhere. 
 Upon both these accounts, therefore, he would willingly depart
 
 88 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 for a time to visit a friend for change of air, if the king would be 
 pleased to give him leave so to do. He has put the library in 
 order, having numbered the books and made a catalogue of them, 
 which he will deliver up at any time the king may appoint. I 
 beg you to obtain from the king the permission which he solicits, 
 in doing which you will confer a singular pleasure upon vostre 
 bonne tante et amye, MAKGUERITE." 1 Aware of the danger which 
 menaced the venerable doctor, Francis reluctantly granted him 
 permission to depart ; and at the great age of eighty-eight 
 Lefevre went forth a wanderer from the realm of France. Under 
 Marguerite's protection, however, he found a haven of refuge ; 
 and the good old man passed the remainder of his days at Ndrac 
 in security and peace. 
 
 For a brief period the reformed teachers were silenced, intimi- 
 dated at the rigour displayed towards them. Gradually they 
 deserted Paris, and congregated in Edam, or in the border towns 
 between France and Switzerland, ready to escape for their lives 
 when menaced by the terrible Chamber of Inquisition, which 
 exercised its functions with unabated activity. To Marguerite 
 the priesthood vowed the most bitter resentment ; the theologians 
 of the Sorbonne forgot not that to her influence and support of 
 the so-called heresy they owed the slights they had received 
 throughout the reign of Francis ; and that even when the omni- 
 potence of the Eoman faith was now authoritatively proclaimed, 
 it was she who still afforded refuge to the proscribed. 
 
 Deprived of communication with the capital, and in assiduous 
 attendance at Fontainebleau on the dying couch of Madame, the 
 Queen of Navarre again avowed her participation in the opinions 
 the Sorbonne strove to crush ; and that by a mode as exasperating 
 to the theologians as it was unexpected. Marguerite's poem, 
 " Le Miroir de 1'Arne Pecheresse," 2 a book of holy and beautiful 
 
 1 MS. Bibl. Roy., F. de Beth., No. 8514. 
 
 2 Le Miroir de 1'Ame Pecheresse ou quel elle recongnoist ses faultes et pechez, 
 aussi ses graces et benefices k elle faitez par Jesu Christ, son espoux. La Margue- 
 rite tres noble et precieuse, s'est proposee a ceulx qui de bon cueur la cherchoient. 
 A Alencon, chez maistre Simon du Bois, MDXXXI. Marguerite's poem was 
 translated into English by Queen Elizabeth. The book bore the following title : 
 "A godly medytacyon of the Christen sowle, compiled in Frenche by Lady 
 Margarete, quene of Navarre ; and aptely translated into English by the right 
 vertuose lady Elyzabeth, daughter to our late sovereyne, king Henry the VIII. 
 Imprimed in the year of our Lorde, 1548, in Apryll."
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 89 
 
 meditations, was published, by her command, in the autumn of 
 this year, at Alenson. The queen omitted in her verse all men- 
 tion of purgatory, or the invocation of saints ; and passed over 
 other leading tenets of the Romish faith in silence. This inter- 
 esting poem contains the outpourings of Marguerite's soul : her 
 doubts, her fears, her anxieties, and her aspirations after good 
 are all here revealed. The book bears, as a motto, the words, 
 " Cor mundum crea in me, Deus" a prayer constantly on her lips ; 
 and the opening lines of the poem thus entreat the indulgence 
 of its readers : 
 
 " Si vous lisez cette ceuvre toute entiere 
 
 Arretez-vous, sans plus, a la matiere, 
 
 En excusant la rhyme, et le langage, 
 
 Voyant que c'est d'nne femme 1'ouvrage 
 
 Qui n'a en soi science ne savoir, 
 
 Fors ung desir que chacun puisse voir, 
 
 Que faict le don de Dieu le Createur, 
 
 Quand il lui plaist justifier ung cceur." 
 
 The poem of the Queen of Navarre was received in gloomy 
 silence by the Sorbonne : at a time when it persecuted heretics 
 under the name and the authority of the crown, the sovereign's 
 all-powerful sister put forth to the world a composition in which, 
 though the doctrine of Rome was not assailed, yet and this 
 appeared to them an evil of gravest magnitude an absolute 
 silence was maintained on those points she had been long sus- 
 pected of rejecting. Marguerite avenged herself for the injurious 
 treatment which she experienced from the Faculty by the keenest 
 irony. Her lively sallies of wit and piquant satire enraged her 
 dogmatizing opponents ; their manifestoes, so pompous in diction, 
 lagged heavily on the memory when compared with the simpli- 
 city and elegance of Marguerite's compositions. In a poem, or 
 " moralite," entitled " L'Inquisiteur," perhaps composed at this 
 very period when Marguerite's indignation was strongly roused 
 against the Sorbonne for its vindictive persecution of Lefevre, 
 she indulges in the keenest raillery at the expense of the Faculty. 
 The piece opens with a long soliloquy from the inquisitor, a 
 doctor of the Sorbonne, in which he bewails the extension of the 
 reformed doctrines, and threatens to put down heresy with fire 
 and fagot, unless, indeed, the culprit should be inclined to 
 purchase immunity by a bribe. The interested motives which 
 induced the theologians to persecute, and their ignorance, are
 
 90 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 themes touched upon by Marguerite with admirable point. The 
 inquisitor commences his soliloquy thus : 
 
 " Le temps s'en va toujours en empirant, 
 L'on ne fait plus de religion compte. 
 Nostre credit (dont je voys souspiraut) 
 Se pourroict bien en fin tourner a honte. 
 Ce savoir neuf, qui le nostre surmonte, 
 Nous oustera enfin honneur et bruict. 
 Dont tous les jours fault qu'en chaire je nion 
 Jusques a ce que par moy soit destruict. 
 Si je n'avoys qu'aux ignorans affaire, 
 Je les ferois retourner par la craincte ; 
 Mais je ne puis les ssavans faire taire, 
 Qui myeulx que moi ont 1'escriture saincte ; 
 Car contanter je ne les puis de faincte : 
 Toujours leur fault alleguer 1'escripture, 
 Dout ilz me font soustenir peine maincte, 
 Car je ne feiz jamais bonne lecture. 
 Grant temps y a que suis passe doctenr 
 Dedans Paris par ceulx de la Sorbonne ; 
 Quatre ans y a que suis inquisiteur 
 De nostre foy, sans espargner personne. 
 Je ne dys pas que si quelcun me donne 
 Ung bon present, pour racheter sa vye, 
 Mais que jamais a nully mot ne sonne, 
 Qu'a le saulver promptemeut n'aye envye." 1 
 
 Having thus taunted the Sorbounists with their ignorance of the 
 Holy Scriptures, the queen proceeds to recount the line of 
 reasoning these theologians adopted to console themselves for 
 the unscrupulous manner in which they condemned suspected 
 persons to the flames. It is the inquisitor, the hero of the piece, 
 who still speaks. He argues : 
 
 " Car il vault myeulx qu'un homme innocent meure 
 Cruellement, pour estre exemple a tous, 
 Que c'est erreur plus longuement demeure 
 Par qui noz loix vont sans dessus dessoubz. 
 Si I'homme meurt innocent, simple et doux, 
 Bien heureux est, au ciel trouvera place ; 
 S'il est mauvais, soustenir pouvons nous 
 Qu'en le faisant niourir, on lui faict grace." 
 
 1 This farce or "moralite" of " L'Inquisiteur " appears in print for the first 
 time in the appendix attached to a magnificent edition of the " Heptameron," 
 edited by M. le Roux de Liucy, and published a few months ago by La Societe 
 des Bibliophiles Franfais.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 91 
 
 In Germany, meanwhile, the agitation of religious sects and 
 parties continued. Luther, supported by the Elector of Saxony 
 and by the Landgrave of Hesse, maintained his ground ; and the 
 reformed opinions daily obtained wider dissemination. The 
 prnices of Germany, armed one against the other, filled the 
 empire with tumult and faction. The Roman Catholic princes 
 had formed a league with the emperor at Augsbourg for the 
 maintenance of the faith, and for the extirpation of heresy. 
 Charles, skilfully taking advantage of the excitement agitating 
 the states opposed to reform, procured the election of his brother 
 Ferdinand, King of Hungary and Bohemia, as king of the 
 Romans. He assembled a Diet at Cologne during the latter 
 part of the year 1530, 1 and in a long harangue, spoken in the 
 German language, the emperor, with that wonderful precision 
 of detail which most of his public addresses exhibit, explained to 
 the electors the necessity compelling him to demand a coadjutor 
 to aid him in the government of the empire. He expatiated 
 upon the extent of his dominions, which prevented him from 
 making a long sojourn in any one portion of his territories ; and 
 he proceeded to prove to the assembly the benefit which must 
 accrue to the orthodox amongst themselves by the appointment 
 of a responsible and capable governor, in whom during his 
 absence the authority of the imperial throne would centre. 
 
 The emperor's representations met with almost unanimous 
 acceptance from the Diet. 2 The establishment of a system of 
 government by viceroys invested with all but unlimited powers 
 was one of the vast political ideas developed by the policy of 
 the Emperor Charles V. To the emperor alone were the viceroys 
 subordinate ; and in the selection of these important ministers 
 his discrimination in no recorded instance was at fault. If 
 Charles possessed not devoted friends, his talents, his good for- 
 tune, and a certain persuasive and condescending mode of address 
 procured him many zealous partisans. He had the policy, also, 
 to attach to himself the members of his own family, by the 
 unlimited confidence he professed to repose in their loyalty, and 
 also by the splendour of the career he assigned to most of them. 
 To his brother Ferdinand, once a competitor for his Spanish 
 crown, Charles showed boundless trust ; nor did he fear to elevate 
 
 1 Paradin, Hist, de Notre Temps ; Sleidan Commentar. 
 3 Du Bellay ; Paradin, Hist, de Notre Temps.
 
 92 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 him, during his own absence, to supreme command over the 
 empire and the hereditary duchies of Austria. Cortez and Pizarro 
 in Spanish America ; Mon^ada and Leyva in Italy ; the Empress 
 Isabel in Castile and Arragon ; Ferdinand in Germany ; Mar- 
 guerite of Austria, and afterwards Mary Queen of Hungary, over 
 the Low Countries, each exercised viceregal powers in separate 
 departments of Charles's vast empire, in perfect submission to 
 his system of policy; while the emperor, from whose genius 
 emanated the political theories so ably embodied by his repre- 
 sentatives, was at liberty to watch over the general welfare, and 
 to organize those campaigns by which he maintained his military 
 repute and supremacy over Europe. 
 
 The election of Ferdinand by the Diet assembled at Cologne 
 might almost be called unanimous. Of the six electors, one 
 alone, the Protestant Elector of Saxony, absented himself, and 
 refused his suffrage. Remonstrances were ineffectually addressed 
 to the Diet by the Protestant communities of Germany, and by 
 the Elector of Saxony and his son, the Landgrave of Hesse, and 
 the Dukes William and Louis of Bavaria, and other princes, on 
 the illegality of Ferdinand's election, which they declared had 
 been effected in violation of the privileges conferred on the 
 princes of the empire by the Golden Bull. The malcontents, 
 finding that their petitions were treated with scornful indifference, 
 and that Charles coldly summoned them to ratify his brother's 
 elevation instead of replying to their protests, assembled at 
 Smalkalden, a small town under the jurisdiction of the Landgrave 
 of Hesse ; where, on the 27th of February, 1531, the princes con- 
 cluded a league amongst themselves for the preservation of the 
 liberties of the Germanic Confederation. 1 Ambassadors were de- 
 spatched by the chiefs of the League of Smalkalden to invite the 
 co-operation of the kings of England and France in the designs 
 of the princes. Thus, by the most perplexing of anomalies, at 
 the period when the government of Francis had ceased to act 
 upon the principles of that wise toleration which distinguished 
 the earlier years of his reign, and the Sorbonne, authorized by 
 the crown, had decreed the extermination of heresy, the demand 
 of the Lutheran princes of Germany, soliciting aid from France, 
 was laid before the Council. According to the principles pro- 
 fessed by its three dominant spirits, Duprat, Montmorency, and 
 1 Sleidan, Commentar.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 93 
 
 the Duchess d' Angouleme, this application should have met with 
 zealous rejection ; but the constant aim of the French cabinet, 
 since the return of Francis from captivity, had been the humilia- 
 tion of Charles V. The bitter enemy of the emperor, by incli- 
 nation as much as by the force of circumstances, the King of 
 France invariably assumed an attitude hostile to the designs of 
 Charles. When the emperor held the pope captive, and seemed 
 inclined to adopt lenient measures towards his Lutheran subjects, 
 Francis became the ardent champion of the Boinish creed. The 
 emperor having become the chief of the League of Augsbourg, 
 and who now menaced the Lutheran princes with destruction 
 unless they returned to obedience to the Holy See, seemed to 
 demand a corresponding change in the policy of the King of 
 France. 
 
 In Marguerite and the Duchess d'Estampes the confederate 
 princes found zealous friends, whose influence over the king fre- 
 quently disconcerted Duprat and his bigoted coterie. The am- 
 bassadors of the League of Smalkalden, on their way to obtain 
 audience of the king at Blois, failed not to visit Fontainebleau. 
 Madame of course was too ill to admit them to her presence ; 
 but Marguerite granted the ambassadors an interview, rather to 
 testify her sympathy in their errand than for anything which she 
 might learn from them relative to the progress of reform in Ger- 
 many ; as the ambassadors could speak the German language 
 only, a tongue the queen was not proficient in. Desirous, how- 
 ever, of aiding the envoys of the League to the utmost of her power, 
 Marguerite despatched a gentleman of her household to accom- 
 pany them to Blois, whom she intrusted with a letter in their 
 behalf, addressed to Montmorency. Amongst other things the 
 queen said : " Mon nepveu, I have sent you the ambassadors 
 of the Duke de Saxe and of the Landgrave of Hesse. As I do 
 not well understand their language, the gentleman who will 
 deliver this letter to you served me as interpreter ; so I send him 
 that he may also explain their errand to you." 1 Whether Mar- 
 guerite's recommendation in this matter would have had weight 
 with the king is much to be doubted, had not political considera- 
 tions intervened to induce him to support the Lutheran princes 
 in their opposition to the emperor. Italy, the land of poetry and 
 romance, and the scene of his youthful triumphs, was remembered 
 
 1 MS. Bibl. Koy., F. de Beth., No. 8551.
 
 94 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 by Francis with bitter and ceaseless regret. If the reformed and 
 the Roman Catholic factions of Germany became actually arrayed 
 in hostilities, Charles, it was argued, must find himself compelled 
 to withdraw his armies from the Milanese ; and thus the duchy, 
 the object of the king's ambition, would be left comparatively 
 defenceless. The king, therefore, courteously received and dis- 
 missed the ambassadors of the confederated princes, promising 
 that after he had taken counsel of his good brother Henry VIII. 
 of England, he would send envoys to treat with them. 1 
 
 The negotiations of the king with the Protestant League were 
 watched with jealous umbrage by the theologians of Paris, who 
 fancied that they detected symptoms of relenting in the king's 
 rnind towards his persecuted subjects of the reformed faith. The 
 two women whom Francis loved best, Marguerite and the 
 Duchess d'Estampes, were constantly besieging him with their 
 prayers and solicitations on behalf of the persecuted reformers. 
 Marguerite's theological studies at Fontainebleau were regarded 
 with the utmost suspicion ; and her friendship for and frequent 
 correspondence with the king's confessor, Guillaume Petit, Bishop 
 of Senlis, involved that eminent prelate in much apparently un- 
 merited obloquy with the Sorboune. Gradually, however, the 
 fact transpired that the bishop, at the solicitation of the Queen of 
 Navarre, had translated the Book of Hours into French for 
 Marguerite's private use, after suppressing, by her direction, the 
 most superstitious passages from many of the prayers, and espe- 
 cially those parts of the service in which the Virgin Mary and 
 the saints were invoked. 2 The irritation of the university was 
 intense. While the Queen of Navarre was thus suffered to make 
 almost open profession of her apostasy from the Church of Home, 
 it was felt that little reliance could be placed on the steadfast 
 co-operation of the king for the suppression of reform. 
 
 The knowledge of her unpopularity with the Romish Church 
 gave Marguerite little disquietude. Occupied, while at Fon- 
 tainebleau, with her studies, and her assiduous attendance on 
 Madame, the little volume translated for her by the Bishop of 
 Senlis became Marguerite's most precious resource. The health 
 of Madame continued steadily to decline, and at the commence- 
 ment of the month of September she became so enfeebled as to 
 
 1 Mem. de Du Bellay. 
 
 3 Theodore de Beze, Hist, des Eglises Re'fonne'es de France, 1. i.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 95 
 
 be no longer able to rise from her bed. Her mother's state 
 filled Marguerite with anguish. She perceived that Louisa still 
 clung to the hope of recovery, deceived by the flattering prom- 
 ises of Braillon, her physician. Aware that all shrank from 
 the task of informing Madame of her hopeless condition, Mar- 
 guerite, after much deliberation, resolved herself to impart the 
 intelligence of their approaching separation. Tenderly, Margue- 
 rite uttered the words which it had become her duty to speak as 
 she knelt by her mother's couch, and bade her place her sole hope 
 in God. 1 Louisa received the tidings with agitation, yet she still 
 continued incredulous that her condition was so desperate as her 
 daughter represented it to be ; and she demanded to see Braillon 
 and her other physicians. In this interview they doubtless had 
 the honesty to confirm Marguerite's words ; for it was remarked 
 that Madame, after the departure of her physicians, seemed to 
 resign herself to death, and that anxiety respecting worldly con- 
 cerns departed from her. Thenceforward Louisa devoted her 
 thoughts to prepare for the change which awaited her. Mar- 
 guerite's knowledge of the Holy Scriptures now became a pre- 
 cious possession to her; for, tormented by agonizing pain, 
 Madame was seldom able to attend to the ministrations of her 
 confessor, and in the brief intervals of comparative ease which 
 her malady afforded, the voice of her daughter brought back to 
 her ear words that the eloquent lips of the Bishop of Meaux 
 had vainly uttered in the days of her prosperity, but which now 
 proved her only comfort. Often when the curtains of her bed 
 were closely drawn, her attendants overheard her engaged in 
 earnest prayer ; and frequently during the day Madame would 
 request them to leave her alone for some hours, and on their 
 return traces of emotion were visible on her face. 
 
 The physicians had given it as their opinion that although the 
 disorder of Madame was necessarily fatal, yet that her life might 
 be prolonged for several weeks. The ravages of the pestilence 
 having greatly increased in the neighbourhood of Fontainebleau, 
 it was therefore deemed advisable to remove Madame from fear 
 of infection. The dearth of provisions was likewise so great 
 that sufficient quantities of food for the consumption of the 
 inmates of the palace could not be obtained, as venders from 
 a distance declined to endanger their lives by communicating 
 
 1 Le Fenon, suv Du Haillan, t. ii., Hist, de France.
 
 96 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 with the infected district. The danger, at length, became so 
 imminent that Marguerite dared no longer write to her brother, 
 as she feared that her letters might convey infection. The young 
 princes had returned some weeks previously to Amboise, which 
 place had as yet escaped the ravages of the fatal epidemic. Not 
 a drop of rain had fallen since the commencement of July ; and 
 the earth was so parched and hardened that the plough could 
 not penetrate it. The flowers and the foliage withered beneath 
 the ardent rays of the sun. The herbage was burned ; and the 
 cattle died in the field for want of food, and shelter from the 
 piercing heat. The condition of the country began at length to 
 absorb the attention of Francis, who, throughout his reign, suffered 
 foreign politics to engross more of his attention than was con- 
 sistent with the prosperity of his people. Lawless disturbances 
 broke forth in many of the provinces ; and bands of famishing 
 peasants, armed, for the most part, with their implements of 
 agriculture, entered the towns, and forcibly helped themselves to 
 food and corn. The castles of many of the nobility were assailed, 
 broken into, and rifled. The highroads swarmed with robbers 
 and banditti, who fell on the unsuspecting traveller, and carried 
 him off to their strongholds until he consented to purchase his 
 liberty by ransom. 1 Measures of repression were hastily adopted 
 by the Privy Council ; but so complete was the physical pros- 
 tration felt by all, that the royal command met with imperfect 
 execution. 
 
 In the midst of these calamities preparation was made for the 
 removal of Madame from Fontainebleau to Romorentin, in 
 Berry ; which castle, the scene of some of the happiest hours of 
 her youth, she expressed a longing desire to visit. Marguerite 
 ventured to write to Montmorency, that he might inform the 
 king of their intended movements. " The health of Madame is so 
 variable that I know not what to say. If I had written yester- 
 day my apprehensions, after seeing her in the state of extreme 
 weakness into which she fell, and listening to her own sorrowful 
 discourse, I should be obliged to-day to write and revoke my 
 fears ; for she passed a tolerable night, and declares that if she 
 finds herself as well to-morrow morning she will quit this place, 
 as we have been advised to do by our physicians and those who 
 have visited Madame from Paris ; for the danger here is so great 
 
 i 
 
 Mezeray, Grande Histoire.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 97 
 
 that I dare not write to the king, nor to the queen, and scarcely 
 to yourself, for fear that iny letter may convey infection." In 
 the postscript to this letter Marguerite adds this message to 
 Madame de Montmorency : " The poor plague-bound prison- 
 ers here commend themselves to the prayers of Madame la 
 Mare'chale." 1 
 
 About the 19th of September Marguerite and her mother 
 quitted Fontainebleau. Madame travelled in her litter, reclining 
 on pillows. She endured the journey remarkably well ; and on 
 her arrival at Gres, a little village close to Nemours, she appeared 
 less fatigued than had been anticipated. It had been arranged 
 that the duchess should repose at Gres for a few days, to recruit 
 before continuing her journey, it having been supposed that the 
 unequal movement of her litter would occasion her great discom- 
 fort. The following day Madame continued in tolerable health, 
 though suffering greatly at times from excruciating pain in the 
 stomach. During the night her restlessness increased, and with 
 feverish impatience she awaited the dawn of morning. Sud- 
 denly, it is related, the room became illuminated by a bright 
 light. Louisa called to her attendants, and asked the reason why 
 they had kindled so large a fire when the weather remained 
 oppressively hot. They replied that there was very little fire in 
 the chamber, but that it was the moon which shed the brilliant 
 light. " How can that be ? " exclaimed Madame ; " the moon is 
 on the wane, and she shines not at this hour ! " She then rose in 
 her bed, and drawing back the curtain gazed earnestly upon the 
 sky. Madame then perceived that the light proceeded from a 
 large comet burning with clear radiance in the heavens, and 
 pouring its rays upon her bed. For some moments Louisa con- 
 templated the sky in silence ; she then murmured with emotion : 
 " Ah ! that is a sign which appears not to warn personages of 
 mean condition ; God sends it alone to admonish us, the great of 
 the earth. Close the window," continued she, addressing her 
 women : " it is a comet which announces my speedy departure ; 
 I must prepare myself for death ! " 2 The duchess passed the 
 remainder of the night in silent thought. The following morn- 
 ing early she summoned her confessor, a Franciscan monk ; and 
 after she had confessed she requested him to celebrate mass with- 
 
 1 MS. Bibl. Roy., F. de B<?th., No. 9127. 
 
 2 Brant6me. This was the famous comet of 1531, 1607, 1682, 1759. 
 
 VOL. II. 7
 
 98 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 out delay. The physicians in attendance on Madame in vain 
 assured her that her condition was not more perilous, in their 
 opinion, than it had been for several days past. Louisa's reply 
 was to repeat several times : " If I had not myself gazed upon 
 the omen of my decease I would believe your words, for I do not 
 yet feel the exhaustion of death." As the hours passed by, how- 
 ever, Madame gradually grew more feeble; for such was the effect 
 of the disastrous impression made by the comet on a mind always 
 inclined to superstition and weakened by disease, which she 
 firmly believed appeared to betoken her departure. It was at this 
 crisis that the Queen of Navarre wrote the following letter to her 
 brother, which reveals the anxiety which then overpowered her. 
 It appears, however, that the queen believed the assurances of 
 the physicians that no immediate peril of death menaced Madame. 
 
 QUEEN MARGUERITE TO FRANCIS I. 
 
 GRfez-EN-GATiNOis, Monday, September 21. 
 
 MONSEIONEUR, I have not written to you very lately, being able 
 to give you no certain news. The illness of Madame is very variable ; 
 at one time she appears to be on the point of death ; at another, almost 
 convalescent. I hoped that change of air might benefit her, especially 
 as she thought so herself; but to tell you the truth, as you are pleased 
 to place implicit trust in me, I perceive no amendment in her health. It 
 is true, nevertheless, that on Saturday, the day she arrived here, she 
 bore the movement of her litter well. Though she complained of not 
 having quite comfortably reclined therein, she experienced on her arrival 
 no return of sickness, nor did she take any remedy against the faint- 
 ness which usually overpowers her. Yesterday she continued tolerably 
 well, though suffering at intervals from her stomach. To-day I find 
 her very feeble, more so than she has ever yet been ; her voice is weak 
 and her breathing short and fitful ; her words also are so mournful that 
 no one can listen to them unmoved. Some days she speaks thus, at 
 other times her spirits are better. Nevertheless, monseigneur, I per- 
 ceive that Madame is daily growing weaker. If I were to conceal this 
 from you I should not merit your regard ; but I entreat you to believe 
 that if through your persuasion she does not eat, and quickly recover 
 her spirits, nothing exists in this world which can do her any good. 
 I will not fail to send you word of any change in her condition. 
 Monseigneur, I humbly commend myself to your gracious favour, 
 and remain, Your very humble and obedient subject and sister, 
 
 MARGUERITE. 1 
 1 MS. Bibl. Roy., F. de Beth., Xo. 8595.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 99 
 
 Madame attempted later in the day to partake of the holy 
 communion, but it was found that she had not strength to 
 swallow the wafer ; but, at her mother's desire, Marguerite 
 received the sacrament kneeling bv the couch. It became then 
 
 o * 
 
 evident to all that the duchess could not survive the night ; the 
 pain that she suffered greatly increased, and her respiration be- 
 came more laboured. The Host from the parish church was 
 brought during the afternoon, at Louisa's desire, to her bedside 
 by a procession of ecclesiastics, that she might adore it. Madame 
 caused herself to be raised from her pillow, and fervently ex- 
 claimed : " Jesus, thou son of David, who suffered death on the 
 cross for me, I adore thee, my God and King, and I beseech 
 of thee the pardon of my sins ! " The sacrament of extreme 
 unction was afterwards administered, during which Madame 
 joined in the responses. She then requested that a portion of 
 the Gospel might be read aloud. While the reading continued, 
 Madame lay without movement, nor did she utter a word. This 
 interval of comparative repose was followed by the return of the 
 severe pains which her physicians had temporarily subdued. In 
 her agony, Louisa called repeatedly for her son ; when she was 
 told by her confessor that it was impossible for the king to reach 
 Gres in time to bid her farewell, Madame wept aloud. " my 
 son," exclaimed she, " wilt thou fail me at this hour ? Must I 
 depart without embracing thee, without bidding thee one last 
 adieu ? " After a silence of some minutes Madame again said : 
 " God has doubtless ordained this trial in wisdom ; we neither of 
 us could have endured the interview, for great is the love between 
 us. I will think no more of my son ; but may the Lord God 
 bless and prosper him in all his undertakings, and console him 
 when he mourns our separation." Mademoiselle de la Bour- 
 daisiere, 1 who stood by Marguerite at the tester of the bed, then 
 placed a small crucifix on the lips of Madame. She kissed it, 
 and whispered : " Thus was He, the only true friend, slain for 
 my sins." Madame then drew her daughter fondly towards her ; 
 the sight of Marguerite's tears seemed to move her greatly. At 
 length she said : " Marguerite, when I look upon you my heart 
 seems to throb only with the tender love I bear you, when it 
 
 1 Marie Babou, daughter of the high treasurer, Babou de la Bourdaisiere, one 
 of Louisa's favourite maids of honour. Mademoiselle de la Bourdaisiere espoused 
 Claude de Beauvilliers, Count de St. Aignau.
 
 100 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 ought to be occupied by God alone. I pray you, therefore, 
 withdraw for a little space from my side, that I may devote 
 myself without hindrance to Him alone. One word only, m'amye, 
 know, and let it give you comfort, that by the gift of God my 
 heart clings now in faith to Him, and thus He gives me inward 
 assurance of eternal salvation." Marguerite then rose, and after 
 pressing the trembling hand that clasped her own to her lips, she 
 retired to a distant part of the room, and placed herself where 
 she could watch Madame without being seen by her. 
 
 After Marguerite quitted her side the thoughts of Louisa seemed 
 to be concentrated alone on the change which awaited her. Her 
 confessor stood by the bed and continued his exhortations. 
 For some time Madame listened with signs of great outward 
 humility ; but at length, her strength being exhausted, she sank 
 into a stupor, and seemed scarcely conscious of the movements 
 of the persons round her bed. She was thoughtlessly roused again 
 to temporary consciousness by the importunities of an old and 
 favoured servant, who approached the bed, and besought his 
 dying mistress to bestow a word of comfort and farewell on her 
 disconsolate servants. Madame opened her eyes, and fixed them 
 steadily on the suppliant ; she then turned away her head, mur- 
 muring, " Cease to trouble me ; my thoughts henceforth soar 
 above." Fearing that the intruder was about to renew his 
 solicitations, Marguerite approached the bed, and, it is recorded, 
 uttered the following words : " Leave Madame in peace ; she waits 
 for the consummation of that glorious immortality in comparison 
 of which children and servants are now less to her than the dust 
 of the earth. God having so elevated her, is it to be wondered 
 that earthly recollections fade in the presence of the glorious 
 future before her ? " A smile passed over the dying features 
 of Madame, and she feebly articulated, "II est ainsi, m'amye." 
 These are the last recorded words spoken by Louisa. Soon after, 
 the power of articulation failed her, though by signs she signified 
 to Marguerite and her confessor that she was conscious of their 
 presence. Drowsiness supervened, and about two o'clock in the 
 morning of the 22d of September, 1531, Madame expired, so 
 calmly that Marguerite, who was watching beside her, knew not 
 the precise moment of her mother's death. 1 The king received 
 
 1 The above curious and interesting details of the decease of Madame are taken 
 from a chronicle in verse preserved in the Bibl. Royale, believed by many to have
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 101 
 
 the news of Madame's decease when on his way to visit her at 
 Gres ; for he had hastily set out from Blois on the tidings sent 
 him by his sister. The grief of Francis was overwhelming. 
 With all her faults, Madame had been idolized by her two 
 children, and her devotion to them merited no smaller return on 
 their part. The king mourned not only a mother whose love 
 had been boundless, but a counsellor whose wise and able 
 administration had greatly contributed to the renown of his 
 reign. The sceptre of France had passed imperceptibly from the 
 hand of her son into that of Madame. Her great abilities never 
 failed him in any emergency ; and a feeling of dreary isolation 
 smote the king when he bethought himself that that great and 
 politic spirit had fled for ever. The same feeling seemed to 
 oppress the courtiers and the people when the news of Madame's 
 decease became known. With few exceptions Louisa had inspired 
 little affection, for all dreaded the haughty unscrupulousness of 
 her disposition ; but her talents commanded confidence and 
 respect, and all knew and acknowledged that a master-spirit 
 directed the councils of France. Her death at this critical 
 juncture was felt to be an additional calamity to the many then 
 afflicting France. The two grave charges which history has 
 perpetuated against Madame her persecution of the Constable 
 de Bourbon, and the death of Semblancay ; although this latter 
 charge is far from being substantiated, and serves still as matter 
 for discussion and inquiry to the historical student combined to 
 tarnish Louisa's reputation, and to inspire doubts respecting the 
 integrity of her character. In weighing, however, the merits of 
 the Duchess d'Angouleme, it ought never in candour to be for- 
 gotten that the woman who so admirably fulfilled the duties of a 
 wife and mother, and who to the last moment of her existence 
 retained the boundless love and reverence of her children, accom- 
 plished and superior as were Francis and Marguerite, could 
 not have been endowed with the repulsive and unamiable 
 character which some have assigned to Louise de Savoie. 
 
 Francis hastened to Fontainebleau, where his sister had re- 
 tired, for he well knew how overwhelming must be Marguerite's 
 
 been composed by Marguerite herself. The title of the chronicle is " Les Prisons." 
 It is thought by others to be the work of Guillaume Philander, a protlgi of the 
 Queen of Navarre. The poem is classed amongst the works of Marguerite pre- 
 served in the Bibliotheque Royale ; and all critics agree that it was written under 
 the queen's immediate inspection, if not by herself. 
 
 Ki v .'.:i?E
 
 102 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 affliction ; besides, it was a consolation to him to mingle his 
 grief with hers. She had shared the love of Madame with 
 himself, and Marguerite was now her brother's greatest solace. 
 The vicissitudes of his kingly career had never effaced from the 
 mind of Francis the remembrance of the joyous days of his 
 boyhood, and of the mimic court of Amboise, presided over by 
 the beautiful and brilliant Louise. He recalled his mother's 
 sacrifices, and the solicitude with which she had watched his 
 own and Marguerite's progress in learning, and the compan- 
 ionship of his gifted sister with all its delights, when yet the 
 links of that " loyal trinity" which bound the three had suffered 
 no strain from the world and its sorrows. Inconsolable for their 
 loss, Francis and Marguerite wept together ; the grief they felt 
 was sacred between themselves, and could be participated in by 
 none. 
 
 After making a brief sojourn at Fontaiuebleau, Francis and 
 Marguerite removed to Chantilly, the magnificent ancestral 
 abode of the Marshal de Montmorency, who had just inherited 
 it from his father, whose death occurred two months before 
 that of his royal mistress, the Duchess d'Angouleme. The 
 mortal remains of Madame were carefully embalmed, and trans- 
 ported to Paris to be finally interred in the mausoleum erected 
 by Francis for his family in the Cathedral of St. Denis. Her 
 heart was enclosed in a leaden coffer, and buried at the foot 
 of the steps of the high altar in the Church of Notre-Dame. 
 A small brass plate covered the tornb, on which was engraven 
 the arms of France and Savoy ; beneath was a heart surmounted 
 by a crown, and these lines : 
 
 " Cor magnorum opifex, Francum quse viscera Regem 
 Portavere hie aunt, spiritus in superis." 1 
 
 Louisa died possessed of great wealth. In her coffers was 
 found the enormous sum of fifteen hundred thousand gold 
 crowns. The large estates assigned to her by Francis out of 
 the spoil of the Constable de Bourbon reverted to the dauphin. 
 A considerable portion of the treasure returned to the coffers of 
 
 1 At the end of the seventeenth century the high altar of the Cathedral of 
 Notre-Dame was taken down, and a new one constructed. The tomb containing 
 Louisa's heart was then opened. The leaden coffer was found to be in perfect 
 preservation ; it was half a foot square, and bore the inscription given above. 
 The coffer was afterwards carefully replaced by the workmen.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 103 
 
 the state, and the remainder of Madame's wealth the king 
 relinquished to his sister. The duchess during her life bestowed 
 numerous benefactions on the Church, and on various monastic 
 communities in the realm. She was a great patroness of the 
 convents of the Minimes, established at Chastelleraud, Amboise, 
 and Plessis-les-Tours by Louis XL and his son Charles VIII. ; 
 and her donations to the monastery and church of La Sainte 
 Beaume in Provence caused her name to be enrolled in the list 
 of the chief benefactors of that celebrated community. After 
 the funeral obsequies of Madame, medals were struck in her 
 honour, and liberally distributed. One side of the medal bore 
 the effigy of Louisa, and the reverse the inscription, ' Ludovica, 
 Francisci et Margaritas parens." 1 For many months after her 
 death, the praise of Louisa continued to afford a theme for the 
 inspiration of all the court poets and rhymesters throughout 
 the kingdom. One poet more daring than his compeers in 
 poetic flights, causes the duchess to address an epistle in verse 
 to her son from her blissful altitude. He supposes that she had 
 obtained permission to peruse the volume of fate ; Madame 
 therefore writes to advertise her son of the future destinies of 
 many of his contemporaries. The account given by Louisa of 
 what she had read in that portentous book concerning her 
 daughter, runs thus : 
 
 " Bien voulus voir 1'endroit et le passage 
 De Marguerite huinaine, douce et sage, 
 Auquel j'ai lu les graces et promesses 
 Dont heureuse est entre toutes princesses. 
 Pallas me dit qu'elle fut sa nourrice 
 Et que Dieu 1'a eslue sa tutrice. 
 De ceste cour elle est tant desiree, 
 Qu'on la voudroit ja du corps separee. 
 Je te supply vers elle entretenir 
 Ta bonne amour, et pres toy la tenir, 
 Et que luy sois bori frere, et elle sceur. 
 Bien t'en prendra, de ce je te fais seur." 
 
 From Chantilly, Francis wrote to announce the intelligence 
 of the decease of his mother to the emperor Charles V., and to 
 his ambassador at Rome, the Bishop of Auxerre, that the latter 
 might communicate it to the pope. The king imparts his 
 affliction to the emperor in the following words, which were 
 more politic than true : " Most high, mighty, and excellent 
 
 1 Guichenon, Hist, de la Maison de Savoye.
 
 104 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 prince, our dearly beloved brother, cousin, and ally, we commend 
 ourselves most cordially to your affection. Inasmuch as the 
 greatest solace that a man fallen into affliction can have is to 
 reveal the cause of his mourning to his chief friends, that he 
 may find comfort by their condolence, we have not delayed to 
 advertise you of the decease of our very dear and loved lady 
 and mother, whom may God pardon. We know that these 
 tidings will be very sorrowful and heavy news to you ; but in all 
 we must resign ourselves to the will of God." 1 Charles, in his 
 reply, showed himself not one whit behind his adroit rival in 
 the arts of diplomatic courtesy. He despatched the Sieur de 
 Ballancon to the court of France to condole with Francis, and 
 to deliver letters written with his own hand to the king and to 
 the queen. " I have despatched the Sieur de Ballancon, a 
 gentleman of my household, to visit you on my behalf, and to 
 condole with you on the decease of your good mother, to whom 
 may God show mercy, knowing, my brother, that you must 
 be enduring extreme regret for her loss. I also grieve for her 
 decease, as much on your account, and for the maintenance of 
 peace, as for my own sake, for I ever looked upon her as a 
 second mother. But as this misfortune has been decreed by 
 the will of God, and is therefore irremediable, we must submit. 
 I pray you let your fortitude and magnanimity temper the 
 grief which your filial affection inspires, in the hope that as 
 she restored peace in this world, by promoting our reconciliation 
 and friendship, she may find it ready prepared for her above, 
 where may she enjoy everlasting repose." 2 
 
 When the honours rendered to the memory of Madame 
 terminated, Marguerite yielded to the solicitations of her 
 husband, and prepared to accompany him into Beam. The 
 king, absorbed in political questions of the most perplexing 
 description, and ever animated by his hostility to the emperor, 
 made many objections before he gave his sister the permission 
 to depart which she steadily solicited. Marguerite's chief in- 
 ducement to visit Bdarn was that there she could tranquilly 
 pursue her theological studies, undisturbed by the violence of 
 the bigots of the universities. The King of Navarre also felt 
 
 i Bibl. du Roi., MSS. de Beth., No. 8477. Published by M. Capefigue, Hist, 
 de Francis I. 
 * Papiers d'Etat du Cardinal de Grauvelle, No. 130.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARKE. 105 
 
 aggrieved that Francis showed so little anxiety to fulfil the 
 promise he had made when he gave him his sister in marriage, 
 to the effect that he would compel the emperor, by arms or 
 negotiation, to restore the kingdom of Navarre to the house of 
 Albret. The arrogant deportment of the Marshal de Mont- 
 morency was, moreover, displeasing to the King of Navarre, 
 whose high spirit chafed when he witnessed the influence, so 
 superior to his own, exercised by the marshal over his royal 
 master. It appears that Henry had inconsiderately suffered 
 himself to be drawn into the cabals between Montmorency 
 and the Admiral de Brion which still convulsed the court. 
 Although he was aware of the friendship subsisting between 
 his royal consort and the marshal, Henry, from a sentiment 
 of pique towards Montmorency to whose counsels he attrib- 
 uted the king's lukewarmness gave this secret countenance 
 to Brion's faction. Always accustomed to the smiles and the 
 sunshine of royal favour, Montmorency never forgave Henry 
 this temporary defection. His obsequious homage to the Queen 
 of Navarre, nevertheless, diminished not; for he knew her 
 power with her royal brother, and the sword of Constable of 
 France, that object of his ambition, had never left its sheath 
 since the day that Bourbon bore it before the king on the 
 departure of Francis from the town of Moulins, in 1517. Being 
 sincerely attached to her husband, Marguerite supported him 
 with all her power at court. Aware that her own dignity was 
 best secured by promoting his, the queen paid Henry most 
 reverential respect in public. When he entered the room where 
 she happened to be seated with her ladies, or attended by the 
 court, Marguerite invariably rose from 'her chair, that she 
 might herself set the example of the deference which she 
 expected the courtiers to pay to her husband. In Henry's 
 presence Marguerite used often to abstain from discussing 
 theology and literature with the learned professors invited by 
 Francis to his table, because she knew that her husband, though 
 attached to letters, did not like to hear women argue learned 
 questions. 1 Francis showed himself sometimes angrily impatient 
 at the deference which his sister paid to her husband ; and the 
 jealousy he conceived of the King of Navarre possibly contrib- 
 uted, without any undue influence on the part of Montmorency, 
 1 Charles de Ste. Marthe, Oraison Funebre de la Reine de Navarre.
 
 106 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 to indispose Francis to aid the projects of his brother-in-law for 
 the recovery of his patrimony. 
 
 The royal pair, therefore, took leave of Francis about the 
 commencement of the winter season, and journeyed to Ne*rac. 
 The king insisted, however, that the little Princess Jane of 
 Navarre should remain under his guardianship at the court of 
 France, instead of accompanying her parents to their home in 
 Be'arn. The young princess was an especial favourite of her 
 royal uncle, who used to bestow upon her as much notice as on 
 his own children ; indeed, Francis always treated his sister's 
 child as a daughter of France, equal in rank to the princesses 
 his daughters. The frolics of the fair little princess, whose 
 features bore a strong resemblance to those of her royal mother, 
 delighted Francis ; and his indulgence soon won him a strong 
 place in Jane's affection. The princess, as she grew older, never 
 relinquished the privilege she soon acquired of saying what she 
 pleased to her uncle with impunity; and at several eventful 
 periods of her after life this liberty proved a great advantage. 
 Jane also early showed great attachment to her father, who was 
 very proud of her ; so that between his indulgence and that of 
 Francis, the child, but for her fine and noble disposition, nar- 
 rowly escaped being spoiled ; and so apparent became this fact 
 that the courtiers bestowed on la petite Madame Jeanne the 
 sobriquet of " la mignonne des rois." l 
 
 Besides the fondness felt by Francis for his infant niece, 
 political motives rendered him unwilling to permit her to quit 
 his dominions. The king was well aware of his brother-in- 
 law's ardent desire to regain his hereditary dominions of Upper 
 Navarre, usurped by the crown of Spain, and of his discontent 
 that his interests had been overlooked in the treaty of Cambray. 
 Jane was the heiress of her father's dominions in the south of 
 France, comprehending the principality of Be'arn, and the rich 
 counties of Foix, Armagnac, Albret, Bigorre, and Comminges, 
 over which, in the event of his death, she would reign with the 
 title of queen, a dowry not altogether unworthy the acceptance 
 of the first crowns in Europe. The rumour, therefore, reached 
 the ear of Francis that the emperor had opened secret negotia- 
 tions with Henry for the future union of the young princess with 
 his eldest son Philip; when, Navarre being by this alliance 
 
 1 Cayet, Chron. Novenaire.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 107 
 
 virtually confirmed to the crown of Spain, Charles professed 
 himself willing to make great present concession to the House 
 of Albret. The emperor had further stipulated, it was reported, 
 that the young heiress of Navarre should be delivered to his 
 custody, that she might be educated at Toledo with her future 
 spouse. Not all the protestations of Marguerite could allay 
 this suspicion when it had once affixed itself in the mind of 
 Francis. He believed that his sister was no participator in the 
 scheme for establishing the standard of the Hapsburg on the 
 soil of France, but he felt not equal trust in the loyal devotion 
 of the King of Navarre. It was, nevertheless, with great reluc- 
 tance that Marguerite consented to leave her daughter behind, 
 but the influence of her brother at length prevailed ; perhaps, 
 also, she was not sorry to leave with Francis during her absence 
 a little representative who would constantly recall her to his 
 thoughts. The consent of the King of Navarre, however, was not 
 so easily obtained ; but Francis, disdaining in his case to use 
 persuasion, decided the matter by his sovereign authority. The 
 royal castle of Plessis-les-Tours was assigned to the Princess 
 Jeanne and her household by the king. Madame de Silly 
 retained her post of governess to the princess ; but Marguerite, 
 notwithstanding her daughter's tender years, thought it expe- 
 dient to appoint as her preceptor the poet Nicholas de Bourbon. 
 A steward of the princess's household was likewise nominated, 
 and a chaplain appointed to superintend her religious studies. 
 It has been asserted that Marguerite caused her daughter to be 
 educated in the Protestant faith : this, however, cannot be a fact, 
 for the Princess Jeanne never left the guardianship of Francis 
 until her marriage ; and the king's hatred of the sectarians aug- 
 mented as the political difficulties increased occasioned by the 
 spread of their principles. Marguerite herself never formally 
 entered that communion ; thus, though her example and con- 
 versation when in her daughter's society eventually predisposed 
 the mind of the princess to imbibe the opinions of the reform- 
 ers, the Queen of Navarre had it not in her power, even if she 
 desired it, to make so public an avowal of her defection from 
 the Eomish creed as the appointment of Lutheran preceptors 
 to conduct the education of the Princess Jane would then have 
 been considered. 
 
 A most enthusiastic welcome awaited Marguerite and her
 
 108 UPE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 husband on their arrival in Gascony. Lefevre, Gerard Eoussel, 
 Clement Marot, and Farel, all assembled to greet the queen at 
 Ne'rac, and to offer her their devoted thanks for the refuge she 
 had afforded them. Marguerite appointed Gerard Eoussel, upon 
 whom she had already bestowed the abbey of Clairac in Agenois, 
 to be one of her chaplains in ordinary. Also, with the consent 
 of her husband, she authorized him to use publicly the missal, 
 which she had caused to be translated into French and revised 
 by the Bishop of Senlis, not only in the royal chapels of Pau 
 and Ne'rac, but in every church and cathedral throughout the 
 dominions of the King of Navarre. In this book of prayers, 
 translated at first for her own private use, Marguerite had caused 
 all allusion to the mediation of the Virgin Mary and the saints 
 to be suppressed ; in the prayers and invocations addressed to 
 the Holy Virgin, the name of Mary was erased, and that of God 1 
 substituted. This was a bold proceeding on the part of the 
 Queen of Navarre, especially in the face of the incensed univer- 
 sities, who were jealously watching her movements, and who had 
 not forgotten the grudge they owed her for the inopportune 
 publication of her poem, " Le Miroir de 1'Ame PScheresse." 
 Marguerite had not been at home many weeks before she 
 sanctioned another grave innovation on the established ceremo- 
 nies of the Eomish Church, by permitting Eoussel to preach in 
 his cassock before the court at Ne'rac. She also assigned a 
 noble pension to Lefevre, arid appointed him to an honorary 
 office in her household, one which gave him the privilege to dine 
 daily at the royal table. 
 
 These innovations, and the disregard with which the Queen of 
 Navarre treated their repeated remonstrances, enraged the theo- 
 logians of the capital, and caused them to entertain deep distrust 
 of the ultimate designs of Francis. The stern chancellor 
 cardinal, also, seemed to behold with indifference the flagrant 
 infringement of the canons of his celebrated Council throughout 
 Edam. Eoussel, Lefevre, Clement Marot, Calvin, Farel, and a 
 host of minor delinquents, converted monks and priests, banished 
 from France by the decrees of Sens, found refuge, pensions, and 
 consideration at the court of Ne'rac. They were all honourably 
 received and commended by Marguerite herself, " that learned 
 queen," says the enthusiastic historian Olhagaray, " the first in 
 
 1 Theod. de Beze, Hist, des Eglises Reformees de France.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 109 
 
 the world, that perfect instrument, who valiantly delivered her 
 brother from captivity, and who was so greatly addicted to study, 
 but especially to meditation on the Holy Scriptures." 1 The 
 fearlessness displayed by Queen Marguerite at this period of her 
 life, in the steady protection and countenance she bestowed on 
 the disciples of Luther and Calvin, has naturally raised great 
 doubt of the sincerity of the zeal then so cruelly evinced by 
 Francis in behalf of the Church of Rome. Marguerite, so 
 obedient, so devoted a sister as she ever proved herself to be, 
 would scarcely have presumed to render her husband's dominions 
 a refuge for the heretics whom her brother's edicts proscribed, 
 had she not felt conviction that his displeasure would not be 
 kindled by such an act on her part. Neither was Francis the 
 prince to permit his edicts to be violated with impunity, even by 
 his idolized sister ; and we cannot but doubt that a word of cen- 
 sure from his lips would have closed the principality of Bdarn to 
 the Lutheran refugees. Lord paramount over Bdarn and its 
 dependencies, the King of France possessed legal power to 
 enforce on his vassal, the titular sovereign of Navarre, obedience 
 to the decrees of the Privy Council relative to the schism in the 
 Church which was rending Europe into factions. ' At that day, 
 when politics and religion blended, when the one could not be 
 separated from the other, the suspicion of the Sorbonne and the 
 parliament that the king's ultimate designs were hostile to the 
 ancient privileges so long exercised by the papacy was not unrea- 
 sonable, perceiving as they did the signal countenance afforded 
 to heresy by the Queen of Navarre, who notoriously possessed 
 greater influence over the mind of Francis than all his family 
 and ministers combined. 
 
 Marguerite and Henry, before they settled for the winter in 
 their picturesque castle of Pan, resolved, notwithstanding the 
 lateness of the season, to make a royal progress through a por- 
 tion of their dominions. Wise and beneficent schemes for the 
 prosperity of their subjects occupied the mind of the sovereigns ; 
 for it was the ambition of both Marguerite and her husband to 
 convert the barren and uncultivated lands of Beam into a gar- 
 den, fair as the queen had witnessed in the luxuriant midland 
 provinces of France. The inhabitants of Bdarn, however, knew 
 little about agriculture ; they led a rude life, were impatient of 
 
 1 Olhagaray, Hist, de Foix, Beam, et Navarre.
 
 110 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 restraint, and loved hunting the bear and the chamois in their 
 mountain fastnesses better than the sight of verdant fields or 
 crops. For the better instruction of the Bdarnois, the King of 
 Navarre invited a number of master agriculturists and labourers 
 from the provinces of Bretagne and Saintonge to settle in Be'arn. 
 Some were taken into the king's service, to cultivate the domains 
 of the crown ; others were gratified and rewarded by small grants 
 of land. 1 Anxious for the advance of their subjects in trade and 
 industry, Henry and Marguerite next established a large cloth 
 manufactory in the town of Nai, and granted important privi- 
 leges for the sale of the cloth woven at this royal loom. 2 Mar- 
 guerite was enthusiastically received in every district which she 
 visited. Her condescension struck the rude but loyal Bdarnois 
 with admiration ; and as she had now obtained complete mastery 
 over the dialect of the country, the queen granted audience to 
 all who solicited admission to her presence. When any petition 
 was presented to her it was Marguerite's habit to receive such 
 courteously, and, when time permitted, to read it herself in the 
 presence of the suppliant, that she might address to him any 
 question she desired to ask. The queen then delivered the 
 petition to an officer of her household, declaring her pleasure 
 thereon, which she strictly commanded him to execute without 
 unnecessary delay. 3 Marguerite's charity to the poor also was 
 extensive ; and she often caused money to be distributed by her 
 almoner, Gerard Eoussel, to the crowds of indigent persons who 
 gathered together in the streets and on the roads to see her pass. 
 It was her custom, likewise, to visit the sick and the aged at 
 their own abodes. Often, when her chaplains reported any 
 circumstance of peculiar distress, Marguerite, without imparting 
 her design, quitted her palace, and followed by one attendant 
 visited the sufferers, to inquire herself into the particulars of 
 their case. She frequently sent her own physicians to attend 
 the sick, and relieved them by gifts of money and other necces- 
 saries. Neither was it a rare sight to witness Queen Marguerite 
 herself ministering to the religious instruction of her poorer sub- 
 jects. Many did she cheer by her Christian exhortation, and 
 console by the glad tidings she was able to impart from the 
 Scriptures, a book which she daily studied. 4 
 
 1 Olhagaray, Hist, de Foix, Beam, et Navarre. 2 Ibid. 
 
 8 Ste. Marthe, Oraison Funebre de la Reine de Navarre. * Ibid.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. Ill 
 
 The sympathy she felt for their welfare endeared Marguerite 
 greatly with the people of Be*arn. Even her religious tendencies 
 were not displeasing to them, for the pope maintained very 
 slender hold on their spiritual allegiance. It was in virtue of 
 the papal interdict launched by Pope Julius II. that Ferdinand 
 the Catholic invaded and conquered the kingdom of Navarre, a 
 possession which had been ever since attached to the crown of 
 Spain. A deep hatred, therefore, against the see of Home, which 
 had humiliated their sovereigns and depressed their national 
 prosperity, animated the Be*arnois. Thus their antipathy to 
 Rome disposed the minds of Henry's subjects to receive with 
 favour those whom the Church persecuted. As fellowship gen- 
 erally exists between parties tracing their wrongs to the same 
 source, the reformers first received protection and welcome in 
 Be'arn ; afterwards, the purity of their lives and the simplicity 
 of their faith recommended their teaching to the hearts of the 
 simple people, who knew nothing of the theories and technicali- 
 ties of the schoolmen. 
 
 At Farmers, a venerable doctor, much renowned in his own 
 country for his theological writings, named Elias, presented him- 
 self to pay his respects to Queen Marguerite. Discoursing with 
 him one day on religious topics, and especially on the Holy 
 Scriptures, Marguerite impressively exhorted the doctor never 
 to allow a day to pass without earnestly studying that sacred 
 book ; " for," said she, " this study conveys to our souls partici- 
 pation in the Divine Essence ; and is therefore a faithful pre- 
 servative against all kinds of woe, and the wicked temptation 
 of the devil." 1 Great must have been the good achieved by 
 Marguerite's example. In those days of theological dispute, 
 when learned men did little else than anathematize those hold- 
 ing opposite opinions to themselves, and the purest truths of the 
 Gospel were too often promulgated in the form of hostile mani- 
 festoes, the spectacle of the devout deportment maintained by 
 the Queen of Navarre failed not to plead powerfully in favour 
 of her creed. 
 
 The Christmas of the year 1531 was spent by Marguerite and 
 
 her husband at Pau. We find them, during the early months 
 
 of the following year, occupied in the reformation of the criminal 
 
 code of the principality. The frequent absences of the sovereign, 
 
 1 Olhagaray, Hist, de Foix, Beam, et Navarre.
 
 112 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 and the consequent irregular administration of justice, bad occa- 
 sioned great disorders throughout the country ; so that neither 
 fairs, markets, nor public assemblies of any kind could be 
 holden without disturbances, which not unt'requently termin- 
 ated in bloody brawls, and even by assassinations. To remedy 
 these grievances, Henry established a court to take sole and 
 special cognizance of crimes committed against the public peace. 
 The chamber was composed of one president and four counsel- 
 lors, who were sworn to administer justice with strict impartial- 
 ity and vigilance. 1 Under the firm administration of the King 
 of Navarre, the lawless aggressions which before had rendered 
 life and property insecure diminished ; and the people learned to 
 respect and to render willing obedience to the laws when they 
 perceived that the same penalties awaited the noble who violated 
 them as themselves. Henry was inflexible in rendering equal 
 justice ; the rank of the offender, or even the most influential 
 intercession made on his behalf, was never suffered to arrest the 
 execution of the laws. The Bishop of Lescar, Jacques de Foix, 
 came one day to petition the king to spare the life of a gentle- 
 man, a near relative of his own, condemned for some flagrant act 
 of outrage. As it happened to be Good Friday, the bishop, to 
 enhance his suit, implored Henry to perform this act of clemency 
 for the honour of Jesus Christ, who on that day suffered a cruel 
 death to save sinners. Henry permitted the bishop to conclude 
 his address, and then gravely replied : " Mon cousin, God has 
 commanded us to administer justice by the punishment of the 
 wicked ; He would be dishonoured and not honoured, if at your 
 solicitation I abetted the evil-doer, instead of obeying this right- 
 eous command. I purpose, therefore, by suffering justice to take 
 its course, and by consigning the guilty to condign chastisement, 
 to render to God the only honour befitting His acceptance." 2 
 The king furthermore published several admirable edicts for the 
 repression of vice, and for the chastisement of vagabonds and 
 beggars ; who on their second apprehension and conviction were, 
 without benefit of appeal, to be punished by the infliction of a 
 certain number of stripes. 
 
 Having thus provided for the equal and efficient administration 
 
 1 Olhagaray, Hist, de Foix, Beam, et Navarre ; Hilarion de Coste, Eloges et 
 Vies des Reynes, &c. 
 
 2 Olhagaray, Hist, de Foix, Beam, et Navarre.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 113 
 
 of justice, Henry next assembled the states of the principality, 
 to confer with them on a plan for the better regulation of the 
 finances, and for the repeal of certain laws which impeded the 
 designs of the legislature. The ecclesiastical abuses prevalent 
 in Be"arn, as elsewhere, came under the discussion of the states ; 
 but this question was so fraught with bitterness and controversy 
 that the assembly did little more than record it. By the advice 
 of the states Henry commenced the fortification of Navarreins, 
 a town situated in the centre of a fertile plain, and watered by 
 the Gave d'Oleron. 1 
 
 As Navai-reins was but a few hours' journey from Pau, where 
 Marguerite then resided, she took a lively interest in the prog- 
 ress of the works. Henry caused the town to be surrounded 
 by walls of immense strength ; the fortifications formed a square, 
 and high towers were constructed at the four angles. The con- 
 dition of the " draperie " at Nai, which town was likewise 
 situated at a moderate distance from Pau, afforded ceaseless 
 interest to the King and Queen of Navarre during their sojourn 
 in Be'arn. 
 
 In the spring of the year 1532 Marguerite commenced the 
 formation of the park and the gardens attached to the castle of 
 Pau. Her love of flowers was great, and her garden at Alencon 
 had been pronounced " un paradis terrestre." When sojourning 
 at Fontainebleau the queen seems never weary of expatiating on 
 the beauty of its " delicious gardens and groves," and her great 
 delight was to watch the progress of the out-door works both 
 there and at the castle of Blois. Francis sent his sister sev- 
 eral very skilful gardeners from France to aid in her design. 
 Throughout the spring and summer months of this year Mar- 
 guerite's chief recreation was the embellishment of her palace 
 and gardens, in which she regularly employed a number of poor 
 persons who could not procure work elsewhere. "The newly 
 married sovereigns resolved to leave Be'arn in a very different 
 condition to that in which they found it," says De Coste. 2 " The 
 country, though fertile and productive, remained barren and 
 uncultivated through the neglect pf its inhabitants ; but under 
 the administration of the sovereigns its aspect soon changed for 
 the better. They invited from France a numerous company of 
 
 1 Olhagaray, Hist, de Foix, Beam, et Navarre. 
 
 2 Hilarion de Coste, Eloges et Vies des Reines et Princesses Illustres. 
 
 VOL. II. 8
 
 114 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 labourers, mechanics, and engineers, who cultivated and drained 
 the country. They embellished and fortified their towns, and 
 built magnificent palaces and castles. Amongst other designs 
 accomplished by them, they enlarged the castle of Pau, and sur- 
 rounded it by gardens the most fanciful and beautiful in Europe. 
 After thus providing suitable accommodation for themselves, 
 they re-established order in the police regulations of the princi- 
 pality, providing security to life and property, and for the proper 
 observance of the laws. They established a chamber to judge 
 suits both criminal and civil, and from the decrees of this court 
 they suffered no appeal. They undertook the reformation also 
 of Le Fors d'Oleron, a local court, which for many years had 
 fallen into great disrepute for its venality and corruptions. Al- 
 together, the sovereigns, by their example and excellent deport- 
 ment, contributed much to civilize the people. To defend them- 
 selves against a second invasion from Spain, and to place their 
 capital in comparative security, Henry and Marguerite fortified 
 the town of Navarreins, a place situated on the river Gave, and 
 constructed strong ramparts, bastions, and towers, in the fashion 
 then most approved of throughout Europe." 
 
 Amidst these varied occupations Marguerite did not lay aside 
 her pen. At this period of her life it was occupied almost ex- 
 clusively in the controversy between the Eomish and Reformed 
 churches. Her hatred of monachism is developed in the acri- 
 monious language of her satires on the monks and friars in the 
 pages of the " Heptameron," which continued to occupy, at in- 
 tervals, her leisure hours. Their profligate morals, and the scan- 
 dals current respecting many of the most eminent conventual 
 establishments in France, are recorded by Marguerite without 
 an attempt to modify the heinous and repulsive details. The 
 manners of the age tolerated the open exposure of an evil which 
 was felt to be intolerable by men of every degree and belief; 
 and doubtless Marguerite conceived that she was rendering good 
 service to the cause of reform by her witty delineations of the 
 corrupt practices sanctioned under the Eomish system. The 
 zeal which animated her against the members of the Sorbonne 
 men who dishonoured religion by their cupidity and ambi- 
 tion, and who burned and proscribed, not out of love for their 
 faith, but because the principles they denounced humbled their 
 own arrogant pretensions may have tempted Marguerite to
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 115 
 
 overstep the bounds of that decorum in her descriptions so rig- 
 idly observed by her in her other compositions. At this period 
 Marguerite was the only person throughout her brother's realm 
 who could venture to uphold the doctrine of the reformers with- 
 out the certainty of being cast into the nearest diocesan prison, 
 there to await death, or to accept the sin and shame of a public, 
 and in many cases a compulsory, recantation. Of all strife, 
 that engendered by religous controversy, is most reckless and 
 virulent; Marguerite's act, therefore, must be deemed worthy 
 of extenuation if, in her indignation and anguish at the cruel 
 persecution to which the reformers were subject, her pen too 
 freely yet faithfully exposed the vices and wickedness of their 
 oppressors. 
 
 ^About this period Marguerite, aided by most of the reformed 
 ecclesiastics who had found'refuge in Be'arn, drew up that con- 
 fession of faith which she afterwards presented to her brother, 
 beseeching him to restore peace to Christendom by enforcing its 
 adoption on the Gallican churches. This summary of faith was 
 called " La Messe k Sept Points," because in seven of its articles 
 it differed in doctrine and practice from the Church of Eome. 
 In accordance with the" principles instilled into her mind by the 
 Bishop of Meaux, Marguerite desired that the Eeformation should 
 be eventually sanctioned by the Romish Church itself, so that 
 the opinions of the reformers, after judicious modification, might 
 be incorporated into the creed of Eome, rather than by a total 
 severance of the two churches to perpetuate schism. 
 
 Marguerite, we are told, daily studied the Bible, under the 
 guidance of Ge'rard Eoussel and of his brother Arnaud, one of 
 the most eminent of the reformed teachers, and also a refugee in 
 Be'arn. Eoussel used frequently to preach before the queen ; as 
 did also a Carmelite monk named Solon, discarded by his com- 
 munity for his heretical opinions. This personage, if his ene- 
 mies are to be credited, was very undeserving of the patronage 
 he obtained, or to become the associates of such men as Lefevre 
 and Eoussel. After flying from his monastery, which was situ- 
 ated in the diocese of Tarbes, this Solon seems to have led a 
 wandering and a profligate life, notorious for the furious hostility 
 of his attacks on Eome and the priesthood, until his character 
 of a persecuted Lutheran obtained for him admittance amongst 
 Marguerite's chaplains. His discourses before the queen, which
 
 116 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 were usually violent diatribes against the ecclesiastical orders, 
 did Marguerite much needless injury, before his intemperate 
 zeal at length compelled her to dismiss him. 1 
 
 The King of Navarre, meantime, participated in his consort's- 
 religious opinions to the degree that though he observed more 
 caution in his outward deportment towards the Church of Eome 
 than she did, yet he forbade none of Marguerite's proceedings, 
 and was generally present with her at the services she caused to 
 be privately celebrated by Eoussel. The queen, during the 
 summer she spent in Be'arn, wrote a sacred drama, probably her 
 " Drama of the Nativity," and caused it to be performed in the 
 great hall of the castle of Pau, by a troop of Italian comedians 
 whom she had engaged for the purpose. Between the acts of 
 the drama, Marguerite, according to the taste of the day, had 
 introduced pastoral interludes, then called "Bergeries," to 
 enliven the representation. The actors, aware of the religious 
 tendencies of their royal patroness, introduced in these dialogues- 
 satirical ballads and calembourgs respecting Marguerite's foes, 
 the monks ; so that, says Esmond, 2 " always some poor friar or 
 monk figured in their comedy or farce ; that it indeed seemed 
 they could not take recreation without making mockery of God 
 and His ministers." Henry countenanced these proceedings by 
 being present with Marguerite at the representation of the drama, 
 which naturally gave great offence to the Eoman Catholic prelates 
 of Be'arn. Even Marguerite's devoted friend, the Cardinal de 
 Grammont, who, as Bishop of Tarbes, had showed such zeal for 
 her service, felt great resentment at what he considered a lamenta- 
 ble defection from the faith on the part of the sovereigns ; and it 
 is recorded that he addressed to them grave though unavailing 
 remonstrances, on several occasions. Marguerite, with that want 
 of consistency so greatly to be lamented in her religious career, 
 still retained her outward allegiance to Eome ; as did also Eous- 
 sel and Lefevre. They clung to the hope that without a separa- 
 tion in the Church, reform might be accomplished. Other 
 eminent prelates of France nourished the same delusion, and 
 amongst their number was the king's confessor Guillaume Petit, 
 Bishop of Senlis. They expected the signal for this reformation 
 to proceed from the supreme head of the Eoman Church ; while 
 they waited, the season when it might have been accomplished, 
 
 1 Florimond de Remond, Hist, de I'Hertfsie. 2 Ibid.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 117 
 
 as respected the church in France, passed away ; and the reaction 
 which followed increased in a tenfold degree the ascendency of 
 the papacy. 
 
 Whilst Queen Marguerite protected reform in Edam, the most 
 bloody persecution raged beyond the frontiers of the principality. 
 At Toulouse, on Easter Sunday, 1532, the parliament commanded 
 the arrest of more than twenty Lutherans. One person was 
 burned alive with scarcely the form of a trial ; the others were 
 tortured to compel them to recant, and then banished with the 
 confiscation of their goods. 1 At Rouen, Stephen Le Court, 
 cure* of Conde*, was condemned to the flames for heresy by the 
 Bishop of Sdez, a prelate, one of the chief members of the cham- 
 ber of Inquisition. As Le Court refused to make public recan- 
 tation of his alleged heresy, he was first degraded from his 
 ecclesiastical office by the Archbishop of Rouen, and then by 
 command of the parliament of Paris delivered over to the 
 secular arm, " that is to say," to use the words of the celebrated 
 decree which established the chambers of Inquisition in France, 
 " to the said parliament, the which, for the same, shall condemn 
 .such person to be burned alive." 
 
 1 Be/e, Hist, des Eglises Ref. de Fiance.
 
 118 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 DURING this interval, King Francis, indisposed in health 
 and depressed in spirits, made progresses through his 
 kingdom. The loss of Madame was keenly felt by the king ; 
 for her vigorous counsels never seemed more needful than at this 
 juncture. Often, likewise, did the thoughts of the king dwell 
 reproachfully on his absent sister ; and frequent were his solici- 
 tations that she would return to him. Marguerite seemed now 
 the sole link which connected the present with the past, 
 those bright and joyous days the remembrance of which brought 
 pleasurable though regretful reminiscences to the king of his 
 first gentle consort Queen Claude ; of Madame, with her stately 
 dignity and her devoted love ; and of that gay and chivalrous 
 court assembled during the first few years of his reign. 
 
 A rumour, meantime, spread over Europe, that the King of 
 France, the enemy of Luther and his adherents, was engaged in 
 secret and friendly negotiation with the Ottoman Porte. To 
 form a just conception of the amazement and horror which this 
 report created, it will be necessary to recall the prejudices, rooted 
 and insurmountable, entertained then throughout the Christian 
 world against the Turks. Every sentiment of religion, chivalry, 
 and tradition was violated by the alliance of a Christian power 
 with the Infidels, the Pariahs of Europe, the anathematized of 
 the Church, men who were denied the common rights of humanity 
 by universal accord. In order to resist the encroachments of 
 the Mussulmans, princes had suspended their divisions, and 
 united their armaments with those of their bitterest opponents ; 
 while for the same holy cause private individuals had devoted 
 their treasures and their blood. To slay, or to be slain by, an 
 Infidel bestowed everlasting rewards ; and the fierce Crusaders 
 who perished in conflict under the walls of Jerusalem were pro-
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 119 
 
 nounced blessed by the Church, having nobly earned the palm 
 of martyrdom. 
 
 In 1532 Hungary was again threatened by a terrible invasion 
 of the Turks. Vienna was menaced with destruction for the 
 second time, and the symbol of the crescent appeared about to 
 dominate over Germany. At this period of general excitement 
 the rumour became prevalent relative to the secret support and 
 encouragement given by Francis I. to the designs of Soliman. 
 The deep and unappeasable resentment which Francis bore the 
 emperor was well known ; in Europe there existed no sure ally 
 for the King of France, of sufficient power to enable him to 
 restrain and balance the overwhelming influence of the house of 
 Austria ; Charles, by his diplomacy, or through family alliances, 
 dominated in most courts. The habit which, it was known, the 
 king had acquired chiefly from perusing the writings of the sec- 
 tarians, and from association with them, of judging religious and 
 political questions without reference to the ancient and prescrip- 
 tive code of Eome, added great weight to the accusations and 
 censures of the emperor and his brother on the conduct of 
 Francis. The king bore the obloquy heaped upon him with 
 infinite composure ; he never directly denied the imputations of 
 his dealings with the Porte, though many of his political acts 
 seemed to repudiate the charge. There is little doubt, however, 
 that Francis at this period had commenced those negotiations 
 with the Sultan Soliman II. which ten years later ripened into 
 open alliance ; but at first even the fearless spirit of the King of 
 France shrank from avowing an ally whose co-operation would 
 virtually place him outside the pale of European politics. 
 
 Marguerite journeyed from Pan to spend the winter of the 
 year 1532 with her brother. She had been absent from him 
 nearly a year, during which period the king displayed the greatest 
 impatience at their separation. The malignant accusations of 
 the Sorbonne, which, emboldened by the success of its past 
 measures, ventured now to aim its censures on Marguerite herself, 
 may perhaps have been an additional incentive to the queen to 
 visit Paris. "What triumph for the theologians of Paris to 
 achieve the humiliation of the Queen of Navarre, their resolute 
 and persevering opponent ! " argued Noel Be'da. " To silence the 
 heretic queen, and to compel her to withdraw her countenance 
 from the Lutheran teachers, or to exact from her a public and
 
 120 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 distinct avowal of her allegiance to Eome, would elevate the 
 renown of the Faculty above all dread of detraction and loss of 
 consideration." It was exultingly remarked that all the learned 
 men patronized by the Queen of Navarre were either confirmed 
 upholders of the Lutheran heresy, or else suspected of secret 
 adherence to the proscribed tenets. The learned Jean de 
 Montluc, so celebrated for his eloquence and diplomatic ability, 
 whom the Queen of Navarre introduced at the court of France, 
 and who, through her favour, had been intrusted with several 
 important missions, presumed to avow Calvinistic tenets, in 
 defiance of the vows which bound him to the famed order of Saint 
 Dominic; for Marguerite, authorized by her brother, took 
 Montluc from his monastery, and without troubling herself to 
 obtain the sanction of his ecclesiastical superiors, had appropriated 
 to. the service of the state, and to the defence of the heretic 
 Calvin, those unrivalled talents that ought to have been solely 
 exercised for the exaltation of his order. The theologians, 
 moreover, had to reproach Marguerite for the protection which 
 she afforded in her university of Bourges to the celebrated pro- 
 fessor of Greek literature, Melchior Volmar, from whom it was 
 supposed that Calvin imbibed the first taint of heresy ; the Queen 
 of Navarre, therefore, according to the Faculty, was responsible 
 for the schism, both Lutheran and Calvinistic, which divided the 
 Gallican churches. The attack they meditated on the queen 
 could not, however, be conducted with the celerity in sentence 
 and execution with which a minor delinquent was consigned to 
 the stake. The king must be gradually accustomed to hear the 
 opinions of his sister assailed, and to know that her proceedings 
 were the subject of frequent comment in his universities. 
 
 The first time that the university openly assailed the orthodoxy 
 of the Queen of Navarre, was probably soon after her arrival in 
 Paris during the winter of 1532. The king was then absent in 
 Bretagne, whither he had journeyed to be present at the ceremo- 
 nies attending the recognition of the dauphin as duke of that 
 province. At this juncture the conduct of Marguerite was made 
 the subject of a violent harangue delivered in one of the churches 
 of Paris by a doctor of the Sorbonne. Marguerite's insolent 
 asperser presumed to assure his astonished hearers that her 
 conduct had completely alienated the attachment and reverence 
 of the Marshal de Montmorency, leaving his auditory to draw
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 121 
 
 the inference he desired to impress, of the consequent decrease 
 of the queen's influence at court from the displeasure of so 
 mighty a personage. The conduct of the marshal at this period 
 is involved in much mystery ; and it is difficult to decide whether, 
 jealous of Marguerite's power over her royal brother, and in 
 reality deeply disapproving of her Lutheran tendencies, he had 
 countenanced this persecution, as his subsequent conduct would 
 seem to denote, or whether, as the queen herself believed, his 
 name was unscrupulously used by the audacious theologian. 
 Marguerite, with great spirit, addressed a letter of dignified 
 remonstrance to the rector of the university, Nicholas Cop, the 
 son of the celebrated physician. Upon their bold assertion of 
 her quarrel with the marshal, Marguerite, in the letter which she 
 also wrote to Montmorency, says that she told the Faculty " that 
 they were little aware of the friendship which .she bore him, and 
 of her perfect confidence in Montmorency's sincerity ; so that, 
 mon nepveu," continues the queen, " this Jacobin has been 
 disowned by the whole Faculty of theology, which professes to 
 consider that he has behaved in this affair like a madman." 1 
 The rector of the university hastened to appease Marguerite for 
 the affront which she had received, by disavowing his agent. 
 The theologians knew that their efforts to undermine her influence 
 at court must be gradual and cautious ; and it was already some- 
 thing achieved for one of their body to have dared to attack the 
 Queen of Navarre in public, without ejectment from the pulpit, 
 and a summary transfer to the nearest state prison. It does not 
 appear that Montrnoreiicy addressed any complaint to the Sor- 
 bonne for the unwarrantable use of his name in this gratuitous 
 attack on his patroness, if indeed he could thoroughly exculpate 
 himself from the imputation. He is, however, at infinite pains 
 to clear himself in Marguerite's opinion. The queen, noble and 
 generous-minded herself, refused to believe the possibility of such 
 treachery, and warmly assures the marshal that she holds him to 
 have been as grossly traduced by the Faculty as herself. "I 
 entreat you to believe, mon nepveu, that all the words that they 
 may choose to ascribe to you will serve only like a blast to a 
 forge, which kindles fire with double fervour of heat when it is 
 thought to be extinct," 2 said Marguerite, in the figurative style 
 of her early epistles. 
 
 1 MSS. de Beth., No. 8514. 2 Ibid>; ^o. 8551, Bibl. du RoL
 
 122 LIFE OF ; MARGUERITE, 
 
 The next act of hostility committed by the Sorbonne occurred 
 during the spring of the year 1533. It was resolved upon at the 
 suggestion of the famous syndic Noel Be'da, whose hatred of 
 Queen Marguerite and her royal brother often betrayed him into 
 deeds of outrageous violence. Be'da had not forgotten the igno- 
 miny of his arrest, by the special direction of Francis, for the 
 virulence of his attacks upon Erasmus ; nor the sarcasm of the 
 words used respecting his writings by the king, when under his 
 own hand Francis commanded the Faculty of theology to examine 
 and report on the orthodoxy of the grounds of the syndic's 
 condemnation of Lefevre and Erasmus. Latterly, also, when the 
 question of the divorce between Henry VIII. and his consort, 
 Queen Catherine of Arragon, was submitted to the Sorbonne, 
 Be'da presumed to conduct himself in a manner most offensive 
 to Francis and humiliating to the university. Nevertheless, with 
 matchless daring, Be'da organized the scheme by which the 
 university sought to render the sister of the king amenable to 
 the penalties of heresy. 
 
 The poem written by the Queen of Navarre, " Le Miroir de 
 1'Ame PScheresse," excited in a supreme degree the displeasure 
 of every zealous Roman Catholic throughout the realm. In 
 these meditations, Queen Marguerite, though she avoids con- 
 troversy, makes mention neither of the mediation of saints, 
 justification by works, of purgatory, nor of any of the prominent 
 doctrines of the Romish creed. It was therefore for what she had 
 omitted, rather than for what actually appeared on her pages, 
 that the unpopularity of the queen's poem arose. Much of this 
 poem was written by Marguerite during the days of her corres- 
 pondence with the Bishop of Meaux ; and its style is mystical 
 and figurative, in the fashion of Briconnet's own letters. The 
 writers of the mystic school fell easy victims to the intolerance 
 of their Romish opponents ; the vague ideality of their theories 
 rendered it no difficult task to give an heretical construction to 
 passages where the author was innocent of such intent. The 
 only overt act of dissent from the Romish formularies of which 
 the queen had been guilty was that she had translated the 
 prayer " Salve Regina " into French verse, and applied it to 
 Christ, instead of to the Virgin Mary. It was usual for the 
 university to appoint commissioners to make an annual inspection 
 of the new books admitted into the college library, as authors
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 123 
 
 were bound to send a copy of their productions to the Sorbonne. 
 In 1533 BeMa was appointed, with several theologians of less 
 note, to make this survey. Marguerite's poem came thus under 
 the inspection of the commissioners. After bestowing upon it a 
 slight examination they ordered the book to be placed on the 
 list of prohibited works, feigning to be ignorant of its author. 
 The following day, in accordance with the report of the com- 
 missioners, the Sorbonne published a censure on the books 
 indicated, forbidding their perusal to the faithful ; the decree was 
 then publicly placarded, and appended to a list of the works 
 condemned as heretical, and amongst which figured Marguerite's 
 "Miroir de 1'Ame Pecheresse." 1 It does not appear that the 
 rector of the university, Cop, bore any share in this design to 
 implicate the Queen of Navarre ; he was favourably inclined 
 towards reform, and was himself often subject to the unsparing 
 attack of his unruly subordinate, Noel Be"da. 
 
 In breathless suspense the theologians awaited the result of 
 their measures. Byfpretending ignorance of the author of the 
 poem, they had insidiously afforded Marguerite a chance of 
 escape if she chose to accept it ; but in that case they knew she 
 would for the future be at their mercy, and in consequence com- 
 pelled to withdraw her patronage from reform. Francis at this 
 period was sojourning at his palace of the Louvre. When in- 
 formed of the proceedings of the Faculty, his indignant displea- 
 sure knew no bounds. That a body of theologians whose 
 insolence he had so often chastised should presume to assail 
 his cherished sister Marguerite, a personage whom he had re- 
 peatedly in public declared to be his second self, and moreover 
 to accuse her of heresy, seemed to the king a misdemeanor 
 little short of absolute treason. None dared resist Francis when 
 animated by one of his uncontrollable gusts of passion. The 
 rector of the university, Nicholas Cop, was required to present 
 himself without delay before the king, who sternly demanded 
 the names of the theologians upon whose representations his 
 sister's poem had been condemned. Cop replied, and perhaps 
 truly, that he was ignorant of the parties concerned, and there- 
 fore could not satisfy the king. Francis then commanded the 
 rector to return to the college and assemble without delay the 
 heads of its four learned departments. He was then directed to 
 
 1 Beze; Bayle, Dictiounaire Historique.
 
 124 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 institute a searching investigation into the affair, and to present 
 himself before the Privy Council on the following day, to report 
 the names of the parties upon whose suit the book written by 
 the Queen of Navarre had been condemned. 
 
 The Bishop of Senlis, confessor to the king, was next summoned 
 into the royal presence ; Francis directed him to undertake the 
 defence of his sister's poem before the assembled university, and 
 to prove its orthodoxy. He was likewise commissioned to in- 
 timate to the Sorbonne that it was the king's will that an 
 immediate revocation of their censure on " Le Miroir de 1'Ame 
 Pgcheresse " should be promulgated. The Bishop of Senlis was 
 Marguerite's stanch friend ; and he undertook her defence with 
 enthusiasm. His eloquent address, and his representation of the 
 folly of the proceeding, in condemning a book because certain 
 tenets were not discussed in its pages, made a deep impression 
 upon the assembly. Even the turbulent Bdda was silenced, 
 though, perhaps, rather by his apprehensions of what his im- 
 prudence might cost him than by the good bishop's expostula- 
 tions. When Marguerite's willing champion concluded his 
 harangue by declaring, with unscrupulous boldness, that neither 
 by her pen nor by her deeds had the Queen of Navarre offended 
 against the ancient doctrine and discipline of the Romish Church, 
 not one dissentient voice in the assembly rose to contradict the 
 assertion, * Cop, remembering the stringent commands of the 
 king, then commenced an inquiry to discover the person who 
 had first denounced the poem as heretical to the commissioners. 
 Aware that their syndic deserved no greater consideration from 
 the king than he was likely to obtain, should it be proved to 
 Francis that his turbulent spirit had provoked this uproar, the 
 theologians, determined to shield Bdda, persuaded the Curd of 
 St. Andre*-des-Arts, one of the professors of theology who 
 had been appointed on the commission with the syndic, to 
 undertake the responsibility of the act. The censure on " Le 
 Miroir de 1'Ame Pcheresse " was then unanimously disavowed 
 as a sentence pronounced without due circumspection; and 
 the rector of the university was commissioned to bear to the 
 king the recantation of the theologians, and to explain to 
 his Majesty that the book had been inadvertently included in 
 the list of prohibited works by the Curd of St. Andre, who 
 was ignorant of its author, not, however, for its heretical
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 125 
 
 tendencies, but because it was published without the appro- 
 bation of the Faculty of Theology, a form enjoined by edict of 
 the parliament as requisite to be obtained before the publication 
 of any work. 1 
 
 Satisfied with having humiliated the factious Sorbonne, and 
 compelled the theologians to retract their censures, Francis pro- 
 fessed himself appeased ; and perhaps, sheltered by the sub- 
 terfuge of his colleagues, Bdda would have escaped without 
 experiencing the weight of the royal resentment his conduct 
 had provoked, but for another affair, which, unfortunately for 
 him, happened within a few days after Cop's final interview 
 with the king on the matter of Queen Marguerite's poem. This 
 third attack upon the orthodoxy of Marguerite came from the 
 College de Navarre, a learned body which boasted of a Faculty 
 of Theology as famous for erudition, though less celebrated for 
 combativeness than that of the Sorbonne. 
 
 In order to show their indignation at the treatment the Sor- 
 bonne had received, and imagining that their college, from its 
 appellation, was implicated in the heresy of the Queen of 
 Navarre, these zealots devised the most insolent affront to 
 demonstrate their hatred of Marguerite. They composed an 
 allegorical play or " moralite' " in verse; in the first scene of 
 the performance, a woman, meant to represent the Queen of 
 Navarre, was introduced, sitting with a spinning-wheel before 
 her, in the act of dropping her spindle in order to take a copy 
 of the Holy Gospels translated into the French language, which 
 a hideous demon was presenting to her. After much contro- 
 versial dialogue between the personages of the drama, abound- 
 ing in insolent allusions to the sectarians and their patroness, 
 the farce terminated by the transformation of the queen herself 
 into a diabolical spirit, and her departure for the infernal regions. 2 
 This indecent piece of buffoonery was publicly performed in 
 the hall of the College of Navarre by four professors of theology 
 and some of the scholars of the college, in the presence of the 
 principal. The fame of this notable achievement spread far 
 and wide, creating the greatest excitement and indignation. 
 The partisans of the Queen of Navarre insisted that signal 
 redress should be made her for the flagrant insult ; and they 
 
 1 Gailliard, Hist, de Francis I ; Beze, Hist, des Egl. Ref. de France. 
 
 2 Bayle, Diet. Historique; Calvin, Ep.
 
 126 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 constituted by far the largest and most influential portion of 
 the community. The king himself, however, needed no incite- 
 ment to avenge his sister, and to vindicate the majesty of the 
 throne, violated by this audacious act of the theologians. Even 
 Duprat himself counselled Francis to make a signal example of 
 these turbulent churchmen. Accordingly, in obedience to a 
 warrant sent by the Council, the provost De la Barre, attended 
 by the archers of his guard, proceeded to the College of Navarre, 
 to arrest all concerned in the representation of the piece, as 
 well as its author. A rumour of the king's designs had reached 
 the college authorities, and when the officers of justice entered 
 the hall they were received with shouts of defiance by the 
 scholars and professors, headed by the principal, arrayed in his 
 academical robes. Stones were hurled ; the scholars converted 
 their desks and forms into weapons, and fought for their liberty 
 with desperate determination. 
 
 At length this disgraceful tumult was terminated by the ar- 
 rival of a fresh detachment of guards and archers ; the students 
 were then disarmed, and compelled to submit. A rigid investi- 
 gation of the whole affair afterwards commenced in the presence 
 of the provost and his archers, the actors of the farce being 
 compelled to repeat their parts, though the name of the author 
 of the piece could not be discovered. The principal, the four 
 professors of theology, and those scholars who had taken a share 
 in the public representation of the piece were then declared 
 under arrest, and were marched off by the officers of the provost, 
 and consigned to dungeons in the prison of the Conciergerie. 
 The anger of the king was intense when these proceedings were 
 recounted to him ; and he vowed to punish these aspersers of 
 Marguerite's fame with the full rigour of the laws. 
 
 This vexatious affair, however, occasioned Marguerite the 
 utmost disquietude of mind. She perceived the exasperation 
 of the king, and she dreaded lest the punishment assigned to 
 the delinquents might partake of the severity she had seen 
 awarded even to minor offences. Marguerite, therefore, hastened 
 to her royal brother, and earnestly besought him to pardon her 
 assailants, and to be content, as she was, with the reparation 
 obtained by their arrest. It required all Marguerite's influence 
 with the king to prevail upon him to stay the arraignment and 
 trial of the culprits ; and it is recorded that she knelt at his
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 127 
 
 feet to obtain her petition. The king saw himself assailed on 
 a tender point, and he found oblivion difficult ; both his affection 
 for Marguerite and his jealousy of the majesty and preroga- 
 tives of the throne had been roughly violated. The queen, 
 nevertheless, persevered in her intercession; for, with noble 
 forbearance, Marguerite rightly believed that she was avenging 
 herself more signally by obtaining the pardon of her unscrupu- 
 lous opponents than if she had suffered them to be consigned 
 to the galleys for life. 1 
 
 The theologians of the College of Navarre, therefore, after 
 being detained in prison for several weeks, were dismissed 
 with a suitable admonition. "But, certes, if such had been 
 Marguerite's pleasure, nothing was easier for her than to have 
 effectually put to the rout such a pack of foolhardy knaves," 
 observes a contemporary historian, who greatly revered the 
 queen. 2 Whether Francis obtained private information that 
 Noel BeMa was the author of the drama, or that the king 
 availed himself of this opportunity to repay the syndic for 
 many of his ancient though not forgotten misdemeanours, 
 Be'da fared worse in this affair than the theologians of the rival 
 Faculty. He received a royal mandate exiling him from the 
 realm of France for the space of two years, to the dismay of his 
 colleagues at the Sorbonne, who found invaluable resource in 
 their syndic's talent for controversy, and in the fierce invectives 
 of his pen. The Marshal de Montmorency apparently rendered 
 no assistance to his patroness, Queen Marguerite, in repelling 
 the odium which the universities sought to affix on her name. 
 His conduct altogether towards Marguerite is inexplicable at 
 this period of her life. Her friendship was yet needful to him, 
 for there remained higher offices to be obtained in the state, and 
 the Admiral de Brion, ready to avail himself of any oversight 
 committed by the marshal. Montmorency 's jealousy of Mar- 
 guerite's influence with her brother, though it had raised him 
 to the pinnacle of royal favour ; his secret anger at the queen's 
 defection from the ancient faith of her forefathers; and the 
 notorious misunderstanding existing between himself and the 
 King of Navarre, combined to render the marshal well content 
 that she should lose some portion of her influence and renown. 
 
 1 Bayle. 2 Ste. Marthe, Oraison Funebre.
 
 128 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 During the year 1533 the attacks of the Romish party to ruin 
 the Queen of Navarre iu her brother's favour were perpetual. 
 If Marguerite would have condescended to one conciliatory over- 
 ture, or if she had voluntarily tendered a single proof of her 
 continued allegiance to the Church, her most bitter enemies 
 might have been appeased. The monks, so cruelly ridiculed by 
 the queen in her literary compositions, returned Marguerite's 
 irony with virulent abuse. They satirized her writings and 
 misrepresented her actions, while they cowered beneath her 
 scrutiny, and trembled lest the power which none of them 
 denied that she possessed should be exercised to procure the 
 public exposure of their depravity. In a turbulent assembly 
 held at Issoudun, to devise measures for the effectual suppression 
 of heresy, one fanatic monk, superior of the Franciscan mon- 
 astery of that town, had the hardihood to propose publicly that 
 the Queen of Navarre, the patroness of the sectarians, should 
 be seized, tied up in a sack, and drowned in the Seine. This 
 treasonable harangue no sooner reached the ears of Francis 
 than he despatched a warrant addressed to the authorities of 
 Issoudun, commanding that the factious monk should himself 
 suffer the same penalty as he had adjudged Marguerite worthy 
 of enduring. It was with the greatest difficulty, and after the 
 repression of a popular tumult, that the Mayor of Issoudun 
 succeeded in arresting this daring Franciscan; for the monks 
 of his monastery stirred up an insurrection throughout the 
 district. The officer, Denis du Jon, who at last executed the 
 royal warrant for his arrest, fell a victim a few days afterwards 
 to the revenge of the monks ; he was assassinated under circum- 
 stances of the greatest cruelty, and his body was dragged through 
 the streets of Issoudun by the infuriated populace. The superior 
 of the Franciscans, meanwhile, the guilty cause of the insurrec- 
 tion, remained in prison awaiting his doom ; but again Mar- 
 guerite's benevolent spirit induced her, most injudiciously in 
 this instance, to intercede in his behalf ; and after much solici- 
 tation she obtained his life. The outrage upon his sister, how- 
 ever, had been accompanied by too flagrant a violation of the 
 laws for Francis to suffer the turbulent ecclesiastic to escape 
 without condign punishment. The prior was therefore solemnly 
 degraded from his ecclesiastical dignities, and sent to the galleys
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 129 
 
 for the space of two years, a sentence highly applauded by 
 all peaceable and well-disposed persons. 1 
 
 Unprincipled charlatans, like the Prior of Issoudun, thus filled 
 Paris with restless and noisy declamation ; but their violence, 
 instead of advancing, hurt the cause of the Church. The signal 
 failure of their efforts to injure the Queen of Navarre, meanwhile, 
 was followed by a secession from the Romish party, which filled 
 the universities with consternation. The upright and generous 
 spirit of Nicholas Cop, rector of the Sorbonne, revolted at the 
 hypocrisy he witnessed, and he longed to free himself from the 
 trammels imposed by his position. Cop was the friend of Calvin, 
 who was at this time residing in Paris, at the College of Fortet. 
 On All Saints' Day, 1533, Cop preached a sermon before the 
 university, in the chapel of the Mathurin Convent, composed by 
 Calvin. 2 Two Franciscan monks amongst the congregation 
 denounced the sermon as heretical to the parliament, which 
 thereupon summoned the rector to appear and defend himself 
 against the accusation. Cop fortunately received timely warn- 
 ing from a friend of this intended citation, which was merely 
 preliminary to arrest, and instead of awaiting the summons, he 
 fled to Bale. 3 The lieutenant of police, Morin, then received 
 instructions from the parliament to proceed against Calvin as 
 the author of the heretical sermon. But, following the prudent 
 example of his friend Cop, Calvin had quitted Paris, wisely 
 withdrawing himself from the vengeance of the exasperated 
 theologians ; though, less fortunate than the rector, he had only 
 time to reach AngouleTne. There he was, of course, compelled to 
 remain concealed in the house of a friend, as his arrest, if he 
 attempted to continue his route into Switzerland, seemed certain. 
 The friends of Calvin, when they heard of his perilous position, 
 immediately applied to the Queen of Navarre, and fervently peti- 
 tioned her to procure the annulling of the order of arrest which 
 had been issued. The goodness of Marguerite's heart and the 
 fearless courage of her character were rightly appreciated when 
 it was believed that she would interest herself to rescue from the 
 fury of the Sorbonne another "sectarian," after the vexatious 
 annoyances to which she had recently been subject. Calvin, at 
 this period, was comparatively little known in the theological 
 
 1 Notice sur Marguerite d'Angouleme, par Eusebe Castaigne. 
 
 2 Reze, Hist, des Eglises Reformees de France. 8 Ibid. 
 VOL. n. 9
 
 130 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 world ; and no writings of his had incurred the censure of the 
 schools. The boldness of his opinions, however, and the majestic 
 dignity of his language distinguished him already ; and he was 
 looked upon as one of the most rising of the reformed teachers. 
 Calvin was favourably known to Marguerite for his learning ; 
 his classical and theological education had been completed at 
 her university in Bourges, under the famous professors, Alciat 
 and Wolmer ; and the queen especially patronized the students 
 educated by the learned men she appointed to professorships in 
 her college. Marguerite therefore obtained, though not without 
 difficulty, the pardon of Calvin from the king ; and, to the con- 
 sternation of the Sorbonnists, it was signified to them that the 
 pursuit of the heretic to whose doctrine the perversion of their 
 rector was ascribed must forthwith cease. 1 The good offices of 
 the queen, moreover, procured Calvin permission to reside at 
 Angoul^me ; where he remained until the outcry raised on the 
 conversion of Du Tillet, one of the canons of the cathedral, 
 compelled him to seek another abode. This latter circumstance 
 especially introduced Calvin to Marguerite's notice ; and from 
 henceforth she maintained a frequent correspondence with him, 
 and was consulted by the illustrious reformer on most of his 
 projects. Marguerite's influence over the king in both these 
 affairs was the more appparent, for while Francis, at the suit of 
 his sister, granted immunity to John Calvin, the individual who 
 was accused by the Faculty of having by his subtle persuasions 
 induced their rector to cast off his allegiance to Home, the king 
 wrote a letter to the parliament, by the urgent counsel of Duprat, 
 commanding that measures should be taken to discover the per- 
 son who had warned Cop of his danger, that such might be 
 rigorously punished as an abettor of heresy. 2 It was probably 
 the glaring inconsistency of the king's conduct in this and in 
 many similar instances which encouraged the reformers to per- 
 severe in their endeavours to overthrow the Church of Rome, in 
 defiance of the edicts issued against them. No one believed that 
 the king was a bigot at heart, or indeed that he cared much about 
 religion at all, except as far as it was subservient to politics. 
 They ever beheld the influence of the Queen of Navarre inter- 
 pose to modify the rigour of the measures proposed by the 
 intolerant cardinal chancellor ; and they knew besides that 
 1 Gail Hard, Hist, de Francois I. 2 Registres du Parlement.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 131 
 
 neither Duprat nor Montmorency possessed authority to molest 
 one of the men, however malignant his heresy, whom it had been 
 Marguerite's pleasure to admit within the principality of Be'arn. 
 Francis always acted from violent and sudden impulses. When 
 the progress of reform in France apeared to militate against his 
 political interests, the king suppressed it with fire and fagot ; 
 though, as he persecuted not from principle, and as to please 
 his sister Francis was willing to sacrifice many diplomatic 
 advantages, Marguerite's intercessions were generally successful 
 throughout every stage of the king's zeal. 
 
 During the autumn of the year 1533 Marguerite retired again 
 into the dominions of her husband. The court of France, whilst 
 her brother was absent on progresses through his kingdom, no 
 longer possessed the same attractions. The gloomy stateliness 
 of Eleanor suited not the queen's lively enjouement of character. 
 Her nieces, the young princesses, resided away from the court 
 with their governesses, the Countess de Brissac and Madame de 
 Montreal, so that Marguerite, now that Madame was no more and 
 the king absent from Paris, began to long for her southern home. 
 No injury had befallen any of the religious refugees during the 
 queen's absence, and on her arrival from Paris their number was 
 increased by the presence of Calvin at Ne'rac. 
 
 When sojourning in Be'arn Marguerite adopted great simplicity 
 in her habits and attire. Her magnificent vestments, and the in- 
 dulgence of her taste for the fine arts, she reserved for the court 
 of France. At Foutainebleau Marguerite assumed the great 
 princess ; at Ne'rac the queen appeared as the noble matron, 
 devoted to pious exercises, to severe study, and to works of 
 beneficence. " I remember well," says BrantSme, " that this 
 great Queen of Navarre, when I, as a little boy, used to sojourn 
 at her court with my grandmother the Se'ne'chale of Poitou, never 
 used to keep more than three mules of burden, and six mules to 
 draw her two litters. She possessed, also, three or four chariots 
 for her maids of honour and for her suite." l Marguerite dined 
 daily in public, and the hall where she took her repasts was 
 generally crowded by persons eagerly gazing upon her. She 
 had usually two tables spread, which were served with great 
 frugality and economy. At the upper table Marguerite dined 
 alone, served by her officers. The queen's first lady of honour, 
 1 Brantome, Capitaines Ilhistres, Vie de Cesar Borgia.
 
 132 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 the Se'ne'chale of Poitou, presided at the second table, at which 
 strangers honoured by Marguerite's invitation dined. In taking 
 her meals thus in public, Marguerite adhered to the rigid cere- 
 monial of her brother's court ; for there she always maintained 
 two separate tables, although it was only on special occasions that 
 she absented herself from the king's table, where her place was on 
 the left hand of Francis. When the queen wished to show any 
 visitor a special mark of friendly attention, she used to send him 
 a dish of viands from her own table. Brantome relates a curious 
 anecdote of the queen when bestowing this compliment on the 
 Prince of Amalfi, a subject of the emperor's, who, having deserted 
 from the imperial cause, lived consequently in Paris on a pen- 
 sion assigned him by Francis. He says : " Often her Majesty of 
 Navarre honoured the prince by sending him something relish- 
 ing from her table, to eat for the love of her, the said prince 
 being very flattered and proud of these attentions." " These poor 
 stranger princes," the queen used to remark, " who have quitted 
 everything out of loyal service to the king my brother, have not 
 their equipage and services, their train of domestics, and luxuries, 
 like the lords of this court. We must oblige them, therefore, 
 in every possible manner. Although the table of M. le Grand 
 Maitre never fails them, nevertheless the courtesies which I 
 bestow on them are felt the deepest" "Often," continues 
 Brantome, " the queen would send the prince a gracious message 
 or speech, or inquire his opinion on some matter ; to all which he 
 generally replied so pertinently and well as to afford the queen 
 great satisfaction. King Francis loved his sister very dearly, 
 who by such delicate favours and notice gained him many faith- 
 ful servants." l 
 
 During her hours of retirement Marguerite employed herself 
 with her correspondence, addressed to the chief personages of her 
 brother's court and to all the most celebrated scholars of Europe. 
 The King of Navarre consulted her on all his plans for the wel- 
 fare of his people ; and often the entire administration remained 
 for months together in her hands, whilst the king, whose health 
 was delicate, amused himself at the baths of Cotterets, or was 
 absent on his military duties in Guyenne. She had also stated 
 hours in the day for her theological studies, during which she 
 conferred with the chief divines, both Eomish and reformed, at 
 
 1 Brantfime, Capitaines lllustres, Vie du Prince de Melphe.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 133 
 
 the court. Some portion of every afternoon she devoted to em- 
 broidery with her ladies. Marguerite then frequently recounted 
 some witty story, or recited a poem ; or perhaps she edified her 
 hearers by a grave religious exhortation. " Often when this 
 noble princess was alone in her chamber," says Marguerite's 
 ardent panegyrist, Ste. Marthe, " she took up a book instead of a 
 distaff, a pen instead of a spindle, and her tablets instead of a 
 needle. When she employed herself with her tapestry, or in 
 other needlework (which she regarded as a most delectable occu- 
 pation), she always employed a person to read aloud to her the 
 work of some historian, poet, or notable author ; or she dictated t 
 some meditation, which was immediately taken down in writing. / 
 I will recount another habit of hers that may possibly surprise 
 many who hear it, but which is nevertheless most true, and 
 might be confirmed, if requisite, by the united testimony of 
 many great and honourable personages, who, with myself, have 
 often witnessed it, that, while she diligently worked with her 
 needle, she had two secretaries employed around her chair, one 
 in noting down French verse, which she composed very swiftly 
 and with admirable erudition and facility, the other in writing 
 letters under her dictation to despatch to her numerous friends."./ 
 
 Marguerite's correspondence with the king daily monopolized 
 no inconsiderable portion of her leisure ; and from allusions of 
 frequent occurrence in her letters, her communication with 
 Eleanor and the other members of the royal family was fre- 
 quent. The queen attended matins daily, and in the after- 
 noon Lefevre or Roussel usually preached before the court, 
 Marguerite being invariably present, often with the king, her 
 husband. Henry's zeal for the opinions of the reformers had 
 greatly increased since Marguerite's residence with him in 
 Be'arn ; indeed the domestic happiness of the illustrious pair 
 flourished more amid the rude mountains of Henry's maternal / 
 heritage than when surrounded by the luxuries and refinements 
 of the court of France. There the imperious claims of Francis 
 I. were found to be almost as irksome by the King of Navarre 
 as by the Duke d'Alencon, with this difference, that Henry 
 possessed his consort's affection, while the former was only tol- 
 erated by Marguerite because duty forbade her alienation. At 
 the court St. Germain it was the will of Francis that his 
 sister should depend upon himself alone ; he looked upon her
 
 134 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 as exclusively his own, her time, her confidence, her pursuits 
 were to be shared alone with him. As her king, her brother, 
 and her inseparable companion from infancy, Francis willed that 
 the lustre of his crown should circle his sister's brow, that in 
 themselves might centre the impersonation of the majesty of 
 France. The exactions of the king, and the isolated position in 
 which Francis affected to regard his sister in respect to all 
 except himself, the King of Navarre found very difficult to 
 reconcile with his claims upon Marguerite ; but as long as he 
 sojourned at the court of France, Henry knew that interference 
 would be unavailing, and only serve the king as a pretext to 
 request his departure thence on some military or political expe- 
 dition. The love which Marguerite bore him, and her gentle- 
 ness, softened though it did not allay Henry's jealous resentment. 
 By far the happier days, therefore, that Henry and Marguerite 
 spent together were passed in the king's hereditary castles of 
 Pau and Ne'rac. There Henry reigned the undisputed lord ; 
 for in Be'arn even his fair and learned consort became subject 
 to his authority. Marguerite's frequent voluntary residence 
 in Be*am proves that, notwithstanding her devotion to Francis, 
 her husband's dominion was the reverse of irksome to her ; and, 
 indeed, while presiding over the little court of Nerac she 
 reigned, it may be said, more truly a queen than when sharing 
 the honours and magnificence of St. Germain and Fontainebleau 
 with her chivalrous but arbitrary brother. 
 
 The honours which the King of Navarre freely bestowed 
 upon his consort extended to the deference he paid to her opin- 
 ions. It was to please Marguerite that Henry had opened the \ 
 portals of his principality to the persecuted reformers ; it was \ 
 next at her solicitation that he listened to their doctrine. \ 
 Gerard Eoussel, at the queen's desire, expounded the Scriptures ^ 
 in the presence of the King of Navarre, who was at length 
 induced to be present at the sermons preached privately in j 
 Marguerite's apartments. The king was much impressed by 
 the simplicity of the doctrine expounded by Roussel and Le- 
 fevre ; and though he did not accept their opinions with the 
 hearty approval displayed by Marguerite, he was far from pro- 
 hibiting, or even opposing, the efforts of the reformed party. 
 Two converted monks of the order of the Augustinians, from 
 which Luther himself sprang, named Bertaut and Couraut, had
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 135 
 
 sought the protection of the Queen of Navarre, and enjoyed her 
 favour. Couraut, especially, frequently preached before her, as, 
 like Eoussel, he seems to have advocated a system of mutual 
 concession between the reformers and the Church of Eome. 
 He deprecated the fatal schism which had riven the Church in 
 sunder, and maintained that if the Romish hierarchy would set 
 about the work of reform in sincerity, it was the bounden duty 
 of true Christian people to submit to the supremacy of the Holy 
 See. This theory was a favourite one with the Queen of 
 Navarre ; there were also many of the more timid spirits of the 
 age who, terrified at their forcible emancipation from the thrall 
 of the priesthood, used it as a palliative of the deed, and pro- 
 fessed to be profoundly convinced that Eome herself would at 
 length take the initiative, and, by guiding the movement, pre- 
 serve her supremacy unimpaired. 
 
 By the permission of the Queen of Navarre the Protestants 
 of Be*arn met frequently to celebrate and partake of the holy 
 communion, according to the reformed tenets, in a subterranean 
 chamber beneath the castle of Pau. Afterwards, the place of 
 assembly was changed to a lofty vaulted apartment, situated 
 under the terrace of the castle, and which was one of the secret 
 chambers appertaining to the royal Mint. 1 These assemblies 
 were conducted with secrecy, after nightfall. Marguerite, accom- 
 panied by those of her court professing the reformed tenets, 
 frequently attended, and received the sacrament in both kinds ; 
 and finally, sometime during the winter of the year 1533, the 
 King of Navarre, won by her exhortations, joined also these 
 assemblies. 
 
 Several Eomish historians of these stirring times deny that 
 the King of Navarre was seduced by the persuasions of his con- 
 sort to countenance heresy. A story is related by them in sup- 
 port of this assertion, which is not compatible in its details with 
 the gallant deference the King of Navarre always manifested 
 towards her. Henry, as the anecdote records, being one day 
 informed that Marguerite was engaged in her apartments listen- 
 ing to the exhortations and prayers of one of the reformed min- 
 isters, entered the queen's chamber abruptly, intending to bestow 
 signal chastisement on the audacious sectarian who thus pre- 
 sumed to lure his consort from her allegiance to the Eoniish 
 
 1 Florimond de Remond, Hist, de 1'Heresie ; Varillas, Hist, de l'Hr&ie.
 
 136 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 faith. Marguerite, having meantime received timely warning of 
 the wrathful intentions of her royal spouse, had contrived a way 
 for the escape of the minister. Enraged at being thus foiled in 
 his design, Henry approached Marguerite, and, as the story as- 
 serts, dealt her a furious box on the ear, exclaiming, " Madame, 
 vous voulez trop savoir ! " 1 It is added that the King of Na- 
 varre forthwith despatched a courier to his brother-in-law, to 
 complain of Marguerite's conduct, entreating the king to inter- 
 dict such proceedings for the future. Marguerite is also made to 
 bear an active share in this domestic brawl, and is said to have 
 written to her brother in bitter indignation at the affront she 
 had received, appealing to him for redress and protection. The 
 only personage made to act consistently in this tale is King 
 Francis, who, as might be expected, warmly embraced his sis- 
 ter's defence, and threatened the King of Navarre with many 
 angry menaces, if it ever happened to him again to forget the 
 respect due to his consort, as much for her illustrious rank as 
 for her virtues. 
 
 Marguerite occupied herself during the early months of the 
 year 1534 in negotiating the marriage of her sister-in-law, the 
 Princess Isabel of Navarre, with Rend, Viscount de Eohan, whose 
 relatives eagerly desired the union. Though of princely birth, 
 and nearly allied to the royal family of France, M. de Rohan 
 possessed little wealth. His disposition, moreover, was so im- 
 provident as greatly to diminish the value of the revenues he had 
 to offer. Isabel had been the object of more than one matrimonial 
 overture : her hand was sought by Zapoli, Yaivode of Transyl- 
 vania, afterwards King of Hungary, and also by the King of 
 Portugal ; but political motives caused the failure of both these 
 negotiations. Although the proposals made by the Viscount de 
 Rohan were inferior to Isabel's pretensions as the adopted 
 daughter of Francis, the princess, who cherished a preference for 
 the viscount, resolved to accept them. 
 
 The reasons set forth by Queen Marguerite to induce her 
 brother to give his consent to the proposed alliance are some- 
 what curious. She begins by stating to the king that as there 
 was nothing in which she herself, or the King of Navarre, could 
 render him active service at that time, they had devised together 
 
 1 De Coste, Eloges des Reines et des Dames Illustres ; Mathieu, Hist, de 
 Francois I.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 137 
 
 to see if in any manner they might relieve his mind from respon- 
 sibility ; " and in this matter, monseigneur, we consider it pos- 
 sible, it is by the marriage of the sister of the King of Navarre, 
 to whom you have often done so much honour as to devise a 
 way to place her by alliance in a high and lofty rank, for which 
 both she and ourselves tender you most humble thanks. But, 
 monseigneur, perceiving that you are overwhelmed with affairs, 
 and are daily solicited by importunate persons to bestow her 
 hand upon them, I have despatched this messenger to impart to 
 you the petition which, under your good pleasure, M. de Eohan 
 and his uncle, the Archbishop of Lyons, have preferred. The 
 latter, actuated by his extreme desire to achieve his nephew's 
 marriage, offers great advantages to my sister, hoping thereby to 
 merit your gracious favour, as, monseigneur, I have desired the 
 bearer of this to inform you, and to state the reasons, also, that 
 induce me to entreat you to let us speedily know your pleasure 
 in this affair. My principal reason for supplicating you to send 
 us a favourable decision is to relieve yourself from the responsi- 
 bility of providing longer for an orphan princess whom you have 
 been pleased, since the decease of her father and mother, to treat 
 as your own daughter, and who has already waited your con- 
 sent to this marriage so long that she has become so depressed 
 and indisposed that her health will not support greater fatigues ; 
 nor do I think her in a fit condition to render you service at a 
 distance from home. But if it would please you, monseigneur, 
 to consent that she may remain here, you will settle her accord- 
 ing to her own desire, and place her in a house which is allied 
 to your own." l 
 
 From the expressions used by Marguerite it would appear 
 that a warm attachment subsisted between Isabel and the young 
 Viscount de Rohan, probably opposed by Francis on account of 
 the extravagant propensities displayed by the viscount, and the 
 insufficiency of his means to support a royal consort;. The 
 king at this period, as Marguerite observed, had many cares ; 
 he had two daughters of his own and a niece to find suitable 
 alliances for, besides the daughters of the Duke de VendSme to 
 dispose of in marriage. As the proposed union was evidently 
 sanctioned by Isabel's brother, the King of Navarre, Fraucis 
 withdrew his opposition to the alliance. The Queen of Navarre, 
 
 1 MS. Bibl. dn Roi, F. du Suppl. Fran., No. 91.
 
 138 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 therefore, took a journey into Bretagne to Chateaubriand during 
 the summer of the year 1534, to negotiate Isabel's marriage 
 contract with the members of the house of Eohan, and to be 
 present at the nuptial ceremony, which was solemnized during 
 the month of August. 
 
 From Chateaubriand the Queen of Navarre proceeded to 
 Alencon. Her letters lead to the supposition that on her way 
 thither she had an interview with the king at Rouen ; for a 
 great project then occupied Marguerite's attention, one in which 
 the realization of her own views on reform depended, and that, 
 in concert with the Duchess d'Estampes, she had successfully 
 inspired into the mind of her brother. Melancthon, the friend 
 and disciple of Martin Luther, was of all the reformers the one 
 whose opinions and theological works suited best the projects of 
 the Queen of Navarre. The mild and charitable disposition of 
 Melancthon pervaded his writings ; the abusive declamation 
 abounding in the works of Luther against his opponents, and 
 especially against the Holy See, was wisely avoided by his 
 disciple, and the reconciliation of the parties dividing Chris- 
 tendom he strenuously inculcated. Melancthon acknowledged, 
 moreover, that for the good of Christendom it would be advis- 
 able to restore the supremacy of the pope over the reformed 
 churches, when the Church of Rome had purified herself from 
 her many abuses. He recognized the pope as the guardian of 
 the laws and the avenger of ecclesiastical discipline. All mat- 
 ters of ceremonial, he held, ought to be submitted to the decision 
 of the Holy See, and that the authority of the pope should be 
 accepted on all disputed points involving doctrine or practice. 
 The superstitious dogmas of the Church of Rome, purgatory, 
 the invocation of the Virgin and the saints, and the doctrine of 
 transubstantiation, were heartily abjured by Melancthon ; on 
 these points Marguerite's opinions were no less emphatic. 
 The opinions of this German theologian, she perceived, par- 
 took of Briqonnet's ideas on church reform, unity, sub- 
 mission to the See of Rome, with a gradual and steady 
 approximation of the whole body of Christian men to the 
 purity and simplicity of faith as practised in the primitive 
 ages of Christianity. 
 
 The efforts of Melancthon were now being devoted to bring 
 about a reconciliation between Luther and Zuinglius, the great
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 139 
 
 Swiss reformer, and the unity of their respective disciples. 
 When concord had been re-established in the reformed churches 
 Melancthon proposed, by the medium of a council or otherwise, 
 to heal the schism between the Protestant and Roman Catholic 
 communities, and to present to the gaze of distracted Europe a 
 church purified, based on Scriptural foundations, and united 
 under one visible earthly head, who himself should no longer 
 claim to be God's infallible vicegerent, but in reality to act in 
 all things as became "the servant of the servants of God." 
 Marguerite entered with enthusiasm into this project, and, un- 
 deterred by the threatening aspect of the universities, she 
 earnestly solicited the king to offer Melancthon a, professor's 
 chair in one of the colleges of Paris, in order that measures of 
 such unspeakable importance might proceed from his capital, 
 and that from converse with the learned reformer the hostility 
 of the theologians might diminish. 1 The Duchess d'Estampes 
 assailed the king with the same arguments ; in union with Mar- 
 guerite, she represented to Francis the great advantages he 
 would derive in his struggle with the emperor by conciliating 
 the good-will of the German Protestants, and that, after all, 
 the cost to obtain this benefit would be but the annual stipend 
 of a professor of theology in his universities. Francis promised 
 to take the proposal into serious consideration ; for the habitual 
 clamours of the Sorbonne and the grave disapproval visible on 
 the countenances of the ecclesiastical peers of the Privy Council 
 when the policy of this overture to the Lutheran party was 
 discussed, assured the king that every obstacle would be thrown 
 in his way. Opposition always had the effect of confirming the 
 king in his designs ; therefore, urgently pressed by the repre- 
 sentations of his sister, Francis at length authorized the Bishop 
 of Senlis to write and offer Melancthon a professorship in the 
 University of Paris, with an annual pension of 1200 crowns. 2 
 Melancthon replied by thanking the king for his bounty ; but 
 he added that he could not quit the dominions of the elector 
 without that sovereign's permission. Application to obtain the 
 consent of the Elector of Saxony was accordingly made on the 
 positive direction of the king, whose eagerness to procure 
 the presence of Melancthon in his capital augmented with the 
 
 1 Varillas, Hist, de l'H4resie ; Maimbourg, Hist, du Calvinisme. 
 
 2 Bayle, Dictionnaire Hist., Art. Melancthon.
 
 140 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 unexpected difficulties he encountered. The elector willingly 
 consented to the departure of his favourite professor to contend 
 with the zealots of the Paris universities, exultiugly predicting 
 the speedy conversion of the French to the Lutheran creed. 
 All things were thus amicably disposed of for the reception of 
 Melancthon in France, when Luther unfortunately requested 
 his friend and disciple to delay his journey for the space of a 
 few weeks, until after the publication of a work he was engaged 
 in writing against the Anabaptists. Melancthon consented, and 
 wrote to explain the circumstances to the king, sending at the 
 same time a preliminary treatise developing his opinions on 
 reform, for Francis to submit to the Sorbonne. Melancthon's 
 essay met with prompt condemnation ; for the university, with 
 intolerant zeal, declared that to differ from the Romish code in 
 doctrine or discipline, even in the smallest particular, was 
 sufficient to render a man amenable to the pains of the 
 deadliest heresy. 1 
 
 Amongst the prelates of the Gallican church the Cardinal de 
 Tournon showed himself especially hostile to the proposed con- 
 ferences between the Eomish party and the reformed churches. 
 He dreaded lest Melancthon, aided by the powerful influence of 
 Queen Marguerite and the Duchess d'Estampes, should prevail 
 on Francis to repeal the rigorous edicts fulminated by the 
 Council against heresy, as already the reformer's exhortations 
 to the king to adopt a more merciful policy towards his non- 
 conforming subjects found support from the Bishop of Senlis. 
 The king's sister, his mistress, his confessor, and his first phy- 
 sician, Guillaume Cop, the father of the apostate rector of the 
 Sorbonne, all advocated tolerant measures. Francis himself was 
 neither cruel by disposition nor a bigot in religion ; but he 
 was passionate, jealous to a degree of his prerogatives, and 
 always inclined to favour that party which for the moment ap- 
 peared to oppose itself to the fame or the political prosperity 
 of the emperor. To avert the visit of the wise and conciliating 
 Melancthon, the teacher whose mild persuasiveness won to the 
 cause of reform more disciples than either the fiery zeal of 
 Luther or the subtle casuistry of Bucer, the Sorbonne and the 
 Romish prelates leagued themselves together. The king was in 
 vain reminded of the intimate ties he had recently contracted 
 
 1 Varillas, Hist, de 1'Heresie ; Gailliard, Hist, de Fran?ois I.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 141 
 
 with the pope duriiig his interview with Clement VII. at Mar- 
 seilles, for the solemnization of the nuptials of the Duke of 
 Orleans with Catherine de' Medici, and of his protestations of 
 eternal fidelity to the Holy See, by which alone the ascendency 
 of the French in Italy could be maintained. The king, 
 prompted by his sister, pertinaciously replied, that, "in his 
 opinion, he was profitably serving both God and man by seek- 
 ing through the medium of conciliation to heal the divisions in 
 the Church." One day the Cardinal de Tournon presented him- 
 self at his royal master's lever, with a richly bound book open 
 in his hand. The novelty of such a display of literary zeal 
 naturally attracted the attention of Francis, who inquired the 
 title and subject of the book. " It is a volume of the works of 
 St. Irenaeus," responded the prelate. " I have just fallen upon 
 the passage where the holy father relates that St. John, having 
 unwittingly entered a public bath in company with the heretic 
 Cerinthus, quitted it without delay, refusing to remain in a place 
 desecrated by the presence of that blasphemer ; yet you, sire, you 
 are bold enough to summon Melancthon into the heart of your 
 dominions, you do not fear the power of the deadly poison of 
 heresy which he diffuses with subtle skill. Apparently, there- 
 fore, your Majesty feels greater strength to resist temptation 
 than the beloved disciple of Christ." 1 Francis made no reply 
 to this indirect reproof, but soon after quitted his capital for 
 Blois. Marguerite also returned to Argentan without visiting 
 Paris. 
 
 During the latter part of her sojourn at Alencon another 
 matrimonial negotiation which was intrusted to her afforded 
 Marguerite infinite solicitude and annoyance. The king and 
 the Marshal de Montmorency were anxious to effect a marriage 
 between the Count de St. Paul, youngest brother of the Duke 
 de VendSme, and Adrienne, heiress of the noble house of Es- 
 touteville. 2 No trace of this affair remains on record except 
 in Marguerite's correspondence, and her allusions to an event 
 which seems to have excited great interest at the court of 
 Francis, written to Moutmorency, who was party to the project, 
 
 1 Florimond de Remond, Hist, de 1'Heresie. 
 
 2 Adrienne was the sole child of Jean III., Sieur d'Estouteville, and of Jacque- 
 line d'Estouteville, Dame de Noyon, de Briquebec, Hambic, and de Gace. 
 Mademoiselle d'Estouteville was born in 1512.
 
 142 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 afford little explanation. It appears that the king, who had 
 most exalted notions of his kingly authority, resolved to marry 
 Mademoiselle d'Estouteville to the Count de St. Paul, although 
 all the parties concerned strongly opposed the project. The 
 Count de St. Paul was deeply in love with a beautiful maid of 
 honour belonging to Queen Eleanor, named Mademoiselle de 
 Bonneval, and ardently desired to espouse her. Mademoiselle 
 d'Estouteville, piqued at this preference shown to another, very 
 properly refused to listen to any overture tending to her union 
 with the count ; while Madame d'Estouteville, the mother, 
 pertinaciously opposed the design altogether, and wished her 
 daughter to ally herself elsewhere. The king, nothing daunted 
 by these obstacles, resolved to vanquish the resistance of all 
 parties, and to secure to the royal house of Vendome the great 
 heritage which the count himself appeared inclined to slight. 
 The Marshal de Montmorency therefore undertook, at the de- 
 sire of his royal master, the task of persuading the Count de St. 
 Paul to break his liaison with Mademoiselle de Bonneval, while 
 Marguerite was commanded by her brother to send for Madame 
 d'Estouteville and her daughter to Alencon and represent the 
 matter in the most forcible manner she could, in order to 
 induce them to submit to his will. The reason why this dis- 
 agreeable commission was given to the Queen of Navarre was 
 that the house of Albret, being distantly allied to that of 
 d'Estouteville by the marriage contracted some thirty years 
 before between Jacques, Sieur d'Estouteville, and Louise d' Albret, 
 the king chose to take it for granted that Marguerite possessed 
 a right to interfere in the disposal of the hand of the young 
 heiress. 
 
 Marguerite's submission to her brother was ever implicit ; and 
 though she greatly disliked the negotiation imposed upon her, 
 she did not refuse her mediation, which would have been of a 
 more hopeful kind had M. de St. Paul himself requested her 
 good offices. Madame d'Estouteville was a shrewd, calculating 
 woman, never at a loss for an argument, which she knew how 
 to maintain with pertinacity and decision. Marguerite expresses 
 herself as quite alarmed at the prospect of a possible contention 
 with a person of such a positive and dictatorial character. The 
 queen commenced her operations by inviting Madame d'Estoute- 
 ville to visit her at Alenqon ; she enclosed also a letter from the
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 143 
 
 king, stating it to be his royal wish that the baroness and her 
 daughter should repair to confer with his sister. Marguerite 
 expresses a doubt whether the testy dame would condescend to 
 accept her invitation. She writes thus to the king on the sub- 
 ject : " Monseigneur, as soon as I understood from the Sieur 
 Lyves your desire I despatched the letter which it has been 
 your pleasure to write to Madame de Touteville, and as soon as I 
 receive her answer I will not fail to send it you. I hope, mon- 
 seigneur, that the honour you have done her will subdue her 
 obstiuation, and that she will come here disposed to comply with 
 your will, and to obey you. Still, I greatly fear that we shall 
 have much trouble with her daughter, who is so opposed to this 
 alliance that if M. de St. Paul does not himself induce her to 
 change her mind, my efforts will be useless, unless it be to 
 impart your express commands. Nevertheless, monseigneur, now 
 that I understand what your will is in this affair, I will use 
 every effort to accomplish it ; though you must remember that I 
 am far from being contentious enough to refute their arguments ; 
 for, having always been brought up with you, I do not know 
 how to threaten. Therefore, mouseigneur, when I know the 
 day they arrive, I shall request you to send me some efficient 
 personage to respond suitably to their questions. I have the 
 chancellor of the duchy here, who will doubtless serve you well 
 in this affair." 1 The queen appears quite overwhelmed at the 
 prospect of her conference with the redoubtable dowager; and, in 
 truth, a more unpleasant task could not have been assigned to 
 Marguerite than the difficult one of inducing two persons to 
 marry who seemed mutually resolved to avoid each other. Mar- 
 guerite wrote rather reproachfully to Montmorency for suffering 
 her to be implicated in so disagreeable an affair ; and she also 
 expresses her dread of Madame d'Estouteville's disputatious 
 temperament more forcibly than she ventures to do to the king. 
 " Mon cousin," she wrote, " I perceive you are determined that 
 I shall experience something of the trouble you endure with all 
 the great affairs which occupy you at court, and that you envy 
 me the repose I hoped to take in this place, by giving me this 
 commission to speak to Madame d'Estouteville. You know that 
 my disposition and hers are so different that we are not fairly 
 
 i MS. Bibl. du Roy, F. de Beth., fol. No. 8546 ; the Chancellor Olivier de 
 Xeuville.
 
 144 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 matched ; for to vanquish the will of a woman whom no one yet 
 has been able to persuade, through the medium of one who is 
 persuaded by everybody, seems to me to promise little result, 
 except that she will conduct herself in her usual manner towards 
 me. I do not say this to you in order to excuse myself, on 
 account of my foolish good-nature, from performing what it has 
 pleased the king to command, and you to advise me to do ; for, 
 as you . know, if you only had requested it I should have had 
 pleasure in complying ; but I write to say that if you desire this 
 affair to succeed, you must send a sterner head than mine to 
 help me to reply to the things which you know none can say with 
 better effect than Madame d'Estouteville ; otherwise we shall 
 take leave of each other she, a Normande born, strong and as 
 ungovernable as her sea, and myself, Angoumoise by birth, as 
 humble and mild as the sweet waters of the Charente. I shall 
 know by Sunday next whether she will condescend to come ; 
 then I will send you word without delay, that you may aid me. 
 Meantime, I pray you let me hear frequently from you, as some 
 solace for the discourse I shall be exposed to." 1 
 
 Madame d'Estouteville, meantime, wrote a gracious accep- 
 tance of Marguerite's invitation ; for though both her daughter 
 and herself were hostile as ever to the proposed alliance, their 
 position at court depended upon the docility they manifested to 
 the imperious commands of Francis. Montmorency's remon- 
 strances, it appears, with M. de St. Paul had been more success- 
 ful, as the Queen of Navarre says, in the letter which she hastens 
 to despatch to the marshal, to inform him of Madame d'Estoute- 
 ville's approaching visit : " If any one has right just now to 
 complain of a grievance, it is m3 r self, to whom you have com- 
 mitted an affair in which I am powerless to act. If I understood 
 how to subdue a stubborn heart by stern daring, as well as you 
 seem to know the way to vanquish the passion of M. de St. 
 Paul, I promise you that the king should be speedily obeyed." 2 
 Marguerite again reiterates her petition that the king will send 
 some authoritative personage to deal with Madame d'Estouteville 
 and her querulous arguments : " I entreat you, hasten to send 
 hither some personage capable of replying to a head filled with 
 legal quibbles, for I understand neither the art of litigation, nor 
 yet that of compulsion." 3 
 
 1 MS. Bibl. Roy., F. de Beth., No. 8549. 2 Ibid. z Ibid.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 145 
 
 The Count de St. Paul, the object of this embarrassing nego- 
 tiation, was a prince who had valiantly served the king at the 
 battle of Marignano, and in the subsequent wars in Italy. He 
 had been taken captive at the battle of Pavia, but succeeded in 
 regaining his liberty by corrupting his guards. The count was 
 born in 1491, and consequently he had entered his forty-third 
 year; while the youthful Adrienne d'Estouteville, whom the 
 king wished to bestow upon him in marriage, had only attained 
 the age of twenty-one. Mademoiselle de Bonneval was the 
 granddaughter of Germain, Count de Bonneval, one of the 
 favourite courtiers of Charles VIII. ; and though she is cele- 
 brated by Marot for her beauty, she could not compete with 
 Mademoiselle d'Estouteville in illustrious birth, nor yet in the 
 gifts of fortune. 
 
 Vanquished by the remonstrances of his family, and by the 
 displeasure of the king, the Count de St. Paul at length consented 
 to abandon Mademoiselle de Bonneval, and make his suit in 
 earnest to the heiress. This tardy surrender did not subdue the 
 determination of Madame d'Estouteville and her daughter ; and 
 they continued steadily to decline the alliance. Their visit to the 
 Queen of Navarre appears to have been very brief ; but Margue- 
 rite affords us no details how the dreaded interview passed. The 
 jealousy which Mademoiselle d'Estouteville cherished against her 
 former rival, and her fears lest when she had bestowed her hand 
 and her wealth on the Count de St. Paul that he would forsake 
 her for Mademoiselle de Bonneval, were the reasons they then 
 assigned for the rejection of this alliance. " I have sent you a 
 letter written by Madame d'Estouteville to Monsieur du Bois 
 d'llliers, which you had better show to the king, to prove to 
 him that I have done my best to terminate this affair according 
 to his directions," wrote the Queen of Navarre to Montmorency. 1 
 " Nevertheless, I know, through another source, that so long 
 as Bonneval is at court, Mademoiselle d'Estouteville will never 
 consent to the alliance ; for she believes that as long as Bonneval 
 remains unmarried she will be neglected by Monsieur de St. 
 Paul. I am convinced that the mother would now willingly 
 consent to the marriage, from the dread she has of losing the 
 favour of the king. As for myself, I have done all in my power 
 to vanquish their objections, and shall therefore excuse myself 
 
 1 MS. Bibl. Roy., F. de Beth., No. 8513. 
 VOL. ii. 10
 
 146 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 from further interference, because I do not wish to have any 
 hand in dividing M. de St. Paul from the object of Ids affections ; 
 as we who are married ought naturally to shrink from interrupt- 
 ing the course of such true love, for we know not what may be 
 the consequences of our act." 
 
 Marguerite makes no further allusion to Monsieur de St. Paul 
 and his marriage in any of her letters. The affair eventually ter- 
 minated, however, as the king desired. After the marriage of 
 Mademoiselle de Bonneval, Adrienne d'Estouteville bestowed her 
 hand on her royal suitor ; and in token of his approbation, and 
 to reward the count for his military services, Francis erected the 
 barony of Estouteville into a duchy, to be jointly enjoyed by 
 Adrienne d'Estouteville and Francois de Bourbon, Count de St. 
 Paul, her husband. 1 
 
 The conscientious refusal of the Queen of Navarre to interfere 
 more in the arbitrary separation of M. de St. Paul from Made- 
 moiselle de Bonneval was dictated by her usual discrimination 
 and sense of honour. Marguerite's notions on love and marriage 
 were elevated and pure. Some one asked her one day what she 
 understood by perfect love, as existing between man and woman. 
 The queen promptly replied : " I call those perfect lovers who 
 seek in the object of their attachment either perfection of beauty, 
 gooduess, grace, or any other qualities tending to virtue ; and 
 who are so high-minded that they would rather die than descend 
 to deeds which honour and conscience reprove." 
 
 The next visit which Marguerite received in her retreat at 
 Argentan was from Madame Catherine, abbess of the convent 
 of the Holy Trinity at Caen, the sister of the King of Navarre. 
 At the time of Marguerite's marriage the Princess Catherine 
 d'Albret was a simple nun in a convent at Prouille. After her 
 brother's union with the Duchess d'Alencon, through the influ- 
 ence of the latter she became superior of the convent of Montreuil 
 des Dames, near to the town of Laon. Catherine subsequently 
 received higher ecclesiastical honours ; she was promoted to be 
 abbess of the Holy Trinity at Caen, an abbey possessing an 
 annual revenue of 30,000 livres, and conferring extensive patron- 
 age on its superior. It appears that the fatigue of ruling her 
 convent had somewhat impaired the health of Madame Catherine ; 
 and for change of air she came to spend a brief period with her 
 1 Ste. Marthe, Hist. Genealog. de la Maison Royale de France
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 147 
 
 royal sister-in-law at Argentan, a place not very distant from 
 Caen. 
 
 Marguerite sent the royal abbess back to her convent in her 
 litter ; the queen mentions this fact to the Marshal de Montmo- 
 rency, to excuse her delay in setting off to visit Queen Eleanor, 
 who was then indisposed from the effects of a cold at Cle'ry, near 
 to Orleans.
 
 148 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 PAKIS, meanwhile, still continued agitated by theological 
 dissension ; and the universities became the arena of turbu- 
 lent demonstrations against Luther, Calvin, and their adherents, 
 who were now termed Sacramentaires, a name before applied, 
 in the eleventh century, to the disciples of Beranger. 1 
 
 The Cardinals Duprat and De Tournon afforded every coun- 
 tenance in their power to the faction which thus kept alive 
 in the capital the spirit of intolerance and persecution. In 
 vain the mild and conscientious Bishop of Senlis pleaded for the 
 adoption of measures of a less sanguinary and arbitrary nature. 
 Du Chatel, Bishop of Tulle, joined in these remonstrances ; yet 
 the cruel zeal of the two cardinals prevailed, and the Council pro- 
 ceeded to pass their measures. One day the Cardinal de Tournon 
 taunted Du Chatel, and insinuated that for a true son of the 
 Church the bishop's tolerance, to say the least of it, appeared 
 suspicious. " I have spoken as a bishop ought to do ; while 
 you, on the contrary, perform the functions of an executioner," 
 undauntedly responded Du Chatel. 2 
 
 The fame of Queen Marguerite suffered severely from the fanatic 
 denunciations of the preachers of Paris. Although they dared not 
 apostrophize her by name in their sermons, their allusions were 
 too pertinent to render it possible for their hearers to mistake 
 the object of such unmeasured abuse. Conscious of the rectitude 
 and sincerity of her purpose, the Queen of Navarre appears not 
 to have taken sufficient pains to allay the vehement opposition 
 by which she was assailed. As she never used her influence with 
 the king to silence or to punish any of her accusers, she likewise 
 
 i Berengarius, Archdeacon of Angers, a follower of the famous John Scotus. 
 He lived in the reign of Henry I. of France, and died A.D. 1088, after making a 
 convert of Brunon, his bishop. 
 
 8 Maimbourg, Hist, du Calvinisme.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 149 
 
 gave herself no concern to propitiate them ; nor did she suffer 
 herself to be deterred by their threats or displeasure from adopting 
 that course which she thought might best promote the progress 
 of the Eeformation in France. Marguerite thought that this her 
 object might be advanced, as well as the mission upon which 
 Melancthon was shortly expected in France, by the public 
 preaching in Paris of some of the most moderate adherents of 
 reform, men whose views on the matter coincided with the 
 opinions of this reformer, that the purification of the Church of 
 Eome was on the eve of accomplishment, when schism ought 
 afterwards to cease by the voluntary submission of all sects and 
 parties to the Holy See. In pursuance of this design, the Queen 
 of Navarre solicited a license from the king to enable Gdrard 
 Eoussel and the two Augustinian monks, Bertaut and Couraiit, 
 to preach in Paris. With amazing inconsistency of design, 
 Francis granted his sister's request; so that, while the Privy 
 Council executed with unrelenting severity the royal edicts pub- 
 lished against heresy, Eoussel, who only in name retained his 
 obedience to the Holy See, was suffered, in virtue of a license 
 granted by the same authority, publicly to advocate the abolition 
 of the sacrifice of the mass, with other so-called heretical dogmas, 
 which were seized upon by the theologians and made the subject 
 of endless turbulent demonstrations. 
 
 At length matters came to a crisis. The controversy was 
 raging with undiminished virulence, and all studies but that of 
 theology seemed forsaken within the venerable walls of the 
 university of Paris, when, during the night of the 18th of 
 October, 1534, the public buildings of the capital, the church 
 doors, and the portals of the Sorbonne itself were covered with 
 placards assailing the sacrifice of the mass, the validity of prayers 
 for the dead, the doctrine of transubstantiation, and, in fact, 
 every distinguishing tenet of the Eomish faith. 1 The movement 
 appeared to be simultaneous throughout France. In every large 
 town in the realm these placards were posted; and at Blois, 
 where the king was residing, they were affixed to the gates of 
 the royal castle. One universal cry of rage and consternation 
 resounded throughout France ; the members of the Faculties of 
 Paris demeaned themselves as men demented, and clamoured that 
 by a general auto-da-fe the daring blasphemers might be exter- 
 
 1 De Beze, Hist. Ecclesiastique.
 
 150 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 urinated, who so reviled the sacred mysteries of the Holy Faith. 
 The composition of these placards was attributed to Farel, 1 and 
 they were printed, it was supposed, at Neufchatel. They dar- 
 ingly assailed the doctrine of the Eeal Presence ; but the impious 
 and profane manner in which the subject was treated excited 
 disgust in the minds of the most ardent supporters of the 
 Reformation. The opinions of the ancient Sacramentarians, as 
 revived by Zuinglius, were maintained with fervid boldness ; the 
 Eucharistic elements were declared to be but the outward and 
 visible sign of the inward and spiritual grace imparted by faith 
 to the recipient of them ; " for how is it possible that the body 
 of a man, of the age of from twenty to thirty, can be concealed in 
 a bit of paste like their wafer ? " was the argument terminating 
 the largest placard, which was posted in fifty different streets in 
 Paris. 
 
 The Protestants strenuously denied that the placards were 
 affixed by persons of their communion, and accused the Sor- 
 bonne and the priesthood of having resorted to this device to 
 rouse the dormant resentment of the king against his Lutheran 
 subjects, and to counterbalance the influence of the Queen of 
 Navarre in religious matters. The unscrupulous daring of the 
 universities, their factious attitude, together with their known 
 exasperation at the project of the king relative to Melancthon's 
 journey to Paris, strongly confirm the assertion. The Protestant 
 population of France, dispersed, trembling, and almost decimated 
 by the severity of the persecution which still impended, would 
 not be guilty, it is to be presumed, of so suicidal a deed, one 
 that, in the existing state of parties, could have no other possible 
 issue than to infuriate their opponents. It was the opinion of 
 the Queen of Navarre that the whole affair was but a cruel con- 
 spiracy to ruin the sectarians, devised by the Sorbonne in concert 
 with the Cardinal de Touruon. On writing to her brother some 
 years afterwards on another affair of heresy, Marguerite says : 
 " Monseigneur, God be thanked that none of our subjects have 
 been proved Sacramentarians, though we have been recently com- 
 pelled to endure a burden of accusation not less weighty. I 
 beg you, therefore, to remember the opinion that I formerly 
 expressed to you relative to those vile placards, that they were 
 
 1 Lettre de Sturm a Melancthon.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 151 
 
 exhibited by persons who would fain prove others guilty of that 
 their own misdemeanour." 1 
 
 Francis, meanwhile, on the report of the Privy Council, quitted 
 Blois, and arrived in Paris to examine into the affair of the 
 placards. During the first night of his sojourn in the capital 
 the placards again appeared, and were posted on the gates of 
 the Louvre, as if in defiance of the royal authority. It is even 
 asserted that through the medium of one Ferret, valet to the 
 king's apothecary, they were actually affixed on the doors of 
 the private apartments of Francis ; and that little printed papers, 
 filled with the most offensive and abusive charges against the 
 Romish priesthood, were secreted beneath the king's pillow. 2 
 In a paroxysm of fiery indignation the king commanded the 
 arrest of all the German preachers in Paris, and directed the 
 parliament to commence a rigid investigation of the affair. 
 Gerard Roussel and Marguerite's proteges, the two Augustinian 
 monks, were arrested and thrown into prison. Numbers besides 
 fell victims to the intolerance of the Sorbonne ; for to be sus- 
 pected of favouring heresy was sufficient to insure the loss of 
 liberty, and in many cases of life. The parliament executed 
 its commission with the greatest energy. The most inquisitorial 
 system of espionage was adopted, and the vilest methods taken 
 to discover concealed heretics. The Sorbonne, reinforced by the 
 return of Noel Beda, filled the city with seditious clamours. 
 The syndic, whose recent banishment had not inspired him with 
 moderation, or with greater respect for the ruling power, mounted 
 the pulpit and delivered a furious invective against the king, 
 who, according to him, was responsible for the recent occurrences 
 by his misplaced lenity towards the heretics. Francis was not 
 in a mood to be insulted with impunity. On every side, both 
 by the orthodox and the sectarians, he perceived his royal 
 prerogative impaired, and treated with scorn and contumely. 
 Scarcely, therefore, had Bdda's presumptuous words circulated 
 throughout the capital than a second decree expelled him 
 summarily from France, nor could the earnest intercession of 
 the Faculty procure his pardon from the king. 3 
 
 The parliament at length declared its investigations termi- 
 
 1 MS. Bibl. Roy., F. du Suppl. F., No. 133. 
 
 2 Varillas, Hist, de 1'Heresie. 
 
 8 Gailliard, Hist, de Frai^ois I.
 
 152 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 nated, and laid before the Privy Council the proofs of a con- 
 spiracy, which it pretended to have discovered, implicating the 
 heretics in a plot to assassinate as many Eoman Catholics, on a 
 given day, as should be assembled at Divine service within 
 the various churches in Paris. 1 This alleged conspiracy, on the 
 part of a handful of poor persecuted men, to slay some hundreds 
 of their countrymen, in the midst of a populous and hostile 
 city, was eagerly accepted by the Council as a pretext for carry- 
 ing on the persecution with relentless severity. The king's 
 mind was embittered by the crafty insinuations of Duprat and 
 the Cardinal de Tournon, who failed not to implicate the Queen 
 of Navarre in the recent transactions. Her support of heresy 
 was diligently represented to Francis as likely to bring about 
 the overthrow of his royal authority. Montmorency appears 
 also to have indirectly done all in his power to injure his 
 generous patroness. Marguerite received many warnings to 
 distrust the marshal ; but she generously rejected suspicion, and 
 often communicated the intimation to Montmorency himself, 
 professing, at the same time, her implicit confidence in the 
 loyalty of his friendship. The marshal never failed to deny 
 the charges, attributing them to the enmity of the Admiral de 
 Brion, who, he asserted, wished to ruin him in the queen's 
 esteem. 
 
 Marguerite, meanwhile, whilst these tumultuous scenes were 
 convulsing the capital, withdrew to the peaceful retirement of 
 her Castle of Ne'rac. It was there that she received the news 
 of the arrest of Eoussel and the reformed preachers of Paris. 
 Her dismay was great, but she hastened to intercede for Eoussel, 
 whose ministry had been the means of conferring upon her such 
 comfort. Still unsuspicious of the unfriendly offices by which 
 Montmorency repaid her bounty, the queen addresses herself 
 to him. " I understand that they are now occupied at Paris 
 with the trial of Maitre Ge'rard," wrote Marguerite. "I trust 
 that, when all the facts of the case have been well examined, 
 the king will deem him worthy of better recompense than 
 the stake, as he has never professed opinions meriting such 
 treatment, nor done anything which can be termed heretical. 
 I have known him now for five years, and, believe me, that if 
 I had detected in his conduct the least inclination for such 
 
 1 Gailliard, Hist, de Frangois I.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 153 
 
 errors, I would not have suffered anything so poisonous to cir- 
 culate round me, nor would I now make petition for him to my 
 friends. I entreat you, do not fear to bear public testimony 
 in his behalf of these my words." 1 Marguerite's enemies, how- 
 ever, now possessed the king's ear, and the trials of the Lutheran 
 ministers proceeded without abatement of rigour. The fanatical 
 party dominating then in the cabinet profited by the queen's 
 absence to instil all kinds of suspicions and resentments into 
 the mind of the king. Their censures upon Marguerite's conduct 
 became daily more daring. In times past the slighest reflection 
 on the fame or reputation of his beloved sister would have been 
 vehemently silenced by Francis ; now the king listened to the 
 representations of his ministers in gloomy displeasure. Em- 
 boldened by the evident anger of Francis, the Cardinal de 
 Tournon and his party exultingly predicted the overthrow of 
 the obnoxious influence of the Queen of Navarre at court. Her 
 mediation had failed to procure the release of her chaplain, 
 Roussel, one whom Marguerite honoured with the title of 
 her friend. Her influence, therefore, it was confidently hoped, 
 was on the decline, as the king seemed sensible of the injury 
 such counsels inflicted on tl.3 nation at large. 
 
 At length the king one day coldly signified to the Council 
 that he had summoned the Queen of Navarre to Paris, to answer 
 in person the accusations they preferred against her. This in- 
 telligence afforded much consternation to Marguerite's enemies. 
 They ventured to combat her influence while she remained at 
 a distance from court ; but they had no desire for a personal 
 encounter. It is doubtful whether the representations of the 
 Council had really succeeded in kindling the resentment of 
 Francis against his sister, or whether, indignant at the accusa- 
 tions they preferred, he purposely resorted to the course most 
 repugnant to his bigoted ministers, by commanding Marguerite's 
 presence in the capital, while apparently treating their remon- 
 strances with deference. 
 
 Marguerite immediately obeyed the summons, and repaired 
 to Paris without delay. Confident in the integrity of her inten- 
 tions and in the love of her royal brother, she fearlessly accepted 
 the encounter forced upon her by the hostile theologians, whom 
 she neither dreaded nor respected. The king, it is asserted, 
 1 Bibl. Roy., F. de Beth., MS. No. 8550.
 
 154 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 received his sister, on her arrival at the Louvre, with great sever- 
 ity, and bitterly reproached her for the evils which her support 
 of heresy had brought on his kingdom. 1 Irritated, and over- 
 whelmed with cares, Francis laid the blame of the civil com- 
 motions his vacillations had fomented to any cause rather than 
 to his own inconsistency of conduct. Marguerite's absence in 
 Be'arn had long left the king without a companion into whose 
 ear he could pour his anxieties ; and perhaps it was as much for 
 his own relief as out of deference to the Council that he com- 
 manded his sister to set out for Paris. Queen Eleanor appears 
 to have borne no share in these transactions. Sensible of her 
 own want of importance, she studiously regulated her conduct 
 by the advice of the Marshal de Montmorency, who found it 
 more flattering to his vanity to patronize the neglected consort 
 of his sovereign than to render support to his early benefactress. 
 The anger of Francis was soon subdued by the expostulations 
 of his sister, and diverted from herself to the daring fanatics 
 whose intolerance had filled the kingdom with discord. Never- 
 theless, Francis declared his intention of upholding the Church 
 of Eome ; and if, notwithstanding this admonition, the reformed 
 preachers were bold enough to subject themselves to the cen- 
 sures of the Sorbonne and the parliament, they must submit to 
 the consequences. Marguerite, on this occasion, opened at 
 length to her royal brother her ideas on the subject of reform, 
 as united to loyal obedience to the Holy See. She protested 
 that her designs tended only to union in the Church, by pro- 
 moting the voluntary abandonment by the priesthood of the 
 erroneous doctrine and superstitious practices which so burdened 
 their once pure ritual that scarce a trace of its original beauty 
 remained. She presented to the king the liturgy composed by 
 Lefevre and the Protestant divines of Be'arn, and entitled by 
 them " La Messe a Sept Points," and she conjured her brother 
 not to yield precipitately to the clamours of the factious uni- 
 versities. Marguerite, moreover, represented to the king the 
 glory he would acquire by achieving this purification of the 
 Church, which involved the eventual subordination of all sects to 
 one earthly head, the Bishop of Eome. As Francis seemed 
 greatly impressed with her arguments, the queen obtained per- 
 mission to send for the two Augustinian monks, Bertaut and 
 1 Mezeray, Abreg. Chron. ; Gailliard, Hist, de Francois I.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 155 
 
 Couraut, and for Arnold Eoussel, brother of her chaplain, to 
 confer with the king on the practicability of this scheme. The 
 conference, however, produced no result ; the zeal of the three 
 advocates of reform offended the king, and he dismissed them 
 back to their prison in great displeasure. 1 It was only, after 
 all, because Marguerite supported the cause of reform, that the 
 king endured to listen to its defence. Without entering into 
 the religious merits of the movement, Francis, when left to him- 
 self, opposed it as detrimental to his political designs. Another 
 circumstance, also, at this juncture, may have had weight with 
 the king in inducing him to discountenance his sister's designs : 
 the Elector of Saxony withdrew his consent to the visit of 
 Melancthon to Paris. Hostilities were on the point of recom- 
 mencing between the emperor and Francis I. ; all friendly com- 
 munications between the princes of Germany and the court of 
 France were displeasing to Charles V., and the elector, conse- 
 quently, from prudential motives, excused himself from fulfilling 
 his promise to the king. 
 
 The presence of Marguerite in Paris, meantime, greatly ham- 
 pered the designs of the cardinal chancellor, and his allies of the 
 Council. They found that her influence, even if it prevailed not 
 with Francis to change the religion of the realm, was paramount ; 
 and that his obvious coldness towards those who had maligned 
 the motives of the queen offered little encouragement for a 
 renewal of the charge. The trial of Eoussel also had terminated, 
 by the intercession of the Queen of Navarre, in a complete and 
 unconditional acquittal ; and by the desire of his patroness, he 
 was permitted to return to his abbey in Bdarn. The two monks 
 tendered a recantation of their opinions, and assumed again the 
 habit of their order. Bertaut, daunted by the dangers to which 
 the reformed faith had exposed him, remained firm in his alle- 
 giance to Eome. Couraut, as soon as he was safe beyond the 
 control of the theologians of Paris, cast aside his habit, and 
 fled to Geneva, where he died, an ardent disciple of Calvin. 2 
 Marguerite, moreover, persuaded her brother to send back the 
 German preachers and professors, arrested in Paris, to their 
 several sovereigns, without attempting to inflict the punishments 
 decreed for their supposed connivance in the affair of the 
 
 1 Varillas, Hist, de 1'Heresie. 
 
 2 Ibid. ; Gailliard, Hist, de Frai^ois I.
 
 156 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 placards. This was accordingly done ; the reformed ministers 
 were delivered up to commissioners appointed by their respective 
 sovereigns, to whose discretion it was left whether to enforce or 
 not the penalties recorded in the minutes of the trials, which 
 were likewise forwarded by the direction of the Privy Council. 1 
 
 Marguerite's entreaties could not, however, prevail upon the 
 king to vouchsafe as much mercy to his own unhappy subjects. 
 Six miserable Lutherans, including a poor schoolmistress, were 
 condemned to the stake ; but as it was the king's intention to 
 command a public procession through the streets of Paris, to 
 expiate the blasphemous publication of the placards, the execution 
 of the sentence was deferred until after the ceremony. 2 The 
 horror manifested by the Queen of Navarre was so intense at the 
 frightful peace-offering she perceived her brother was resolved 
 to offer to his universities, that she urgently petitioned the king 
 to permit her departure into Bdarn. Francis consented with 
 reluctance, but doubtless he thought that the exultation of his 
 theologians would be too complete at seeing the heretic Queen of 
 Navarre compelled to take part in the procession and to give an 
 apparent sanction to the bloody scene to be enacted at its close. 
 
 Marguerite, therefore, probably quitted Paris at the commence- 
 ment of the year 1535 ; for on the 21st of January the expiatory 
 procession perambulated the streets in gloomy majesty, striking 
 awe into the hearts of all beholders. All the religious orders of 
 Paris took part in this procession, bearing aloft the sacred relics 
 possessed by their respective convents. The body of St. Gene- 
 vieve was borne along in solemn pomp by sixteen burghers of 
 Paris, marching with bare heads and feet. The image of the 
 saint was likewise carried in procession by the butchers of the 
 capital, whose special privilege it is to bear this sacred figure. 8 
 Next marched the chapter of Notre-Dame, the rector of the 
 university of Paris, preceded by his mace-bearers, and the theo- 
 logians of the Sorbonne, arrayed in their academical costumes 
 and carrying each a torch of white wax. Then came the Swiss 
 guards, the choristers of the royal chapels singing melodious 
 hymns of praise, and the king's chaplains. The kings-at-arms 
 followed, attended by heralds and trumpeters wearing tabards 
 
 1 Strobel, Lettre de Sturm a Melancthon. 
 
 2 The'od. de Beze, Hist, des Eglises ReTormees de France. 
 8 Sleidan, Commentar., book ix.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 157 
 
 sumptuously embroidered. Next marched ten priests bare- 
 headed, arrayed in their chasubles, bearing a reliquary contain- 
 ing the head of St. Louis, followed by a train of ecclesiastics who 
 each carried one of the relics preserved in the treasury of the 
 Sainte Chapelle. The archbishops, cardinals de Chatillon, de 
 Tournon, and le Veneur, followed, wearing their robes and 
 mitres ; they immediately preceded the Host, which was borne 
 aloft by the Bishop of Paris, under a canopy of crimson velvet, 
 powdered withfleurs-de-lis, supported by the dauphin, the Dukes 
 of Orleans, d'Angouleme, and de Vendome. Around the Holy 
 Sacrament marched two hundred gentlemen of the king's house- 
 hold, each bearing a torch. The king followed, marching alone, 
 bareheaded, and carrying a torch of white virgin-wax. The 
 Cardinal of Lorraine walked after the king, attired in full pon- 
 tificals. Afterwards came a countless throng of all the noblemen 
 of the court, princes, ambassadors, and foreigners, each carrying a 
 flaming torch, "so that never was there before seen such an 
 illumination." The court of parliament followed, the members 
 wearing their scarlet robes, and holding' lighted torches. The 
 Provost of Paris, the municipality, the guilds of the capital, the 
 officers of the minor courts of the realm, the archers of the guard, 
 and the domestics of the royal household, and of all the great 
 officers of state amounting to several thousand persons 
 closed this stupendous procession. Every individual carried a 
 lighted torch, excepting the standard-bearers. Many of these 
 standards were black, embroidered with penitential emblems 
 and devices. The streets of the capital, along the line of the 
 procession, were hemmed with barricades to keep off the pressure 
 of the populace. 1 On the arrival of the cortege at Notre-Dame, 
 the sacrament was reverently placed on the high altar by the 
 Bishop of Paris. A solemn high mass was then chanted in the 
 presence of the king. Queen Eleanor and her ladies meantime 
 arrived, and took their places in the choir of the cathedral, under 
 a canopy of state. The royal party, on the termination of mass, 
 adjourned to the bishop's palace, where Francis dined in public with 
 the queen and princes. After the banquet, the king ascended the 
 throne and commanded that as many nobles and ecclesiastics of 
 the procession as the hall could contain should be admitted to 
 his presence. Francis then pronounced a violent harangue 
 
 1 Godefroy, Grand Cereiu. de France.
 
 158 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 against heresy and its upholders. He alluded to the insult 
 offered by the placards to the adorable sacrament, " through the 
 machinations of certain wicked and blasphemous men of mean 
 condition and still more pitiful doctrine, by which our nation, 
 and especially this city good of Paris a city that, since its 
 establishment as the seat of learning, has been resplendent for 
 its cultivation of belles lettres and pious and holy doctrine 
 finds its light obscured." Accordingly, Francis observed that 
 " he had given such commands as would make manifest to all 
 that if any unhappily had been seduced by the enemy of truth, 
 it was not the fault of his government ; and therefore it seemed 
 good to him to order this solemn procession to implore the mercy 
 of the Redeemer." Moreover, the king added that " he had 
 commanded the more notable of the delinquents to be rigorously 
 punished, to serve as an example to all men to avoid such 
 damnable heresy." In a fervour of religious excitement the 
 king concluded his harangue by declaring that " if his own arm 
 were infected with so poisonous a doctrine, he would sever it, and 
 cast it from his body ; or, if he suspected his own son of favouring 
 the pernicious heresy, he would deliver him to the just doom of 
 the heretic and the blasphemer ! " 1 Murmurs of applause 
 ascended from the vast assemblage when Francis concluded his 
 address, and the Bishop of Paris, kneeling in front of the throne, 
 humbly thanked the king for his gracious speech, in the name of 
 the clergy of the realm. 2 In the evening the six condemned 
 persons were put to death by fire with unheard-of tortures. By 
 means of a cord, or as it was then termed, " par I'estrapade," they 
 were lowered into the flames ; after some moments the miserable 
 condemned were raised again from the pile, and exhorted to make 
 recantation. This horrible scene was repeated several times, when 
 the agonies of the poor Lutheran converts were ended by death. 3 
 How Marguerite must have mourned the infatuation of her brother, 
 when the news of this dreadful scene reached her in the retire- 
 ment of her palace at Pau ! 
 
 The Queen of Navarre received no further molestation from 
 her persevering enemies, the theologians of Paris. Satisfied with 
 having wrung from the king so terrible a proof of his allegiance 
 to the old faith, they possessed wiliness enough to abstain from 
 
 1 Godefroy, Grand Cere'm. de France. 2 j^jd. 
 
 8 Theod. de Beze, Hist, des Eglises Reforroees de France.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 159 
 
 urging Francis to extremity. They knew that the king was no 
 zealot in religion ; and they took salutary warning by the case 
 of Louis de Berquin, where Francis, from being Berquin's stanch 
 friend, had suddenly commanded his trial for heresy to be recom- 
 menced. The king, for aught they knew, might in like manner, 
 at the solicitation of his sister, ordain liberty of conscience through- 
 out his realm. The affair of the placards, however, rendered Mar- 
 guerite more careful in her outward deportment ; and from this 
 period her solicitations to her brother for the pardon of con- 
 demned heretics became less frequent. Probably Francis made 
 his sister understand that her interference in the religious cabals 
 of the times embarrassed his government, and that her protection 
 of the reformed ministers must be confined to those of her own 
 household. 
 
 Gerard Eoussel continued to enjoy the confidence of the sov- 
 ereigns of Navarre ; Marguerite always retained him about her 
 person, until her favour procured his nomination to the bishop- 
 ric of Ole'ron, notwithstanding Eoussel's reputed heresy. The 
 queen maintained the most friendly intercourse with the learned 
 men assembled under her protection in Be*arn. She frequently 
 invited them to sup or to dine at her own table ; laying aside 
 her exalted rank while in their society, she conversed with them 
 with simple familiarity, and encouraged them to instruct her in 
 many matters on which she desired greater information. " This 
 right noble princess," says a contemporary historian, 1 " delighted 
 to converse while at dinner or at supper with the men of learn- 
 ing and gravity who surrounded her. Sometimes her discourse 
 turned on medicine, as, for instance, on which were the most 
 healthful and salubrious meats for the human body; and on 
 objects of natural history, which matter she ably discussed with 
 her physicians, the Sieurs Schyron, Cormier, and Esterpin, all 
 men of most expert science, and very learned, who carefully 
 watched her eat and drink, as is their custom with princes. At 
 other times she would talk of history and philosophy with other 
 erudite personages, who were always to be found in her palaces. 
 There you might hear her discuss the truths of the Christian 
 faith with Monsieur Gerard, Bishop of Ole'ron, her chaplain, who 
 was not only well versed in sacred literature and letters, but in 
 
 1 Sainte Marthe, Oraison Funebre de 1' In com parable Marguerite, Reine de 
 Xavarre.
 
 160 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 every other species of learning. In short, there was scarce a 
 single hour of the day that this great princess did not devote to 
 some gracious, delectable, and useful occupation." It was at 
 one of these friendly meetings, soon after Marguerite's return 
 into Be*arn, that a most affecting incident occurred, which made 
 a deep impression on the mind of the queen. She had invited 
 the venerable Lefevre, who had reached the age of 101, to dine 
 with her, as was frequently her custom, for Marguerite ever 
 treated the good old man with filial respect. In the middle of 
 the repast, Lefevre suddenly leaned back in his chair and began 
 to weep bitterly. The queen, much surprised, asked what 
 afflicted him. Lefevre replied that he was overpowered by the 
 remembrance of the enormity of his offences in the sight of God. 
 "I have now reached, madame, the great age of one hundred 
 and one years, and I do not remember to have committed any 
 sin to burden my conscience in quitting this world except one, 
 which I believe can never be expiated. How can I appear 
 before the tribunal of my God ? I, who have taught the blessed 
 gospel of His Son in all its truth and purity to so many per- 
 sons who have nobly sealed their testimony with their blood ; 
 and yet I have had the weakness to shelter myself in this asy- 
 lum of refuge which you have provided, far from the spot where 
 the glorious crown of martyrdom was to be won ! " Marguerite 
 gently consoled him, and with many eloquent words combated 
 his fears. " God's summons has arrived, madame," replied 
 Lefevre, solemnly. " I feel that my departure is at hand." A 
 feeling of awe silenced the guests at Marguerite's table, and 
 likewise the queen herself. After the lapse of a brief interval, 
 Lefevre turned towards Marguerite, and requested her to accept 
 his most precious bequest ; before she had time to respond, he 
 continued to express rapidly his wishes relative to his remaining 
 property. He gave his books to Ge'rard Roussel, his clothes to 
 the poor, and commended whatever else belonged to him to the 
 service of God. " What will then be my share of your posses- 
 sions?" demanded the queen. "The task, madame, of distrib- 
 uting all that remains to me to the poor." " I accept the trust," 
 responded Marguerite, fervently; "believe me, I have greater 
 joy in so doing than if the king, my brother, had appointed me 
 sole heiress of his kingdom." Lefevre then rose from the table, 
 and took a solemn farewell of his friends; he afterwards re-
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 161 
 
 quested the queen's permission to retire. Eetreating then into 
 the apartments which Marguerite had bestowed upon him in 
 the castle of Ne*rac, he threw himself on his bed, complaining 
 of exhaustion. After a time he sank into a profound slumber ; 
 and while he thus lay unconscious of the tears shed around his 
 bed by his friends, including his royal mistress herself, Lefevre 
 passed from earth. Marguerite related herself this curious de- 
 tail of the decease of the stanch old reformer to the elector pal- 
 atine, Frederick II., when he passed through Paris in the year 
 1538 ; and her recital was written down at the time by Thomas 
 Hubert, gentleman of the chamber to the elector. 1 
 
 Profoundly afflicted at the loss she had sustained, the queen 
 lavished on the memory of Lefevre every honour in her power 
 to bestow. She caused his remains to be carefully embalmed, 
 and interred in the vaults of the cathedral church of Lescar, in 
 the tomb which she had selected for herself. Marguerite was 
 also present at the ceremony of his interment; to show her 
 love and respect for the eminent virtues which distinguished 
 Lefevre's character, she followed the corpse to the grave as chief 
 mourner. 2 
 
 Marguerite ever showed the most tender regard for the mem- 
 ory of her deceased servants. Her poetic imagination invested 
 departed spirits with the power of looking down from above on 
 those they loved on earth ; this opinion the queen ever warmly 
 maintained, and during the latter years of her life it afforded 
 her great comfort. Brantome relates a curious incident relative 
 to the queen's ideas on the subject of spiritual communications, 
 which happened to a brother of his own, the Capitaine de Bour- 
 deille, who, however, having much of the selfish flippancy that 
 distinguished the character of his scandal-loving brother, ap- 
 pears to have been quite unworthy of Marguerite's sympathy. 
 The anecdote in question cannot be better given than in Bran- 
 t6me's own language. " I had at one time," says he, " a younger 
 brother, le Capitaine Bourdeille ; his father and mother destined 
 him for a learned profession, and at the age of eighteen sent 
 him to Italy to study letters. He visited Ferrara on his jour- 
 ney, to pay his respects to Madame Rene'e de France, Duchess 
 of Ferrara, who bore my mother great affection. The duchess 
 
 1 Bayle, Dictionnaire Historique, Article Lefevre. 
 
 2 Sainte Marthe, Oraison Funebre de 1'Incomparable Marguerite ; Bayle. 
 
 VOL. II. 11
 
 162 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 detained my brother to study at the university of Ferrara ; but 
 as he had no genius for letters, he paid little attention to his 
 studies, but spent his time at court, where, after a time, he fell 
 in love with a young French lady, a widow, in the train of the 
 duchess, named Madame de la Roche. My father, finding that 
 my brother made no progress in learning, at length recalled 
 him ; when Madame de la Eoche, who bore him great affection, 
 fearing that something might happen from her known preference 
 for the religion of Luther, which was then much the fashion, 
 asked my brother to take her with him into France, to the court 
 of the Queen of Navarre, Marguerite, in whose service she had 
 formerly been, and who had relinquished her to Madame Rene'e 
 on the marriage and departure of the latter into Italy. My 
 brother, who was young, inconsiderate, and delighted to have 
 such good society on his journey, complied, and conducted Ma- 
 dame de la Roche to Paris, where the queen was then sojourn- 
 ing, who was very pleased to see her again ; for Madame de la 
 Roche had great wit, and was a beautiful as well as an accom- 
 plished young widow. 
 
 " My brother, after spending some days with rny grandmother 
 and my mother, who were then at court, departed to visit his 
 father ; but soon being wearied of letters and learning, he quit- 
 ted his parents and went to the wars in Piedmont and Parma, 
 where, during five or six years' sojourn, he acquired great repute. 
 On his return he visited his mother, who was at Pau with the 
 Queen of Navarre, to whom he paid his respects as she was re- 
 turning from vespers. She, who was the most excellent princess 
 in the world, gave him a hearty welcome ; and taking him by 
 the hand led him into the church, where she walked with him 
 for upwards of an hour or two, questioning him on the progress 
 of the war in Piedmont and in Italy, and also upon several 
 other circumstances ; to all of which my brother made her most 
 satisfactory replies, for he was apt both in wit and deportment, 
 being a very handsome young cavalier of four-and-tweuty. At 
 length, after having conversed with him for some time, for it 
 was the custom and manner of this honourable princess never 
 to disdain conversation with persons of suitable degree as she 
 took her daily walk, the queen suddenly paused over the 
 tomb of Madame de la Roche, who had died about three mouths 
 previously. Taking my brother by the hand, the queen said :
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 163 
 
 ' Mon cousin,' for so she called him because a daughter of the 
 house of Albret had married into our family of Bourdeille, 
 ' do you not feel something move beneath your feet ? ' ' No, 
 Madame,' replied he. 'Reflect well, mon cousin,' rejoined the 
 queen. ' Madame, I do reflect well. I feel nothing move, for I 
 am standing upon a solid stone.' ' Then I admonish you,' replied 
 the queen, without keeping him longer in suspense, ' that you 
 are standing on the tomb of poor Madame de la Roche, who is 
 interred here beneath, and whom you so greatly loved. As de- 
 parted souls possess consciousness after death, we may not doubt 
 that this sweet creature, who has so recently quitted the world, 
 felt a thrill at your approach ; and if her emotion was not per- 
 ceptible to yourself on account of the thickness of the tomb, 
 doubt not that she experienced it. As it is a pious office to 
 bear in remembrance those deceased persons whom we have 
 loved, I beg you will sprinkle her tornb with holy water, and 
 recite a paternoster, an ave Maria, and a de profundis ; in do- 
 ing which you will prove yourself a faithful lover and a good 
 Christian. I will leave you alone to execute this pious office.' 
 So saying, the queen departed. My brother did not fail to obey 
 her, and then again sought her presence. He teased her after- 
 wards a little on the subject, for she was accessible and affable, 
 and permitted merry and jesting discourse." 
 
 During Marguerite's sojourn in Bdarn, the grave closed over 
 another personage, as renowned for his intolerance and cupidity 
 as Lefevre was for piety. On the 8th of July, 1535, the Cardi- 
 nal-chancellor Duprat, Archbishop of Sens, expired at his castle 
 of Nantouillet, after suffering long torment from a loathsome 
 and agonizing disorder. During his last moments he expressed 
 great remorse for many of the deeds of his past life, and espe- 
 cially for not having observed in his public administration other 
 law than that his own sordid interest dictated. Duprat's wonder- 
 ful talent for disputatiousness and legal quibble brought him into 
 notice at the commencement of his career. His pliant genius, 
 when it served his purpose so to do, conformed itself to every 
 disposition and circumstance. Never discouraged by opposition 
 or reverses, Duprat's indomitable energy overpowered every ob- 
 stacle ; in evil or in good he demonstrated the same inexhaustible 
 resource, and generally achieved his object with unfailing certi- 
 tude. Regarded with indifference by the king, Duprat retained
 
 164 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 to the last the authority intrusted to him hy Louise de Savoie 
 on her son's accession. A complete worldling, and addicted to 
 dissolute pleasures, he ruled the Gallican churches as metro- 
 politan of the second archiepiscopal see in the realm, and as 
 first minister of state, an ecclesiastical command which became 
 absolute during the six last years of his life, when the dignity 
 of papal legate was conferred upon him. The wealth of the 
 cardinal chancellor was enormous ; and his ostentatious mode of 
 living, for a subject, and his equipages and crowds of retainers 
 were surpassed only by his contemporary, Cardinal Wolsey, 
 whose subtle craft often contended with the more unscrupulous 
 daring of Duprat. 
 
 Cardinal Duprat left testamentary injunctions that his remains 
 should be interred in his cathedral church of Sens, an edifice 
 which during the ten years he held the archiepiscopal dignity 
 he had never once visited. He also left considerable legacies to 
 the public charities in Paris. On hearing that his late chancel- 
 lor had bequeathed funds to build an additional ward for the 
 sick at the hospital of the Hotel Dieu, Francis sarcastically re- 
 marked : " It must be a very capacious one, if it is intended to 
 shelter all the poor and the afflicted whom he has made." 1 
 
 At the period when Francis lost his chancellor, who, rapacious 
 as he was, possessed undeniable talent for carrying on the gov- 
 ernment as it was then constituted, war again menaced Europe. 
 During the five years which had elapsed since the signing of 
 the peace of Cambray, the puissant rivals, Francis and the em- 
 peror, never ceased in manifesting their mutual hostility. The 
 military resources of their kingdoms, it is true, were exhausted, 
 and incompetent to contend with the aggressive power of the 
 other ; but by diplomacy and counterplot the two sovereigns 
 indulged their animosity. Opportunity for a fresh invasion of 
 the duchy of Milan meantime occurred ; for the treacherous 
 assassination of Maraviglia, the French envoy to the court of 
 Milan, afforded the king a pretext for rearing again the banners 
 of France over the glorious field of Mariguano, without infring- 
 ing the treaty of Cambray. 
 
 The indignation of Francis was boundless ; and he formally 
 declared his intention of obtaining signal redress for the perfidi- 
 
 1 The king mulcted the heirs of Duprat in the sum of 100,000 crowns, under 
 pretext of asking a loan for the state.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 165 
 
 cms murder of his envoy, and the punishment of the assassins 
 by arms, if not by negotiation. But the cowardly treachery of 
 the Duke of Milan had afforded the king the opportunity he 
 panted for, of passing again into Italy. 
 
 About Easter of the year 1535, therefore, the king, finding 
 that his menaces were treated with contempt by Sforza, de- 
 spatched the President Poyet to the Duke of Savoy, to demand 
 passage for his army through that duchy. The duke, prompted 
 by his consort, Beatrice of Portugal, -sister of the empress, re- 
 jected his nephew's request, hoping to avert the invasion of 
 Milan, and feeling confident in the protection of the emperor. 
 
 On the refusal of the Duke of Savoy to grant free passage to 
 the French troops through his dominions on their expedition 
 against Sforza, the king quitted his capital for Lyons, where the 
 army destined for the invasion of Milan was gathered. 1 There 
 he issued a proclamation declaring war against the Duke of 
 Savoy ; and nominating the Admiral de Brion generalissimo of 
 his army, the king despatched him to make the conquest of 
 that duchy. The admiral entered Savoy at the head of a power- 
 ful army, and reduced the greater part of the duchy without a 
 single hostile encounter. Chambe'ry and Montme'lian submitted 
 to the French arms, and the counties of Bresse and Bugey were 
 subdued. The Admiral de Brion had penetrated as far as Mont- 
 Cenis, when military operations were for a while suspended by 
 the news of the decease of Sforza, Duke of Milan, upon whose 
 dominions the French were marching. 2 
 
 The death of Sforza virtually annulled the treaty of Cambray 
 as far as the claims of Francis on Italy were defined by that 
 convention, and reopened the complicated question of Italian 
 independence. The duke left no children by his consort Chris- 
 tina of Denmark, and the renunciation by Francis of the rights 
 of the house of Orleans to the Milanese was made only in favour 
 of Sforza and his heirs. Would the emperor now restore the 
 heritage of their race to the descendants of Valentine Visconti, 
 or bestow the investiture of the Milanese on some individual 
 unconnected with its ancient dynasties ? The emperor had just 
 returned from an expedition into Africa, where, at the head of 
 his Spanish chivalry, he re-established the dethroned King of 
 Tunis, and delivered nearly 20,000 Christian slaves from the 
 1 Guichenon ; Paradin, Hist, de Notre Temps. 2 Du Bellay.
 
 166 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 chains of the Infidels. The emperor, at the head of his victori- 
 ous army of 33,000 men, awaited this cortege of captives ; as 
 they advanced, singing hymns of thanksgiving for their release 
 from captivity, and preceded by a cross borne aloft by one of 
 their number, Charles, in the face of his army, prostrated him- 
 self, his brow resting on the burning soil, in humble adoration 
 of that sacred emblem. 1 
 
 On his return to Italy the emperor was received with ovations 
 worthy of a conqueror of Europe. Naples and Milan echoed 
 the plaudits, forgetful of the horrors and desolation to which 
 they had been subjected by the resentment of the emperor ; 
 Rome enthusiastically welcomed the liberator of the Christian 
 captives of Tunis. 2 Pope Paul III., of the house of Farnese, 
 an Italian, whose political sympathies tended to the exclusion 
 of foreign domination in the affairs of Italy, received the em- 
 peror with cordial friendship. Together, the pope and the Emperor 
 Charles V. determined on the immediate assembly of the long- 
 postponed General Council. Unlike his predecessor, Clement 
 VI., whose policy aimed rather at the aggrandizement of the 
 Medici than for the exaltation of the Holy See, Paul III. hoped, 
 by the strict union of the papal and imperial authorities, to ex- 
 tort the same concessions from the schismatics, by means of the 
 council, which the Queen of Navarre, Melancthon, and the more 
 moderate of the reformers desired to obtain from Eome. Great 
 diversity of opinion still subsisted as to the locality most eligi- 
 ble for the meeting of the council. The pope desired that some 
 town in Italy might be chosen for the purpose, while Charles 
 naturally wished the bishops to assemble in a place under his 
 own immediate control. The debates on the affair of the coun- 
 cil were, however, temporarily suspended in the eager interest 
 inspired by the renewal of the negotiations between the King 
 of France and the emperor relative to the investiture of the duchy 
 of Milan. 
 
 The plenipotentiaries of Francis were the Sieur de Velly and 
 the Bishop of Maon, ambassadors of France at the papal and 
 the imperial courts. The emperor's representative was his chan- 
 cellor, Nicholas Pierre de Granvelle. Francis demanded the 
 investiture of the Milanese for his second son, Henry, Duke of 
 
 1 Sandoval, Hist, del Einp. Carlos V. 
 
 2 The emperor entered Rome April 6, 1536.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 167 
 
 Orleans, the consort of Catherine de' Medici ; this granted, the 
 king offered to lead his forces against the Turks, to join heartily 
 with the emperor and the pope for the suppression of heresy, 
 and to accept for himself and his kingdom the authority of the 
 approaching General Council. 1 The moderation of these propo- 
 sals greatly embarrassed the emperor, whose real designs tended 
 not to peace. Charles had resolved to keep the Milanese in his 
 own imperial house; nevertheless, the unanimity with which 
 Italy demanded an independent duke to reign over that impor- 
 tant territory compelled him to dissemble ; added to which con- 
 sideration, his fleets and armies were not in fit condition to enter 
 upon the campaign he meditated. Granvelle therefore replied 
 that his imperial master was willing to bestow the investiture 
 of the Milanese on the third son of Francis, the Duke d'Angou- 
 leme, on condition that he espoused the daughter of the emperor, 
 or, at least, a princess nearly related to the house of Hapsburg. 
 Two causes subsisted, the chancellor averred, sufficiently grave 
 to prevent a cession of the duchy to the Duke of Orleans. The 
 first was, that being already married he could not comply with 
 one of the indispensable conditions imposed by the emperor ; the 
 second reason was, that the duke being the husband of Catherine 
 de' Medici, he could, as Duke of Milan, assert the pretensions of 
 his consort to Florence, Tuscany, and to the Duchy of Urbino, 
 and thus kindle again at pleasure a disastrous war in Italy. 2 
 After much hesitation the ambassador, De Velly, to the surprise 
 of the emperor, accepted these conditions. The Chancellor de 
 Granvelle then put the question to the ambassadors whether, as 
 they embraced the proposals of the emperor, they had had 
 powers confided to them to sign the treaty. De Velly replied, 
 with some embarrassment, that so wide a deviation having been 
 made from the original terms proposed by the king, he did 
 not deem his powers sufficient to sign a treaty, but that he 
 would despatch a courier without delay to Paris to demand 
 instructions. 
 
 When Charles was informed that the French ambassadors had 
 not powers to sign the treaty, he pretended to feel violent indig- 
 nation. Velly was summoned to his presence, and the emperor 
 demanded whether the facts were precisely as represented by his 
 chancellor. The ambassador admitted the perfect correctness of 
 1 Du Bellay. * Du Bellay ; Sleidan.
 
 168 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 Granvelle's report, and was proceeding to add other observations, 
 when Charles angrily exclaimed : " Then if you have no powers 
 to conclude the negotiation, it is you who have been amusing me 
 with hollow professions, and not I who have done so to you. 
 Having said what I have said, I will confer no more till you 
 prove to me that you possess ample powers to treat for peace 
 from your sovereign." l 
 
 A few days after this scene Velly accompanied the Bishop of 
 Macon to pay his respects to the emperor, just as he was setting 
 out to hear mass. Charles greeted De Velly with coldness, and 
 asked in a most ungracious manner whether he had received 
 despatches from the king his master. Velly replied in the 
 negative. The emperor rejoined : " I do not wish to blame the 
 deeds of the king your master, neither do I intend to justify my 
 own proceedings in secret. Monsieur de Macon, it gives me 
 pleasure that you happen to be present. Follow me, therefore, 
 both of you, into the Consistory, where in the presence of the 
 pope you shallj hear my final determination on these matters." 2 
 The ambassadors of Venice arriving at the moment to salute the 
 emperor, Charles bade them follow in his suite into the presence 
 of the pope. 
 
 When the emperor entered the Hall of Consistory Paul had 
 not quitted his private apartments in the Vatican. The emperor, 
 therefore, conversed for the space of half an hour in a most 
 gracious manner with the cardinals and nobles present, instead 
 of accepting the pope's invitation to join him in the Vatican 
 which was conveyed to Charles by a chamberlain. At length 
 Paul made his appearance, accompanied by a numerous suite of 
 ecclesiastics. The emperor and the pope took their seat under a 
 dais at the upper end of the chamber ; and after exchanging a 
 few words together in a low tone Charles rose and declared that 
 he had subjects of great importance to speak of in the presence 
 of the pope and the holy conclave. Paul then desired all 
 the personages present to leave the hall, excepting the cardinals. 
 " No," interposed the emperor, " let no one leave ; what I have 
 to say I wish it to be heard by all the world." He then com- 
 menced the most intemperate harangue against Francis and his 
 subjects. He detailed the rise and progress of his wars with the 
 king, and gave a sketch of the treaties he had vouchsafed to 
 
 i Dn Bellay. 2 Ibid.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVAREE. 169 
 
 grant to the French, all which they afterwards treacherously 
 violated. He maintained that Francesco Sforza acted justly and 
 impartially in causing the French envoy, Maraviglia, to be 
 beheaded ; and that Francis resented this affair merely because 
 it afforded a plausible pretext for a third invasion of the Mila- 
 nese. The emperor concluded his oration by proposing three 
 things for the acceptance of his rival the King of France : 
 either peace with the duchy of Milan on the conditions signified 
 by Granvelle, a single combat, or war " until either the king 
 or himself was reduced to a level with the poorest private gen- 
 tleman in Europe. But," continued the emperor, with indecent 
 sarcasm, "if I had no better soldiers than the King of France 
 has, I would go immediately, with my hands bound and with a 
 halter round my neck, to implore my enemy's mercy." 1 
 
 The assembly, when the emperor terminated his oration, 
 remained mute with consternation. Pope Paul III., during its 
 course, rose from his throne, resumed his seat again, and seemed 
 by his gestures to be on the point of arresting the impetuous 
 torrent of words flowing from the emperor's lips. The half of 
 this harangue was spoken in Spanish, and the other half in 
 Italian, as the languages seemed most expressive of Charles's 
 vehement wrath. The French ambassadors were confounded. 
 They knew not how to act, nor in what strain to reply to 
 language so outrageous and insulting to their sovereign and his 
 subjects. At length the Bishop of Ma<?on, who possessed the 
 readiest wit of the two, stepped into the august circle and 
 excused himself from replying ; " for the greater part of the dis- 
 course having been spoken in the Spanish tongue was lost upon 
 him, as he did not understand the language." Velly, whose 
 diplomatic attainments were of a superior order, strove to regain 
 his self-possession, and with some hesitation requested permis- 
 sion to address the assembly. Charles haughtily replied " that 
 he declined to listen to any more speeches on the subject ; that 
 he wished for deeds and for fewer words. He would desire his 
 ministers to send a copy of his harangue to the ambassador, 
 when the Sieur de Velly might answer it at his leisure." 2 The 
 Consistory then dispersed, its members separating in confusion 
 and consternation indescribable. 
 
 1 Discours de 1'Empereur dans le Consistoire, Du Bellay. 
 
 2 Mem. de Martin du Bellay.
 
 170 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 The following day, however, the emperor, being better advised, 
 refused to give the ambassadors a copy of his harangue ; and 
 the pope besought Velly to soften the relation of this scandalous 
 scene as much as possible to his royal master. The ambassadors 
 replied that their duty to their sovereign compelled them to 
 render account, to the best of their memory, of a scene as dis- 
 graceful as it was public. The harangue, meanwhile, had 
 been exactly transmitted to France by the Cardinal du Bellay, 
 who, happening to be present in the Consistory, committed the 
 whole to paper by a prodigious effort of memory immediately on 
 the dispersion of the assembly, together with the explanation of 
 the most offensive articles which the emperor, at the persuasion 
 of the pope, was induced to offer afterwards. 
 
 The angry passions of both monarchs being now inflamed to 
 the utmost, war became inevitable. In Savoy, Turin opened its 
 gates to the king's troops ; and the duke and his consort were 
 compelled to fly from their dominions and place themselves under 
 the protection of the emperor at Milan. 1 The imperial armies, 
 under De Leyva, entered Savoy to oppose the invading forces, 
 and to fight their way until their victorious hosts encamped on 
 the fruitful plains of Provence. 
 
 Throughout their sovereignties, meantime, the King and 
 Queen of Navarre diligently watched the interests of Francis. 
 Occupied by the fortification of Navarreins, and in frequent 
 journeys throughout Guyenne, the King of Navarre was often 
 absent from his consort. Marguerite frequently complains of 
 her husband's omissions in sending her news of his proceedings 
 when absent. Henry was far from being so indefatigable a 
 writer as Marguerite, whose pen could seldom have been laid 
 aside, to judge even by the voluminous correspondence, in prose 
 and verse, transmitted to us. The defence of the province of 
 Guyenne was committed to the King of Navarre, who diligently 
 commenced preparation for the impending invasion of France. 
 In Beam, Marguerite herself visited many of the frontier for- 
 tresses, encouraging their garrisons by gracious words. The 
 greatest activity prevailed throughout the kingdom. The defence 
 of Picardy was intrusted to the Duke de Vendome ; the Duke de 
 Guise had the government of Champagne confided to him ; the 
 Count de Humieres assumed the command in Dauphiuy ; and 
 
 1 Guichenon, Hist, de la Royale Maison de Savoye.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 171 
 
 Barbesieux, admiral of the fleet, repaired to Marseilles to defend 
 the city and the coasts of Provence against the attack of Doria. 1 
 The Admiral de Brion received commands to fortify the places 
 captured in Savoy, and after leaving garrisons of sufficient 
 strength to repel a besieger, to return to France with the 
 remainder of his forces. 
 
 The plan of the approaching campaign was to be strictly 
 defensive ; no encounters between the hostile armies or feats of 
 knightly prowess were to illustrate the advance of the emperor 
 on the heritage of the Valois. The martial ardour of the brave 
 French chivalry was to be repressed, and their weapons used for 
 the desolation of their own fair land, rather than broken in con- 
 flict with their foes. A terrible system of defence was adopted : 
 by famine and consequent pestilence, Charles's legions were to 
 be decimated and driven back with ignominy to his own lands. 
 The country was to be ravaged until the fruitful plains of Pro- 
 vence resembled the arid desert : the peasant was commanded to 
 burn his crops, and the noble to dismantle his castle. All small 
 towns devoid of fortifications, and unable to offer defence against 
 the enemy, were levelled to the ground. The Captain de Bon- 
 neval was sent by the king to make known to the unfortunate 
 inhabitants of Provence the dire necessity which compelled the 
 adoption of these measures for their deliverance from calamity 
 still more insupportable. 
 
 Montmorency was named by the king generalissimo of his 
 armies. The king departed from Lyons, and established his 
 camp at Valence, a situation which enabled him to provide for 
 the safety either of Provence or of Dauphiny. To command 
 the course of the Ehone, and to cut off the supply of provision 
 should Charles turn his arms towards that portion of the king- 
 dom watered by the river, Francis resolved to establish another 
 camp at Avignon. He therefore divided his army into two 
 divisions, the command of the largest and most important part 
 of which he intrusted to Montmorency with unlimited powers. 
 " I know your valour and your prudence," said Francis to the 
 marshal in the presence of the Council ; 2 " you have given me 
 signal proof that you possess the first of these qualities; but 
 I stand now most in need of the second. Let prudence guide 
 our measures. You are aware of the importance of the trust 
 
 1 Du Bellay. * Ibid.
 
 172 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 which I confide to you. Go, therefore, maintain your high 
 renown by saving my kingdom. You will act in all things as 
 circumstances direct." 
 
 The emperor, meanwhile, endeavoured to detach the potentates 
 of Europe from their alliance with France. He sent an envoy 
 to the King of England offering to be reconciled to him, and 
 protesting that every spark of the resentment he once nourished 
 against the English monarch had become extinct after the 
 decease of his aunt, Catherine of Arragon. He also sent Henry 
 a copy of his speech against the King of France, spoken in 
 presence of the Consistory. Henry, however, returned a very 
 cold and evasive reply. He ordered the ambassador to inform 
 the emperor that, in the first place, he desired to receive an 
 explanation from him respecting some calumnious expressions 
 alleged to have been used by Charles respecting himself ; that 
 he knew from good authority that the speech sent for his perusal 
 was incorrect, and expressed not half of what his imperial 
 Majesty had thought proper to utter in presence of the Con- 
 sistory; and, finally, that he would never sanction Charles's 
 ambitious designs on the territories of his good brother and ally, 
 the Christian king. Henry likewise notified to the imperial 
 envoy that a treaty was in agitation between himself and Francis 
 for the betrothal of the infant Princess Elizabeth of England 
 with the Duke d'Angouteme. 1 
 
 Although the King of England thus gave the emperor plainly 
 to perceive that he need not rely on his support for the prosecu- 
 tion of the war against Francis, Charles's hopes of success 
 remained not the less sanguine. To flatter the emperor and to 
 give him the sole credit of having devised an expedition the 
 success of which no one doubted in his heart, the ministers of 
 Charles pretended the most unconquerable reluctance to enter the 
 French territories. Antonio de Leyva, in the presence of the 
 Council, knelt at his master's feet, imploring him to yield to 
 the remonstrances of his faithful and loyal servants, and to satisfy 
 his resentment by re-establishing the Duke of Savoy in his 
 dominions. The emperor rose, and in a long harangue recapitu- 
 lated his projects. " No ! " exclaimed he, " let France in her 
 turn languish under the insupportable miseries she has been the 
 means of entailing for many years past upon Italy. Let her 
 
 1 Hume ; Du Bellay.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 173 
 
 habitations be pillaged ; let her country be ruined and desolate, 
 her towns burned by fire; let consternation reign throughout 
 her borders, woes which for thirty years she has inflicted upon 
 Italy. Paris, and the crown of France, must be the guerdon of 
 our victory, and not Piedmont or Turin ! Let us prove if, indeed, 
 a Frenchman on his own soil be the renowned knight you say ; 
 whether he is wise, politic, and cautious. What ! know you not 
 yet his disposition, after the many trials and examples of his 
 constancy which we have made ? A Frenchman is worth little 
 when the first heat of his natural impetuosity of character is 
 spent; he knows not how to dissimulate and to labour with 
 patient courage ; his endurance fails him under such circum- 
 stances, and his strength sinks ! The only way, be assured, to 
 terminate these wars is for the King of France to become em- 
 peror and King of Spain in my stead, or that I myself should 
 become King of France in his." 1 The emperor so far realized 
 his projects at least in imagination, that it is recorded he pro- 
 mised the viceregal sceptre of France to Antonio de Leyva ; a 
 reward which that renowned general firmly believed would ere 
 long become his own, as it had been predicted to him by an 
 astrologer that he should die in France, and be interred at St. 
 Denis. 
 
 On the 25th day of July, 1536, the Emperor Charles V. crossed 
 the river Var, the boundary between the kingdom of France and 
 the duchy of Savoy, and encamped at St. Laurent, a small town 
 of Provence. The imperial army consisted of thirty-six thousand 
 five hundred infantry, and ten thousand horsemen; Charles's 
 fleets, under the command of Doria, cruised in the Mediterranean, 
 conveying artillery and abundant ammunition of every descrip- 
 tion. His principal captains were Antonio de Leyva, general-in- 
 chief, the Marquis de Guasto, Ferdinand of Gonzaga, Marquis of 
 Mantua, and the Duke of Alba. To all these renowned chiefs, 
 the highest posts in the administration of the conquered realm of 
 France had been allotted. 
 
 The peril of her beloved brother aroused the heroic spirit of 
 the Queen of Navarre, and she entered with the greatest enthu- 
 siasm into his plans of defence. Couriers constantly passed on 
 their road between Lyons and Pau, bearing the correspondence 
 of Francis and Marguerite, written in cipher. The only member 
 
 1 Du Bellay.
 
 174 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 of his royal family in whom the king confided Marguerite at this 
 period became the depository of the secrets of the state. Over- 
 powered with anguish, Queen Eleanor had retired to Amboise 
 with the king's daughters, the Princesses Madelaine and Mar- 
 guerite, to await the issue of a war so momentous in its results 
 to herself, whether it terminated in the triumph of her husband 
 or of her brother. 
 
 Whilst the King of Navarre employed himself in raising a body 
 of 4,000 troops in Gascony, Guyenne, and Be'arn, for the service 
 of the king, Marguerite undertook the government of her hus- 
 band's states, including the care of keeping diligent guard on the 
 frontiers. Henry's negotiation proved a difficult affair ; and the 
 delays and oppositions which he encountered from the chieftains 
 of the various bands became a source of great annoyance to the 
 king, who was eager to join the royal camps of Valence or 
 Avignon. Meanwhile the Count de Carmain, the representative 
 of a younger branch of the house of Foix, and therefore a relative 
 of the King of Navarre, valiantly raised a band of a thousand 
 Gascons, and prepared to march with them to the aid of the 
 king. This loyal devotion met with warm applause from the 
 Queen of Navarre, who expresses great indignation at the luke- 
 warm zeal of her Basque subjects, in not joining at once the 
 standard of the King of Navarre at Toulouse. Marguerite now 
 resolved to remove nearer to the seat of war, in order better to 
 assist her brother ; with the consent of the King of Navarre, 
 therefore, she quitted Pan, leaving the king's lieutenant in 
 Guyenne, the Sieur de Burie, guardian for the time being of the 
 principalities of Be'arn, Foix, and Armagnac, and arrived at 
 Nismes in time to inspect the troops under the command of the 
 Count de Carmain before their departure for Avignon. Margue- 
 rite wrote to the Marshal de Montmorency to apprise him of her 
 intentions, and also to recommend to him the Count de Carmain. 
 " Mon nepveu," wrote the queen to Montmorency, " the Count 
 de Carmain, my cousin, is about to join you, bringing, as I have 
 been told, a famous band of old and experienced soldiers. The 
 count displays such hearty good-will in doing his duty that this 
 fact, combined with my knowledge of his character and loyal 
 disposition, induces me to commend him to your favourable 
 notice. He is the only member of the house of Foix who can 
 render the king effectual service ; therefore I pray you out of
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 175 
 
 love for the head 1 of his house, give the count your protection. 
 I purpose going to Nismes to inspect his company ; where I 
 wish I might find the Basque troops also arrived, in like array, 
 and efficient for service. I am exceedingly wrathful at their 
 tedious delays ; so much so that, instead of offering excuse for 
 them, I am half minded to ask you to punish them, for there is 
 no reason in their tardiness. I hope, nevertheless, to see them 
 soon ; and then I will myself tell them my opinion of their con- 
 duct. The King of Navarre, who had taken up his quarters close 
 to Toulouse, has returned to Grenade to hasten their departure. 
 He has experienced so much trouble and annoyance that he 
 wishes he had never spoken to the captains of the troops, on 
 account of the mistakes they have made, and the little energy 
 they display." 2 
 
 At some place close to Nismes, probably Montfriu, which 
 Marguerite, however, does not specify by name, she met the 
 Sieur Jean de Montpezat, surnarned Le Capitaine Carbon, from 
 the swarthy hue of his complexion, with a troop of infantry, 
 likewise levies from the South, which he was conducting to 
 Avignon. Marguerite arrived by water at this place, a mode of 
 travelling which she preferred to the uneasy motion of a litter. 
 Montpezat's troop was drawn up on the banks of the river, to 
 receive the queen on her disembarkation. Marguerite found 
 herself obliged to make a sojourn of a few days at Montfrin, on 
 account of the indisposition of her lady of honour, the Se'ne'chale 
 of Poitou, who was ill from the fatigue of her royal mistress's 
 rapid journey. The queen employed herself during this interval 
 in writing letters to her brother, which she sent to the Marshal 
 de Montmorency to forward. "Do not hurry yourself about 
 providing guard for the Ehone on this side of its banks whilst 
 we remain in this neighbourhood, for we will keep good watch : 
 if the emperor could only gaze upon the dusky faces of the sol- 
 diers in our troop, who are all of Carbon's complexion, it would 
 scare him so greatly that he would not dare approach us. If our 
 Basques turn out to be such serviceable people, I am sure 
 you will feel satisfied with them," 3 wrote Marguerite to 
 Montmorency. 
 
 1 The King of Navarre. 
 
 2 MS. Bibl. Roy., F. de Beth., No. 8550. 
 8 Ibid., No. 8549.
 
 176 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 The following day an incident occurred which served to dispel 
 the weariness of Marguerite's sojourn at Montfrin with le Capi- 
 taine Carbon and his company. A spy was arrested by some of 
 the soldiers of the troop, seized while making diligent inquiry as 
 to the number of men Montmorency had encamped at Avignon, 
 and what force of artillery was posted along the Rhone between 
 the camp and Valence. Marguerite commanded the delinquent 
 to be brought into her presence that she might examine him 
 herself. The man pretended to be half-witted, and for a long 
 time nothing could be elicited from him. At length, by the aid 
 of Carbon's sterner expletives, Marguerite ascertained from her 
 trembling prisoner that money had been offered him to report the 
 movements of the royal troops and to poison the wells in the 
 neighbourhood. Intimidated by the frowning faces of Carbon's 
 fierce soldiers, the unfortunate culprit, 4 well aware that some 
 kind of confession would be extorted from him, implored the 
 queen to grant him a respite of an hour, when he would confess 
 what he knew, if she promised on her royal word that no harm 
 should befall him. Compassionating the trepidation of her pris- 
 oner, Marguerite consented to spare his forfeit life provided he 
 told everything ; but she added that she should be obliged to 
 send him to the camp at Avignon in custody of Carbon's troop, 
 for his depositions to be taken in the presence of the general-in- 
 chief. " I knew that you would bear me out in this my promise, 
 mon nepveu," wrote Marguerite to the formidable Montmorency 
 in the despatch she forwarded to him, 1 " yet I do not believe 
 the prisoner will accept these conditions ; for it is my opinion 
 that he will rather die than confess the truth. He shall be im- 
 mediately conducted to you." The ultimate fate of the poor 
 spy is not recorded ; doubtless, if he did not avail himself of the 
 luck which brought him in the first instance before the tribunal 
 of so merciful a judge as Marguerite, and by ample confession of 
 his offence obtain the fulfilment of her promise, his interrogatory 
 before the stern geueral-in-chief would summarily terminate at 
 the foot of the gallows. 
 
 From Nismes, Marguerite journeyed up the Rhone to visit the 
 king at Valence. Francis greeted his sister with delight. The 
 courage which she displayed in advancing into the very centre of 
 
 1 MS. Bibl. Roy., F. de Beth., No. 8514.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 177 
 
 a country occupied by armies, and daily exposed to the ravages 
 of the enemy, received his warmest acknowledgment. " When 
 I arrived, the king was on the ramparts superintending the forti- 
 fications which he is constructing. When he saw me, his face 
 expressed so much joy, and he gave me such a welcome by words, 
 that at any rate I felt convinced my arrival had not increased 
 his numerous chagrins," said Marguerite, in the first letter 
 which she wrote to Montmorency from Valence. 1 " The king, 
 nevertheless, gallantly assured me that his cares were only just 
 beginning by my arrival. I think, however, his health is good ; 
 and that he does all in his power to keep up his spirits. I must 
 tell you that never master felt more perfect contentment and 
 confidence in any subject than the king does in you. He said to 
 me that you had come forward for his service au trot de M. de 
 Mauleon, which means that you have both put your hand on 
 your sword and into your purse at one and the same time, which 
 is more than any other servant has yet done : though there are 
 those at court who have the means, though not the will, to 
 follow your example. There arrives no stranger at this camp to 
 whom the king does not praise you ; so much so, that no com- 
 mander ever before possessed your repute." At this period 
 Montmorency had attained the height of his favour with the king 
 and his sister. He had successfully removed from Marguerite's 
 mind even the shadow of a doubt as to the sincerity of his pro- 
 fessions of devotion; and consequently the queen's influence was 
 constantly used to promote his elevation. Marguerite's scornful 
 allusion to the parsimony of the Admiral de Brion, who " wanted 
 but the will to serve his royal master," demonstrates the very 
 decided part the queen took in the intrigues of Montmorency 
 and Brion to overthrow each other in the favour of their sove- 
 reign, and which even the imminent peril of the kingdom failed 
 to suspend. 
 
 Marguerite intended to despatch this letter by her physician 
 Goinret, who was about to pay a professional visit to the camp 
 at Avignon ; but as some event prevented Goinret from setting 
 off at the time he proposed, the queen, ever indefatigable with 
 her pen, wrote the same evening a second letter to the marshal, 
 giving him later news of the proceedings at Valence. "The 
 king came to confer with me to-night privately for upwards of 
 1 MS. Bibl. Roy., F. de Beth., No. 8550. 
 
 TOL. II. 12
 
 178 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 an hour after his supper ; he again expressed his satisfaction at 
 your deportment. The king grants audience to all who request 
 that honour ; and he takes so much trouble with his affairs that 
 he will soon learn by experience what pains you have daily borne 
 for him. It strikes me that it would be advisable for you to 
 praise the king in your letters for the great attention he pays to 
 affairs, and to beg him to persevere thus for another month. He 
 has begun so well ! " Marguerite next entreats Montmorency to 
 send her word without delay when the Basque levies, which 
 seem greatly to haunt her mind, arrived in camp. She also 
 promises to use her influence with the king to persuade him to 
 permit the Duke of Orleans to join Montmorency at Avignon. 
 The duke, whose attachment to the marshal was great, earnestly 
 desired to combat the Imperialists, and had entreated his aunt to 
 use her good offices to obtain him his father's permission to quit 
 Valence ; a privilege not the less eagerly desired by Montmo- 
 rency, whose vanity was flattered at the thought of having one of 
 the sons of his sovereign under his command. The queen then 
 recommends Goinret to the regard of the marshal, " not for his 
 outer aspect, but for his learning and great experience, of which 
 I have had ample testimony. I send you by him, mon nepveu," 
 continues Marguerite, "a psalter translated into the French 
 language, that the words which the king has caused his poets to 
 record may be imprinted on a heart devoted, as I well know 
 yours is, to the honour of God. I regret very much that the 
 psalter is only bound in parchment ; but here I could procure 
 no other copy. I entreat Him, by whose holy inspiration these 
 psalms were written, to grant that the mantle of Joshua may 
 descend upon you for the deliverance of the people of these 
 realms." 1 
 
 While she was sojourning at Valence, the Queen of Navarre 
 received tidings of the approaching departure of her husband 
 from Toulouse, with a body of four thousand Basque soldiers. 
 Henry wrote to desire his consort to meet him at Montfrin, a 
 little town close to Nismes, that his troops might pass in review 
 before her. The queen, on receiving this much-desired intelli- 
 gence, took leave of her royal brother and set out for Avignon, 
 determined to take Montmorency by surprise, by visiting his 
 camp on the road to Montfrin. 
 
 1 MS. Bibl. Roy., F. de Beth., No. 8530.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 179 
 
 The camp of the Marshal de Montmorency occupied a district 
 lying to the northeast of the town of Avignon, and situated in 
 the angle formed by the junction of the rivers Ehone and Du- 
 rance. It was constructed with admirable skill : on one side the 
 Durance defended the camp against attack ; and on the other 
 the Ehone afforded an easy and rapid passage for unfailing sup- 
 plies of provision and ammunitions. The camp was surrounded 
 by a deep moat, twenty-four feet wide ; through its centre ran a 
 trench, into which the water of the Rhone was turned. This 
 ditch received the drainage of the camp, which was thus kept 
 dry and free from infection. The internal arrangements of this 
 vast encampment were ordered with minute precision and care. 
 Separate quarters were assigned to troops of different races. The 
 twenty thousand Swiss mercenaries in the pay of the king were 
 encamped together ; the German lansknechts had their separate 
 quarters ; and, so far as such an arrangement became practicable, 
 the French troops levied in the various provinces of France were 
 kept asunder. This method answered admirably for the avoid- 
 ance of tumults and brawls. The streets and squares of the 
 camp were defended by an organized guard, which attended the 
 daily audience of the general-in-chief to present its report. In 
 the centre of the camp, upon an eminence, rose Montmorency's 
 tent : the marshal was thus enabled to command the whole 
 space, and to watch every movement of the multitudes around. 
 A sunrise mass was said in the tent of the general-in-chief; after- 
 wards Montmorency walked for some time along the open space 
 in front of his tent, either conversing with his chief officers, 
 redressing wrongs, or administering justice in the peculiar and 
 summary manner for which he was renowned. Afterwards the 
 marshal mounted his horse, and, attended by a brilliant staff, 
 perambulated the camp. He then dined, and afterwards held a 
 council of war. In the afternoon he often rode to inspect the 
 phalanx of artillery surrounding the camp, and to question the 
 men on their expertness, and not unfrequently he put their abil- 
 ities to the test, to the no small alarm of the neighbourhood. 1 
 
 The Queen of Navarre was received with distinguished honours 
 by Montmorency and his hosts. Marguerite took him by sur- 
 prise, to the great regret of the marshal, who wished to have 
 given the queen a solemn military reception, at the head of his 
 
 1 Du Bellay.
 
 180 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 army. The arrival of Marguerite and her ladies created great 
 enthusiasm amongst the soldiery. The queen, attended by Mont- 
 inorency, inspected every portion of the camp, which elicited 
 her warmest admiration. All appeared so decorous and orderly 
 that Marguerite might even flatter herself that the psalter she 
 sent to the marshal was there held in boundless esteem. 
 
 The chief officers were next received by Queen Marguerite, 
 who with gracious dignity addressed condescending words to 
 each, with assurances of her brother's satisfaction at their gal- 
 lant deportment. Marguerite's smiles were of much value to> 
 her brother. " Often," says Brantome, 1 " when the king her 
 brother had great affairs in hand, he consulted his sister, and fre- 
 quently left all to her decision. This princess had great tact r 
 and knew how to talk, making many apt speeches, and leading 
 others to become communicative. For this reason the king 
 placed great reliance on her, and used to say that she afforded 
 him very signal aid." Marguerite spent a day or two at Avig- 
 non ; she then took her departure for Montfrin, escorted thither 
 with great honour by Montmorency. She was there received by 
 the King of Navarre, at the head of his troops drawn up in 
 battle array. The appearance of these soldiers surpassed the- 
 queen's expectations, and made her forget in the fulness of her 
 satisfaction the solicitude which their levy had given her. 
 " You will be satisfied with the appearance of our Gascons, 
 monseigneur," wrote the queen to her brother ; " would that the 
 emperor might make an attempt to cross the Ehone whilst I am 
 here ! for with the additional succour which you might send 
 (and we should not require much), I would undertake on my 
 life, woman as I am, to defend the passage ! " 2 
 
 The queen's letter to her brother, giving an account of her 
 visit to the camp of Avignon, from which the above passage is 
 extracted, is most interesting, and expressive of Marguerite's 
 dauntless energy of character. 
 
 1 Brant6me,Vie de Marguerite de Valois. 
 
 2 MS. Bibl. Roy., F. de B&h., No. 8546.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 A FTER the departure of the King of Navarre for the camp at 
 /x Avignon, Marguerite quitted Montfrin, and repaired to 
 Amboise to visit Queen Eleanor, who watched the progress of 
 the campaign with melancholy and foreboding. 
 
 In Provence the emperor had as yet made little progress. The 
 plan of defence so wisely adopted by the French filled Charles 
 with consternation; he was in a wasted and almost desert 
 country ; and he knew that if the enemy persisted in refusing 
 battle, his troops would soon suffer from extremity of famine. 
 His foraging parties scarcely ever quitted the camp without being 
 beaten ; and the farther he advanced into the interior of Provence, 
 the more difficult it became to transport provision landed on the 
 coast by Andrea Doria for the support of his vast army. The 
 armed peasantry of the districts, infuriated at the losses they had 
 sustained by the invasion, revenged themselves by committing acts 
 of the greatest barbarity on all stragglers from the detachments 
 sent out on foray ; they attacked the escorts despatched to protect 
 convoys of provisions from the coast, and in numerous instances 
 captured the supplies. The hot suns and the dearth of food soon 
 caused infectious disorders to break out in the imperial camp, 
 and the troops clamoured to be led to an engagement. But well 
 informed of the strength of Montmorency's camp, the emperor 
 was too prudent to attack him in his intrenchments. He there- 
 fore directed his efforts for the capture of some large town near 
 the coast, where the headquarters of his army might be estab- 
 lished, and which might insure him unfailing supplies of provision. 
 But the caution of Francis had provided, though at the cost of 
 disastrous calamity, that no such haven of refuge should present 
 itself for the emperor and his exhausted armies. The town of 
 Aix, the ancient capital of Provence, had been dismantled ; Aries 
 was strongly fortified, and defended by a numerous garrison pro-
 
 182 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 vided with food and ammunition transported into the centre of 
 the city on the Rhone. The lordly towers of Marseilles, that city 
 so often besieged, defied the menaces of the invaders. The har- 
 bour, filled with noble vessels of war under the command of the 
 brave Barbesieux, admiral of the fleet, held Doria in check, and 
 poured abundance of provision into the city. The warlike Mar- 
 seillais, proud of their martial renown, and treasuring the remem- 
 brance of the siege they had so gloriously sustained when Bour- 
 bon and Pescara menaced their ancient city, prepared for the most 
 vigorous defence. 
 
 In Picardy, meanwhile, the imperial troops, under the Counts 
 de Reux and de Nassau, ravaged the country, and, after seizing 
 the town of Guise, laid siege to Peronne, a fortress defended by 
 the brave Marshal de Fleuranges. The Dukes de Vendome and 
 de Guise offered a most valiant defence against the inroads of the 
 Imperialists, whose menaced advance upon Paris, in case of the 
 fall of Peronne, filled the capital with tumult and apprehension. 
 Happily for the Parisians, their bishop, Jean du Bellay, possessed 
 a courageous spirit; and though a Churchman, he was, in common 
 with his two renowned brothers, endowed with great military 
 abilities. Under his guidance the city was placed in a condition 
 of effectual defence. The parliament voted subsidies, and the 
 virulent faction of the universities subdued itself into reverential 
 obedience to the ruling power. Discipline in the city was so well 
 maintained during the invasion that no one might quit the capital 
 without a permit from the king's lieutenant over the province of 
 the Isle de France. This regulation was so strictly maintained that 
 even a poor scholar of one of the universities, named De la Haye, 
 was detained in prison, by order of M. de la Roche, because he 
 had sought license to leave the capital, and could assign no other 
 motive than obedience to the command of his father. The latter 
 happened to be a valet-de-chambre in the service of the Queen of 
 Navarre, a circumstance probably unknown to M. de la Roche. 
 Jean de la Haye, 1 therefore, solicited his royal mistress to inter- 
 cede in behalf of his young son, so arbitrarily deprived of liberty 
 
 1 Jean de la Haye was one of the most accomplished of the queen's valets-de- 
 chambre, almost all of whom were literary men ; so that Marguerite's antechamber 
 was frequently compared to a veritable Parnassus. De la Haye published, in 1547, 
 Marguerite's poem, " La Marguerite de la Marguerite des Princesses," a book which 
 contains all the chief published poems written by his august patroness.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 183 
 
 for attempting to obey his directions. Marguerite, therefore, 
 wrote to explain matters to M. de la Eoche. She says : " Mon 
 cousin, the father of Hugues de la Haye has informed me how, 
 on account of the wars, he had commanded his son to quit Paris, 
 and retire to his home in the town of Arras ; but that you, on 
 receiving the application of the said scholar, caused him to be 
 detained, on suspicion of his having made false representations. I 
 pray you, therefore, mon cousin, let this poor scholar go free ; for 
 I have been informed by many worthy persons that he has been 
 in reality studying in Paris, and that the sole cause of his intended 
 departure thence is the war, and the obedience which he, in com- 
 mon with most students, renders to the commands of his parents." 1 
 M. de la Roche, however, who knew how easily Marguerite's com- 
 passion was excited, and the great number of applicants perpetually 
 petitioning for her intercession, thought it his duty, on some public 
 ground not recorded, still to detain Hugues de la Haye. Probably 
 the young student had taken a prominent part in the factious broils 
 by which the Parisians relieved their excitement, before the ener- 
 getic measures of their bishop were adopted. He therefore refused 
 to release De la Haye, excusing himself from performing Mar- 
 guerite's request on the plea that " the queen had been impor- 
 tuned to make the demand, as it was evident she had no personal 
 knowledge of the accused." The relatives of De la Haye again 
 appealed to the queen. Marguerite, who was little accustomed 
 to have her wishes set aside on the ground that she knew not her 
 own mind, addressed herself again, with greater warmth, to M. 
 de la Eoche. " Mon cousin," she wrote, " I have written to you 
 already about the deliverance of a student, named Hugues de la 
 Haye, and my servants in Paris inform me that you have received 
 that letter. They have likewise sent me word of the good dis- 
 position which you evinced to do me any pleasure, for which I 
 thank you. Nevertheless, I am told, you imagine that because 
 I am importuned to do so, I have written in favour of the said 
 scholar, and for this reason you delay, and hesitate to grant him 
 deliverance. I now write to advertise you that I have only been 
 solicited to do so by the father of the said student, whom, being 
 one of my servants, I desire to oblige. Moreover, out of the 
 favour I bear the latter, I purpose to take the said scholar, his 
 son, into my service likewise. For these causes, mon cousin, I 
 
 1 MS. Bibl. Roy., F. de Beth., No. 8587.
 
 184 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 request you very affectionately to restore the said De la Haye his 
 liberty." l Probably this strong expression of Marguerite's 
 wishes had the desired effect upon M. de la Roche, who was the 
 brother of the Marshal de Montmoreucy, and the poor student 
 was suffered to retire to his home in the town of Arras. 
 
 The young dauphin, Francis, meantime, had as yet taken no 
 part in the campaign. The idol of the French people, the prince 
 excelled in all martial exercises, and in that gallant demeanour 
 which ever insures popular enthusiasm. Burning to distinguish 
 himself by some deed of military prowess worthy of the heir of 
 the proudest monarchy in Christendom, Francis quitted Amboise, 
 and, with a gallant retinue of knights and noblemen, sailed down 
 the Rhone to join his father at Valence. On his way the dauphin 
 amused himself by hunting in the dense forests then bordering 
 the river, and in other diversions, with the young cavaliers of his 
 suite. At Lyons he intended to make some sojourn. One day 
 the dauphin quitted his abode to play at tennis in a spacious 
 racket-court lying close to the city. Feeling fatigued and heated 
 by his exertions, he presently threw himself down on the ground, 
 and despatched a page to draw him water at a neighbouring 
 spring, in a cup said to impart an icy freshness to any liquid it 
 contained, and which had recently been presented to him by 
 Dona Inez Beatrix Pacheco, one of the Spanish ladies in Queen 
 Eleanor's suite. It is stated that while the young page was em- 
 ployed in raising the bucket from the well, an Italian nobleman 
 named Sebastian de Montecuculi, who filled the office of grand 
 cupbearer in the household of the dauphin, approached, and feign- 
 ing to admire the workmanship of the vase, took it up, as it was 
 afterwards asserted, with the atrocious design of rubbing a subtle 
 and deadly poison on the sides of the cup. The page hastened 
 to bear to his royal master the draught he so eagerly desired. 
 The dauphin drained the cup, and in a few minutes was seized 
 with excruciating pains and sickness, which continued without 
 interval during the whole of the day. 2 His physicians in vain 
 applied their remedies ; the dauphin continued gradually to sink. 
 Feeling the approach of death, the young prince caused himself 
 to be placed in an open boat, on a couch, and rowed down the 
 
 1 MS. Bibl. Roy., F.de Beth., fo. 24. Marguerite's letters are both dated from 
 Lyons. The latter epistle bears date, " Lyons, le 24eme jour de Juillet." 
 
 a De Coste, Eloges des Enfans de France; Vie du Dauphin, Fra^ois de France.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 185 
 
 river, hoping to arrive at Valence in time to see his father, to 
 whom he was devotedly attached. During the journey the 
 dauphin's sufferings were pitiable to behold. When the boat 
 reached Tournon, his attendants, perceiving that he was speech- 
 less and nearly insensible, carried him ashore. In about two 
 hours after his landing, the dauphin expired, at the early age of 
 nineteen. 1 
 
 The melancholy task of announcing to Francis the decease of 
 his son devolved on the Cardinal de Lorraine, who had been 
 hastily summoned to Tournon. When the cardinal entered the 
 king's presence, his gravity attracted the attention of Francis, 
 who at this perilous juncture was alive to every variation in the 
 deportment of his attached servants. The king silently, for 
 some minutes, fixed his eyes on the cardinal ; then, as nobody 
 spoke, though the chamber was filled with attendants, he asked 
 whether news had been received that morning of the approach 
 of the dauphin. The cardinal replied that intelligence had 
 reached the camp of the dangerous illness of the prince, who 
 had been compelled to land at Tournon. The deep distress 
 manifested by the cardinal as he announced these tidings, and 
 the tears which suffused the eyes of all present, admonished the 
 king [ that some more lamentable catastrophe was concealed 
 from him. " I comprehend ! " suddenly ejaculated Francis, ris- 
 ing from his chair in great agitation : " you, none of you, have 
 courage to tell me that my son is dead ; you would soften the 
 blow by telling me of his dangerous illness." 2 Finding his 
 apprehensions confirmed by the silence of the cardinal, the 
 king covered his face with his mantle, and retired to the window 
 at the end of the apartment. All the courtiers withdrew to 
 the antechamber of the royal apartment, excepting the Cardinal 
 de Lorraine. Presently the king motioned for the prelate to 
 approach, and in a voice hoarse with emotion asked to be in- 
 formed of every particular relative to his son's decease. Francis 
 listened in silence; but when the cardinal had concluded his 
 narrative, he exclaimed, in the fervour of his grief: "My God, 
 I know that it is reasonable for me patiently to endure afflic- 
 tions which proceed from thee ; but unless thou dost bestow 
 upon me constancy and courage, how can I support this bitter 
 
 1 De Coste, Eloges des Enfans de France; Du Bellay. 
 
 2 Du Bellay ; De Coste.
 
 186 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 trial ? Already thou hast chastened and afflicted me by the 
 defeat of rny armies, and thou hast now added over and above 
 this calamity of the loss of my son ! What now remains but 
 that thou shouldest wrest from me my all ? If such be thy 
 holy will, teach me, Lord, to bow to thy decrees ; for by thy 
 Almighty aid and power can I alone find strength to submit to 
 thy chastisements, and to overcome the rebellious murmurs of 
 the flesh ! " 1 Francis then retired to give free course to his 
 grief in private, and appeared no more in public during that 
 day, causing all necessary instructions to be issued by the 
 Cardinal de Lorraine. 
 
 The following morning the king met his Council with stern 
 composure ; the facts of the sudden decease of the dauphin 
 were examined and discussed; and whether a sentiment of 
 intense hatred against the emperor pervaded the minds of all 
 its members, or that in reality the evidence adduced impli- 
 cated Charles, it was declared that the dauphin died from the 
 effects of a subtle poison administered to him at the instigation 
 of the emperor by the Count Sebastian de Montecuculi. 
 
 Francis prepared to avenge his son's death with implacable 
 severity ; Montecuculi had been arrested by command of the 
 Cardinal de Lorraine, and orders were transmitted to Lyons to 
 subject him to torture, in order to extort a confession. At one 
 period of his life Montecuculi had been page of honour to the 
 Emperor Charles ; he afterwards quitted the service of the 
 emperor to enter that of Catherine de' Medici, and he attended 
 this princess into France on her marriage with the Duke of 
 Orleans. While stretched on the rack, the unfortunate Monte- 
 cuculi confessed to the crime, though it is said he afterwards 
 protested that the extremity of the torment to which he was 
 subjected extorted his admission. He implicated the imperial 
 generals De Leyva and Gonzaga, deposing that the latter had 
 recently presented him to the emperor, who questioned him 
 minutely as to the domestic habits of the king and his sons, 
 and that after this audience Antonio de Leyva secretly com- 
 missioned him to poison them all as opportunity presented. 2 
 
 The emperor indignantly repelled the odious suspicion, and 
 declared, with vehement energy, " that, on his oath and most 
 
 1 Du Bellay. 
 
 2 Dupleix, Hist. Generate de France; Belleforest, Hist, de France.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 187 
 
 solemn protestation, he had never even in thought compassed a 
 deed of such abominable iniquity ; for that he would rather 
 lose dignity, riches, and empire than blast his reputation by 
 even devising an act so unworthy a prince of his quality." He 
 added, moreover, " that it was the height of folly to assert that 
 the dauphin died by poison ; for any person maturely weighing 
 the circumstances attending his decease would not fail to per- 
 ceive that the death of the prince was occasioned by drinking 
 cold water while heated and weary, which had fatally weakened 
 a constitution destroyed by early habits of profligacy." 1 The 
 statements of some authors agree with the assertions of the 
 emperor ; they declare that the dauphin's malady was an attack 
 of pleurisy, brought on by drinking cold water while heated. 
 The unfortunate Montecuculi, meanwhile, was tried for the 
 crime and condemned to death. A small packet of arsenic was 
 found in his possession, which confirmed public belief in his 
 guilt. The king, attended by his princes and nobles, was pres- 
 ent at the condemnation of the count, who implicated Guil- 
 laume de Dinteville, Seigneur Deschenets, in the crime, by 
 confessing that he had confided his project, when at Turin, to 
 that noble. The arrest of Deschenets followed as a matter of 
 course ; but his innocence being satisfactorily proved, he was 
 released. The sentence of the court declared "the Count 
 Sebastian de Montecuculi guilty of having poisoned the late 
 dauphin Francis, Duke of Viennois and Bretagne, eldest son of 
 the king, by administering to him arsenic in a cup, modelled 
 of clay ; furthermore, the said count is convicted of having re- 
 turned to France with the intent of poisoning the king also ; 
 for which crimes the court condemns the criminal to be drawn on 
 a hurdle from the prisons of Rouenne to the church of St. John, 
 where, clad in a shirt, with bare head and feet, and holding a 
 lighted torch, he shall implore pardon of God and the king ; 
 from thence he shall be drawn on the same hurdle to the Place 
 de Granelle, where, in his presence, the poisons of arsenic and 
 realgal seized amongst the effects of the prisoner, together with 
 the earthen vase, shall be publicly burned. Afterwards the 
 judgment of the court is, that the criminal shall be torn in 
 pieces by horses ; the quarters of his body to be finally 
 suspended over the principal gates of the city of Lyons, and 
 
 1 Belleforest, Hist. Gen. de France.
 
 188 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 his head severed and affixed over the bridge across the 
 Rhone." l 
 
 This dreadful sentence was literally executed ; and the Count 
 de Montecuculi thus expiated his crime, after having suffered 
 frightful torments by the rack while in prison. The opinion 
 prevailed unanimously in France and elsewhere that the 
 dauphin died by poison, administered by Montecuculi; but 
 whether at the instigation of Charles or of his Council must 
 always remain one of those historical mysteries which none 
 can solve. Some historians insist that the count had no ac- 
 complices in his murderous deed, but that he assassinated the 
 young prince from motives of private revenge. 
 
 In justice to Francis and to his nobles, judges, and prelates, 
 it cannot be supposed that Montecuculi suffered after his 
 solemn trial before all that was most illustrious in France 
 without just and conclusive evidence of his guilt. The 
 arsenic found amongst his effects, in an age when its deadly 
 properties had been alone discovered, afforded strong presump- 
 tive evidence of the count's criminality. It should be observed, 
 however, that the king, as well as the majority of his Council, 
 believed that Montecuculi was an agent in the pay of the 
 emperor, and that Charles had connived at the crime bewailed 
 by all classes in the kingdom. Such was also the belief of the 
 Queen of Navarre. Marguerite does not hesitate to express 
 her suspicions on the subject ; and more than once she reverts 
 to the fact as the most atrocious of all the wrongs committed 
 by the emperor, in that correspondence which, when penned, 
 was intended for no other eye than that of her brother. Yet if 
 Francis felt thoroughly convinced that the emperor was the 
 cowardly assassin of his eldest son, it appears inconsistent and 
 incomprehensible how, after the lapse of some three years, the 
 king could receive Charles in his kingdom and lavish upon him 
 distinguished honours. The Imperialists failed not to retaliate 
 the charge of assassination on the French themselves, by accus- 
 ing the young Duchess of Orleans, Catherine de' Medici, of 
 having poisoned her brother-in-law, a deed, as the partisans of 
 Charles observed, by which the reversion of the crown of France 
 was secured to herself, as her husband, the Duke of Orleans, 
 
 1 Proces Criminel faict a 1'encontre du Comte Sebastian de Montecuculi ; De 
 Coste, Eloges des Enfans de France.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 189 
 
 became dauphin, while the emperor's interests were not affected 
 by the event. i 
 
 The position of Queen Eleanor, meanwhile, was one of pro- 
 found affliction. Every complaint which the king had to prefer 
 against the emperor seemed to alienate him more and more 
 from his consort, and the frightful suspicion prevalent through- 
 out the kingdom against her brother overwhelmed the queen 
 with terror. Eleanor was likewise much attached to the dauphin, 
 whose endearing qualities, and the grateful remembrance he 
 always evinced for her kindness during his captivity in Spain, 
 had engaged the queen's regard. Fortunately for Eleanor, the 
 Queen of Navarre was at Amboise when intelligence of the 
 catastrophe reached the court. Marguerite was overwhelmed 
 with distress and horror. That the gay, chivalrous young prince, 
 so full of life, energy, and animation when he departed from 
 Amboise to join the camp, should be now prostrate by the hand 
 of death, was an event too startling and terrible almost to be 
 realized. The Marshal de Montmorency despatched a mes- 
 senger to carry the sad intelligence to the two queens at Am- 
 boise. The few brief and hurried lines which Marguerite sent 
 back in return testify the anguish and consternation which 
 possessed her. 
 
 QUEEN MARGUERITE TO THE MARSHAL DE MONTMORENCY. 
 
 The treasurer of Normandy brought your letter to me here, in this 
 castle of Amboise, from whence I write my answer, and send you an 
 emblem of our distress, which is insufficient, however, to express its 
 intensity. But the messenger who will deliver this letter to you can 
 explain our condition better than myself ; for I cannot recover from 
 the consternation which his intelligence has excited. He will there- 
 fore give you a description of our state, for I cannot even think. Also, 
 mon nepveu, he will recount the deep affliction in which the queen is 
 plunged, and the alarm it has occasioned us to see her sufferings, added 
 to the grief this place now inspires to all ; for not one of us can think 
 of Amboise as Amboise, but only as a spot consecrated by the most 
 cruel and mournful associations. 1 I pray God, mon cousin, to give you 
 glory and prosperity in the same proportion as I have received tribu- 
 lation and anxiety since I took up my abode here. 
 
 Vostre bonne tante et amye, MARGUERITE. 2 
 
 1 The Dauphin Francis was born at Amboise in 1518. The ceremonial of his 
 baptism was likewise performed in the chapel of the castle. 
 
 2 MS. Bibl. Roy., F. de Beth.. No. 8459.
 
 190 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 In Provence, meanwhile, the imperial army endured the ex- 
 tremity of famine and pestilence. Parched with thirst from the 
 excessive heat of the sun, the troops threw themselves eagerly 
 on the vineyards to cull the delicious clusters of grapes just then 
 ripening, and which had been preserved from the general devas- 
 tation by the command of the wary Montmorency. The result 
 answered his expectations : the most disastrous maladies broke 
 out in the camp ; and in the space of a few weeks ^the imperial 
 army was reduced in numbers to 25,000 men. 
 
 The death of Antonio de Leyva increased the depression 
 reigning throughout the imperial army; daily one or more of 
 Charles's most famous officers fell victims to the contagious 
 maladies raging in the camp. No possibility existed of moving 
 the army from the pestilential atmosphere of Provence to a land 
 of greater plenty without forcing Montrnorency's camp at 
 Avignon, where Francis had now arrived to take the supreme 
 command, with a further reinforcement of 20,000 Swiss troops. 
 Disastrous news likewise reached the imperial camp of a fresh 
 invasion of the kingdom of Hungary by Soliman II. ; while the 
 Turkish admiral, Barberoussa, accomplished a successful descent 
 in Apulia. Menaced and baffled on all sides, Charles at length 
 reluctantly resolved on a retreat from France. The emperor 
 commenced his march back into Savoy about the 10th of Sep- 
 tember. Unequal to the fatigue of so long and wearisome a 
 progress, his soldiers dropped by hundreds on the roads, or fell 
 into the hands of the peasantry, who put them to death with 
 savage exultation ; some expired under the weight of their 
 armour; others, maddened by privation, and unable longer to 
 support this accumulation of disasters, terminated their lives by 
 suicide. Two thousand men died on the. road between Aix and 
 Frejus alone ; and their dead bodies formed so appalling a spec- 
 tacle as to inspire beholders with terror and loathing. 1 
 
 The hardships to which the imperial army was exposed during 
 its retreat through Provence increased in a tenfold degree on 
 the passage across the Alps. The peasants gathered together 
 on the heights, and hurled down missiles on the discomfited sol- 
 diery ; they blocked up the passes and broke down the bridges, 
 so that Charles was compelled to be preceded by a train of pio- 
 neers to render a passage across the swollen mountain torrents 
 
 1 Du Bellay.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 191 
 
 possible for the remnant of his army. The rear of the imperial 
 army was harassed by the attack of a powerful detachment of 
 French cavalry under the joint command of Martin du Bellay 
 and the Count de Teude, which, every time the troops were com- 
 pelled to halt by the obstacles opposing their progress, threatened 
 to terminate in a general melee. Whilst the soldiery was en- 
 gaged in repelling these attacks, mounted bands of peasants 
 captured the camp equipages, the baggage wagons, and slaugh- 
 tered the beasts of burden, pillaging and destroying by fire or 
 sword every object within their reach. 1 
 
 Charles arrived at Genoa about the commencement of the 
 month of October ; he remained there a fortnight to recruit his 
 health, and then embarked on board his galleys for Spain. At 
 sea he was assailed by a furious tempest, which sunk six of his 
 galleys and two large vessels of war, having on board a stud of 
 horses and several chests containing the imperial buffet of plate. 
 
 After witnessing the nuptial festivities of her niece Madelaine 
 with the gallant young King of Scotland, James V., December, 
 1536, Marguerite quitted Paris and journeyed to Alencon, in 
 order to administer some important matters relative to the gov- 
 ernment of that duchy. The King of Navarre remained with 
 Francis at the camp in Picardy, then Montrnorency's headquar- 
 ters, so that Marguerite was attended by her ladies only, and 
 some few officers of her suite. 
 
 In the appointment of the public officers and magistrates of 
 the duchies subject to her jurisdiction, Marguerite evinced an 
 enlightened judgment. With few exceptions, the men selected 
 by the queen to fill the most important posts at her disposal rose 
 to the highest eminence in the state; merit was the only pass- 
 port to Marguerite's favour; and talent, however humble the 
 individual might be possessing it, she fostered and rewarded. 
 Sainte Marthe, in his eulogium on the Queen of Navarre, enu- 
 merates the names of the ministers whom she successively se- 
 lected to carry on the administration of the duchy of Alencon, 
 as they severally passed from her service into that of the king. 
 " If Brinon were now living, that grave and prudent magistrate, 
 he would bear testimony of the wisdom I have been commemo- 
 rating," exclaimed the orator, with fervid enthusiasm. 2 " When 
 
 1 Du Bellay. 
 
 2 Sainte Marthe, Oraison Funebre de 1'Incomparable Marguerite.
 
 192 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 Brinon died, he was succeeded by Francis Olivier as chancellor 
 of this duchy, who adorned that office by his admirable virtue, 
 and so greatly augmented the excellent dignity of chancellor 
 that (as one worthy of still greater honour) by the will of 
 Providence we have seen him raised to the height of glory and 
 distinction. 1 Groslot succeeded Olivier, a man of enlightened 
 mind, experienced in all honourable matters, of mature judg- 
 ment, and worthy to be honoured for his profound erudition. 
 Of Habbot, now counsellor of the king, whom Queen Marguerite 
 created president of the municipal council of this town, you 
 know, Alenconnois, what tribute we owe to him ; and you will 
 doubtless agree with the members of the high court at Paris that 
 in Habbot a firm spirit of justice and rectitude is tempered and 
 united with a humane and gentle disposition, liveliness of wit, 
 and everything which might be lauded in a man of perfect parts. 
 I must not overlook or refrain from the mention of three other 
 illustrious personages, Antoine du Lyon, Jehan Prevost, and 
 Francois Boilleau, also senators of parliament, and counsellors 
 chosen by Marguerite to minister in her Court of Exchequer. 
 But time would fail me to recapitulate the names and titles of 
 the bishops, abbe's, and senators whom Marguerite retained in 
 her household or provided with offices ; but all of them were 
 men of excellent learning and wisdom." 
 
 Marguerite devoted much attention to the affairs of the duchy 
 of Berry, though she did not feel an equal interest in the ad- 
 ministration of that province. The university of Bourges, indeed, 
 absorbed much of her attention, as the queen nominated to the 
 vacant professorships, and otherwise enjoyed extensive patronage. 
 While she was sojourning at Alencon, news reached Marguerite 
 that several mutinous assemblies of disaffected persons had been 
 holden within the limits of Beny. Her indignation at these 
 factious proceedings was especially kindled when she was in- 
 formed that language highly seditious and offensive had been 
 used during these assemblies relative to the conduct of Francis ; 
 and that a spirit of disloyalty was making rapid progress through- 
 out the duchy, through the mischievous intervention of these 
 persons, who wandered about in bands, holding treasonable ha- 
 
 1 Francis Olivier de Leuville was created Chancellor of France by the recom- 
 mendation of Queen Marguerite in 1544. His rare integrity and virtues merit 
 the highest eulogium.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 193 
 
 rangues in the villages through which they passed. In the midst 
 of her engagements at Alencon, Marguerite found leisure to 
 write to her brother to ask for the repression of this evil also. 
 She requests him to issue a commission under the great seal, 
 addressed to the Lieutenant-Governor of Berry, M. de Lignieres, 
 empowering that officer to levy the arri&re ban throughout the 
 province, effectually to put to flight the malcontents, and to 
 arrest the ringleaders. " Then, monseigneur," continues Margue- 
 rite, with energetic decision, " I will send Jenton to examine the 
 prisoners thus arrested, and to inquire into the causes, qui leur 
 fait crier vive aultre que vous ! " l Marguerite then informs her 
 brother that she was about to quit Alen^on to visit the Duke 
 de Vendome, who was lying dangerously ill at Amiens of fever. 
 The duke's malady unfortunately proved fatal. 2 Marguerite 
 greatly regretted his death, as she always lived on terms of the 
 warmest friendship both with the Duke de VendQme and with 
 his consort. The King of Navarre joined Marguerite at Amiens, 
 where she remained until the end of the month of April, ac- 
 tively engaged with her brother's affairs, and in offering consola- 
 tion to the widowed Duchess de Vend6me. Accompanied by 
 her husband, Marguerite, after paying a brief visit to the king at 
 the camp at Picquigny, proceeded to St. Germain, to take leave 
 of Queen Eleanor before her departure for Beam, where the 
 affairs of his principality urgently demanded Henry's presence. 
 
 The news of the capture of the town of Hesdin reached the 
 court during Marguerite's residence at St. Germain. This in- 
 telligence inspired the princesses with transports of joy; and 
 Marguerite, to whom Eleanor deferred in all things, was com- 
 missioned by the queen and the dauphiness to employ her ready 
 pen in congratulating the king on the success of his arms. The 
 queen wrote in her most enthusiastic strain a joint letter as 
 follows : 
 
 QUEEN MARGUERITE TO FRANCIS I. 8 
 
 MONSEIGNEUR, The indescribable joy which we feel deprives us 
 almost of strength to write to you ; for although we had firm hope 
 that Hesdin would be captured, yet there remained so great a dread of 
 everything possible and impossible which might befall you that since 
 
 1 Bibl. Roy., F. du Suppl. Fran., MS. No. 40. 
 
 a The Duke de Vendome died of fever at Amiens, March, 1537; Du Bellay. 
 
 3 Bibl. Roy., F. du Suppl. Fran., MS. No. 104. 
 
 VOL. II. 13
 
 194 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 Monday last we have been little better than dead from our fears. 
 This morning we have all revived at the wonderful intelligence which 
 your messenger brought ; and after running each of us into the apart- 
 ments of the other to announce the good news rather by joyous tears 
 than by speech, we have all assembled here with the queen, in order 
 to return thanks to Him who always shows you such signal favour. I 
 assure you, monseigneur, that the queen cordially embraced the bearer 
 of this happy news ; and, moreover, she has conferred the same favour 
 on those who participate in her joy, so that we all scarcely know what 
 we are doing, or the words we write to you. You" will be pleased, 
 therefore, to excuse us if we feel so transported at the thought of the 
 satisfaction which we know that you are feeling. Monseigneur, as we 
 cannot sufficiently recompense the bearer of the good tidings you sent 
 us, we beseech you to hold him in remembrance, and to bestow upon 
 him liberal maintenance. We all of us desire to unite in this deed ; 
 though should he become the fortunate recipient of your bounty, he 
 will not need further aid. 
 
 In conclusion, monseigneur, the queen commands me to beseech you 
 a request in which all the ladies of her court unite to permit us 
 to meet you at any place you may appoint ; for, like St. Thomas, we 
 shall remain incredulous until, with our own eyes, we have looked 
 upon our king, safe, and restored to us from his happy victory. 
 Fervently is this grace supplicated for by 
 
 Your very humble and very obedient subjects, 
 
 CATEBINE, 1 MARGUERITE, 2 MARGUERITE, 8 MARGUERITE, 4 ANNE. 6 
 
 After the capture of the town of Hesdin, the military ardour 
 of the king abated, and wearied with the monotony of the camp 
 at Pernes, he set out on his return to the capital, accompanied 
 by the dauphin and by Montmorency. The intelligence of fresh 
 hostilities on the part of the Imperialists on the frontiers com- 
 pelled the marshal, however, to return to resume his command, 
 which he retained until a truce of ten months was concluded at 
 the village of Bomy, July 31, 1537, by the mediation of Queen 
 Eleanor and her sister Mary, Eegent of the Netherlands. 
 
 The return of the king delayed the journey of the King and 
 
 1 Catherine de' Medici, the dauphiness. 
 
 2 Marguerite, second daughter of the king. 
 8 The Queen of Navarre. 
 
 4 Marguerite, daughter of Charles, Duke de Vendome. She married the Duke 
 de Nevers, 1538. 
 
 8 Anne de Pisseleu, Duchess d'Estampes.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 195 
 
 Queen of Navarre into Beam. The war in Artois and Flanders, 
 consisting but in a succession of sieges and forays across the 
 frontiers on the part of the French and the Imperialists, the 
 king had leisure to devote his attention to the internal adminis- 
 tration of his kingdom. The religious cabals in Paris had some- 
 what decreased since the summary measure adopted by the king 
 in regard to the turbulent syndic of the Sorbonne. In the midst 
 of the panic occasioned by the approaching invasion, and just 
 before the imperial army crossed the frontiers, Noel Be*da re- 
 turned to Paris. His first exploit was to mount the pulpit, and 
 with unparalleled audacity to deliver again a long extempore 
 harangue against the king, his sister, the Duchess d'Estampes, 
 and all who were even remotely suspected by this daring enthu- 
 siast of favouring the Reformation. This was the very offence 
 for which Bdda before had suffered banishment twice ; and the 
 heinousness of his defiance was, if possible, augmented by the 
 critical period which he selected for this his third attack. The 
 forbearance of Francis was exhausted ; and he determined to 
 silence forever the factious theologian who thus insolently de- 
 fied his authority. Beda was accordingly arrested on the charge 
 of high treason ; his trial was expeditiously proceeded with. 
 The sentence of the court degraded Beda from his office of syn- 
 dic, and condemned him to perform penance with a torch in his 
 hand before the porch of Notre Dame for having spoken malig- 
 nantly and falsely of his sovereign lord the king, and afterwards 
 to perpetual imprisonment in the fortress of Mont St. Michel. 1 
 This sentence was carried into rigorous execution, as the king 
 refused to commute the punishment, which all peacefully in- 
 clined persons throughout the kingdom acknowledged to be 
 richly deserved. Beda died a prisoner about eighteen months 
 after his condemnation. 
 
 Marguerite and the Duchess d'Estampes are accused by 
 Roman Catholic historians of having made a third attempt at 
 this period to lure the king from the faith of his ancestors. 
 One of the most popular and eloquent preachers in Paris was 
 Nicholas le Coq, Cure" of St. Eustache, whose sermons attracted 
 crowded congregations. Like many of the most learned men of 
 the day, Le Coq had imbibed some of the leading doctrines of 
 the reformers, without having declared himself openly a disciple 
 
 1 Erasmus, Ep. 72 ; Bayle, Dictionnaire Historique, Article, Noel Bedier.
 
 196 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 either of Luther or of Zuinglius. His opinions, however, on the 
 sacrament of the Lord's Supper coincided with the views of the 
 Swiss reformer rather than with the doctrine of Luther, which 
 admitted a real presence, whilst the elements of bread and wine 
 remained unchanged. The popularity of the Cure of St. Eus- 
 tache shielded him from the persecutions of the Sorbonne. His 
 reputation was great ; and as his personal influence appeared 
 unlimited over certain eminent members of his congregation, 
 any attempt, it was thought, to molest him would have met with 
 defeat. Marguerite and the Duchess d'Estampes determined, 
 therefore, to avail themselves of the favoured though injudi- 
 cious Le Coq to expound before the king his views on the 
 sacrament, the most dangerous as well as the most hotly 
 contested point of the controversy between the Eeformed and 
 the Romish Churches. When the turn of the Cure de St. Eus- 
 tache came to preach before the king, he chose the doctrine of 
 the Real Presence for the subject of his address. After descant- 
 ing with unrivalled eloquence on the opinions maintained on 
 this sacred subject by the various religious parties then dividing 
 Christendom, the preacher burst forth into a glowing eulogium 
 when he pronounced the name of Zuinglius. He maintained 
 that the Church had taken extraordinary precaution to warn the 
 faithful that the body and blood of Christ was only taken sym- 
 bolically under both kinds in the holy communion ; and that 
 before the prayer consecrating the elements was pronounced, 
 the Church, by her solemn admonition, taught her children the 
 light in which the sacrament ought to be received. " Let us 
 not then descend to that which lieth before us on the altar, but 
 let us rise to heaven by faith, sursum corda, sursum corda ! " 
 The preacher then continued to show that those who would par- 
 ticipate rightly in the holy mysteries must lift up their hearts, 
 their thoughts, and desires to heaven, and thus spiritually com- 
 municate. The sermon appeared to make great impression upon 
 the king ; and when it concluded he commanded the Cardinal 
 du Bellay, Bishop of Paris, to bring the preacher into his pres- 
 ence, as he desired to confer with him. The audience was a 
 private one, and its purport was never known. The prelates in 
 the royal suite, however, were wonderfully scandalized at the 
 address. Unfortunately for Le Coq, the Cardinal de Tournon 
 was one of his auditory, and he represented the matter a few
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 197 
 
 days subsequently in so strong a light to the king, and expa- 
 tiated so warmly on the daring insolence of the preacher, that 
 Francis, who was only dazzled and not convinced by the elo- 
 quence of the cure, consented that proceedings should be insti- 
 tuted to remove from the Church so plausible a dissentient. 
 Marguerite and the Duchess d'Estampes, therefore, were com- 
 pelled to acknowledge their share in the transaction ; and though 
 with two such powerful protectors the Cure of St. Eustache had 
 not much to dread from his enemies, yet he thought it most 
 prudent, on the first expostulation addressed to him by the 
 Cardinal-bishop of Paris, to withdraw the objectionable passages 
 from his sermon. This concession having been obtained, the 
 king commanded that no further molestation should be offered 
 to Le Coq, who was suffered to continue his public ministra- 
 tions, though with a proportionable loss of influence. 1 The affair 
 of the Cure de St. Eustache caused a great sensation in Paris : the 
 king, it was perceived, was by no means so firmly resolved to 
 uphold the Eoman theologians as it had been hoped ; while Mar- 
 guerite and the Duchess d'Estampes, far from being intimidated, 
 showed themselves ready to renew the strife between the two 
 parties at every favourable opportunity. The influence pos- 
 sessed by the Marshal de Montmorency and the Cardinal de 
 Tournon was the only counterpoise to the perpetual attempts of 
 the queen and the duchess to overthrow the supremacy of the 
 Church of Eome in France. Madame d'Estampes openly avowed 
 her dislike of Montmorency, and daily became a warmer parti- 
 san of his rival in the royal favour, the Admiral de Brion. At 
 this period the eminent services rendered by the marshal put 
 down every attempt to supersede him in the king's favour; 
 especially, also, as the Queen of Navarre counteracted by her 
 opinion and advice the hostile insinuations infused into the 
 king's mind by the duchess, that Montmorency desired to mo- 
 nopolize the glory and credit of the war, to the detriment of his 
 royal master's fame. 
 
 The sudden illness of the King of Navarre again delayed the 
 departure of the royal pair into Bdarn, where the defenceless 
 condition of many of the towns and fortresses on the frontier 
 inspired Marguerite with fear lest the emperor might effect a 
 second invasion of France through the territories of her husband. 
 
 1 Varillas, Hist, de 1'Heresie ; Maimbourg, Hist, du Calvinisme.
 
 198 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 Henry's malady was a serious attack of jaundice, accompanied 
 by fever and many dangerous symptoms. For the space of four 
 days his life was despaired of. The same fever was making 
 frightful ravages throughout the country, and in most cases 
 terminated fatally, the Duke de Vendome and many valiant 
 officers in the service of the king having fallen victims to the 
 disease. The king himself was suffering at Lyons from a slight 
 attack of the epidemic ; while Queen Eleanor and the dauphin 
 had retired to Fontainebleau to avoid infection. 
 
 Marguerite and her husband were sojourning at St. Cloud 
 during the period of Henry's illness ; but as soon as the king 
 could bear the motion of a litter they removed to Vanves for 
 change of air. Henry's convalescence was much retarded by 
 his anxiety to take a personal share in the negotiations then 
 pending at the village of Bourg for the conclusion of a truce. 
 The restoration of the kingdom of Navarre was a design ever 
 paramount in his mind, and the hope that Francis would at 
 length take some decisive measure to perform the promise he 
 had made him alone induced Henry to temporize, or submit 
 patiently to Montmorency's arrogance and the king's interference 
 in his domestic concerns. Marguerite herself was no less de- 
 sirous that her husband should be reinstated in his rights ; and 
 to guard that this important affair was not overlooked in the 
 pending negotiations, the queen wrote from Vanves to remind 
 the marshal of the matter : " If God sends us peace through 
 your mediation, I pray you, mon nepveu, to hold the kingdom 
 of Navarre in memory, and to use your utmost efforts to restore 
 it to those from whom it has been despoiled for manifesting 
 their devotion to France. It will be an action redounding very 
 much to the king's honour if he should succeed in restoring the 
 heritage of his brother-in-law, and would afford a notable 
 example to all princes that the king never omits to reward 
 good service. You are aware that the late Grand Master de 
 Boisy took the matter in hand with great success. I flatter 
 myself, mon nepveu, that you bear the King of Navarre not 
 less friendship than the late grand master, who had no intimate 
 knowledge of the king, but served him only out of compassion 
 for the wrong done to him." 1 Montmorency, however, had no 
 desire to forward the interests of the King of Navarre ; nor was 
 
 1 MS. Bibl. Roy., F. de Beth., No. 8550.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 199 
 
 it probable that Francis, who could not obtain the Milanese 
 for himself, a duchy situated in the centre of a country full 
 of divisions and tumult, could exact from the emperor the 
 restoration of Navarre to the house of Albret, a kingdom incor- 
 porated in every respect with the Spanish monarchy. The 
 conferences at Bourg, besides, were holden to promote the con- 
 clusion of an armistice solely as regarded the war on the 
 frontiers of Flanders, and not for the negotiation of peace 
 throughout the dominions of Francis and the emperor, as hos- 
 tilities still continued in Savoy. 
 
 The continuation of the war in Piedmont, and rumours of an 
 intended assault by the Imperialists on the town of Bayonne, 
 raised great apprehensions in the minds of the sovereigns of 
 Bdarn. Marguerite, therefore, became extremely anxious to 
 depart from Vanves as soon as the health of the King of Navarre 
 permitted ; and meantime she wrote to the Marshal de Montmo- 
 rency, praying him to provide for the safety of the important 
 frontier of the principality, across which the imperial troops 
 had so often made a descent upon Bayonne : " The King of 
 Navarre, mon nepveu, is very much discomforted at being de- 
 tained from serving where he would desire ; so much so, that 
 I have not dared to show him the despatch sent here by M. de 
 Bordeaux, but about which I have just written fully to M. de 
 Saint Andre*. M. de Bordeaux seems to believe that it is the 
 fault of the King of Navarre that his request for succour has 
 not been granted. The King of Navarre, however, has done his 
 duty by beseeching the king to send thither some efficient 
 person, or to go himself; he is so weary of expostulating in 
 vain, and without receiving the slightest satisfaction, that I dare 
 not mention the subject to him again while he remains in his 
 present state of health. I beseech you, therefore, mon nepveu, 
 to send the succours which M. de Bordeaux asks, under the 
 command of any whom it may please the king to nominate ; 
 for time is short, and the emperor desires to surprise us by a 
 sudden stroke. I have frequently told you that the King of 
 Navarre has not a single place in the principality which could 
 stand an assault ; he has not yet established military order 
 throughout his dominions, for besides that during his absence 
 it would have been impossible, the king wished that no hostile 
 demonstration should be made until after the assembly of the
 
 200 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 Cortfcs of Spain. Therefore, if you do not provide for the 
 garrisons of Bayonne and Dax, our frontier is very weak, and 
 incapable of offering resistance to the enemy. I entreat you, 
 mon nepveu, to take what I say into your serious consideration ; 
 for I confess my fears to you, knowing how greatly you have 
 the welfare of the king and his realm at heart." l 
 
 In a few days after Marguerite had written thus pressingly to 
 the marshal, she resumed, in company with her husband, her 
 journey into Bdarn. King Francis, before his sister's departure, 
 was convalescent again ; and the tidings she received of the war 
 in Piedmont, and the muster of troops at Lyons, seemed most 
 satisfactory. Eager to render her brother service, Marguerite 
 entered with alacrity into the projects of the King of Navarre for 
 the fortification of Guyenne and Be"arn. She seems to have dis- 
 cussed the most minute incident relative to the plan to be pursued 
 in case Charles's army crossed the frontiers, and to have made 
 herself conversant with the names of all the officers employed in 
 the service of the king. It gave her serious disquietude, never- 
 theless, that Montmorency had not as yet heeded her reqiiest to 
 send succours for the efficient garrison of Bayonne and Dax. In 
 her letter of farewell to her brother, she again strongly insisted 
 on the necessity of this measure. She says : " Monseigneur, 
 although I have not been able to take personal leave of you, I 
 most humbly commend myself to your loving favour: and I 
 pray you receive the tears which from afar I shed on bidding 
 you adieu, and let this letter bear to you the words which I 
 would have uttered. If it were not for the hope I entertain of 
 rendering you good service there, where I go, I should not have 
 strength to bear this separation. I regret so much to perceive 
 that amid all your urgent affairs, the King of Navarre and 
 myself are rendering you so little service that we will not visit a 
 single place without giving you some evidence of our zeal. If I 
 presume, monseigneur, to be importunate upon any affair which 
 concerns you, pardon me ; but if you perceive that my request 
 is a reasonable one, command, I pray you, that its execution 
 may not be delayed. I trust, monseigneur, that during our 
 sojourn [in Be'arn] we may meet with no misadventure. That 
 which I dread most is a surprise, to which we unfortunately are 
 liable, as the urgent demands of M. de Bordeaux for aid have 
 
 1 MS. Bibl. Roy., F. de Beth., No. 9127.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 201 
 
 not yet been complied with ; therefore, I desire greatly, if 
 possible, that M. de St. Andre* may be despatched so as to arrive 
 [at Bordeaux] before ourselves." 1 The king hastened to send 
 the succours demanded by his sister. He, moreover, summoned 
 the King of Navarre to join him without delay at Lyons ; and 
 to Marguerite's astonishment, Francis despatched to her powers 
 to discharge the functions of governor of the province of Guyenne 
 during her husband's absence. The queen unhesitatingly ac- 
 cepted the responsible office, and prepared to fulfil its varied 
 duties with energy and courage. Her activity at this season is 
 astonishing, and her journeys throughout Guyenne and Beam 
 seem endless. Her principal adviser was De Burie, lieutenant- 
 governor of Guyenne, who during Henry's absence took the 
 command of the important frontier fortress of Bayonne, to watch 
 the movements of the imperial army encamped in Navarre and 
 the adjacent provinces. " As it has pleased you, monseigneur, 
 to confide in me to serve you [in Guyenne] during the absence 
 of the King of Navarre, if the ability to do so equalled my 
 affection, you could not have appointed a more efficient governor. 
 Nevertheless, despite the incompetency, of which I am so sen- 
 sible, I trust in Him who ordained me to be your sister, that He 
 will give me sufficient grace to render you some service ; or at 
 least not to damage the admirable order hitherto maintained here 
 by the King of Navarre," 2 wrote Marguerite, when acknowledg- 
 ing the trust reposed in her by her brother. The queen continues 
 to assure the king that she will maintain a vigilant guard over 
 the frontiers, and for that purpose she proposed to depart imme- 
 diately for Mont de Marsan. " If the English king, monseigneur, 
 should accomplish a descent on these coasts [of Guyenne], as it 
 is rumoured, and the Spaniards make common cause with him, 
 I pray you to devise some expedient, in your wisdom, through 
 which these countries may be defended," 3 added Marguerite, 
 whose opinion of Henry VIII. was the reverse of flattering, as 
 she never scruples to express in her correspondence, despite her 
 brother's partiality for Henry and his trust in the English mon- 
 arch's insincere professions. From a subsequent letter, written 
 by Queen Marguerite from Mont de Marsan, it would appear 
 that Francis had inconsiderately solicited his sister to resign her 
 
 1 F. du Suppl. Fran., MS. No. 65, Bibl. Royale. 
 
 2 Ibid., MS. No. 53, Bibl. Royale. 8 Ibid.
 
 202 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 command into the hands of M. de Burie, and to join him at 
 Lyons. This proposal Marguerite declined, excusing herself on 
 the urgency of the king's affairs in Guyenne and Be*arn, which 
 required all her devotion to his interests to manage. From 
 Mont de Marsan, Marguerite proceeded to Dax ; in which place 
 she summoned a council of war, consisting of M. de Burie, the 
 Archbishop of Bordeaux, and the Sene'schal of the Bazadois. De 
 Burie had solicited the queen to advance as near as possible to 
 the neighbourhood of Bayonne to confer with him, as the town 
 was in such peril of sudden assault that he dare not abandon it. 1 
 Marguerite made a sojourn of three days at Dax. " MM. de 
 Burie, de Bordeaux, the Se'ne'schal of the Bazadois, and myself 
 have made a thorough examination of the fortifications of this 
 town. We discovered one very dangerous point, as M. de Burie 
 has already written to you, monseigneur. I beseech you do not 
 delay to put this place in an efficient state of defence. I have 
 already caused the works to be commenced on my own credit," 2 
 wrote Marguerite to the king. She also expressed very serious 
 apprehension relative to the safety of Bayoune. A conspiracy 
 had been discovered amongst the garrison, which probably had 
 for its object to deliver the fortress into the hands of the Impe- 
 rialists. She speaks as if her sudden arrival at Dax had put to 
 rout the designs of the conspirators. "I thank God, mon- 
 seigueur, that I depart hence the day after to-morrow, leaving the 
 affair I mentioned to you so cleared up that, for the wealth of 
 the ernperor, I would not have missed seeing the proofs of that 
 plot which M. de Burie now holds in his hands." 3 In another 
 letter to her brother, written almost simultaneously, Marguerite 
 gallantly says : " If it be true, monseigneur, as it is asserted, that 
 our neighbours over the frontiers are inclined to make an expe- 
 dition for the capture of Bayonne, or of this place [Dax], I would 
 not quit it until I had caused them to be repulsed with such 
 loss as shall give them a wholesome dread of essaying another 
 feat of arms on our territory." 4 Marguerite greatly lauds the 
 science and loyalty displayed by De Burie in organizing the 
 defence of the provinces of Guyenne, Gascony, and Be*arn. 
 " Whilst M. de Burie remains your lieutenant here, monseigneur, 
 we may sleep in peace and safety, fully assured that he will take 
 
 i F. du Suppl. Fran., MS. No. 85. Ibid., MS. No. 34.] 
 
 8 Ibid., MS. No. 25, Bibl. Roy. Ibid., MS. No. 34.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 203 
 
 every needful precaution for the safety of your dominions." 1 
 On acccount of the great expenses which M. de Burie's office 
 entailed upon him, and which his private fortune was inadequate 
 to defray, he had announced, to the queen's dismay, his intention 
 to relinquish his command on the termination of the war. He 
 explained to Marguerite, during her interview with him at Dax, 
 that the long absences of the King of Navarre, Governor of 
 Guyenne, very materially increased his expenses, as the cost of 
 receptions and entertainments to the various officers of the 
 province devolved upon him, without any adequate salary being 
 apportioned. The queen promised to use her influence with her 
 brother to remedy the grievance of which M. de Burie complained, 
 and she eventually exerted herself so effectually in his favour 
 that a proper remuneration for his services was assigned him by 
 the king. 
 
 From Dax, the Queen of Navarre proceeded to Bordeaux. 
 During her sojourn in the capital of Guyenne, Marguerite, in 
 her character of governor of the province, went down in state 
 to the chamber where the parliament of Bordeaux assembled, to 
 demand the release of Andrew Melancthon, brother to the cele- 
 brated reformer, who was incarcerated in the Conciergerie for 
 preaching the doctrines of Luther in the town of Agen and its 
 neighbourhood. Melancthon had written letters to the Queen 
 of Navarre, to pray her to obtain his brother's release, whose 
 zeal in making converts had procured him a dangerous notoriety, 
 and many months of painful imprisonment in the diocesan 
 prisons of Bordeaux. The senators were either very favourably 
 disposed to grant any petition addressed to them by Queen 
 Marguerite, or perhaps they were confounded at her assurance 
 in presuming to make public suit for a heretic, as they unani- 
 mously decreed the liberation of Andrew Melancthon, on con- 
 dition that he quitted Guyenne. 2 Marguerite expressed herself 
 content to abide by this reservation; and a few days subse- 
 quently she took satisfactory and affectionate leave of the loyal 
 Bordelais. 
 
 The queen had now traversed nearly the whole of Guyenne, 
 Be'arn, and Gascony, visiting the fortresses, and conferring with 
 their various commanders. Her presence had reassured the in- 
 
 1 F. du Suppl. Fran., MS. No. 28. 
 
 2 Florimond de Remond, Hist, de 1'Heresie.
 
 204 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 habitants of Bordeaux, and especially the garrison of Bayonne, 
 a town, from its position, likely to be first assailed in case of 
 sudden invasion. Her courage inspired the inhabitants of the 
 provinces with resolution to make a vigorous defence ; and the 
 devotion she manifested for the king greatly kindled their loyalty. 
 The succours she solicited so ardently had also arrived; and 
 before she quitted Guyenne, Marguerite had the satisfaction 
 of knowing that the fortifications of Dax were repaired, and 
 the troops quartered in Bordeaux efficiently reinforced by the 
 arrival of M. de St. Andre* and his company ; so that the city 
 was in condition to stand a siege. 
 
 Francis, meanwhile, being on the point of quitting Lyons to 
 lead his army into. Savoy, sent the queen very peremptory com- 
 mands to join him without delay ; and to insure her obedience, 
 he despatched the King of Navarre to escort her to the court. 
 Marguerite, therefore, on quitting Bordeaux, repaired to Limoges 
 to meet her husband. On her arrival at Limoges, the Count 
 Bossut de Longueval requested an audience to present a letter 
 from the king. This letter contained merely a hurried greeting 
 from Francis to his sister, telling her that the count, who had 
 just quitted Lyons, would inform her of his health and well- 
 being. Longueval, however, to the infinite surprise of the 
 queen, added that he was commissioned by the king to desire 
 her to await the arrival of the Duchess d'Estampes, who was 
 expected at Limoges with the King of Navarre, and not upon 
 any account to proceed to Lyons without her. Marguerite her- 
 self had received directions precisely to the contrary from her 
 brother, who strictly required her to go alone to Lyons and 
 confer with him. The King of Navarre arrived a day or two 
 afterwards without Madame d'Estampes : the duchess, however, 
 made her appearance at Limoges in the course of the same day ; 
 and presenting herself before Marguerite, she reiterated the 
 assertion made by Longueval. Marguerite was much perplexed 
 how to act, especially as the King of Navarre declared that he 
 had received no command respecting the duchess from the king. 
 The queen never placed reliance on the truth of Madame 
 d'Estampes, of whose egotistical character she was aware, though 
 policy compelled her to live with her on tolerable terms. It 
 occurred to Marguerite, therefore, that the duchess, uneasy at her 
 separation from the king, and at the little anxiety displayed by
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 205 
 
 him to see her again, had adopted the bold scheme of travelling 
 to Lyons in her suite, as if by the queen's invitation, hoping thus 
 to avoid the responsibility of repairing thither alone. The Count 
 de Longueval was one of the most devoted adherents of the 
 Duchess d'Estampes, and enjoyed her unlimited confidence ; he 
 was consequently disliked by the king, whose penetration discov- 
 ered the perfidy of his character. Even at this period it appears 
 that Francis suspected Longueval of holding disloyal intelligences 
 with the emperor ; and that he believed the duchess herself was 
 not totally exempt from reproach, though her beauty and plausi- 
 bility yet imposed upon him. Finding that the message delivered 
 by these two specious allies was not confirmed by the King of 
 Navarre, Marguerite, determined not to be made a dupe by 
 Madame d'Estampes, sent the duchess word "that it was true 
 she was about to visit the king to solicit a grace for the King of 
 Navarre ; but she had received commands to go alone : therefore, 
 to undertake so responsible a thing as to take with her one of the 
 ladies of Queen Eleanor's household 1 without permission, would 
 at once destroy her hopes of a successful suit. Nevertheless, it 
 was her intention to proceed to Toulouse, and there await any 
 commands the king might send her respecting the duchess." 
 From Toulouse Marguerite, therefore, despatched a messenger to 
 Lyons, to ask directions from her brother whether she was to 
 proceed to visit him alone, or in company with the Duchess 
 d'Estampes. " I have to request you again, monseigneur," wrote 
 Marguerite, " that in all things you wish me to do you will send 
 me directions from yourself, or through those who possess your 
 esteem; as whatever may be your commands I will obey. Be not 
 displeased, therefore, if I insist that you always write to me your 
 will, for I fear not to fall short of fulfilling it, if only I am 
 assured of your desire ; but I have witnessed so much dissimula- 
 tion and intrigue that I can only put entire faitli in your own 
 handwriting." 2 From the strong expressions used by Margue- 
 rite relative to Madame d'Estampes and her friend the Count de 
 Longueval, it manifestly appears that the faith of Francis in the 
 integrity of his favourite had even thus early been shaken. Mar- 
 guerite, in another part of the same letter, is even more explicit on 
 the subject; referring to her perplexity on receiving such a 
 
 1 The Duchess d'Estampes was dame d'atours to Queen Eleanor. 
 
 2 MS. Bibl. Roy., F. de Beth., No. 8546.
 
 206 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 communication from the duchess and Longueval, the queen says : 
 " Monseigneur, you may imagine my anxiety after the discourse 
 you were pleased to hold to me when I last took leave of you, 
 relative to her, and to him who gave me this commandment in 
 your name, especially as the King of Navarre disowned all knowl- 
 edge of the matter." Francis responded to his sister's appeal 
 by desiring her to continue her journey ; while to Madame 
 d'Estampes he apparently also sent permission to join him at 
 Lyons. The duchess, therefore, continued her journey alone ; but 
 before her" departure from Limoges she could not refrain from 
 boasting of what she thought a triumph over the Queen of 
 Navarre, by writing to Marguerite, who was still at Toulouse, that 
 she hoped to see the king the first of the two. 
 
 The Queen of Navarre remained for some days with the king 
 at Lyons. She found Francis in good health, and indulging in 
 sanguine speculations on the success of the war. She then took 
 her departure for Fontainebleau at the express desire of the 
 king, where Queen Eleanor and the dauphiness lay ill of the 
 fever, which still continued to ravage the midland provinces 
 of France. 
 
 The arrival of the Queen of Navarre produced beneficial 
 effects on the health of her god-daughter the Princess Mar- 
 guerite, whose spirits had suffered from the premature decease 
 of her sister Madelaine, Queen of Scotland. 1 Marguerite and 
 her niece used to walk and read together; the queen also 
 persuaded the young princess to take early rambles in the fresh 
 morning air ; and often at sunrise she accompanied her to look 
 at the numerous herds of deer scattered over the vast park 
 and forest at Foutainebleau. One day they went together to 
 visit a choice vineyard and wine-press belonging to the king. 
 The Queen of Navarre held an amusing colloquy with the wife 
 of the vine-dresser, Janot, on the insalubrious state of the air, 
 and the ravages committed by the fever. Madame Janot in- 
 formed her royal visitors that all her husband's servants had 
 been ill, either of the fever or with ague ; but although they 
 took no better nourishment than what was afforded by their 
 usual diet of garlic, onions, and pure water, yet they rapidly recov- 
 ered. This adventure afforded Marguerite great amusement, 
 and she recounted it to Montmorency, with many praises of the 
 
 1 Queen Madelaine died in 1537.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 207 
 
 beauty of the vineyard and the prosperous condition of the vines, 
 which gave promise of a plentiful vintage. 1 
 
 The king at this season was in Savoy, at Carignan, with his 
 victorious army. Francis was accompanied by the dauphin and 
 by the Marshal de Montrnorency, who, in fact, was invested with 
 supreme command. The Marquis del Guasto had been com- 
 pelled to retreat before the advance of the French ; Montcallier, 
 Carignan, Kiva, and Villeneuve successively opened their gates 
 to the royal army. Marguerite wrote to congratulate her brother 
 on the triumphant success of his arms ; she informed him of the 
 convalescence of the queen, and entreated him to suffer her to 
 join him at the camp, as Eleanor bad no longer occasion for her 
 services at Fontainebleau. This request, however, must have 
 been prompted by Marguerite's enthusiasm, rather than from any 
 hope tbat it could be granted. She says : " Monseigneur, if I 
 am to be deprived of your society, I hold the condition of the 
 wives of your German mercenaries superior to my own ; for in 
 serving their husbands they have, at least, the satisfaction of 
 seeing you, a boon which I, who desire this sight above all 
 things, cannot obtain. Such is my longing to accomplish the 
 journey that I would renounce my royal blood to be servant to 
 your washerwoman ; and to tell you the honest truth, mon- 
 seigneur, I have a great mind to lay aside my robe of cloth of 
 gold, and visit you in disguise." Marguerite continues to give her 
 brother an account of the honours and friendship conferred upon 
 her by Queen Eleanor and Mesdames, "who treat me, mon- 
 seigueur, with such respect and consideration that I might be 
 the mother of them all." 2 
 
 The queen, however, was compelled, very shortly after writing 
 this letter, to leave her pleasant companions and add another 
 journey of anguish and suspense to the many it had already been 
 her lot to endure ; and her sorrowful recital of the new anxiety 
 which had befallen her quickly followed the despatch of her 
 former epistle to the king. 
 
 1 MS. Bibl. Roy., F. de Beth., No. 8550. 
 
 2 F. du Suppl. Fran., MS. No. 79, Bibl. Royale.
 
 208 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 CHAPTEE VIII. 
 
 AS soon as Queen Eleanor was sufficiently recovered to 
 travel, the court removed from Fontainebleau to Ch&- 
 tillon, and from thence to the palace of St. Germain-en-Laye. 
 
 The month of December had closed in, and the days were 
 gloomy and short, when Marguerite received a hasty despatch 
 from Madame de Silly announcing the serious illness of the 
 little Princess Jeanne at Plessis-les-Tours, who had been seized 
 with a dangerous attack of fever and dysentery. In addition 
 to this alarming intelligence, the verbal report brought by the 
 messenger added, if possible, to Marguerite's disquietude. She 
 learned that the condition of the princess l was considered 
 extremely critical by her medical attendants, who expressed 
 great fears respecting her recovery; for the violence of the 
 malady, and the sickness which afflicted the princess during 
 two whole days, had reduced her to a deplorable state of weak- 
 ness. Madame de Silly, therefore, urgently besought Marguerite 
 to relieve her by her presence at Plessis from the responsibility 
 of her office. Marguerite's affection for her daughter was great, 
 and the welfare and education of the little princess absorbed 
 many of her thoughts. Doubtless she suffered much anxiety 
 at her separation from her only child ; but Marguerite never 
 resisted the omnipotent fiat of Francis, and her life was a con- 
 stant sacrifice to his pleasure. The news of the illness of the 
 Princess Jeanne reached Paris about four o'clock one afternoon. 
 As soon as Marguerite had perused the afflicting news, she pro- 
 claimed her intention of setting out for Plessis without the 
 delay of a single hour. It was a most inclement evening, and 
 the rain was pouring in torrents. The servants and suite of the 
 Queen of Navarre were, moreover, scattered over Paris and the 
 neighbouring villages. She had even few of her personal attend- 
 
 1 The Princess Jane had just completed her ninth year.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 209 
 
 ants in waiting at the time, and her travelling equipages had 
 been conveyed to so distant a place for the winter that it was 
 hopeless to summon them speedily enough to make her journey 
 to Plessis of any avail. Undaunted by these obstacles, Mar- 
 guerite borrowed a litter belonging to her niece the Princess 
 Marguerite, and hastily assembling her attendants, she bade 
 them prepare for instant departure for Touraine, such being 
 the queen's expedition that a few hours after the tidings of her 
 daughter's danger reached Paris she had quitted the capital. 
 
 At nightfall the little troop arrived at a place called Bourg- 
 la-Royne, where the queen consented to rest until the morning. 
 Instead of proceeding to her lodgings, Marguerite went first to 
 the church, in order to offer a solemn supplication to God for the 
 life of her daughter. The queen alighted from her litter, and 
 followed by the Sene'chale of Poitou she entered the church, 
 having previously requested her attendants to await her in the 
 porch, " as her heart was very heavy with a presentiment of her 
 daughter's 'approaching death." Marguerite then advanced to 
 the high altar, and prostrating herself before it, she besought 
 God, with tears and fervent supplication, to spare the life of the 
 young princess. She then rose, and kneeling with her brow 
 resting on the altar railing, made lowly confession of her own 
 sins, imploring that God would absolve her freely, and remit for 
 His Son's sake the grievous chastisement which menaced her. 
 When she rejoined her attendants the queen exclaimed : " Now 
 have I, indeed, good hope in God's mercy ; and in faith do I 
 humbly rely that He will yet restore my child to me." The 
 queen then entered her litter, and proceeded to the lodging pre- 
 pared for her. She then supped with the Senechale of Poitou. 
 It was remarked that Marguerite spoke little during the repast, 
 but the discourse she held was on the mercies which the Almighty 
 vouchsafed to those who showed confidence in His gracious 
 protection. 
 
 After supper the queen dismissed her attendants, wishing to 
 pass some time in retirement ; and opening the Bible she com- 
 menced perusing it attentively. Suddenly, about two o'clock in 
 the morning, the distant sound of a horn was heard ; Marguerite's 
 heart beat, and she closed the book, for that shrill blast in those 
 days heralded the approach of a royal courier. Gradually the 
 sound increased, and the echo of a horse's hoofs on the pave- 
 
 VOL. II. 14
 
 210 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 ment, as the rider approached, became audible. In another few 
 minutes the courier entered the court-yard of the inn. Mar- 
 guerite rose, and precipitately approaching a window she threw 
 it open and inquired the news. No one responded, for the 
 queen's voice was overpowered by the confusion below. At 
 length the door of her apartment opened, and the Bishop of 
 Seez entered. Marguerite was kneeling on the ground, her arms 
 resting on a low couch standing in the embrasure of the window, 
 and her face buried in the folds of her mantle. When the bishop 
 approached, she exclaimed with mournful impetuosity : " Ah, 
 Monsieur de Se*ez, you come to announce the decease of my only 
 child ! nay, speak not, I understand well that she now stands in 
 the presence of her God ! " The Bishop of Seez then informed 
 the queen that instead of indulging in bitter wailing, it was her 
 duty to render thanks to Almighty God for the recovery of her 
 daughter, who had been pronounced to be out of danger by 
 Burgency and the other physicians. Marguerite's features 
 became irradiated with joy ; clasping her hands together she 
 returned thanks for the restoration of her child ere she would 
 accept or even heed the congratulations of her attendants. 1 The 
 bishop, when Marguerite was somewhat more composed, detailed 
 the intelligence he had received from the courier, and gave the 
 queen a few lines written by the young princess, addressed to her 
 mother. This precious little note proved a greater consolation to 
 Marguerite than the complementary assurances of the bishop that 
 all was going on as well as she could desire at Plessis. 
 
 As soon as the Queen of Navarre recovered from the fatigue of 
 her sudden departure from Paris, she continued her journey to 
 Plessis-les-Tours. The little princess was much better, being 
 pronounced free from dangerous symptoms ; but her strength 
 had been so much reduced that she was compelled for many days 
 after her mother's arrival to keep her bed. It was a pleasant 
 duty Marguerite was now called upon to perform, and one which 
 she loved well; and very assiduously, therefore, did she aid 
 Madame de Silly in the care of watching the gradual restoration 
 of the little invalid to her usual health and joyous spirits. Mar- 
 guerite seems to have enjoyed the tranquillity and seclusion of 
 Plessis ; the most active mind requires at times repose and the 
 absence of exciting care ; nevertheless, throughout the life of the 
 
 1 Sainte Marthe, Oraison Funebre de 1' Incomparable Marguerite.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 211 
 
 Queen of Navarre her destiny was such that her days passed in 
 perpetual anxiety. It is a remarkable fact that no sooner had 
 her exertions procured the satisfactory adjustment of one affair 
 than another presented itself to absorb, in its turn, her energy. 
 Earely did Marguerite sojourn a month together in any place ; 
 and her journeys were so frequent and varied that throughout 
 the realm of France there were few villages, even, which she had 
 not visited. The influential position occupied by the Queen of 
 Navarre entailed upon her labour and anxieties of no feeble de- 
 scription. She stood, to speak figuratively, on the steps of her 
 brother's throne, the medium through which the majority of 
 his subjects applied for his royal grace and favour. The royal 
 family of France, the members of the house of Albret, the cour- 
 tiers, the friendless and oppressed, the French Protestants, and 
 even Madame d'Estampes herself, addressed themselves to 
 Marguerite to procure any extraordinary boon or favour they 
 desired from the sovereign. It pleased Francis that his sister, 
 " La Marguerite des Marguerites," should occupy this proud 
 position ; it gratified his pride that, by the simple declaration of 
 his sovereign will, a princess, his sister, should exercise an influ- 
 ence superior to that possessed by Eleanor, whose exalted rank 
 seemed to command the most profound homage, or even by 
 the heir-apparent of the crown itself. But in return for his 
 confidence, and for the power and consideration lavished upon 
 her with unsparing hand, Francis exacted from Marguerite a 
 total renunciation of feeling, pursuit, pleasure, or interest, apart 
 from himself. Nevertheless, there are but few instances on 
 record when the devotion which the king required from her 
 proved unwelcome to Marguerite, or her desires aspired to other 
 objects than those originated by her brother. Brought up 
 together from their tenderest infancy, they had been inseparable 
 companions before one of the ties was formed which bound 
 them in domestic duty to others ; while, with the exception of 
 the King of Navarre, all these personages thus allied were un- 
 fitted from mental deficiency for association with accomplished 
 scholars such as Francis and Marguerite. The attachment sub- 
 sisting between the brother and the sister, therefore, which 
 commenced during their earliest years, became stronger as the 
 cares of the world and its sorrows assailed them. Francis 
 knew that no one sympathized so truly with him as his sis-
 
 212 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 ter ; while Marguerite experienced no alloy in the felicity she 
 felt at the steadfast affection manifested towards her by her 
 brother. 
 
 The queen remained nearly a fortnight with her daughter, 
 when she was unexpectedly compelled to make a hurried journey 
 into Bretagne, to Boisgency, the abode of the Viscount de Eohan 
 and his consort, the Princess Isabel of Navarre. The improvi- 
 dence of the viscount, added to some serious losses which he 
 sustained through the carelessness of agents, had impaired his 
 fortune to so disastrous an extent that he found himself unable 
 longer to maintain an establishment suitable to his own rank and 
 that of his royal consort. 
 
 The queen's absence lasted three weeks. With the utmost 
 delicacy and generosity Marguerite offered Madame de Eohau a 
 home with the Princess Jeanne, at Plessis-les-Tours, until the 
 viscount's affairs were re-established. The expenses of the 
 young princess's household were liquidated by the queen from 
 her independent revenues as Duchess d'Alenqon and de Berry, 
 with some assistance from the king. The queen's offer, there- 
 fore, saved Madame de Eohan from the humiliation of returning 
 to the court of Beam as a pensioner on her brother's bounty. 
 Marguerite, moreover, wrote to her brother to solicit his aid for 
 the Viscount de Eohan ; and she reminds the king of his own 
 near connection, through his grandmother, Marguerite de Eohan, 
 with that fallen house. 
 
 The king was at Montpellier awaiting the termination of nego- 
 tiations which, through the mediation of Queen Mary, regent of 
 the Low Countries, had been opened at the little town of Leu- 
 cate, in Languedoc, to conclude a suspension of arms as regarded 
 the duchy of Savoy, similar to that recently signed at Bourg. 
 From the grateful thanks which Marguerite tenders to her 
 brother in her reply to his letter, Francis had apparently re- 
 turned a favourable answer to her solicitations on behalf of the 
 Viscount de Eohan and his family ; he seems, however, to have 
 rendered his acquiescence in his sister's demand dependent on 
 her immediately joining him at Montpellier. The queen desires 
 to do so above all things ; she therefore writes : " Mo n seigneur, 
 if you could only experience a little of the joy you have given me 
 by the command to hasten to a place which contains all I love 
 most on earth, after the good and charitable deed you have done,
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 213 
 
 such knowledge would afford a greater recompense to you than 
 any in the power of words to bestow." 1 
 
 The negotiations meanwhile at Leucate proceeded slowly and 
 unsatisfactorily. The hatred and suspicion subsisting between 
 Francis and the emperor insensibly imparted itself to their 
 leading ministers, who negotiated as if employed in adjusting 
 private and insignificant interests, instead of appearing as the 
 representatives of two mighty monarchs, to whom the noble 
 mission had been confided of restoring concord throughout 
 Christendom. The plenipotentiaries of France were the Marshal 
 de Montmorency and the Cardinal de Lorraine ; those of the 
 emperor were the Chancellor Grauvelle and Don Francisco de los 
 Cobos, Governor of Leon. The military position maintained by 
 Francis at the period when the conferences opened at Leucate 
 was indisputably the more brilliant. Nearly the whole of the 
 duchy of Savoy acknowledged his rule; and the humiliating 
 retreat of the emperor from Provence was still fresh in the minds 
 of all men. Notwithstanding the success of the French arms in 
 Savoy, Charles, in this conference, assumed again the r6le of 
 dictator, and all kinds of trivial disputes arose from the assump- 
 tions of his ministers, which greatly retarded the negotiations. 
 The king demanded the investiture of the Milanese for his second 
 son, the Duke d'Angoule"me, the young prince upon whom the 
 emperor had pertinaciously persisted in bestowing the duchy 
 during the conferences at Rome, when the duke held the rank of 
 third prince of the blood. The emperor on his part offered the 
 Milanese to the Duke d'AngoulSme on the following conditions : 
 a second confirmation of the treaties of Madrid and Cambray ; 
 the league of the King of France with the emperor against the 
 Turks ; that Francis should agree to the convocation of a gene- 
 ral council ; that he renounced his alliance with the Protestant 
 princes of Germany, and restored the dominions of the Duke de 
 Savoye. The Duke d'AngouMme was required to espouse one 
 of the daughters of the emperor ; and, moreover, he was not to 
 be put in possession of the duchy of Milan until this marriage 
 was accomplished. 
 
 Bound by his secret treaty with Soliman II., the king evaded 
 giving a conclusive answer to the demand that he should join 
 the league against the Turks ; he observed, with respect to the 
 
 1 F. de Suppl. Fran., MS. No. 42, Bibl. Royale.
 
 214 LIFE; OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 third article, that on the conclusion of peace between the 
 emperor and himself, his support of the opponents of the house 
 of Austria in Germany would naturally cease. As for the 
 council, Francis refused to be bound by treaty to fulfil a religious 
 duty so manifestly incumbent upon him as the eldest son of the 
 Church. The king declared himself willing to resign Savoy to 
 its duke, and likewise the town of Hesdin to the emperor, on 
 condition that the Duke d'Angouleme was simultaneously put 
 into possession of the Milanese. 1 
 
 The period assigned for the duration of the truce expired 
 while the plenipotentiaries were as yet only occupied with details 
 of ceremony and precedence. It was felt, however, that these 
 negotiations between the ministers of France and Spain could 
 attain to no satisfactory conclusion; the conferences of Calais 
 and Toledo furnished samples of the length and pedantic erudition 
 of the debates usually delivered at such congresses of ministers, 
 who, it would appear, studiously avoided the mention of politics 
 in their discourse. The papal legates, therefore, wrote word to 
 Paul III. that unless his Holiness could bring about an interview 
 between the sovereigns themselves, nothing more permanent 
 than a prolongation of the truce would be agreed upon. The 
 same idea had before occurred to the pontiff. Paul III. therefore 
 proclaimed his intention of offering his personal mediation to 
 terminate the feuds existing between the sovereigns of France 
 and Spain. The plenipotentiaries were therefore recalled from 
 Leucate by Francis and the emperor, after they had signed a 
 prolongation of the truce for the space of six mouths, to allow 
 the supreme pontiff leisure to make the requisite preparations for 
 the interview. 
 
 Francis and his sister, meantime, quitted Montpellier for 
 Lyons, and from thence they repaired together to the castle of 
 Moulins, once the magnificent residence of the Constable de 
 Bourbon. Here Montmorency and the Cardinal de Lorraine 
 presented themselves before the king, to report all that had 
 passed at Leucate between themselves and the imperial envoys. 
 The king received the Marshal de Montmorency with expres- 
 sions of the warmest attachment. His skilful conduct of the 
 war had raised the marshal's military renown above the dread 
 of competition ; his defence of Provence, the admirable science 
 
 1 Du Bellay ; Paradin, Hist, de Notre Temps.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 215 
 
 displayed in the formation of the camps of Avignon and Valence, 
 his brave guard of Picardy, and the triumphant campaign in 
 Savoy were services which the king felt merited the highest 
 honour in the power of a sovereign to bestow upon his subject. 
 The Queen of Navarre, whose favour never failed Montmorency, 
 applauded the resolve of her brother to confer the sword of Con- 
 stable of France upon his favourite. Queen Eleanor united her 
 timid acquiescence ; the dauphin and his consort, who both, 
 from different motives, wished to oblige the marshal, declared 
 their satisfaction. The Duchess d'Estampes alone dissented, 
 with the bitter vehemence which a woman young, beautiful, 
 and assured of her power, could only venture upon. She re- 
 proached the king with his want of politic caution in again in- 
 vesting a subject with the formidable power which, in the hands 
 of the Constable de Bourbon, nearly overthrew the monarchy. 
 She warned the Queen of Navarre that Montmorency was dis- 
 loyal to her friendship, and therefore deserved not her favour. 
 But the impetuous sallies of his favourite provoked the king's 
 laughter ; and as all excepting the duchess, the Admiral de 
 Brion, and his party were unanimous in their desire thus to 
 honour the preserver of France, the Marshal de Montmorency 
 received the sword of constable at the castle of Moulins in the 
 presence of the court. 
 
 The ceremonial was ordered in the following manner : Early 
 on the morning of Sunday, the 10th day of February, 1538, the 
 Marshal de Montmorency presented himself at the lever of the 
 king, who then informed him, in the presence of the dauphin 
 and the Duke of Orleans, that it was his royal intention to ele- 
 vate him to the dignity of constable. Montmorency uttered a 
 few deprecatory observations, but finally gave the king humble 
 thanks for the honour about to be conferred upon him. The 
 procession then formed to proceed to the chapel, thus : First 
 marched the Swiss guards, with drums and trumpets, preceding 
 a troop of gentlemen of the court arrayed in rich attire. Five 
 knights of the order of St. Michael followed, wearing their man- 
 tles and collars. The two hundred gentlemen of the king's 
 household walked next, armed with their battle-axes. Six 
 heralds wearing their tabards carne next ; then the king's chief 
 equerry, Pommereul, bearing aloft the sword of state. The 
 chancellor then walked alone, wearing his robes. Then followed
 
 216 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 the king, arrayed in his royal mantle, and marching between 
 the Cardinals de Lorraine and de Carpi. Next carne the dauphin 
 and his brother, attended by the Cardinals de Givry, Le Veneur, 
 du Bellay, and de Chatillon. Afterwards walked the Marshal 
 de Montmorency, wearing a robe, of crimson velvet, very richly 
 embroidered with gold thread. He led the Queen of Navarre 
 by the hand. Marguerite's train was borne by pages of honour, 
 and she was attended by the Duchesses de Vendome and 
 d'Estampes. Under a dais at the end of the great hall, hung 
 with cloth of gold, a throne was set for the king ; and upon a 
 table close at hand a fragment of the true cross was placed. 
 The king took his seat on the throne, Marguerite standing at his 
 right hand, and the two duchesses behind her. The chancellor 
 summoned Montmorency to ascend the dais. The marshal, 
 kneeling, with his hand resting on the relic, then took the oaths 
 of fidelity and allegiance. The sword of state was next handed 
 to the king by the dauphin. Francis rose, and with his own 
 hands girt the sword to Montmorency's side ; he then drew it 
 from its scabbard, and placed it in the marshal's hand. The new 
 constable made a profound obeisance to the king and to the 
 princes ; the heralds waved their banners and exclaimed : " Vive 
 Montmorency, Conne*table de France ! " and a shrill blast of 
 trumpets proclaimed the news to the inhabitants of the town of 
 Moulins. The king then descended from his throne, and pre- 
 ceded by the constable bearing the sword of state, repaired to 
 the chapel to attend high. mass. The ceremony terminated by a 
 grand banquet, at which the King and Queen of Navarre dined 
 together in public. 1 The emolument which Anne de Mont- 
 morency received from the high office bestowed upon him 
 amounted to the annual sum of 24,000 livres Tournois, exclusive 
 of the vast patronage it conferred. He had now attained the 
 summit of his ambition, for Francis had no greater honour to 
 bestow than the sword of constable. Henceforth Montmorency, 
 therefore, ceased to dissimulate ; and the bigotry and rapacity 
 of his character, now that there remained none whose favour it 
 was advisable to conciliate, gradually revealed itself. The king 
 confided to the new constable the supreme administration of the 
 finances ; so that Montmorency, chief of the array, leader of the 
 court as grand- master, and director of the finances, exercised an 
 
 1 Godefroy, Grand Ceremonial de France.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 217 
 
 influence little inferior to that of Francis himself. The con- 
 stable's subordinates trembled at his frown ; his words, though 
 few, were sharp and exasperating in import. Montmorency 
 treated civilians of the middle classes, who were occasionally 
 brought into contact with him, with scornful contempt. Bran- 
 tome 1 relates a very characteristic anecdote of the constable's 
 arrogance. It happened that one day the President of one of 
 the inferior legal courts in Paris, who had recently made his 
 dgbut in the capital, and therefore knew little of courtly cere- 
 mony, had occasion to present himself before the constable on 
 some matter in discharge of his office. Montmorency received 
 the president standing near a window, having doffed his cap, 
 as the weather was then extremely hot. On the approach of 
 the president, the constable said in his most indifferent tones : 
 " Be good enough to make haste, M. le President, to say what 
 you have to impart ; you may resume your hat." The president, 
 supposing that Montmorency stood bare-headed out of compli- 
 ment to his dignity, replied : " Monseigneur, it is impossible 
 that I can stand covered in your presence, unless you also will 
 resume your hat." Montmorency steadily eyed the president, 
 who shrank beneath his gaze ; then with a smile of contempt, 
 he rejoined : " M. le President, you must verily be a fool. Do 
 you suppose that I stand here uncovered out of regard or re- 
 spect for you ? Learn, my friend, that it is for my own conven- 
 ience, as I am suffocating with heat. It seems that you imagine 
 you are still presiding in your court, instead of standing in my 
 presence. Cover your head, if so it pleases you, only speak." 
 The unfortunate functionary was so confused with this rebuke 
 that, totally losing his presence of mind, he attempted a hurried 
 statement of his errand. An authoritative wave of the con- 
 stable's hand soon brought the president's address to a close. 
 Montmorency had not comprehended a word ; besides, in his 
 judgment it was an unpardonable sin for a public officer to 
 show so little readiness of speech and self-possession, and to 
 quail beneath the glance of his superior. "As I told you 
 before, M. le President, you are a complete fool!" exclaimed 
 the constable, with angry vehemence. "Go now about your 
 business, and come back here without fail to-morrow, and see 
 if you can repeat what you have to say so as to be understood." 
 
 1 Brantome, loge du Cormetable Anne de Montmorency.
 
 218 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 As the power of the Queen of Navarre excited the jealousy 
 and gradually alienated the friendship of the Constable de 
 Montmorency, so did the forlorn position of Queen Eleanor 
 obtain for her his support and attachment. It gratified his 
 vanity to protect the sister of the emperor, and to be appealed 
 to by the queen on every occasion of moment. Eleanor also 
 made Madame de Montmorency her confidante, and lived with 
 her almost on terms of equality. The powerful influence of 
 Madelaine de Savoye over her husband's mind was, therefore, 
 exerted in favour of the forsaken queen, rather than to impress 
 upon the constable's mind the extent of his obligations to the 
 Queen of Navarre, whose heretical opinions she viewed with 
 horror and compassion. 
 
 During these transactions Pope Paul III. was actively negoti- 
 ating to bring about the interview between the two sovereigns, 
 which he hoped might ensure the peace of Europe. Both the 
 mouarchs returned a favourable response to the proposal of the 
 ambassador sent to their respective courts by the pope, and ex- 
 pressed their willingness to meet, provided Paul could propose 
 a place for the interview which would be mutually acceptable. 
 The pope immediately named the town of Nice, the only strong 
 place which remained to the Duke of Savoy, and despatched a 
 chamberlain to request the duke's consent that the interview 
 might there take place. The misfortunes of the Duke of Savoy 
 rendered him suspicious and wary; and he felt extreme reluc- 
 tance to yield his only place of refuge to be garrisoned by French 
 and imperial troops, being doubtful whether it would ever be 
 restored to him again. He therefore declined to give a posi- 
 tive answer to the papal envoy until he had consulted the 
 emperor, to whom he despatched a gentleman named Rubat, 
 praying his imperial Majesty to dispense with his acquiescence 
 to the pope's proposal. The emperor, however, sent back word 
 to the duke that he desired to oblige his Holiness, and there- 
 fore wished that the city of Nice might be placed for the time 
 at the pontiffs disposal. The Duke of Savoy, in despair at this 
 decision, took the desperate measure of inciting the garrison of 
 Nice to resist the fiat. He caused it to be rumoured that the 
 emperor purposed to seize the town and county of Nice, to 
 convey the Prince of Piedmont into Spain, and to reduce the 
 duke himself to the rank of one of his courtiers. The garrison,
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 219 
 
 therefore, rose to arms to defend their duke; they closed the 
 gates of Nice on the pope while he was in sight of the city, and 
 refused to evacuate the town, so as to permit the introduction of 
 foreign soldiers. Charles flew into a violent transport of pas- 
 sion when he learned that his orders had been disobeyed, but 
 thought it prudent to seem pacified on hearing that Francis had 
 despatched the Constable de Montmorency on a private mission 
 to Nice, as the king thought it a favourable moment to treat 
 with the Duke of Savoy, when the latter had thus drawn upon 
 himself the indignation of the emperor and the pope. 1 
 
 The pope meantime took up his abode, on being refused en- 
 trance into Nice, in the monastery of the Franciscans, situated 
 in the suburbs of that city. The emperor arrived from Barcelona 
 at Villefranche, a port close to Nice, two days after the pontiff, 
 attended by a powerful fleet of twenty-eight galleys and three 
 frigates, under the command of Andrea Doria. Charles had an 
 immediate interview with the pope on his arrival at Villefranche ; 
 the conference took place in a small house, picturesquely situ- 
 ated and overlooking the sea. After the space of a few days 
 the French court arrived at Villeneuve, another little town near 
 to Nice. By the king's command the town had been tastefully 
 adorned for the reception of his magnificent court. The streets 
 were hung with tapestry, and wreaths of evergreens and flowers 
 formed a verdant canopy overhead, beneath which the proces- 
 sions of the court were to pass. 
 
 The king, after his arrival at Villeneuve, went to visit the 
 pope. " Before the king marched six thousand lansknechts in 
 battle array, under the command of Count Guillaume, who 
 ranged themselves on the hill behind the pope's house," says an 
 ancient chronicler and eye-witness of these events. 2 " On this 
 hill were stationed, besides, one thousand Provencal troops. 
 Next marched the two hundred gentlemen of the king's house- 
 hold, followed by the princes, lords, dukes, counts, and barons of 
 France, preceding the king, who was attended by his body-guard. 
 My lords the cardinals in attendance on the pope at his abode, 
 being admonished of the approach of the king, set out to meet 
 him, in full canonicals and mounted on their mules. The king 
 
 1 Guichenon, Hist, de la Maison Royale de Savoie. 
 
 2 L'Embouchment de notre sainct pere le pape, 1'empereur, et le roy, faict k 
 Nice, 1'an MDXXXVIII.
 
 220 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 severally embraced them all, when two of these very reverend 
 lords, the Cardinals Cibo and Cesarini, conducted him into the 
 abode of the pope, where his Majesty proffered homage to the 
 holy father, who, however, refused to accept of it, but embraced 
 the king with cordial joy. These ceremonies ended, the king 
 presented rny lords the dauphin and the Duke of Orleans to the 
 pope, who returned the compliment by introducing his two little 
 nephews, cardinals elect. Meantime great merriment and drink- 
 ings were going on outside at the expense of the pope and the 
 French cardinals, who kept open house for all comers." 
 
 The following day, which was Saturday, the 8th of June, 
 Queen Eleanor, the Queen of Navarre, and all the ladies of the 
 court, visited the pope. The queen journeyed by water from 
 Villeneuve to Nice. On landing, Eleanor entered a sumptuous 
 litter covered with cloth of gold, and richly adorned inside with 
 cords and tassels, and gold lace set with jewels. The trappings 
 of the mules were of cloth of gold ; the liveries of the pages and 
 running footmen were also of the same rich material, relieved 
 by the queen's colours. The queen's equipage was followed by 
 one conveying the dauphiness and the Princess Marguerite. The 
 equipage of the Queen of Navarre followed. Marguerite rode 
 alone in her litter, which was draped with black velvet ; she was 
 attired in mourning robes, which since the decease of Madame 
 she had never laid aside. Black was a favourite costume with 
 Marguerite ; 1 it displayed the fairness of her complexion ; be- 
 sides, she agreed in the opinion of her deceased nephew, the 
 Dauphin Francis, who thought that black or violet were the only 
 colours becoming to persons of royal condition. Marguerite de 
 Vend6me,the affianced bride of the young Duke deNevers,rode im- 
 mediately^ after the litter of the Queen of Navarre, on a white pal- 
 frey splendidly caparisoned. The Duchess d'Estampes followed, 
 riding on a palfrey, and attired in the same style. The duchess 
 on this occasion was suffered to take precedence of the consort of 
 
 1 In one of her manuscript poems the Queen of Navarre expresses her senti- 
 ments thus : 
 
 " Le noir souvent se porte pour plaisir, 
 Et plus souvent que pour peine et tourment, 
 Et pour estre vestu honnestement, 
 L'on doit avoir de le porter desir, 
 Puys que par mort me vient le desplaisir, 
 II siet trop mieulx que nul accoustrement, 
 Le noir ! "
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 221 
 
 the constable, the severe and virtuous Madelaine de Savoye, 
 who rode next. Then came the Marquise de Eothelin, and the 
 consort of the Admiral de Brion, who was suffering from indis- 
 position. Next rode forty maids of honour, mounted on palfreys 
 and robed in cloth of gold. Thirty-eight damsels of inferior 
 rank, though noble, followed ; these ladies were attired in crim- 
 son velvet. Following this cavalcade came a train of litters, 
 covered with black velvet, which conveyed six of the most illus- 
 trious dowager peeresses of the court : the Duchess de Longue- 
 ville, and the Countesses de Nevers, de Brionne, de Guercy, de 
 Montpezat, and the Mare'chale de Chatillon, mistress of the robes 
 to Queen Eleanor. Afterwards rode the ladies, in waiting on 
 these noble ladies to the number of sixty personages. This 
 equestrian procession was heralded by the 200 gentlemen of the 
 household, who preceded the queen's litter, and by six knights 
 of St. Michael, selected to perform the office of lords-in-waiting 
 to Queen Eleanor during the interview. When the pope was 
 informed of the approach of this army of ladies he despatched 
 twenty-six cardinals, arrayed in their pontificals, to conduct the 
 queen to the Franciscan monastery, where he was sojourning. 
 The pope had caused a spacious but temporary chapel to be con- 
 structed in the garden of the monastery, and here he received 
 Eleanor and her numerous train. The pope embraced the two 
 queens and the principal ladies, and afterwards entered into 
 familiar conversation with the ladies indiscriminately for up- 
 wards of an hour. A vesper bell then tolled, and as the queen 
 expressed her wish to be present at prayers, the service was 
 performed by Paul himself. The queen afterwards took her 
 leave ; the procession defiled as before, through the town of 
 Nice to the harbour, where the ladies re-embarked, and arrived 
 safely at Villeneuve between nine and ten o'clock in the evening. 1 
 After these complimentary visits had been received and re- 
 turned by the pope .the negotiations commenced. The two 
 sovereigns, suddenly assailed by secret' umbrage, or perhaps fear- 
 ful of committing themselves, steadily declined an interview, 
 though each had journeyed to Nice expressly for the purpose of 
 personal conference. The pope was the medium through which 
 all communications passed ; and Paul, who had so eagerly prof- 
 fered his mediation to the monarchs in the certainty of success, 
 
 1 MS. Bibl. Royale, F. de Beth., 8557, f. 94.
 
 222 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 while speaking slightingly of the diplomatic abilities of previous 
 negotiators, discovered the innumerable difficulties which beset 
 the often discussed question of the duchy of Milan. " Nothing 
 was seen during these days," says the ancient chronicler, " but 
 embassies hastening at full speed to confer with the pope, the 
 emperor, and the king, ships flitting about, artillery firing, 
 embracings, feastings, complimenting among the Spaniards, 
 French, and Italians. The emperor conferred with the pope, 
 and so did the king also, in a house close to St. Laurents. The 
 townsmen of Nice kept good watch on their ramparts; nor 
 would they open more than two gates, one for the princes to 
 enter, and the other for their departure from the city." On 
 Tuesday the llth of June, Queen Eleanor paid a visit to her im- 
 perial brother at Villefranche. She was attended by the Cardi- 
 nal de Lorraine and by the Constable de Montmorency. The 
 same cavalcade of noble ladies accompanied her, riding in the 
 same order as on their visit to the pope. The royal squadron 
 consisted of seventeen galleys well mounted with guns. At the 
 entrance of the port of Villefranche Andrea Doria and the whole 
 of the imperial fleet sailed out to meet the French squadron, firing 
 feux-de-joie, the Spaniards making the air echo again with accla- 
 mations when they descried Queen Eleanor seated on the deck 
 of her galley. Eleanor seems to have been much affected at 
 the hearty welcome afforded her by her countrymen, and at their 
 enthusiasm. She still pined for Spain, for its cloistered palaces 
 and melodious language ; the levity of the French court was 
 repulsive to her ; and the little influence she possessed there was 
 humiliating to her pride as an anointed sovereign, and a princess 
 the eldest sister of the mighty emperor, and acknowledged by 
 him in the direct line of succession to his sovereignties in case 
 of failure of his own issue and that of his brother Ferdinand, 
 king of the Romans. The Duchess d'Estampes had the assur- 
 ance to accompany Eleanor on this journey to meet her brother. 
 She received a very courteous greeting from Charles, as the 
 emperor, in consideration of the private services rendered to 
 himself through the Count de Longueval, thought it politic to 
 overlook her delinquency in respect to his sister. 1 
 
 The Queen of Navarre declined to visit the emperor, and re- 
 mained with her brother at Villeneuve. At the court of Charles 
 
 1 MS. Bibl. Roy., F. de Beth., No. 8557.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 223 
 
 the queenly rank of Marguerite was not acknowledged, the 
 kingdom of Navarre being considered incorporated with the 
 Spanish dominions since its conquest by Ferdinand the Catholic. 
 At those times when Charles found it necessary to be on terms 
 of courtesy with Marguerite and her husband, he directs his 
 ambassadors to pay their respects to the Prince and Princess of 
 Bdarn ; and the imperial envoys, whenever they mention Mar- 
 guerite in their despatches, always give her that title. The 
 queen consequently always refused to admit the ambassadors of 
 the emperor to special audience during her sojourn in Paris. 
 Moreover, Marguerite had not forgotten the uncourteous treat- 
 ment she experienced during her sojourn at the court of Toledo, 
 or the emperor's design of arresting and detaining her in prison 
 until after the signature of the treaty of Madrid. To facilitate 
 the landing of Queen Eleanor and her numerous train of ladies 
 at Villefrauche, the emperor caused a wooden pier to be con- . 
 structed, so that the queen might step from her galley and land 
 without entering a barge to row her ashore. As soon as the 
 roar of artillery announced the queen's arrival, Charles, accom- 
 panied by the Dukes of Savoy and of Mantua, and attended 
 by a brilliant train of Spanish nobles, proceeded across the pier 
 to hand his sister from her galley. The queen embraced her 
 brother with great demonstration of affection ; she then took 
 his hand, and they were walking along the pier, when suddenly 
 with a loud crash the bridge broke in the centre, and precipi- 
 tated the emperor, the queen, the Dukes of Savoy and Mantua, 
 with many of their suite, into the sea. 1 
 
 The confusion was terrible ; the frantic screams of the ladies 
 at their sudden immersion, and of their more fortunate com- 
 panions who had not yet disembarked, on perceiving their 
 danger, echoed along the shore. The emperor and his sister 
 were speedily rescued ; " then," says a narrator of this catas- 
 trophe, 2 " you might have seen the gentlemen and nobles throw 
 themselves valiantly into the sea to rescue the ladies, and bear- 
 ing them above the water in their arms, convey them safely to 
 the shore. Many of the gentlemen suffered immersion much 
 higher than the waist ; but as soon as the ladies arrived at the 
 
 1 MS. Bibl. Roy., F. de Beth., No. 8557. 
 
 2 L'Embouchement de nostre sainct pere la pape, 1'empereur, et le roy faict a 
 Nice ; Brant6me.
 
 224 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 abode of the emperor the cavaliers were furnished with shoes, 
 stockings, and garments of 'every description, so that in a very 
 short space of time all things assumed a joyous aspect." The 
 queen and her brother conferred together for two hours ; after- 
 wards Eleanor and her noble train, with many a regretful fare- 
 well, re-embarked for Villeneuve under a royal salute, fired from 
 the French and imperial squadrons. "Mons. mon bon frere," 
 wrote the politic Charles in the letter which he then sent to 
 the king, probably by the hand of Eleanor herself, " you will 
 easily imagine the pleasure I have received from this visit of 
 the very Christian queen, Madame, my dear sister, and also from 
 that of the goodly and gallant company in her train. I de- 
 sired, of all things, their longer stay in this part, a pleasure 
 which I could not prevail upon my said sister to grant me, from 
 her great eagerness to return to you. It seems to me needless, 
 therefore, to write a longer letter on this occasion, as she will relate 
 to you our discourse ; only I thought I would send you two 
 words to convey the affectionate remembrances of him who is, 
 and will always remain, your good brother, cousin, and perfect 
 friend, CHAELES." * 
 
 After a fatiguing parley between the pope and the two 
 rnonarchs, which lasted upwards of a week, Paul found it im- 
 possible to conclude a permanent peace ; he had submitted to 
 their consideration several proposals, which were rejected on 
 that insurmountably difficult point, the investiture of the duchy 
 of Milan. Paul then proposed that a truce for the space of 
 ten years should be concluded, each belligerent party retaining 
 the conquests achieved by his arms. Charles offered no objec- 
 tion to this proposition, while Francis, against the advice of the 
 constable and of his most eminent generals, likewise signified 
 his assent, on the understanding that the conferences should be 
 immediately renewed at Eome, on the arrival there of the pope, 
 for the ratification of a permanent peace. The party most ag- 
 grieved by this measure was the Duke of Savoy, who found 
 himself compelled, on the express fiat of his arbitrary protector, 
 the emperor, to sign the truce, which deprived him of his do- 
 minions for the space of ten years. 2 Charles despatched the 
 Chancellor Granvelle, and the King of France the Cardinal de 
 
 i MS. Bibl. Roy., F. de Beth., No. 8487. 
 * Guichenon, Mem. de Du Bellay.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 225 
 
 Lorraine and the constable, to ratify and swear to the truce in 
 the presence of the pope, who himself administered the oaths in 
 the chapel of the Franciscan monastery. Still the two monarchs 
 refused to meet ; accordingly, Queen Eleanor took another jour- 
 ney, alone, to Villefranche to take leave of her brother. This 
 time she departed early in the morning, and spent a long day 
 with the emperor. Charles distributed magnificent presents to 
 the French courtiers, and regaled them at a splendid banquet, 
 and afterwards with iced wines and liqueurs, to their high gratifi- 
 cation. The following day the imperial court, always excepting 
 the emperor, visited Francis at Villeneuve, where they received 
 similar costly entertainment. 
 
 On the eve of Corpus Christi Day, 1538, the pope embarked 
 on board his galley to return to Italy. He was escorted by six 
 French vessels of war as far as Savona. " When the venerable 
 pontiff was on the point of departing, the people thronged to 
 bid him farewell. He constantly stopped that the people might 
 kiss his slipper, and tired not in giving his benediction ; also, 
 when he embarked on board his galley, the people marvelled as 
 they perceived him, without sign of fatigue, continue to elevate 
 his arms and bless the spectators. As the galleys issued from 
 the port, the roaring of artillery from the ramparts and castle 
 of Nice, and from all the ships of war in the harbour, with 
 the blast of innumerable trumpets, hautboys, and cornets, cre- 
 ated such a din that it resembled nothing ever before heard." l 
 When the papal squadron passed the fort of Villefranche, the 
 whole of the imperial fleet, with the emperor on board, issued 
 from the harbour and accompanied the pope to Savona. Probably 
 this unexpected honour, which the venerable pontiff would wil- 
 lingly have dispensed with, made him glad of the protection 
 afforded by the six French frigates. 
 
 The king, accompanied by Queen Eleanor and the King and 
 Queen of Navarre, departed on the following day for Avignon, 
 where the admiral had previously repaired with his consort, 
 the Countess de Brion, whose dangerous indisposition prevented 
 her from participating in the festivities given at Villeneuve. 
 Whilst Francis was sojourning here news arrived that a tempest 
 had overtaken the imperial fleet, which was making sail for 
 Barcelona, after the emperor had escorted the pope as far as 
 
 1 Embouchement de nostre sainct pere le pape, 1'empereur, et le roy, etas. 
 
 VOL. II. 15
 
 226 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 Savona, and that, Charles was obliged to put into harbour at the 
 Isle of St. Marguerite, on the coasts of Provence, to repair 
 the damage done to his ships. The king despatched a noble- 
 man to convey a pressing invitation to the emperor to take 
 shelter, with his fleet, in a more convenient harbour, giving 
 him full assurance that the imperial flag would everywhere 
 meet with the same homage as his own. Charles hesitated ; 
 he now desired a personal conference with the king, but his 
 unpopularity, and, above all, the dreadful suspicion current 
 throughout France after the decease of the dauphin, rendered 
 him cautious how he trusted himself in the dominions of 
 his rival. 
 
 The stormy winds, however, blew with redoubled vigour, 
 and the mariners of Doria's fleet feared to put to sea again 
 during their prevalence. The emperor, therefore, in no little 
 consternation, beheld himself weather-bound on the coast of 
 France, in the presence of- part of the French fleet, consisting 
 of twenty-one vessels, under the command of the Admiral de 
 St. Blancard, which had sailed from the harbour of Marseilles 
 to salute him. Barbarossa, the Turkish admiral, lay off the 
 coasts of Italy with his formidable fleet, ready, it was supposed, 
 and as it subsequently appeared, with truth, to execute 
 any enterprise indicated by the French king. The emperor felt 
 his danger, but to appear conscious of it, or to doubt the 
 honour of Francis, could but make matters worse. With that 
 tact which so remarkably distinguishes Charles's political 
 career, the emperor therefore wrote to announce his anxious 
 desire to land at Aigues-Mortes in order to confer with 
 Francis. 
 
 Francis, after receiving this letter and hearing the message 
 sent by his ambassadors, took his departure for Aigues-Mortes. 
 The emperor arrived there on Sunday, about three o'clock in the 
 afternoon. As soon as the imperial fleet anchored, Francis put 
 off from shore in a barge, attended by few officers, to visit the 
 emperor on board his galley. This step was taken by Francis 
 without the sanction of the Council, or, in fact, without having 
 consulted any of his habitual advisers. The greatest consterna- 
 tion reigued throughout the court when it was known that the 
 king, with rash imprudence, had placed himself, with his two 
 sons, in the emperor's power. The movements of the squadron,
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 227 
 
 which so greatly surpassed in strength the French fleet then in 
 the Mediterranean, were suspiciously watched by the concourse 
 of spectators who, on the reported danger of the king, congre- 
 gated on the beach, in momentary expectation of seeing the 
 galleys of the emperor spread sail and make for the coasts of Spain. 
 The only chance then of rescue for Francis would have been for 
 the immediate sailing of the fleet under Barbarossa, to intercept 
 and give battle to the imperial galleys. The emperor could 
 scarcely credit the fact when it was told him that the King of 
 France and his sous were alongside his galley. He immediately 
 hastened to receive them, and the most cordial greetings ensued, 
 after which the two monarchs entered into familiar discourse. 
 After so signal and gallant a mark of confidence on the part of 
 the French monarch, Charles felt ashamed to harbour suspicion. 
 The next day, therefore, he landed at Aigues-Mortes and was 
 received with great state by the king and Queen Eleanor, who 
 shed tears of joy when she witnessed the cordial embrace which 
 the two monarchs bestowed upon each other when they met. 
 The emperor remained the guest of the king until five o'clock 
 on the following day, when he returned to his ship, accompanied 
 by Francis and his sons, and the same evening Charles sailed for 
 Barcelona. 1 
 
 The character of this interview seems to have been merely 
 friendly; and it passed without much political discussion. 
 Charles sounded the king on the journey he afterwards took 
 through France during the course of the following year, fore- 
 seeing its necessity from the disaffected attitude of his subjects 
 of the Low Countries. He also promised to bestow the Milan- 
 ese on the Duke of Orleans within the space of three years, 
 provided that prince espoused the daughter of Ferdinand, King 
 of the Romans, an alliance very expedient for the duke. 
 The king, who was always too prone to place implicit belief in 
 the emperor's plausible words, expresses himself highly gratified 
 at this interview. " I certify to you that, during the whole time 
 that the emperor and myself spent together, not a single inter- 
 ruption occurred to our good-fellowship, or to disturb the happy 
 and friendly conference which passed between us ; so that we 
 took leave of each other feeling all the contentment and 
 
 1 Sleidan, Commentar. ; Paradin, Hist, de N6tre Temps; Brantome, Vie 
 d' Andrea Doria.
 
 228 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 satisfaction possible. I cau give you truthful assurance that 
 no two princes ever felt more satisfied with each other's deport- 
 ment than we do," wrote the king to his lieutenant at Lyons, 
 immediately after the departure of the emperor from Aigues- 
 Mortes. 1 
 
 Francis, on his return to the capital, caused the ratification of 
 the truce to be celebrated with all kinds of public rejoicings and 
 processions. During his brief sojourn at St. Germain-en-Laye, 
 the court again became the scene of those festivities in which 
 the king delighted. Marguerite spent the whole of the year 
 1539 at the court of France, and it was probably at this period 
 that the conduct of the constable first inspired the queen with 
 doubts as to the integrity of his friendship, and the manner in 
 which he spoke of her to his royal master. The King of Na- 
 varre was more discontented than ever with Montmoreucy's 
 deportment ; he conceived that his interests had been wilfully 
 overlooked by the constable at the conferences of Bourg, Leu- 
 cate, Nice, and Aigues-Mortes. No mention had been there 
 made of Henry's claim to the kingdom of Navarre, an omis- 
 sion which the king greatly resented, as it seemed to imply 
 acquiescence on the part of Francis that Navarre should remain 
 attached to the crown of Spain. It seems more than probable 
 that Francis himself enlightened Marguerite as to the true nature 
 of the constable's professions of regard. From the hour that the 
 king elevated Montmorency to the highest office in the state, 
 his regard for him diminished; the vast powers possessed by 
 the constables of France invariably kindled distrust in the mind 
 of the sovereign, and on the treasonable revolt of the Constable 
 de Bourbon, Francis vehemently declared that a power so ob- 
 noxious to the prerogatives of the crown should forever be 
 suppressed. The unbending character of Montmorency was 
 little calculated to allay the jealous suspicion industriously 
 infused into the king's mind by the Duchess d'Estampes, who 
 was the constable's mortal enemy. Montmorency expressed the 
 greatest contempt for the frivolous and sordid duchess ; her sus- 
 pected correspondence with the emperor, through the Count de 
 Longueval, transported him with indignation, and, incorruptible 
 himself, he had dared to denounce disloyal treason, even when 
 the guilty party proved to be the powerful favourite herself. 
 
 1 Bibl. du Roi, MSS. de Colbert, fol. 252 ; Capefigue, Hist, de Frai^ois I.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 229 
 
 The representations made by Montmorency had not, however, 
 succeeded in procuring the exile, or even the fall, of the duchess 
 from royal favour. The power possessed by Madame d'Estampes 
 did not so much consist in the splendour of her beauty as in the 
 fascination of her wit, and in the dexterous manner with which 
 she adapted herself to all the tastes of the king. In personal 
 charms she was surpassed by many ladies of the court, but her 
 manners, and even her slightest movements, were pre-eminently 
 graceful. Her fastidiousness exceeded that of Francis himself ; 
 her habits were luxurious, and the sums she lavished to obtain 
 rare and costly articles of attire, so as to be the first to introduce 
 them at court, proved a fruitful theme of reproach for the frugal 
 Montmorency, who often, when warlike movements of vital im- 
 portance to the kingdom were suspended for the want of funds, 
 discovered that large sums had been drawn from the exchequer 
 to supply the extravagant demands of the duchess. Madame 
 d'Estampes ruled the imperious Francis by tears and submissive 
 deference to his commands until a favourable opportunity oc- 
 curred to gain her own desire ; she treated the queen with 
 humble respect, and assiduously paid her court to the Queen of 
 Navarre. The dauphin, after his return from Piedmont, openly 
 acknowledged his liaison with Diane de Poitiers, Duchess de 
 Valentinois, and the court was torn by the factious of these two 
 women, reigning with almost despotic power over the king and 
 the heir-apparent of France. Each of the duchesses had their 
 adherents ; and the feuds of Mesdames d'Estampes and de Va- 
 lentinois soon acquired almost a greater importance in the state 
 than the political intrigues of the emperor himself. To balance 
 the ill offices rendered him by Madame d'Estampes, Montmo- 
 rency had need of Marguerite's friendship and support ; and so 
 long as the queen's favour failed him not, the duchess found her 
 efforts to overthrow the constable invariably frustrated. Mont- 
 morency, whose career of good fortune had never met with a 
 check, conceived himself to be above conciliating enemies whom 
 he despised ; in the presumption inspired by his elevation, he 
 disregarded the symptoms of alienation manifested by the de- 
 portment of Francis, in the midst of the honours which he 
 lavished on the subject who had so successfully repulsed the 
 invasion of the emperor. Constable, > grand master, minister of 
 finance, and chief counsellor to Queen Eleanor, Moutmorency,
 
 230 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 at the summit of riches, honour, and prosperity, perceived but 
 one strong influence paramount to his own over the mind of the 
 king. If the favour of the Queen of Navarre could be over- 
 thrown, and the king persuaded to break the bonds which had 
 so long united him to his sister, the constable felt assured that 
 no rival would share with him the real confidence of his sover- 
 eign ; for Montmorency estimated at its true worth the degree 
 of influence exercised over Francis by the Duchess d'Estampes. 
 The encouragement which Marguerite afforded to the " sectarian 
 teachers " was a crime of the deepest dye in the eyes of the 
 severe and dictatorial Montmorency. She had offended against 
 the laws of the realm which proscribed the ministers and their 
 doctrine. Montmorency would fain have seen transferred to the 
 legal tribunals of France the same power of summary punish- 
 ment which he exercised in the camp. At home, the intolerant 
 counsels of his consort, Madelaine de Savoye, continually ex- 
 cited the zeal of the constable. The sternest bigots of the uni- 
 versities found a warm welcome, and even edification, in the 
 converse of Madame la Connetable, while she entertained them 
 with princely hospitality in the palace of the Montmorency in 
 Paris, or at her husband's noble residence of Chantilly. In the 
 presence of Montmorency, who was believed to be at the sum- 
 mit of royal favour, the Cardinal de Tournon, and other turbu- 
 lent churchmen, continually alluded to the sacrifice of earthly 
 obligations as a deed most pleasant and meritorious in the sight 
 of God when it was perpetrated for the honour and the glory of 
 the faith. 
 
 Montmorency, however, little imagined the contrary effect his 
 insinuations respecting Queen Marguerite's conduct exercised on 
 the king's mind. As long as Francis had no cause of complaint 
 against the constable, he laughed at and evaded the charges 
 preferred against his sister ; now, however, they assumed an 
 offensive aspect in his eyes. It is probable that the king com- 
 municated his displeasure at the conduct of the constable to his 
 sister about this period. It excited great sorrow and surprise 
 in the mind of Marguerite to learn that one whom she had so 
 favoured and trusted could be guilty of the ingratitude attrib- 
 uted to him. Many warnings of the constable's faithlessness 
 had the queen received ; the university, by its orator, had pub- 
 licly charged Montmorency with disloyalty to his patroness ;
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 231 
 
 the Duchess d'Estampes repeatedly reiterated her conviction of 
 his treachery, yet Marguerite, with generous trust in professions 
 so positive as the constable's, refused to believe. A historian, 1 
 speaking of the perfidious defection of De Montmorency, which 
 he designates " une ingratitude scythigue" says, " There were 
 found those base enough, who, after being entertained from 
 childhood in the household of the Queen of Navarre, and ele- 
 vated by her influence to the highest honours and dignities, did 
 all they could in secret to make her incur the displeasure and 
 hatred of the king her brother, and of the King of Navarre her 
 husband." One day the king happened to be conversing with 
 the constable on the progress of heresy, and on the future meas- 
 ures which it would be expedient to pursue to effect its sup- 
 pression. Montmorency, unconscious of the change wrought in 
 the king's mind respecting him, ventured to respond, in his usual 
 dictatorial accents, that " if his Majesty were indeed sincere in 
 his wish to exterminate heresy from his realm, he must begin 
 by reforming his court, and forcibly repressing its exercise 
 amongst those most nearly allied to him ; and especially it be- 
 hooved him to commence by making a salutary example of the 
 Queen of Navarre, his sister." Francis abruptly replied, " Oh ! 
 as for my sister, I will not have her name mentioned. She 
 loves me too faithfully to believe a creed which I do not be- 
 lieve ; nor will she ever embrace a faith prejudicial to the wel- 
 fare of my realm." 2 The constable's words were immediately 
 reported to the Queen of Navarre, doubtless by the king him- 
 self. Marguerite could no longer affect to disbelieve what had 
 so often been told her respecting the secret animosity of one 
 who owed her so deep a debt of gratitude. " From that mo- 
 ment," says BrantSme, " the queen never liked M. le Connestable 
 more ; and her displeasure greatly contributed to procure his 
 disgrace and subsequent banishment from court." 8 It does not 
 appear that Marguerite indicated her displeasure by any signal 
 act of alienation. Her frequent correspondence with Montmo- 
 rency ceases during the year 1538 ; and she never subsequently 
 alludes to him in her letters to Francis or to others. When 
 Marguerite withdrew her patronage, and no longer mentioned 
 
 1 Sainte Marthe, Oraison Funebre de 1' Incomparable Marguerite. 
 
 2 Brantdme, Vie de Marguerite de Valois. 
 8 Brantdme, Dames Illustres.
 
 232 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 his name with favour to the king, the constable soon discovered 
 whose had been the hand which supported him in the good 
 graces of the sovereign, and defeated the intrigues of Madame 
 d'Estampes. All these events, however, were forgotten for the 
 time by the sudden and dangerous illness of the king, who for 
 more than a month lay, as it was supposed, at the point of 
 death. The malady of Francis was an internal ulcer of a most 
 malignant description; 1 and his sufferings were intense. The 
 king's health after his illness at Madrid never recovered its 
 former vigour ; and the letters subsequently written by his 
 mother and sister are filled with allusions to indispositions, 
 which, though temporary, appear often to have been severe. 
 The court was at Compiegne when the king fell ill. Marguerite 
 remained with her brother, and lavished upon him the tender 
 cares which before had so greatly conduced to his recovery. 
 The precarious condition of the king's health allayed for a sea- 
 son the virulence of the hostile factions of Madame d'Estampes 
 and the Duchess de Valentinois. The assiduity which the con- 
 stable displayed at this season to recommend himself to the 
 favour of the young dauphin was remarked with indignation by 
 the Queen of Navarre, and contributed greatly to increase her 
 alienation. 
 
 The king was slowly recovering his strength when ambas- 
 sadors arrived at Compiegne from the emperor, the bearers 
 of his verbal promise to bestow the Milanese on the Duke of 
 Orleans, and to prefer in Charles's name the most singular and 
 unexpected request that Francis would suffer him to pass 
 through his realm to repress in person the revolt of the town of 
 Ghent. The Flemings were the richest, as well as the most 
 turbulent, of the emperor's subjects. The maintenance to the 
 letter of their ancient charters and privileges was the condition 
 of their obedience to the ruling powers ; the slightest infringe- 
 ment of these immunities roused the democratic spirit, ever 
 ready to manifest itself, which pervaded the vast trade corpora- 
 tions of the wealthy towns of Flanders. The sturdy and inde- 
 pendent burghers of Bruges, Ghent, and Liege were always ready 
 to resort to arms for the preservation of their privileges and the 
 defence of their commerce. In vain the princes of the house of 
 Burgundy had punished by rigorous edicts the frequent bloody 
 
 1 Mezeray ; Brautome.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 233 
 
 outbreaks and insubordination displayed by the Gantois ; the 
 municipal corps, and the guilds with their wonderful organiza- 
 tion and immense wealth still rose to repel the oppressions of 
 their rulers. 
 
 The king signified to the imperial ambassadors his consent 
 and pleasure at the proposed journey of the emperor through 
 France ; though feeble and unable to rise from his couch, he 
 wrote a letter to Charles, the concluding paragraph of which 
 is as follows : " I wish to assure you, Mons. inon bon frere, 
 by this letter signed by my own hand, and by my honour and 
 faith as a prince and your good brother, that when you pass 
 through my kingdom, the same honours, reception, and loyal 
 treatment shall be accorded to you as I receive myself: in 
 short, if it pleases you to signify to me the precise time of 
 your journey, I will meet you within your own dominions 
 with my children, who are ready to obey you and to accompany 
 you hither into this kingdom, of which you may dispose as your 
 own." 1 Charles therefore commenced immediate preparations 
 for his journey. 
 
 Very opposite to the delight expressed by the king were the 
 sensations excited in the French Privy Council when Francis 
 communicated the approaching visit of the emperor. The 
 dauphin, the Cardinals de Tournon and de Lorraine, urgently 
 advised the king to take the opportunity to compel Charles to 
 grant the investiture of the Milanese to the Duke of Orleans and 
 to annul the treaties of Madrid and Cambray, during his visit to 
 the capital. Montmorency almost alone opined that perfect 
 freedom should be granted the emperor, leaving it to Charles's 
 sense of gratitude to perform the solemn promise he had made 
 to the king through his ambassadors. There is reason to suppose, 
 also, that the King of Navarre joined the dauphin in his hostile 
 designs against the emperor; but we possess no insight into 
 Marguerite's opinion on the matter to lead to a decision whether 
 her husband acted according to her wish and advice. Mar- 
 guerite very profoundly detested the emperor, of whose insin- 
 cerity and meanness of character she had had painful proof. 
 
 In order completely to reassure the emperor, Francis despatched 
 his two sons to meet Charles and escort him into France. The 
 towns of Bayonne, Bordeaux, and Poitiers gave Charles a mag- 
 
 1 Bibl. Royale, MSS. de Beth., No. 8587 ; Capefigue, Hist, de Francois I.
 
 234 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 nificent reception. When the emperor entered a town, the au- 
 thorities came to meet him and to present him with the keys 
 of their city ; and as long as he sojourned there he exercised 
 sovereign jurisdiction in remitting capital punishments and in 
 releasing criminals and debtors from prison. 
 
 The king, meanwhile, accompanied by Queen Eleanor, by the 
 King and Queen of Navarre, the Princess Marguerite, the dau- 
 phiness, and the Cardinal de Lorraine, arrived at Orleans on the 
 5th day of December. The condition of the king's health con- 
 tinued to excite great uneasiness. His malady was pronounced 
 temporarily subdued, but the severe suffering he had endured, 
 and which Francis still felt at intervals, showed on his habits 
 and constitution. Even the excitement attending the emperor's 
 triumphal progress failed at times to inspire Francis with energy ', 
 Marguerite's society seemed more necessary than ever to the 
 king, and it was she alone who could rouse him from the fits of 
 mournful abstraction which cast a gloom over the court. 
 
 A peculiar melancholy hangs over these the closing years of the 
 reign of Francis I., a reign which opened with such dazzling 
 splendour. The ministers and courtiers of Louis XII., men of 
 that king's mature age and standing, seem to bear no part in the 
 reign of his successor, but disappear from the scene when the 
 tomb closed over that best of monarchs. When Francis I. 
 ascended the throne never was there before seen at court such 
 an assemblage of gallant cavaliers, the majority of the same age 
 as their royal master, and all, with few exceptions, chieftains of 
 the princely aristocracy of France. All then was brilliant, vigor- 
 ous, loyal ; the noblest maidens in France adorned the court, in 
 attendance on their gentle mistress, Queen Claude, or enrolled in 
 the train of the magnificent Louise de Savoye, or in that a 
 position coveted by all of the witty and sprightly Duchess 
 d'Alengou. Learning flourished ; and the luxury of the court of 
 France, its chivalry, festivals, and pageants, was the wonder and 
 admiration of Europe. The court now presented a different 
 aspect : many of those brave and joyous cavaliers slept in the 
 warrior's grave ; others, broken in health from wounds or diplo- 
 matic labour, were prematurely aged. Queen Claude, the loved 
 yet neglected consort of the king, lay entombed in the dreary 
 vaults of St. Denis, and in her place a princess reigned who was 
 regarded by Francis with feelings of positive aversion. The
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 235 
 
 eldest son of the king, that fair young dauphin whose baptism 
 was celebrated with princely pomp at Amboise during the 
 palmy days of his father's reign, had likewise disappeared. 
 Bourbon, the early friend and companion in arms of the king, 
 had traitorously betrayed his master ; so that the peerage of the 
 elder branch of Bourbon was extinct, and by a just judgment its 
 escutcheon had been defaced ; the motto of that royal house, 
 almost prophetic in its import, had been accomplished, " & 
 toujours et jamais." To add to the king's chagrins, Montmo- 
 rency, the favoured courtier who had been elevated to the pin- 
 nacle of honour, proved unfaithful. The king's confidence, 
 moreover, had been violated by a treacherous mistress, whose 
 arts he had neither inclination nor energy to resist, and whom he 
 yet cherished, though he believed she had betrayed him to his 
 hereditary foe. Marguerite, the king's faithful and loving sister, 
 alone remained true : yet she, also, betook herself from a court 
 but the phantom of the former one; and Marguerite had laid 
 aside her brilliant attire, while her mourning robes reminded 
 the king that his power sufficed not to shield from sorrow one 
 so greatly beloved. The king, who since his illness found exer- 
 tion irksome, retired with his sister and the court to Amboise, 
 and remained there until such time as news reached him of the 
 emperor's approach. The king then accompanied the queen back 
 to Orleans, and leaving her in that city he set off to meet Charles. 
 The two monarchs met at Loches and embraced each other 
 tenderly, to the great edification of the spectators at the gates of 
 the town. The archway of this gate was richly decorated with 
 various heraldic devices, the most conspicuous of which were a 
 salamander, surrounded by the motto of Francis, " Nutrisco et 
 extinguo" and a phoenix, which was the badge of Queen Eleanor, 
 with her device, " Unica semper avis." When the princes met, 
 the salamander began to vomit flames, and the phoenix burned 
 gradually away. 1 The king conducted Charles to Cle'ry, where 
 the royal party met with sumptuous entertainment from the 
 dean and chapter of Notre Dame de Cle'ry, the famous cathedral 
 foundation of Louis XL 
 
 Early the following morning, which was the twentieth day of 
 December, 1539, great preparations were commenced for the 
 reception of the emperor in the ancient town of Orleans, where 
 
 1 Paradin, Hist, de Notre Temps.
 
 236 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 Queen Eleanor and Marguerite awaited. The processions com- 
 manded by Francis were imposing, and of such magnitude that 
 it took them from sunrise to nightfall to defile through the town. 
 The militia of the province was called to arms, and posted in 
 various parts of the town, to serve as a guard of honour wherever 
 the emperor appeared. It was divided into five divisions, each 
 commanded by a valiant captain. There were 14,768 pikemen, 
 9,340 halberdiers, 11,580 arquebusiers. 1 All the chief gentle- 
 men of the Orleannois, by command of the king, assembled to 
 the number of 454, to accompany the Governor of Orleans when 
 he went out to meet the emperor. Next rode ninety-two of the 
 children of the principal merchants of the town. This cavalcade 
 especially attracted the admiration of the emperor, who never 
 ceased lauding the gallant bearing of these young horsemen. 
 They were mounted on bay-coloured chargers, and were attired 
 alike, in habits of black velvet, with doublets of rich white satin, 
 fastened at the bosom with studs of gold. Their caps were adorned 
 with strings of jewels and embroidery of gold, and they wore 
 white morocco boots and gold spurs. This gallant company was 
 preceded by a standard-bearer, carrying aloft a banner emblazoned 
 with the arms of the town, and embroidered with the motto, 
 " Prenez en gre" Numerous bands with banners and emblems 
 followed ; indeed, every profession, trade, and calling had its 
 representatives in this endless procession. When the muni- 
 cipality found itself in the presence of the emperor, the high- 
 bailiff stepped forward and pronounced an harangue of a highly 
 complimentary character. The emperor responded in a speech 
 of some length. " Mons. le bailiff," said he, " it is not now alone, 
 nor is this the first place in which I have been made sensible of 
 the great honours which it has pleased the king, my brother, to 
 command his subjects to bestow upon me. This gives me 
 convincing proof of the friendship he bears me, which is so 
 reciprocal between us that from henceforth there will be peace 
 and eternal concord between the king, his children, and myself. 
 I protest to you, Monsieur le bailiff, that in nothing will I 
 trouble this cordial union, et dites luy que voire" In pro- 
 nouncing these last words, Charles appeared much affected, and 
 placed his hand on his heart. 
 
 The procession then proceeded ; and at length the emperor, 
 
 1 Paradin, Hist, de Notre Temps ; Godefroy.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 237 
 
 about three o'clock in the afternoon, reached the gate of the 
 town, where he was received by the king, who had purposely 
 preceded him. The progress of Francis and his imperial guest 
 through the town of Orleans was " marvellously triumphant." 
 Charles declined, however, to ride beneath the canopy of state 
 prepared for him, and reiterated his refusal to do so several times. 
 The cavalcade, as it defiled, was received with acclamations by 
 the militia bands, amidst great nourishes of trumpets and kettle- 
 drums. The emperor alighted at the church of Ste. Croix, where 
 he was received by the Bishop of Orleans and his clergy in full 
 canonicals. Charles adored the fragment of the true cross which 
 was exposed in a reliquary of great value on the high altar ; and 
 after passing some minutes in private prayer, he returned to the 
 porch of the cathedral, and remounting his horse, proceeded to 
 the cloister of St. Aiguan, where the royal family always re- 
 sided during their sojourn in Orleans. The emperor passed under 
 an arcade of flowers and foliage, most skilfully wreathed, which 
 led to the apartments prepared for him. Singing birds were art- 
 fully concealed amidst this leafy bower, and made most melodious 
 warbling. As soon as the king had taken his leave, supper was 
 served for the emperor ; but Charles, notwithstanding his fatigue, 
 declined to partake of anything more substantial than some 
 sweetmeats, and a draught of strong vin d 'Orleans. After an in- 
 terval, during which the emperor reposed, while his attendants 
 feasted, the king returned, accompanied by the dauphin and the 
 Duke d'Angoulgme, to conduct Charles to visit Queen Eleanor, 
 who was anxiously expecting him. Marguerite, and all the prin- 
 cesses and ladies of the court were assembled in the queen's 
 apartments to receive the emperor. After the fatigue and excite- 
 ment of the day, it was a trying ordeal for the emperor to appear 
 in the presence of the brilliant dames of Eleanor's court, to re- 
 spond gracefully to their compliments, and above all to renew 
 his acquaintance with the Queen of Navarre, whom he had not 
 met since Marguerite took so summary a farewell of him in the 
 city of Toledo. 
 
 The following day, which was Sunday, December the 21st, a 
 great concourse of people, soldiers, and citizens came to St. 
 Aignan, very early in the morning, to salute the emperor and the 
 king, by shouts, cheers, and discharges of musketry, before they 
 rose. The municipality next appeared, to offer a rich cupboard
 
 238 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 of plate to the emperor, of the value of 8,000 livres, as a present 
 from the town. This ceremony concluded by eight o'clock, when 
 the king and his imperial guest attended mass in the chapel of 
 Ste. Michelle, before quitting Orleans for Arthenay, where they 
 were to pass the night, on their road to the royal castle of Am- 
 boise. The emperor was escorted for two leagues on his road to 
 Arthenay by the bands of militia-men ; and when they took 
 leave to return home, the arquebusiers simultaneously discharged 
 their arquebuses as a parting salute. 1 
 
 Queen Eleanor, with Marguerite and the princesses, quitted 
 Orleans during the afternoon of the same day, and travelled to 
 Amboise, without reposing at any intermediate place. Before 
 the queen's departure, the Mayor of Orleans and twelve muni- 
 cipal officers waited on Eleanor to take leave. The queen re- 
 ceived them in state, sitting under a royal canopy. Queen 
 Marguerite occupied a chair by her side, and the dauphiness and 
 the Princess Marguerite were likewise present. The queen bowed 
 her thanks for the complimentary address of the town authorities ; 
 but the Queen of Navarre rose from her chair, and addressing 
 the mayor said, with great dignity, that she " had been commis- 
 sioned by the king her royal brother to thank them in his name, 
 and to signify that his Majesty was satisfied with the loyal 
 homage of his good town of Orleans." 2 
 
 1 Godefroy, Grand Cerem. de France. 
 
 2 Ibid.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 239 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 A MIDST the honours lavished on the emperor during his 
 2\ magnificent progress through France, the keenest disquie- 
 tude was often visible on his countenance. The cordial reception 
 given him by Francis, and the acclamations with which he was 
 saluted by the French, failed -to reassure him ; for, conscious that 
 his own secret purposes seldom corresponded with the sentiments 
 he expressed, the emperor could not believe in the genuine 
 enthusiasm of a nation which he had so deeply injured. The 
 most trifling occurrences excited t his apprehension, and with 
 gloomy suspicion the eyes of Charles glanced often on the well- 
 trained bands selected to form his guard of honour. If any 
 accidental confusion occurred in the order of procession, the 
 evident anxiety displayed by the emperor showed that he dreaded 
 a popular outbreak, either spontaneously on the part of the 
 people, or a tumult skilfully excited by the government to avenge 
 its wrongs by some deed of violence directed against his person. 
 The king, whose intentions towards his imperial guest were 
 loyal and honourable, took a mischievous delight in augmenting 
 the very evident fear displayed by the emperor, by recounting 
 to him the arguments used by the Privy Council in favour of 
 his detention in France until he had annulled the treaties of 
 Madrid and Cambray and bestowed the investiture of Milan on 
 the Duke of Orleans. Francis likewise perpetually alluded in 
 a jesting manner to the rigour displayed towards him during 
 his captivity in Spain, and to the cruel treatment experienced 
 there by the young princes. Charles did not understand jests ; 
 and the words of the king created the most profound uneasiness 
 in his mind. When the emperor first found himself, while at 
 Orleans, in the presence of the queen and her brilliant court, 
 the Duchess d'Estampes stood in the circle at some little distance 
 from her royal mistress. Francis directed the emperor's glance
 
 240 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 towards the beautiful favourite, saying : " Mon frere, you per- 
 ceive that lady ? "Well, she counsels me not to let you depart 
 until you have granted the modification of the treaty of Madrid 
 which we have so often asked ! " This was rather a startling 
 announcement to the emperor; but presently recovering his 
 usual self-possession, Charles affected to take the king's words 
 in jest, and replied evasively, with a profound obeisance to the 
 duchess : " Then wherefore, sire, do you hesitate to take such 
 good advice ? " J Afterwards, however, it is recorded that he 
 attempted to propitiate the duchess by presenting her with a 
 magnificent diamond ; but if this gift were made at all, Charles 
 added but another bribe, direct from his imperial hand, to the 
 many he had previously sent to the duchess through the Count 
 de LonguevaL 
 
 In his intercourse with the Queen of Navarre, Charles had 
 greater need for caution than with Madame d'Estampes, of whose 
 faithlessness and frivolity he had had many proofs. There existed 
 many reasons for the undisguised dislike which Marguerite bore 
 the emperor. Charles refused her the title of Majesty, and 
 declined to make restitution to the house of Albret of the crown 
 of Navarre usurped by his grandfather, Ferdinand the Catholic. 
 The queen, also, cherished suspicions relative to the decease of 
 the dauphin Francis, which rendered the presence of the emperor 
 at court repulsive to her. BrantSme relates that Queen Mar- 
 guerite frequently taunted the emperor during his sojourn in 
 France with the discourteous treatment she received while at the 
 court of Toledo. " This queen did not content herself alone with 
 writing to the emperor her opinion of his intended injurious 
 treatment, but she waged him a good war on the subject when he 
 passed through France." 2 Charles, whose conscience testified 
 how little he deserved to meet with friendship at the hands of 
 the Queen of Navarre, watched her deportment with the utmost 
 anxiety ; especially as her husband seemed the inseparable com- 
 panion of the dauphin, whose hostile intents had been imparted 
 to the emperor by Queen Eleanor. 
 
 At Amboise the emperor in reality incurred great risk to his 
 life, being nearly suffocated by the noxious vapour of perfumes 
 burning in the antechamber of his apartment. An alarm being 
 
 1 Sleidan, Commentar. ; Sandoval, Hist, de la Vida del Emperador Carlos V. 
 
 2 Brantome, Dames Illustres, Vie de Marguerite de Valois.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 241 
 
 fortunately given in time, the emperor was raised from his bed 
 and carried to the open window in a state of insensibility. The 
 unfortunate individual who bore the title of chamber perfumer 
 to the king was arrested the following morning, and condemned 
 to be hanged ; but Charles solicited and obtained his pardon. 1 
 Probably this sudden seizure, instead of arising, as it was said, 
 from the smoke of perfumes burning in the antechamber of the 
 imperial apartment, was a slight fit of epilepsy brought on by 
 anxiety of mind. Charles was occasionally subject to such 
 attacks ; and once while he was kneeling before the altar at high 
 mass he fell forward on his face, and remained insensible for 
 more than two hours, to the great alarm of his attendants, 
 as it was his second epileptic seizure within the space of two 
 months. 2 
 
 Another accident befell the emperor during his sojourn at 
 Amboise, which raised his suspicion to an almost intolerable 
 extent. He was dining in public with the king, in the grand 
 hall of the castle of Amboise. The chancellor happened to be 
 passing along a gallery or platform which slightly projected over 
 the royal table, when, by some accident, the train of his robe 
 caught against a log of wood, which, during Poyet's efforts to 
 extricate himself, fell over the gallery and struck the emperor 
 a severe blow on the side of the head. Charles rose from the 
 table in dismay ; but on perceiving the cause of the accident he 
 declined to retire, and although much hurt, the emperor waited 
 until the termination of the banquet before he sought the aid of 
 his surgeons. 3 
 
 From Amboise the emperor proceeded to Fontainebleau, 
 where he was entertained by royal stag-hunts in the noble 
 forest ; and from thence he repaired with Francis to the Bois 
 de Vincenues, preparatory to making his entry into Paris. On 
 New Year's Day, 1540, this gorgeous pageant defiled through 
 the streets of the capital : the emperor proceeded in the first 
 instance to Notre-Dame, to be present at a solemn Te Deum 
 chanted in honour of his visit. He rode between the dauphin 
 and the Duke of Orleans ; before him marched the constable, 
 bearing aloft the sword of state. In the evening the king enter- 
 
 1 Dupleix, Hist. Gen. de France. 
 
 2 Bibl. Roy. MSS. de Beth., No. 8486 ; Gailliard, Hist, de Fra^ois I. 
 8 Dupleix, Hist. Gen. de France. 
 
 VOL. ii. 16
 
 242 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 tained his imperial guest and the chief nobles at a magnificent 
 banquet at the Palais. At the conclusion of the repast, a de- 
 putation of municipal dignitaries presented the emperor with a 
 gift from the city of Paris. This was a silver statue of Hercules 
 the size of a man ; it being the loyal intention of the inhabitants 
 of Paris to demonstrate to Charles that " the riches of their 
 town were sufficient to hold his designs in check, and to furnish 
 the king with all needful supplies for the maintenance of the 
 war." The following day the king entertained the emperor 
 in his palace of the Louvre, when all the ladies of the court 
 were present. 1 
 
 A plot, meanwhile, was concerted between the dauphin, the 
 King of Navarre, and Antoine, Duke de Vendome, to arrest the 
 emperor. Their design was to seize his person, while he paid a 
 visit to the Constable de Moutmorency at Chantilly, without 
 previous reference to the king or to the Privy Council. This 
 daring scheme certainly would have been carried into effect but 
 for the remonstrances of the constable, who undauntedly rep- 
 resented to the impetuous prince that he was bound to respect 
 the pledge given by his royal father to the emperor. " Monsieur 
 le Conne'table," exclaimed the dauphin Henry, when, in concert 
 with the other two princes, he unfolded his design to Mont- 
 morency during Charles's sojourn at Chantilly, "we are come 
 to impart to you a design we have formed ; and I request you, 
 as my confidential friend, to aid rne with your advice and assist- 
 ance in performing it." " Monseigneur," replied the constable, 
 "you have only to command." "I have resolved, then, in con- 
 cert with these my cousins, 2 to seize the person of the emperor, 
 and detain him in captivity until he grants redress for the 
 wrongs which he has done my father," rejoined the young prince, 
 vehemently. Montmorency then gravely uttered the following 
 admonition : " Monseigneur, you are, as you well know, here in 
 your own house, and you can command as you please ; but, as 
 your humble servant, I will take leave to represent to you that, 
 though the way to bind oxen is by the horns, men are bound 
 by their word. Kings cannot be compelled to do justice like 
 ordinary persons ; redress is only to be sought for by appealing 
 to their honour and their word. The king your father has 
 
 1 Belleforest, Hist. Gen. de France; Mem de Du Bellay; Sandoval. 
 
 2 The King of Navarre and the Duke de Venddme.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 243 
 
 plighted his faith to the emperor ; therefore I maintain, monsei- 
 gneur, that you are bound to respect it, and cannot act in defiance 
 of it. You would greatly offend the king, and ruin forever the 
 renown which he has gained throughout Christendom for the 
 generous treatment he is offering to so great an enemy." J These 
 bold words, spoken so honestly by the constable, produced a 
 great effect upon the young prince, who desisted from his hostile 
 intents. Some indiscreet personage, however, informed the 
 emperor of the peril he had escaped ; which of course did not 
 diminish Charles's desire to find himself safely out of France. 
 One day, as Francis and the emperor were amusing themselves 
 by watching various sports in the meadows which then sur- 
 rounded the Palais des Tournelles, Charles was startled by feeling 
 himself suddenly clasped in the strong arms of a cavalier who had 
 sprung up behind him on his saddle, while a voice pronounced 
 with ringing emphasis the words : " My lord emperor, you are 
 my prisoner ! " The emperor looked round with indignant 
 dismay ; but his frown was effaced by a smile when he perceived 
 that ' his bold challenger was the young Duke of Orleans, who 
 seems to have taken malicious pleasure in playing upon Charles's 
 apprehensions. 
 
 The question of the Milanese was several times discussed by 
 Francis in his political conferences with his imperial guest. 
 Charles promised faithfully to grant the desired investiture, 
 but declined to give the king any written promise or guarantee 
 until he returned into his own dominions. He skilfully repre- 
 sented to Francis that such a document, if extorted from .him, 
 would be of no avail, as the king himself had rendered its after 
 disavowal legitimate by his own renowned protest against the 
 treaty of Madrid, which declared : " Que prisonnier gard$ riest 
 tenu a nulle foi, n'y ne se pent obliger a rien." The emperor, 
 nevertheless, offered spontaneously to give the written promise 
 of investiture, desired by Francis for his son, on arriving at the 
 first town in his Flemish dominions. 
 
 The last expedition which Francis and the emperor took to- 
 gether while at Paris, was to the royal tombs at St. Denis. 
 Charles, who traced a common ancestry with Francis, through 
 his grandmother, Mary of Burgundy, the lineal descendant of 
 Duke Philip the Bold, son of King John, desired to visit the 
 
 1 Hilarion de Coste, Eloges des Enfans cle France.
 
 244 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 mausoleum of the Valois kings. The gloom of the sepulchre, 
 the convent, or of the chamber of death exercised peculiar fasci- 
 nation over the mind of the Emperor Charles. He delighted in 
 the solitude which seemed to realize and to add intensity to his 
 melancholy and morbid speculations. The sombre cloister of 
 St. Lazare of Toledo was the chosen abode of the emperor 
 during the happier portions of his life, which undoubtedly were 
 spent in Spain. The silent courts of this monastery, and the 
 monotonous routine of its inmates, which the emperor conformed 
 to as much as his august position permitted, presented greater 
 attractions to the fancy of Charles than he found at Aranjuez, 
 a palace not very distant from Toledo, with its gardens and 
 varied scenery. The mother of the renowned Isabel the Catholic, 
 a Portuguese princess, died a raving lunatic ; Isabel's daughter, 
 Juana la Loca, the mother of the emperor, inherited the malady 
 in its most fatal aspect ; and this hereditary tendency to insanity 
 was more or less developed in the melancholy temperaments of 
 all her children. 
 
 The Abbot of St. Denis, followed by the monks of the mon- 
 astery, walking in procession, attended the two monarchs during 
 their progress. The emperor gazed long on the marble effigies 
 of the mighty race of sovereigns entombed in the vaults of the 
 cathedral. The impression made upon Charles was profound, 
 and the gravity of his pale features, as he slowly retraced his 
 steps back to the portal of the cathedral, was remarked by all ; 
 yet that visit was more consonant to the feelings of the emperor 
 than any brilliant pageant which had greeted him since his 
 arrival in France. 
 
 After making a brief sojourn at Chantilly, the emperor de- 
 parted for St. Quentin, still accompanied by Francis, who 
 there bade him farewell and returned to his capital. The con- 
 stable, with the two princes, attended him as far as Valenciennes. 
 Before he took farewell of the emperor, Montmorency requested 
 Charles to fulfil the promise he had made of sending the king 
 a written engagement to confer the duchy of Milan on the Duke 
 of Orleans. The emperor, as usual, artfully evaded the demand, 
 by declaring "that time must be allowed him to confer with his 
 council on the conditions upon which the investiture should be 
 made ; but it was hardly to be expected that he could occupy 
 himself with that affair until after the revolt of the Gantois had
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 245 
 
 been subdued, and exemplary chastisement made of the rebels." l 
 With this response Montmorency was compelled to return into 
 France, conscious that the duplicity of the emperor had again 
 triumphed. Charles proceeded to subdue the revolt of his 
 Flemish subjects. The Gantois submitted on his summons, and 
 opened their gates to the imperial troops. Their rebellion was 
 punished with the utmost rigour by the emperor, who wished 
 to afford a signal example to the towns in Flanders of the 
 severity with which he was prepared to repress seditious risings. 
 When Charles had completely subdued the turbulence of the 
 proud citizens of Ghent, he retired to Brussels. The French 
 ambassador, the Bishop of Lavour, by the express command of 
 his court, then requested the emperor to give a ratification in 
 writing of the verbal promise made in his name to King Francis 
 by the imperial ambassadors at Compiegne, an engagement 
 he had since confirmed to the king in the presence of the Con- 
 stable de Montmorency. The revolt of the Flemings being now 
 entirely subdued, Charles had no longer urgent cause to con- 
 ciliate the French ; he therefore ceased to dissemble, and flatly 
 told the bishop that he had no written confirmation to give, as 
 he never made any promise relative to the Milanese : for so far 
 from it ever having been his intention to- bestow that important 
 fief on the Duke of Orleans or on any other French prince, he 
 was about to grant the investiture of the duchy to his own son, 
 Don Philip, Prince of the Asturias. 2 
 
 The indignation of Francis was unbounded when he found 
 how egregiously he had been again duped by the artifice of the 
 emperor. Tormented by bodily suffering and political cares, the 
 disposition of the king underwent a grave alteration. He found 
 no longer delight in the dissipated pleasures of his earlier years ; 
 his reverses, the impoverished condition of the exchequer, and the 
 suspicions which had latterly risen in his mind induced a much 
 closer application to business. An irritability of temper, result- 
 ing from the severe suffering he endured, took the place of the 
 gaiety and careless insouciance of the king's former deportment. 
 He became stern, careful, and suspicious ; and the slightest con- 
 tradiction sufficed to elicit the imperious expression of a will that 
 submitted to no appeal. The Queen of Navarre and the Duchess 
 d'Estampes alone, of all the friends of his youth, retained their 
 
 1 Mem. de Du Bellay. 2 Du Bellay ; Dupleix ; Sleidan.
 
 246 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 influence. Marguerite continued to be her brother's sole adviser ; 
 while Madame d'Estampes shared with the king the few diver- 
 sions for which he retained a relish. 
 
 Whilst the emperor was at Ghent, the Duke of Cleves and 
 Juliers came to solicit that Charles would confirm to him the 
 investiture of the duchy of Guelders, which had lapsed to the 
 duke's father, William II., by right of inheritance, and the elec- 
 tion of the States, about a year previous to his death. Charles 
 ever regarded the imperial fiefs as appendages of his crown, to 
 be retained or conferred by him upon princes who would hold 
 them in strict conformity to his will, as best suited his interest 
 when they chanced to lapse. His usurpation of the Milanese 
 from the descendants of the Visconti had been crowned with 
 success ; the acquisition, in a similar manner, of the duchy of 
 Guelders, the emperor thought, might now be achieved, and 
 united to his dominions of the Netherlands. The request made 
 by the Duke of Cleves, therefore, received a positive refusal on 
 the part of the emperor, who plainly declared it to be his inten- 
 tion to incorporate the duchy with the provinces of the Low 
 Countries. This decision was not only at variance with 
 the claims of the Duke of Cleves, but it excited great conten- 
 tions in the house of Lorraine, as the Duke of Lorraine, being 
 nephew to the last Duke of Guelders, was considered by many 
 to have had a preferable right over his competitor, William II., 
 father of the present claimant, who was chosen by the States of 
 the duchy. Perceiving that remonstrances produced no effect 
 on the determination of the emperor, the Duke of Cleves quitted 
 the imperial court, and journeyed to Paris to demand the inves- 
 titure of the duchy of Guelders from King Francis, with troops 
 to maintain his rights. This opportunity of testifying his resent- 
 ment for the emperor's recent bad faith was too agreeable to the 
 king to meet with refusal. The duke was therefore received with 
 distinguished honour at the court of France ; and as his riches 
 were great and his territories large, the king, to bind him more 
 steadfastly to the interests of France, proposed to bestow upon 
 him the hand of his young niece Jeanne d'Albret, Marguerite's 
 daughter, and the heiress of Be*arn, Foix, and Armagnac. As 
 the princess had only just accomplished her twelfth year, the 
 Duke of Cleves consented to the only condition imposed by 
 Francis, which was that Jane, after her betrothal, should be
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 247 
 
 suffered to remain in France for the space of three years, in 
 order that her education might be completed. 
 
 Francis, whose dislike of the King of Navarre was uncon- 
 querable, had never discarded the suspicion that it was Henry's 
 desire and future design to bestow the hand of the Princess Jane 
 on the son of the emperor, a project as injurious to the interests 
 of France as it was distasteful to the king's personal feelings. 
 The emperor, during his recent passage through France, ad- 
 dressed many flattering compliments to the King of Navarre, 
 and on several occasions affected even a desire to confer pri- 
 vately with Henry. The princess yet remained under the king's 
 sole guardianship ; in a year or two, however, Jane's education 
 would be complete, when her father, on the demand of the States 
 of Be*arn, would doubtless insist on permission being accorded 
 him to convey his daughter to Pau, that she might receive the 
 homage and recognition of her future subjects. Once at Pau, 
 the removal of the young princess over the Spanish frontiers 
 was a design easily achieved. The union of his niece with the 
 Duke of Cleves, therefore, would remove all uneasiness on the 
 part of Francis as to the ulterior designs of the King of Na- 
 varre ; while by marrying the princess to a foreign prince whose 
 territories lay distant from France, the king effectually prevented 
 the undue aggrandizement of any of his own subjects by an 
 alliance with the heiress of B6arn. The intrepid spirit of the 
 young princess, besides, was becoming a serious source of em- 
 barrassment to the king. The little Jane, though she manifested 
 devoted attachment to her royal uncle, did not approve of the 
 close restraint in which he held her at his castle of Plessis-les- 
 Tours; and on several occasions her spirit displayed itself in 
 acts of wilful disobedience, to the consternation of her good 
 preceptress, Ayme'e de la Fayette. It was the wish of the princess 
 to be permitted to reside with her royal mother, or she would 
 have been well content to sojourn wherever the king did ; but 
 the gloomy chambers of Plessis, the lonely position of the castle, 
 and the terrible stories current in the neighborhood respecting 
 the dark scenes transacted within its walls during the reign 
 of her royal ancestor Louis XL, produced a great and painful 
 impression on the imagination of the youthful princess, and 
 made her loathe her abode. " Jane, the sole heiress of our Henry 
 and Marguerite," says the historian Olhagaray, " was brought up
 
 248 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 in France at Plessis-les-Tours, which place her uncle Francis I. 
 seldom permitted her to leave, because he feared that his brother- 
 in-law intended to bestow this princess on Philip, son of the 
 emperor. This abode proved very wearisome to our princess, 
 so that her chamber often echoed with her lamentations and the 
 air with her sighs, while she gave a loose rein to her tears. The 
 lustre of her complexion for she was one of the fairest prin- 
 cesses of Europe was marred by the abundance of her tears ; 
 her hair floated negligently on her shoulders, and her lips re- 
 mained without smiles." Perceiving, therefore, that his niece 
 was not to be appeased but by a removal to some more cheerful 
 abode, the king resolved that she should forthwith plight her 
 faith to the Duke of Cleves. 
 
 It is stated everywhere, and by historians of all shades of poli- 
 tics, that Francis arbitrarily bestowed the hand of the Princess 
 Jane of Navarre upon the Duke of Cleves, in defiance of the 
 entreaties and firmly expressed disapprobation of her parents. 
 So unanimous are the assertions on this point that it must have 
 met with general belief as a fact at the time. When this alli- 
 ance took place, Brantome, Olhagaray, Favyn, and numerous 
 other historians contemporary with the Princess Jane, declare 
 unequivocally that King Francis, without the consent of the 
 King and Queen of Navarre, and to their deep affliction, com- 
 pelled his niece to espouse the Duke of Cleves. This anecdote, 
 little honourable to the character of Francis or consistent with 
 the affection which he bore his sister, has been lately totally 
 refuted by the discovery of a letter written by Queen Margue- 
 rite to her brother, expressly approving of her daughter's intended 
 alliance ; and also by a curious document, the protest of the 
 Princess Jane against her marriage with the Duke of Cleves, 
 in which the young princess recounts the means used by her 
 royal mother to induce her to obey the mandate of the king. 1 
 The King of Navarre doubtless greatly disapproved in his heart 
 of such an alliance for his daughter, whatever the sentiments of 
 his royal consort may have been. It exposed his subjects of 
 Bdarn, after his death, to future oppressions from the French 
 crown, while their sovereigns were living at a distance in their 
 German dominions ; or, on the other hand, it doomed Jane, when 
 
 1 Both these documents will be given to the reader in their due order and 
 date.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 249 
 
 Queen of Navarre, to quit her husband to reign over her own 
 hereditary domains. 
 
 When the Duke of Cleves arrived at the French court, Margue- 
 rite was sojourning at Alen<?on. To appease the eager supplica- 
 tions of the young princess, the king permitted her to join her 
 mother, a boon also warmly solicited by Marguerite. When 
 the princess, attended by her governess, Madame de Silly, paid 
 her uncle a brief visit while on her way to Alencon, Francis, it 
 seems, took the opportunity of introducing the Duke of Cleves to 
 his young niece, and of intimating the matrimonial designs he 
 had formed for her. Jane did not desire to be married ; she 
 wished only for liberty, and for permission to join in the gay and 
 animated amusements enjoyed by other maidens of her age and 
 rank. It was, therefore, with sentiments of surprise and dismay 
 that she heard the notable scheme devised by her uncle to relieve 
 her from her irksome abode of Plessis. Though but a child in 
 years, Jane's intellect was a very precocious one ; and she had 
 already givjn proofs of that undaunted disposition for which she 
 was in after life so distinguished. The manners and conversa- 
 tion of the Duke of Cleves, it seems, gave the fastidious little 
 princess of twelve years old no greater satisfaction than his pro- 
 posals ; she therefore boldly took the liberty " of very humbly 
 beseeching her royal uncle that she might not be compelled to 
 marry M. de Cleves." The undisguised repugnance which Jane 
 manifested for the Duke of Cleves betokens the early dawn of 
 that penetration and skill in reading character which, in her 
 subsequent political career, preserved her from innumerable 
 perils. Beneath the gallant bearing of Duke William, the royal 
 Jane detected that meanness of disposition and cowardice which 
 disgraced the subsequent career of the duke, and rendered him 
 unworthy to possess a loyal and magnanimous heart like her 
 own. 
 
 It appears that the opposition of the Princess Jane to her 
 union with' the Duke of Cleves greatly displeased the king, and 
 led him to suppose that she was acting under the direction of her 
 father. Francis must have expressed himself with great harsh- 
 ness to Madame de Silly, to judge by the dismayed tone in 
 which Marguerite writes to her brother to excuse her daughter's 
 presumption, as soon as the circumstances were communicated 
 to her. The temper of the king evidently alarmed Marguerite ;
 
 250 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 and she feared to experience that severity of rebuke which, 
 when roused, had latterly proved so implacable. First, she 
 summoned the young princess to account for the daring obser- 
 vation which had so greatly moved the indignation of her royal 
 uncle. Jane replied " that she had taken the liberty of speak- 
 ing frankly to the king, having been in the habit of saying 
 to him all she thought and wished." Marguerite then immedi- 
 ately wrote to the king ; and strong must have been the resent- 
 ment felt by Francis at the prospect of having this project of 
 his thwarted by the rebellious defiance of the young princess, 
 when Marguerite thought it necessary to use language so sub- 
 missive : " Monseigneur, in my extreme tribulation I experience 
 but one consolation, which is the certain knowledge that neither 
 the King of Navarre nor myself feel other desire than to obey 
 you, not only in the matter of this marriage, but in all that you 
 command us. Having heard, monseigneur, that my daughter 
 not appreciating as she ought the great honour which you con- 
 ferred by deigning to visit her, nor the obedience which she 
 owes you ; neither that a maiden ought to have no will of her 
 own was bold enough to utter so senseless a request as to 
 beseech that she might not be married to M. de Cleves, I know 
 not what to think, monseigneur, nor how to address you, for I 
 am overpowered with grief, and have none in the world to 
 whom I can apply for comfort or counsel. The King of Navarre 
 is also so astonished and grieved that I have never seen him 
 before so indignant ; for we cannot divine whence this great 
 boldness on her part arose, she never having even mentioned 
 such a design to us. She excuses herself on the plea that she 
 is on more intimate terms with you than even with ourselves ; 
 but this intimacy ought not to inspire so great a freedom on her 
 part, being, as I believe, not advised to it by any one. If I 
 could discover the personage who inspired her with such an 
 idea, I would make so great a demonstration of my displeasure 
 as should convince you, monseigneur, that this foolish affair has 
 been attempted without the sanction and desire of her parents, 
 who have no will but yours. Knowing therefore, monseigneur, 
 that it is your habit rather to pardon errors than to punish them, 
 especially where the understanding fails, as it has evidently 
 done in this case of my poor daughter, I entreat you very 
 humbly, mouseigneur, that for one unreasonable petition she
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 251 
 
 has preferred, and which is the first fault she has committed in 
 respect to yourself, you will not withdraw that paternal favour 
 which you have ever manifested towards her and ourselves ; 
 but considering the many perfections which God has endowed 
 you with, you will bear with our infirmities without displeasure. 
 If the dread of your anger makes your subjects tremble, believe, 
 monseigneur, that it smites us with death ; for you could not 
 visit us with a more severe punishment than to withdraw your 
 favour, which we have ever prized above kingdoms or treasures 
 whatsoever." 1 Marguerite despatched the Bishop of Se'ez to 
 Moulins, where the court was sojourning, to present this epistle 
 to her brother, and to explain the willingness of the King of 
 Navarre to obey him in all things, and their distress at the pre- 
 sumptuous conduct of the young princess. 
 
 One circumstance doubtless contributed to reconcile the 
 Queen of Navarre to this alliance, which was, that the Duke of 
 Cleves showed himself well inclined towards Protestantism, and 
 sheltered many of the proscribed Lutheran ministers in his terri- 
 tories. His revenues were ample ; and he held an eminent 
 position amongst the sovereign princes of Germany. The duke 
 was only twenty-four years old; his age, therefore, would not 
 eventually have been disproportionate to that of the princess. 
 The most serious impediment to this alliance, which contem- 
 porary historians decry as the height of despotism in Francis to 
 have attempted, seems the strange aversion entertained. by the 
 princess for her princely suitor. The Queen of Navarre applied 
 herself anxiously to overcome her daughter's scruples, after the 
 despatch of her letter to the king. Jane, however, persisted in 
 peremptorily rejecting the duke's offers ; she refused to be con- 
 vinced by her mother's arguments; and when it is considered 
 that she had only just completed her twelfth year, the constancy 
 of her opposition cannot fail to excite astonishment. The 
 queen then menaced the obdurate young princess with punish- 
 ment, and threatened to cause her to be severely whipped by 
 her governess, Madame de Silly, if she did not speedily evince 
 becoming submission. 2 It must be supposed that Marguerite, 
 when she thus abetted her brother's design, believed that she 
 
 1 Bibl. Roy., Suppl. Fran., MS. No. 138. 
 
 2 Protestation de Jeanne d'Albret au sujet de son mariage avec le due de 
 Cleves, Papiers d'Etat du Cardinal Granvelle.
 
 252 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 was acting for her daughter's ultimate welfare, being convinced 
 that Jane's tender age rendered her incapable of forming a 
 sound judgment on the proposed alliance. It is difficult to 
 believe that the princess could have so long resisted the abso- 
 lute commands of her mother and those of her royal uncle, 
 towards whom she had been brought up to manifest the deepest 
 reverence, unless some person secretly directed and exhorted 
 her to persist in her opposition. The hostility of the King of 
 Navarre to this marriage was suspected ; for it was known that 
 an alliance with the Prince of the Asturias would have been 
 acceptable to him, provided the emperor granted some present 
 concession relative to the kingdom of Navarre. It is possible, 
 therefore, that Henry himself encouraged his youthful daughter 
 in her obstinate rejection of the hand of the Duke of Cleves. A 
 peremptory message, at length, arrived from King Francis, 
 directing that the Princess Jane should be affianced without 
 delay to the duke. When this ceremony was accomplished, 
 Marguerite was requested by her brother to bring the princess 
 to ChUtellerault, that her marriage might be solemnized there 
 in presence of the court. Driven thus to extremity, the brave 
 young princess adopted, as a last resource, the expedient of 
 making a secret protest against her compulsory nuptials, which 
 she signed herself, and caused to be witnessed by three of her 
 own officers. This curious document, which was composed by 
 Jane herself, and written throughout with her own hand, is as 
 follows : 
 
 I, Jeanne de Navarre, persisting in the protestations I have 
 already made, do hereby again affirm and protest, by these present, 
 that the marriage which it is desired to contract between the Duke of 
 Cleves and myself is against my will ; that I have never consented to 
 it, nor will consent ; and that all I may say and do hereafter, by 
 which it may be attempted to prove that I have given my consent, 
 will be forcibly extorted against my wish and desire from my dread of 
 the king, of the king my father, and of the queen my mother, who 
 has threatened to have me well whipped by the Baillive of Caen, 1 
 my governess. By command of the queen my mother, my said gover- 
 ness has also several times declared that if I do not all in regard to 
 this marriage which the king wishes, and if I did not give my consent, 
 I should be punished so severely as to occasion my death ; and that 
 by refusing I might be the cause of the total ruin and destruction of 
 
 1 Madame de Silly.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 253 
 
 my father, my mother, and of their house ; the which has inspired me 
 with such fear and dread, even to he the cause of the ruin of my said 
 father and mother, that I know not to whom to have recourse except- 
 ing to God, seeing that my father and my mother abandon me, who 
 both well know what I have said to them, that never can I love the 
 Duke of Cleves, and that I will not have him. Therefore, I protest 
 beforehand, if it happens that I am affianced or married to the said 
 Duke of Cleves in any way or manner, it will be against my heart 
 and in defiance of my will ; and that he shall never become my hus- 
 band, nor will I ever hold and regard him as such, and that any mar- 
 riage shall be reputed null and void. In testimony of which I appeal 
 to God and to yourselves as witnesses of this my declaration that you 
 are about to sign with me, admonishing each of you to remember the 
 compulsion, violence, and constraint employed against me upon the 
 matter of this said marriage. 
 
 (Signed) JEHANNE DE NAVARRE. 
 
 J. D'ARRAS. 
 
 FRANCES NAVARRO. 
 
 ARNAULD DuQUESSE. 1 
 
 This spirited protest, and the precision with which the prin- 
 cess states her grievances exhibit abilities of a remarkable kind 
 at her early age, if, indeed, it can be believed that such a com- 
 position emanated solely from the mind and pen of a girl of 
 twelve years old. The Queen of Navarre herself would not 
 doubtless connive at such a proceeding, which she must have 
 regarded as an act of faithlessness towards her brother, a trans- 
 gression of which Marguerite was never guilty ; besides, as it 
 has been before stated, the religious opinions professed by the 
 Duke of Cleves greatly recommended him to the queen's favour. 
 Thoughout the negotiations preparatory to this marriage the 
 queen acted with perfect good faith in promoting it, as she 
 imagined that her daughter would not feel the same scruples 
 when she grew older. It must, however, excite surprise and 
 regret that Marguerite employed threats to vanquish the resist- 
 ance of the princess ; though Jane's opposition, in those days 
 when parents exercised an absolute dominion over their children, 
 bestowing them in marriage on whom they pleased, appeared 
 novel and presumptuous. It may be added, in further excuse 
 for Marguerite, that when the princess was questioned on the 
 reasons of her aversion to this alliance, she could allege no 
 
 1 Papiers d'Etat du Cardinal de Granvelle, t. 3, document xxx.
 
 254 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 better cause " than that she deemed it of no advantage to leave 
 France and her own heritage of Be'arn to espouse a Duke of 
 Cleves." l As soon as the ceremony of her affiancing was over, 
 Jane made a second protest before her departure for the court, 
 which she presented for the signature of the same persons of 
 her household who had witnessed the first. The princess 
 expressed herself thus in this document : 
 
 I, Jehanne de Navarre, in the presence of you who out of love for 
 the truth signed the protestation which I before presented, and who 
 perceive and acknowledge that I am compelled and obliged by the 
 queen my mother, and by my governess, to submit to the marriage 
 demanded by the Duke of Cleves, between himself and me ; and that 
 it is intended against my will to proceed to the solemnities of a mar- 
 riage between us ; I take you all to witness that I persevere in the pro- 
 test I made before you on the day of the pretended betrothal between 
 myself and the said Duke of Cleves, and in all and every protestation 
 that I may at any time have made by word of mouth, 'or under my 
 own hand. Moreover, I declare that the said solemnity of marriage, 
 and every other thing ordained relative to it, is done against my will ; 
 and that all shall hereafter be regarded as null and void, as having been 
 done and consented to by me under violence and restraint ; in testi- 
 mony of which I call you all to witness, requesting you to sign the 
 present with myself, in the hope that by God's help it will one day 
 avail me. (Signed) JEHANNE DE NAVARRE. 2 
 
 &c., <fec. 
 
 But notwithstanding her brave heart and resolute daring, Jane 
 was compelled to submit. She was received with great honour 
 and affection by her royal uncle, Francis I., who affected to look 
 upon her reluctance as a childish piece of insubordination. The 
 Duke of Cleves paid assiduous court to the mother of his resolute 
 little bride elect ; and Marguerite, by her influence over the duke, 
 obtained many concessions for her daughter, 8 and, amongst other 
 things, that Jane should be committed exclusively to her own care 
 until she became old enough to reside with her husband. 
 
 On her bridal day the Princess Jane was arrayed in a robe of 
 cloth of gold, so studded with pearls and jewels " that it was a 
 sight to behold." The health of the princess never having been 
 
 1 Olhagaray, Hist, de Foix, Beam, et Navarre. 
 
 2 Papiers d'Etat du Cardinal Granvelle, document xxz., t. 3. 
 
 3 Du Haillan, Hist. Gen. de France, augmentee par Arnoul du Ferron.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 255 
 
 strong since the severe attack of illness which caused her royal 
 mother such alarm, when the hour came for her to proceed to 
 church for the celebration of the nuptial ceremony, she found 
 herself so indisposed and afflicted as to be unable to walk under 
 the weight of the jewels adorning her robes. The king, who had 
 intended to lead the bride himself to the altar, when informed of 
 this obstacle, summoned the Constable de Montmorency, and com- 
 manded him to take the princess in his arms and carry her to 
 church. 1 This mandate created great consternation and amaze- 
 ment amongst the courtiers : it was an indignity offered to the 
 august rank of the constable, whose place was to march imme- 
 diately before the sovereign, bearing the sword of state. The 
 approaching fall of the constable had been predicted by many ; 
 and it is more than probable that Montmorency's exile from 
 court was then resolved upon. Marguerite had ceased to plead 
 for him, and if Brantome is to be credited she even accelerated 
 his disgrace ; while Madame d'Estampes made no secret of her 
 determination to procure his banishment. 
 
 The constable left his place in the procession, and silently 
 obeyed the mandate of his imperious sovereign. The king's 
 deportment on this occasion, however, convinced Montmorency 
 that he had fallen irretrievably in his sovereign's favour. On 
 returning to his rank in the procession, he exclaimed, so as to be 
 heard by all : " C'est fait desormais de ma faveur. Adieu luy 
 dis ! " 2 "V\^hen Marguerite witnessed the humiliation so publicly 
 inflicted upon Montmorency, it is recorded that she exclaimed : 
 " See, he who would have ruined me in the favour of the king my 
 brother, is now compelled to carry my daughter to church ! " 3 
 The queen could never forgive the constable for his attempt 
 to alienate from her the king's affection ; and the baseness of his 
 ingratitude hardened her heart, and prevented her from feeling 
 compassion for the humiliation imposed upon him. 
 
 Francis refrained from manifesting his resolve relative to Mont- 
 morency until the conclusion of Jane's marriage festivities ; prob- 
 ably before that time his intentions were not finally taken. The 
 king's previous displeasure had been greatly augmented by the dis- 
 
 1 The infant of Foix performed the same office by command of Louis XII., when 
 the Princess Claude was affianced to the Duke de Valois, afterwards Francis I., 
 and carried the infant bride in his arms to the altar. 
 
 2 Brant6me, Dames Illustres, Vie de Marguerite de Valois. 8 Ibid.
 
 256 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 appointment he experienced on the failure of the emperor's prom- 
 ise, upon the fulfilment of which the constable rashly pledged his 
 word. The intimacy subsisting between Montmorency and Queen 
 Eleanor, moreover, deeply offended the king, who conceived that 
 Montmorency failed in the respect incumbent on a subject by 
 assuming to become the queen's tutor; it also kindled suspi- 
 cions in the mind of Francis, that, as Bourbon had betrayed him 
 to the emperor, so also it might be the ultimate design of the con- 
 stable. The king never trusted his consort ; though Eleanor had 
 repeatedly given proof of her devotedness to his interests, she was 
 carefully kept in ignorance of the political schemes of the French 
 cabinet, as her attachment to the emperor occasioned distrust. 
 The wilful and unjust prejudices of the king generally met with 
 chastisement : in this instance the queen, whom Francis injured 
 and distrusted, has never been accused of betraying the secrets 
 of the state to her brother; while the unprincipled Duchess 
 d'Estampes, who possessed his confidence, notoriously lived in 
 league with the emperor's agents. 
 
 Not one of the French cabinet repented now more deeply than 
 did Francis himself, that Charles had been suffered to pass through 
 France without being compelled to give a promise relative to the 
 cession of the duchy of Milan. Montmorency's enthusiasm for 
 the emperor, and the fervour of his assurance that Charles, when 
 once in his own dominions, would do all that the king required, 
 was now remembered to the constable's disadvantage by his royal 
 master. Francis recalled, moreover, the queen's tearful pleadings 
 when informed by Montmorency of the hostile attitude of the 
 Council ; and with a distrust kindled by repeated betrayals and 
 reverses, he imagined that the constable, in league with Eleanor 
 and at her persuasion, favoured the designs of Charles. The 
 admiral and the Duchess d'Estampes exerted their eloquence to 
 increase the displeasure of the king, by exaggerating Montmo- 
 rency's influence over the dauphin and the young prince's 
 undutiful deportment; and they represented with the utmost 
 acrimony the evil return which the constable had made to the 
 unbounded friendship displayed towards him by the Queen of 
 Navarre, craftily leaving the king to draw his own inferences of 
 the probability of his old favourite's fidelity to himself therefrom. 
 If Francis consulted Marguerite, no extenuation was proffered 
 by her to screen Montmorency from the malicious suggestions
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. . 257 
 
 of his enemies; she felt too profoundly aggrieved to interfere 
 more in his behalf. 
 
 The most brilliant pageants, meanwhile, celebrated the nuptials 
 of the Princess Jane of Navarre with the Duke of Cleves. The 
 young bride continued sullen ; and could not be induced to par- 
 take in the gaiety of the fetes given by her uncle, though she 
 was obliged to sanction them by her presence. " In the meadow 
 of Chastelleraud," relates a contemporary chronicler, 1 " jousts 
 and tourneys were holden, for which halls, galleries, triumphant 
 arches, and palaces were constructed of verdant boughs, within 
 which armed knights were placed to defend them in honour of 
 the ladies of their heart, whose devices were interlaced in the 
 foliage with the arms of the cavaliers, and other spoil captured 
 from the assailants. Close to these said edifices were verdant 
 hermitages tenanted by hermits, clad in green or grey velvet, and 
 other gay colours, whose office it was to serve as guides to any 
 strange knight who might happen to arrive. In another part of 
 the meadow were ladies, who personated nymphs and dryads, 
 attended by their dwarfs, all ordered according to the mode and 
 fashion of bygone days. This joust for novelty and magnificence 
 was the most memorable thing of the kind which had been done 
 or heard of in our days. These knightly encounters came off 
 in the daytime ; but that there might not lack amusement at 
 night, lists were constructed in which the joustings continued by 
 torchlight ; a thing never before heard of in France." 
 
 As soon as the festivities terminated, the Duke of Cleves took 
 his leave of the king and his bride, and returned into Germany. 
 Jane accompanied her parents to their castle of Pau, a place 
 which apparently she had never before visited. Before the king 
 quitted Chatellerault, Montmorency experienced the result of his 
 selfish and unprincipled conduct ; he was deprived by the king 
 of his post of grand master of the household, and of his political 
 offices, with the exception of that of constable, which could not 
 be alienated, and was dismissed from court to his castle of couen. 
 The constable's total disgrace did not occur until the year 1542, 
 as letters exist showing that Francis occasionally corresponded, 
 on affairs connected with the state, with his fallen favourite until 
 that period. 
 
 The disgrace of the Constable de Montmorency excited wonder 
 
 i Paradin, Hist, de Notre Temps. 
 
 TOL. II. 17
 
 258 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 and comment amongst all classes of persons uninitiated in the 
 intrigues of the court ; to them he had seemed at the summit of 
 royal favour, and to have succeeded to the power of the Cardinal 
 Duprat, while possessing personal influence in a more exalted 
 degree over his royal master. Foreign potentates propitiated 
 Montmorency's favour by the most flattering appellations ; and 
 by his own peers such was once the height of the consta- 
 ble's influence in the state he was unanimously addressed as 
 " monseigneur," a title in those days almost exclusively reserved 
 for royal rank. The house of Lorraine alone made the excep- 
 tion ; the Cardinal de Lorraine, and the stalwart Claude, Duke de 
 Guise, and his valiant sou, Francois le Balafre', maintained the 
 pre-eminence of their descent above the pretensions of the 
 Montmorency, giving the constable the simple appellation of 
 " Monsieur le Conne table." 
 
 In Be'arn, ecclesiastical affairs occupied Marguerite's attention 
 during the winter of the year 1540. Soon after the arrival of 
 the King and Queen of Navarre at Pau, the Bishop of Ole'ron 
 died suddenly of poison, administered, as it was strongly sus- 
 pected, by certain disaffected ecclesiastics of his diocese. The 
 sovereigns of Navarre hastened to despatch a messenger named 
 Jehan Doulcet to Eome to solicit that the vacant bishopric of 
 Ole'ron might be bestowed on Ge'rard Eoussel, who is styled, in 
 the memorial signed by the King of Navarre for this purpose, " a 
 doctor in theology, Abbe" of Clairac, confessor and almoner in 
 ordinary to the said lord and lady, the King and Queen of Na- 
 varre." This document set forth, as urgent reasons why Pope 
 Paul should comply with the solicitation, that, " Oleron being a 
 frontier town, it would not be politic to appoint a stranger to 
 the see, to whom, moreover, the diocesan clergy would be little 
 disposed to render obedience ; while, on the contrary, they held 
 Ge'rard Eoussel in great love and esteem, as he was well known 
 to them as a preacher and greatly trusted by the sovereigns." 1 
 It is a singular circumstance that Marguerite should have ven- 
 tured to recommend thus urgently to the Holy See, for episcopal 
 honours, a personage who had been twice tried by command 
 of the Sorbonne for heresy, and who each time narrowly 
 
 1 Memoire et adrertissement a Jehan Doulcet pour 1'afiaire de 1'evesche 
 d'Oleron, etc. ; MS. Bibl. Roy. Published by M. Genin, " Lettres de la Reine de 
 Navarre."
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 259 
 
 escaped with life through her intercession ; though perhaps it 
 seems yet more extraordinary that she obtained her suit. The 
 bishopric was immediately awarded to Roussel on the voluntary 
 demission of Cardinal Salviati, who held the benefice in reserve, 
 on condition of receiving in lieu a pension of 200 ducats. 
 
 During this winter the Queen of Navarre encountered annoy- 
 ance, and even danger, relative to a suit which she had insti- 
 tuted, two years previously, in order to remove the Bishop of 
 Condom from his see ; and soon after her return into Bdarn a 
 plot against her life was discovered, projected by the adherents 
 of the bishop. Erard de Grossoles, Bishop of Condom, was one 
 of the most zealous champions of the papacy in the south of 
 France, and the vacillating policy pursued by the French cabi- 
 net in affairs of religion roused his passionate reprehension. 
 The Bishop of Condom, in short, essayed to play in Be'arn and 
 Gascony the some rSle as the Syndic Noel Be*da once aimed at 
 doing in Paris. When the Emperor Charles V. propagated 
 throughout his hereditary dominions and Germany those cal- 
 umnies so humiliating to Francis I., the Bishop of Condom 
 repeated the slanderous charges from the pulpit of his cathedral, 
 adding personal invectives of the most disloyal nature relative 
 to the conduct of the king, and of the King and Queen of 
 Navarre. Marguerite instantly directed informations to be laid 
 against the bishop, and he was temporarily suspended from his 
 episcopal functions, and summoned to Paris to clear himself of 
 the charges. The Queen of Navarre prayed her brother to 
 compel the bishop to resign his see, which she requested might 
 be bestowed upon her friend, the Cardinal du Bellay : " The 
 poorest cardinal, monseigneur, in your dominions, and one who 
 shows you such loyal devotion that, regardless of personal 
 expense, he never refuses to accept any commission confided to 
 him." The Council of State, however, was not then in the 
 humour for prosecuting a prelate for excess of zeal ; the Bishop 
 of Condom was therefore admonished, and dismissed back to his 
 diocese. Encouraged by his partial triumph, the bishop soon 
 resumed his hostile denunciation against the king, the Bishop of 
 Ole'ron, and the Queen of Navarre, whom he accused of favouring 
 the Sacramentarian heresy. Marguerite, therefore, caused fresh 
 representations to be made to her brother, and demanded with 
 great vehemence the removal of so turbulent a prelate from the
 
 260 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 see of Condom. Francis, in accordance with the wish of his- 
 sister, appointed commissioners to proceed to the South, probably 
 to Bordeaux, to investigate the accusations. " Monseigneur," 
 wrote the queen to her brother, 1 " in all that concerns the cause 
 of M. de Condom, I pray you to believe that I partake so much 
 of your own disposition that I do not desire to harm those who 
 hurt me ; for if I only were injured, I should find greater felicity 
 in pardoning such offences than in punishing them. The crime 
 of those who offend against you, however, cannot be overlooked 
 by any who call themselves your friends, and I trust, monsei- 
 gneur, that by sending hither commissioners you will be more 
 readily obeyed and feared than you have been in these parts, 
 where you will find great abuses to correct. The order which 
 you have established in your court of parliament here is sa 
 efficacious, that none have cause for complaint except the evil- 
 disposed ; for even as it is your desire to protect the innocent 
 from the malice of their enemies, so, doubtless, monseigneur, it 
 is your will that the factious, and he who converts the Holy 
 Word of God into a cause for disobedience towards superiors, 
 and of noisy pulpit oratory, should suffer condign chastise- 
 ment as is most meet and right. I assure you, monseigneur, 
 that the prayers of all here are offered for your welfare ; and 
 there is not one individual amongst us, in the habit of reading 
 the Holy Scriptures, who, hearing another speak disrespectfully 
 of you, does not rebuke him, more from a wholesome fear of 
 your displeasure than out of dread of punishment." The 
 king nominated two privy councillors, MM. de Bayf and 
 de Bagie, to inquire into the accusations preferred against 
 the Bishop of Condom ; and it would appear that Francis, 
 to tranquillize his sister, promised that, whatever might be 
 the decision of the commissioners, the bishop should be 
 translated to the see of Blois, and thus removed from her 
 jurisdiction. 
 
 The friends of Erard de Grossoles, during the interval before 
 the arrival of the commissioners, conducted themselves in the 
 most turbulent manner, caballing together and using threats to 
 intimidate Marguerite, and to induce her to stay the proceed- 
 ings. A rumour, meanwhile, reached the ears of the King of 
 Navarre that a plot was in agitation to poison Marguerite 
 
 1 F. du Suppl. Fran., Bibl. Roy., MS. No. 133.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 261 
 
 during the celebration of high mass on Christmas Day, by burn- 
 ing deadly drugs in the censers, which, during a part of the 
 ceremony, were to be wafted round the queen in homage to her 
 sovereign dignity, after incense had been offered to the sacred 
 images on the altar. This plot appears to have been extensively 
 organized, and several noblemen of high rank, partisans of the 
 Bishop of Condom, were base enough to abet the attempt. The 
 Baron de Lescure, especially, was one of Marguerite's most 
 inveterate enemies ; his zeal for the Church of Rome was intol- 
 erant, and he looked upon the Queen of Navarre as the open 
 supporter of heresy in the principality, which, but for her per- 
 nicious influence over the king, would ere this have been 
 extinguished there and throughout the realm. In consequence 
 of the secret information imparted to him of this atrocious 
 project, the King of Navarre issued a warrant for the arrest of 
 the Baron de Lescure, who, however, found means to escape in 
 time over the frontier into Spain. The baron's conduct was 
 afterwards made the subject of a lengthened investigation, when 
 it appeared that he was likewise implicated in a similar design 
 to poison the Count Palatine. 1 An arrest of great importance, 
 however, was achieved early in the first month of the year 1542 ; 
 but Marguerite, in her correspondence, carefully suppresses the 
 name of the culprit, who appears to have been of the highest 
 rank ; and elsewhere no mention is to be discovered relative to 
 this mysterious affair. 
 
 At this period, when her life was beset with danger, Mar- 
 guerite was exceedingly indisposed, and expecting her accouche- 
 ment in the course of a few months. This event caused the 
 greatest joy to the King of Navarre, as the long interval which 
 had elapsed since the queen gave birth to the prince whose pre- 
 mature death had been so greatly lamented by both his parents, 
 seemed to render Henry's desire for a male heir to his princi- 
 palities hopeless. Marguerite displayed great courage in the 
 alarming situation in which she was placed from the malice of 
 the Bishop of Condom ; she refused to retire into France to her 
 brother, as, perhaps, under the circumstances, it might have been 
 her duty to do, and persisted in awaiting the arrival of the 
 commissioners appointed to investigate the conduct of that con- 
 tumacious prelate. On Christmas Day, 1541, instead of going 
 
 1 MS. Bibl. Roy., F. du Suppl. Fran., No. 120.
 
 262 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 to the cathedral, Marguerite caused high mass to be celebrated 
 in the hall of the palace, a service at which, under pretext of 
 indisposition, she assisted, reposing on her bed in a chamber 
 adjoining. About this time Marguerite wrote on this painful 
 affair to M. d'Izernay, steward of the household to the Princess 
 Jeanne, whom she had despatched to the court of France on some 
 special mission. She directs him to explain her position more 
 explicitly to the king, according to the statements contained in 
 her letter. Marguerite says : " I must mention for your guidance 
 that I feel no less indebted to the king for his project of remov- 
 ing M. de Condom to Blois than for his intention of sending the 
 commissioners here whom you name ; for I bear the bishop 
 no personal enmity. I only desire that the king should be 
 revered and obeyed in this country as he ought, and acknowl- 
 edged to be a clement prince, other than the said bishop has 
 represented. These are matters upon which, you are aware, I 
 am loath to torment the king ; but since the return of the Bishop 
 of Condom the king can have little conception of the daring 
 boldness displayed by the relatives of this prelate. From warn- 
 ings that I have received to hold myself on guard against 
 poison, which I hear is very much their fashion, I have re- 
 quested the King of Navarre to dismiss from the town all 
 the adherents of the said bishop, which he has done gradu- 
 ally, after explaining to them the opinion I entertained of 
 them all. He has, moreover, given strict commands to prevent 
 any one from penetrating into our culinary offices here. It is 
 reported that the monks have invented a new mode of poisoning 
 their enemies by the smoke of incense, the which, however, 
 I have no present dread of; as since your departure I have 
 been more indisposed from sickness than ever. On Christmas 
 Day high mass was chanted in our great saloon here, and from 
 my bed I heard matins and subsequently mass." 1 
 
 The queen also despatched a messenger to lay before her 
 brother the depositions taken at the examination of the pris- 
 oner arrested on the charge of conspiracy against her life. 
 The Bishop of Oleron, it was surmised, had been poisoned by the 
 wicked malice of the monks of his diocese ; and the confessions 
 of the prisoner avowed the existence of a conspiracy on so ex- 
 tensive a scale as to fill the mind of Marguerite with dismay, 
 
 i Bibl. Roy., F. de Beth., MS. No. 8560.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 263 
 
 and made her eagerly desire the presence of the royal commis- 
 sioners. " Monseigneur," wrote she to the king, 1 " our prisoner, 
 in the hope, perhaps, of saving his life, has promised to perform 
 such difficult things, that the King of Navarre dares not trust 
 his protestations nor his tears. He argues that, as the prisoner 
 has so freely confessed to the design of poisoning us both, there 
 must be something to conceal of still greater magnitude. I 
 strongly suspect that he has been holding secret and traitorous 
 correspondence which he fears to own ; but when M. de Bayf 
 arrives, accompanied by the bailiff of Orleans and some compe- 
 tent personages chosen from your courts of parliament, we shall 
 be able to elicit the truth. The prisoner is a man more fitting 
 to deceive, and plausible in his discourse, than I have ever be- 
 fore met with." After the arrival of the commissioners, this 
 mysterious prisoner was tried for his contemplated crime, and 
 condemned to suffer an extreme penalty in expiation. The 
 next communication which the queen makes on the subject is 
 to tender her grateful thanks to the king for the permission 
 which he had given her to grant a free pardon to the prisoner. 
 The noble generosity of Marguerite's heart and her sympathy 
 for the unfortunate reveals itself in every incident of her life. 
 Her ready forgiveness of injuries, and the way in which she 
 invariably rendered good for evil cannot be too highly extolled. 
 But for the salutary influence which his sister exercised over the 
 mind of the king, the annals of the reign of Francis would have 
 been more deeply stained with blood. Hundreds of persons at 
 various periods owed their lives to her persevering intercession ; 
 for to plead for the unfortunate appeared to be the recognized 
 and noble privilege of the Queen of Navarre. The affair of 
 the Bishop of Condom continued for some time longer to agitate 
 the little court of Pau, when the proceedings were stayed by the 
 translation of the turbulent prelate to the See of Blois, 2 while 
 that of Condom was bestowed on Charles de Pisseleu, brother of 
 the Duchesse d'Estampes. 
 
 The foreign policy of Francis I. meanwhile suffered severe 
 injury from the suspicions inspired by the ostentatious passage 
 of Charles V. through France. The emperor had disavowed his 
 promises ; while the apparent cordiality subsisting between the 
 
 1 Suppl. Fran., Bibl. Roy., MS. No. 120. 
 
 2 In 1542.
 
 264 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 two potent monarchs filled Europe with apprehension. The 
 Venetian republic and the Sultan Solimau II. felt aggrieved at 
 the manner in which the king had broken treaties concluded at 
 the period when his kingdom was menaced with ruin, to league 
 with his ancient adversary. According to the secret treaty 
 signed in 1536 between the King of France and the sultan, 
 Francis had engaged to invade the Milanese, while the Turkish 
 admiral blockaded the ports of Naples, and Soliman himself led 
 his vast armies to subdue the kingdom of Hungary. Barbarossa 
 and the fleet sailed accordingly for Italy, and ravaged the Nea- 
 politan territories, slaying and carrying away into captivity 
 more than half of the population of the various towns which 
 submitted to the Crescent. The news of these calamities com- 
 pelled the emperor to retreat from Provence ; while Soliman, 
 faithful to his engagements, marched into Hungary, gave battle 
 and completely defeated the King of the Eomans, near to the 
 town of Esseg. The breaking up of the camp at Avignon, and 
 the refusal of the French to follow the retreating army of the 
 emperor, was deeply resented by the sultan ; while the news 
 of the truce concluded at Nice, which was reported to be but 
 the preliminary to the signature of a permanent treaty of 
 peace, completed the alienation of Soliman from his reluc- 
 tant ally. The sultan conceived that Francis had shamelessly 
 deceived him, and had acted in defiance of international law 
 by concluding a truce irrespective of the interests of his allies, 
 thus leaving the Turks to sustain the weight of a war osten- 
 sibly undertaken by them at the solicitation and in defence of 
 the king. 
 
 Perceiving how completely he had been duped by the em- 
 peror's artifices, and sensible of the policy of propitiating two 
 such powerful allies as the Venetian republic which had con- 
 cluded a separate treaty of peace with the Turks and the 
 Sultan Soliman, before the commencement of a fourth contest 
 with the emperor, Francis secretly despatched a gentleman of 
 his chamber, named Antonio Eincone, and one Ce'sar, a scion of 
 the illustrious Genoese house of Fregosa, the members of which 
 ranked amongst the most devoted adherents of the Valois in 
 Italy. As Ein9one was a corpulent person, and unable to travel 
 on horseback with requisite celerity, the ambassadors were com- 
 manded to take boat on the river Po as far as Venice. The
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 265 
 
 nature of the instructions delivered to Rincone and Fregosa set 
 forth that the ambassadors were " perfectly to reassure the most 
 Serene Republic and the sultan as to the purpose of the conven- 
 tions concluded between Charles Quint and Francis I., which 
 consisted simply and purely of a truce signed with the fullest 
 intent of hereafter renewing hostilities." The king, moreover, 
 congratulated the republic on the peace it had recently con- 
 cluded with the Porte. 
 
 The departure of the ambassadors became immediately known 
 to the emperor, so faithfully did he contrive, through his agents, 
 to procure information of the proceedings of his rival. To ob- 
 tain possession of the despatches of these ambassadors, whose 
 instructions might furnish him with the plan of the future cam- 
 paign, became the paramount desire of Charles. The emperor 
 possessed not an officer more devoted to his interests and ready 
 to perform his bidding for evil or for good, than the Marquis del 
 Guasto, governor of the Milanese. A plan was, therefore, con- 
 certed to assassinate the unfortunate French ambassadors on 
 their journey down the Po, and to seize their despatches. Guil- 
 laume du Bellay, one of the bravest warriors and most skilful 
 diplomatists of France, had succeeded the Marechal d'Anne- 
 baut in the government of the conquered principality of Pied- 
 mont. His vigilance detected the scheme in contemplation for 
 the murder of the ambassadors ; and in great haste he sent to 
 arrest their progress at Rivoli, where he joined them, attended 
 by a powerful escort. Unfortunately, the ambassadors refused 
 to credit Du Bellay's positive assertion that their lives were 
 menaced ; and they therefore declined to undertake the more 
 fatiguing and difficult journey by land to Venice. Neverthe- 
 less, they prudently committed their secret despatches to the 
 care of Du Bellay, who undertook to forward them safely. 
 Fregosa and Rincone, therefore, embarked with their suite in 
 two boats, giving orders to their rowers to proceed down the 
 river with all possible despatch. During the first night the 
 ambassadors pursued their route without molestation, and had 
 nearly reached Casal, when they were attacked by two boats 
 filled with armed soldiers from the garrison of Pavia. The boat 
 containing the unfortunate ambassadors was surrounded; a 
 sharp contest ensued, in the heat of which Fregosa and Rinpone 
 fell mortally wounded, and were hurled overboard into the river,
 
 266 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 after search had been made for the despatches it was supposed 
 they carried concealed about them. 1 
 
 It had been undoubtedly by the express commands of the 
 emperor that the ambassadors, whose missions might prove so 
 adverse to his policy, were intercepted, and a bold attempt made 
 to seize their papers ; but we possess no such exact proofs that 
 their abominable assassination was likewise decreed by Charles, 
 notwithstanding the accusations of Du Bellay. It is rather to 
 be supposed that the emperor, in issuing directions to the Mar- 
 quis del Guasto, was silent on the means of accomplishing the 
 contemplated theft, and that the ambassadors were accidentally 
 slain in the fray; as in those days human life, especially in 
 Italy, was regarded as a thing very subordinate to the policy of 
 princes. 
 
 The boat containing the suite of the ambassadors, meantime, 
 made for the opposite shore of the river at the commencement 
 of the attack, and during the heat of the combat the persons on 
 board effected a safe landing and repaired to Turin to lay their 
 statements of the outrage before the king's lieutenant. The 
 men who had rowed the boats of the assailants, together with 
 all the attendants on board the French barges who survived the 
 attack, were seized by order of the Marquis del Guasto and 
 incarcerated in dungeons of the citadel of Pavia, in order to sup- 
 press evidence of the crime. Du Bellay, however, promptly 
 collected proof which showed that at any rate, if the emperor 
 were guiltless of the murder committed, the Marquis del 
 Guasto was directly cognizant of the deed. He therefore de- 
 nounced the marquis to the emperor, and afterwards before the 
 Diet of Ratisbon. Del Guasto at first flatly denied the charge ; 
 when the overwhelming evidence tendered by the king's lieu- 
 tenant rendered it impossible for the marquis to persist in this 
 denial, he palliated the deed by affirming " that Fregosa and 
 Eingone were deserters, rebels, and traitor subjects of the em- 
 peror, and as such merited punishment." He also affirmed that 
 the death of the ambassadors was accidental, and arose from a 
 fray which could not be anticipated between the soldiers and 
 crew of the boat. It was not attempted to deny the fact that 
 the seizure of the despatches committed by the king to his 
 ambassadors was the cause of the outrage. 2 
 
 1 Mem. de Du Bellay ; Brantome, Capitaines Illustres ; Vie du Marquis del 
 Guasto. - Mem. de Du Bellay.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVAREE. 267 
 
 The wise precaution taken by Guillaume du Bellay to secure 
 the despatches intrusted to Fregosa and Rincone foiled the 
 schemes of Charles. With a dishonesty worthy only of the 
 emperor and his ministers, a set of supposititious papers were, 
 however, framed and distributed throughout Europe, purporting 
 to be the genuine despatches of the murdered ambassadors. It 
 was asserted that the packet had been found by some fishermen 
 on the Po, together with a key to the cipher in which the in- 
 structions were written. Francis, in these papers, was accused 
 of the wildest schemes ; a plan was there pretended to be re- 
 vealed in which the King of France proposed a league with the 
 State of Venice to conquer and partition the imperial dominions 
 in Italy, while he was made to offer the possession of Germany 
 to Soliman II., a conquest to be achieved by the united 
 strength of the French and Mahometan empires. 1 It was in 
 allusion to these fabrications, unworthy of the Emperor Charles, 
 that Marguerite wrote thus to her brother : " Monseigneur, 
 Mons. Bayard 2 has forwarded to me an account of the letter 
 written by the emperor to the pope, which contains another of 
 his accustomed falsehoods (acoustumee mensonge). In this, how- 
 ever, I rest content, for even a child might discern the truth. 
 Were I as good an orator as I feel loyal, and assailed in this 
 matter, there is not a single article the emperor has asserted 
 that I could not refute with a minute accuracy, of which such 
 slanderous assertions are not worthy." 3 
 
 1 Mem. de Du Bellay. 
 
 2 Gilbert Bayard, one of the king's principal secretaries of state. 
 8 F. du Suppl. Fran., MS. No. 133.
 
 268 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE administration of the kingdom after the disgrace of 
 Montmorency was committed to the Cardinal de Tournon 
 and the Marshal d'Annebaut, the latter having been recalled 
 from his command in Piedmont to assume office in the state. 
 The new ministers were men of undoubted merit, but deficient 
 in capacity for the conduct of the war about to break forth. 
 The Cardinal de Tournon carried the prejudices of the zealous 
 churchman into political affairs ; his first thought was for the 
 aggrandizement of the papacy, while the glory and welfare of 
 his royal master ever remained subordinate to this his dominant 
 purpose. In an age when schism, infidelity, and the faith of 
 Eome were each contending for mastery, it required a larger 
 intellect and a wider liberality of spirit than the cardinal pos- 
 sessed to reconcile the conflicting claims of the subjects and 
 allies of France. The Marshal d'Annebaut had on many occa- 
 sions bravely served his country; he first signalized himself 
 under the immediate auspices of Francis at the battle of Ma- 
 rignano, that glorious fight which the king still exultingly 
 regarded as the most triumphant event of his reign. 
 
 The new ministers were scarcely installed in office before the 
 menaced disgrace of another high dignitary of state again cre- 
 ated uneasiness throughout the country. The Chancellor Poyet, 
 the advocate to whose eloquence the calamities of France might 
 perhaps be traced, as it gained for the Duchesse d'Angouleme 
 her famous suit against the Constable de Bourbon, was evi- 
 dently daily falling in disfavour with his royal master. The 
 enmity of the Admiral de Brion and of the Duchesse d'Estampes 
 was implacable ; they first rendered the chancellor odious in the 
 king's sight by constantly recurring to the oppressive and illegal 
 measures he had adopted to procure the condemnation of the 
 admiral ; they next successfully inspired Francis with contempt 
 for Poyet by ridiculing the adulations and the cringing flatteries
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 269 
 
 by which he sought to win back their favour. The fall of the 
 chancellor, though resolved upon, was yet delayed. Francis, 
 who had acted with passionate impulse in disgracing Montmo- 
 rency, felt that at this critical juncture of affairs the advent of 
 the new ministry would be ushered in with almost insurmount- 
 able obstacles if all of his old servants were removed from their 
 posts. 
 
 The plan of the campaign, meantime, was formed upon a 
 different and more extensive scale. The new ministers resolved 
 to inaugurate their administration by the adoption of a policy 
 totally distinct from that wisely pursued by the Constable de 
 Montmorency. Instead of proceeding with the war in Pied- 
 mont, where conquest after conquest had crowned the efforts of 
 the French generals, it was resolved to make a simultaneous 
 attack upon Koussillon, Flanders, and the duchy of Luxem- 
 bourg. To carry the war on the frontiers of Spain, and thus to 
 attack the emperor in the very haven of his security and wealth, 
 was a grand and ambitious scheme. The policy of Charles V., 
 contrary to that of his grandfather, Ferdinand the Catholic, ele- 
 vated the nobles of Castile at the expense of the middle orders. 
 The revolt of the communeros had been repressed with unpitying 
 severity at the commencement of Charles's reign ; and so intim- 
 idated and dazzled were the various corporate bodies by the for- 
 tune, the glory, and the affability of their sovereign, that no 
 subsequent risings of the cities of Spain disturbed the medita- 
 tions of the emperor in his convent palace at Toledo. Yet the 
 taxes were burdensome ; and the gratuitous levies imposed from 
 time to time on various districts excited secret discontent, while 
 the rigour of the executive government in carrying into effect 
 the arbitrary enactments of the Privy Council was inexorable. 
 When the banner of the fleur-de-lis should be unfurled on the 
 Spanish side of the Pyrenees, was it not probable, therefore, that 
 the chiefs of the Santa-Junta would fly to arms to assert their 
 municipal liberties and their ancient fueros, and, assembling 
 their scattered adherents, kindle civil war again in the centre 
 of orthodox and Catholic Spain ? Such was the thought of the 
 French. A bold stroke was meditated by the Privy Council ; 
 but it was one, nevertheless, worth the venture. 
 
 Three large armies were therefore raised to commence the 
 campaign. The [first consisting of 45,000 men, under the
 
 270 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 command of the dauphiu, associated with the Marshal d'Anne- 
 baut and Montpezat was to march into Eoussillon and besiege 
 Perpignan ; the second commanded by the Duke of Orleans, 
 having Claude, Duke de Guise, and Francois de Lorraine, his 
 valiant son, as lieutenants was to invade Luxembourg ; while 
 the army of Piedmont, destined to act in strict subordination 
 to the other great corps de bataille, and to advance upon the 
 Milanese or not as the success of the French arms indicated, 
 was confided to the brave Guillaume du Bellay. 
 
 In the summer of this year, 1542, Marguerite gave birth pre- 
 maturely at Pau to twins, an event which occasioned the 
 queen and her husband severe affliction. This untoward acci- 
 dent completely dissipated Henry's hope of male offspring, and 
 therefore rendered him doubly averse to the alliance which his 
 only child had been compelled to contract with the Duke of 
 Cleves. The extreme anxiety displayed by Marguerite for her 
 brother's affairs probably injured her health, which was never 
 robust ; and her activity in travelling from place to place 
 throughout the principality, and the excitement of reviewing 
 the garrisons of the fortresses she visited, proved highly injuri- 
 ous to the queen in her delicate condition. As soon as she was 
 able to travel, the queen quitted Pau, and visited the court, 
 which was then resident at St. Germain-en-Laye. 
 
 During Marguerite's brief sojourn at St. Germain, the fall of 
 the chancellor was resolved upon. It was determined to trans- 
 fer the great seal to Montholon, who for some little time had 
 discharged the functions of attorney-general with the most bril- 
 liant success. The hate of Madame d'Estampes against Poyet 
 was, if possible, still more vindictive ; and the failing health of 
 the Admiral de Brion, who was now confined to his chamber in 
 daily expectation of a release from his sufferings, enlisted the 
 sympathy of all, and redoubled popular indignation at the chan- 
 cellor's past subserviency to the passions of his royal master. 
 It was the hand of the Queen of Navarre, however, that removed 
 the last prop upon which the tottering edifice of Poyet's favour 
 rested. 
 
 The Duchess d'Estampes had been in the habit of treating the 
 chancellor with insolent arrogance, derogatory to the dignity of 
 his office. Poyet, who was well aware that Madame d'Estampes 
 possessed the power she constantly threatened to exercise to his
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 271 
 
 disadvantage, submissively endured her slights, and subjected 
 himself to the ridicule of the court by his ignoble compliance 
 with the caprice of the imperious favourite. It so happened 
 that a partisan of Madame d'Estarnpes, named La Renaudie, 
 being involved in a suit against Du Tillet, keeper of the regis- 
 ters of the parliament of Paris, which he was in danger of losing, 
 applied to the duchess to procure for him letters patent under 
 the great seal, transferring his cause from the jurisdiction of the 
 parliament to that of the Council of State. The Duchess d'Es- 
 tampes obtained the assent of the king ; she therefore caused 
 the requisite documents to be drawn, and sent them to Poyet, 
 desiring him to sign them and affix the great seal. The chan- 
 cellor, either shocked at the flagrant injustice of the procedure, 
 or irritated at the little consideration displayed towards him, 
 refused to comply with this peremptory request, unless certain 
 modifications and omissions were made in the tenor of the 
 document, which he took up a pen and indicated. La Renaudie 
 reported to his patroness the refusal of the chancellor to seal the 
 document, which the duchess took possession of again to lay 
 before the king. Notwithstanding the insidious observations of 
 the duchess on the insolence of the chancellor in presuming to 
 make erasures in a document which had received the royal as- 
 sent, Francis contented himself with reiterating the command 
 he had before given, that the letters of evocation should imme- 
 diately pass the great seal. The following day, therefore, Mad- 
 ame d'Estampes despatched La Renaudie to the chancellor, the 
 bearer of a still more arrogant message, conveying the precise 
 command of the king that the original document presented 
 should be accepted without modification. It so happened that 
 the Queen of Navarre was sitting with Poyet when La Renaudie 
 obtained his audience to deliver this message. Marguerite had 
 personally visited the chancellor to witness his signature of let- 
 ters patent which she had procured from the king for the par- 
 don of one of her retainers who had been capitally convicted for 
 the forcible abduction of a rich heiress. Stung by the affront 
 he had received in the presence of the king's sister, the chan- 
 cellor took the parchment from the hands of La Renaudie, and 
 unfolding it before Marguerite, read aloud some of its clauses, 
 adding : " You perceive, Madame, the evil effect of the influence 
 which is exercised by ladies at court. Not content with wield-
 
 272 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 ing a legitimate empire, they presume to violate the laws, and 
 to dictate to magistrates who are competent and skilful in the 
 discharge of the duties of their office." 1 Unfortunately for the 
 chancellor, Marguerite understood his remark as being person- 
 ally addressed to herself, as she had been just insisting on the 
 issue of a pardon to her retainer. She therefore retired in great 
 displeasure, and reported Poyet's speech to her royal brother, 
 complaining greatly of his insolence in daring to address her 
 with such freedom. Madame d'Estampes and the consort of the 
 admiral seconded with all their influence Marguerite's represen- 
 tations, and aggravated the king's anger by the subtle expres- 
 sion of indignant surprise that the Queen of Navarre should 
 have been treated with so little respect. The king was on the 
 eve of departing for Argilly, yet the warrant for the arrest of 
 the chancellor on a charge of malversation in his office was 
 made out and received the royal signature. Poyet's arrest took 
 place at Argilly, August 2d, 1542, whither he had accompanied 
 the king, unsuspicious of the disgrace which awaited him. He 
 was transferred to the Bastille, and articles of impeachment 
 were presented to the parliament of Paris, and accepted by that 
 august body. Poyet's trial was most cruelly postponed at vari- 
 ous intervals without regard to his age and infirmities. His 
 public career, on investigation, revealed instances of shameless 
 corruption, while his servile deportment during the progress of 
 the trial excited contempt. His sentence, which was only pro- 
 nounced in 1545, condemned him to five years' imprisonment, and 
 to the payment of a fine of one hundred thousand livres. Poyet 
 discharged the fine, and was thereupon dismissed from prison by 
 the grace of the king. He survived his ruin and disgrace about 
 four years, and died in abject poverty in an upper apartment of 
 his once splendid mansion, the Hotel de Nemours. 2 
 
 Francis heard of the emperor's disastrous retreat from Algiers 
 just as his own military preparations were complete. Armies in 
 a finer state of discipline, or commanded by more valiant gen- 
 erals, never assembled on the soil of France. Ample funds, also, 
 to support the campaign filled the royal exchequer ; for Francis, 
 grown provident by past adversity, himself organized the con- 
 
 1 Bayle, Dictionnaire Historique ; Le Laboureur ; Vie du Chancelier Poyet, 
 Additions aux Memoires de Castelnau. 
 * Ibid.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVAKRE. 273 
 
 duct of the war, and by his direction, ere a single military 
 operation commenced, the towns brought their contributions of 
 money to the treasury, according as . the rate of taxation had 
 been fixed by the king in Council. The utility and success of 
 these politic measures were, however, thwarted as usual by the 
 dissension of parties. The spirit of disunion, which pervaded 
 all ranks of society, was the bane of the reign of Francis I. The 
 contests of the parliament with the crown, and of the Sorbonne 
 with the adherents of reform, and the consequent insubordina- 
 tion of both these bodies, and the fierceness with which they 
 assailed the royal prerogative, diminished the reverence paid by 
 the people for the sovereign, and afforded a precedent only too 
 fatally imitated in after times. Scarcely had the perils to which 
 the monarchy was exposed produced a temporary suspension of 
 the theological feuds always agitating the capital, when private 
 quarrels broke forth amongst the courtiers, raging with acrimo- 
 nious bitterness in proportion as the interests they involved 
 were limited and personal. The factions of Madame d'Estampes 
 and of the Duchess de Valentinois paralyzed the court ; such 
 was the ungoverned hate subsisting between these two aban- 
 doned women that neither patriotism nor their allegiance to the 
 crown offered obstacle to the gratification of their animosity. 
 Madame de Valentinois, however, was never guilty of acts of 
 treason and ingratitude like the Duchesse d'Estampes, whose 
 passions originated and resolved themselves into most absolute 
 selfishness. The dauphin lived on bad terms with his father, 
 with his consort, with his brother the Duke of Orleans, and with 
 Madame d'Estampes, because all these persons were favoured 
 by the king, who, with a jealousy greatly to be reprehended, 
 looked coldly on the heir-apparent of his throne. The cabals of 
 Montmorency and the Admiral Chabot de Brion had for years 
 convulsed the court ; and a bitter rivalry existed between the 
 members of the houses of Lorraine, Guise, and Chatillon, 
 nobles all of them potent in the science of war and in the arts 
 of the cabinet. In the early feuds of these princes there un- 
 consciously lurked the spirit of antagonism in religious points, 
 afterwards developed with such animosity in succeeding reigns, 
 when, as champions of reform and of the ancient ritual, the 
 name of the head of the house of Guise and of that of Chatillon 
 became the watchword of their respective parties. 
 
 VOL. II. 18
 
 274 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 To complete the recital of the cabals which agitated this 
 reign, the Cardinal de Tournon was opposed with unrelenting 
 animosity by the Cardinal de Lorraine, a former favourite at 
 court, but whose avidity had caused him to forfeit the esteem of 
 his royal master ; while the Marshal d'Annebaud soon incurred 
 the displeasure of Madame d'Estampes. The statesmen, however, 
 whom Francis had disgraced were, unhappily for the tranquillity 
 of the court, men whose pre-eminent abilities placed them far 
 above competition from the rivals who succeeded to their place 
 and power. The Cardinal de Tournon had neither talent nor 
 energy to render their ceaseless intrigues harmless to the state ; 
 nor yet had he the power to repress authoritatively their discon- 
 tent. Such was the unhappy condition of the court of France 
 on the breaking out of the fourth contest between Francis I. 
 and the emperor. 
 
 The point of attack, meanwhile selected for the army of 
 Eoussillon, under the nominal command of the dauphin, was 
 vehemently debated in the Council. Marguerite repeatedly urged 
 her brother first to undertake the conquest of the kingdom of 
 Navarre, which the king her husband offered to garrison and 
 maintain, while the army, pursuing its victorious march, planted 
 the white banner of France on the towers of the Alcazar of 
 Madrid. The queen, whose vigilant guard on the frontiers of 
 Be"arn had more than once disconcerted the emperor's projects, 
 represented to the king the facility with which the fortress of 
 Fuenterrabia might fall before his arms, and the rapid advance 
 upon Pampeluna that his troops could afterwards easily achieve, 
 probably in the midst of a rising of the whole population of 
 Navarre in favour of their ancient and popular princes. Mar- 
 guerite's counsels were rejected by the cabinet, chiefly owing 
 to the entreaties of Montpezat, who advised that the army in 
 which he bore a joint command with d'Annebaut, should ad- 
 vance and invest the town of Perpignan, a step which was 
 eventually decided upon. 
 
 On All Saints' day, 1542, the king proceeded to Ne'rac to visit 
 Queen Marguerite. He was magnificently entertained by the 
 King of Navarre, and regaled with banquets, comedies, and joust- 
 ings. Marguerite afterwards accompanied her brother to Bor- 
 deaux, where they made some sojourn. 1 
 
 1 Favyn, Hist. d Navarre, liv. 13.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 275 
 
 During the residence of Francis at Bordeaux intelligence 
 reached him of the revolt of the town of La Eochelle, and of the 
 mutinous refusal of its inhabitants to pay the war-tax levied on 
 them. The bold Eochellois, like the inhabitants of Ghent, mal- 
 treated the royal commissioners, and closed the gates of their 
 town against a detachment of troops summoned to preserve order 
 in the city by the Sieur de Burie. The impost which occasioned 
 the revolt was a levy of twenty-four livres on the bushel of salt, 
 which the Eochellois resisted with pertinacious determination. 
 The gabelle, or duty on salt, was a tax peculiarly obnoxious to the 
 inhabitants of the western districts of France ; it was an impost 
 subject to the arbitrary will of the sovereigns, and on many 
 occasions this liberty had been grossly abused, as any extraordi- 
 nary expenditure at court was too frequently defrayed by an 
 arbitrary increase of the gabelle. The marriage festivities of the 
 Princess Jane of Navarre with the Duke of Cleves were followed 
 by a general rise of these duties ; so that her nuptials were often 
 alluded to under the sobriquet of les noces salees. 1 The dis- 
 content of the people of La Eochelle, however, broke out into 
 seditious resistance to the impost, when, on occasion of the war, 
 it was again augmented ; and the Count de Jarnac. governor of 
 the town, in attempting to enforce order, narrowly escaped with 
 his life. 
 
 Francis was extremely incensed when he heard of these violent 
 proceedings, and departed from Bordeaux to punish the revolt in 
 person. Before the king's departure Marguerite earnestly im- 
 plored mercy for the rebellious Eochellois, who, already intim- 
 idated by the report of their sovereign's displeasure, awaited 
 his arrival in much apprehension. The king's fame was very 
 precious in Marguerite's eyes ; and she earnestly desired that his 
 clement forgiveness of the revolt of La Eochelle might present 
 a triumphant contrast to the severity of the emperor's conduct 
 towards his subjects of Ghent. Besides, misfortune, whether 
 the result of calamity or of crime, never appealed in vain to 
 the compassionate heart of the Queen of Navarre. Her life 
 presents one long series of intercessions for the oppressed and 
 miserable. Marguerite's cares seldom had self for their object ; 
 and her power over the king, which to the last day of his 
 existence remained paramount, was successfully exerted for 
 
 1 Mezeray, Abreg. Chron.
 
 276 LIFE OF MAEGUERITE, 
 
 others, rather than to promote her own pecuniary profit and 
 aggrandizement. 
 
 The king entered La Eochelle attended by a powerful body of 
 troops, and accompanied by the Bishop of Tulle and a numerous 
 train. Silence and desolation reigned throughout the populous 
 and affluent city. The prisons were filled with insurgents; 
 troops paraded the streets ; the public places were deserted, with 
 the exception of the churches, which sheltered crowds of 
 affrighted suppliants whose fathers and husbands awaited the 
 punishment of their attempted revolt. On the first day of the 
 year 1543 Francis admitted to his presence a deputation of the 
 Eochellois, who appeared in most humble guise, bareheaded, to- 
 implore the clemency of their offended sovereign, and to confess 
 the magnitude of their offence. In a speech of some length, the 
 king forcibly represented to his repentant subjects the crime of 
 which they had been guilty ; then, contrary to the expectations of 
 all, he assured the Kochellois of his pardon, with complete remis- 
 sion of the penalties, public as well as individual, which they had 
 incurred. The air rang with acclamations and vivas when 
 Francis concluded ; the people, in the wilduess of their joy at 
 deliverance from terrible chastisements, threw themselves at the 
 king's feet, and implored blessings from Heaven on his head. 
 The king afterwards dined in public, served at table by the chief 
 inhabitants of La Eochelle ; he dismissed his guards, and 
 remained for some days the guest of the town. The noble 
 magnanimity displayed by Francis secured the devoted adher- 
 ence of the inhabitants of La Eochelle. Even the nominal fine 
 of 200,000 francs imposed upon the citizens was given by the 
 king to the Chancellor Montholon, who, imitating the example 
 set him by his royal master, returned it to the authorities of La 
 Eochelle to be employed in building a hospital. 1 
 
 Marguerite exultingly applauded the conduct of her brother. 
 The Bishop of Tulle wrote to her an account of the audience 
 which ushered in the new year, and of the rapturous gratitude 
 for their pardon displayed by the Eochellois. The bishop also 
 enclosed a copy of the king's speech, which Marguerite imme- 
 diately ordered to be printed and distributed throughout the 
 territories of the King of Navarre. She also, in her zeal, caused 
 many copies to be privately transmitted for circulation in Spain. 
 
 1 Mem. de Du Bellay ; Sleidan.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 277 
 
 " Monseigneur," wrote the queen, " the Bishop of Tulle has 
 written to me an account of the piteous supplication made to 
 you by your unhappy subjects of La Eochelle, with your Christian 
 and most merciful response; in reading which, methought I 
 heard and saw you thus exercise your accustomed goodness and 
 gentleness. I have caused so many copies of this your answer to 
 be circulated here, in Spain, and elsewhere, that your humanity 
 <5an henceforth be no more concealed from men than it is from 
 Him whom I implore, monseigneur, to lengthen your life a 
 century, if only for the honour and welfare of your realm." 1 
 The queen also sent her brother an epistle in verse, and an ivory 
 figure of David, as a New Year's gift. Marguerite and her 
 brother appear to have frequently interchanged presents of this 
 description. The life of the saint whom the image represented 
 always offered some parallel passage with the present circum- 
 stances of the receiver. Thus Marguerite sent the image of 
 David, a type of gentleness and kingly clemency, to her brother. 
 In her epistle she alluded thus to the Eochellois : 
 
 " Demandez en a ceulx de la Rochelle, 
 Desquels le pied estait jk sus 1'echelle, 
 Ceulx des marais, aussy ceulx de Bretagne, 
 Y'a il nul qui de ce Roy se plaigne ? 
 Non, mais chacun & mon dire s'accorde 
 Et le louant de sa misericorde, 
 Sa grant douceur partout preschent et orient." 2 
 
 The king, in return, despatched his secretary Frotte* to his 
 sister, with an answer to her epistle, also in verse, and a present 
 of an image of St. Catherine. Francis thus addressed the queen, 
 and alluded to the image : 
 
 " Je vous envoye, 6 Sceur, une autre estreine 
 Qui servira d'exemple a vostre peine, 
 L'honneste Vierge m'a prie de vous dire, 
 Qu'elle aydera par sa force reduire 
 Vos ennemys, comme elle a fait les siens 
 Jeunes de Foy, et par malice anciens." 8 
 
 During her sojourn at Bordeaux Marguerite despatched a 
 gentleman of her chamber, named Villemadon, to Fontainebleau, 
 to inquire after the health of the dauphin, who was recovering 
 
 1 F. du Suppl. Fran., MS. No. 89, Bibl. Roy. 
 
 2 Marguerites de la Marguerite des Princesses, epitre ii. p. 51. 
 8 Ibid., e'pitre, p. 54.
 
 278 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 from a severe illness. It was about this period that the trans- 
 lation of the Psalms of David, and their versification in rhyme, 
 by Cle'ment Marot, was most popular at the court of France. 
 Though Cle'ment Marot was a Lutheran, and living a proscribed 
 refugee in Be'arn, his work was received with rapturous applause ; 
 and his poetic rendering of the Psalms of David delighted even 
 the stanchest supporters of papacy. Marot's psalmody soon 
 superseded all other songs throughout the country ; the ballads 
 and profane ditties, unhappily then so prevalent in France, were 
 for the time abandoned, and the words of the psalms were set to 
 the music of the songs in lieu. Thus, Diane de Poitiers sang 
 the psalm commencing with the words " Du fond de ma pense'e," 
 set to the popular dance tune, " Le Branle de Poitou ; " and Cathe- 
 rine de' Medici, in allusion to her husband's infidelities, profanely 
 appropriated the sixth psalrn, arranged to the air " Des Bouffons," 
 " Ne veuillez pas, 6 Sire, etc" Despite the clamours of the Sor- 
 bonne and the clergy, for long these psalms maintained their 
 popularity ; and the greatest lord of the court, to the meanest 
 peasant, pursued his daily avocations humming one or other of 
 these forbidden melodies, each selecting the psalm which ap- 
 peared most suitable to his individual circumstances. The king 
 himself, doubtless at the solicitation of Queen Marguerite, con- 
 descended to accept the dedication of Marot's work, and avowed 
 himself one of the warmest upholders of the practice of singing 
 the praise of God in the vernacular tongue. This vacillation 
 of opinion on the part of the king did more harm than benefit 
 to the cause of religion and order. It promoted animosity ; as 
 Francis, by never condemning one form of faith without tender- 
 ing speedily some proportionate overture to the opposing creed, 
 never permitted controversy to be lulled; while neither of the 
 parties believed in the religious sincerity of the king. This evil 
 may be ascribed to the influence exercised by the Queen of Na- 
 varre over her brother. The excitement so successfully kindled 
 by the theologians of Paris against heresy, especially amongst 
 the lower orders, persons, with few exceptions, so ignorant as 
 not to recognize the prayers of their breviary when recited out 
 of church, prevented the king from seeking diligently to re- 
 form the abuses of the Gallican Church. The reign of Francis 
 resounded always with tumult and warfare ; he had no leisure 
 to devote to theological studies. The half of his life was absorbed
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 279 
 
 in organizing his vast campaigns ; the latter half in repairing 
 the disasters of defeat. It is impossible to speculate on the 
 extent of reform which might have been accomplished in the 
 French churches had the reign of Francis I. been a peaceful 
 one. If the energy, the talent, and the wealth which the king 
 possessed had been expended on his home administration, the 
 factions that convulsed France must have fallen beneath the 
 vigorous exercise of his royal authority ; as circumstances were, 
 Francis, often beholding the state on the eve of bankruptcy, 
 while potent armies were gathering on his frontiers ready to 
 invade the kingdom, felt that all his subjects must be conciliated, 
 when every individual malcontent, or every tax refused, might 
 occasion serious disasters. 
 
 Marot presented an abridgment of his psalmody to the em- 
 peror, who graciously received the poet, and acknowledged the 
 gift by a donation of two hundred doubloons. He also requested 
 Marot to translate into French verse the psalm " Confitemini 
 Domino;" as the emperor declared that of all the Psalms of 
 David it was his favourite. 1 At the court of France all who pos- 
 sessed musical genius, meantime, employed themselves in com- 
 posing airs for Marot's psalms. The dauphin was the author of 
 a tune which was highly lauded ; it was set to the words " Bien- 
 keureux est quiconque," which psalm, we are told, the young prince 
 himself sung with unction. 
 
 The messenger sent by the Queen of Navarre found Henry 
 convalescent at Fontainebleau, and taking daily recreation with 
 his consort Catherine and the Duchesse de Valentiiiois, in hear- 
 ing these psalms recited, and in setting them to music. Diane 
 de Poitiers, perceiving that devotion was the dominant mood of 
 her royal admirer, feigned great earnestness on religious matters. 
 She procured a Bible in the French language, which she carried 
 at her girdle ; and she read her Hours, as translated by the 
 Bishop of Senlis, the publication of which had so incensed the 
 Sorbonne against Marguerite. In short, to the utter consterna- 
 tion of the zealous Cardinal de Tournon, the court appeared 
 about to become Lutheran. Villemadon, whom Marguerite had 
 deputed to visit her nephew, himself records in his letter to Cathe- 
 rine de' Medici the enthusiasm then again pervading the French 
 court for the reformed doctrines. He says: "The queen my 
 
 1 Villemadon, Lettre a Catherine de' Medici ; Bayle.
 
 280 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 mistress, being then with King Francis, offering intercessions for 
 the seditious inhabitants of La Kochelle, sent me about this time 
 to you, madame, to inquire after the health of the dauphin, who 
 had been suffering from grievous malady. To my great surprise 
 and content I found the prince's health much amended, so that, 
 the fever having diminished, he was enabled to join with his 
 choristers in singing Marot's psalms, accompanied by flutes, viols, 
 and spinettes. As soon as monseigneur perceived me he beckoned 
 me with his hand to approach ; and, being aware of my passion- 
 ate delight in music, and that I was a performer myself upon the 
 guitar, he commanded that the psalm, and the music to it, which 
 he had himself composed should be given me to carry home to 
 my mistress. I did not fail, also, madame, to procure a copy of 
 the psalm which you yourself had selected ; it was this : 
 
 ' Vers 1'Eternel des oppresez le Pere 
 Je m'en iray luy monstrant 1'impropere 
 Que Ton me faict, luy feray ma priere, 
 A haulte voix qu'il ne jette en arriere, 
 Mes piteux cris, car en luy seul j'espere.' 
 
 When my mistress, the Queen of Navarre, saw these psalms, 
 and heard how diligently they were sung at court, even by Mons. 
 le Dauphin, she was lost in amazement. She then suddenly ex- 
 claimed : ' I know not where Madame la Dauphine found this 
 psalm " Vers 1'Eternel," for one more appropriate and expressive 
 of her affliction could not have been composed. However, I 
 prophesy that as God has put such holy desires into her heart, 
 a year will not elapse before the eyes of the king will be rejoiced, 
 and the base designs of the enemies of Madame la Dauphine 
 frustrated by the happy birth of a son ; for which blessing I 
 have incessantly prayed.' " Whether Marguerite really put con- 
 fidence in the sincerity of the pious zeal displayed by Catherine 
 de' Medici and uttered this prophecy, rests solely on the authority 
 of her gentleman of the chamber, Villemadon, himself an ardent 
 reformer, who recounts the anecdote in a letter of remonstrance 
 addressed to the powerful regent some years after the death of 
 the Queen of Navarre. 
 
 The king, meanwhile, returned to Paris, whither he was ac- 
 companied by Marguerite. Harassed by the cabals of the court, 
 and the remonstrances of the turbulent Sorbonne on the psalm- 
 singing propensities of his subjects, the king daily grew more
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 281 
 
 morose and melancholy. The ravages of the cruel malady 
 slowly consuming his life were visible in his attenuated figure, 
 and the languor which succeeded the slightest exertion. Shut up 
 in his private cabinet, Francis often, for days together, excluded 
 from his presence all but his devoted sister. Marguerite, who 
 had been the pride and sunshine of the king's youth, seemed to 
 be the sole comfort of his declining years. Now and then the 
 king was still roused to those arbitrary manifestations of will so 
 frequently displayed in the earlier years of his reign ; but, gen- 
 erally speaking, the wrangles of the disputatious universities 
 ceased to inflame his resentment, or the ungrateful intrigues of 
 the courtiers, who already descried the dawn of a new reign, to 
 afford him uneasiness. Stern and inapproachable in the midst 
 of his still brilliant court, the king governed the men whom he 
 despised for their treachery and venality, but whom he had no 
 intention to disgrace. Queen Eleanor lived in seclusion, seeing 
 few personages excepting the Spanish ambassador and her 
 priests, and taking no part in the feuds distracting the court. 
 The dauphin seldom visited his father, as Madame d'Estampes 
 carefully nourished the king's feelings of suspicion against his 
 heir, in order to keep the dauphiness at a distance from the 
 court, and also Madame de Valentinois, whose fascinations she 
 dreaded. 
 
 The brilliant days of Francis and Marguerite were over ; pain, 
 dissension and reverses clouded the termination of their career, 
 which had dawned with unparalleled prosperity. Death had cut 
 off the two fairest of the children of Queen Claude, the young 
 Dauphin Francis, the pride and hope of the nation, and the 
 graceful Princess Madelaine, Queen of Scotland. While the 
 king mourned the premature deaths of his favourite children, 
 the image of his first gentle and devoted consort, whose malady 
 had been accelerated by his heartless neglect, must have risen in 
 his mind with remorseful reproach. All had passed away : Louis 
 de Savoye, Bourbon, VendSme, La Trimouille, Brion, Duprat; 
 over these and countless other friends also the grave had closed ; 
 or, like Montmorency, a moral death separated them from their 
 royal master. It must have been an awful thought to Francis, 
 amid the desolation of his declining years, to reflect that from 
 his own domestic misconduct and dissolute morals, the calami- 
 ties chiefly sprang which afflicted him and the country at large ;
 
 282 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 and that the dissensions of his children and the profligate lives 
 of his two sons might be chargeable, in great measure, to the 
 same evil example. 
 
 After the assassination of Einqone and Fregosa, Francis 
 despatched another envoy to Constantinople to make his peace 
 with the Porte. A young officer named Paulin Iscalin des 
 Aimars was the ambassador selected by the king for this perilous 
 mission. When Paulin arrived at Constantinople, he found it 
 impossible to obtain audience of the sultan, or of any of the 
 Turkish Divan. Soliman had been induced, by the misrepresen- 
 tations of the emperor, to regard the conduct pursued towards 
 him by Francis during the last campaign, as treacherous, dis- 
 honourable, and worthy only, as he said, of Christian politics. 
 He declared his firm belief that the King of France and the 
 emperor had confederated together to deceive him, in order to 
 destroy the Mussulman power ; and he therefore declined to listen 
 to any overtures except at the head of a victorious army. The 
 ambassador was even secretly warned to escape as quickly as 
 possible from the Ottoman territories if he had regard for his life. 
 Paulin, however, exulted in the peril and difficulties of his mission; 
 with the art of the most experienced diplomatist he applied to 
 some of the principal officers of the court, and gradually con- 
 ducted his negotiations with such dexterity that at length he 
 obtained a promise of audience from the sultan himself. This 
 once accomplished, the rest of his task proved comparatively 
 easy. With eloquence and force Paulin unfolded the wrongs his 
 master had endured at the hands of the emperor ; he reverted to 
 the scandalous libels disseminated throughout Europe by Charles's 
 agents; so that Soliman, who was a prince of great penetration and 
 sagacity, perceived that he had too hastily condemned the conduct 
 of Francis, especially after the ambassador detailed the emperor's 
 faithless evasion of the solemn promises he had made the king 
 when traversing France. The Turkish emperor who had vowed 
 eternal animosity to the house of Hapsburg, was induced again 
 eagerly to espouse the quarrel of Francis. He therefore replied 
 that the year was too far advanced for the commencement of 
 military operations, but that early the following season he would 
 not fail to comply with the desire of the king his brother 
 and ally. 
 
 The emperor soon obtained accurate information of the pro-
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 283 
 
 ceedings of the Capitaine Paulin at the Porte. The peril to 
 which his dominions became exposed by this alliance between 
 the Porte and the French increased the acrimony of his protest 
 against the scandal of a treaty offensive and defensive entered 
 into by a Christian power with the Infidels. His harangues at 
 the Diet of Spires, and those of his ministers, branded the King 
 of France as a prince, the friend and supporter of heresy on the 
 continent, whose conscience was hardened, and who sacrificed all 
 things for the sake of expediency. He represented the king as 
 one day a Huguenot, the next a fiery champion of the Romish 
 Church, and the cruel persecutor of his subjects ; then the 
 emperor declared, with a sarcasm not the less keen for its appar- 
 ent truth, that Francis, under pressure of a fresh political neces- 
 sity, was ready to sacrifice both St. Peter and Luther to the 
 crescent of Mahomet. The partisans of Charles extolled the 
 noble enthusiasm of their imperial master for the true faith, 
 which he had ever consistently supported ; and they appealed in 
 testimony of their assertions to the two separate expeditions he 
 had taken to Tunis and Algiers, imbued with the zealous spirit 
 animating the ancient crusaders, to overthrow the Mahometan 
 dominion in Africa. 
 
 The effect of the alliance of Francis with Soliman II., despite 
 the immense accession of strength infused into the armaments of 
 France, was decidedly inimical to the success of his arms. The 
 ravages which had been before committed in Hungary and on the 
 coasts of Europe by the Turks inspired unconquerable dread ; 
 the population of innumerable districts had fallen beneath the 
 Turkish scimitar like wheat under the sickle of the reaper ; and 
 neither the promises of the Infidels, nor their abundant wealth 
 reassured the people, or renewed the fear that the march of the 
 Mussulmans through their territories would not be signalized by 
 the same bloody massacres, and by similar desecration of their 
 churches. 
 
 Francis employed the most eloquent men in his dominions to 
 refute the emperor's statements, and to explain the true aim of 
 his engagements with the Turks. The learned men whom Mar- 
 guerite and her brother protected returned their debt of gratitude 
 to their liberal patrons on many a grave emergency; and the 
 manifestoes put forth by Francis possess a force and precision 
 which is in vain looked for in similar documents emanating from
 
 284 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 the ministers of Charles. The celebrated Jean de Montluc, 
 Bishop of Valence, who owed his emancipation from the obscurity 
 of a monastery solely to the enlightened judgment of the Queen 
 of Navarre, powerfully served his royal master's cause. In the 
 science of the orator the Bishop of Valence had, perhaps, no rival 
 in France, except the Cardinal du Bellay, the youngest of that 
 illustrious triad of brothers whose military and literary attain- 
 ments caused it to be said that all the glory to be derived from 
 the successful cultivation of science and arms was concentrated 
 in the house of Du Bellay. The Bishop of Valence was sent by 
 Francis to explain his policy to the Venetian republic some 
 months subsequently to this period of our history. The oration 
 is one of singular force and terseness, calculated to make a 
 profound impression on a senate composed of sober, practical 
 men, not to be won by the arts of rhetoric. 
 
 The eloquence of the Bishop of Valence, though it pacified the 
 clamorous remonstrances of the Venetian republic at seeing the 
 Turkish Hag waving over the waters of the Mediterranean, did not 
 entirely subdue their disapprobation of the alliance contracted by 
 Francis, which, in contradiction to previous acts of the senate, it 
 was declared that no peril, however grave, could justify. Such, 
 besides, was the general fiat given by the potentates of Europe ; 
 the numerous aggressive acts of the emperor were forgotten, as 
 was also the necessity of France, in the universal dismay occa- 
 sioned by the impending irruption of Soli man's hordes over the 
 Continent. The emperor, on the contrary, assumed the proud 
 position of defender of the Church and guardian of German unity 
 and nationality. The calumnious reports, meanwhile, of the 
 Marquis del Guasto, which it was stated he had discovered in 
 the despatches of Eincone and Fregosa, were again propagated 
 throughout the dominion of the emperor. Princes, therefore, 
 professing both the Eoman Catholic and reformed faiths, united 
 with the wealthy mercantile and free cities of Germany in assem- 
 bling under the standard of the Hapsburg to defend their lib- 
 erties, their commerce, and the integrity of the great German 
 confederation from the ambitious designs of the French and 
 Turkish monarchs. 
 
 The preparations made by the emperor were on a gigantic 
 scale, so as to testify the importance which he attached to this 
 final struggle with his ancient adversary. The Spanish Cortes
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 285 
 
 entered with enthusiasm into the war, and voted the emperor a 
 supply of four millions of golden ducats. The states of the 
 Netherlands furnished him also with immense levies in money 
 and soldiers ; the cities of Germany subscribed largely to the 
 funds for the national defence. The emperor landed at Genoa, 
 and after a brief sojourn in Italy, where he had an interview 
 with Pope Paul at Busset, he proceeded to Spires. The chef- 
 d'oeuvre of the emperor's policy at this critical juncture, however, 
 was his reconciliation with Henry VIII., King of England. A 
 treaty between the emperor and the King of England was there- 
 fore signed in London, February, 1543, in which the two monarchs 
 agreed to send ambassadors to admonish the King of France to 
 relinquish his alliance with the Turks, to desist from hostilities 
 against the emperor, and to pay the debt he owed to the English 
 monarch. In case of the refusal of Francis to comply with this 
 peremptory requisition, it was decreed that a merciless war should 
 be levied on his subjects and kingdoms ; and that neither peace 
 nor truce should be granted him until Henry had been put in 
 possession of the duchies of Normandy and Guyenne, and the 
 emperor of the duchy of Burgundy, with the towns of Abbeville, 
 Roye, Corbie, Ham, and St. Quentin. Francis observed, on 
 receiving this formidable declaration of war, that "he readily 
 believed the emperor and the King of England designed to enter 
 his kingdom ; but he concluded they had not been bold enough 
 to swear a solemn oath not to quit it again until they had 
 executed their threats." 
 
 In the midst of the violent agitation of Europe, the pope sent 
 legates to open the ardently desired general council in the town 
 of Trent. The panic was so great, and the peril from the fury 
 of factions and the devastating inroads of the Mussulmans ap- 
 peared so undefined, yet imminent, that few prelates obeyed the 
 papal summons. The fierce population of the German states, so 
 long trained to arms, advocated nothing but war and bloodshed ; 
 the worst passions of the people had been roused by the violent 
 manifestoes dispersed throughout the country, and they eagerly 
 demanded the combat instead of an assemblage of fractious prel- 
 ates. The swords of his Eoman Catholic, Lutheran, and Ana- 
 baptist subjects leaped from their scabbards on the summons 
 of the emperor ; Spanish, Fleming, Walloon, and English levies 
 swelled the ranks of his armies ; every shade of the political and
 
 286 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 religious opinions from which resulted the social desolation of 
 Germany had its representatives there ; the council was post- 
 poned, and the exasperation of parties found vent in warfare. 
 
 The military operations of France were first to be directed for 
 the consolidation of the power of the king over the duchy of 
 Luxembourg, and next for the relief of the Duke of Cleves, the 
 husband of the Princess Jane of Navarre. Marguerite's solicitude 
 was extreme for her son-in-law ; and she frequently importuned 
 her brother to send the duke succour. Eelying on the aid of 
 France, the troops of the Duke of Cleves, under the command of 
 Martin Van Kossem, ravaged the province of Brabant, and even 
 menaced the town of Antwerp. Such temerity, displayed by a 
 vassal of the empire exasperated Charles, and he vowed, " Qu'il 
 quitteroit plutdt sa couronne que de laisser an due, un pouce de 
 terre." l Instead of hastening to the relief of his ally, Francis, 
 who took the command of his army in person, persisted in per- 
 fecting the conquest of the duchy of Luxembourg. The king 
 commanded stupendous fortifications to be reconstructed at Lan- 
 drecy ; and while part of the army was employed in this task, 
 under the immediate superintendence of Francis, the dauphin 
 captured several important fortresses, and pushed his conquests 
 to the borders of the provinces of Haiuault and Brabant. When 
 the fortifications of Landrecy were nearly complete, the news 
 reached Francis of the advance of the imperial army into the 
 duchy of Cleves. 
 
 Charles's army consisted of 40,000 infantry and 8,000 horse, 
 all veteran soldiers, in the highest state of discipline, and ani- 
 mated by a spirit of religious fanaticism which rendered them 
 reckless of life and submissive to the generals who were leading 
 them to encounter the armies of the enemy of Christendom. 
 Attacked by the emperor in person, at the head of such an army, 
 the defeat of the Duke of Cleves might be regarded as a certain 
 event ; yet Francis made no effort to save a prince his ally, and 
 the vassal of the crown of France, which the duke had become 
 in virtue of his marriage with Jeanne de Navarre. The inten- 
 tions of the king, nevertheless, were recently expressed in favour 
 of the duke ; and Francis had even desired his sister to make 
 preparation for the sudden departure of her daughter, as he 
 wished to present the princess himself to the Duke of Cleves. 
 
 i M. de Martin du Bellay.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 287 
 
 Disunion, however, reigned in the armies of France ; the dauphin 
 held there the second command, and the misunderstanding sub- 
 sisting between the king and his sou was notorious. The repre- 
 sentatives of the great houses of Guise, Lorraine, Bourbon, 
 Cha'tillon, and Tournon, carried each of them their animosities 
 and partisanships to the camp. Francis no longer possessed the 
 energy of youth and health ; his worship of military renown was 
 subdued by the agony he endured from the malady destroying 
 his life. In the early part of his reign, a single frown, or one 
 royal act of vigorous authority, would have suppressed individual 
 faction, and have awed the disaffected. Francis, ill and sick at 
 heart, probably now yielded in despair before the formidable 
 intrigues of his courtiers. 
 
 At the head of his army, the emperor advanced and laid siege 
 to Dueren, a large town of the duchy of Cleves. The town was 
 taken by assault, and the greater part of its inhabitants fell 
 in the cruel massacre which ensued. Euremonde, and several 
 other towns of the duchy, intimidated by the severe chastise- 
 ment inflicted on Dueren, hastened to send their keys to the 
 invincible emperor. Charles graciously accepted their submis- 
 sion, and then marched to besiege Venloo, a city second in im- 
 portance in the duchy. Brabant, meantime, returned to its 
 obedience to the emperor, and Guelderland, the territory which 
 had occasioned the contest, hastened to submit. The unfortu- 
 nate Duke of Cleves, therefore, having exhausted his military 
 resources, was reduced to the choice of two alternatives : he 
 might either tender unqualified submission to the conqueror 
 and implore the restitution of his heritage, or throw himself 
 upon the protection of the King of France, claim from him his 
 bride, the Princess of Navarre, and wait until the arms of France 
 put him again in the possession of his duchy. If Duke William 
 had possessed the spirit of a hero, or had he kept even loyal 
 fidelity to the young princess whom he had espoused in defiance 
 of her tears and protests, he would have adopted this resource. 
 But instead of displaying fortitude in his reverses, and a dignity 
 which at least commands respect, Marguerite's son-in-law aban- 
 doned himself to despair. The duke's ministers were inspired 
 also with the same craven fear ; by their counsels their master, 
 casting aside every token of royal or military rank, proceeded 
 with thirteen attendants to the imperial camp at Venloo, and 
 requested admission to the presence of the emperor.
 
 288 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 The duke was treated at the camp with scorn and indifference ; 
 he was compelled to wait several hours in the imperial ante- 
 chamber, exposed to the jests and ridicule of Charles's officers. 
 At length a chamberlain brought him a summons to the presence 
 of his incensed sovereign, to whom he was presented by the Duke 
 of Brunswick. Charles received the duke seated on a chair of 
 state, arrayed in his imperial robes, the crown on his head, and 
 the sceptre in his hand. The frown of offended majesty which 
 darkened the emperor's brow as his rebel vassal entered his 
 august presence struck terror into the coward heart of the Duke 
 of Cleves. Kneeling, and almost prostrate at the foot of the 
 throne, the duke exclaimed : " Most august emperor, I come to 
 throw myself at your feet, to accept whatever chastisement it 
 may please you to inflict for my past sins, or to receive from 
 your clemency a hope, however faint it may be, of pardon and 
 grace." Charles allowed some moments to elapse, and then 
 replied in a voice of stern disdain : " If your transgressions were 
 not heinous as they are, my natural clemency of disposition would 
 not permit me to witness your humiliation without feelings of 
 compassion. You may yourself judge how deeply your late 
 felonious acts have incensed me, when I have sworn in the 
 presence of my officers never to pardon you, not from a feeling 
 of revenge, but to vindicate and to maintain the honour and the 
 majesty of the empire, which you have violated, and to afford a 
 salutaiy warning to others never to imitate your evil example. 
 Nevertheless, I am willing to fail in the strict observance of my 
 oath, rather than to withhold from you my clemency ; although I 
 should violate no principle of justice did I avenge myself by 
 inflicting upon you personal chastisement ; judge, therefore, of 
 my goodness displayed in your favour, when I, a strict observer 
 of my plighted word, consent to forego my solemn vow, in order 
 to pardon your crime." J A few seconds again elapsed to allow 
 this imperial objurgation to produce its effect ; then the emperor 
 with a smile stretched forth his hand to raise the duke from 
 his humble attitude. The same day, September 7, Charles dic- 
 tated the conditions upon which alone he would reinstate the 
 duke. The first article stipulated that the Duke of Cleves should 
 return to the profession and public exercise of the Romish faith, 
 and restore that religion to its ancient pre-eminence over the 
 
 1 Sandoval, Hist, de la Vida del Emp. Carlos V.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVAKRE. 289 
 
 duchy, and engage to renounce his alliance with the King of 
 France. The treaty further decreed the cession of the provinces 
 of Guelderland and Zutphen to the empire, and that the duke 
 should never sign any convention whatsoever with a foreign 
 power, which did not include the emperor and his brother Ferdi- 
 nand, King of the Bomans. The troops of the duchy of Cleves 
 were to be incorporated in the imperial army, to serve in the 
 pending war against France ; and as a guarantee for the punctual 
 performance of these articles, the two largest fortresses in the 
 duchy, the castles of Heinsberg and Sittard, should for the 
 following ten years be garrisoned by the emperor's troops. 1 As 
 far as Charles was personally concerned, he displayed much 
 clemency in his treatment of the duke, whose revolt might have 
 produced disastrous consequences throughout the empire ; he 
 only compelled him to renounce the reformed faith and the 
 friendship and alliance of Francis I. The meanness of the sub- 
 mission offered by the Duke of Cleves, and the ready eagerness 
 witli which he repudiated the ties of alliance which bound him 
 to the royal house of Valois, and even consented to wage war on 
 the monarch who had afforded him so liberal a protection in his 
 hour of need, and had bestowed upon him his own niece in mar 
 riage, the richest heiress in France, justifies the aversion dis- 
 played towards him by the Princess Jane. 
 
 In obedience, meantime, to the mandate of the king, the 
 Princess Jane, accompanied by her father, quitted Pau, to join 
 the royal camp in Luxembourg, that Francis might present her 
 to her betrothed husband, the Duke of Cleves. It was with 
 tears and profound grief that Jane prepared to leave her native 
 land, for her dislike of the duke had augmented, if possible, 
 during her separation from him. The news of his defection 
 from her royal uncle's cause, and the arrival of the courier de- 
 spatched by Francis to arrest her progress at Soissons, filled the 
 young princess with the liveliest joy and hope. Instead of pro- 
 ceeding to Aix, Jane therefore returned to Fontainebleau, where 
 Queen Eleanor and the dauphiness were sojourning. The Duke 
 of Cleves, soon after the signature of his treaty with the emperor, 
 wrote to excuse his act to the king, alleging with great truth, 
 that to the king's delay in Luxembourg might be attributed 
 Charles's successful invasion of the duchy of Cleves, and by ad- 
 
 1 Sandoval. 
 
 VOL. II. 19
 
 290 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 vising their royal master to such a proceeding, the French min- 
 istry had given him evident proof of their indifference to his 
 interests. Finally, the duke demanded that his consort, the 
 Princess Jane of Navarre, might be conducted without delay to 
 Aix la-Chapelle, according to the agreement of her marriage con- 
 tract. This request, of course, the king thought proper to refuse, 
 though Francis communicated previously with his sister. Mar- 
 guerite expressed great indignation at the pusillanimity of the 
 duke ; and doubtless his change of religion displeased her. The 
 vehement assurances of the young princess that " she should die 
 of grief if compelled to rejoin the Duke of Cleves," met now with 
 more pity and attention from her royal mother and her uncle, 
 and her spirited protests, which before had been pronounced so 
 contumacious, became documents of weight and moment in their 
 eyes when Francis impetuously declared that no vassal of the 
 emperor's should receive investiture of a fief appertaining to the 
 French crown. The following letter was written by Queen Mar- 
 guerite in reply to that in which the king communicated to her 
 the submission of the Duke of Cleves to Charles V. Francis, in 
 the same letter, likewise informed his sister of the advance of the 
 emperor, at the head of an army of 50,000 men, to invest the 
 town of Landrecy, and of his resolve to relieve the place, or else 
 to offer battle to the Imperialists. 
 
 QUEEN MARGUERITE TO FRANCIS I. 1 
 
 MONSEIGNEUR, I cannot express to you my distress when on 
 reading the letter which it pleased you to write to me, I find that 
 it is your intention to relieve Landrecy, or if the enemy seeks to 
 oppose hinderance, to offer him battle. This is, indeed, sorrowful 
 news, and so heavy for me to bear that unless I had hope in Christ 
 I could not support it ; for knowing your valiant heart I feel assured 
 that you will shrink from no peril, and that your sense of honour 
 will vanquish alike every counsel or caution whatever. Therefore, 
 monseigneur, perceiving that in nothing can I serve you in this world, 
 I will prostrate myself at the feet of Him out of love for whom the 
 Eternal Father pities our infirmities ; nor will I cease my supplica- 
 tions until it shall please Him to give your poor subjects and servants 
 assurance of your safety and triumph. Although I am firmly per- 
 suaded that the issue of this undertaking will redound to your honour 
 and advantage, I have so keen a dread that your health may suffer, 
 
 F. du Suppl. Fran., Bibl. Roy., MS. No. 44.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 291 
 
 and that risk may happen to what you love best, 1 that I am certain 
 there is not a pioneer in your camp whose body endures greater 
 weariness than I suffer mentally. May the Lord God of battles be 
 your refuge and shield ! 
 
 Amid so many urgent affairs, mouseigneur, I perceive that you have 
 not forgotten us; nor have you omitted to write to me word' what 
 reply it has pleased you to make to the communication you have 
 recently received from M. de Cleves, as well as to give permission to 
 the King of Navarre and myself to avow before God and according to 
 our consciences all that we know concerning this marriage. But if 
 this said Duke of Cleves had borne you the fidelity which he owed 
 you, and that I expected from him, never would we have revealed 
 this matter ; for we would rather have seen our daughter die, as she 
 protested she should do, than prevent her from repairing to the spot 
 where we believed she could render you service. But as this said 
 duke has proved so unfortunate (as I read by the report of his pro- 
 ceedings which you sent me by one of your maitres d'hotel), or rather, 
 as the King of Navarre and all our loyal servants declare, so infamous 
 and vile, we have resolved no longer to withhold the truth of this 
 matter, 2 in order to break the bond which unites our daughter as little 
 in reality to this said Duke of Cleves as it binds me to the emperor. 
 I can take God to witness, monseigneur, this, my solemn affirmation, 
 as you will read in the paper which I send to Frotte, 8 on purpose, 
 monseigneur, that you may add thereto, or suppress as best suits your 
 service to promote which, even as at first I ignorantly besought you 
 to accomplish this marriage, hiding from you the wishes of my 
 daughter, even so I now very humbly entreat you to give us your 
 aid in restoring her to the same liberty in the presence of the Church 
 and of men as I know that she possesses in the sight of God. I 
 would rather see my daughter in her grave than know her to be in 
 the power of a man who has deceived you, and inflicted so foul a 
 blot on his own honour ; for we exist only to serve you, monseigneur, 
 upon whom our own lives depend ; to preserve which I pray that the 
 Almighty may keep you, and restore you to us in health, peace, and 
 contentment, and that He will mercifully cause me ere long to hear 
 the joyous words, " The king has won a great victory ! " or, " The 
 king has achieved a happy peace ! " 
 
 Your very humble and very obedient subject and mignonne, 
 
 MARGUERITE. 
 
 1 The king's honour. 
 
 2 That the ceremony performed at Chatellerault could only be regarded as a 
 solemn betrothal, which might easily be dissolved, and was therefore no marriage 
 at all. 
 
 8 The king's secretary.
 
 292 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 The final settlement of the affair relative to the marriage of 
 the Princess Jane of Navarre with the Duke of Cleves was post- 
 poned, in consequence of the urgency of military operations, 
 until the latter end of the year 1545 ; both parties, meantime, 
 presenting separate suits to the Holy See, praying for the disso- 
 lution of the nuptials, and affirming on oath that, on account of 
 the tender age of the princess, the ceremonies performed at 
 Chatellerault ought only to be regarded in the light of a 
 betrothal. The princess energetically pursued measures to free 
 herself from an odious alliance ; possibly, Jane at this period 
 may have been captivated by the homage of the young Duke de 
 VendSme, whose consort she subsequently became. 
 
 The Princess Jane renewed her protest against these nuptials 
 during the following year at Alencon, whither she accompanied 
 her royal mother ; and again on Easter Day of the year 1545, 
 with circumstances of great solemnity, as this document was 
 required to be forwarded to Eome. The young princess was 
 again an inmate of the abode she disliked so heartily, the gloomy 
 castle of Plessis-les-Tours. The ceremony took place after high 
 mass on Easter Sunday, April 5, 1545, which was celebrated in 
 the chapel of the castle, in the presence of a numerous assemblage, 
 comprehending the Cardinal de Tournon, the Count St. Maurice 
 the imperial ambassador, the Archbishop of Vienne, the Bishops 
 of Coutances and d'Angouleme, Madame de Silly, Baillive de 
 Caen, Pierre du Chatel, Bishop of Magon, and many other emi- 
 nent personages. After the termination of mass the princess 
 advanced, and standing in the centre of the chapel, addressed 
 the august assemblage in these words : " Messeigneurs, I have 
 already protested against, and caused declarations to be put on 
 record concerning the marriage which it was once wished to 
 contract between Monsieur the Duke of Cleves and myself. I 
 furthermore declare in the presence of you all, messeigneurs, 
 the cardinal, archbishop, and bishops here assembled, that it is 
 my wish and desire to persevere in those my said declarations 
 and protests, and that I persist in them and will never retract. 
 My lords, in order the better to inform you of my will and 
 intent, I have drawn up a memorial and signed it with my own 
 hand. This memorial and protest I am about now to read to 
 you ; and, my lords, by that holy sacrament I am about to 
 receive, I swear and affirm that what is here written contains
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 293 
 
 nothing but the truth, in all which things I steadily persist." 
 With a self-possession that commanded the admiration of all, 
 the princess unfolded a sheet of paper which contained a 
 recapitulation of all that she had before inserted in her pre- 
 vious protests. Jane then laying her hand upon an open 
 missal presented to her by one of the prelates, took a solemn 
 oath that all she had read and signed was the truth ; she after- 
 wards delivered with her own hand the documents to the 
 Cardinal de Tournon, probably for transmission to Home. 1 A 
 few months afterwards Pope Paul issued a decree annulling the 
 marriage and permitting the parties to contract a fresh alliance. 
 " Then," says the quaint old historian, Olhagaray, 2 " the visage 
 of our Princess Jeanne grew serene again, her deportment 
 became cheerful, and she consoled herself as best she might ; 
 for it appeared very grievous to her to quit France to become 
 the spouse of a simple duke, when she could choose amongst 
 the greatest princes of the blood royal ; in fact, the emperor 
 mightily desired to obtain her for his son Philip, and would 
 have bestowed great advantages on our King Henry her father ; 
 who nevertheless refused to consent to an alliance so hurtful to 
 the crown of France, or still less to have it believed that he 
 desired such an event." The Duke of Cleves, with that little- 
 ness of character which induced him to sue to the emperor on 
 his knees for pardon, seconded with most unseemly warmth the 
 efforts of the King and Queen of Navarre to obtain a dissolu- 
 tion of their daughter's marriage. The duke's contentment at 
 his union with the Princess of Navarre had been severely 
 impaired when Marguerite's condition seemed to render it 
 possible that a male heir might still be born to inherit Henry's 
 principalities, an event which was long deemed hopeless from 
 the delicate condition of the queen's health. The Duke of 
 Cleves subsequently espoused the Archduchess Mary, daughter 
 of the king of the Romans. 3 
 
 The emperor, meanwhile, advanced and invested Landrecy. 
 All his attempts were repulsed by the bravery of the besieged ; 
 and the emperor was compelled at length, by the ceaseless rains 
 
 1 Papiers d'Etat <lu Cardinal Granvelle, t. 3, Docum. 30. 
 
 2 Hist, de Foix, Beam, et Navarre. 
 
 8 The repudiated consort of Henry, King of England, Anne of Cleves, was the 
 sister of this prince.
 
 294 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 which fell and the difficulty he found in procuring provision for 
 his army, to withdraw his troops. He retired into winter quar- 
 ters at Cambray ; and as the advanced season precluded further 
 operations, the two ruonarchs agreed on a cessation of hostilities 
 until the following spring. 1 
 
 Marguerite records in animated verse her transports of joy 
 and thankfulness when the news reached Nerac of the success- 
 ful expedition made by the king for the relief of Landrecy, and 
 his temporary triumph over the emperor : 
 
 " Je ne saurois dire alors que je fis, 
 Mais d'un enfer sautee en paradis 
 Je me sentis, et, d'aise surmontee, 
 Prins mon mary ainsy que deshontee ; 
 Tons deux courant, a 1'eglise soubdain 
 Fumes portes ; avecques nous tout plein 
 De monde vint, plus portes de plaisir 
 Que de leurs pieds ; chacun ayant desir 
 De s'acquitter k mercier celuy 
 Qui de leur Roy*a este ferine appuy." 2 
 
 The Turkish flag, meanwhile, rose proudly over the waters of 
 the Mediterranean, and the lilies of the most Christian king and 
 the crescent of Mahomet had united to wage war in Europe. 
 The alliance between Francis and the sultan, so fiercely depre- 
 cated, had at length borne its fruit, and the harbour of the 
 valiant Marseillois sheltered the fleets of the Mussulmans. The 
 fierce corsair Barbarossa, whose very name excited almost fabulous 
 terror on the coasts of Italy and Sicily, commanded the Turkish 
 fleet of 112 vessels of war ; the French navy in the Mediterranean 
 amounted to about 60 galleys ; and the united fleets were placed 
 under the joint command of Barbarossa and the young Count 
 D'Anguien, brother of the Duke de VendSnie. It was a novel 
 sight for Europe to witness an Infidel fleet anchored in the port 
 of Marseilles, and a prince of the royal line of Valois acting 
 almost as lieutenant of the noted pirate chieftain whose name 
 was never uttered without execration. 
 
 The united fleets at length sailed ; and on the 10th of August, 
 1543, and whilst the armies of the king ravaged Luxembourg, 
 Barbarossa invested the town and citadel of Nice. The town 
 
 1 Mdm. de Martin dn Bellay ; Paradin, Hist, de Notre Temps. 
 
 2 " Marguerite de la Marguerite des Princesses ; " Epitre au Roi, sur 1'avitaille- 
 ment de Landrecy.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 295 
 
 was quickly taken by assault ; but the citadel, perched on the 
 summit of an almost perpendicular rock, defied the attack of the 
 fleets. The bombardment became at length terrific ; the fiercest 
 passions of the Infidels were roused, and had the fortress suc- 
 cumbed, every individual of the garrison would have been mas- 
 sacred. The Duke of Savoy, whose activity neither age nor 
 misfortune had impaired, raised a small body of troops and 
 hastened to support the gallant efforts of the citizens of Nice. 
 The approach of winter, the heavy rains, and tempestuous winds 
 fought, however, more successfully for the inhabitants of Nice 
 than the succours brought by the duke ; and at length Barba- 
 rossa found it requisite to raise the blockade and retreat back 
 again to harbour at Marseilles. 
 
 The imprecations which the princes of Europe had showered 
 upon the unscrupulous monarch who dared to make compact 
 with the Infidels appeared fulfilled. The action of the com- 
 bined fleet was impeded ; and the disdain manifested by Bar- 
 barossa for his Christian allies incensed the French, and led 
 to all manner of disastrous feuds on board the fleets. The 
 rapacity of the Turks, and their violent appropriation of the sub- 
 stance of their allies, constantly recalled the cruel piracies they 
 had committed ; and their utter defiance of subordination, ex- 
 cept during the combat, created serious apprehensions along the 
 coasts of Provence. 
 
 The Turkish admiral, early in the following spring, demanded 
 permission of the king to sail from the coasts of France, promis- 
 ing to return again in case of need. The fierce soldiery under 
 Barbarossa's command found their sojourn in the ports of France 
 insupportably irksome, habituated as they were to the adventu- 
 rous life of the buccaneer. The French cabinet made little 
 demur in gfauting permission for the Turks to weigh anchor and 
 depart; for the embarrassments occasioned by their presence 
 far exceeded the advantages to be derived from the alliance. 
 The fleet, therefore, sailed away from Marseilles and Toulon, 
 without having achieved one memorable deed. The ravage it 
 committed on the coasts of Naples and Sicily as it passed en 
 route for Constantinople, is fearful to record ; the towns were 
 burned, the churches desecrated, and the people slaughtered, or 
 carried off into a slavery worse than death ; 1 and so enormous was 
 
 1 From the Lipari Islands alone, Barbarossa carried off more than 7, 000 captives.
 
 296 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 the booty amassed, that Barbarossa was compelled to take his 
 meals standing, so crowded were his ships with merchandise of 
 every description. The Turkish fleet, however, before it arrived 
 in port, was overtaken by a violent tempest, which wrecked a 
 number of galleys laden with the richest spoil ; while the re- 
 maining vessels, injured by the storm, were compelled to return 
 home without committing further devastation. 
 
 During these the last months of the year 1543 Marguerite 
 remained alone in Beam, inhabiting either her castles of N^rac 
 or Pau. The King of Navarre was at Fontainebleau with his 
 daughter, where the court awaited in suspense the accouchement 
 of the dauphiness Catherine de' Medici. The queen now fre- 
 quently suffered from cold and affections of the chest, which 
 exercised so depressing an influence upon her constitution as to 
 render it impossible for her to travel when thus indisposed. The 
 air of Be'arn was very prejudicial to Marguerite's health; at 
 Ne*rac the heat proved too exhausting for her constitution, while 
 the keen breezes of the more mountainous districts injured her 
 lungs. Marguerite, however, we are told, preferred rather to 
 incur some risk to her life than to fail in her duty by abstain- 
 ing from accompanying her husband into Be'arn. She took the 
 greatest interest in the prosperity and welfare of the people of 
 Henry's principality, feeling that a solemn responsibility had 
 devolved upon her, which she must have disregarded by making 
 constant sojourn at the court of France. The religious incli- 
 nations of the Be*arnnois likewise coincided with her own ; this 
 Marguerite always acknowledged to be an additional bond 
 between them. During her residence in Beam, Marguerite was 
 also enabled to watch the progress of the terrible Chambers of 
 Inquiry instituted for the suppression of heresy in the south of 
 France, and which exercised their functions with unwonted 
 vigour since the Cardinal de Tournon had become chief of the 
 administration. 1 The measures taken by these Chambers were 
 frequently involved in the deepest mystery ; and the most ter- 
 rible cruelties were perpetrated by the inquisitors, not a rumour 
 of which reached the king's ear, except through his sister. Mar- 
 guerite's extensive correspondence with the proscribed afforded 
 
 1 Edicts against the Lutherans, of the most severe and cruel description, sub- 
 jecting them to capital pains and penalties, were issued by the Council during the 
 years 1534, 1540, 1542, and 1548. They were to be punished as "heretics, sedi- 
 tious disturbers of public tranquillity, and conspirators against the state."
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 297 
 
 her means of information while in Be*arn which she probably 
 would not have possessed at the court of France, where every 
 precaution was taken to hide from Francis the severity of the 
 persecution. In many of her letters to the king, Marguerite 
 pleads the cause of these unfortunate Lutherans and Calvinists 
 who she thought had double right to her protection, as the King 
 of Navarre had recently been appointed lieutenant-governor 
 over the provinces of Languedoc, Provence, and Poitou. 
 
 Marguerite at this period was often confined to her bed for 
 weeks together by a succession of severe colds attended with 
 pains in the chest. She also complains of attacks of rheuma- 
 tism ; once she suffered severely from her left shoulder and side, 
 " which, monseigneur, after dinner and during the night, or when 
 I try to stand, torment me very intolerably." At this time, also, 
 the queen was suffering from inflammation in her eyes, which 
 neither outward applications nor medicines seemed to subdue. 
 
 At the close of the year 1543 Francis despatched to his sec- 
 retary, Frotte, who was with the Queen of Navarre in Beam, a 
 crucifix to present as his new year's gift to his sister, accom- 
 panied by an epistle in verse. On the same festal day of the 
 preceding year Marguerite sent her brother an ivory image of 
 the patriarch Abraham, accompanied by an epistle in verse and 
 twelve silver stars. 1 Her brother's present was received by 
 Marguerite with delight. The holy symbol, she declared, afforded 
 her unbounded satisfaction ; " besides which, monseigneur, I 
 found in the packet sent me by Frotte* a sacred ballad so mar- 
 vellously well written that, without offence to your other works, 
 I think that this surpasses them all ; for your verses are filled 
 with divine unction, with faith, humility, and with such love 
 towards your friends, that not only do they inspire me with 
 strength to perform the long journey to see you, but with such 
 infinite joy that if the wish to see you were not paramount to all 
 other desires, the reaction of so much good would cause my 
 death after the numerous sorrows of the past years." 2 Margue- 
 rite also addressed a poetical epistle of thanks to her brother, in 
 which, after alluding to his recent victories, she congratulates 
 the king on his prospect of soon becoming a grandfather. This 
 strange custom of interchanging images of the saints, with an 
 epistle in verse, at the commencement of each new year was 
 
 1 MS. Suppl. Fran., No. 2286, Bibl. Roy. 
 
 2 F. du Suppl. Fr. t MS. No. 60, Bibl. Roy.
 
 298 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 continued by Marguerite and the king until the decease of the 
 latter, with the exception of one year, 1546, when the queen sent 
 her brother a very rich doublet, instead of the little ivory effigy. 
 
 Meantime the event awaited with anxious expectation by the 
 nation took place at Fontainebleau, January 20, 1544, on which 
 day the dauphiness gave birth to a son, to the unspeakable joy 
 of the king. 1 
 
 The king despatched a courier to Mont de Marsan, to convey 
 the joyful news to Queen Marguerite of the safe accouchement of 
 the dauphiness, and the happy birth of a prince. Marguerite 
 was confined to her bed, suffering still from severe cold, when 
 her brother's missive reached her. By this event she beheld her 
 own prophecy, as reported by Villemadon, accomplished ; the 
 dauphiness, whose pious patronage of Clement Marot had so 
 greatly excited her approval, was now the proud mother of a 
 son. Marguerite expresses her delight and congratulations in a 
 strain verging almost upon transport ; and she wrote to the 
 king upon the impulse of the moment, after perusing his letter 
 and without rising from her bed. 
 
 The exultation of the court at Fontainebleau at the nativity of 
 the prince was much damped when, a few days after his birth, 
 the poor infant declined, and continued to droop under most 
 extraordinary symptoms, which afforded subject for hot debate 
 to the royal physicians. The body of the young prince was 
 often suddenly covered with livid spots, which occasioned such 
 extreme debility that the respiration of the child could not at 
 times be detected. He suffered also from a serious obstruction 
 in the head, that the physicians never could eradicate, and 
 which, as he grew older, caused him to speak through his nose. 
 All kinds of evil prognostics became rife; and it was averred 
 that the astronomical phenomena, and the irregularities of the 
 season observable during the pregnancy of the dauphiness, de- 
 noted that her promised offspring would thereafter suffer personal 
 or political calamity. 
 
 The poor sickly little prince was surrounded from the monent 
 of his birth with extraordinary honours. His pompous title was 
 Monseigneur le Due, fils premier de Monseigneur le Dauphin. 2 
 
 1 Hilarion de Coste, Eloges des Infans de France, Vie de Francis XVII., 
 dauphin. 
 
 2 Godefroy.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 299 
 
 As the life of the prince appeared precarious, it was deemed 
 expedient to perform the ceremony of his baptism with all 
 possible despatch. The ceremonial took place in the chapel of 
 Fontainebleau, with great pomp, on Sunday, February 10, at 
 five o'clock in the evening. Marguerite was still too indisposed 
 to be present at the festivities which were given by Francis on 
 this occasion. The king was sponsor to the infant prince, and 
 bestowed upon him his own name, Francois. The Duke of 
 Orleans was the other godfather ; and Madame Marguerite, the 
 king's only surviving daughter, stood godmother to her young 
 nephew. The King of Navarre carried the golden basin in the 
 procession to the chapel royal ; and Marguerite's daughter, the 
 Princess Jeanne, walked immediately after the royal infant 
 who was borne in the arms of the Duke of Orleans on the 
 left hand of Queen Eleanor, the Princess Marguerite being at 
 her right. Madame de St. Paul, Duchesse d'Estouteville, the 
 Duchesses de Nevers, de Montpensier, de Guise, and d'Estampes 
 followed. All these princesses and ladies were attired in robes 
 of cloth of gold richly studded with jewels, " so that," to quote 
 from an ancient record of these festivities, " their brilliant rai- 
 ment flashed with rays of light amid the obscurity of the even- 
 ing, and converted gloomy night into most serene and luminous 
 day." 1 During the four following days the palace of Fontaine- 
 bleau exhibited a brilliant scene of valour and revelry. Tour- 
 naments, historical pageants, balls, mock sieges and naval 
 combats, concerts, running at the ring, quoits, tennis, and 
 solemn banquets, celebrated the baptism of Catherine's son. 
 The ambassador of the republic of Venice received most royal 
 entertainment at Fontainebleau during these festivities, and 
 transmitted to the senate a glowing record of the magnificence 
 of the French court. 
 
 It was on occasion of this royal christening that the poet 
 Ronsard, the idol of the court of France during the subsequent 
 reign, first distinguished himself, and secured for his verse the 
 patronage of King Francis and the dauphiness. Ronsard filled 
 then the office of page of the chamber to the Duke of Orleans. 
 The poet had just returned from Scotland, whither he journeyed 
 in the train of Queen Madelaine, consort to James V. 
 
 1 Hilarion de Coste, feloges des Infans de France; Godefroy, Cerem. de France.
 
 300 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 * I ^HE king continued to urge his sister, by frequent solicita- 
 _L tions, to repair to court as soon as her health permitted. 
 But for the burden of affairs, and the numerous anxieties which 
 at this time weighed heavily on his own declining health, Francis 
 would have repaired to Mont de Marsan to console and comfort 
 his cherished sister, sa mignonne, la Marguerite des Marguerites. 
 The queen, who personally felt every chagrin and annoyance 
 experienced by her brother, addressed to him letters from her sick 
 couch, overflowing with love and sympathy. She tells him how 
 she longs to be with him, to share his sorrows, and to partake 
 of the joys which yet were vouchsafed him. " Monseigneur, 
 the most convincing testimony that can be given me that I 
 am growing in the holy perfection at which I aim, is to feel and 
 know that you love me. Your love is a guerdon efficacious 
 beyond all other earthly reward to render me truly worthy of 
 the good you heap upon me, unworthy as I am, except in one 
 thing, that I heartily reciprocate the affection which leads you 
 to bestow it," wrote the queen 1 to her brother about this 
 period. Doubtless the expression of such fervent affection, the 
 constancy of which Francis had proved throughout a long series 
 of years, soothed the king in moments of disquietude. It must 
 have brought peace to the troubled mind of the king to turn 
 from the blandishments of his perfidious mistress, the Duchess 
 d'Estampes, to dwell on the long-tried attachment borne him 
 by Marguerite, who showed herself faithful alone amongst the 
 multitude Francis had favoured, to meet with the basest returns. 
 The passive indifference with which Francis suffered the pres- 
 ence of men at his court of whose treachery he possessed the 
 clearest evidence, and especially his toleration of Madame 
 d'Estampes, when he knew, from positive proofs, that her plau- 
 
 1 F. du Suppl. Fran., Bibl. Roy., MS. No. 5.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 301 
 
 sible words were false, furnishes one of the most melancholy 
 indications of the heart-weariness and isolation of the last years 
 of the king's reign. 
 
 About the beginning of April, 1544, Queen Marguerite found 
 herself sufficiently convalescent to commence her journey. The 
 king, overpowered with cares, had written to her a most urgent 
 supplication to rejoin him without delay ; and to render his 
 prayer the more emphatic he despatched a special envoy to 
 deliver a message to his sister. Marguerite responded to this 
 appeal by setting out. " Monseigneur," wrote she in reply to 
 this communication from her beloved brother, " if I had one foot 
 in the grave, and the physicians declared my death to be inevi- 
 table, your letter must have restored me to life. I have heard 
 from your envoy the message which you have sent me, and the 
 affectionate remembrance you bear me, so that even now I can- 
 not recall his words without shedding abundant tears of joy ; 
 still less can I thank you as I would." 1 As the queen repaired 
 straight to her Castle of Alencon, Francis had probably quitted 
 Fontainebleau, and was then in Normandy or Picardy directing 
 the military movements on the frontiers which recommenced 
 with the first dawn of spring. At Alencon, therefore, Francis 
 and Marguerite were reunited after the long separation which 
 had proved so painful to both. The king's despondency of 
 spirit, and the presentiment of future evil continually haunting 
 his mind, were then confided to his sister. The meeting must 
 have been sorrowful to themselves, and solemn to the personages 
 who witnessed it. Francis once the handsome, brilliant 
 cavalier, mighty in martial prowess, and the ardent worshipper 
 of human science and learning and the bright and intellectual 
 Marguerite d'Angouleme, the glory of the court, and the idol 
 of the learned, met, each smitten by the malady which was 
 soon to consign them to the tomb. 
 
 These adverse circumstances, however, produced not the 
 same depressing influences on Marguerite as they did on the 
 more worldly spirit of her brother. The perfect knowledge 
 which the queen possessed of the Bible proved an unfailing 
 support in the time of trial ; and though the brilliancy of her 
 worldly position had suffered some abatement, still Marguerite 
 looked for the glorious fulfilment of those promises which had 
 
 1 F. du Suppl. Fran., MS. No. 7, Bibl. Roy.
 
 302 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 inspired Louis de Berquin and countless other Christian martyrs, 
 almost all personally known to herself, with courage to endure 
 the torment of the stake. In those poems which Queen 
 Marguerite tells us are to be regarded as the mirror reflecting 
 the secret emotions and aspirations of her soul, while calling 
 upon God, she exclaims: 
 
 " Mon Pere done, mais quel Pere ? Eternel, 
 Invisible, immuable, immortel, 
 Qui pardonnez par grace tout forfait, 
 Je me jette, ainsi qu'un criminel 
 A vos saintz pieds, doux Emmannel, 
 Ayez mercy de moi, Pere parfait ! ' 1 
 
 Again she says : 
 
 "Las, oubliez les fautes de jeunesse 
 Soit par vouloir, par malice, on finesse 
 Fragilite, folie, ou ignorance. 
 Je viens a vous, prenant la hardiesse 
 Me confiant du tout en la promesse 
 De mou salut, par votre grand souffrance 
 Car de penser que peine, ou penitence 
 Peust meriter, d'emporter la balance 
 De mes peches, ce seroit grand' simplesse." 2 
 
 The teaching of BriQonnet had never been effaced from the 
 heart of the queen ; the errors of the Bishop of Meaux, his 
 vacillation and timid defence of the faith, were remembered by 
 Marguerite with tender compassion. Her own position offered 
 almost a parallel to that of BriQonnet ; and the same deep con- 
 viction of the purity of the faith founded, not on tradition, but 
 on a Scriptural basis, imbued the minds of both. Marguerite 
 shrank from the open confession of her belief, out of mingled 
 love for her brother and a dread of alienating his affection ; the 
 Bishop of Meaux withheld his testimony before the fear of a 
 cruel death and public degradation. 
 
 Both Marguerite and the Bishop of Meaux, however, found 
 those to palliate their want of fortitude in well-doing by assu- 
 rances that their outward conformity to the ritual of the 
 established Church would, as in the case of Naaman the Syrian, 
 be pardoned by the Almighty, provided that their hearts fer- 
 vently renounced the idolatrous practices of the Church of 
 
 1 La Marguerite de la Marguerite des Princesses, Oraison a Jesus Christ, p. 143. 
 
 2 Ibid., p. 142.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 303 
 
 Eome. But it was not until after the affair of the placards, 
 which kindled the furious resentment of the king against the 
 reformed ministers, that Marguerite took pains to hide or even 
 to modify her undoubted alienation from the religion of her 
 forefathers. The express commands of the king compelled her 
 from thenceforth to be more cautious in her outward deport- 
 ment, and to avoid giving offence to the captious theologians of 
 the universities, whose turbulent zeal cost Francis more pains 
 to subdue than the armies of the emperor. This compliance 
 on the part of the Queen of Navarre to the outward forms of 
 the Eomish Church was severely censured by the Protestant 
 writers of the day. Beze is especially severe in his comments 
 on what he terms the queen's " lamentable credulity." " After 
 the affair of the placards," writes this celebrated ecclesiastic, 1 
 who received his education at Marguerite's university of Bourges, 
 under Melchior Volmar, " the greatest evil which befell reform 
 was, that the greater part of the nobles began to accommodate 
 themselves to the humour of the king, and by degrees alienated 
 themselves from the diligent study of sacred letters, so that 
 finally they became more notorious in their evil deportment 
 than others who had remained steadfast in the old faith. 
 Even the Queen of Navarre began to conduct herself quite 
 otherwise, participating like the others in idolatrous worship ; 
 not that in her heart she believed or approved of these super- 
 stitions, but Ruffi and others professing his opinions persuaded 
 her that these outward forms were indifferent things. Finally, 
 she became so deceived by the spirit of error that she received 
 into her household two miserable heretics, of the sect of the 
 Libertines, named Quintin and Pocques, whose blasphemous 
 errors are stated at large with ample refutation in the works of 
 John Calvin." By the above extract it may be seen that Mar- 
 guerite, who had endured such tribulation for the sake of reform 
 and its adherents, was unjustly assailed, even by those who 
 called themselves her friends, in their displeasure that her 
 solicitations had failed to procure them religious toleration, and 
 a recognition by the state. This Quintin, who was a tailor by 
 trade, and the founder of the modern sect of the Libertines, whom 
 the queen was accused by Beze of harbouring, suffered death 
 at the stake in the town of Tournay in 1530, several years before 
 
 The. de Beze, Hist, des figlises Reformees de France .
 
 304 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 the affair of the placards occurred. If the infliction of capital 
 punishment for the sin of heresy can in any way be justified, 
 Quintin fully merited his doom ; for the horrible blasphemies 
 which he promulgated would almost seem to demand that 
 Divine wrath might be visibly manifested on the impious 
 offender. 
 
 The opinion maintained by the followers of Quintin, referred 
 to by Beze, and which he accused Marguerite of having accepted, 
 without any grounds for the assertion except that afforded by 
 her cautious conduct, was that " all religious may be indiffer- 
 ently professed together." This was a favourite dogma of the 
 Libertines, who denied the efficacy of any religion, and looked 
 upon the ceremonies of the faith as mere idle forms. Beze, 
 therefore, was not ashamed to identify the name of his generous 
 patroness with that of the arch heretic Quintin, because he 
 fancied that the queen acted on the letter of his maxim, though 
 he knew that she was far from putting upon it the same impious 
 interpretation. Beze in his subsequent works, when the vio- 
 lence of party spirit had become modified, mentions the Queen 
 of Navarre with great respect, and remarks only that " she 
 tarnished a little the glory of her great reputation by the cre- 
 dulity she manifested on matters of faith towards the latter 
 years of her life." 
 
 Hostilities meanwhile recommenced early in the month of 
 April, and while Francis remained his sister's guest at Alenon 
 he experienced the grief of learning that the town of Luxem- 
 bourg, the capital of the duchy, had yielded to the imperial 
 arms. The emperor traversed Lorraine, and continuing his 
 march along the banks of the river Meuse, captured the towns 
 of Commercy, Ligny, and Brienne, and on the 24th of June laid 
 siege to the fortress of St. Dizier, one of the strongest places in 
 Champagne. The conduct of the French army was confided to 
 the dauphin, conjointly with the Admiral d'Annebaut. The 
 camp, by the direction of Francis, who found himself too much 
 indisposed to take personal command of his army, was formed 
 on the banks of the river Marne, between Chalons and fipernay. 
 The garrison of St. Dizier made a most intrepid defence, under 
 the command of the Count de Sancerre and of La Lande, the 
 valiant defender of Landrecy. It held out for six weeks against 
 the fiercest assaults of the Imperialists, and was several times
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 305 
 
 stormed by the entire army of Charles, commanded by the 
 emperor in person. 1 
 
 In accordance with the treaty signed in London, which stipu- 
 lated that King Francis should receive chastisement the most 
 condign and permanent, for his unholy alliance with the Otto- 
 man power, the King of England landed at Calais about Mid- 
 summer Day, 1544, with an army of 30,000 men, and being 
 joined by the Count de Bure, with 12,000 imperial troops, Henry 
 besieged Boulogne, and despatched the Duke of Norfolk and a 
 division of his forces to invest Montreuil. 
 
 Invaded by armies numbering above 80,000 men, commanded 
 in person by two powerful monarchs, the condition of the 
 French monarchy was perilous in the extreme. Against this 
 overwhelming force Francis could only oppose an army consist- 
 ing of 22,000 infantry and 7,000 cavalry. The salvation of 
 France depended on the adoption and strict maintenance of a 
 defensive \varfare. The loss of one pitched battle would have 
 opened the road to Paris to both the hostile armies, so that 
 without encountering an opposing force, they might have en- 
 camped in the centre of the capital. The same terrible devasta- 
 tions had been perpetrated in the province of Champagne and 
 in some districts of Burgundy as proved the safeguard of Pro- 
 vence during the invasion of 1536. France had, therefore, 
 everything to gain and to hope by adhering to the same policy 
 that before had served her so well. Disagreements and mutual 
 jealousies, likewise, it was foreseen were certain to arise between 
 the emperor and the King of England, two princes whose 
 interests were at variance, and whose passions prompted them 
 to measures diametrically opposed. 
 
 The rapid conquest of the duchy of Luxembourg and the 
 surrender of that barrier of fortresses raised there to defend 
 the frontiers of France, filled the Council with consternation. 
 The Cardinal de Tournon, the ostensible head of the French 
 administration, was compelled in this emergency virtually to 
 resign his office to the Admiral d'Annebaut, whose military ex- 
 perience rendered him the more competent minister of the two. 
 The plan of the campaign however, was drawn by the king 
 himself and enthusiastically adopted by the young dauphin, whose 
 ability and military knowledge, which he had acquired under 
 
 1 Mem. de Du Bellay. 
 VOL. u. 20
 
 306 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 Montraoreucy, reflected glory on the disgraced constable in his 
 seclusion of ficouen. 
 
 Faction, that evil genius of France in every age, nevertheless, 
 again interposed to defeat the wise and provident measures 
 adopted, and to crush the dawning renown of the gallant young 
 heir of France. The feuds of D. iane de Poitiers and Madame 
 d'Estampes raged with redoubled violence as the close of the 
 reign approached. Personal abuse was suffered to mingle with 
 political rivalry, and with paltry malice the Duchess d'Es- 
 tampes delighted in inflicting slights on her beautiful and nobler- 
 spirited rival, and in favouring the dissemination of slanderous 
 lampoons, in which the character of Madame de Valentinois 
 before her liaison with the dauphin was assailed by the vilest 
 calumny. Madame de Valentinois met her rival's malignant 
 insinuations with contempt ; she absented herself as much as 
 possible from the presence of the ireful duchess, and altogether 
 assumed that lofty deportment which scorned to retaliate. But 
 Diane's star was in the ascendant, while that of Madame 
 d'Estampes was to be extinguished amid the gloom of the 
 king's funeral obsequies. The coldness of the homage offered 
 by the courtiers clearly indicated to the duchess that her reign 
 was drawing to its close, while the assiduity with which all paid 
 their devoirs to Madame de Valentinois, whose receptions had 
 long been more crowded than her own, convinced her that any 
 effort to discredit the latter would meet with signal defeat. The 
 terrible position in which she was likely to find herself after 
 the king's decease rendered the unhappy duchess frantic with 
 apprehension. She had incurred the enmity of the dauphin, 
 who was aware of her treacherous correspondence with the 
 Count de Longueval, and the persecution which Diane de 
 Poitiers would authorize against the defamer of her reputation 
 Madame d'Estampes judged of by a few emphatic words that 
 escaped the lips of the duchess, and which were eagerly reported. 
 By dint of flattery and compliance with the whims of the Duke 
 of Orleans, the favorite child of Francis, Madame d'Estampes 
 had secured his countenance, though it was rather that he 
 regarded her as the chief opponent of the dauphin, his brother, 
 that the young prince accorded the duchess his support, than 
 for any friendship he felt for herself. Madame d'Estampes, 
 therefore, seconded with her influence and even by her tears,
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 307 
 
 the proposals of peace which the emperor offered to the king, the 
 principal article of which bestowed the sceptre of Milan on 
 the Duke of Orleans after his marriage with the daughter or the 
 niece of Charles V. To promote the establishment, out of the 
 kingdom, of the Duke of Orleans, the only one of the royal 
 family well affected towards her, so that after the decease of 
 the king a safe refuge from persecution might be afforded her, 
 became the aim henceforth of the duchess's political combina- 
 tions, and to effect this object she resorted to the most culpable 
 expedients. The Count de Longueval continued to be the agent 
 of her treasonable correspondence with the emperor, whom she 
 informed of every measure debated before the Council, which 
 came to her knowledge. Her first exploit is supposed to have 
 been to send to the Cardinal Granvelle a copy of the cipher, 
 with its key, used by the Duke de Guise in writing his de- 
 spatches ; for the object of Madame d'Estampes was to compel 
 the king to accept the terms of peace which Charles still pro- 
 fessed himself willing to accord, provided the king pledged 
 himself to renounce the alliance with Soliman II. and the 
 Protestant princes of Germany. If success crowned the efforts 
 of the dauphin's arms, or if starvation proved a still more 
 remorseless foe to the imperial troops, the duchess knew as 
 Charles's cession of the Milanese, or the Low Countries, was 
 to be qualified by a clause expressly stipulating that these 
 provinces should never be united to the crown of France that 
 the king, unless coerced by the presence of hostile armies 
 around his capital, would continue perseveringly to refuse 
 such treaty. 
 
 The king, meanwhile, repaired to Paris to tranquillize the 
 excitement and alarm prevailing there. At this period the suffer- 
 ings of Francis, both mental and bodily, were intense ; and, 
 unable to endure the solitude of his palace of the Louvre, or the 
 hollow condolences of his court, he summoned the Queen of 
 Navarre from Alen^on. It was Marguerite's province to console 
 her brother in the hours of his deepest depression. When the 
 triumph of human glory and ambition faded, and the most mag- 
 nificent monarch in Christendom quailed beneath the chastenings 
 of adversity, Francis sought comfort from the religion and the 
 goodness of his sister. While his ungrateful mistress basely 
 betrayed him, Marguerite became the soul of her brother's coun-
 
 308 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 cils ; her energy infused fresh vigour into his measures ; she 
 advised, consoled, and encouraged him. The presence of the 
 Queen of Navarre in Paris at this critical season was also highly 
 satisfactory to the dauphin, who manifested the greatest respect 
 and deference for his aunt ; he knew that while Marguerite's post 
 was at her brother's right hand the pernicious influence of 
 Madame d'Estampes would decline, and that no suppression of 
 his despatches to the king could be perpetrated with impunity. 
 
 The king was confined to his room, suffering from a return of 
 his disease, when the news of the surrender of St. Dizier reached 
 Paris. The imperial army then crossed the river Meuse, and the 
 emperor encamped on the right bank of the Marne, opposite to 
 the camp of the dauphin. It was evening, and Marguerite was 
 alone with the king when this disastrous despatch reached him. 
 The emotion of Francis was deep ; he beheld his hereditary foe, 
 the emperor, in full march upon his capital. The defeat of the 
 dauphin and the simultaneous advance of the English upon Paris- 
 at Charles's summons, as bound by the treaty of London, would 
 inflict a death-blow on the monarchy of the Valois ; and while 
 his crown was exposed to such imminent peril, the king, en- 
 feebled by disease, was unable to draw his sword in its defence. 
 The heart-broken exclamation which issued from the lips of 
 Francis as he read was, " Ah, mon Dieu ! que tu me vends cher 
 mon royaume ! " Then, addressing his sister, who stood beside 
 him, and whose prayers Francis had almost learned to regard as 
 the segis of his kingdom, he said : " Go, ma mignonne, go to the 
 church, and hear complines ; and when there intercede with God 
 in my behalf, as it is His holy pleasure to favour the arms of the 
 emperor more than mine, that at least He will spare me the 
 anguish of seeing him encamped before the principal town of 
 my kingdom ! " * The two armies remained for some days in 
 presence of each other, the dauphin studiously avoiding the 
 combat, which Charles himself was not eager to provoke, as he 
 awaited the reply of Henry VIII. to the summons he sent him 
 to advance upon Paris. Henry, who was yet before Boulogne, 
 excused himself from complying with the emperor's very per- 
 emptory demand until he should have reduced that town. 
 
 But the great military talents of the hero of the Fabian war- 
 fare pursued by the dauphin were wasting in obscurity : the 
 
 1 Brant6me.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 309 
 
 Constable de Montmorency, indisputably at this time the most 
 experienced and scientific commander in France, remained at 
 Ecouen, doomed by the fiat of his royal master to inaction. It 
 appears that after the capture of Chateau Thierry, Queen Mar- 
 guerite and her nephew formed the design of reinstating the 
 fallen constable in his command. The dauphin, therefore, ad- 
 dressed a very forcible but respectful memorial to the king, pray- 
 ing him to restore so valiant a captain to supreme command over 
 the armies of France, and recalling Montmorency's glorious de- 
 fence of Provence. This petition Marguerite probably supported 
 with all her interest, as two letters are still preserved addressed 
 to the constable by the Queen of Navarre after her brother's 
 death, which testify that some kind of reconciliation had taken 
 place between the latter and her old favourite. The aversion, 
 however, of Francis to the constable was too rooted to be easily 
 overcome. Though the king proved utterly inconsistent on sev- 
 eral of the most momentous occasions of his life, and especially 
 in affairs of religion, he never showed himself capricious with 
 regard to his favourites. He loaded them with honours and 
 favours as long as his confidence in their integrity remained 
 unshaken ; but when once they forfeited his good opinion they 
 never recovered their influence. 
 
 The projected restoration of the constable to his high dignities 
 created consternation in the Council. The Cardinal de Tournon 
 perceived in it his own deposition from the ministry; the Admiral 
 d'Annebaut, his degradation from the command of the armies of 
 France. Madame d'Estampes, especially, had most to dread 
 from the return of Montmorency ; the immense power possessed 
 by the constable would be augmented if he returned to court, 
 the conqueror of the emperor, the benefactor of his king, and 
 the friend of the Queen of Navarre and of the Duchesse de 
 Valentinois. The duchess, moreover, had everything to dread 
 -from the detection, by the severe Montmorency, of her treason- 
 able correspondence with the emperor. The outcry on all sides, 
 therefore, was so great the courtiers, privy councillors, and 
 Madame d'Estampes, all uniting to deprecate the return of Mont- 
 morency that the king returned an angry and decisive nega- 
 tive to the dauphin's request. 1 
 
 During the progress of these intrigues the greatest distress 
 
 1 Mem. de Du Bellay.
 
 310 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 began to prevail in the enemy's camp ; the season was rainy, and 
 all kinds of maladies became prevalent there. The dearth of pro- 
 visions was even felt by the emperor himself; while the French 
 army was furnished with plentiful supplies, and all the troops 
 were in health and eager to be led against the enemy. The 
 emperor whose plan of campaign had been disturbed by the 
 refusal of the King of England to march upon Paris, continued 
 for some time to skirt the banks of the river Marne, seeking 
 a ford over which his army might pass without engaging in 
 combat. The vigilant watch maintained by the dauphin 
 defeated this project. The conduct of the young prince during 
 this perilous campaign merits the highest commendation. He 
 had caused the provisions which could be saved when the 
 country was laid waste by command of the Council to be gathered 
 and stored in vast magazines at Chateau Thierry and fipernay, 
 thus wisely providing, as he hoped, vast military stores for the 
 support of his army. When the imperial army penetrated higher 
 up the course of the river, seemingly in full retreat on the town 
 of Soissons, the dauphin, previously authorized by the king, 
 despatched an officer with a detachment to break down the bridge 
 over the Marne at Epernay, to carry off such of the provision 
 as he could, both there and at Chateau Thierry , and to throw 
 the rest into the river, fearing that these two places would not 
 hold out against an attack in case the emperor, urged by the 
 famishing condition of his troops, attempted to storm either of 
 them. The Duchess d'Estampes, who saw in the emperor's 
 retreat the destruction of her most cherished schemes, apprised 
 Charles of the dauphin's intention, through the Count de Longue- 
 val. She subsequently contrived to have the officer who had 
 been sent to Epernay delayed on the road, so as to afford Charles 
 time to surprise the place. The emperor, who had every reason 
 to confide in the veracity of the Duchess d'Estampes, immediately 
 acted upon her advice, surprised both the towns, and made him- 
 self master of the supplies. 1 He next crossed the Marne and 
 established his camp at Chateau Thierry. The wildest alarm 
 prevailed in Paris when the news of the emperor's advance 
 reached the citizens. Already the outposts of the enemy extended 
 to within a few leagues of the capital, and the Parisians trem- 
 
 1 Bayle, Dictionnaire Historique, Art. Anne de Pisseleu ; De Coste, Eloges 
 des Enfans de France.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 311 
 
 bled for the security of their rich and flourishing city. Persons 
 of all conditions hurried from the capital to take refuge in Or- 
 leans or in Rouen ; " so that," says Paradin, 1 " never since the 
 foundation of the town was there seen such tumult and confu- 
 sion. You might then have witnessed rich, poor, great, and 
 little, persons of all ages and conditions, take flight, dragging 
 after them their children and goods, by water or in wagons. 
 Others were seen hurrying down to the river, carrying in their 
 arms their old and infirm relatives, to place them in safety in 
 boats on the river ; and of these there were such multitudes that 
 the water of the Seine could not be seen. The high-roads were 
 thronged with men, women, children, with horses, carts, oxen, 
 cows, sheep, and other kinds of cattle, which together created 
 such horrible noise and distraction that it appeared as if a great 
 break-up of the elements was about to occur, and all things 
 resolve again into chaos." 
 
 While this terrible panic was at its height the king quitted 
 his sick chamber and rode through the streets of Paris, accom- 
 panied by the Duke de Guise. At various points Francis paused 
 in his progress to address the people who flocked around him, 
 assuring them that there was no present cause for apprehension. 
 " I cannot protect you, Parisians, from the effects of your own 
 fears," said Francis, " but I will undertake to defend you against 
 the enemy ; for I would rather die to promote your safety than 
 live after having failed to rescue you all." 2 111 as he was, the 
 king called out and reviewed all the guilds, and various trade- 
 unions of the capital, whose charters bound the members to aid 
 in the defence of Paris on any emergency. This summons was 
 enthusiastically responded to ; and thirty thousand armed men 
 gladdened the hearts of the king and his sister by their prompt 
 and warlike array. 
 
 The dauphin, meantime, hastily broke up his camp at Jallon, 
 and, even at the hazard of a battle, determined to stop the em- 
 peror's progress. He marched to La Forte*, a place some leagues 
 below Chateau Thierry, where he again encamped his army ; and 
 after strengthening the garrison of Meaux, he despatched 400 
 lances, and a body of 8,000 infantry to the relief of Paris. This 
 force was concentrated at Lagny, a little town only a few leagues 
 from the city ; and it formed another barrier against the advance 
 
 1 Paradin, Hist, de Notre Temps. 2 Paradin.
 
 312 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 of the imperial army on the capital. The emperor, seeing him- 
 self thus forestalled, retreated to Soissons, as the magazines of 
 grain which he had captured afforded only temporary relief to 
 his vast army, and famine again raged in the camp. He took 
 up his abode there in the abbey of St. Jean des Vignes ; when, 
 soon after, the king was prevailed upon by the ceaseless importu- 
 nities of the Duke of Orleans, Queen Eleanor, and of Madame 
 d'Estarnpes, to respond to Charles's overtures for peace, and to 
 send commissioners to Soissons. 1 
 
 Mortified and repulsed, the emperor, on his arrival at Sois- 
 sons, took to his bed with a violent fit of gout. His progress had 
 been marked by few successes ; his losses were immense ; and 
 his mind was filled with anger and distrust against the King of 
 England, who obstinately persisted in remaining before Bou- 
 logne, although Charles repeatedly admonished him that the 
 retreat of the imperial army from the banks of the Marne was 
 inevitable, unless promptly succoured. The most gloomy and 
 desponding melancholy oppressed the mind of the emperor ; all 
 around him testified to the gradual decay of the brilliant and 
 vigorous things of his youth. Overpowered by bodily ailments, 
 and so crippled with the gout that he could not grasp a pen, 
 Charles felt that Providence had placed limits to his power. 
 His rival in dominion, Francis I., was also rapidly sinking into 
 the tomb ; Henry VIII. of England lived, enduring daily tor- 
 ment from the fatal malady with which he too had long been 
 stricken. 
 
 The solemn presentiment which imbued the minds of the 
 three monarchs that their earthly career was drawing to a close 
 inevitably disposed them to peace. Eest, and cessation from 
 warfare seemed now to them greater boons than the acquisition 
 of provinces ; the solitudes of St. Lazare of Toledo, or the silent 
 aisles of the cathedral at Grenada, where the beloved wife of his 
 youth reposed, appeared more inviting to the Emperor Charles 
 than the grandest of triumphs over his ancient foe. The failing 
 health of the monarchs produced a corresponding declension of 
 vigour in their counsels: in the cases of Francis and Charles, 
 
 1 The propositions of peace were made by the emperor through a monk of St. 
 Jean des Vignes, of the house of Guzman, who was related to his confessor, and 
 who communicated the desire expressed by his imperial master for peace to the 
 confessor of Queen Eleanor.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 313 
 
 the wishes of the successors of the sovereigns were too much 
 regarded by the ministers of their respective crowns not to 
 infuse a vacillation in their public policy most baneful to the 
 national prosperity. 
 
 The deputies nominated by the king to treat for peace were 
 the Admiral d'Annebaut, and the keeper of the privy seal, De 
 Chemans. The emperor deputed the Chancellor de Granvelle, 
 and Ferdinand of Gonzaga, generalissimo of the imperial forces. 
 The Duchess d'Estampes had even the art to enlist religion in 
 furtherance of her projects, by the overtures she successfully 
 made to Martin de Guzman, a Dominican monk, and confessor 
 to the emperor, who constantly exhorted his royal penitent to 
 pacific measures. 
 
 As soon as negotiations for peace were fairly opened, Mar- 
 guerite quitted Paris, and repaired to visit Queen Eleanor and the 
 princesses, who were probably residing at St. Germain. The 
 deep anxiety which Eleanor felt at this second invasion of her 
 husband's territories by the emperor brought on a sharp attack 
 of fever ; and on Marguerite's arrival she was yet exceedingly 
 ill. Francis, through his sister, sent directions to the queen to 
 write congratulations to the emperor on the peace, and to send 
 her letter by one Corneille, a messenger whom Charles had 
 commissioned to visit Eleanor, and inquire after her health. 
 Marguerite, soon after her arrival, wrote to the king an account 
 of Eleanor's condition and to assure him that at the cost of 
 great personal suffering his obedient consort had obeyed his 
 wishes. She says : " Monseigneur, you have sent the queen 
 so marvellous a cure for her malady that neither fever nor any 
 other ailment will long prevent her from rejoining you. I never 
 saw any one more transported with joy than she seemed, in 
 which sentiment she is joined by all who desire your welfare and 
 that of your kingdom ; and we unite in beseeching God to grant 
 a prosperous termination to negotiations which have opened so 
 propitiously. Monseigneur, according to your command the 
 queen has answered the emperor's letter; but she is grieved 
 that her strength does not permit her to descant, as she other- 
 wise would, on the advantages of this most welcome peace. She 
 has commanded me to offer her excuses for not writing to you ; 
 but I assure you, monseigneur, that the last time she wrote she 
 found herself so feeble from the exertion that to-day I entreated her
 
 314 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 to be satisfied with having despatched her letter to the emperor 
 which you had demanded in haste. I told the queen, monsei- 
 gneur, that you cared more for her repose than for the sight of 
 her handwriting ; as the one will soon send her back to you con- 
 valescent, while the latter would delay her recovery, on account 
 of the dreadful headaches which afflict her, when even to speak 
 while she suffers thus, or to listen to others, gives her pain. She 
 requires perfect repose to recover." The queen then sends her 
 brother information of the deportment of Corneille, the emperor's 
 envoy. " Corneille, monseigneur, departed from us very well 
 satisfied with the condescending words you addressed to him. 
 He assured the queen that he has never seen the emperor before 
 so well disposed, not only for peace, but to contract perfect 
 alliance and friendship with you, forgetting the past, so as to 
 regenerate anew the bonds of fraternity existing between you 
 both. The queen commands me, furthermore, to say she per- 
 ceives that the emperor is sincere in his desire for peace ; as 
 she has never heard him before speak so enthusiastically as she 
 understands he has done from the envoy. Therefore, monsei- 
 gneur, we have changed the name of the latter ; and instead of 
 Corneille, 1 which appellation bears a bad augury, I have told 
 him that he shall be henceforth named Coulombe, because like 
 the dove he has brought us an olive branch of peace." 2 
 
 The emperor, meanwhile, made no scruple of treating for a 
 separate peace with Francis, without including his ally, Henry of 
 England, whose proceedings incensed him greatly. Charles, 
 however, went through the formality of despatching an envoy, 
 the Bishop of Arras, to the English camp, to invite that king to 
 send ambassadors to the conference opened at Soissons ; though 
 the emperor did this only on discovering that Francis had made 
 the same overtures through the Cardinal du Bellay. 3 The 
 articles of the treaty finally concluded between Francis and the 
 emperor, which were negotiated at Soissons, and concluded 
 at Crespy, September 18, 1544, ceded either the Milanese or the 
 Low Countries to the Duke of Orleans at the expiration of two 
 years, on the marriage of the prince with the emperor's daughter, 
 the infanta Mary, or with his niece, Anne of Austria, the 
 
 1 Corneille, a crow. 
 
 2 F. du Suppl. Fran., MS. No. 58, Bibl. Roy. 
 
 3 Beaucaire, Commentaires, 1. 24.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 315 
 
 duke promising to accept the hand of whichever of these two 
 ladies the emperor should be pleased to bestow upon him. The 
 Netherlands was to be the dower of Charles's daughter ; the 
 duchy of Milan that of his niece. The king engaged to re- 
 nounce the alliance of Soliman II., and of the Protestant princes 
 of Germany, and promised to assist the emperor to subdue the 
 power of the Turks, and to arrest the progress of heresy. It 
 was likewise agreed to make mutual restoration of all con- 
 quests achieved since the signature of the truce of Nice. The 
 king, moreover, promised to bestow upon his second son a 
 yearly revenue of 100,000 livres secured on the duchies of 
 Bourbon, Orleans, Angoulme, and Ch&tellerault, assigned as 
 appanages for the young prince. In case the united yearly 
 revenues of these duchies amounted not to the stipulated sum, 
 the duchy of Alen^on was to be added to the fiefs bestowed 
 upon the duke ; though it is nowhere stated what compensation 
 the king in such case afforded his sister for the pecuniary loss 
 which she would sustain. The dominions of the Duke of Savoy 
 were to be restored to him when the Duke of Orleans received 
 the investiture of the Milanese ; although this duchy, by a 
 clause expressly introduced into the treaty, and assented to by 
 the king, was never to be united to the crown of France. 1 
 
 Boulogne, during the conferences of Crespy, had at length, 
 fallen before the determined siege laid to it by King Henry ; 
 and this event had great weight in determining Francis to 
 accept the conditions of peace proposed by Granvelle in his 
 master's name. After the signature of the treaty Charles 
 recalled his troops from the English camp ; so that the Duke of 
 Norfolk was compelled to raise the seige of Montreuil, and 
 retire from before this important place, which was then regarded 
 as the key of the province of Normandy. Peace was not finally 
 concluded between Francis and Henry VIII. until the year 
 1546. The plenipotentiaries of the two rnonarchs met at 
 Canapes, a place between the towns of Ardres and Guines ; and 
 the treaty was agreed upon and signed with the utmost expedi- 
 tion. 2 It consisted merely of two articles ; for between Henry 
 VIII. and Francis I. no complicated territorial question existed 
 to perplex the commissioners. It was agreed that Francis 
 
 1 Du Bellay ; Sleidan ; Paradin. 
 
 2 During the month of June, 1546.
 
 316 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 should pay Henry, by a certain day, the sum of two millions of 
 golden crowns in lieu of the arrears of his pension, the debts ow- 
 ing to him by the king, and the sums he had expended during the 
 siege of Boulogne. Until this sum had been paid, it was settled 
 that Henry should retain possession of the town of Boulogne as 
 security, when that place was to be restored to the French crown. 
 
 As soon as the peace of Crespy was definitively accepted by 
 the emperor, Francis quitted Paris for Komorantin, hoping to 
 benefit his health by change of air, and to afford some allevia- 
 tion to the melancholy which oppressed him, by hunting in the 
 noble forests then surrounding the ancient castle of the Counts 
 d'Angouleme. Queen Eleanor and a part of her court accom- 
 panied the king, whilst Marguerite either remained at St. Ger- 
 main-en-Laye, or, as is more probable, returned to Alencon. 
 
 At the commencement of the year 1545 the queen sent her 
 brother, as a new year's gift, an ivory figure of King Solomon. 
 In the poetical epistle which accompanied the image, Marguerite 
 explains the emblematic meaning she attached to this gift, as 
 also to the presents she made her brother on two preceding 
 years, of the figures of King David and of the Patriarch Abra- 
 ham. She also congratulated him on the peace which had just 
 been concluded between " le lys et la pomme ronde." 
 
 A fresh domestic calamity, meanwhile, befell the king. This 
 misfortune was the death of the Duke of Orleans, the favourite 
 surviving child of Francis. The king had determined to make 
 a personal effort to recover Boulogne from the English before 
 concluding his treaty with Henry VIII., which after the recap- 
 ture of this important seaport could be negotiated on more 
 advantageous terms. The Duke of Orleans joined his father at 
 Fort-Moutier, a small place close to Abbeville. A malignant 
 fever had been raging in the village and the neighbourhood, and 
 even two persons, it was afterwards discovered, had died in the 
 house in which the king and his son sojourned. Dissatisfied 
 with the lodgings assigned for his use, the Duke of Orleans in- 
 sisted on removing into more commodious apartments adjoining, 
 but which were precisely those, as the host hastened to confess, 
 where the parties deceased had died of the plague. When earn- 
 estly remonstrated with upon this act of folly, the duke impetu- 
 ously replied : " Son ! bon ! jamais fils de France n'est mort de la 
 peste." 1 To show his disregard of the admonition, the duke, 
 
 1 Gailliard, Hist, de Frai^ois I.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 317 
 
 it is stated, rushed into the infected rooms, followed by a party 
 of riotous young nobles, where, after tossing about some linen 
 appertaining to the parties deceased, they ripped the bed open, 
 and amused themselves by showering the feathers upon each 
 other. At night the duke retired to rest in this apartment ; in 
 about two hours, however, he awoke suffering from headache, 
 violent thirst, and every other symptom of the fatal endemic. 
 " Je suis malade ! c'est la peste, et fen mourrai ! " exclaimed the 
 duke vehemently to his attendants. He then requested that a 
 glass of water might be given him. The duke lingered for two 
 or three days in a most pitiable condition, suffering from great 
 pain and delirium. About an hour before his death he earnestly 
 requested to see the king. This desire was conveyed to Francis, 
 who, since the commencement of his son's illness had also been 
 confined to his chamber. On receiving this the last message of 
 his best beloved child, the king rose from his couch, and declared 
 his resolution of visiting his son. In vain the Cardinal de 
 Tournon remonstrated, and pointed out to the king the danger 
 of contagion ; Francis remained h'rm in his resolve, and entered 
 the duke's chamber alone. The dying prince, when he beheld 
 the king, caused himself to be supported by his attendants, and 
 stretching out his arms towards his father, exclaimed, "Ah, 
 inonseigneur, I am dying ; but now that I have had the felicity 
 of seeing you once more, I die content ! " Exhausted with this 
 exertion, the duke fell back on his pillow speechless, and breathed 
 his last in a few moments. 1 The excitement of this scene 
 proved too much for the debilitated frame of the king, who was 
 carried back to his apartment fainting from excess of emotion. 
 
 The joys of the king's life thus gradually ebbed away ; and for 
 the remaining brief period of his existence Marguerite's affection 
 was the sunshine which alone dispersed its gloom and isolation. 
 Francis never recovered the shock of his son's death. A per- 
 petual fever consumed his life, and imparted a restlessness that 
 prompted him to make frequent and rapid changes of abode, 
 which contributed to increase his malady. The Queen of Na- 
 varre had retired again into Be'arn ; for, as Marguerite's health 
 failed, she withdrew herself as much as possible from the court, 
 where all things seemed in a state of transition, and where it 
 was painful for her no longer to witness that devotion to her 
 
 3 September 8, 1545. ' - '
 
 318 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 brother which all exhibited during the palmy days of the reign 
 of Francis I. Her literary tastes served to soothe the dejection 
 felt by the Queen of Navarre. Probably the composition of her 
 curious poem, entitled " La Coche," employed the queen's leisure 
 hours at this period, besides a multitude of sacred poems and 
 epistles in verse, which she constantly sent to her brother. 
 
 The argument of the queen's poem of " La Coche " is most 
 singular. Marguerite imagines that she had quitted her coach 
 to walk alone in a verdant meadow in meditative mood, when 
 she suddenly met three ladies wandering like herself, but appar- 
 ently overpowered with grief. After a time the disconsolate 
 ladies explain the cause of their sorrow to the queen, when it 
 appeared that the first afflicted fair had abandoned her lover, 
 being highly discontented at his proceedings, the second had 
 been deserted by her lover ; while the third lady quitted her 
 betrothed to follow her friends, though she had every reason to 
 be satisfied with his faithful attachment. The ladies, therefore, 
 were weeping together over their misfortunes, and debating 
 amongst themselves which of the three merited the greatest 
 commiseration. Meanwhile a shower of rain fell, which com- 
 pelled the ladies to accept Marguerite's invitation to pursue their 
 argument in her coach. They accordingly took refuge there with 
 the queen, when, after much debate, it was determined to refer 
 the question to arbitration. One of the ladies proposes the king 
 as arbiter. Marguerite takes this opportunity to introduce the 
 most pompous eulogium on her brother, to whom she attributes 
 every possible virtue and quality. She then adds a description 
 of the king, which is as follows : 
 
 " De sa beaute, il est blanc et vermeil, 
 Les cheveux bruns, de grande et belle taille ; 
 En terre il est com me au ciel le soleil; 
 Hardy, vaillant, sage et preux en bataille, 
 Fort et puissant, qui ne peut avoir peur 
 Que prince nul , tant soit puissant, 1'assaille. 
 II est beuin, doux, humble en sa grandeur ; 
 Fort et puissant, et plein de patience 
 Soit en prison en tristesse et malheur." 1 
 
 The second lady proposed that Marguerite should herself decide 
 the knotty point. The queen, however, excuses herself from 
 giving a verdict on a question relating to love ; for, says she, 
 
 1 Poeme " La Coche, Marguerites de la Marguerite des Princesses."
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARKE. 319 
 
 " Mes cinquante ans, ma vertu affoiblie, 
 Le temps passe, commandent que j'oublie 
 Pour mieux penser a la prochaine mort, 
 Sans plus avoir memoire ni remord 
 Si en amour a douleur ou plaisir." x 
 
 Marguerite, however, comforts the sorrowful ladies by her assur- 
 ance that she will record their affliction in verse. The dispute, 
 by mutual agreement, is at length referred to a certain duchess, 
 whom Marguerite calls sa cousine : 
 
 " Et ceste-la se tiendra bien heureuse, 
 Que vous direz des trois plus doloreuse." 
 
 The queen caused this manuscript of " La Coche," when com- 
 plete, to be magnificently illuminated with vignettes, and bound 
 in blue velvet, in order to present it to the Duchess d'Estampes. 
 The last vignette of this manuscript, which is preserved in the 
 Bibliotheque de 1'Arsenal, represents Marguerite offering her 
 book to the duchess, " both ladies standing together in a chamber 
 marvellously well adorned and tapestried," as the few lines ap- 
 pended beneath the miniature explain to the reader. 2 Marguerite 
 probably honoured her brother's unworthy favourite with this 
 gracious gift when she visited the court of France early in Jan- 
 uary of the year 1546. The queen passed the Christmas at 
 Mont de Marsan for the benefit of her health, and from thence 
 she despatched her accustomed new year's gift to her brother, 
 which this year consisted of a rich doublet, instead of the little 
 ivory figure as before. 
 
 Francis was at Plessis-les-Tours when Marguerite rejoined 
 him. It was their first meeting since the decease of the Duke 
 of Orleans. The king's health had slightly improved, so that 
 all things wore a more joyous aspect ; for even his physicians 
 acknowledged that they had now good hope of saving the life 
 of their royal patient. If Francis and Marguerite could have 
 foreseen that after this meeting their earthly companionship 
 was to cease, and that the loving confidence, which not all the 
 trials and reverses of life had shaken, was soon to be severed by 
 the hand of death, how solemn must then have been these their 
 last communings together ! 
 
 The life of Francis, however, was destined to pass away op- 
 
 1 Les Marguerites de la Marguerite des Princesses. 
 
 2 Appendix III. de 1'Heptameron, edited by M. le Roux de Lincy
 
 320 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 pressed with the same weighty care which clouded the brightest 
 years of his manhood. The death of the Duke of Orleans re- 
 opened the political questions decided by the treaty of Crespy. 
 The cession of the Milanese that territory the possession of 
 which, had the duchy been worth thrice its actual value, could 
 never have compensated the French for the torrents of blood, and 
 the vast treasures lavished for its acquisition became again 
 the cri de guerre of Europe. The emperor, in reply to the am- 
 bassadors despatched by Francis to inquire what interpretation 
 he now proposed to put on the treaty of Crespy, stated that the 
 contingency which had arisen could not have been foreseen ; but 
 he considered that the decease of the Duke of Orleans released 
 him from all engagements he had bound himself by that conven- 
 tion to fulfil. Charles added further that he had no desire to 
 recommence the war, unless forced to do so by the aggression 
 of the French king. 
 
 Francis, dissembling his profound resentment, applied himself 
 to perfect measures for opening a campaign upon a still more 
 extensive scale. During the whole of this year, dating from the 
 time when the king bid farewell to his sister at Plessis-les- 
 Tours, Francis with restless disquietude wandered through his 
 dominions. Instead of that brilliant court of nobles and ladies 
 which formerly traversed the kingdom when the king made one 
 of his grand progresses, Francis was now accompanied by a 
 train of engineers, and by a few chosen veteran officers, who had 
 grown old in the service of the state, and whose advice he 
 listened to with earnest deference. The king traversed thus the 
 frontiers of Burgundy, Champagne, Picardy, and Dauphiny ; in- 
 specting every military work, and in many cases delivering with 
 his own hands the money required for its completion into the 
 hands of the officer in command. The king thus established a 
 complete line of fortresses along his frontiers, in all of which he 
 placed garrisons and efficient supplies. Severe, taciturn, and 
 reserved, the king re-established order in all departments of the 
 state ; no favourite was suffered to dictate, or reverse by cabal, 
 the decisions adopted by the Council of State, over which Francis 
 daily presided. 
 
 The discord, however, which, when it affected no political 
 interest, was so entirely disregarded by the king, continued to 
 agitate the Court of France with unmitigated fury. The faction
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE 321 
 
 of the Duchess de Valentinois, however, had now acquired 
 supremacy ; for the declining influence of Madame d'Estampes 
 over the king was observed and commented upon by all. The 
 valiant young cavaliers of the court, the heroes and statesmen of 
 the future reign, gathered round the dauphin and adopted his 
 political opinions. Catherine de' Medici, the proud mother of 
 Monseigneur le due, heir of the dauphin, often mediated between 
 the king and her husband, with a dexterity which few then ap- 
 preciated ; the young dauphiness, while preserving the favour 
 of Francis, of the dauphin, and even of Diane de Poitiers, con- 
 trived to become the head of a political party, which during the 
 ensuing reign proved strong enough to balance the power of the 
 Duchess de Valentinois. 
 
 Amid these numerous chagrins, the year 1546 expired. Mar- 
 guerite still inhabited Edam, and devoted herself to religious 
 meditation and study. Probably the wandering life led by the 
 king prevented her from rejoining him. A presentiment of 
 impending evil agitated the mind of the queen ; she was fre- 
 quently observed wrapped in deep meditation, and often her 
 ladies surprised her in tears. She sought solitude, and her 
 religious duties alone seemed to give her consolation or satis- 
 faction. Her health continued very feeble and uncertain ; and 
 it was remarked by those around that it varied according to the 
 alteration in the king's condition. Marguerite warned her friends 
 that the stroke which deprived herself or her brother of exist- 
 ence would soon tell with fatal certainty on the survivor, so 
 persuaded was she of the mysterious and spiritual union subsist- 
 ing between Francis and herself. 
 
 The winter of 1546 set in with unusual severity, so that Mar- 
 guerite was seldom able to go abroad, or even to quit the aparfe- 
 ments she occupied in the castle of Pau. Often the snows 
 retarded the arrival of the couriers constantly passing between 
 the king and his sister. The most intense suspense then pos- 
 sessed Marguerite's mind ; and the anguish she endured, and her 
 sleepless nights, injured her constitution, and confirmed the 
 malady beneath which she suffered. In God alone centred her 
 hopes : such had been the words used by Marguerite in the day 
 of her brilliant prosperity ; and she herself, in her own touching 
 verse, has assured us that He abandoned her not in the hour of 
 adversity to the bitterness of despair. 
 
 VOL. II. 21
 
 322 LEFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 Early at the commencement of the year 1547, after the frosts 
 had broken up and the roads were open to travellers, Marguerite 
 quitted Pau ; and in order to enjoy greater retirement, she took 
 up her abode in a convent at Tusson, 1 a little village of Angou- 
 mois, proposing to pass Lent with the nuns before she returned 
 to court. Tidings of her brother of more favourable import had 
 reached the queen ; his astonishing activity and the rapid changes 
 of abode effected by the king filled his courtiers with astonish- 
 ment. The royal forests rang, as in olden time, with the echoes 
 of the chase ; the severity of the weather was disregarded by the 
 king, though the earth often shone with a thick incrustation of 
 ice. On horseback during several hours in the day, Francis, 
 though agonized by the wound destroying him, followed in pur- 
 suit of the boar, striving to forget his pain in the excitement of 
 the hour. At night the most terrible prostration of strength 
 ensued ; consumed with fever and a thirst which nothing could 
 allay, the groans and plaints of the unhappy king filled every 
 heart with compassion. By sunrise Francis took to his horse, 
 though in vain remonstrated with by his physicians, who con- 
 sidered this violent exercise as likely to augment his disorder ; 
 and followed by a few chosen courtiers, he again set out on his 
 roving expeditions. During the months of February and a part 
 of March, the king thus visited St. Germain, La Muette, 
 Villepreux, Dampierre, Limours, Loches, Fontainebleau, and a 
 variety of other places. 2 Nothing satisfied the king ; no place 
 bestowed upon him rest. The thought of Marguerite alone gave 
 him momentary solace ; sometimes the king despatched a courier 
 to summon her in all possible haste ; then the order was as sud- 
 denly revoked ; for Francis, with the wayward caprice of illness, 
 thought himself irresistibly impelled to take an opposite route to 
 the place at which he had prayed his sister to meet him. 
 
 More blessed was Marguerite in her declining health. The 
 wild restlessness of her brother's mind, which betrayed a con- 
 science ill at ease, tormented her not ; and kneeling before the 
 altar of the God whom she had feared and reverenced in her 
 youth, she was able to submit with resignation and trust to His 
 dispensations. Marguerite's days at this period seem to have 
 been spent in meditation, prayer, and in the study of the Bible. 
 
 1 This convent at Tusson existed until the Great Revolution. 
 9 Mem. de Du Bellav
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 323 
 
 She maintained a constant correspondence with her brother, and, 
 doubtless, also with the King of Navarre ; the queen likewise 
 composed various sonnets and several pieces in verse. 
 
 Marguerite had been for several weeks an inmate of the con- 
 vent at Tusson, when one night, about the commencement of 
 April, 1547, she dreamed that her brother appeared by her bed- 
 side, looking pale and ghastly ; and that in a voice of sorrowful 
 anguish, he exclaimed, " Ma sceur ! ma sceur ! " l The queen 
 awoke, and gazed eagerly around ; but the vision had disappeared ; 
 nevertheless, the impression left on Marguerite's mind was pro- 
 found, and she rose and forthwith despatched messengers to 
 Eochefort, the place where she supposed that the king was so- 
 journing, to make inquiries after his health. During the few 
 following days Marguerite withdrew entirely from the society of 
 the nuns, and seldom quitted her room. Her suspense was in- 
 tolerable ; but days elapsed, and still no news of the king arrived 
 to gladden her. 
 
 Queen Marguerite's messenger had been gone a week when she 
 dreamed again that the phantom appeared by her bed, uttering 
 the same mournful and earnest summons. The agitation of the 
 queen's mind then became intolerable ; she summoned her at- 
 tendants, and strictly questioned them ; but to calm her sorrow, 
 they informed her that the last reports received of the king's 
 health were favourable. A suspicion, nevertheless, still lingered 
 in Marguerite's mind that she was deceived ; and to soothe her 
 troubled spirit, after despatching another courier to the court, the 
 queen repaired to the convent chapel to pray in solitude. As she 
 passed through the cloisters, Marguerite met her private secre- 
 tary, Thomas Coustelier, to whom she spoke, in order to give 
 him directions to write to some personage of the court, who 
 she thought would send her minute intelligence respecting the 
 king. While Marguerite was yet speaking with her secretary, 
 she heard the sound of some one weeping very bitterly in a dis- 
 tant part of the cloister. Followed by her secretary and a few 
 attendants, the queen, before entering the chapel, proceeded to 
 ascertain who the mourner was, to relieve her grief. The sobs 
 were found to proceed from a poor nun of weak intellect, who 
 was suffered to wander about the convent at pleasure, as her 
 temper was gentle and she harmed nobody. Marguerite ap- 
 
 1 Sainte Marthe, Oraison Funebre de 1'Incomparable Marguerite.
 
 324 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 proached the weeper, and gently said, " What misfortune do you 
 deplore, sister ? " The nun, who had been previously instructed 
 what reply to make in case her grief attracted the queen's com- 
 passionate attention, replied, " Alas ! madame, I weep not for my- 
 self ; it is your great calamity which I bewail ! " then hiding her 
 face in the folds of her veil, she fled from the spot. Marguerite 
 became very pale ; and for long she seemed overwhelmed and inca- 
 pable of uttering a word. With a deep sigh she presently said to 
 her attendants, " You have concealed the death of the king ; but 
 God, you perceive, by the instrumentality of this poor maniac, 
 has revealed it to me." l The queen then retired to her chamber, 
 and, kneeling on the floor, she humbly besought of God fortitude 
 and consolation ; she next uttered a fervent thanksgiving for the 
 mercies which He had showered upon her in the midst of her 
 tribulation. Afterwards she entreated to be left quite alone. 
 
 The prophecy unwittingly uttered years before at St. Germain 
 by Marguerite, and for which her brother had tenderly reproached 
 her, was fulfilled. " Monseigneur," Marguerite had written in 
 her letter of explanation to her brother, " I entreat you to do me 
 the justice to believe that if I said I thought to be the longest 
 survivor, it was only when inspired by the dread that God had 
 doomed me to suffer the very perfection of misfortunes and trials 
 which He could inflict on one of his creatures ! " In her grief 
 there seemed to Marguerite no shelter or sympathy left for her 
 in the world ; all around was dark and hopeless ; and her spirit 
 grew dismayed at its solitude. Gradually had the bond been 
 dissolved which united the three whose union had given them 
 happiness perfect as earth could afford ; the last of " the Trinity 
 of France," Marguerite, lingered behind, to fulfil, perhaps, the 
 design of an all-wise Providence, who decreed that her pure and 
 loving heart, deprived of its dearest earthly support, should 
 centre its hopes and joys on Heaven alone. 
 
 Francis had been dead nearly a fortnight before the intelli- 
 gence was imparted to the Queen of Navarre. This precaution 
 was adopted by command of the new king, Henry, who bore 
 Marguerite the greatest affection and respect, a feeling shared 
 also by Catherine de' Medici. Francis had designed to spend 
 the carnival at Loches or Tours ; and, accompanied by the dau- 
 phin and a brilliant court, he arrived, about the end of March, 
 
 1 Sainte Marthe, Oraison Funebre.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 325 
 
 1547, at the former place. Hours of excruciating sufferings en- 
 sued ; and during the silent watches of the night the king wan- 
 dered from chamber to chamber throughout that ancient fortress, 
 unable to find repose, either bodily or mental. The following 
 morning Francis made known his resolve to depart for St. Ger- 
 main-en-Laye, that there, in the vicinity of the capital, he might 
 profit by the skill of his most eminent physicians, and espe- 
 cially by that of the famous Ambrose Pare*, whose renown for 
 the wonderful cure he had performed on the Count d'Aumale l 
 inspired the king with hope that the talent of Pare* might be 
 effectual in his own case likewise. 
 
 From Loches the king proceeded to Rambouillet, intending 
 only to sojourn there a night ; but unfortunately a temporary- 
 alleviation from pain induced Francis to prolong his abode. On 
 the following morning he commanded a grand boar-hunt in the 
 pathless forests which then enveloped that royal residence. The 
 almost supernatural energy displayed by the king in this fatal 
 hunt was remarked by many of the courtiers, who had witnessed 
 the alarming prostration of strength from which Francis suffered 
 while at Loches. It was as the final wrestle of that once vigor- 
 ous and manly frame with death. The king retired immediately 
 on his return from this expedition ; his strength, however, sud- 
 denly failed, and the agonies which he habitually endured in- 
 creased in violence, to cease again as abruptly after the lapse of 
 some hours. This cessation of pain, however, was but the pre- 
 lude of speedy dissolution. The physicians soon discovered that 
 mortification of the wounds had commenced, and they unani- 
 mously admonished the king that his hours were numbered. 
 Francis listened to the fiat with outward resignation ; then 
 sending for the dauphin, he addressed to him an emphatic ad- 
 monition on the conduct it was expedient for him to pursue 
 after his accession to the crown. He exhorted his son never to 
 recall Montmorency, or to suffer him to hold office in the state ; 
 this admonition the king repeated several times. He counselled 
 the dauphin, likewise, to check the ambition of the princes of 
 the house of Guise, and to control the aspiring genius of the 
 
 1 By extracting the fragment of a lance, which had entered just beneath the 
 count's eye and penetrated through to the back of the neck. The Count d'Au- 
 male received this severe wound during a skirmish with the English before 
 Boulogne.
 
 326 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 prelates of that family. He recommended his son to diminish, 
 as much as possible, the taxes which the necessities of war had 
 compelled him to impose. The king then uttered an honourable 
 eulogium on the upright administration of his ministers, the 
 Cardinal de Tournon and the Marshal d'Annebaut, both of whom 
 he advised the dauphin to retain. 1 No mention is made of the 
 Queen of Navarre in the records we possess of the dying hours 
 of Francis ; a similar silence is observed respecting the Princess 
 Marguerite, the king's only daughter, and the Duchesse d'Es- 
 tampes. It cannot be supposed, however, that in the long 
 private conference which it is recorded Francis held with his 
 sou, they could have been forgotten, or that he would forget to 
 commend his beloved sister to the care and affection of the 
 future king. 
 
 Brief, however, were the hours which remained to the king 
 to prepare for eternity, from the period that the cessation of dis- 
 tracting pain permitted his thoughts to be diverted from his own 
 sufferings. His mind remained firm and clear to the last ; and 
 it is recorded that Francis made his confession and received the 
 last sacraments of his Church with great penitence and devo- 
 tion. His death was apparently painless. Exhausted by suffer- 
 ing, the king calmly expired between two and three o'clock in 
 the afternoon of the 31st day of March, 1547, aged fifty-two 
 years. 
 
 The body of the king was removed, by order of his son and 
 successor, to the castle of Haute Bruyere, after it had been care- 
 fully embalmed, where it lay in state until the llth of April. 
 From thence the remains of Francis were transported to the 
 palace of the Cardinal-bishop of Paris at le Pont de St. Cloud. 
 There the king's effigy, attired in regal robes, was exposed on 
 the bier, which was surmounted by a canopy, all the deceased 
 king's ministers and officers of state being in attendance. This 
 empty homage continued during eleven days; the apartment 
 was then hung with black cloth, the king's coffin, surrounded 
 by lighted candelabra, being placed on an elevated platform in 
 the centre of the chamber, upon which the crown and the sword 
 of state rested. 2 
 
 1 Mem. de Du Bellay ; Sleidau, Commentar. ; Beaucaire ; Hilarion de Coste. 
 
 2 Relation des obseques de FranQois I., inseree par 1'abbe Lambert a la fin de 
 son edition des Mem. de Du Bellay.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 327 
 
 The coffin of Francis was removed from St. Cloud on the 21st 
 of May, and deposited in the church of the Carmelites of the 
 Eue du Faubourg St. Jacques in Paris, where the bodies of his 
 two sons, the Dauphin Francis and the Duke of Orleans, awaited 
 final interment in the royal mausoleum of the Valois at St. Denis. 
 On the 23d of May the king's funeral oration was preached by 
 Pierre du Chatel, Bishop of Tulle and Ma9on. During the 
 afternoon of the same day the cortege quitted Paris. Upon the 
 coffins of the king and of his two sons reposed an effigy in wax 
 of the deceased prince. The funeral car upon which the body 
 of the king rested was preceded by twelve cardinals and the 
 court of parliament, the members being arrayed in their scarlet 
 gowns ; and a countless throng of ecclesiastics and nobles fol- 
 lowed. 1 The mournful cavalcade was received by the monks of 
 St. Denis on its arrival at the cathedral : a very few years pre- 
 viously they had attended Francis I. and his imperial guest, the 
 Emperor Charles, on their pilgrimage to the sepulchres of the 
 monarchs of France ; and in procession they had followed 
 the king when he then descended to the portal of the mag- 
 nificent tomb constructed for Madame, which now yawned to 
 receive his own mortal remains. 
 
 When the coffin of Francis was lowered into the vault, the 
 officers of his household broke their wands and cast them into 
 the tomb, and the heralds proclaimed : " King Francis is no 
 more ! Long live our gracious sovereign Henry II., whom God 
 preserve ! " 
 
 1 M6m. de Vieilleville. The sum of 500,000 livres Tournois was expended on 
 the obsequies of the king, exclusive of the cost of the funeral processions through 
 the capital, which was defrayed by the Parisians.
 
 328 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE light of Marguerite's life was extinguished by the 
 death of her brother, and she may be said to have virtu- 
 ally descended into the tomb with him. The brief remnant of 
 her existence was spent in obscurity ; her thoughts were riv- 
 eted on the past ; and no solicitations could induce the queen to 
 emerge from her seclusion, or to interest herself as formerly in 
 literature or politics. 
 
 Marguerite spent the first forty days after her bereavement in 
 the closest retirement at the convent of Tusson. During the 
 whole of this period the queen suffered from severe indisposi- 
 tion ; and she appears to have rarely quitted her apartment 
 except to attend the daily services performed in the convent 
 chapeL Often she solaced her grief by composing elegies and 
 plaintive songs on her misfortune. Some of these poems are 
 very beautiful and touching, and betray profound desolation of 
 spirit. Marguerite says in one poem : 
 
 " Je n'ay plus ny pere, ny mere, 
 Ny sceur, ny frere, 
 Sinon Dieu seul auquel j'espere ; 
 Qui sur le ciel et terre impere. 
 
 " J'ay mis du tout eu oubliance 
 Le monde, et parens et amis ; 
 Biens et honneurs en abondance 
 Je les tiens pour mes enneinis." 1 
 
 In another poem, composed a month after the decease of 
 Francis, the queen paints, in still more vivid and affecting lan- 
 guage, her distress and isolation. She implores the aid of death 
 to vanquish her grief, as her love for her brother augments with 
 her sorrow, which is ever on the increase ; for she says, 
 
 " Tears so many fill my eyes, 
 That they see nor earth nor skies ! " * 
 
 1 Marguerites de la Marguerite, Chansons Spirituelles, p. 502.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 329 
 
 The poem composed by Marguerite at this season of poignant 
 grief opens by a description, in simple language, of her grief, 
 which she" declares she cannot describe, " sinon qu'il est sans 
 esperance." 
 
 CHANSON FAICTE PAR LA ROYNE DE NAVARRE, UNG MOIS APRES LA 
 
 MORT DU ROY. 
 
 Sur le chant Jouissance vous donneray. 
 
 Las ; taut rualheureuse je suis, 
 Que mon malheur dire ne puis, 
 Sinon qu'il est sans esperance. 
 Desespoir est desia a 1'liuys, 
 Pour me jetter au fond du puits, 
 Ou n'a d'en saillir apparence. 
 
 Tant de larmes jettent mes yeux, 
 Qu'ils ne voyent terre ne cieux, 
 Telle est de leurs pleurs abondance ; 
 Ma bouche se plaint en tous lieux, 
 De mon coeur ne peut saillir mieux, 
 Que soupirs sans nulle allegeance. 
 
 Mort qui m'a fait ce mauvais tour, 
 
 D'abattre ma force et ma tour, > 
 
 Tout mon refuge et ma defence, 
 
 N'a SU miner mon amour, 
 
 Que je sens croistre nuit et jour, 
 
 Que ma douleur croist et avance. 
 
 niort, qui le frere as dompte, 
 Viens doncques par ta grand' bonte. 
 Transpercer la sceur de ta lance. 
 Mon deuil par toy soit surmonte. 
 Car quand j'ay bien le tout compte, 
 Combattre te veulx a outrance. 
 
 Viens doncques, ne retarde pas, 
 Mais cours la poste a bien grans pas, 
 Je t'envoye ma deffiance. 
 Puisque mon frere est en tes lacs, 
 Prends-moy afin qu'un seul soulas, 
 Donne a tous deux esjouissance. 1 
 
 Thus Marguerite poured forth the grief which wrung her 
 heart : shut up in her lonely chamber at Tusson, she abandoned 
 herself to sorrow ; and while all the late courtiers of Erancis 
 forgot their former gallant and indulgent sovereign, absorbed by 
 
 1 Marguerites de la Marguerite, Chansons Spirituelles, p. 473.
 
 330 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 their intrigues to establish themselves in the favour of King 
 Henry, she alone sincerely mourned his loss. 
 
 While Queen Marguerite sojourned at Tusson, she received a 
 letter from her nephew, King Henry, full of cordial sympathy 
 and condolence. The Duchess de Valentinois, now all-powerful 
 at court, also addressed to her an epistle, which seems to have 
 given the queen pleasure. Diane, however, with indelicate 
 haste, took the opportunity of requesting Marguerite to bestow 
 the post of commandant of La Grosse Tour de Bourges, an office 
 in the queen's gift as Duchess de Berry, on a friend of her own, 
 M. de Charliez. This appointment was one of considerable 
 value, it having a yearly salary of 1,2001. attached; never- 
 theless, Marguerite, as soon as she quitted Tusson, sent the 
 duchess the nomination she desired. 1 The queen likewise 
 received messages of profound sympathy from many of the 
 principal courtiers, and also from the Constable de Mont- 
 morency, who was now chief of the administration and invested 
 with absolute powers of command over the state. When the 
 news of the decease of his old master was conveyed to him by 
 his nephew D'Andelot, who rode post for the purpose from 
 Rambouillet, by command of King Henry, Montmorency was 
 much affected, and shed tears. He afterwards retired to offer 
 intercession for the soul of the king before setting out for St. 
 Germain, whither Henry summoned him. The king received 
 Montmorency with distinguished honour, and, forgetful of his 
 father's dying admonitions, he re-established him in all his offices. 
 Not content with this public testimony of affection, Henry 
 insisted on paying the arrears of the constable's great appoint- 
 ments, which amounted to the yearly sum of 90,000 livres ; for, 
 during the six years of his disgrace, Francis suppressed a part of 
 these pensions, as Montmorency had virtually retired from the 
 service of the state. " Sire," exclaimed the constable, " it is 
 not just that I should receive rewards, when I have as yet per- 
 formed for you no service. All I demand from your Majesty 
 is a loan equivalent to two years' service." 2 The king, never- 
 theless, persisted in performing this royal act of bounty, which 
 he was enabled to do, as such had been the frugality and econ- 
 omy observed by the late king during the latter years of his 
 
 1 MS. Bibl. Roy., F. de Beth., No. 8560. 
 
 2 Mathieu, Hist, de Henri II.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 331 
 
 reigu, that although the expenses of his magnificent court were 
 not diminished, his successor found the vast sum of 900,000 
 crowns of clear surplus in the coffers of the state, and one 
 quarter of the year's revenues as yet uncollected. 1 Restitution, 
 therefore, was made to Montmorency to the amount of 100,000 
 golden crowns. 
 
 Before the king's obsequies terminated, the Duchess d'Es- 
 tampes received an order to quit the court and retire to her 
 husband's castle of Lambale or Des Essarts. The death of the 
 Duke of Orleans deprived the unfortunate duchess of her only 
 protector ; for her political intrigues with the Emperor Charles 
 during the recent invasion prevented the Duchess de Valen- 
 tinois from favouring her retreat from court, as she was 
 disposed to do from motives of prudence ; for Diane thought 
 it best not to establish a rigorous precedent, which might be 
 acted upon hereafter in her own case. The duchess experi- 
 enced the most heartless treatment from her contemptible 
 husband, to whose revenge she had been abandoned. The 
 Duke d'Estampes instituted a suit against her at the instigation 
 of the king, to obtain a legal order to appropriate the riches 
 bestowed upon the duchess by the late king, " to indemnify him- 
 self for the wrong she had done him in appropriating for so 
 many years the revenues attached to his office of Governor of 
 Bretagne." The king was not ashamed to commit the gross act 
 of disrespect to his father's memory as to appear at the trial to 
 tender his deposition as a witness for the Duke d'Estampes. 
 The duchess was despoiled of her jewels and effects, which were 
 seized and sold by her husband ; the king also compelled her 
 to make restitution of a diamond belonging to the crown,, and 
 valued at 50,000 crowns. 2 Henry presented this jewel to 
 Madame de Valentinois. It is believed that the remonstrances 
 of Diane de Poitiers prevented the arrest of Madame d'Es- 
 tampes and her arraignment on the charge of high treason. 
 The Count de Longueval, the accomplice of her nefarious deal- 
 ings with the emperor, was committed a close prisoner to the 
 Bastile, and only recovered his liberty, at the expiration of several 
 
 1 De Thou, Hist, de Sou Temps. 
 
 2 Le Laboureur, Additions aux Memoires de Castlenau, Art. Due d'Estampes. 
 The date of the decease of the Duchess d'Estampes is uncertain ; it has only been 
 proved that she was living in 1575.
 
 332 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 years, through the intercession of the Cardinal de Lorraine, to 
 whom the count made a secret offer of his fine castle and estate 
 of Marchez, provided the cardinal procured his discharge, and a 
 royal warrant confirming him in possession of his remaining 
 estates. 1 
 
 After the interment of the king, the Cardinal de Tournon was 
 dismissed from court to his archiepiscopal see of Bourges ; the 
 Admiral d'Annebaut received conge to retire to his country 
 house ; and the secretary of state, Bayard, a servant especially 
 favoured by King Francis, and whose zeal in the service of the 
 state during that monarch's captivity in Spain had merited the 
 especial commendation of Madame, was arrested and committed 
 to the Bastile for having indulged in some sarcastic allusions 
 relative to the age of Madame de Valentinois. 
 
 The affectionate message of condolence sent by Montmoreucy 
 surprised and affected the Queen of Navarre; for although it 
 is more than probable that a species of reconciliation had been 
 effected between them through the good offices of the dauphin, 
 a surmise confirmed by this overture on the part of the con- 
 stable, Marguerite knew that her displeasure, more than any 
 other circumstance, had contributed to procure Montmorency's 
 banishment from court. This respectful remembrance shown 
 by the constable for the benefactress of his youth, when he, in 
 his turn, wielded all but supreme power in the state, is one of 
 the most commendable traits in his career. The warm friend- 
 ship which once united Marguerite to her brother's earliest 
 companion-in-arms, however, was extinct ; she could no longer 
 find pleasure in intercourse with a mind so selfish, bigoted, 
 and grasping as that of Montmorency had proved itself to be. 
 The meanness of the court which he paid to the dauphin during 
 the lifetime of Francis, and the constable's eager desire to serve 
 the cabals of Madame de Valentinois, were acts of ingratitude 
 which Marguerite never forgot, though she pardoned the injuries 
 he had attempted to inflict upon herself. 
 
 The obsequies of the king being terminated, Marguerite quitted 
 Tusson, and retired to Mont de Marsan, where the King of 
 Navarre and the Princess Jeanne held their mourning state. It 
 does not appear that in her affliction Marguerite derived much 
 consolation from the society of her husband. Probably Henry's 
 
 1 Bayle, Dictionnaire Hist., Art. Estarapes.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 333 
 
 regrets for his imperious brother-in-law were not intense. The 
 king had thwarted his ambition ; he had opposed the affection 
 which Henry felt for his consort, and his expectations for the 
 establishment of his daughter and heiress, while the dependence 
 in which Francis held the king, were causes of hostility ever 
 animating the King of Navarre, though prudence forbade their 
 manifestation. Henry, moreover, had long ceased to hope that 
 restitution of his kingdom of Navarre would be made to him by 
 the arms or from the diplomacy of King Francis : a new reign 
 had dawned, and a young king, surrounded by valiant nobles, 
 desirous to distinguish themselves in arms, might achieve vic- 
 tories over the imperialists, brilliant as the fight of Marignano, 
 which had inaugurated the reign of Francis. The same sym- 
 pathies, besides, which bound Marguerite to her brother never 
 existed between the King of Navarre and herself. Henry was 
 of a harder and of a more matter-of-fact disposition ; it was 
 seldom he viewed the world and its busy occupations and pleas- 
 ures in a poetical light, nor did he sympathize with that pas- 
 sionate love of the ideal so strongly characteristic both of Francis 
 and Marguerite. 
 
 Soon after Marguerite arrived at Mont de Marsan, she replied 
 to the condolences sent her by the Constable de Montmorency, 
 in the following terms : 
 
 QUEEN MABGUERITE TO THE CONSTABLE ANNE DE MoNTMORENCY. 1 
 
 MON NEPVEU, You will not find it strange if I hasten to thank 
 you, as you have indeed given me occasion ; for I perceive by the 
 discourse of the messenger whom you have sent, that time has not so 
 greatly triumphed over your memory as to efface the remembrance of 
 the love which since your childhood I have borne you. I pray you 
 continue to me this affection, and so become the support of my old 
 age, even as my hand guided your youth. You possess many friends ; 
 but, remember, only one person has cared for you like a mother, one, 
 who will always retain that name and character in all things she can 
 perform or desire for you and yours. 
 
 My answer to the remainder of the message which you sent to me, 
 I have communicated to this trusty envoy, in order not to weary you 
 by a longer letter. 
 
 Vostre bonne tante, mere, et vraye amie, 
 
 MAKGUERITE. 
 
 1 MS. Bibl. Roy., F. de Beth., No. 8507
 
 334 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 The message which the constable sent to the queen probably 
 had reference to the confirmation of the pension of 25,000 
 livres Tournois, which she received from the crown as a princess 
 of the blood royal ; for pecuniary anxieties compelled Margue- 
 rite to cease for a time from the indulgence of her sorrow, and 
 to make application to her royal nephew that this income might 
 be secured anew to her. Marguerite was far from possessing 
 great wealth, notwithstanding the affection borne towards her 
 by her brother ; for she who asked so liberally for others forgot 
 her own wants. Her revenues, nevertheless, were sufficient for 
 the honourable maintenance of her rank. Most biographers who 
 have touched upon this period of the queen's life represent her, 
 however, as suffering from great poverty after the decease of 
 King Francis, who, it is stated, without assigning his sister a 
 fixed income from his privy purse, shared all he possessed with 
 her. In addition to this allowance of 25,000 livres from the 
 state, which King Henry at once confirmed to his aunt, Mar- 
 guerite possessed the revenues of the duchies of AlenQon and 
 Berry for life ; the income from this latter duchy being secured 
 to her, independent of control from the King of Navarre, by her 
 marriage contract. The queen, moreover, annually received 
 10,000 livres Tournois from the heirs of her first husband, the 
 Duke d'Alen^on, as a jointure ; this income was secured to her 
 on the towns of Verneuil, Se*ez et Bernay, the viscounty of 
 Beaumont, and the baronies of Sonnoys, La Guierche, and of 
 Puies. The King of Navarre, in addition to the revenues he 
 received from his hereditary principalities, and the counties of 
 Armagnac and Perche, ceded to him on his marriage with the 
 king's sister, enjoyed a pension of 24,000 livres Tournois, 1 con- 
 ferred by the bounty of Francis. His salary as governor of 
 Guyenne secured him a further revenue of 10,000 livres. The 
 united income of Marguerite and her husband, therefore, with- 
 out including the revenues they derived from their domains of 
 Be*arn, Foix, and Gascony, and the two duchies conferred as ap- 
 panages upon the queen by her brother, amounted to 69,000 
 livres. In those days this sum alone would have formed no 
 inconsiderable revenue ; for the Emperor Charles, it must be 
 remembered, asked only for 100,000 livres as a suitable provision 
 for the Duke of Orleans on his proposed marriage with the 
 
 i Or 2,000 sterling.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 335 
 
 Infaiita Maria, with a jointure for the bride of 40,000 livres, 
 though the princess was to bring her husband a principality as a 
 dowry. 
 
 The anxiety displayed by Marguerite to obtain the confirma- 
 tion pf the pension granted to her on the civil list doubtless 
 arose from the heavy expense incurred in maintaining a separate 
 establishment at the court of France for the Princess Jane of 
 Navarre. King Francis aided his sister to defray the costs of 
 Jane's household, which were very considerable, as the young 
 princess was given to profuse expenditure. Instead of residing 
 at the court of her royal mother at Pau, or Nerac, Jane's home, 
 by the despotic decree of Francis, had been at Plessis-les-Tours, 
 or other of the royal palaces of France. She there maintained 
 great state ; amongst other officers the princess had a steward of 
 her household, chaplains, physicians, besides several ladies of 
 honour, in constant attendance. Now that Marguerite no longer 
 received private aid from the crown to support this additional 
 establishment, she naturally felt anxious that the pension granted 
 by the late king should be confirmed; as, without it, her means 
 were not affluent enough to defray the expenses of her own royal 
 state, and her daughter's household, and still to continue the vast 
 charitable donations she was in the habit of making. 
 
 Amongst the papers of Francis a schedule was discovered 
 of various private debts which he owed. On this list was a 
 sum of 4,885 livres Tournois, being the value of a quantity 
 of silver plate, which the king borrowed from the Duke and 
 Duchess d'Alencon, in the year 1522, at a period of financial 
 difficulty, to be converted into coin. This debt King Henry, on 
 his accession, honourably proposed to liquidate. The Queen of 
 Navarre, however, declined to receive the money ; but desired that 
 it might be given to the sisters and coheiresses of the Duke 
 d'Alengon. 1 If Marguerite's pecuniary circumstances had been 
 so limited at this period as to render it difficult for her to array 
 herself in apparel becoming the splendour of her rank, as it has 
 been erroneously asserted, she certainly would not have refused 
 this sum, a large one in those days, for all the personal effects 
 of the Duke d'Alencon were adjudged to his widow ; and, more- 
 over, it is probable that the plate lent to King Francis was her 
 own private property. 
 
 1 Th Duchess Dowager de Vendome, and the Marchioness de Montferrat.
 
 336 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 These financial details proved repugnant beyond measure to 
 Marguerite's preoccupied and saddened mind. She who wished 
 to have no further dealings with the world, but desired to pass 
 the remainder of her life in the performance of acts of devotion, 
 was aroused from her grief to attend to details of all others the 
 most vexatious and unsatisfactory. Marguerite shrank even from 
 intercourse of the most cheering description with her friends ; 
 her recreation consisted in the diligent study of theology ; and 
 she seems to have resumed her investigation on the grand question 
 of reform. Calvin's great work, "The Institutes of the Christian 
 Keligion," was now published ; a book that the zealot F. de Ee- 
 mond calls the Alcoran, or the Talmud of Heresy ; and perhaps 
 the arguments of the rigid reformer may have afforded the queen, 
 at this period, much matter for reflection. This surmise seems 
 the more probable, as Marguerite soon after opened a correspond- 
 ence with Calvin ; and it is asserted that she wrote to him the 
 most pressing entreaties to visit her in Beam, that he might 
 point out wherein lay her past errors, and lead her back to the 
 truth. 1 Calvin dedicated his book to Francis I., who had accepted 
 the homage with his usual inconsistency, greatly to the indigna- 
 tion of the Faculties of Paris. The stern theologian of Geneva 
 bore Marguerite affectionate and grateful remembrance for the 
 protection she had accorded him during his stormy sojourn in 
 France. In his epistles, Calvin mentions the Queen of Navarre 
 in most eulogistic terms, as one highly exalted by God, and raised 
 to promote the advancement of the true faith. 2 Nevertheless, 
 the intolerant tendencies of the new government, headed by 
 Montmorency and the Guises, became so clearly developed in 
 the earlier months of King Henry's reign, that Calvin thought it 
 more prudent to abstain from visiting France. 
 
 A few weeks after Marguerite's return home, the King of 
 Navarre quitted Mont de Marsan for St. Gerrnain-en-Laye, to 
 be present at the coronation of King Henry ; which event took 
 place in the cathedral of Eheims, July 25th, 1547. The king 
 sent Marguerite a most pressing invitation to attend this august 
 ceremony ; but the queen declined, excusing herself on the plea 
 of her failing health. The trial of that scene would have proved 
 
 1 De Remond, Hist, de 1'Heresie. 
 
 2 " Quod Deus ill& usus fuerit ad regnura suum promovendum." Calvini Ep. 
 1545.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 337 
 
 more than Marguerite's fortitude could sustain; imagination 
 must have reverted to the brilliant assemblage collected within 
 the venerable cathedral thirty-three years previously, when her 
 brother, the gallant King Francis L, received the enthusiastic 
 homage of his subjects in the presence of Madame, of Guillaume 
 Bri^onnet, and of many other beloved friends of her youth, over 
 whom the grave had now closed. 
 
 During the summer, therefore, of 1547, Marguerite was left 
 alone at Mont de Marsan to her meditations and prayers, while 
 France hailed with enthusiastic transport and splendid rejoicings 
 the accession of the new monarch. But the queen's thoughts 
 and joys, when directed earthwards, centred amid the gloomy 
 sepulchres of St. Denis, where those she had best loved on 
 earth reposed. Eabelais, in apostrophizing Marguerite's abstrac- 
 tion of spirit, exclaims : 
 
 " Esprit abstrait, ravy et estatic, 
 Qui frequentant les cieux, ton origine, 
 As delaisse ton hoste et domestic. 
 Voudrois-tu point faire quelque sortie, 
 De ton manoir divin perpetuel ? " 
 
 After the coronation was over, Marguerite wrote again to her 
 nephew, fearing that her refusal to be present at that ceremony 
 might have grieved him, as the king had shown great solicitude 
 to please her. She says in this letter, of which only a fragment 
 remains : " Therefore, monseigneur, as the messenger I send will 
 tell you everything concerning me, and my hope that God will 
 speedily restore to me my health, which has totally failed during 
 the past four months, I will only add that I will not omit then 
 to pay you a visit, as I need not weary you longer with my bad 
 writing, except to supplicate Him who has just bestowed His 
 sacred unction upon you, to give you all the prosperity and 
 blessing which he has conferred on your predecessors, with a 
 long and happy life." 1 
 
 Marguerite, however, did not visit the court until the autumn 
 of the following year, 1548, when she journeyed thither to be 
 present at the solemnization of the nuptials of her daughter with 
 Antoine, Duke de VendOme. The queen seems to have spent the 
 intervening months in the profoundest seclusion, probably at 
 
 1 MS. Bibl. Roy., F. Dupuy, No. 569. 
 VOL. n. 22
 
 338 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 Mont de Marsan ; as she found the mild air of this place benefi- 
 cial to her health. The King of Navarre returned home after 
 the coronation ; and perhaps it was on account of Marguerite's 
 precarious health that he did not accompany the king on his 
 progress through part of the kingdom, which occurred during the 
 latter end of the year 1547, immediately after the accouchement 
 of Queen Catherine, who gave birth at Fontainebleau to her third 
 child, the Princess Claude. The only affair in which Marguerite 
 concerned herself during this period was to write a pressing letter 
 to the Count de Villars, who had replaced her friend and favourite, 
 Monsieur de Burie, as Lieutenant-Governor of Guyenne, praying 
 him to protect the vassals of her barony of Marelieres from the 
 extortions of the Sieur de Boisserolles, who, without the queen's 
 sanction, had usurped authority over her bailiwick of Vallerangue. 
 
 Early in the year 1548, King Henry had commenced negotia- 
 tions with the King of Navarre for the marriage of the Princess 
 Jane with Antoine, Duke de Vendome, who had long made 
 ardent suit for the hand of the princess. This affair, therefore, 
 compelled Marguerite to accompany her husband to the court of 
 France, where the royal pair arrived about the end of July. It 
 has been stated that this projected union was exceedingly dis- 
 pleasing to Marguerite. The reasons for this supposed aversion 
 on the queen's part, if it ever existed, have never been satisfac- 
 torily explained. The Duke de Vendome was the son of the 
 queen's sister-in-law and greatest friend, Francoise d'Alencon. 
 He was wealthy and chivalrous, and held the first rank in France 
 after the king's children. The duke, moreover, was suspected of 
 favouring reform ; and it was believed that he had secretly ac- 
 cepted the doctrine of Calvin. Some authors have asserted that 
 a suspicion of the deviation of her future son-in-law from the 
 faith of his ancestors was the cause of Marguerite's objection to 
 the alliance ; but the whole tenor of the queen's conduct and 
 opinions are sufficient to disprove this statement. Marguerite's 
 objections, if such indeed existed, might have been more reasona- 
 bly founded on her distrust of the duke's character ; whose many 
 amiable qualities were marred by a timid irresolution and changea- 
 bleness of purpose, which in after life proved the bane of his 
 consort's happiness, and of his own honour and prosperity. 
 
 Before the celebration of her daughter's nuptials, the Queen of 
 Navarre accompanied Queen Catherine to Lyons, and rode in the
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 339 
 
 procession on the sumptuous entry of Henry and his consort into 
 that city. It was Marguerite's last farewell to the pomps and 
 grandeur of the world, in which no princess had participated to 
 a greater extent than herself ; and from thenceforth she appeared 
 no more in state ceremonies. The litter of the Queen of Navarre 
 followed after that in which Queen Catherine and the Princess 
 Marguerite rode. It was draped with black velvet; and the 
 queen was accompanied by her daughter, the Princess Jane. 
 The Duke de VendSrne rode on horseback by the side of the 
 litter ; and it was observed that he constantly held earnest dis- 
 course with Queen Marguerite. 1 The festivities given by the 
 town of Lyons in honour of King Henry's visit continued for the 
 space of a week ; but Marguerite's delicate health and depression 
 of spirits prevented her from being present at these fe~tes. 
 
 On the first day of October the court quitted Lyons, and 
 removed to Moulins ; at which place the marriage of the Princess 
 Jane was solemnized. The ceremonial, though magnificent, was 
 far from exhibiting the refinement which characterized the fgtes 
 given by Francis on the occasion of his niece's betrothal to the 
 Duke of Cleves at Ch&tellerault. The Duke de VendCme, with 
 his accustomed vacillation, displayed on his marriage day some 
 uneasiness respecting the validity of this former contract ; doubts 
 which were dissipated by the assurances of the Se'ne'chale de 
 Poitou, and Madame de Silly, gouvernante of the young princess, 
 that the former marriage had been a mere ceremony, persisted in 
 despite the protests made by Jane. 2 The duke assigned the 
 princess a jointure of 12,000 livres Tournois, secured upon lands 
 in Anjou, Picardy, and Flanders. 3 The marriage ceremony be- 
 tween the Duke de Vendome and the Princess Jane of Navarre 
 was performed on the 18th of October, 1548, in the chapel of 
 the castle of Moulins, in the presence of the king and Queen 
 Catherine, the King and Queen of Navarre, and the court. 
 
 After the departure of her daughter, Marguerite returned to 
 Fontainebleau, and remained with the queen some few weeks 
 longer. But all was changed now in that beautiful palace, the 
 abode in which Francis took supreme delight ; and where, more 
 than at any other spot, memorials of his taste, luxury, and re- 
 finement were lavished. The splendour of the buildings which 
 
 1 Godefroy, Cerem. de France. 2 Brantfime. 
 
 8 Favyn, Hist, de Navarre.
 
 340 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 the king had there constructed, adorned with his motto, initials, 
 and badge, in exquisite fretwork ; the gardens which he planned 
 and embellished with flowers and shrubs, collected at vast cost 
 from every known clime ; and the library, that memento of his 
 learning and love of literature, reminded Marguerite of the hap- 
 piest hours of her existence, when all had been shared by her 
 with the brother she mourned. Few of the late king's friends 
 remained at court to greet Marguerite ; for very dexterous must 
 that genius have been, able alike to conciliate King Francis, 
 Madame d'Estampes, and the respective factions of Henry II., 
 Madame de Valentinois, and the Constable de Montmorency, 
 these two latter personages reigning now with omnipotent sway. 
 Queen Eleanor had taken her leave forever of France, where 
 she declared that the most miserable portion of her existence 
 had been spent, and had retired to Brussels on the termination of 
 the funeral obsequies of King Francis. 1 Marguerite also, though 
 treated with the greatest kindness and respect by her nephew, 
 felt that her reign was over ; the crescent of Diane de Poitiers 
 effaced the marguerite, predominant everywhere during the late 
 reign. Queen Catherine herself, despite her masterly address, 
 was alike subject to its influence. The colours of la Grande 
 Se'ne'chale, as Diane was now called, were publicly worn by the 
 king, and even floated beside the royal banner of France over 
 the pavilion royal, wherever Henry sojourned. The king, more- 
 over, in order to display his complete devotion to Diane de 
 Poitiers, assumed her device of a rising moon or crescent, with 
 the motto, " Donee totum impleat orbem." 
 
 Marguerite, therefore, soon took her last farewell of a palace 
 associated with so many depressing reminiscences. The queen 
 commenced her journey back into Bdarn about the middle of 
 November, and spent the Christmas at Pau. In February of 
 the following year, Queen Catherine gave birth to her second 
 son at St. Germain-en-Laye. The king despatched M. de Bon- 
 nivet to carry the joyous news to the King and Queen of Navarre, 
 who were then sojourning, for the benefit of Marguerite's health, 
 at Mont de Marsan. 
 
 1 Eleanor all along manifested a very keen sense of her wrongs. Speaking to 
 the Count Palatine Frederic, her old admirer, in 1538, on her position in France, 
 she said : " Mais pour cette cour de France Dieu sait comme je suis traitee, et la 
 maniere dont le roi en use avec moi ! " Queen Eleanor died February 11, 1558, at 
 Talavera.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 341 
 
 " Monseigueur," wrote the queen in reply to this notification, 
 " after our arrival at this place of Mont de Marsan, where we 
 received the news of the nativity of Monseigneur le Dauphin, we 
 have also just heard of the happiness which God has conferred 
 upon you by the birth of M. d'Orleans. We cannot, monseigneur, 
 sufficiently thank this gracious God, who bestows upon you 
 such bountiful mercies, and by the birth of your four beautiful 
 children 1 makes us amends for the loss which the late king 
 experienced of almost all his. Monseigneur, the soul of the 
 said king doubtless rejoices in heaven at the mercy bestowed 
 upon you, as all your good and loyal servants do here below, 
 amongst whom, on this happy event, I feel the joy that ought 
 to inspire her who is now the oldest branch of our glorious race. 
 I do not doubt, monseigneur, that you return hearty thanks to 
 God when you remember the great blessings which He has 
 bestowed upon you, in making you monarch of the grandest and 
 most noble kingdom in Christendom, in giving you a consort 
 who brings you more beautiful offspring than can be seen any- 
 where, and in rendering you, while in youth and health, beloved 
 and honoured by every one." 2 
 
 During the whole of the summer of the year 1549 Marguerite's 
 health declined ; but so gently that her failing strength, rather 
 than physical suffering, warned those around that her malady 
 was making progress. The King of Navarre was her constant 
 companion ; and for several months during the spring, Margue- 
 rite and her husband travelled from place to place, as the air 
 seemed to benefit the queen, and to relieve her habitual depres- 
 sion. Amongst other journeys, Marguerite took one to Tusson, 
 and spent several weeks at the convent there, where she had 
 commanded apartments to be constructed for her use. Here 
 the queen devoted herself to religious exercises, and suffered no 
 worldly interests to distract her thoughts ; in the silence of the 
 cloister, Marguerite meditated on the change that awaited her, 
 and which, from the period of her brother's decease, she had 
 predicted would soon arrive. She joined the nuns, it is recorded, 
 in all their devotions ; for Marguerite's enlightened mind, fer- 
 
 1 The Dauphin Francis, the Princesses Elizabeth and Claude, and the Duke 
 of Orleans, upon whose birth Marguerite congratulates her nephew. The little 
 prince, however, survived his birth only a few weeks. 
 
 2 MS. Bibl. Roy., F., No. 8651.
 
 342 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 vently as she repudiated many of the errors of the Romish faith, 
 yet bowed itself iu adoration before the Almighty, and wor- 
 shipped Him in spirit and in truth, without offence to her con- 
 science, amid those to whom her own better knowledge was yet 
 hidden. Sometimes the queen assumed the office of abbess, and 
 conducted the devotions of the nuns. " Often," says Brantome, 
 " she was seen to perform the functions of abbess, and lead the 
 choir of nuns at matins and vespers." 1 
 
 Marguerite's thoughts were now often fixed upon death, which 
 she regarded at times with great apprehension. The condition 
 of departed spirits during their separation from the body was a 
 theme upon which she frequently rnused ; sometimes her ideas on 
 the subject were gloomy and unsatisfactory, and served to increase 
 the depression of her mind. One day some person was discoursing 
 with the queen on the unspeakable joys of Paradise, and of the 
 future glorious destiny of the children of God. " All this is true," 
 replied Marguerite with a sigh ; " but alas ! before that glorious 
 consummation the body slumbers long beneath in the earth." 
 
 Marguerite always displayed great eagerness to investigate the 
 theory of spiritual existence, and the nature of angelic beings. 
 She was morbidly sensitive in her belief in the communion of 
 departed spirits with their friends on earth. This feeling had 
 the effect of elevating her faith and inspiring comfort, rather 
 than of exciting superstitious fear. The mysticism which she 
 derived from the Bishop of Meaux clung to Marguerite to the 
 last hour of her existence. Her desire to investigate the nature 
 of the soul led the queen one day to remain beside the dying 
 bed of one of her maids of honour, to whom she was much 
 attached. The sufferer probably was Florette de Sarra, one of 
 Marguerite's most favoured attendants, and who died in 1542, 
 to the inexpressible grief of her royal mistress. The queen sat 
 by the couch weeping, but yet watching every movement of the 
 dying girl with intense eagerness. Even after death had ensued, 
 Marguerite continued to gaze upon the pallid features of the 
 corpse with earnest steadfastness. At length one of her ladies 
 ventured to ask the queen the reason of her singular proceeding. 
 Marguerite replied that " having often heard the most learned 
 doctors and ecclesiastics assert that on the demise of the body 
 the immortal spirit was set at liberty and unloosed, she could 
 
 1 Brant&me, Dames Illustres, Vie de Marguerite de Valois.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 343 
 
 not repress her anxious desire to observe if any symptom or 
 indication of such a separation were visible ; also, if the spirit 
 took a visible form or uttered any sounds on its departure ; but 
 that nothing of the kind had she been able to discover." l 
 Throughout Marguerite's poetical works repeated indications 
 are to be found of the hold this subject had acquired over her 
 mind, and of her strange musings respecting it. 
 
 After the queen returned from Tusson the Princess Jane of 
 Navarre and her husband, the Duke de VendSme, visited Beam, 
 to receive the homage of the States of the principality as King 
 Henry's successors. The young duchess was received with 
 transports of joy by her father's subjects. " Oh, then what joy 
 was that felt by the people of Beam and Foix, who believed 
 that hitherto their princess, whom they dearly loved, was held 
 a prisoner in France ! " exclaims the historian of Navarre and 
 Beam, 2 with loyal enthusiasm. " She was received with incred- 
 ible pomp: the people flocked together to salute her, and to 
 render her homage as their future rightful mistress, and one 
 whom they expected to prove nothing less than a second 
 Marguerite, like her who had been the precious flower grow- 
 ing in the parterre of that royal house of Navarre, and the 
 odour of whose perfume attracted into Beam the choicest minds 
 of Europe, like as a fragrant bed of thyme draws myriads of 
 bees to suck its sweetness. With all these learned men our 
 Marguerite, who surpassed them all in wisdom, conferred, 
 discussing philosophy, theology, and history, a science she 
 devoutly loved." 
 
 About the autumn of the year, Queen Marguerite removed to 
 the castle of Odos, in the county of Bigorre. Her malady 
 steadily augmented, and painful prostration of strength suc- 
 ceeded the most trifling exertion, although the queen was not 
 confined to her bed. The castle of Odos was situated a league 
 from the city of Tarbes, and at about a distance of two leagues 
 and a half from Bagneres. It was thought that probably the 
 mineral waters at this latter place might prove serviceable 
 to Marguerite's complaint, as they were deemed efficacious in 
 pulmonary affections. 
 
 During the first few weeks of her sojourn at Odos, intelligence 
 
 1 BrantSme, Dames Illustres, Vie de Marguerite de Valois. 
 
 2 Olhagaray.
 
 344 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 reached Marguerite of the death of Marie d'Albret, Duchesse de 
 Nevers, the lady who had borne so conspicuous a part in the 
 ceremonial of Queen Eleanor's entry into France, and her coro- 
 nation. The son of this lady, who was renowned for her virtues 
 and piety, espoused in 1538, in the chapel of the Louvre, Mar- 
 guerite de Vendome, sister of the Duke de Vendome. The 
 young Duchesse de Nevers was a great favourite with Margue- 
 rite, as she had also been with the late king, who admired her 
 sprightly wit. The duchess lived on most affectionate terms 
 with her mother-in-law, and, as Marguerite was informed of her 
 deep affliction at the death of Madame de Nevers, she wrote 
 to offer condolence and comfort. This letter possesses additional 
 value and interest as being one of the last, if not the very last, 
 epistle written by the Queen of Navarre. The hand that guided 
 that eloquent pen was soon to rest in the grave ; and the memory 
 of her gracious gentleness alone remain to be treasured by those 
 whom she had honoured with her friendship. 
 
 QUEEN MARGUERITE TO THE DUCHESSE DE NEVERS.* 
 
 MA NIECE, The King of Navarre and myself, being informed of 
 the decease of our cousin, Madame de Nevers, your mother, resolved 
 to despatch this letter ; not, however, in the hope of its being able to 
 afford consolation to M. de Nevers and yourself, for my own experi- 
 ence of the grief felt at the loss of a good mother has shown me that 
 no other than the Almighty Consoler of affliction can mitigate your 
 sorrow ; but we write to entreat you, daughter and sweetheart mine, by 
 the tender affection which unites you to your husband, to exert your 
 fortitude that you may aid him to support this affliction, in which 
 we share, being so nearly related to the deceased, and having borne 
 her such warm friendship, whicb she indeed deserved ; for she was a 
 lady whose many virtues had been sorely tried by tribulation, the 
 glory of which shall redound to her immortal honour. Moreover, in 
 addition to the eternal happiness of which I believe she is now a 
 partaker, she is fortunate in leaving behind her such, a representative 
 as my nephew, her son ; she can, therefore, scarce be considered as 
 departed ; but she still remains with you and your beautiful children, 
 in whom I already perceive the dawn of the many virtues which 
 distinguished their grandmother. Therefore I comfort myself in Him 
 who has bestowed upon you such abundant graces, even as if you 
 were my own children ; for I bear you no less affection. I pray you 
 
 1 MS. Bibl. Roy., F. de Beth., No. 8516.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 345 
 
 both, then, to take care of your health, to console yourselves in God, 
 and to hold and believe me always, 
 
 Votre bonne tante, mere, et vraye amie, 
 
 MARGUERITE. 
 
 The change to the milder air of Tarbes, meanwhile, produced 
 no beneficial alteration in the queen's health. Her strength con- 
 tinued to waste away ; and as she grew weaker, a drowsiness 
 which her physicians in vain tried to combat oppressed her. 
 During her feverish slumbers, Marguerite's imagination still pur- 
 sued the theme which so deeply occupied her waking thoughts, 
 the nature and occupations of disembodied spirits. One day she 
 dreamed that a beautiful and majestic woman, clad in vestments 
 of dazzling whiteness, appeared by her couch, and, holding 
 towards her a garland of many-coloured flowers, assured her in 
 melodious accents that, ere many days elapsed, God himself 
 would place a crown of immortality on her brow. 1 This vision 
 made the most profound impression on the queen's mind, and 
 she regarded it as a warning of her immediate departure. The 
 dread of death now vanished, which before had weighed at times 
 with depressing influence on Marguerite's mind; so that in 
 moments of weakness she had almost refused to believe in her 
 peril, saying that " she was not yet so aged but what she thought 
 her life might yet be spared to her for a few years longer." 2 
 
 On rising from her mysterious slumber, the queen prepared 
 for death. She relinquished the administration of her private 
 revenues to the King of Navarre ; she refused to sign any 
 ordonnance, or to grant audiences ; and she dictated her last 
 wishes with respect to her domestics. The queen also employed 
 herself in writing letters of farewell to her friends. Her last 
 adieu to poetry, that beautiful art which had embellished her 
 existence, and that she so fervently loved, was this touching 
 verse, written only a few days before the fatal attack which 
 terminated her career : 
 
 " Je cherche aultant la croix et la desire 
 Corame aultrefoys je 1'ay voulu fouyr ; 
 Je cherche aultant par tourment en jouyr 
 Comme aultrefoys j'ay craint son dur martyre, 
 Car ceste croix mon ame a Dieu attire ; 
 Dont tous les hiens qu'au monde puis avoir 
 Quieter je veulx, la croix me doibt souffire ! " 3 
 
 1 Sainte Marthe, Oraison Funebre de 1' Incomparable Marguerite. 
 
 2 BrantSme, Dames Illustres. 3 MS. Bibl. Roy., Suppl. Fran., No. 2286.
 
 346 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 These lines conclude the last poetical work composed by 
 Marguerite, "Le Miroir de Jesus Christ Crucifie." They are 
 not a part of the poem which Marguerite survived not long 
 enough to revise, but are merely appended to the manuscript, as 
 if the dying queen with her own hand sought in these few lines 
 briefly to embody the experiences of her life, the last longings of 
 her spirit, and the burden of her numerous sacred compositions. 
 The poem, which probably was commenced after the decease of 
 King Francis, opens, with a humble acknowledgment of her 
 dependence on the merits of Jesus alone, in the following 
 
 words : 
 
 " Seigneur Jesus ! que je dois advouer 
 Pour mon example, et tres cher myrouir, 
 En toy me puys mirer, cognoistre, et veoir, 
 Car de me voir hors de toy n'ay pouvoir." 
 
 The queen presented this manuscript a few days before her 
 decease to an ecclesiastic, Olivier, a doctor of theology, and 
 probably one of the priests who assisted Marguerite in her last 
 moments, as the queen never made formal profession of the 
 reformed faith. This precious relic was carefully treasured by 
 Olivier, and published by him in 1556, with a dedication to 
 Marguerite de France, the well-beloved niece and god-daughter of 
 the Queen of Navarre. He tells the princess in the preface how 
 her august aunt had scarcely written the concluding lines of the 
 poem " when her last hour overtook her, and the Holy Spirit 
 commanded her to cease from her labours." Olivier continues 
 to explain that the work, therefore, probably was deficient in the 
 polish and accuracy of Marguerite's other compositions, and that 
 the poem might have been even lost to posterity from accidental 
 causes by the suddenness of the queen's removal. " But the 
 Lord God, madame, who has ordained that pious and sacred 
 books shall be written for our edification, and to enhance His 
 own glory, decreed that this holy poem should be committed to 
 my care by the royal hands of this said princess a few days 
 before her decease ; the which I have since preserved with as 
 much caution and solicitude as heretofore that potent prince, 
 Alexander the Macedonian, treasured the Iliad of Homer." 1 
 
 1 Dedicace a Marguerite de France, Poeme du Miroir de Jesus Christ, par 
 Madame Marguerite de- France, Royne de Navarre, public par F. Pierre Olivier, 
 docteur theologien. Paris, 1556.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 347 
 
 On the evening of the 1st of December, 1549, Marguerite, 
 attended by the few personages who were now admitted to her 
 presence, amongst whom was her chief physician, D'Escuranis, 
 ventured out upon an open balcony to look at a comet which had 
 recently appeared, and that popular superstition regarded as a 
 prognostic of the death of Pope Paul III. She remained for 
 some little time silently contemplating the heavens, but made 
 no remark; when M. d'Escuranis, who stood beside her, sud- 
 denly perceived that the queen's mouth was drawn awry. 1 Mar- 
 guerite, however, complained of no pain ; but, complying with 
 the entreaties of her physician, she re-entered her apartment 
 and retired to bed. 
 
 Marguerite continued very ill, and unable to rise from her bed 
 for the following few days. At length her disorder settled into 
 a severe attack of pleurisy. 2 Her sufferings were soon intense 
 but she endured her pain with fortitude and resignation. The 
 queen received the outward consolations of religion from 
 the hands of ministers of the Romish Church. It is even 
 asserted, by historians of this faith, that Marguerite, previous to 
 her decease, made a declaration to the effect that she had never 
 in reality swerved from her allegiance to Rome ; but what she 
 had done for the Reformation was rather out of compassion for 
 its persecuted ministers than from disaffection to the ancient 
 faith. 3 The sole authority upon which this statement rests is 
 that of an obscure Franciscan monk, named Gilles Caillau, 
 quoted by Florimond de Remond, who states that he adminis- 
 tered the sacrament of extreme unction to the queen ; and 
 whose testimony has been eagerly adopted and reproduced by 
 Romish historians anxious to redeem Marguerite's fair fame 
 from the stain of heresy. But if Marguerite, on her death-bed, 
 wished to abjure the principles which she had striven through- 
 out life to maintain, both by her writings and by her example, 
 why was not her" recantation received and recorded by some 
 prelate or other personage whose reputation would have placed 
 his testimony above dispute, instead of by a monk so obscure 
 that his name is never mentioned in history, except as the 
 witness of this alleged fact ? Was the solemn reconciliation 
 
 1 Brantome, Dames Illustres. 
 
 2 Favyn, Hist, de Navarre. 
 
 3 De Remond, Hist, de 1'Heresie.
 
 348 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 of the Queen of Navarre to the Church, whose doctrine she had 
 openly condemned, a matter of such insignificant import, and so 
 devoid of triumph, that a friar only was present during her last 
 moments to grant her absolution for the deadly sin of heresy, 
 when Marguerite's illness lasted twenty days from the period at 
 which she took to her bed by the advice of her physician 
 D'Escuranis ? Is it the custom, moreover, of the Roman Catholic 
 hierarchy to suffer a great princess, an obedient daughter of 
 the Church, and the consort of the sovereign under whose civil 
 dominion it exists, to expire without episcopal benediction when 
 there was no cause to withhold it ? 
 
 Marguerite's old friend, the Cardinal d'Armagnac, Bishop of 
 Rhodez, who had grieved so much at what he deemed the per- 
 version of his royal mistress, would doubtless have joyfully 
 received her acknowledgment of perfect communion with the 
 Church to which he belonged, and have ministered spiritual 
 comfort during the queen's prolonged agonies. The castle of 
 Odos, besides, was situated only a league from Tarbes, the resi- 
 dence of a bishop who presided over one of the most important 
 sees of southern France. It is to be believed, also, that Mar- 
 guerite herself, aware from the first of the fatal nature of her 
 sudden attack, had she so solemn an act to perform as recon- 
 ciliation with the Church during her last moments, a deed 
 upon which she then must have thought her salvation depended, 
 would have expressed some anxiety for the accustomed cere- 
 monial deemed indispensable under such circumstances ; nor 
 would the King of Navarre have omitted to summon to Odos, 
 during the twenty days of his consort's illness, those prelates 
 whose dignity entitled them to assist in her last hours a royal 
 penitent and the wife of their sovereign. Had the Queen of 
 Navarre abjured in very deed the opinions which stirred up the 
 zeal of the theologians of Paris, and incurred for her the enmity 
 of the Roman priesthood, the Church would have belied its usual 
 practice by concealing the triumphant conversion of so illustrious 
 a personage, one eminent also for her learning, by allowing 
 Marguerite to be shrived in secret by a Franciscan friar, while 
 the prelates and clergy of Be"arn and Foix remained aloof. 
 
 During the three last days of her illness days of excessive 
 physical anguish Marguerite lost the power of speech. 1 A 
 
 1 Ste. Marthe, Epitaphe de la Reine de Navarre.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 349 
 
 few moments before she expired, utterance returned again. With 
 a convulsive movement, the queen grasped a cross which lay be- 
 side her on the bed, and pressed it to her lips ; then faintly 
 uttering three times the holy name of Jesus, she calmly breathed 
 her last. 1 " Alas ! " exclaims the historian of Navarre, 2 " who 
 can describe the mourning made throughout Be*arn and Foix ! 
 It seemed as if the sun had withdrawn its rays, so that the day 
 became as gloomy night ; that the Muses had fled from earth, 
 and that all the learned, wearied of existence, fell, annihilated 
 beneath the same dread blow ! " 
 
 The King of Navarre retired to Pau after the decease of his 
 consort. His grief for her loss was vehement, and he refused to 
 take comfort. Until Marguerite rested in her grave, the King 
 of Navarre scarcely knew how much he depended on her pure 
 and upright counsels and vigorous intellect. In losing her, 
 Henry felt that the light of his reign was extinct ; and his de- 
 jection was such that afterwards he was never able to apply to 
 business, but continued to wander from place to place, devoid 
 alike of interest or design. " What can we say of the grief of 
 our king, deprived of his Marguerite ? " says a contemporary 
 historian. 3 " He no longer practised that settled method of life 
 which was his custom ; his actions became uncertain ; he showed 
 himself discontented with all ; and like those who are accus- 
 tomed to a maritime life, though they desire to quit the sea, yet 
 wander unconsciously from vessel to vessel, and always find the 
 waves beneath them, so this poor prince fled from sorrow ; but 
 the farther he went, the greater evil it inflicted, waging within 
 him a perpetual warfare." 
 
 Soon after the decease of Queen Marguerite, the States of 
 Be*arn, and a deputation from the nobles of Henry's principali- 
 ties, waited upon their bereaved sovereign to present an address 
 of condolence. The emotion displayed by Henry was great. 
 His reply is given, at length, by the historian Olhagaray ; but 
 the king makes no mention in this address of the " edifying devo- 
 tion " displayed by his consort for the Roman Church during 
 the last hours of her existence : on the contrary, Henry used 
 many forms of speech peculiar in those days to the adherents of 
 Calvin and Luther. His answer was as follows to the condolences 
 
 1 Ch. de Ste. Marthe, Oraison Funebre. 
 
 2 Olhagaray. 8 Ibid.
 
 350 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 of the States : " Ah, my beloved subjects, I know that wisdom 
 teaches us to refrain from lamentation, that we may diligently 
 seek the best remedy to obviate the ills of life. Reason like- 
 wise, I know, inculcates this same lesson, in order that our 
 affections may be drawn from tilings below, and directed to the 
 higher good above. I feel, also, that the tears you see me shed 
 seem to dishonour my royal rank. Nevertheless, I believe that 
 the wisest man may yield to emotion without degradation to his 
 dignity, if only he obeys the promptings of his grief with modera- 
 tion and a due regard to manly honour. Upon this maxim, 
 therefore, I take my stand ; the -while, however, my eyes over- 
 flow with fountains and rivers of tears. I know that it is our 
 bounden duty to submit patiently to the will of God, who has 
 established one universal law for mankind ; for He has created 
 us mortal to deliver us from the captivity of Death by the immor- 
 tality of soul. He, therefore, who does not gladly pay this debt 
 to God is of all men the most miserable : for he is a bad soldier 
 who gives his captain unwilling service. My mourning increases 
 in poignancy when I think upon your loss ; for she loved you 
 all with such fervent affection that she would have spared 
 nothing to promote your welfare and solace. Alas ! what a loss 
 is ours ! but as such is the decree of the Almighty Judge re- 
 specting our latter end, which we all dread too much as a peril- 
 ous shoal on which we may founder, I render lowly obedience to 
 the Great Pilot, and though ingulfed in the depths of anguish 
 the most profound, I will spread my sail, and drift whither the 
 winds of Heaven impel me. Nevertheless, pray all of you, that 
 God will endow me with fortitude ; and let us then proceed 
 reverently to deposit her body in the sepulchres of our ancestors 
 at Lescar." 
 
 Queen Marguerite died at the castle of Odos, in Bigorre, 
 December 21, 1549, at the age of fifty-seven. The ceremonies 
 of her lying-in-state were magnificent and prolonged. The 
 queen's remains were visited by hundreds of her poor subjects in 
 Bdarn and Foix ; and the tears shed over her bier formed a more 
 glorious tribute of praise to her virtues than the elegies and 
 eulogiums by which all the learned in Europe celebrated the 
 memory of their benefactress. 
 
 The body of the queen was removed from Odos to Morlas, a 
 little town situated near to Pau, sometime during the month of
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 351 
 
 January, 1550. The queen's effigy, arrayed in royal robes, 
 reposed on the bier, which was surrounded by the insignia of 
 her exalted rank. The funeral obsequies of the queen were per- 
 formed with great pomp in the cathedral church of Lescar, early 
 in the month of February. Her old friend Gaston, Viscount de 
 Lavedan, officiated as grand master during the solemn ceremo- 
 nial. The States of Foix, Beam, and Bigorre assembled to render 
 the last homage to their beloved mistress, and marched in the 
 funeral procession to the cathedral; but in accordance with 
 regal etiquette, neither the King of Navarre nor the Duke de 
 Vendome was present at the ceremony. These royal personages 
 were represented by deputies ; as was also Marguerite's nephew, 
 the King of France, and the Dowager-duchess de Vendome, 1 and 
 the Duchesse d'Estouteville. 2 The Dukes de Montpensier, de 
 Nevers, d'Aumale, and d'Estampes, the Prince de la Eoche-sur- 
 Yon, the Marquis de Mayenne, and the Viscount de Kohan, also 
 despatched ambassadors, with very costly retinues, to represent 
 them at the funeral. The Constable de Montmorency sent no 
 deputy to perform for him this act of respect and homage to the 
 memory of his earliest benefactress. The pall was supported by 
 the Vice-chancellor of Navarre, and by three of King Henry's 
 chief privy councillors. 
 
 When the coffin was raised from its platform of state in the 
 centre of the cathedral, to be transported to the tomb, the royal 
 crown was borne before it by the Count de Carmain, the sceptre 
 by the Sieur de Caucon, and the hand of justice by the Count de 
 Bussac. The mournful cortege was preceded by processions of 
 bishops, ecclesiastics, and choristers. 3 The funeral oration on 
 the death of Queen Marguerite was composed in the Latin and 
 French languages by an officer of her household, Charles de Ste. 
 Marthe, a master of requests in the exchequer court of the duchy 
 of Alen<?on. This oration is one of the most curious documents 
 extant respecting Marguerite's private life ; and it abounds in a 
 multitude of anecdotes nowhere else on record. It is a signifi- 
 cant fact that the task of rendering a last and chief public testi- 
 
 e, eldest sister of the Duke d'Alei^on. 
 
 2 Adrienne d'Estouteville, Countess de St. Paul, Duchess d'Estouteville. 
 Marguerite's persuasions contributed to induce this lady to bestow her hand on 
 the Count de St. Paul. 
 
 8 L'ordre que le Roy entend estre observe par les maistres des ceremonies stir 
 renterrement de la royne Marguerite sa femme. Bibl. Roy., F. Dupuy, No. 324.
 
 352 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 mony to the virtues aud excellencies of the Queen of Navarre, 
 should have devolved on a layman, however eloquent and capable 
 of doing justice to the subject. Where were all the eminent 
 prelates whom the queen honoured with her friendship and pat- 
 ronage, that none proffered to pay this homage to the memory of 
 a princess whose name is inseparably connected with the history 
 of her age ? The learned and eloquent Du Chatel, Bishop of 
 Macon, 1 the bosom friend of Francis I., and Marguerite's devoted 
 admirer, we may be sure would not have shrunk from recording 
 his graceful praise of his late sovereign's sister, could he have 
 done so in conscientious obedience to the Church in which he 
 ministered ; nor would the priesthood generally have been back- 
 wards in expatiating in every pulpit throughout France upon 
 the edifying repentance of a princess who, during the thirty- 
 three years of her brother's reign, gave constant protection to 
 reform, could they have substantiated the statement alleged to 
 have been made by the Franciscan, Gilles Caillau. 
 
 But if the prelates of France were tardy in rendering homage 
 to the memory of the illustrious Marguerite, the learned men of 
 Europe celebrated her praises, and their sorrow at her decease, in 
 every form of composition. The odes, poems, and epigrams, com- 
 posed on the death of the Queen of Navarre, if collected together, 
 would fill a volume. Ronsard, Du Bellay, Daurat, Denisot, and 
 an innumerable list of poets, dedicated their muse to her hon- 
 our, and published laments on her premature decease. The 
 celebrated Etienne Dolet composed a Latin ode, greatly lauded, 
 in which he commemorates in lofty language Marguerite's wis- 
 dom and learning, and the protection which she accorded to 
 literature. The poet, Etienne Forcadel, in the following Latin 
 epigram proclaimed the queen's wisdom and merit : 
 
 " Huic Rex frater erat, Rex vir, mens docta, quid ultra ? 
 Occidit. Heu ! fateor Pallada posse mori ! " 
 
 Valentine Denisot composed this epitaph for the queen, 
 which met with rapturous plaudit throughout Europe by the 
 learned : 
 
 "Musarum decima, et Charitum quarta, inclyta regtim, 
 Et soror et conjux, Marguaris ilia jacet." 
 
 1 The Bishop of Ma?on delivered the oration at the funeral of Francis I.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 353 
 
 England rendered the most brilliant meed of praise to the 
 learning and virtues of the Queen of Navarre. Queen Elizabeth 
 translated into her own tongue Marguerite's poem, " Le Miroir 
 de 1' Ame Pecheresse ; " and three sisters of the illustrious House 
 of Seymour, Anne, Marguerite, and Jane, composed a hundred 
 Latin verses in the queen's honour, and to express their affliction 
 at her death. The poet, Nicholas Deuysot, the preceptor of these 
 learned sisters, edited their poem, which was published in Paris 
 in the year 1551, under the title of "Le Tombeau de Marguerite 
 de Valois," with translations appended in French and Italian. 
 
 As Marguerite's patronage of the learned amongst her own 
 countrymen had been universal, so all were eager to unite in her 
 praise. From the learned enthusiast, Guillaume Postel, to the 
 most insignificant court poet, each consecrated to her memory 
 some tribute of gratitude. The professors of the learned lan- 
 guages in the universities celebrated her magnificence and learn- 
 ing in Greek, Latin, and even in Oriental verse. Calvin, Be'ze, 
 and Melaucthon, in their various works, reverently mention her 
 name. Montluc, Bishop of Valence, and the celebrated Amyot, 
 Bishop of Auxerre, preceptor of the sons of Henry II., owed 
 their education and advancement to the enlightened patronage 
 of Marguerite ; and neither of these illustrious prelates have 
 forgotten to record the praises of their benefactress. The great 
 historian, De Thou, and Louis, and Scevole de Ste. Marthe, 
 in their respective works, also render homage to Marguerite's 
 patriotism, learning, and virtue. 
 
 As an author, the Queen of Navarre, in her prose composi- 
 tions, and as a writer of " nouvelles" may rank amongst the first 
 of the age. Her style is singularly free from the redundancy 
 and puerility of diction which disfigure the writings of most of 
 her contemporaries. The style of the " Heptame'ron " is clear 
 and pointed. The structure of many of the tales displays great 
 powers of invention ; while their sarcastic force rendered their 
 author redoubtable to the profligate class which had so justly 
 incurred her censure. Unhappily the freedom of imagery in- 
 dulged in by the royal authoress renders her tales a closed book 
 in these days ; yet, let it be remembered that the strictest purity 
 of life is inculcated by the moral of all the narratives ; and Mar- 
 guerite errs only in the vigour and truthfulness with which she 
 has dared to represent the flagrant vices of the age, without par- 
 VOL. ii. 23
 
 354 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 ticipating in them. In extenuation for the recurrence of de- 
 scriptions which shock and revolt, it is to be recollected that 
 such was not the tone of Marguerite's miud, but the tone of the 
 times. The language, manners, and sentiments which were con- 
 sidered courtly in the days of King Henry VIII. would in this 
 age inspire disgust and reprehension ; consequently, the writers 
 of the sixteenth century ought not to be judged by the standard 
 of the polished refinement which pervades society in this era of 
 the nineteenth. The dialogues and scenes which disfigure the 
 pages of the " Heptamdron," were incidents habitual at the court 
 of Francis I., the most polished, though doubtlessly the most cor- 
 rupt, society of Europe. All that is good, holy, and fervent in 
 the writings of the Queen of Navarre, the fruits of her piety and 
 of her maturer years, emanated, under God, from her own pure 
 spirit ; while her horror at a system of religion which even under 
 the cowl and the veil secretly sanctioned frightful enormities, 
 induced the queen to do what nobody besides herself in her 
 brother's realm dare attempt, and expose the fallacy of such 
 a faith. 1 
 
 The literary skill of Marguerite was much envied by her 
 nieces, the Princess Marguerite of France and the Dauphiness 
 Catherine ; and they once resolved each to write a tale, and com- 
 pare it with one of hers. When the merits of the three compo- 
 sitions were weighed, we are told that the two princesses were 
 so ashamed of the inferiority of their productions that they cast 
 them into the fire, and vowed never again to compete for literary 
 excellence with the Queen, of Navarre. Marguerite's poetical 
 compositions are of varied merit ; the piety of all, however, is 
 fervent and impressive. Many of her sonnets equal in grace and 
 elegance the compositions of Ronsard and Cle'inent Marot, while 
 her diction is always refined ; other poems, again, when Mar- 
 guerite affects the mystic strains and metaphors of Briconnet's 
 school of theology, are necessarily constrained and obscure. 
 Marguerite was likewise the author of several comedies and 
 pastorals. 
 
 1 The historian De Thou, whose uncle, Adrian de Thou, canon of Notre Dame 
 de Paris, edited the most beautiful MS. of the " Heptameron " extant, especially 
 excuses Marguerite for her authorship of the celebrated tales, on account of her 
 youth (ad juvenilem cetatem), which showed little discretion in transcribing such 
 records, however true they might be.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 355 
 
 If it be asked whether the Queen of Navarre persevered to 
 the last in the principles of the reformed churches, it is con- 
 tended that not a particle of evidence exists except the un- 
 supported testimony of the monk Gilles Caillau to authorize 
 the Roman Church in claiming Marguerite as an obedient mem- 
 ber of its communion during the latter years of her life, more 
 than at the period when she first made earnest intercession to 
 her brother for the life of Louis de Berquin. Then, as on her 
 death-bed, the queen participated outwardly in the ritual ob- 
 servances of the Eomish faith ; she subsequently made no re- 
 tractation of the principles so offensive to the priesthood ; and 
 to the last hour of her brother's reign, she pleaded the cause of 
 the persecuted reformers, and spent vast sums for their relief. 
 The slightest submission tendered by Marguerite to the Romish 
 Church would have been joyfully accepted and proclaimed 
 abroad by ecclesiastics, who throughout her life assailed her 
 with virulent abuse for her heresy ; and whose resentment, or 
 rather what they termed their zeal for the faith, induced them 
 to sanction attempts to compass by slander and assassination 
 that requital which the exalted rank and power of the Queen of 
 Navarre left them no other means of achieving. A word spoken 
 in homage of the orthodox faith would have bowed these fanatic 
 preachers at the queen's feet, to admire the goodness and learn- 
 ing which they alone refused to recognize ; yet Marguerite 
 abstained. 
 
 It is, however, deeply to be deplored that Queen Mar- 
 guerite did not definitively avow with which church her sym- 
 pathies rested, by a more decided line of action. The absolute 
 commands of King Francis ;' the exigencies of politics ; the dis- 
 sensions of sects and parties in these the early days of the Refor- 
 mation, and the timidity natural to her sex, all induced the queen 
 to shrink from taking the part of a leader in the great movement 
 pending in the Church. The fanatical spirit which pervaded 
 France, and the necessity that the government found to con- 
 ciliate all its subjects, in order to raise finances for the war, 
 prevented the king from granting liberty of conscience, with 
 permission to worship apart from the great majority of their 
 countrymen, to the Lutherans. Marguerite, therefore, had but 
 the alternative of affording the negative protection she did to the 
 reformed church, or of placing herself at the head of a move- 
 ment hostile to her brother's srovernment.
 
 356 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, 
 
 The Queen of Navarre assumed several devices and mottoes. 
 Besides her favourite sunflower, with the words, " Non inferiora 
 secutus" she bore, as an emblem, a lily between two daisies 
 (marguerites) with this inscription, " Mirandum natures opus" 
 She took for a device, in the second edition of her poem, " Le 
 Miroir de 1'Aine Pecheresse," the words, " Ung pour tout" In 
 the queen's poem of " La Coche," her motto is, " Plus vous que 
 moy." 
 
 Marguerite founded, in 1535, the Hopital des Enfans Eouges, 
 Quartier du Temple, in Paris. This institution, which the queen 
 richly endowed, was an asylum for orphans. Marguerite caused 
 the children educated there to be called, " Les Enfans de Dieu le 
 Pere." 1 The costume of the establishment was red, at the desire 
 of King Francis, who wished thereby to indicate that the children 
 derived subsistence from the alms of the faithful. After the 
 foundation of 1'Hopital General in 1657, Marguerite's institu- 
 tion of Les Enfans Eouges was incorporated with that establish- 
 ment. 2 The Queen of Navarre also founded hospitals for the 
 poor in the towns of Alencon and Mortagne-en-Perche. Her 
 benefactions to the convent of Tusson in Angoumois is the only 
 monastic endowment Marguerite gave to the Eoman Catholic 
 Church. 
 
 The portrait which is inserted in the middle of the first volume 
 of this work represents Marguerite at the age of from twenty- 
 eight to thirty. The miniature from which the picture of the 
 queen has been copied is preserved in the Bibliotheque Im- 
 pe'riale ; it contains sixteen portraits of great beauty and inter- 
 est. The Duchess d'Angoulgme is represented sitting on a 
 magnificent throne richly adorned with gold : on the steps of 
 the dais, the author of a poem, called " Le Puits d'Amour," is 
 kneeling, and presenting his book to the duchess. The Queen of 
 Navarre stands with one hand resting on a pillar of the throne ; 
 and her authoritative attitude indicates that she is addressing 
 the assembly. On each side of the Duchess d'Angouleme are 
 seven young ladies of the court, arrayed in brilliant costume. The 
 attire of the Queen of Navarre is simple and elegant. The colour 
 of her robe is pale silver-grey. Her sleeves, which she wears 
 
 1 Hilarion de Coste, Eloges des Roj'nes, &c. 
 
 2 La Force, Description de la France.
 
 QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 357 
 
 wide and pendent, are lined with miniver. Her hood and veil are 
 black ; the hood being adorned with fine embroidery in gold. 
 
 A few other pictures of Marguerite exist in the Bibliotheque 
 Impe'riale, and elsewhere in France ; though for a princess of such 
 renown, it is astonishing how rarely her portrait is to be met 
 with. Two of these portraits have been engraved by Montfaucon, 1 
 one, a miniature of the smallest size, represents Marguerite 
 receiving une fleur de Marguerite from the King of Navarre ; 
 the other picture portrays the queen a year or two before her 
 decease. Marguerite wears a cap a la Bfarnoise, which is singu - 
 larly unbecoming to her : her robe, which fits closely round her 
 throat, is trimmed with fur, and she carries a little dog in her 
 arms. This portrait, which is far from giving a correct de- 
 lineation of the delicate and intellectual features of the Queen 
 of Navarre, has been engraved several times. 
 
 The picture placed at the commencement of this volume repre- 
 sents Louise de Savoyeat the age of twenty-three. The duchess 
 is receiving a poem, entitled " Vie de Notre Dame." 2 She sits 
 under a canopy, or cid-royal, draped with blue velvet, spangled 
 with gold marguerites. Her dress is composed of violet satin, 
 the only colour which custom then permitted a widow to wear. 
 The robe of the duchess is very full ; her sleeves are trimmed 
 with a wide border of fur. She wears a necklace of slender links 
 of gold. Her girdle is wrought of the same precious metal ; 
 and her hood is of black velvet. By the side of the duchess 
 sits her son, afterwards King Francis I., then a beautiful child of 
 six years old. His habit is crimson velvet, over which he wears 
 a mantle of brown satin. A rosette of gold lace ornaments the 
 cap of the young prince. The attitude and figure of the kneeling 
 poet is picturesque. Through the wide slashings of his surcoat 
 of rich brown satin, a vest of carnation-colour is displayed : the 
 poet's stockings are scarlet. The book which he is presenting 
 to the Duchess Louise is bound in crimson velvet, and fastened 
 by clasps of gold. In the background of the picture is a garden 
 with a trellised walk, from whence several ladies are watching 
 
 1 Monuments de la Monarchie Fran^aise. 
 
 2 This manuscript poem is still preserved in the Bibliotheque Imperiale, 
 No. 7306, petit in fol., velin. It is enriched by thirty-six valuable miniatures, 
 amongst which is the painting representing Louise de Savoye and her son, prefixed 
 to this volume.
 
 358 LIFE OF MARGUERITE, QUEEN OF NAVARRE. 
 
 the audience granted to the poet by their royal mistress. The 
 principal lady of honour, who stands nearest to the duchess, is 
 attired in crimson satin : her sleeves are furred with ermine. 
 Opposite to her is a gentleman-at-arms, holding aloft his battle- 
 axe. The spaniel sleeping at the feet of the duchess is probably 
 the dog whose loss Madame thus notes in her journal : " The 6th 
 day of October, 1502, the little dog Hapeguai, who was loving 
 and faithful to his master, died at Sieve*." The colouring of this 
 beautiful miniature is most gorgeous ; and it is valuable as one 
 of the few portraits which exist representing Louise de Savoye 
 when in the bloom of youth.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 ABBEVILLE, i. 40, 42. 
 
 Adrian, Pope, i. 148. 
 
 Agen, ii. 203. 
 
 Aigues-Mortes, i. 239-243 ; ii. 226-228. 
 
 Ailly, Pierre d', i. 68. 
 
 Aimars, Paulin Iscalin des, ii. 282-283. 
 
 Aix-la-Chapelle, ii. 181, 190, 290. 
 
 Alarcon, Seigneur d', custody of Francis 
 I., i. 177-178, 197, 207, 218-223, 256, 271, 
 298, 308, 350-357 ; ambassador to France, 
 i. 368; custody of Pope, ii. 8. 
 
 Alba, Duke of, i. 220-221, 226, 269, 296; 
 ii. 173. 
 
 Albany, Duke of, i. 182, 224. 
 
 Albret, Catherine d', ii. 146-147. 
 
 Albret, Henri d', i. 16; and treaty of Paris, 
 i. 100; captured at Pavia, i. 170; mar- 
 riage with Marguerite, i. 341-344, 363, 
 367-368, 376-381; ii. 1-4; at La Fere, 
 ii. 11-18; and ransom of Francis, ii. 41, 
 51-52 ; Eleanor's arrival in France, ii. 
 60; jealousy of Francis, ii. 104-107; 
 advancement of his kingdom, ii. 109- 
 116; and Montmorency, ii. 127; devotion 
 to Marguerite, ii. 132-136 ; preparations 
 for war with Charles, ii. 170, 174-181, 
 200-201; in Picardy, ii. 191; at Amiens, 
 ii. 193; jaundice, ii. 197-199, 203; 
 escorts Marguerite to Lyons, ii. 204- 
 206; and restoration of Navarre, ii. 228; 
 plot to arrest Charles, ii. 242 ; dislike of 
 Francis, ii. 247 ; marriage of Jeanne, ii. 
 248-253, 270, 338-339; plot to poison 
 Marguerite, ii. 260-263; marriage of 
 Jeanne, ii. 270; entertains Francis, ii. 274, 
 296, 299; death of Francis, ii. 332-333; 
 coronation of Henry II., ii. 336; death 
 of Marguerite, ii. 341, 345, 348-349, 351; 
 portrait of, ii. 357. 
 
 Albret, House of, ii. 199, 211. 
 
 Albret, Jeanne d', and Heptameron, i. 35; 
 birth, ii. 29; Marguerite's visit to, ii. 41; 
 Francis' guardianship of, ii. 106-107; 
 
 sickness, ii. 208-210; marriage, ii. 246- 
 257, 286-293; baptism of dauphin, ii. 
 299; mourns for Francis, ii. 332; expen- 
 ditures, ii. 335; second marriage, ii. 
 337-339; visits Beam, ii. 343. 
 
 Albret, Marie d', ii. 63-68, 344. 
 
 Albret, Seigneur d', i. 79. 
 
 Alcazar of Madrid, ii. 274. 
 
 Alciat, ii. 130. 
 
 "Alcoran," ii. 336. 
 
 Alencon Castle, ii. 73-76, 89, 138-142, 
 191-193, 249, 292, 301-307; Hospital, ii. 
 356. 
 
 Alen9on, Due d' (Charles IV.); affianced to 
 Suzanne, i. 17; birth, i. 27; marriage, i. 
 28-31; death of Anne, i. 36; marriage of 
 Louis, i. 40-42 ; coronation of Francis 
 I., i. 43-45, 47; governor of Normandy, 
 i. 48; war in Italy, i. 53; unhappy mar- 
 riage, i. 58; dislike of Francis, i. 65-67, 
 i. 83, i. 94; wealth, i. 101; war in Italy, 
 106, 110, 112, 118-119, 121, 130; batt'le 
 of Pavia, i. 161-170; disgrace, i. 172- 
 183; death, i. 184 189. 
 
 Alencon, Duchesse d'. See Marguerite, 
 Queen of Navarre. 
 
 Alenpon, Rene", Due d', i. 27. 
 
 Alexander VI., Pope, i. 13, 71. 
 
 Algiers, ii. 272. 
 
 Allmain, Jacques, i. 74. 
 
 Alps, The, i. 52-54, 159; ii. 190. 
 
 Alsatian Brigands, The, i. 190-191, 214. 
 
 Amalfi, Prince of, ii. 132. 
 
 Amboise, Cardinal d', i. 20-21. 
 
 Amboise Castle, i. 6-16, 25, 31-33, 52-55, 
 82, 83, 89, 90, 153; ii. 81, 82, 96, 102, 
 174, 184, 189, 235, 238, 240-241. 
 
 Amiens, i. 80, ii. 193. 
 
 Amiens, Bp. of, i. 215. 
 
 Andelot, M. d', ii. 330. 
 
 Angouleme Castle, i. 1, 2, 6 ; ii. 129, 130. 
 
 Angouleme, Count d'. See Charles d' 
 Origan .
 
 360 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 AngoulSme, Countess d', and Duchesse d'. 
 
 See Louise de Savoie. 
 Angouleme, Duke d'; ii. 157, 167, 172, 
 
 213-214. 
 
 Anguien, Count d', ii. 294. 
 Anjou, Duchesse d'. See Louise de 
 
 Savoie. 
 
 Anne de Beaujean, i. 161. 
 Anne de Bretagne, marries Charles VIII. 
 
 of France, i. 2-3; birth of dauphin, i. 6; 
 
 death of dauphin, i. 7-8; marries Louis 
 
 XII., i. 13; opposes Louise de Savoie, i. 
 
 15; birth of daughter, i. 16; favours 
 
 Marguerite, i. 24, and 30-31; death, i. 
 
 36; godmother to Montmorency, i. 50, 
 
 120; correspondence, i. 153, 199, 380. 
 Anne de Montmorency. See Montmorency. 
 Annebaut, Admiral d', captured at Pavia, i. 
 
 170; ii. 265; succeeds Montmorency, ii. 
 
 268-270; and Duchesse d'Estampes, 
 
 ii. 274; in command of army, ii. 304- 
 
 305; opposes Montmorency, ii. 309; 
 
 Soissons, ii. 313, 326; dismissed, ii. 
 
 332. 
 
 Antoine de Luzanne, i. 8. 
 Antoinette de Bourbon, i. 134. 
 Aost, 161. 
 Apulia, ii. 190. 
 Arco, Palace del, ii. 251. 
 Ardres, i. 100. 
 Argentan Castle, i. 32, 36, 47, 64-67, 
 
 82, 83, 130, 131, 183, 368; ii. 141, 146, 
 
 147. 
 
 Argilly, ii. 272. 
 Aries, i. 266-267; ii. 181. 
 Armagnac, 5. 30. 
 
 Armagnac, Cardinal d', i. 19; ii. 348. 
 Annagnac, Comtesse d'. See Marguerite 
 
 de Navarre. 
 Arnaud, ii. 115. 
 Arras, ii. 183-184. 
 Arras, Baron d', i. 341, 
 Arras, Bp. of. See Joffredi. 
 Arras, J. d', ii. 253. 
 Arthenay, ii. 238. 
 Artois, i". 100, 147, 176; ii. 195. 
 Artus de Souffier, i. 30, 49, 89, 97; ii. 
 
 198. 
 
 Assembly of Notables, ii. 18-22, 23, 26. 
 Augsburg, League of, ii. 93-94. 
 Aumale, Count d', ii. 325. 
 Aumont, Baronne d', i. 41. 
 Austria, Duke of, i. 68. 
 Auxerre, Bp. of, ii. 103. 
 Avignon, i. 158-160; ii. 171-181, 190, 225, 
 
 264. 
 Ayme"e de la Fayette, ii. 217. 
 
 BABON de la Bourdaiziere, captured at 
 Pavia, i. 170; embassy to Spain, i. 202; 
 in Spain, i. 259, 273, 277, 285 ; returns to 
 France, i. 312, 330, 339. 
 
 Babon, Marie, ii. 99. 
 
 Bacquier, Matthew, i. 20-22. 
 
 Baillet, President, i. 78. 
 
 Balafre, F. de. ii. 258. 
 
 Bale, i. 85; ii. 129. 
 
 Bale, Council of, i. 56, 67, 70. 
 
 Ballancon, Sieur de, ii. 104. 
 
 Barbarossa, Admiral, ii. 190, 226-227, 264 
 294-296. 
 
 Barbesieux, Admiral, ii. 170-171, 182. 
 
 Barcelona, i. 208, 218, 226, 240, 246; 247, 
 259; ii. 225. 
 
 Bastille, ii. 272. 
 
 Bavaria, Duke of, i. 68. 
 
 Bayard, Chevalier de, 5. 50; defends 
 Mezieres, i. 108; wounded, i. 148. 
 
 Bayard, Gilbert, i. 273, 298, 347; ii. 267, 
 3~32. 
 
 Bayonne, i. 147, 363; ii. 55, 57, 61; garri- 
 son of, ii. 199-204. 
 
 Bayonne, Bp. of. See Bellay, Jean du. 
 
 Bazadois, Se'ne'schal of the, ii. 20'2. 
 
 Be'arn, Roussel at, ii. 25; Marguerite at, ii. 
 35-38, 104, 106-117, 131-135, 163, 170, 
 193, 195, 197, 258-259, 317, 321 ; refugees 
 at, ii. 88, 154-160, 278; fortitied, ii. 200- 
 203; Marguerite's sickness at, ii. 296- 
 297; Calvin invited to. ii. 336, 340; 
 Princess Jeanne's visit to, ii. 343; mourn- 
 ing in, ii. 349-350. 
 
 Beatrice of Portugal, ii. 165. 
 
 Beaujolais, Duchy of, i. 156. 
 
 Beaupreau, Prince de, ii. 168. 
 
 Beaurein, Count de, i. 125, 294, 296. 
 
 Barre, M. de la, i. 178, 185, 298, 312, 334, 
 356; ii. 126. 
 
 Be"da, Noel, attacks Lefevre, i. 75-76; op- 
 poses king, i. 82, 146-147; attacks re- 
 formers, i. 96, 129, 140-145, 190-192; 
 arrests Sebville, i. 164; indites Bricon- 
 net, i. 212; arrests Marot, i. 239; attacks 
 Erasmus, i. 371-372; his thesis, ii. 15; 
 attack on Marguerite, and banishment, ii. 
 119-127; second banishment, ii. 151; im- 
 prisoned for life, ii. 195. 
 
 Bellay, Cardinal Jean du, and Mme. de 
 Chatillon, i. 101; favours reform, i. 115; 
 i. 380; condoles Marguerite, ii. 75; and 
 harangue of Charles V., ii. 170 ; defends 
 Paris, ii. 182; and Le Coq, ii. 196; ora- 
 tory, ii. 284. 
 
 Bellay, Guillaume de. See Langey, Seig- 
 neur de.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 361 
 
 Bellay, Joachim du, i. 380-381; ii. 2. 
 
 Bellay, Martin du, ii. 191. 
 
 Bergues, Count de, i. 110. 
 
 Berquin, Louis de, persecution, i. 145-147; 
 before Inquisition, i. 215-216; released, 
 i. i370-372; martyrdom, ii. 37-41, 159, 
 302. 
 
 Berry, Duchesse de. See Marguerite de 
 Navarre. 
 
 Berry, Duchy of, ii. 192. 
 
 Bertaut, ii. 134, 149-151, 155. 
 
 Beze, Theodore de, ii. 303-304. 
 
 Biagrasso, i. 148. 
 
 Bibbiena, Cardinal, i. 25. 
 
 Bibliotheque de PArsenal, i. 319. 
 
 Bibliotheque Imperiale, La, ii. 356-357. 
 
 Bibliotheque Royale, La, i. 187. 
 
 Bidassoa River, ii. 58. 
 
 " Black Bands, The," i. 167. 
 
 Blanche of Castile, i. 161. 
 
 Blet, Antoine du, i. 163. 
 
 Sieve", ii. 358. 
 
 Blois Castle, i. 3, 13, 30, 31, 36, 38, 39, 
 127, 128-130, 144, 149, 150, 147-154, 
 240, 374; ii. 2-4, 51-57, 62, 68-70, 82- 
 84, 86-87, 93, 149. 
 
 Blois, See of, ii. 262-263. 
 
 Boccaccio, Giovanni, i. 61. 
 
 Boilleau, Franqois, ii. 192. 
 
 Boisgency, ii. 212. 
 
 Boisserolles, Sieur de, ii. 338. 
 
 Boisy, Cardinal de, i. 78, 94. 
 
 Boisy, Count de. See Artus de Gouffier. 
 
 Boleyn, Anne, i. 101, 366, 376-377. 
 
 Bologna, i. 55-57. 
 
 Bomy, ii. 194. 
 
 Bonaventure des Periers, i. 3435. 
 
 Bonneval, Capt. de, ii. 171. 
 
 Bonneval, Mile, de, ii. 142-146. 
 
 Bonnivet, Guillaume Gouffier, Admiral de, 
 advanced by Francis, i. 51 ; insults Mar- 
 guerite, i. 59-60, 94; defends Gu3'enne, 
 i. 106; captures Fontarabia, i. Ill; war 
 in Italy, i. 133, 147-148 ; battle of Pavia, 
 i. 166-170, 364; ii. 340. 
 
 Bordeaux, ii. 63-68, 204, 274-277. 
 
 Bordeaux, Abp. of, ii. 199-202. 
 
 Borgia, Cesare, Duke of Valeutinois, i. 13. 
 
 Bouchard, i. 239. 
 
 Boulogne, ii. 305-316. 
 
 Bourbon, Duchy of, i. 156. 
 
 Bourbon, Charles Due de, marriage, i. 16- 
 19, 28, 46, 124; made constable, i. 49; 
 war in Italy, i. 52; and the Concordat, i. 
 79; baptism of dauphin, i. 94; slighted by 
 Francis, i. 111-112; rebellion, i. 121-126, 
 148, 149, 156-159; battle of Pavia, i. 161- 
 
 170 ; captivity of Francis I., i. 175-176, 
 194-195; deceived by De Lannoy, i. 196- 
 208, 218, 224-225, and Queen Eleanor, 
 i.230; negotiations forreleae of Francis, 
 i. 266-267, 272-276, 294, 348, 353, and 
 Marguerite's escape from Spain, i. 324; 
 besieges Rome, ii. 5-9, 214-215, 235, 
 268. 
 
 Bourbon, Franfois de, i. 170, ii. 43, 60, 94, 
 141-146. 
 
 Bourbon, Gilbert de, i. 17. 
 
 Bourbon, John I., Due de, i. 18. 
 
 Bourbon, Louis II., Due de, i. 18, 123. 
 
 Bourbon, Nicholas de, ii. 107. 
 
 Bourbon, Suzanne de, i. 14-19, 28, 121-124. 
 
 Bourbon-Beaujeu, Duchess de, i. 36. 
 
 Bourdaisiere, Mile, de la. See Babou, 
 Marie. 
 
 Bourdeille, Captain de, ii. 161. 
 
 Bourg, ii. 198-199, 212. 
 
 Bourges, i. 56, 150; ii. 26, 30. 
 
 Bourges, Abp. of, ii. 58-61. 
 
 Bourges University, i. 83; ii. 120, 1,30, 192. 
 
 Brabant, Province of, ii. 286-287. 
 
 Braillon, ii. 78, 95. 
 
 Brandon, i. 41. 
 
 Brantome, Seigneur de, quoted, i. 23, 60, 
 82, 86, 101, 118, 122, 211, 257, 284, 285, 
 375; ii. 131,132, 161, 180, 342. 
 
 Bresse, Count of, i. 3. 
 
 Bresse, Countess of. See Marguerite de 
 Bourbon. 
 
 Bretagne, Duchy of, i. 13, 37. 
 
 Bretagne, Duchesse de. See Claude of 
 France. 
 
 Bri9onnet, Guillaume, descent, i. 102; and 
 reform, i. 103; atMeaux, i. 104-105 ; cor- 
 respondence with Marguerite, i. 107-108, 
 112-117, 138-140, 151-152, 155-156, 161- 
 163; ii. 122; exhorts Marguerite, i. 119- 
 120, 126; translation of St. Paul's Epis- 
 tles, i. 128, 184-185 ; revolt of monks, i. 
 129; persecuted by Be'da, i. 141-144; and 
 Marguerite, i. 183; trial, i. 212-215; his 
 apostasy; ii. 23-24, 138; teachings of, ii. 
 302. 
 
 Brienne, M. de, ii. 26, 304. 
 
 Brinon, Jean de, i. 315, 379; ii. 191-192. 
 
 Brion, Admiral Chabot de, promotion, i. 
 51; captured at Pavia, i. 170; envoy, i. 
 178, 222, 224, 234, 243, 245, 259, 273, 
 291-298, 312, 325, 351; Marguerite's dis- 
 like of, i. 318-319; gratitude of Francis, 
 i. 359; rivalry of Montmorency, ii. 40- 
 41. 105, 127, ii. 256, 273; war with 
 Charles V., ii. 165, 171, 177; and Mme. 
 d'Estampes, ii. 197; at Nice, ii. 225;
 
 362 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 hatred of Povet, ii. 268 ; sickness, ii. ! 
 270. 
 
 Brion, Countess de, ii. 225. 
 
 Brissac, Countess de. See Gouffier, Char- 
 lotte. 
 
 Brochart, Jean, i. 212. 
 
 Brussels, i. 98; ii. 340. 
 
 Bucer, i. 217; ii. HO. 
 
 Bude, Guillaume, i. 50, 85; ii. 38-39, 73. 
 
 Bure, Count de, ii. 305. 
 
 Burgency, ii. 210. 
 
 Burgund'y, Duchy of, i. 51-52, 176, 227, 
 232-233, 244, *272-285, 293-294, 326, 
 368-370; ii. 71, 305. 
 
 Burie, Sieur de, ii. 174, 201-203, 275, 338. 
 
 Busset, ii. 285. 
 
 Buzarts, Capt, i. 167. 
 
 CAEN, ii. 146-147. 
 
 Caillan, Gilles, ii. 347, 352, 355. 
 
 Calais, i. 110-111, 147; ii. 214, 305. 
 
 Calvimont, President de, ii. 30-31. 
 
 Calvin, John. ii. 108-109, 120, 129-131, 
 148, 336-338, 349. 
 
 Cambray, Bp. of, ii. 45, 49. 
 
 Cambray, Treaty of, ii. 45-51, 164-165, 
 294. " , 
 
 Campes, ii. 315. 
 
 Capito, W. F., i. 217. 
 
 Captieux Abbey, ii. 61-62. 
 
 Carbon, Le Capitaine. See Montpezat. 
 
 Carignan, ii. 207. 
 
 Carmain, Count de, ii. 174, 351. 
 
 Carthusian monastery, i. 169. 
 
 Castile, Constable de. See Velasco. 
 
 Castile, Grand Council of, i. 220-223. 
 
 Catejan, Cardinal, i. 76. 
 
 Catherine of Aragon, i. 19-23, 365-367, 
 377 ;ii. 122, 172. 
 
 Catherine de Medici, i. 161; ii. 141, 167; 
 death of dauphin, ii. 186-189; letter to 
 Francis, ii. 194; Marots' Psalms, ii. 
 278-280; birth of son, ii. 296-299; influ- 
 ence, ii. 321, 324; birth of daughter, ii. 
 338-339; birth of son, ii. 340; attempts at 
 literature, ii. 354. 
 
 Caucon, Sieur de, ii. 351. 
 
 Cellini, Benvenuto, ii. 53-54, 73. 
 
 Cesarini, Cardinal, ii. 220. 
 
 Chabannes, Marshal de, i. 110-112. 
 
 Chabot, Philippe, i. 16. 
 
 Chambe'ry, ii. 165. 
 
 Champagne, province of, i. 106-109, 147; 
 ii. 305. 
 
 Champion, Clermont, i. 308, 313. 
 
 Chantilly, i. 374; ii. 102-103, 23<\ 242- 
 244. 
 
 Chardeniers, M. de, i. 188. 
 
 I!harenton, i. 154. 
 
 Charlemagne, i. 227. 
 
 Charles V. of Spain, i. 26; early training, i. 
 97-99; secures crown of Germany, i. 99; 
 hatred of Francis, i. 100; war with 
 Francis, i. 106, 110-112; league with 
 Bourbon, i. 125-126, 157-158; and 
 Clement VII., i. 148, 160; captivity of 
 Francis, i. 169-210, 220-242; correspon- 
 dence with Louisa of Savoy, i. 174-176, 
 250-251; correspondence with Francis I., 
 i. 209, 265, 295, 320 ; sickness of Francis, 
 i. 243-267; negotiations with Marguerite, 
 i. 267-299; foils escape of Francis, i. 
 308-309 ; attempted arrest of Marguerite, 
 i. 313-326; treaty of Madrid, i. 327-335, 
 345-354; ii. 18-22; release of Francis, i. 
 355-356; hated by Francis, i. 361, 363, 
 369, 370 ; and the league, ii. 4-11 ; Mar- 
 guerite's hatred of, ii. 16-17; sarcasm, 
 ii. 30-32; factions of his empire, ii. 33- 
 34; treaty with Pope, ii. 42-44; Treaty 
 of Cambray, ii. 45-50; government, ii. 
 91-94; letters on death of Louisa of 
 Savoy, ii. 103-104; rumored league with 
 King of Navarre, ii. 106-107, 247 ! 
 power, ii. 119 ; war with Francis, ii. 164- 
 173, 181, 190-191 ; and death of dauphin, 
 ii. 186-188 ; negotiations at Leucate, ii. 
 213-214; at Villefranche, ii. 219, 222- 
 225, weather-bound in France, ii. 226- 
 227 : journey through France, ii. 232-244 ; 
 subdues Gantois. ii. 245-246; intercepts 
 dispatches of Francis, ii. 263-267; policy, 
 ii. 269 ; and Francis's treaty with Turks, 
 ii. 282-284; treaty with Henry VIII., ii. 
 285 ; revolt of Duke of Cleves, ii. 286- 
 289; attack on Landrecy, ii. 293-294; 
 last war with Francis, ii. 304-312 ; 
 Peace of Crespy, ii. 313-316 ; final deci- 
 sion on Milan, ii. 320. 
 
 Charles V. of France, i. 2. 
 
 Charles VII. of France, i. 55-56. 
 
 Charles VIII. of France, i. 2-10, 50, ii. 
 145. 
 
 Charles, Count de Montpensier. See Bour- 
 bon, Charles, Due de. 
 
 Charles, Due d'Alen9on. See Alencon. 
 
 Charles, Due d'Angouleme, i. 152-153. 
 
 Charles d'Orteans, i. 1-9, 194-195. 
 
 Charles of Austria, i. 27. 
 
 Charles Orlando, i. 6-7. 
 
 Charliez, M. de, ii. 330. 
 
 Charlotte, Princess, i. 152-156, 338. 
 
 Chastelard, i. 59. 
 
 Chastellerand, ii. 257.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 363 
 
 Chateaubriand, Countess de, i. 120, 186, 
 361 ; ii. 138. 
 
 Chateauneuf, i. 8. 
 
 Chatel, Bp. of Tulle, ii. 148. 
 
 Chatel, Bp. of Maoon, ii. 276-277, 352. 
 
 Chatelet, The, i. 239; ii. 25, 40. 
 
 Chatelherault, ii. 292. 
 
 Chatillon, House of, ii. 273. 
 
 Chatillon, Jacques de, i. 11. 
 
 Chatillon, Marshal de. See Coligny, Gas- 
 pard de. 
 
 Chatillon, Mme. de, i. 11-23, 32, 59, 101, 
 115 ;ii. 57. 
 
 Chavigny, Mile, de, i. 358; ii. 11. 
 
 Chemans, M. de, ii. 313. 
 
 Cher River, i. 106. 
 
 Chievres, Seigneur de, i. 99, 230. 
 
 Chinon Castle, i. 12, 13. 
 
 Chisay, Seigneur de. See Charles d'Or- 
 l^ans. 
 
 Christiana of Denmark, ii. 165. 
 
 Cibo, Prince, i. 6 ; ii. 220. 
 
 Cifuentes, Count de, i. 348. 
 
 Clarencieux, ii. 30. 
 
 Claude of France, i. 21; affianced, i. 26; 
 marriage, i. 37-38, 40-41, 52; birth of 
 daughter, i. 54-55; neglect, i. 58; coro- 
 nation, i. 63 ; entry into Paris, i. 63-64, 
 89; birth of dauphin, i. 92-95; "Field 
 of Gold," i. 100, 110; sickness, i. 136; 
 death, i. 147-151; mentioned,!. 366, 380; 
 ii. 118, 234, 281, 338. 
 
 Claude de Guise. See Lorraine, Claude de. 
 
 Claude of Penthievre, i. 4. 
 
 Clemangis, i. 68. 
 
 Clement VII., succeeds Adrian, i. 148 ; In- 
 quisition in France, i. 191-193, 197, 217, 
 369; capitulates, ii. 5-10; and Treaty of 
 Madrid, ii. 22; grant to Francis, ii. 26; 
 treaty with Charles, ii. 43-44, 141. 
 
 Clercs de la Bazoche, i. 46. 
 
 Clery, ii. 147, 235. 
 
 Cleves, Duke of, marriage, ii. 246-257; ii. 
 270, 339; revolt of, ii. 286-289; disso- 
 lution of marriage, ii. 290-293. 
 
 Clotilde, Queen, i. 229. 
 
 " Coche, La," ii. 356. 
 
 Cognac, i. 5-8, 36, 123, 368-373. 
 
 Coligny, Gaspard de, i. 126. 
 
 Cologne, Diet of, ii. 91-92. 
 
 Colonna, Otho, i. 68. 
 
 Colonna, Prospero, i. 52, 54, 147. 
 
 Commercy. ii. 304. 
 
 Compiegne, ii. 232. 
 
 Conciergerie, The, i. 141, 146; ii. 126, 203. 
 
 Concordat, The, i. 55-57, 77-91, 119, 190, 
 237, 262, 327. 
 
 Condom, Bp. of. See Grossoles and Pisse- 
 leu. 
 
 Condrieu, i. 259. 
 
 Constance, Council of, i. 67-69. . 
 
 Constantinople, i. 70; ii. 282. 
 
 Convent of Noble Ladies, i. 131. 
 
 Cop, Guillaume, i. 26, 50, 85; ii. 140. 
 
 Cop, Nicholas, ii. 121-125, 129-130. 
 
 Cormier, ii. 159. 
 
 Corneille, ii. 313-314. 
 
 Cornero, i. 119. 
 
 Cortes of Spain, The, i. 159 ; ii. 200, 284. 
 
 Cortez, Hernando, ii. 92. 
 
 Cotterets, Baths of, ii. 132. 
 
 Council of State ; Vendome, president of, i. 
 181-182; and Parliament, i. 183; Inqui- 
 sition, i. 193; and the fleet, i. 205; 
 bishopric of Sens, i. 238; prepare to 
 crown dauphin, i. 260-261 ; oppose 
 Louise de Savoie, i. 311; Treaty of 
 Madrid, i. 346, 349, 352 ; persecutes re- 
 formers, ii. 34-35; and Poyet, ii. 271; 
 oppose Montmorency, ii. 309; and war 
 with Charles V., ii. 310. 
 
 Courant, ii. 134-135, 149, 151, 155. 
 
 Coustelier, Thomas, ii. 323. 
 
 Crespy, Peace of, ii. 314-316, 320. 
 
 DAUPHINY, i. 176 ; ii. 170-171. 
 
 Dax, ii. 200-204. 
 
 Delabarre, M. de, i. 170. 
 
 Denisot, Valentine, ii. 352. 
 
 Denysot, Nich., ii. 353. 
 
 Deschenais, M. i. 135. 
 
 Deschenets, Seigneur, ii. 187. 
 
 Diane de Poictiers, factions of, ii. 229, 232, 
 273, 281, 306, 321 ; psalm-singing, ii. 278- 
 279; succeeds Duchess d'Estampes, ii. 
 330-332 ; her influence, ii. 340. 
 
 Dinteville, Guillaume de, ii. 187. 
 
 Dolet, tienne, ii. 352. 
 
 Dominican Monks, The, i. 164. 
 
 Dorat, Jean, i. 380. 
 
 Doria, Andrea, defeats Spanish fleet, i. 
 158 ; commands French squadron, i. 242; 
 commands navy of Pope, i. 369; quits 
 service of Francis, ii. 42-43 ; commands 
 Spanish fleet, ii. 171-173, 181-182; at 
 Nice, ii. 219, 222, 226. 
 
 Doulcet, Jehan, ii. 258. 
 
 Dover, i. 196. 
 
 "Drama of the Nativity, The," ii. 116. 
 
 Duchesne, Philippe, i. 190, 193, 212. 
 
 Dueren, ii. 287. 
 
 Duprat, Antoine, made chancellor, i. 49 ; 
 and finances, i. 53, 119; hated by the 
 people, i. 54; and the Concordat, i. 77-
 
 364 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 79, and deputies of Parliament, i. 89; at 
 conference,!. 110-111; and Marguerite, 
 i. 121, 126; ii. 130-131; rebellion of 
 Bourbon, i. 122-1'24 ; and regency of 
 Louisa of Savoy, i. 162-164, 171-173, 
 181-182. 191-192, 235, 261-262; and bish- 
 opric of Sens, i. 192 ; persecutes reformers, 
 i. 210-218 ; ii. 34,36-38, 126, 148,152, 155; 
 presents to Spanish nobility, i. 356, 364; 
 quarrel with Parliament, i. 887-819, 304- 
 307; ransom for Francis, ii. 26, 51, 56-58, 
 66-67, 78, 86; and Lutheran princes, ii. 
 92-93; death, ii. 163-164; successor, ii. 
 258. 
 
 Duquesse, Arnauld, ii. 253. 
 
 Durance River, i. 54 ; ii. 179. 
 
 ECOUEN, ii. 257, 306, 309. 
 
 Edward III., i. 194. 
 
 Eleanor of Portugal (Queen) negotiations 
 for her marriage, i. 125, 19 i. 199-202, 
 229-230, 272-282, 328, 331-332; submis- 
 sion to Charles V., i. 231; hatred of 
 Bourbon, i. 266-267; betrothed to 
 Francis, i. 349-355, 357; at Vittoria, i. 
 358-359; anxiety, i. 371; ii. 10; marriage 
 confirmed, ii. 47; entry into France, ii. 
 55-68; royal progress, ii. 70-71, 82; 
 stateliness, ii. 131 ; correspondence with 
 Marguerite, ii. 133; sickness, ii. 147, 206- 
 208,313; affair of the placards, ii. 157; 
 and war with Charles, ii. 174, 181, 189. 
 193-194; at Fontainebleau, ii. 198; fa- 
 vours Montmorency, ii. 215, 218, 256; at 
 Nice, ii. 220-225: visit of Charles V., to 
 France, ii. 234-240; seclusion of, ii. 281, 
 299; advises peace, ii. 312, 316; quits 
 France, ii. 340. 
 
 Elias, ii. 111. 
 
 Elizabeth, Queen of England, ii. 172, 353. 
 
 Emanuel, King of Portugal, i. 230, 277. 
 
 Embrun, Abp. of. See Fran9ois de 
 Tournon. 
 
 Entremont, Count d', i. 19-22. 
 
 Epernay, ii. 310. 
 
 Erasmus, Desiderius, eulogy of Poncher, 
 i. 26; his new Testament, i. 70; his love 
 of ease, i. 85; compared with Bri9onnet, 
 i. 142; friend of Rerquin, i. 145 ; ii. 37-38; 
 friend of Papillon, i. 163; protests at 
 captivity of Francis, i. 225-226 ; letters to 
 Marguerite, i. 299-301; ii. 14-16; and 
 Beda, i. 371-372; ii. 122. 
 
 Escuranis, M. d', ii. 347-348. 
 
 Espernay, Seigneur d'. See Charles d' Or- 
 Jt : ans. 
 
 E*tampes, Due d'. See Jean de la Brosse. 
 
 Estampes, Duchesse d', promoted by Fran- 
 cis, i. 360-363; influence with Francis, 
 ii. 4. 55, 245,321, 326; favours reformers, 
 ii. 37-38, 93-94, 195-197; Brion, ii. 40- 
 42; dress, ii. 54; opposes Eleanor, ii. 71 ; 
 Melancthon, ii. 138-140; letter to Francis, 
 ii. 194; and Marguerite, ii. 204-206, 211, 
 319; hatred of Montmorencv, ii. 215, 
 228-232, 255-256; at Nice, ii. 220-222; 
 and Charles V., ii. 239-240, 300, 306- 
 313; hatred of Poyet, ii. 268-272; and 
 Diane de Poictiers, ii. 273-274, 281; dis- 
 missed from Court, ii. 331. 
 
 Esterpin, Sieur d', ii. 159. 
 
 Estouteville, Mile, d', ii. 141-146. 
 
 Estouteville, Mme. d', ii. 142-145. 
 
 Etaples, Doctor of. See Lefevre. 
 
 Eudes IV., i. 2-52. 
 
 FARKL, Guillaume, i. 143, 212, 217; ii. 108, 
 150. 
 
 Ferdinand V., of, Spain, i. 19; and league 
 for defence of Italy, i. 51-52; and crown 
 of Naples, i. 56; hated, i. 97-98; con- 
 quers Navarre, ii. Ill, 240; policy com- 
 pared with that of Charles V., ii. 269. 
 
 Ferdinand I., of the Romans, ii. 91-92, 
 289. 
 
 Fere, Seigneur de. See Charles d'Or- 
 leans. 
 
 Fere, La, ii. 11. 
 
 Ferrara, ii. 161-162. 
 
 Ferret, M. de, ii. 151. 
 
 Ferte, ii. 311. 
 
 " Field of the Cloth of Gold, The," i. 364. 
 
 Figueroa, Commander de, i. 234. 
 
 Finiguerra, Maso, ii. 54. 
 
 Flanders, i. 100, 112, 176; ii. 195-199, 269. 
 
 Fleuranges, Marshal de, i. 106, 111, 170; 
 ii. 182. 
 
 Florette de Sarra, ii. 342. 
 
 Florimond de Re'mond, ii. 347. 
 
 Foix, ii. 349-350. 
 
 Foix, Count de, i. 31, 168. 
 
 Foix, Gaston, de. See Nemours, Due de. 
 
 Foix, Germaine de, i. 354-355. 
 
 Foix. Jacques de, ii. 112. 
 
 Foix, Mile, de, i. 130. 
 
 Fonseca, Don Alonzo de, i. 269. 
 
 Fontainebleau, sojourns of royal familv at, 
 ii. 11-18, 23-29, 51-55, 70-72, 78,' 81- 
 88, 93-97, 101-102, 198, 206-207, 277, 
 279, 289, 296-299, 338-339. 
 
 Fontarabia. See Fuenterrabia. 
 
 Forcadel, Etienne, ii. 352. 
 
 Foret-Moutier, ii. 316. 
 
 Forez, Duchy of, i. 156.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 365 
 
 " Fors d'Ole"ron, Le," ii. 114. 
 
 Fortet College, ii. 129. 
 
 Fraga, i. 247. 
 
 Francis I. of France, love for his sister 
 and mother, i. 4-5. 25, 48-49, 64-67, 82- 
 83; ii. 79-81, 112-134, 211-212, 300- 
 304, 334-335 ; birth, i. 6-7 ; education, 
 i. 16 ; affianced, i. 26 ; costume, i. 29 ; at 
 public ceremonies, i. 36-43, 374-380 ; 
 coronation, i. 44-46 ; Montmorency, i. 
 51 ; ii. 40-42, 215-217, 255-258 ; invades 
 Italy, i. 51-55, 58; the Concordat, i. 55- 
 57/77-82, 88-91; Bonnivet, i. 60; the 
 Heptameron, i. 61; correspondence with 
 Margueri'.e, i. 65-66, 174, 179-180, 186- 
 187, 205-206, 241-242, 249-250, 268-271, 
 283-284, 290, 321-340; ii. 11-18, 28-29, 
 38-40, 74-75, 79-85, 98, 193-194, 290- 
 291; patronage of learning, i. 83-88, 
 114; his motto and device, i. 86; birth of 
 dauphin, i. 92-95 ; Charles V., wars with, 
 i. 97-100, 106-107, 111-112, 147-169; ii. 
 30-31, 166-178, 181, 190-191, 198-203, 
 272-274, 286-287, 304-312; negotiations 
 with Charles, ii. 213-214, 219-228, SIS- 
 SIS; journey through France, ii. 232- 
 246; his magnificence, i. 118; rebellion 
 of Bourbon, i. 121-125; and Berquin, i. 
 145-146; death of Queen Claude, i. 150- 
 152; death of Princess Charlotte, i. 152- 
 156; battle of Pavia, i. 161-170; captiv- 
 ity, i. 171-267, 355-360; correspondence 
 with Louise de Savoie, i. 173-174, 179- 
 180: correspondence with Charles V., i. 
 209, 265, 295, 320; Marguerite negoti- 
 ates release, i. 268-299; attempt at es- 
 cape, i. 307-308; abdicates,;. 309-312; 
 defeats arrest of Marguerite, i. 313-325; 
 treaty of Madrid, i. 326-354, 368-370; ii. 
 
 10, 18-22; Mme. d'Estampes, i. 360-363; 
 
 11. 204-207, 229-230; Henry VIII., i. 
 100, 363-367; the Sorbonne, i. 370-373 ; 
 ii. 108-109; the league, ii. 1-4; ransom, 
 ii. 23-30,51-58; and reformers, ii. 32-39; 
 Brion, ii. 40-42; Treaty of Cambrar, ii. 
 42-50 ; Eleanor, of Portugal, ii. 60-64, 
 68 ; death of John of Navarre, ii. 70-75; 
 death of mother, ii. 82-85, 96-98, 101- 
 104 ; Lefevre, ii. 86-88 ; League of Augs- 
 burg, ii. 92-94 ; dislike of Henry of 
 Navarre, ii. 104-107; alliance with 
 Turks, ii. 118-119, 263-267, 282-285, 
 294-296; opposes Rene, ii. 137; invites 
 Melancthon to Paris, ii. 138-141; Mile. 
 d'Estouteville, ii. 141-146; the placards, 
 ii. 150-159; death of Sforza, ii. 164-165; 
 death of dauphin, ii. 185-188; impris- 
 
 ons Bda, ii. 195 ; Le Coq, ii. 196-197 ; 
 marriage of Jeanne d'Albret, ii. 246-256 ; 
 Bp. of Condom, ii. 260-261; removes 
 Poyet, ii. 269-272 ; revolt in La Rochelle, 
 ii. 275-277 ; religious vacillations, ii. 278- 
 280 ; sickness and death, ii. 281, 316- 
 326; burial, ii. 326-327; death of Duke of 
 Orleans, ii. 317 ; Marguerite's mourning 
 for, ii. 328-330. 
 
 Francis, dauphin, betrothal, i. 100, 364- 
 367; and abdication of Francis I., i. 310 ; 
 death of mother, i. 152 ; hostage, i. 327 ; 
 339, 357-359, 370; ii. 10; ransomed, 
 ii. 58-68; ii. 157; death, ii. 184-186, and 
 dress of Marguerite, ii. 220. 
 
 Franciscan monks, i. 104-105, 129, 142. 
 
 Francois de Tournon, negotiations for re- 
 lease of Francis, i. 202, 218, 227-234, 
 244, 256, 266-289. 292, 298, 312, 350. 
 
 Franget, M. de, i. 147. 
 
 Frederick II., i. 230-231; ii. 161. 
 
 Fregosa, Ce'sar, ii. 264-267, 282, 284. 
 
 Frejus, ii. 190. 
 
 Freudsberg, i. 167. 
 
 Frobenius, the printer, i. 299. 
 
 Frotte", M. de, ii. 277, 297. 
 
 Fuenterrabia, i. Ill, 147; ii. 274. 
 
 GASCONY, ii. 202-203. 
 
 Gaston de Foix. See Nemours, Due de. 
 
 Gaston, Viscount de Lavedan, ii. 351. 
 
 Gattinara, Chancellor, conference at Calais, 
 i. 110-111; negotiations, i. 221-233, 277 ; 
 and Charles's visit to Francis, i. 252, 265; 
 advice, i. 296-299; treaty of Madrid, i. 
 327; refuses to seal treaty, i. 289, 350, 
 359. 
 
 Gave River, i. 61. 
 
 Ge"doyn, Robert, i. 110. 
 
 Genoa, i. 52, 204, 207, 369 ; ii. 191. 
 
 Genoa, Prince of, i. 94. 
 
 Genouillac, M. de, i. 166. 
 
 Gerard, ii. 108. 
 
 Gerhard, i. 85. 
 
 Germans, i. 166. 
 
 Germany, i. 70, 77, 96-97, 159. 
 
 Gerson, J. C. de, i. 68. 
 
 Ghent, i. 98, ii. 232, 244-246. 
 
 Gie, Marshal de. See Pierre de Rohan. 
 
 Goinret, Jehan, attends Marguerite, i. 373; 
 ii. 2, 17, 27, 77; attends John of Navarre, 
 ii. 74; attends Montmorency, ii. 177- 
 178. 
 
 Gouffier, Charlotte, i. 94; ii. 131. 
 
 Gouffier de Boisy. See Artus de Gouffier. 
 
 Gouffier, Guillaume. See Bonnivet, Ad- 
 miral.
 
 366 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Gonzaga, Ferdinand di, ii. 173, 186, 223, 
 313. 
 
 Grammont, Cardinal de, ii. 116. 
 
 Grammont, Gabriel de, i. 202, 273, 364- 
 368; ii. 30, 345. 
 
 Granvelle, Ant. Perronet de, ii. 307. 
 
 Granvelle, Nic. Perrenot de, ii. 30, 166- 
 169, 224, 313, 315. 
 
 Grenada, ii. 175. 
 
 Grenoble, i. 20, 164. 
 
 Grs, ii. 97-99, 101. 
 
 Groslot, M. de, ii. 192. 
 
 Grossoles, Erard de, ii. 259-203. 
 
 Gruget, Charles, i. 34-35. 
 
 Guadalaxara, i. 316-318. 
 
 Guasto, Marquis del, battle of Pavia, i. 166- 
 168; siege of Rome, ii. 8; invasion of 
 France; ii. 173, 207; seizes French am- 
 bassadors, ii. 265-266, 284. 
 
 Guelderland, Province of, ii. 287-289. 
 
 Guelders, Duchy of, ii. 246. 
 
 Guicciardini, ii. 42. 
 
 Guillaume, Count, ii. 219. 
 
 Guise, ii. 182. 
 
 Guise, House of, ii. 273. 
 
 Guise, Charles de. See Lorraine, Cardi- 
 nal de. 
 
 Guise, Claude, Duke de. See Lorraine, 
 Claude de. 
 
 Guise, Mile. de. See Lorraine, Marie de. 
 
 Guyenne, i. 106 ; ii. 30-31, 132, 170, 200- 
 204. 
 
 Guzman, Martin de, ii. 313. 
 
 HABBOT, M. de, ii. 192. 
 
 Haute-Bruyere, Castle, ii. 326. 
 
 Hebrew, i.69, 70, 76. 
 
 Heilly, Anne Pisseleu d'. See Estampes, 
 Duchesse d'. 
 
 Henri, King of Navarre. See Albret, 
 Henri d'. 
 
 Henri II. of France, death of mother, 
 i. 152; marriage, ii. 141; at Nice, ii. 220; 
 and Diane of Poictiers, ii. 229; visit of 
 Charles to France, ii. 241-242; com- 
 mands army, ii. 270, 274, 286-287, 304- 
 311; ill-feeling between Francis and, 
 ii. 273, 281; Marot's Psalms, ii. 279- 
 280; and Montmorency. ii. 256,309, 330; 
 death of Francis, ii. 324-326, 327 ; pen- 
 sions Marguerite, ii. 334; coronation, 
 ii. 336 ; marriage of Jane of Navarre, 
 ii. 338-339. 
 
 Henry VII. of England, i. 19-22. 
 
 Henry VIII. of England, and Marguerite, 
 i. 19-22; ii. 201; negotiations for mar-; 
 riage of Princess Mary, i. 41 ; alliances 
 
 with Francis I., i. 52, 224, 291, 296, 305 
 349, 369, 376-377; ii. 16, 53 ; and Rome, 
 i. 77; as arbiter, i. 100, 118; Bourbon, 
 125-126, 158 ; and Charles V., i. 159, 
 196-197; ii. 172, 285; ambassadors at 
 Toledo, i. 273-274; and Catherine of 
 Arragon, i. 363-367; ii. 122; besieges 
 Boulogne, ii. 305-316; times of, ii. 354. 
 
 Heptameron, The, i. 34, 60-63; ii. 114, 
 353-354. 
 
 Herbault, i. 150, 153. 
 
 Hesdin, i. 112; ii. 193-194, 214. 
 
 Hesse, Landgrave of, ii. 91-93. 
 
 Holy Trinity Convent, ii. 14o. 
 
 Hubert, Thomas, ii. 161. 
 
 Humieres, Count de, ii. 170. 
 
 Hungary, i. 21 ; ii. 119, 190, 264, 283. 
 
 Hurault, Robert, i. 23. 
 
 Huss, John, i. 68. 
 
 Hussites, The, i. 77. 
 
 ILLESCAS Castle, i. 268-269, 354-359. 
 
 Infantado, Duke of, i. 269, 356. 
 
 " Inquisiteur, L'," ii. 89-90. 
 
 Inquisition, The, i. 193, 212-217, 296, ii. 88, 
 117. 
 
 Isabella I., ii. 92, 244. 
 
 Isabel of Navarre, ii. 136-138, 212. 
 
 Isabella of Portugal, i. 197-199, 279, 364; 
 ii.8. 
 
 Issoudun, ii. 128-129. 
 
 Italy, wars in, i. 6, 50-52, 78. 126, 133-136, 
 147-162, 165, 181-183, 191; ii. 42-50, 
 165-167; Pescara in, i. 158-159; Italian 
 troops at Pavia, i. 166; Francis captive 
 in, i. 194-208 ; disaffected towards 
 Charles V., i. 291 ; and the league, ii. 4- 
 10, 16 ; Lautrec in, ii. 30 ; desolation of, 
 ii. 172-173. 
 
 Izernay, M. de, ii. 2G2. 
 
 JACQUERIE, The, i. 190. 
 
 Jallou, camp at, ii. 311. 
 
 James V., of Scotland, i. 135 ; ii. 191. 
 
 Jane of Burgundy, i. 232. 
 
 Jane of France, i. 2, 3, 12. 
 
 Jannet, M. de, ii. 53. 
 
 Janot, ii. 53. 
 
 Jarnac, Count de, ii. 275. 
 
 Jean de la Brosse, i. 362; ii. 331. 
 
 Jean de Ste. Aldegonde, i. 127. 
 
 Jean de Selve, i. 202. 
 
 Jeanne d' Albret. See Albret, Jeanne d'. 
 
 Jeanne de Navarre. See Albret, Jeanne d'. 
 
 Jenton, M. de, ii. 193. 
 
 Joanna of Spain, i. 26. 
 
 Joffredi, Bp. of Arras, i. 50 ; ii. 314.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 367 
 
 John II., of France, i. 190, 194, 232, 327, 
 
 369. 
 
 John I., Duke de Bourbon, i. 18. 
 John, Prince of Navarre, ii. 70-76. 
 Joinville, M. de. See Lorraine, Claude de. 
 Jon, Denis du, ii. 128. 
 Jourdain de 1'Isle, Adam, i. 242. 
 Juan de Zuiiiga, Don, i. 245. 
 Julius II., i. 71; ii. 111. 
 
 LA CHASTAIGNERAYE, Mme. de. See 
 Louise de Dai lion. 
 
 La Chastaigneraye, M. de, i. 101, 239, 243. 
 
 " La Coche," ii. "318-319. 
 
 La Lande, M. de, ii. 304, 
 
 Lalemant, i. 232, 296. 
 
 Lflfayette, Admiral de, i. 158. 
 
 Lafayette, Ayme'e de, i. 239. 
 
 La Haye, Hughes de, ii. 182-184. 
 
 La Haye, Jean de, ii. 182-184. 
 
 La Mark, Robert de. See Fleuranges, 
 Marshal de. 
 
 Landrecy, ii. 286, 290, 293-294. 
 
 Landriano, ii. 43. 
 
 Langey, Seigneur de, captured at Pavia, 
 i. 170 ; secret journey to Spain, i. 223 ; 
 accompanies Marguerite to Spain, i. 248- 
 249; negotiations, ii. 53; and secret dis- 
 patches, ii. 265-267; commands army, 
 ii. 270. 
 
 Lannoy, Count de, at Milan, i. 161; battle 
 of Pavia, i. 166, 169-170, 175-176; capti- 
 vity of Francis I., i. 178, 195-209, 218 ; 
 negotiations for release of Francis, i. 222, 
 232, 252, 265; favoured by Charles, i. 
 224-227 ; and Marguerite, 246-247, 252, 
 265-296 ; urges arrest of Marguerite, i. 
 313; tool of Charles, i. 319-323; treaty 
 of Madrid, 346 ; exchange of hostages, 
 i. 349-359 ; embassy to France, i. 368- 
 370 ; sack of Rome, ii. 8-9. 
 
 La Palice, Marshal de, i. 158-159, 166-170. 
 
 La Renaudie. ii. 271. 
 
 La Roche, M. de, i. 135, 182-184, 308. 
 
 La Roche, Mine, de, ii. 162-163. 
 
 La Rochefoucault, Countess de, i. 377. 
 
 La Rochelle, ii. 275-277. 
 
 La Roche-sur-Yon, Prince de, i. 94 ; ii. 10. 
 
 Lateran Council, i. 77, 103. 
 
 La Trimouille, Due de, i. 50, 90, 94, 147, 
 161, 168. 
 
 Lautrec, Marshal de, i. 106, 357 ; ii. 16, 32, 
 42. 
 
 Lavour, Bp. of, ii. 245. 
 
 Leclerc, Nic., i. 193, 215. 
 
 Le Coq, Nic., ii. 195-197. 
 
 Lecourt, Stephen, ii. 117. 
 
 Lecouturier, i. 190. 
 
 Lefebvre, Jacques, converted to reforma- 
 tion, i. 74-75 ; persecuted by B<?da, i. 76- 
 77, 82, 96, 107, 141-144, 372 ; ii. 15, 122 ; 
 influence with Marguerite, i. 83, 102- 
 105, 109; and Mme. de Chatillon, i. 101, 
 115 ; revolt of monks, i. 129 ; escape to 
 Strasbourg, i. 217; at Fontainebleau, i. 
 23, 25,29; at Nerac, ii. 86-88, 108; ii. 
 115-116; preaches at Court, ii. 133-134; 
 his liturgy, ii. 154; death, ii. 160-161. 
 
 Lefevre. See Lefebvre. 
 
 Lenoncourt, Robert de, i. 44. 
 
 Leo X., Pope, disliked by Francis, i. 55- 
 57, negotiations with Francis, i. 55-57, 
 83; sponsor to dauphin, i. 92-94; and 
 Concordat, i. 92, 95; indulgences,!. 96, 
 273. 
 
 Lescar, Church of, ii. 161, 351. 
 
 Lescun, M. de, i. 94. 
 
 Lescure, Baron de, ii. 261. 
 
 Leucate, ii. 212-214. 
 
 Leyva, Antonio de, battle of Pavia, i. 166- 
 168; surprises Landriano, ii. 43; com- 
 mand in Italy, ii. 92; war in Savoy, ii. 
 170-173; and death of dauphin, ii. 186; 
 death, ii. 190. 
 
 Libertines, The, ii. 303-304. 
 
 Lignard, Sieur de, i. 199. 
 
 Lignieres, M. de, ii. 193. 
 
 Ligny, ii. 304, 311. 
 
 Limoges, ii. 204, 206. 
 
 Lisieux, Bp. of, i. 188-189, 312 ; ii. 34, 61. 
 
 Lizet, Gen., i. 238. 
 
 Loches, ii. 235, 325. 
 
 Lodeve, See of, i. 103. 
 
 Lodi, i. 161; ii. 5. 
 
 London, i. 147, 365. 
 
 London, Bp. of, i. 223. 
 
 London, Treaty of, ii. 308. 
 
 Longueval, Count Bossut de, ii. 204-206, 
 222, 228, 306-310, 331. 
 
 Longueville, Due de, i. 168. 
 
 Lonray Castle, ii. 36, 41, 70-74. 
 
 Lorenzo the Magnificent. See Medici. 
 
 Lorges, Seigneur de, i. 170. 
 
 Lorraine, ii. 304. 
 
 Lorraine, Antoine II., Due de, i. 46, 92, 
 94. 
 
 Lorraine, Cardinal de, death of dauphin; 
 ii. 185-186, 214; at Nice, ii. 222, 225 ; 
 and Montmorency, ii. 258; Cardinal de 
 Tournon, ii. 274; releases Longueval, ii. 
 332. 
 
 Lorraine, Claude de, and Montmorency, i. 
 134, ii. 258; brigands of Alsatia, i. 191; 
 ii. 60; defends Champagne, ii. 170; de-
 
 368 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 fends Peronne, ii. 182; invasion of 
 Luxembourg, ii. 270, 307, 311. 
 
 Lorraine, Francois de, ii. 270. 
 
 Lorraine, House of, ii. 273. 
 
 Louis II.. Duke. See Bourbon, and 
 Orleans-Longueville. 
 
 Louis XI., of France, i. 2, 27, 40, 56-57, 
 98, 232. 
 
 Louis XII., of France, descent and mar- 
 riage. 5. 2-3; and Queen Anne, i. 8, 
 36; guardian of Marguerite, i. 9; di- 
 vorce, i. 12; succeeds to throne, i. 10; and 
 lands of Bourbon, i. 18 ; alliance of Mar- 
 guerite, i. 19-22; marriage of Francis, i. 
 37; second marriage, i. 39-42; sickness 
 and death, i. 42-43; mentioned, i. 51, 
 74, 78, 86, 97, 102, 103, 123, 124, 195; ii. 
 234. 
 
 Louisa of Savoy, birth, i. 1; birth of 
 Marguerite, i. 2; marriage, i. 3-5; devo- 
 tion to children, i. 6, 38-40, 43-46. 49. 
 95, 107, 159, 160, 359, 360; ii. 41; birth 
 of Francis, i. 6; death of husband, i. 8- 
 10; second marriage of Louis XII., i. 12- 
 14, 41-42 ; hostility of Queen Anne, i. 
 14-16; and Henry VIII., i. 20, 364-365, 
 367; Claude and Renee, i. 37; and Queen 
 Mary, i. 41 ; regency, i. 52-55, 58, 76, 
 171-358; and the Heptameron, i. 61; 
 coronation of Claude, i. 63-64; and 
 Charles d'Alen9on, i. 67; and the Parlia- 
 ment, i. 80-82, 303-307; patronage of 
 learning,!. 84, 86; baptism of dauphin, i. 
 93-94; and reformers, i. 109, 138, 156; 
 ii. 25, 36-38; French finances, i. 118-121 ; 
 ii. 23-28; Bourbon's rebellion, i. 121- 
 126 ; ii. 268 ; sickness, i. 127-137, 150- 
 154,313; ii. 1-4, 73-88; sickness of Queen 
 Claude, i. 149 ; abilities, i. 161 ; and Pope, 
 i. 163, 165 ; captivity of Francis, i. 171- 
 358; correspondence with Charles V., i. 
 174-176, 200-201; correspondence with 
 Francis, i. 179-180; correspondence with 
 Marguerite, i. 260 ; Duchessed'Estampes, 
 i. 361-363; marriage of Marguerite, i. 
 376-380; treaty of Cambray, ii. 44-50; 
 ransom of dauphin, ii. 51-53 ; and 
 Eleanor, ii. 56-60, 68 ; letter from Mine, 
 de Toirviron, ii. 69-70; death, ii. 94-101 ; 
 great wealth, ii. 102-104; mentioned, ii. 
 164, 234, 358 ; portraits of, ii. 356-357. 
 
 Louise de Daillon, and Lefevre, i. 101; :iud 
 Marguerite, i. 248; ii. 131-132, 209; ac- 
 comp-mies, Marguerite to Spain, i. 254; 
 sickness, i. 175; ii. 339. 
 
 Louvre, ii. 151, 154. 
 
 Luther, Martin, i. 70, 77. 96, 102, 145 ; ii. 
 
 91, 109, 118, 138, 140, 148, 163, 192-196, 
 
 214, 349. 
 
 Luxembourg, ii. 269-294, 304-305. 
 Luxembourg, Cardinal de, i. 36. 
 Lyon, Antoine du, ii. 192. 
 Lyons, i. 52, 54; men-at-arms assemble at 
 
 i. 149, 153; Court at, i. 159, 160, 163 
 
 171-242, 261, 304-305, 346-347; monks 
 
 of, i. 164; festivities at, i. 165, 342; ii. 
 
 338-339; death of dauphin, ii. 184-187; 
 
 Francis sick at, ii. 198 ; troops at, ii. 200- 
 
 204, 206. 
 
 Lyons, Abp. of, ii. 137. 
 Ly ves, Sieur de, ii. 143. 
 
 MACON, i. 50, 163; ii. 166-169. 
 
 Madelaine de Savoye, i. 374-375; and 
 Marguerite, ii. 57; birth of son, ii. 70-71, 
 97; jealousy, ii. 105; liberality to re- 
 formers ii. 105-117; confidante of Queen 
 Eleanor, ii. 218, 221 ; counsels, ii. 230. 
 
 Madeleine, Princess, i. 152, 338; ii. 191, 
 206, 281. 
 
 Madrid, Court of, i. 98; Francis prisoner at, 
 i. 234, 243-327. 
 
 Madrid, Treaty of, i. 312, 316, 327, 335- 
 352, 358-359 ; broken, i. 368-370, 380; ii. 
 
 10, 18-22, 30-31, 46-50, 239-240, 243. 
 Mahometans, The, i 70. 
 
 Maigret, i. 164. 
 
 Mans, Cardinal de, i. 63. 
 
 Mantua, Marquis of. See Gonzaga. 
 
 Maraviglia, ii. 164, 169. 
 
 Marelieres, ii. 338. 
 
 Marguerite, daughter of Francis I., i. 152; 
 
 11. 194, 299, 354. 
 
 Marguerite d'Angouleme, birth and early 
 education, i. 1-11, 23-24; and Montmo- 
 rency, i. 16-18, 12G-127, 374-376; ii. 215- 
 218." 228-232, 256-257 ; betrothals to 
 Henry VIII., i. 19-22, 365-368; mar- 
 riage, i. 28-32, 58; dress, i. 27; ii. 53-55; 
 Heptameron, i. 34-35, 60-63, 353-354; 
 at royal weddings, i. 38, 40-42; ii. 136- 
 138, 141-146 ; influence with Francis I., 
 i. 43-46, 49, 52; ii. 78-81, 211-212, 232- 
 235, 245-246, 274, 300-317; learning, 
 i. 47-48 : ii. 354 ; at Amboise, i. 54-55, 89 ; 
 insult of Bonnivet, i. 58-60; coronation 
 of Claude, i. 63-64; correspondence with 
 Francis I., i. 65-67, 172-187, 205- 
 206, 241-242, 249-250, 268-269, 271, 
 283-284, 290, 321-340; ii. 28-29, 38- 
 40, 62. 74-75, 79-85, 98, 193-194, 207, 
 290-291; interest in reformation, i. 71- 
 72, 102, 105, 128-129, 163-165, 193-194,
 
 INDEX. 
 
 069 
 
 211-218; ii. 33-42, 166; attacks of Bc'-da 
 i. 76 ; ii. 119-128; Lefevre, i. 76, 109 
 ii. 86-88, 159-161 ; created Duchesse de 
 Berri, i. 82-83; and College Royale 
 i. 84-85; device and motto, i. 86; Marot 
 i. 87-88 ; godmother to dauphin, i. 92- 
 94; royal progresses, i. 95; "Field o 
 the Cloth of Gold," i. 100; Mme. de 
 Chatillon resigns, i. 101; correspondence 
 with Briconnet, i. 106-108, 112-121, 139- 
 140, 150-152, 155-156, 161-162; suc- 
 cesses of husband, i. 110 ; correspondence 
 with Montmorency, i. 130-131, 132-137, 
 178-179, 184-185, 248-249; ii. 189, 198- 
 200, 333; "La Marguerite," i. 138-139; 
 defends Briconnet, i. 143-144; releases 
 Berquin, i. 146, 370-373; death of Queen 
 Claude, i. 149; Princess Charlotte, i. 153- 
 154; death of husband, 188-189; prop! 
 tiates Pope, i. 190-193; captivity of 
 Francis I., i. 198-206, 218-335; journey 
 to Madrid, i. 218-253; attends Francis 
 during sickness, i. 254-267 ; negotiations 
 with Charles V., i. 268-298; sympathy 
 of Europe, i. 299303; scheme for escape 
 of Francis, i. 307-309 ; proposes abdica- 
 tion, i. 310-312 ; return journey to 
 France, i. 313-335; meeting with Louise 
 de Savoie, i. 336-337; nurses Princess 
 Madelaine, i. 338-340; marriage with 
 Henri de Navarre, i. 341-345, 376-381; 
 ii. 1-2; Duchesse d'Estampes, i. 358-363 ; 
 ii. 205-207 ; attends Louisa, ii. 3-4; 
 birth of Jeanne, ii. 11-17, 23-29; ran- 
 som of Francis, ii. 51-52; birth and 
 death of son, ii. 55-58, 68-75 ; death of 
 Louisa, ii. 82-85, 95-104; " Le Miroirde 
 L'Ame Pecheresse," ii. 88-90 ;" L'ln- 
 quisiteur," ii. 88-90; League of Augs- 
 burg, ii. 93-94; protects Calvin, ii. 129- 
 131 ; private life at Bdarn, ii. 132-136 ; 
 Melancthon, ii. 138-141; placard epi- 
 sode, ii. 148-158; death of Mine, de la 
 Roche, ii. 161-163 ; hatred of Charles V., 
 ii. 170-180; releases La Have, ii. 182- 
 184; death of dauphin, ii. 188-189; and 
 her duchy, ii. 191-193 ; Le Coq, ii. 195- 
 197; governs Guyenne, ii. 201-204; sick- 
 ness of Jeanne, ii. 208-210; at Villeneuve, 
 ii. 220-225 ; Charles V., visit to France, 
 ii. 236-238, 240; marriage of Jeanne, 
 ii. 246-255, 290-293 ; and Bp. of Con- 
 dom, ii. 258-263 ; birth of twins, ii. 270 ; 
 fall of Poyet, ii. 271-272; and revolt of 
 Rochelloi?, ii. 275-277; Marot's Psalms, 
 ii. 278-280; verses on Landrecy, ii. 294; 
 sickness, ii. 296-299 ; " Le" Coche," 
 
 VOL. II. 24 
 
 ii. 318-319; death of Francis, ii. 321- 
 323, 324, 326; mourning, ii. 328-329, 
 340-341; condolence, ii. 330-333; pecu- 
 niary anxieties, ii. 334-337 ; second 
 marriage of Jeanne, ii. 338-339; death, 
 ii. 342-350; letter to Duchesse de 
 Nevers, ii. 344-345; "Le Miroir de 
 Jesus Christ Crucifie'," ii. 346; funeral 
 ii. 351-352; foreign tributes to, ii. 352- 
 353; religious views at death, ii. 355; 
 philanthropy, ii. 356; devices, ii. 356; 
 portraits of extant, ii. 356-357. 
 
 Marguerite de Bourbon, i. 2, 4, 5, 124. 
 
 Marguerite de Rohan, ii. 212. 
 
 Marguerite de Vendome, ii. 194, 344. 
 
 Marguerite of Austria, ii. 45-50, 92. 
 
 Marguerite of Lorraine, i. 27, 130-131. 
 
 Marguerite of Navarre. See Marguerite 
 d'Angoule'me. 
 
 Marie de Bourgoyne. See Mary of Bur- 
 gundy. 
 
 Marie de Lorraine, i. 134-135. 
 
 Marignano, Battle of, i. 55 ; ii. 145, 164, 
 333. 
 
 Marne River, ii. 308, 310, 312. 
 
 Marot, Clement, description of Marguerite, 
 i. 48, 381; ii. 145; enters Marguerite's 
 service, i. 87-88; father, i. 180; arrested, 
 i. 239-240; atNerac, ii. 108; Psalms of, 
 ii. 278,280; ii. 298, 354. 
 
 Marot, Jean, i. 180. 
 
 Marseilles, i. 157-158,204-205; ii. 171, 182, 
 294-295. 
 
 Martin V., Pope, i. 68-69. 
 
 Mary, Archduchess, ii. 293. 
 
 Mary of Burgundy, i. 52, 98, 100, 227-229, 
 232, 243. 
 
 Mary I., of England, i. 38-42, 100, 197, 
 364-367. 
 
 Mary, Queen of Hungary, i. 231 ; ii. 194, 
 212. 
 
 Mary Stuart, i. 59, 135. 
 
 Vlaubeuge, i. 131. 
 
 Maximilian II., Emperor, i. 51-55, 97-98, 
 103. 
 
 Mazurier, Martial, i. 141, 214. 
 
 Meaux, i. 104-110, 129, 140-144, 163, 214- 
 215; ii. 311. 
 
 Mfeaux, Bp. of. See Briconnet. 
 
 tfedici, Lorenzo de, i. 50, 52, 92-94, 96. 
 
 Medici, Madelaine de, i. 96. 
 Medina Celi, Due de, i. 324-325. 
 
 tfelancthon, Andrew, ii. 203. 
 Melancthon, Philipp, ii. 138-141, 145, 
 149-150, 155, 166. 
 
 tfenager, Jacques, i. 214. 
 
 lendoza, Hurtado de, i. 243.
 
 370 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Mesle, Seigneur de. See Angoulme, 
 Count de. 
 
 " Messe a Sept Points, La," ii. 115, 154. 
 
 Metz, i. 215. 
 
 Meuse River, ii. 304, 308. 
 
 Mezieres, i. 108-112. 
 
 Michel d'Arande, i. 107-109, 114, 128, 144, 
 163, 256. 
 
 Milan, Duchy of, disputed by Francis I. 
 and Charle's V., i. 100, 116, 118, 125; 
 ii. 222, 239, 256; French attack on, 
 i. 147-164; garrison of, i. 171; council 
 of war, i. 207; and Duke of Orleans, 
 i. 244-246; ii.307, 315. 
 
 Milanese, The, i. 51-55, 106; ii.320. 
 
 Milan, Duke of. See Sforza, Francesco II. 
 
 Minimes, Convent of the, ii. 103. 
 
 Mirabello, Park of, i. 165-166. 
 
 " Miroir de Je"sus Christ CrucifieY' ii. 346. 
 
 "Miroir de I'Ame Pe"cheresse," i. 139; 
 ii. 88-89, 108, 122-124, 356. 
 
 Monsada, Ugo de, i. 158. 227, 246-247, 
 269,277,296, 368; ii. 92. 
 
 Mont Cenis, ii. 165. 
 
 Mont-de-Marsan, i. 359-368; ii. 201-202, 
 298-300, 319, 332-341. 
 
 Mont Ste. Michel, ii. 195. 
 
 Montbrun, Count de, i. 143. 
 
 Montcallier, ii. 207. 
 
 Montchenu, M. de, i. 16, 51. 
 
 Montecuculi, S. de, ii. 184-188. 
 
 Montfaucon, Bernard de, ii. 357. 
 
 Montferrat, Marchioness de, ii. 2. 
 
 Montfrin, ii. 175-181. 
 
 Montholon, Chancellor, ii. 270, 276. 
 
 Montluc, Jean de, ii. 120, 284. 
 
 Montmelian, ii. 165. 
 
 Montmorency, Anne de, Marguerite's in- 
 terest in, i. 16, 19, 126-127 ; character 
 and advancement, i. 50-51, 359; ii. 214- 
 216, 217-218; letter from Charles V., 
 i. 99; defends Mezieres, i. 108-109 ; cor- 
 respondence with Marguerite, i. 130-137, 
 154, 165, 177-179, 184-185, 248-249, 316- 
 324; ii. 3, 11, 26, 29, 68-71, 75, 84, 87, 
 93, 96, 174-180, 189, 332-334; harasses 
 Imperial Army, i. 159; captured at Pa- 
 via, i. 170 ; disarms French fleet, i. 204- 
 208; negotiations with Charles V., i. 218- 
 223, 239, 241, 268-294; sickness of 
 Francis, i. 247-259 ; letter from Louisa, 
 i. 263; abdication of Francis, i. 312, 346- 
 347 ; foils attempted capture of Margue- 
 rite, i. 326-329, 333-334 ; releases Ber- 
 quin, i. 371-373; marriage, i. 376; at 
 Assembly of Notables, ii. 18-19 ; and 
 reformers, ii. 37, 92, 197, 336; and 
 
 Brion, ii. 40-42, 273; and ransom of 
 Francis, ii. 55-60 ; and Queen Eleanor, 
 ii. 62-65 ; entertains Francis, ii. 102; 
 treachery to Marguerite, ii. 120-121, 127, 
 131, 152-154, 198-200; and Count de St. 
 Paul, ii. 141-147; command of the 
 armies, ii. 171, 181, 190-194, 206-207; 
 downfall, ii. 228-231, 235, 255-258, 281; 
 and Charles's journey in France, ii. 242- 
 245 ; ii. 269 ; reinstated by Henry II., 
 ii. 306-309, 325, 330-331. 
 
 Montmorency, Guillaume de, i. 50-51. 
 
 Montmorency, Mme. de. See Madelaine 
 de Savoye. 
 
 Montmorency, Philippe de, i. 127. 
 
 Montpellier, i. 336-337; ii. 212. 
 
 Montpensier, Charles de. See Bourbon, 
 Charles, Due de. 
 
 Montpezat, Jean de, ii. 175-176. 
 
 Montpezat, Seigneur de, i. 170, 172, 185, 
 189, 237, 268 ; ii. 270, 274. 
 
 Montreal, Mme. de, i. 153, 338 ; ii. 131. 
 
 Montreuil, ii. 146, 305, 315. 
 
 Moore, Treaty of, i. 363. 
 
 Moreau, Sebastian, i. 181-182. 
 
 Morin, ii. 129. 
 
 Morlas, ii. 350. 
 
 Mortagne-en-Perche Hospital, ii. 356. 
 
 Moulins Castle, i. 14, 122 ; ii. 214-216, 339. 
 
 Mouzon, i. 106, 110. 
 
 NAI, ii. 110, 113. 
 
 Nancy, i. 215. 
 
 Nantes, i. 13. 
 
 Nantes, Cardinal de, i. 30. 
 
 Nantouillet Castle, ii. 163. 
 
 Naples, i. 6, 55-57, 100, 116, 207-208, 224, 
 
 369 ; ii. 42-44. 
 
 Naples, Viceroy of. See Lannoy. 
 Narbonne, i. 199-202. 
 Nassau, Count de, i. 52, 106 ; ii. 182. 
 Nassau, Marchioness of, ii. 59-71. 
 Navarre, College de, ii. 125-127. 
 Navarre, King of. See Albret, Henri d'. 
 Navarre, Kingdom of, i. 100, 147 ; ii. 198- 
 
 201, 274. 
 
 Navarreins, ii. 113-114. 
 Navarro, F.,ii.253. 
 Nemours, Due de, i. 5, 16, 31, 51. 
 Nemours, Duchesse de. See Philiberte. 
 Nemours, Hotel de, ii. 272. 
 Nemport, i. 82. 
 Nerac, ii. 25, 87-88, 106-108, 131, 134, 152, 
 
 161, 274, 294. 
 Nesle, Hotel de, i. 85. 
 Netherlands, i. 98, 110. 
 Neufchatel, ii. 150.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 371 
 
 Neuville, Nicholas de, i. 373. 
 
 Nevers, Countess de. See Albret, Marled'. 
 
 Nevers, Due de, i. 170 ; ii. 220. 
 
 Nevers, Duchesse de. See Marguerite de 
 
 Vendome. 
 
 Norfolk, Duke of, i. 147, 156 ; ii. 305, 315. 
 Normandy, i. 125, 196. 
 Notre Dame Cathedral, i. 43. 
 Notre Dames des Fontaines,!. 55. 
 Notre Dame de Serrance, i. 61. 
 Novarra, Battle of, i. 51. 
 Nice, ii. 218-225, 294-295. 
 Nice, Truce of, ii. 315. 
 Nismes, ii. 174-175. 
 
 ODOS CASTLE, ii. 343-350. 
 
 Ohlagaray, ii. 108. 
 
 Oleron, Bp. of. See Roussel. 
 
 Olivier, Francois, i. 88 ; ii. 192. 
 
 Orange, Prince of, ii. 6-9, 43. 
 
 Order of the Golden Fleece, i. 278. 
 
 Orleans, i. 37 ; ii. 234-235, 237-238. 
 
 Orleans, Bp. of, ii.237. 
 
 Orleans, Charles d'. See Angoule'me, 
 Count d'. 
 
 Orleans, Duke of, i. 8. 
 
 Orleans, Duke of. See Henry II., of 
 France. 
 
 Orleans, Duke of ; captivity in Spain, 
 i. 339, 357-359, 370; ii. 10, 58-68; and 
 reformers, ii.157; and Duchy of Milan, 
 ii. 166-167, 314-315 ; in camp, ii. 178; at 
 Nice, ii. 220 ; Charles's journey in 
 France, ii. 239-245; commands army, 
 ii. 270, 299; and Duchesse d'Estampes> 
 ii. 306-312; death, ii. 316-317, 320. 
 
 Orleans, Louis, Due d'. See Louis XII. 
 
 OrWans-Longueville, Louis II., Due d', 
 i. 135. 
 
 Orne River, i. 33. 
 
 Orval, Count d', i. 94. 
 
 Osma, Bp. of, i. 220, 296. 
 
 Oyselle, i. 61. 
 
 PACHECO, Dona Inez Beatrix, ii. 184. 
 
 Palamos, i. 243. 
 
 Pamiers, ii. 111. 
 
 Pampeluna, ii. 274. 
 
 Papillon, Ant., i. 163. 
 
 Pare 1 , Ambrose, ii. 325. 
 
 Paris, i. 31, 32, 42-52, 64, 77, 82, 89, 90, 
 105, 108, 129, 141-144, 147, 153, 156, 160, 
 163, 181, 215, 303, 365, 370, 374, 377; 
 ii. 1, 18, 23, 27, 37, 39, 40, 51, 96, 102, 
 120, 129, 132, 148-158, 182, 183, 191, 
 195, 209-210, 241-243, 280, 307-316, 
 327. 
 
 Paris, Bp. of. See Poncher. 
 
 Paris, Treaty of, i. 100, L'Hopital General 
 de, ii. 356; university of , ii. 139-156. 
 
 "Parliament de Paris," and Louise de 
 Savoie, i. 49, 160, 172, 180, 183, 189, 
 304-307 ; hostility to Francis, i. 53-54, 
 189, 219, 364 ; and reformers, i. 74, 190- 
 193, 210-218 ; ii. 117; persecutes Lefevre, 
 i. 76-77, ii. 85-86; the Concordat, i. 77- 
 83, 95, 119,328; and Berquin, i. 146; 
 ii. 38; persecutes Briconnet, i. 142-143; 
 releases Sebville, i. 164; and Alencon's 
 treachery, i. 172; terms of release for 
 Francis, i. 199, 234, 352-353 ; ii. 18-20 ; 
 quarrel with Duprat, i. 237-239 ; sickness 
 of Francis, i. 261, 264; peace with Henry 
 VIII., i. 291; abdication of Francis, 
 i. 312; and report of Babou, i. 330; 
 verdict on Bourbon, ii. 9; attacks Calvin, 
 ii. 129-130; and the placards, ii. 151-154, 
 157 ; trial of Poyet, ii. 271-272; contests 
 of, ii. 273. 
 
 Passano, Gioacchino, i. 196. 
 
 Pau Castle, ii. 36, 109-119, 134, 158. 162, 
 174, 247, 257, 263, 270, 322, 340. 
 
 Paul III., Pope, alliance with Charles V., 
 ii. 166-170, 285; negotiations at Nice, 
 ii. 214, 218-225; and Roussel, ii. 258- 
 259 ; annuls marriage of Jeanne, ii. 293 ; 
 death, ii. 347. 
 
 Paulegon, M. de, i. 38. 
 
 " Pauvres de Lyons, Les." i. 164. 
 
 Pavannes, Jacques de, i. 215. 
 
 Pavia, ii. 16. 
 
 Pa via, Battle of, i. 164-170; effects on 
 France,!. 171-186, 191; effect on Charles, 
 i.197, 210, 245; commanders at, i. 218- 
 239, 264; escape of Henri of Navarre, 
 i. 341-342. 
 
 Pembroke, Marchioness de. See Boleyn. 
 
 Penthievre, Count de. See Estampes, 
 Due d'. 
 
 Perpignan, i. 219, 346-347; ii. 182, 194, 
 270. 
 
 Pescara, Marquis de, invades Provence, 
 i. 156-159; battle of Pavia, i. 161-170, 
 175 ; courtesy to Francis, i. 177 ; deceived 
 by De Lannoy, i. 196-208, 224-225; and 
 Henri of Navarre, i. 341 ; and diadem of 
 Naples, i. 291; death, i. 323. 
 
 Peter de Beaujeu, i. 18. 
 
 Petit, Guillaume, i. 26, 50, 85, 132; ii. 73, 
 94, 116. 
 
 Philibert I., of Savoy, i. 4, 124. 
 
 Philiberte de Savoie, i. 94. 
 
 Philip I., of Castile, i. 97. 
 
 Philip II., Duke of Burgundy, i. 232.
 
 372 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, i. 232 
 ii. 243. 
 
 Philip, Due de Savoye, i. 3-5, 51. 
 
 Philip II., of Spain, ii. 106. 
 
 Philip V., of Spain, i. 258. 
 
 Philip VI., of France, i. 27. 
 
 Picardy, i. 64, 77, 106, 109, 126, 132, 147 
 ii. 170, 182, 191. 
 
 Picquigny, ii. 193. 
 
 Piedmont, ii. 162, 199-200,265-270. 
 
 Pierre de Beaujeu, Due de Bourbon, i. 4 
 17. 
 
 Pierre de Rohan, i. 16-22. 
 
 Pierre du Chatel, i. 50; ii. 327. 
 
 " Pints d' Armour, Le," ii. 356. 
 
 Pirigort, i. 248. 
 
 Pisa, Council of, i. 67, 103. 
 
 Pisseleu, Charles de, ii. 263. 
 
 Pius II., Pope, i. 56-57. 
 
 Pizarro, Francisco, ii. 92. 
 Pizzighitone, i. 177-208, 218-230. 
 
 Place de Greve, ii. 40. 
 
 Plessis-les-Tours Castle, i. 2, 6, 26, 40; 
 
 ii. 107, 208-210, 247-249, 292, 319-320. 
 Po River, ii. 264-267. 
 Pocques, ii. 303. 
 Poitiers, Battle of, i. 369. 
 Poitou, Seneschal de, i. 288. 
 Poitou, Seneschale de. See Louise de 
 
 Daillon. 
 
 Pommeraye, i. 263. 
 Pomperant, i. 168-169, 177. 
 Poncher, fitienne, i. 26, 35, 49, 85, 193; 
 
 ii. 157-158. 
 Pont, Pierre, i. 178. 
 Pont Dains Castle, i. 4. 
 Pont St. Esprit, i. 240. 
 Port St. Denis, i. 45. 
 Porto Venaro, i. 208. 
 Postel, Guillaume, ii. 353. 
 Pot, Philippe, i. 193. 
 Pothon, Seigneur de, i. 87. 
 Poyet, Chancellor, ii. 165, 241, 268-272. 
 Praet, Sieur de, i. 359. 
 Pragmatic, The, i. 55-56, 79-91, 190, 237, 
 
 306. 
 
 Prevost, Jehan, ii. 192. 
 Primaticcio, ii. 72. 
 Primrose, Capt., i. 172, 176. 
 "Prisons, Les," ii. 101. 
 Privy Council, ii. 148-156, 269. 
 Provence, i. 125, 156, 171, 176, 181-182, 
 
 190. 
 Psalms of Marot, ii. 278-280. 
 
 QUINTIN, ii. 303-304. 
 
 RABELAIS, F. de, ii. 337. 
 
 Ramard, Noel, ii. 18. 
 
 Rambouillet, ii. 325. 
 
 Raoul de Poictiers, i. 8. 
 
 Ratisbon, Diet of, ii. 266. 
 
 Ravenna, Battle of, i. 50. 
 
 Regnault de Reffuge, i. 39. 
 
 Remond, F. de, ii. 116, 336. 
 
 Ren<?, Bastard of Savoy, i. 51,78-81. 88-89, 
 168, 375; ii. 338. 
 
 Rend, Viscount de Rohan, ii. 136-138. 
 
 Renee, Princess, negotiations for marriage 
 of, i. 37,52, 94; and Bourbon, i. 123, 194, 
 199, 266-267, 374; and Montmorency, 
 i. 135; death of Queen Claude, i. 149-150; 
 ii. 161-162. 
 
 Reuchlin, John, i. 70. 
 
 Rheims, i. 44, 310 ; ii. 336. 
 
 Rhone River, i. 240 ; ii. 175-188. 
 
 Rieux, Count de, i. 176-194, 222-2-32. 
 
 Rincone, Antonio, ii. 264-267, 282-284. 
 
 Riva, ii. 207. 
 
 Robert I., Duke of Burgundy, i. 232. 
 
 Robert II., Duke of Burgundy, i. 232. 
 
 Robertet, i. 259, 267, 304, 329-330. 
 
 Rochefort, ii. 323. 
 
 Rochefort, F. de, i. 39, 341-342. 
 
 Rohan, Viscount de, ii. 212. 
 
 Rome, i. 96; ii. 6-10, 166. 
 
 Romorantin, i. 5, 13, 38-43. 
 
 Romorantin, Seigneur de. See Angouleme, 
 Count d'. 
 
 Ronsard, Pierre de, ii. 299, 354. 
 
 Rothelin Marquise de, ii. 221. 
 
 Rouen, ii. 117. 
 
 Roussel, Gerard, retreats to Strasbourg, 
 i. 217 ; and Marguerite, ii. 25, 36, 108- 
 116, 133-135; preaches in Paris, ii. 149; 
 imprisoned, ii. 151-155; made Bishop of 
 Oteron, ii. 159-160; 258-259, 262. 
 
 Roussillon, i. 336-347, 378; ii. 269-274. 
 
 Rubat, M. de, ii. 218. 
 Ruffi, ii. 303. 
 
 Ruremonde, ii. 287. 
 
 " SACRAMENTARIANS," ii. 148-150. 
 
 St. Aignan Cloister, ii. 237. 
 
 St. Andre^, M. de, ii. 199-204. 
 
 St. Andrd-des-Arts, Cur de, ii. 124. 
 
 St. Angelo Castle, ii. 6-7. 
 
 St. Aubert, Abbaye de, ii. 46. 
 
 St. Beaume, Church of, ii. 103. 
 
 St. Benoit Abbey, i. 304-306. 
 
 St. Benoit-sur-Loire, i. 237. 
 
 St. Bernard, i. 68. 
 
 St. Bertin, Abb<$ de, i. 110. 
 
 St. Blancard, Admiral de, ii. 226.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 373 
 
 St. Cloud, ii. 77, 198, 32G-327. 
 
 St. Denis, i. 36, 42, 63, 150; ii. 102, 173, 
 327. 
 
 St. Denis, Abbot of, ii. 244. 
 
 St. Duzier Fortress, ii. 304, 308. 
 
 St. Eustache, Cur of. See Le Coq. 
 
 St. Francois de Paule, i. 40. 
 
 St. Gelais, M. de, i. 269. 
 
 St. Germain-des-Pres Abbey, i. 103. 
 
 St. Germain-en-Laye, i. 37, 110, 112, 130, 
 133, 136, 147, 153, 373-380; ii. 1-4, 78- 
 79, 193, 208, 228, 270, 324, 325, 330, 336. 
 
 St. Gillier, M. de, i. 239. 
 
 St. Irenaeus, ii. 141. 
 
 St. Jean de Luz, ii. 59-61. 
 
 St. Jean des Vignes Abbey, ii. 312. 
 
 St. Just, i. 165, 174. 
 
 St. Laurent, ii. 173, 222. 
 
 St. Lazare of Toledo, ii. 224, 312. 
 
 St. Malo, Cardinal de, i. 102. 
 
 St. Marthe, Charles de, ii. 133, 191, 351. 
 
 St. Mesme, M. de, i. 92. 
 
 St. Michael, Order of, i. 30, 93, 259. 
 
 St. Michelle Chapel, ii. 238. 
 
 St. Paul, Count de. See Bourbon. Fran- 
 
 St. Peter's Church, i. 96. 
 
 St. Quentin, ii. 244. 
 
 St. Simon, Duke of, i. 258. 
 
 Saldana, Countess of, i. 317, 351. 
 
 Salique Law, i. 161. 
 
 Salle de St. Louis, i. 79. 
 
 Salon de Craux, i. 158. 
 
 Salses, i. 334-335. 
 
 Saluzzo, Marquis of, i. 161; ii. 5, 10, 42. 
 
 Salviati, Cardinal, i. 273 ; ii. 259. 
 
 San Severino, i. 168. 
 
 Sancerre, Count de, ii. 304. 
 
 Saragossa, i. 99, 226. 
 
 Savona, ii. 226. 
 
 Savoy, ii. 212-214. 
 
 Savoy, Bastard of. See Rene. 
 
 Savoy, Duke of, attacked by Francis I., 
 ii. 165; and speech of Charles V., ii. 172- 
 173; opposes meeting at Nice, ii. 238- 
 219; and truce, ii. 223-224, 295; ii. 315. 
 
 Savov, Duke of. See Philip, Due de. 
 
 Savoy, Duchy of, ii. 199, 204, 207. 
 
 Saxe, Duke of, ii. 93. 
 
 Saxony, Elector of, i. 68 ; ii. 91, 139, 155. 
 
 Scheld't River, i. 111-112, 121. 
 
 Schuch, i. 215. 
 
 Schyron, Sieur de, ii. 159. 
 
 Sebville, i. 163. 
 
 Sedan, i. 106. 
 
 Seez, Bp. of, ii. 117, 210, 251. 
 
 Selve, President de, conference at Calais, 
 
 i. 110; negotiations in Spain, i. 218, 
 226-227, 232-233, 255-266; and Mar- 
 guerite's negotiations, i. 269-287; wit- 
 nesses abdication, i. 312; oath of secresy, 
 i. 345, 347, 358 ; at Assembly of Nota- 
 bles, ii. 19. 
 
 Senlis, Bp. of, and the Sorbonne, i. 192; 
 sickness of Francis, i. 252, 255 ; 349; at- 
 tends Marguerite, i. 269; carries des- 
 patches to Spain, i. 286-288 ; accompanies 
 Francis on his return, i. 358 ; and Mar- 
 guerite's missal, ii. 108, 279; "L'Ame 
 Pecheresse," ii. 124 ; and reformers, ii. 
 148; and Melancthon, ii. 139-140. 
 
 Sens, Abp. of. See Poncher. 
 
 Sens, Archbishopric of, i. 49, 237-238, 262 
 304-306 ; church of, ii. 164 ; decrees of, 
 ii. 108. 
 
 Sens, Council of, ii. 37-38, 86. 
 
 Sforza, Francesco II., Duke of Milan, and 
 the League, i. 52, 349 ; and power of 
 Francis I., i. 95, 100 ; reinstated, i. 148, 
 198, 291; attacked by Bourbon, i. 353, 
 369; ii. 4-9; death, ii. 164-170. 
 
 Sigismund, Emperor, i. 68-69. 
 
 Sigismund of Hohenlohe, Count, i. 301- 
 302. 
 
 Silly, Mme. de, accompanies Marguerite to 
 Spain, i. 254, 269, 289 ; care of Princess 
 Jeanne, ii. 29, 70, 73, 107, 339 ; sickness of 
 Jeanne, ii. 208-210; marriage of Jeanne, 
 ii. 249-252. 
 
 Simancas Castle, i. 220. 
 
 Sisteron, i. 58. 
 
 Smalkalden, League of, ii. 92-93. 
 
 Soissons, ii. 289, 312, 314. 
 
 Soliman II., league with Francis I., ii. 33, 
 43, 118-119, 213, 264, 267, 282-283, 
 294-307, 315 ; invades Hungary, ii. 190. 
 
 Solon, ii. 115. 
 
 Sorbonne, The, views on reform, i. 24, 50, 
 70; and the Concordat, i. 55, 78, 80-85, 
 119; and Lefevre, i. 74-76, 107, 129, 138 ; 
 ii. 86-88; opposition to Francis I., i. 95- 
 96, 146, 370-372; ii. 195-196; and Michel 
 d' Arande, i. 108; and reformers, i. 121, 
 190-193, 212-217; persecutes Briconnet 
 and Lefevre, i. 140-145 ; censures Luther, 
 i. 163 ; arrests Sebville, i. 164 ; criticises 
 Erasmus, ii. 15 ; attacks Roussel, ii. 25 ; 
 martyrdom of Berquin, ii. 37-38; attacks 
 on Marguerite, ii. 89-90, 114, 119-127; and 
 Petit, ii. 94; attack on Calvin, ii. 129- 
 130 ; opposes Melancthon, ii. 139-140 ; 
 and the placards, ii. 149-156 ; contests 
 of, ii. 272; and Marot's Psalms, ii. 278- 
 280.
 
 374 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Spa'n. Imperial Council of, and Marguerite, 
 i. 275-286, 291-298; mandate to arrest 
 Babou, i. 312; advises arrest of Mar- 
 guerite, i. t313 ; consternation in, i. 319, 
 324; attempted arrest of Montmorency, 
 i. 346-347; treaty of Madrid, i. 350- 
 352 ; frustrate plot at release, ii. 10. 
 
 Spires, Diet of, ii. 283-285. 
 
 Strasbourg, i. 217; ii. 25. 
 
 Strasbourg, Dean of, i. 301. 
 
 Suffolk, Duke of, i. 41, 126, 167; ii. 49. 
 
 Swabia, House of, i. 67. 
 
 Swiss Republic, i. 52, 95, 262. 
 
 TALMONT, Prince of, i. 94. 
 
 " Talmud of Heresy, The," ii. 336. 
 
 Tarbes, Bp. of. See Grammont, Gabriel 
 de. 
 
 Tardenois, Seigneur de. See AngoulSme, 
 Count d'. 
 
 Tende, Count de, ii. 58-59, 191. 
 
 Tezel, Jean, i. 96. 
 
 Thierry Chateau, ii. 309-311. 
 
 Thou, J. A. de, i. 63. 
 
 Ticino River, i. 147. 
 
 Tillet, M. du, ii. 130, 271. 
 
 Toirviron, Louise de. ii. 69-70. 
 
 Toledo, i. 199-298, 312-320, 346-352 ; ii. 
 214, 240. 
 
 Toledo, Abp. of, i. 269. 
 
 " Tombeau de Marguerite de Valois, Le," 
 ii. 353. 
 
 Tonnerre, Count de, 5. 168. 
 
 Tordesillas Castle, i. 97. 
 
 Torre jan, i. 354-356. 
 
 Toiiars, ii. 60-68. 
 
 Toulon, i. 159, 204-207. 
 
 Toulouse, ii. 117, 174-178, 205-206. 
 
 Toulouse, Abp. of, ii. 64-66. 
 
 Tournay, 5. 112. 
 
 Tournelles in Paris, i. 31, 43, 118. 
 
 Tournois, i. 30. 
 
 Tournon, i. 238, 260-261, 304-307, 336; ii. 
 185. 
 
 Tournon, Cardinal de, sickness of Louise, 
 ii. 83; and reformers, ii. 140-157, 230, 
 296; opposes Le Coq, ii. 196-197; suc- 
 ceeds Montmorency, ii. 268; opposes 
 Lorraine, ii. 274; and Marot's Psalms, 
 ii. 279-280; and marriage of Jeanne, ii. 
 292-293 ; resigns, ii. 305 ; opposes Mont- 
 morency, ii. 309; death of Due d'Orleans, 
 ii. 317 ; death of Francis, ii. 326 ; dis- 
 missed from Court, ii. 332. 
 
 Tours, i. 13, 26. 
 
 Toussaint, i. 212. 
 
 Tovar, Juan de, ii. 10. 
 
 Trent, Council of, ii. 285-286. 
 
 Trivulzio, Marshal, i. 171. 
 
 Troyes, i. 26, 107, 108. 
 
 Tuiferies, Hotel des, i. 873. 
 
 Tulle, i. 50. 
 
 Tulle, Bp. of. See Chatel. 
 
 Tunis, King of, ii. 165-166. 
 
 Turin, i. 54, 148 ; ii. 170, 187, 266. 
 
 Turks, ii. 118-119, 167. 
 
 Tusson Convent, ii. 322-332, 341-343, 356 . 
 
 UEBINO, Due d', ii. 5-7. 
 
 VALENCE, ii. 171, 176-178, 184-185. 
 
 Valence, Bp. of. See Montluc. 
 
 Valencia, i. 208-209, 218, 223, 226. 
 
 Valenciennes, i. 110-111. 
 
 Valentinois, Due de. See Borgia. 
 
 Valentinois, Duchesse de. See Diana de 
 Poitiers. 
 
 Valois, Duke of. See Francis I. 
 
 Valois, Duchesse de. See Louise de Savoie . 
 
 Valois, Mausoleum of the, ii. 327. 
 
 Vandenesse, M. de, i. 148. 
 
 Van Rossem, Martin, ii. 286. 
 
 Vanvres, ii. 198-199. 
 
 Var River, ii. 173. 
 
 Vatable, Francois, i. 26. 
 
 Vatican, The, i. 56, 71, 96. 
 
 Vaudemont, Count de, i. 27. 
 
 Vaugris, i. 163. 
 
 Vega River, i. 218. 
 
 Velasco, Hernandez, i. 357-358; ii. 58. 
 
 Velly, Sieur de, ii. 166-170. 
 
 Vendome, Antoine, Due de, ii. 242, 292, 
 337-339, 343, 351. 
 
 Vendome, Due de, obsequies of Queen 
 Anne, i. 36 ; and Princess Mary, i. 40, 
 48; Claude's entry into Paris, i. 64; in 
 Picardy, i. 106, 133; withdraws from 
 Champagne, i. 147; refuses regency, i. 
 181; co-operates with Louisa, i. 182-183, 
 219, 305; prepares to crown dauphin, i. 
 280-261 ; ambition, i. 344; at Assembly 
 of Notables, ii. 19; procession in Paris, ii. 
 157; defends Picardy ii. 170; defends 
 Peronne, ii. 182; death, ii. 193, 198. 
 
 Vendome, Duchesse de, i. 44, 63; ii. 2, 57, 
 63, 193, 220. 
 
 Venetian Republic, i. 52; ii. 264-267, 284. 
 
 Venloo, ii. 287. 
 
 Venyssollo Castle, i. 218, 223-226, 234. 
 
 Vera, Antonio de, i. 356. 
 
 Vercelli, i. 148. 
 
 Ve"re", i. 243-244. 
 
 Veretz, i. 312. 
 
 Vergey, Sieur de, i. 353.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 375 
 
 Verjus, Andre, i. 193, 212, 214. 
 
 Vesuz, Archd'n of, i. 226. 
 
 " Vie de Notre Dame," ii. 357. 
 
 Vienna, i. 67; ii. 119. 
 
 Vigevano, i. 161. 
 
 Villa-Franca, i. 54. 
 
 Villana, Marquis of, i. 267. 
 
 Vi liars, Count of. See Ren. 
 
 Villars, Countess de, i. 94. 
 
 Villefranche, ii. 219-225. 
 
 Villemadon, M. de, ii. 277-280, 298. 
 
 Villene, M. de, i. 132. 
 
 Villeneuve, ii. 207, 219-225. 
 
 Vincennes, i. 36. 
 
 Vinci, Leonardo de, ii. 73. 
 
 Visconti, Valentine, ii. 165. 
 
 Viterbo, i. 55. 
 
 Vittoria, i. 358-359. 
 
 Volmar, Melchior, ii. 120, 303. 
 
 WALDENSES, The, i. 77. 
 
 Windsor, Treaty of, i. 197, 364. 
 
 Wingfield, Sir Robert, i. 273. 
 
 Wittenberg, i. 96. 
 
 Wolmer, ii. 130. 
 
 Wolaey, Cardinal, i. 39; arbiter, i. 110- 
 112;" offends Charles V., i. 196-197; let- 
 ter from Bp. of London, i. 223 ; divorce 
 of Catherine of Arragon, i. 365-367, 
 369, 377; conference with Francis, ii. 
 11, 18; compared with Duprat, ii. 164. 
 
 Worcester, Earl of, i. 39. 
 
 XIME'NES, Cardinal, i. 98. 
 
 ZUINGLIUS, H., ii. 138, 150, 196. 
 Zutphen, ii. 289.
 
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 Date Due 
 
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