THE LOVE-AFFAIRS OF THE
CONDÉS
[Illustration:
Héliogr. Chauvet Imp. Eudes
_Agnès Berthelot de Pléneuf,
Marquise de Prie._
Plon-Nourrit & C^{ie} Edit.]
THE LOVE-AFFAIRS
OF THE CONDÉS
(1530–1740)
BY
H. NOEL WILLIAMS
AUTHOR OF
“A PRINCESS OF ADVENTURE”
WITH SEVENTEEN ILLUSTRATIONS
NEW YORK
CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS
1912
TO
MY WIFE
PREFATORY NOTE
The principal authorities, both contemporary and modern, which I have
consulted in the preparation of this volume are mentioned either in the
text or the footnotes. I desire, however, to acknowledge my obligations
to the following works by modern writers: Duc d’Aumale, “Histoire des
Princes de Condé;” M. Édouard Barthélemy, “La Princesse de Condé:
Charlotte Catherine de la Trémoille;” M. Henri Bouchot, “Les Femmes de
Brantôme;” Victor Cousin, “La Jeunesse de Madame de Longueville;” Comte
Jules Delaborde, “Éléonore de Roye, Princesse de Condé (1535–1564);”
M. I. Henrard, “Henri IV. et la Princesse de Condé;” MM. Homberg and
Jousselin, “La Femme du Grand Condé;” Comte Hector de la Ferrière,
“Trois Amoureuses au XVI^{e} siècle;” and M. H. Thirion, “Madame de
Prie (1698–1727).”
H. NOEL WILLIAMS.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
PAGES
Origin of the House of Condé--Louis de Bourbon, first
prince of the name--His modest _début_ at the Court--His
personal appearance and character--Enmity between the
Bourbons and the Guises--Condé attaches himself to the
party of the Connétable Anne de Montmorency, and marries
the latter’s niece, Éléonore de Roye--Noble character
of Éléonore--Gallantries of Condé--His early military
career--Death of Henry II.--Progress of the Reformation in
France--Condé embraces Protestantism and places himself at
the head of the opposition to the Guises--He is arrested at
Orléans, brought to trial for high treason and condemned to
death--But is saved by the opportune death of François II. 1–15
CHAPTER II
Critical condition of France at the accession of Charles
IX.--Character and policy of Catherine de’ Medici--The
Triumvirate--Catherine leans to the side of the
Reformers--The “Edict of January”--Massacre of Vassy--Condé
remains faithful to the Protestant cause--Beginning of
the civil war--The Protestants, at first successful, soon
in a desperate position--Condé turns to England for aid:
Treaty of Hampton Court--Fall of Rouen--Condé marches on
Paris--Battle of Dreux: the prince taken prisoner--Second
Captivity of Condé--Assassination of Guise--Conference
on the Île-aux-Bœufs--The maids-of-honour--Peace of
Amboise--Condé follows the Court 16–28
CHAPTER III
Catherine de’ Medici and her “_escadron
volant_”--Adroitness with which the Queen employs the
charms of her maids-of-honour to seduce the Huguenot
chief--The King of Navarre and _la belle_ Rouet--Policy
of Catherine after the Peace of Amboise--She determines
to compromise Condé with his foreign allies and the
French Protestants, by encouraging his taste for
sensual pleasures--And selects for his subjugation
her maid-of-honour and kinswoman Isabelle de
Limeuil--Description of this siren--Her admirers --Her
mercenary character--Beginning of her _liaison_ with the
prince--Condé and Elizabeth of England--Mlle. de Limeuil,
inspired by Catherine, seeks to persuade Condé to break
with Elizabeth--Mission of d’Alluye to England--Condé is
induced to take up arms against his late allies--Siege and
surrender of Le Havre 29–42
CHAPTER IV
Condé is disappointed in his hopes of obtaining the
post of Lieutenant-General of the Kingdom--The prince
incurs the hatred of the extreme Catholics--Plot to
assassinate him on the Feast of Corpus Christi--Suspicion
with which he is regarded by the zealots of his own
party--Condé, deceived in his ambition and mortified by
the hostility of the extremists on both sides, turns
to pleasure for consolation--Violent passion of the
Maréchale de Saint-André for him--Indignation and alarm
aroused at Geneva by the rumours of Condé’s amorous
adventures--Calvin and Bèze address a joint letter of
remonstrance to the prince--Condé at Muret--Death of
two of his children--Failing health of the Princesse
de Condé--Her touching devotion to her husband--Her
dignified attitude in regard to his infidelities--Return
of Condé to the Court--Quarrel between him and Isabelle
de Limeuil--Temporary triumph of the Maréchale de
Saint-André--Refusal of the King to sanction the betrothal
of the Marquis de Conti to Mlle. de Saint-Andre--Condé
quits the Court in anger, but is reconciled to Isabelle and
returns--A second honeymoon 43–52
CHAPTER V
The fêtes of Fontainebleau--Charles IX. and Catherine set
out on a grand progress through the kingdom--Dangerous
illness of the Princesse de Condé--Her husband obliged
to remain with her--Scandalous _dénoûment_ of the
amours of Condé and Isabelle de Limeuil--Indignation
of the Queen-Mother--Isabelle and the Prince de la
Roche-sur-Yon--The Comte de Maulevrier accuses Isabelle
of having plotted to poison the prince--She is arrested
and conducted to the Franciscan convent at Auxonne--Tender
correspondence between her and Du Fresne--Passionate
letters of Condé to his mistress--Isabelle denies the
charges against her--Her letter to Catherine--She is
removed to Vienne--Her despair--Her pathetic letters to
Condé--She is examined by the Bishops of Orléans and
Limoges, and confronted by Maulevrier 53–69
CHAPTER VI
Death of the Princesse de Condé--Question of the prince’s
remarriage--The Maréchale de Saint-André’s bid for
his hand--Rumours of a matrimonial alliance with the
Guises--Catherine de’Medici, alarmed at such a prospect,
resolves to set Mlle. de Limeuil at liberty--Isabelle joins
Condé at Valery--Intense indignation of the Huguenots at
the scandalous conduct of the prince--Quarrel between
Condé and Coligny--The leaders of the party take counsel
together “to find a remedy for so great an evil”--The
deputation of Protestant pastors--Condé declines to
separate from his mistress, but eventually breaks with
her--His marriage with Mlle. de Longueville--Condé
persuaded by his wife to demand the return of the
presents he has given his mistress--Revenge of
Isabelle--Her marriage--Renewal of the civil war--Battle
of Saint-Denis--Peace of Longjumeau--Flight of Condé to
La Rochelle--Third War of Religion breaks out--Battle of
Jarnac--Death of Condé 70–91
CHAPTER VII
Henri I. de Bourbon, Prince de Condé--His personal
appearance and character--Jeanne d’Albret presents
Henri of Navarre and Condé to the army--The “Admiral’s
pages”--The “Journey of the Princes”--Battle of
Arnay-le-Duc--Condé at La Rochelle--Henri of Navarre is
betrothed to Marguerite de Valois, and Condé to Marie de
Clèves--An awkward lover--Marriage of Condé--Massacre
of Saint-Bartholomew--The King of Navarre and Condé
are ordered to abjure their religion--Firmness of the
latter, who, however, at length yields--Humiliating
position of Condé--Intrigue between his wife and the Duc
d’Anjou--Condé at the siege of La Rochelle--Anjou elected
King of Poland--He offers the hand of his discarded
mistress, Mlle. de Châteauneuf, to Nantouillet, provost of
Paris--Unpleasant consequences of the provost’s refusal of
this honour 92–107
CHAPTER VIII
Departure of Anjou for Poland--Condé, compromised in the
conspiracy of the “Politiques,” escapes to Strasbourg,
where he reverts to the Protestant faith--Death of Charles
IX., who is succeeded by the King of Poland--Flight of the
new King from Cracow--Death of the Princesse de Condé:
extravagant grief of Henry III.--Condé invades France at
the head of an army of German mercenaries--The “_Paix de
Monsieur_”--Condé endeavours to establish himself in the
West of France--Formation of the League and renewal of the
civil war--Condé refuses the hand of Mlle. de Vaudémont,
Henry III.’s sister-in-law--His second Odyssey--He commands
the Huguenot forces in Poitou and Saintonge--He proposes
for the hand of Charlotte Catherine de la Trémoille--Letter
of Mlle. de la Trémoille to the prince--He visits her at
the Château of Taillebourg--Disastrous expedition of Condé
against Angers--He is obliged to take refuge in Guernsey 108–124
CHAPTER IX
Loyalty of Mlle. de la Trémoille to Condé--She
prevents her mother, the Duchesse de Thouars,
from surrendering the Château of Taillebourg to a
Catholic force--And defends it gallantly until she
is relieved--She equips two ships-of-war to bring
Condé from Guernsey--Reunion of the lovers--Their
marriage--Condé takes the field again--Financial
embarrassments of the new _ménage_--Battle of Coutras:
encounter between Condé and Saint-Luc--Ill-health of
the prince--He returns to Saint-Jean-d’Angely--He is
suddenly taken ill, and dies in two days--Violent grief
of his wife--Suspicions of the doctors--An autopsy is
performed, and the prince is declared to have been
poisoned--Letter of the King of Navarre to the Comtesse
de Gramont--Flight of the princess’s page, Belcastel,
and her head _valet-de-chambre_, Corbais--Arrest of her
intendant, Brilland--The King of Navarre arrives at
Saint-Jean-d’Angely, and orders the Princesse de Condé to
be placed under arrest--Terrible situation of the princess 125–138
CHAPTER X
The King of Navarre appoints a special commission for the
trial of Brilland--Brilland is put to the question--His
confessions under torture implicate the Princesse de Condé,
but on the following day he disavows them--He is found
guilty and condemned to be dismembered by horses--The
princess denies the competency of the court and appeals
to the Parlement of Paris--But the King of Navarre and
the commissioners ignore the decrees of that body--The
commission directs that the princess shall be brought
to trial--She gives birth to a son--The prosecution is
dropped, but the princess remains in captivity--The
Président de Thou interests himself in her case--Means by
which he obtains from Henri IV. the recognition of her
son’s rights, and, with them, the acknowledgment of the
princess’s innocence 139–148
CHAPTER XI
Education of Henri II. de Bourbon, Prince de
Condé--Appearance and character of the young prince--He is
offered and accepts the hand of Charlotte de Montmorency,
unaware that Henry IV. is desperately enamoured of the
lady--Conversation of the King with Bassompierre--Marriage
of Condé and Mlle. de Montmorency--Infatuation of the
King for the young princess--Condé refuses to accept the
odious rôle assigned to him, and “plays the devil”--Violent
scenes between him and the King--He removes with his wife
to Picardy--Amorous escapade of Henri IV.--Condé, summoned
to Court for the accouchement of the Queen, leaves the
princess behind him--Indignation of Henri IV.--Condé
flies with his wife to Flanders---Fury of the King, who
sends troops in pursuit of the fugitives--Refusal of the
Archdukes to deliver them up--Condé goes to Cologne, while
the princess proceeds to Brussels 149–162
CHAPTER XII
Condé summoned by the Archdukes to Brussels--He
places himself under the protection of Philip III. of
Spain--Mission of the Marquis de Cœuvres to Brussels--His
attempted abduction of the Princesse de Condé--Condé
declared guilty of high treason--He leaves Brussels for
Milan--Henri IV. and his Ministers threaten the Archdukes
with war if the princess is not given up--Despatches
of the Spanish Ambassador to his Court--Condé at
Milan--Assassination of Henri IV.--Embarrassing position
of Condé in regard to Spain--He returns to Brussels,
but declines to see his wife--His return to France--He
contemplates the dissolution of his marriage, but
ultimately consents to a formal reconciliation with the
princess--His turbulent conduct during the regency of Marie
de’ Medici--His arrest and imprisonment--The princess
magnanimously shares her husband’s captivity--Dangerous
illness of the prince--Birth of Anne Geneviève de
Bourbon--Release of the Condés 163–178
CHAPTER XIII
Birth of Louis de Bourbon, Duc d’Enghien (the Great
Condé)--His early years at the Château of Montrond--His
education--His personal appearance and character--Wealth of
the Condés--Life at Chantilly--Isabelle de Boutteville and
Marthe du Vigean--Tender attachment of the Duc d’Enghien
and Mlle. du Vigean--Subserviency of the Prince de Condé
towards Richelieu--He solicits for Enghien the hand of the
Cardinal’s niece, Claire-Clémence de Maillé-Brézé--The
young prince protests against the sacrifice demanded of
him, but eventually consents--He is presented to Mlle. de
Maillé-Brézé--First campaign of the Great Condé--He denies
the rumour that he has “no taste for his _fiancée_”--Fête
at the Palais-Cardinal: a ludicrous incident--Marriage of
the Duc d’Enghien 179–195
CHAPTER XIV
Serious illness of the Duc d’Enghien--Tyranny exercised
over him by Richelieu--An amusing anecdote--Death of the
Cardinal--His will--Lawsuit between the Prince de Condé
and the Duchesse d’Aiguillon--Enghien contemplates the
dissolution of his marriage, neglects his wife, and devotes
himself to Marthe du Vigean--He receives the command of the
Army of Flanders, gains the brilliant victory of Rocroi,
and takes Thionville--The Duchesse d’Enghien gives birth to
a son--Indifference of the duke--He returns to Paris and
endeavours to procure the dissolution of his marriage--But
this project is frustrated by the interference of the
Prince de Condé--Enghien is wounded at the battle of
Nördlingen, and has a dangerous attack of fever--To the
astonishment of his friends, he suddenly breaks off his
tender relations with Mlle. du Vigean--Despair of the lady,
who, in spite of the opposition of her family, enters the
Carmelites of the Faubourg Saint-Jacques 196–206
CHAPTER XV
Notwithstanding his rupture with Mlle. du Vigean,
the Duc d’Enghien continues to treat his wife with
coldness--The heart of the prince is fiercely disputed
by the ladies of the Court--Dissipated life of Enghien:
paternal remonstrances--_Liaison_ between the duke
and Ninon de l’Enclos--Death of Henri II. de Bourbon,
Prince de Condé--Failure of the new Prince de Condé
before Lerida--His brilliant victory at Lens--Beginning
of the Fronde--Condé remains faithful to the Court,
and takes command of the royal troops--The Duchesse de
Châtillon becomes his mistress--Peace of Rueil--The
arrogance and ambition of Condé causes the Court and
the Frondeurs to join forces against him--The arrest of
the Princes--The Princesse de Condé at Bordeaux--Death
of the dowager-princess--Equivocal conduct of Madame de
Châtillon--Episode of an unaddressed letter--Exile of
Mazarin and release of the Princes--Continued indifference
of Condé towards his wife, notwithstanding her courageous
efforts on his behalf--Negotiations between him and the
Regent--His rupture with the Frondeurs, who draw towards
the Court--Condé retires to Saint-Maur--Alliance between
the Court and the Frondeurs--Proceedings against Condé--The
prince retires to Montrond and “draws the sword” 207–224
CHAPTER XVI
Condé proceeds to Bordeaux, where he is rejoined
by his relatives--He opens the campaign with
success, but is soon obliged to remain on the
defensive--Return of Mazarin--Condé on the Loire--Battle
of Bléneau--He leaves his army and proceeds to
Paris--His futile negotiations--Battle of the Faubourg
Saint-Antoine--Massacre of the Hôtel de Ville--The Fronde
grows daily more discredited--Condé quits Paris and joins
the Spaniards on the Flemish frontier--The Fronde at
Bordeaux--Sanguinary affrays between the _Ormée_ and the
_Chapeau Rouge_--Courage and presence of mind displayed
by the Princesse de Condé and Madame de Longueville in
separating the combatants--Surrender of Bordeaux--The
princess sails for Flanders to rejoin her husband--Her
reception at Valenciennes--She is cruelly neglected by
Condé--She removes from Valenciennes to Malines--Her
miserable existence--Condé applies to the Spanish Court
for financial assistance--Brilliant military qualities
displayed by him in the service of his country’s
enemies--The princess gives birth to a daughter--Peace of
the Pyrenees--Return of Condé and his wife to France 225–234
CHAPTER XVII
Arrival of Condé at the Court--His reception--He returns
to Paris--His ingratitude towards his wife--Dignified
behaviour of _Madame la Princesse_--Affectionate relations
between Condé and his son--Indifference of the young prince
towards his mother--Marriage of the Duc d’Enghien and Anne
of Bavaria--The affair of Poland--Condé’s conquest of
Franche-Comté--The mind of the Princesse de Condé becomes
affected--The footman Duval--Mysterious affair at the
Hôtel de Condé: the princess is wounded in a brawl between
Duval and the Comte de Bussy-Rabutin--Singular attitude of
_Monsieur le Prince_--Trial of Duval--Calumnies against
the Princesse de Condé: letter of Madame de Sevigné--The
princess is exiled to the Château of Châteauroux, in
Berry--Her departure: a touching scene--Her captivity--Her
hallucinations--Visit of Père Tixier 235–250
CHAPTER XVIII
Termination of Condé’s military career--His retirement at
Chantilly--His improvements of the château and estate--His
son, the Duc d’Enghien (_Monsieur le Duc_)--Portrait of
this prince by Saint-Simon--His tyrannical treatment of
his wife--His singular habits--Malicious practical joke
which he perpetrates on the Duc de Luxembourg--His amours
with the Duchesse de Nevers, the Marquise de Richelieu,
and the Comtesse de Marans--His natural daughter by Madame
de Marans legitimated and married to the Marquis de
Lassay--His lack of military capacity--His children--The
education of his only son, the Duc de Bourbon,
superintended by Condé--Marriage of the young prince to
Mlle. de Nantes, elder daughter of Louis XIV. and Madame de
Montespan--The wedding-night--Conversion of Condé--His last
illness--His death--His funeral oration by Bossuet--The
Princesse de Condé remains in captivity--Her death 251–268
CHAPTER XIX
Henri-Jules de Bourbon, fifth Prince de Condé--His
affection for Chantilly--Improvements which he executes
there--The “_Galerie des Batailles_”--His business
capacity--His relations with his son, the Duc de Bourbon
(_Monsieur le Duc_)--Character of this prince--His
ungovernable temper and vindictiveness--His intrigue with
Madame de Mussy--She betrays him for the Comte d’Albert--A
violent scene--Madame de Mussy follows her new lover
to Spain--Her sad fate--Other amours of _Monsieur le
Duc_--Character of _Madame la Duchesse_--Her intrigue with
the Prince de Conti--Her grief at his premature death--Last
years of the Prince de Condé--His eccentricity becomes
hardly distinguishable from madness--Anecdotes concerning
him--His death--His last instructions to his son--The Duc
de Bourbon retains his title, instead of assuming that of
Prince de Condé--His sudden death, eleven months after that
of his father 269–280
CHAPTER XX
Louis Henri de Bourbon-Condé--He assumes the title of Duc
de Bourbon, instead of that of Prince de Condé, and is
known as _Monsieur le Duc_--His personal appearance--He
loses an eye by a shooting accident--His military
career--He becomes President of the Council of Regency
on the death of Louis XIV.--His protection of John
Law--His wealth--His character--His marriage with Marie
Anne de Bourbon-Conti--Singular intrigue which precedes
it--His indifference to his wife--His amours--The
financier Berthelot de Pléneuf--Gallantries of Madame de
Pléneuf--Saint-Simon’s portrait of her--Her daughter,
Agnès de Pléneuf--Singular beauty and intelligence of this
young girl--Violent jealousy which her mother conceives
for her--Marriage of Agnès to the Marquis de Prie, who
is soon afterwards appointed Ambassador at Turin--Her
life at Turin--Disgrace and bankruptcy of Berthelot de
Pléneuf--Financial straits of the de Pries--Madame de Prie
comes to Paris to intercede with the Government on her
husband’s behalf--Calumnies concerning her spread by her
mother and her partisans--Her relations with the Regent 281–295
CHAPTER XXI
Origin of the _liaison_ between _Monsieur le Duc_ and
Madame de Prie considered--Extraordinary ascendency which
the latter acquires over her lover--For a while, the
favourite leads a life of pleasure, but is soon obliged
to give her attention to politics--Exasperation of Madame
de Pléneuf’s coterie against her--Insecurity of _Monsieur
le Duc’s_ position--The Orléans faction--Intrigues of
the War Minister Le Blanc and the Belle-Isles--Hatred
of Madame de Prie for Le Blanc--She resolves to crush
the common enemies of herself and _Monsieur le Duc_--Her
skilful conduct--Murder of Sandrier de Mitry, chief
cashier of La Jonchère, treasurer of the Emergency War
Fund--Sinister suspicions concerning La Jonchère and Le
Blanc--Madame de Prie determines to get to the bottom
of the mystery--Her alliance with the Pâris brothers
against the War Minister--Dubois persuades the Regent
to withdraw his protection from Le Blanc--Arrest of La
Jonchère and examination of his accounts--Disgrace and
exile of Le Blanc--The death of Dubois puts a stop to the
proceedings--Death of Philippe d’Orléans--_Monsieur le Duc_
becomes Prime Minister 296–313
CHAPTER XXII
Beginning of the Ministry of _Monsieur le Duc_--His early
popularity--Difficulties of the situation--Philippe
d’Orléans replaced by three new powers: Louis XV.,
Fleury, and Philip V. of Spain--Futile negotiations
between _Monsieur le Duc_ and the Orléans
faction--Madame de Prie advises the prince to take the
offensive--Resumption of the proceedings against La
Jonchère and his accomplices--Indignation and alarm of the
Orléanists--Attempted assassination of La Guillonière, in
mistake for Pâris-Duverney---Conspiracy against the lives
of _Monsieur le Duc_ and his mistress--Madame de Prie
insists on prompt and energetic action, and Le Blanc and
the Belle-Isles are thrown into the Bastille--Arrest of
Lempereur and other persons--The Government is determined
on the total ruin of Le Blanc--Murder of Gazan de la
Combe--La Blanc claims the privilege of being tried by the
assembled chambers of the Parlement--Efforts of _Monsieur
le Duc_ and Madame de Prie to counteract the influence
of Fleury over Louis XV.--Recall of Villeroy--Visit of
the King to Chantilly--Trial of Le Blanc--Extraordinary
proceedings--Acquittal of the accused 314–331
CHAPTER XXIII
_Monsieur le Duc_ and Madame de Prie determine to break
off the marriage of Louis XV. and the Infanta, and to
marry the young King to a princess capable of at once
giving him an heir--Double interest of the favourite in the
accomplishment of this design--Question of the remarriage
of _Monsieur le Duc_--Madame de Prie, unable to oppose
this, selects Marie Leczinska--Rupture of the Spanish
marriage--Exasperation of the Court of Madrid--Difficulty
of finding a suitable consort for Louis XV.--Madame de Prie
accused of having barred the way of Mlle. de Vermandois to
the crown matrimonial--The favourite advocates the claims
of Marie Leczinska, who is eventually chosen--Triumph
of Madame de Prie--Arrival of the new Queen--A model
husband--Growing unpopularity of the Government and
increasing influence of Fleury--An unsuccessful
intrigue--Madame de Prie retires from Court, but _Monsieur
le Duc_ insists on her return--Disgrace of _Monsieur
le Duc_--His mother and his mistress follow him to
Chantilly--Madame de Prie is exiled to Normandy--A touching
farewell--Chivalrous behaviour of the prince--Death of
Madame de Prie--Remarriage of _Monsieur le Duc_--His death 332–350
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
AGNÈS BERTHELOT DE PLÉNEUF, MARQUISE DE PRIE _Frontispiece_
From a Painting by an unknown artist, in the
collection of M. de Quatrebarbes
_By permission of MM. Plon Nourrit_
FACING
PAGE
LOUIS I. DE BOURBON, PRINCE DE CONDÉ 26
From an Engraving after a Drawing by JANET
ÉLÉONORE DE ROYE, PRINCESSE DE CONDÉ 72
From a Drawing by an unknown artist
HENRI I. DE BOURBON, PRINCE DE CONDÉ 102
From an Engraving by DELPECH, after the Painting
by MAUZAISSE
CHARLOTTE CATHERINE DE LA TRÉMOILLE, PRINCESSE DE CONDÉ 134
From an Engraving by MIGER, after the Painting by
LE MONNIER
HENRI II. DE BOURBON, PRINCE DE CONDÉ 164
From an Engraving by MATHONIER
LOUIS II. DE BOURBON, PRINCE DE CONDÉ (THE GREAT CONDÉ) 182
From an Engraving by JACQUES LUBIN
CLAIRE CLÉMENCE DE MAILLÉ-BRÉZÉ, PRINCESSE DE CONDÉ 198
From an Engraving by MONCORNET
NINON DE L’ENCLOS 210
From a Miniature in the South Kensington Museum
ANNE OF BAVARIA, DUCHESSE D’ENGHIEN (AFTERWARDS PRINCESSE DE
CONDÉ) 238
From an Engraving by MONCORNET
HENRI JULES DE BOURBON, DUC D’ENGHIEN (AFTERWARDS PRINCE DE
CONDÉ) 252
From an Engraving by POILLY, after the Painting by
MIGNARD
DIANE GABRIELLE DE THIANGES, DUCHESSE DE NEVERS 254
From a Contemporary Print
LOUIS III., DUC DE BOURBON, PRINCE DE CONDÉ (CALLED MONSIEUR
LE DUC) 264
From a Contemporary Print
LOUISE FRANÇOISE, DUCHESSE DE BOURBON (CALLED MADAME LA
DUCHESSE) 276
From a Contemporary Print
LOUIS HENRI, DUC DE BOURBON, PRINCE DE CONDÉ (CALLED
MONSIEUR LE DUC) 300
From an Engraving by P. DREVET, after the Painting
by GOBERT
ANDRÉ HERCULE, CARDINAL DE FLEURY 316
From an Engraving by DREVET, after the Painting by
HYACINTHE RIGAUD
CLAUDE LE BLANC 330
From an Engraving by DREVET, after the Painting by
LE PRIEUR
THE
LOVE-AFFAIRS OF THE CONDÉS
CHAPTER I
Origin of the House of Condé--Louis de Bourbon, first prince
of the name--His modest _début_ at the Court--His personal
appearance and character--Enmity between the Bourbons and the
Guises--Condé attaches himself to the party of the Connétable
Anne de Montmorency, and marries the latter’s niece, Éléonore
de Roye--Noble character of Éléonore--Gallantries of Condé--His
early military career--Death of Henry II.--Progress of the
Reformation in France--Condé embraces Protestantism and places
himself at the head of the opposition to the Guises--He is
arrested at Orléans, brought to trial for high treason and
condemned to death--But is saved by the opportune death of
François II.
The Condés and the Bourbons have a common origin. Both families descend
from Robert de France, Comte de Clermont, youngest son of St. Louis. An
ancient barony, the inheritance of that prince’s wife, was erected into
a dukedom in favour of Louis, his son, and gave to his descendants the
name which they have retained, that of France being reserved for the
royal branch.
After the death, without issue, of the Connétable de Bourbon at the
assault of Rome in May 1527, his brother, Charles, Duc de Vendôme,
became first Prince of the Blood, though, owing to the profound
mistrust with which François I. now regarded the Bourbons, he never
acquired either the authority or influence that so high a position
ought to have given him. Nor did he succeed in recovering any of the
vast possessions of the Constable, which were definitely alienated from
his House, and, on his death in 1538, he left but a scanty fortune.
This was the more regrettable, since his wife, Françoise d’Alençon,
had borne him no less than thirteen children: seven sons and six
daughters. Of the daughters, four entered religion; one died unmarried,
and the last became the wife of François de Clèves, Duc de Nevers. Of
the sons, five lived to attain their majority, though only one survived
middle-age and died a natural death, and he was in holy orders. They
were:
1. Antoine, Duc de Vendôme, born 22 April, 1518; became, through his
marriage with Jeanne d’Albret, King of Navarre; died 17 November, 1562,
from the effects of a wound received at the siege of Rouen.
2. François, Comte d’Enghien, born 23 September, 1519; commanded the
French army in the great victory of Ceresole, 14 April, 1544; died 23
February, 1546, from the result of what was probably an accident, but
was by many attributed to deliberate intent.[1]
3. Charles, Cardinal de Bourbon (“_le cardinal des bouteilles_”),
who was proclaimed King of France by the League after the death of
Henri III.); born 22 December, 1523; died 9 May, 1590.
4. Jean, Comte de Soissons, and, after the death of his brother
François, Comte d’Enghien; born 6 July, 1526; killed at the battle of
Saint-Quentin, 15 August, 1557.
5. Louis, Prince de Condé, born at the Château of Vendôme, 7 May, 1530;
killed at the battle of Jarnac, 13 March, 1569.
Two of these princes married and founded families: Antoine, who was the
father of Henri IV., and the ancestor of all the Bourbons now living,
and Louis, who was the root of the House of Condé and all its branches.
Louis, the youngest brother, was only in his eighth year at the time of
his father’s death. Of his boyhood nothing whatever is known, though,
as his widowed mother, who lived in strict retirement, was scarcely
the person best fitted to superintend that chivalrous education which
was deemed indispensable for a lad of high birth, it is probable that
he was brought up by his brother-in-law, the Duc de Nevers, or some
other male relative. The earliest recorded mention of him occurs in the
Domestic Roll of Henri II. for the year 1549, where he appears under
the name of “Louis M^r de Vendôme, gentleman of the chamber to the
King, at a salary of 1200 livres.”
The precise time and occasion of his assuming the title which he and
his descendants were to render so illustrious are likewise involved in
obscurity. The Duc d’Aumale asserts that the earliest official document
in which it is given, is in the _procès-verbal_ of the Bed of
Justice held on 15 January, 1557;[2] but since the duke wrote it has
been discovered that he is thus qualified in at least half-a-dozen
other deeds previous to that date, the earliest being an _acte
seigneurial_ of 30 March, 1553; while Henri II., in a letter to the
Duc de Nevers written on 12 June, 1554, refers to the duke’s youngest
brother-in-law as “My cousin, the Prince de Condé.”[3]
Equal uncertainty prevails as to whether he derived the title from
Condé-sur-l’Escaut or Condé-en-Brie, both of which lordships seem to
have been owned by his father, Charles, Duc de Vendôme. “The best
known of the chroniclers of the family, Désormeaux,” observes the Duc
d’Aumale, “declares it to be beyond all doubt that the first prince
derived his name from Condé-en-Brie.” Indeed, in the marriage-contract
of Louis I., the lordship of Condé-en-Brie appears in the list of the
prince’s possessions. He owned a château there, at which he often
resided, and executed various deeds, whereas there is no official
document relating to him known to exist in which any mention is made
of Condé-sur-l’Escaut. But another historian of the family, l’Hullier,
who, though a tedious and very dull writer, has left in MS. many
historical and genealogical memoirs, of which Désormeaux has often
made use, declares himself in favour of Condé-sur-l’Escaut; and the
Convention appeared to be of the same opinion, by its naming that place
“Nord-libre.” The illustrious author modestly “leaves to more learned
historians the task of solving the question,” but the majority of
modern writers are inclined to favour the claims of Condé-sur-l’Escaut,
though, apparently, for no better reason than because it is the more
important of the two places.
Few Princes of the Blood have made a more modest _début_ at the
Court of France than the first of the Condés. Since the treason of the
Connétable de Bourbon his family had fallen into a sort of discredit,
and, though, in the last years of the previous reign, the partiality
shown by François I. for the young Comte d’Enghien had seemed a promise
of returning favour, the untimely death of the count, followed by
that of the King, soon dissipated their hopes. When the head of the
house, Antoine, Duc de Vendôme, was hard put to maintain a position
in accordance with his rank, there was little enough for his younger
brothers; and Louis de Bourbon made his appearance at Court so quietly
dressed and with so modest a suite as to provoke no small merriment at
his expense among the gorgeous butterflies of both sexes who adorned
the salons of the Louvre and the gallery of the Tournelles.
Nor was there anything in the personal appearance of this youth of
nineteen to suggest the great part that he was to play in after years.
Unlike his ancestors, who had been tall men of imposing presence,
he was short and slightly built, and some anecdote-mongers even
represent him as hump-backed. Admitting however, that he may have been
round-shouldered, the imputation of actual deformity is scarcely
reconcilable with the well-known popular song concerning him:
“Ce petit homme tant jolly,
Qui toujours cause et toujours ry
Et toujours baise sa mignonne,
Dieu gard’ de mal le petit homme.”
Moreover, if somewhat diminutive in stature, he was “nimble and
vigorous, and as adroit at martial exercises, both on foot and on
horseback, as any man in France.”[4] His features, too, were pleasing
without being regular, and illuminated by a pair of very bright eyes;
he had excellent natural abilities, and had not neglected to cultivate
them, being exceptionally well-informed and a good conversationalist,
with a touch of sarcasm, which, however, his good-humour deprived of
its sting, and “agreeable, accessible, and amiable.”[5]
The young prince was, therefore, not without qualifications to ensure
advancement at Court, but in the two most essential--wealth and
influence--he was conspicuously lacking. The absence of the first might
have mattered little had he possessed the second, but the cloud under
which the Bourbons had lain for a quarter of a century showed no sign
of lifting. Henri II., who had ascended the throne two years before
Condé’s arrival at Court, was a well-meaning man, who sincerely desired
to do his duty and promote the interests of his subjects, but he was
“born to be governed, rather than to govern,”[6] and was surrounded by
ambitious and greedy favourites, who thought only of exploiting him for
their own selfish ends. In the early days of the new reign, the favour
of the King had been divided between his mature mistress, Diane de
Poitiers, Duchesse de Valentinois, and his old friend, the Connétable
Anne de Montmorency, who, disgraced by François I. in 1543, had, on
the death of that monarch, been recalled to Court and entrusted with
the direction of affairs. Diane, however, jealous of the influence
of the Constable, formed an alliance with the Guises, those able and
ambitious Lorraine princes who were to play so conspicuous a part in
all the troubles of the latter half of the sixteenth century; François
de Lorraine, who succeeded his father as Duc de Guise in the spring
of 1550, and his brother, Charles, the second Cardinal de Lorraine,
became two of the King’s most trusted advisers; and they and their
younger brothers were loaded with honours and benefits. Henri II.’s
favourites stood like a bodyguard around the throne to prevent any one
else approaching it; their greed was insatiable; “estates, dignities,
bishoprics, abbeys, offices, no more escaped them than do the flies the
swallow; there was not a choice morsel that was not snapped up in a
moment.”[7]
For the Bourbons to have attempted to break through this bodyguard and
insinuate themselves into the good graces of their Sovereign would have
been a hopeless task; and they soon recognized that their only chance
of bettering their fallen fortunes was to follow the example of the
other courtiers and attach themselves to one or other of the favourites
who governed the King, in the hope that some scraps of the royal bounty
might be passed on to them. From the party of Diane de Poitiers and the
Guises they had nothing to expect, for, though the two families were
closely connected,[8] their relations were exceedingly strained. In
both Court and camp their paths crossed; and the sinister rumours to
which the death of the young victor of Ceresole had given rise is an
eloquent testimony to the jealousy which existed between them. Since
the death of François I., who had regarded the Guises with profound
mistrust, and in his last hours had warned his son to be on his guard
against them, since “their aim was to strip him to his doublet, and
his people to their shirts,”[9] the Lorraines had plainly shown their
determination to keep the Bourbons in the background, and not content
with enjoying the privileges of foreign princes, had profited by the
impotence of their kinsmen to usurp those of the Princes of the Blood.
Policy and inclination therefore both prompted the Bourbons to attach
themselves to the opposition, or Montmorency faction. This party,
though it attracted to its ranks fewer of the Court nobility than did
that of the Duchesse de Valentinois and the Guises, was supported by
the bulk of the provincial noblesse, and Montmorency’s great wealth
and official position--he was Grand Master of the King’s Household
as well as Constable of France--enabled him to dispense extensive
patronage. He had five sons and seven daughters, besides numerous
nephews and nieces, and he did his duty nobly by them all, and allowed
no opportunity to pass of advancing the importance of his family and
enriching his relatives and friends. Condé, more ambitious than his
brothers, determined to establish claims on the great man’s favour
which it would be difficult for him to overlook, and, towards the
end of the year 1550, demanded in marriage the hand of Éléonore de
Roye, eldest daughter and heiress of Charles, Seigneur de Roye and
de Muret, Comte de Roney, an alliance which would unite him with the
two great Houses of Montmorency and Châtillon. For Éléonore de Roye’s
mother, Madeleine de Mailly, was the daughter of Louise de Montmorency,
sister of the Constable;[10] and Louise de Montmorency, by her second
marriage with the Maréchal de Châtillon, was the mother of the future
Admiral, Gaspard de Coligny, and of his two brothers, Odet, Cardinal de
Châtillon, and François, Seigneur d’Andelot.
The consent of the young lady’s parents was readily given. They could
not, indeed, fail to be flattered by such a proposal from a Prince
of the Blood, besides which they felt that this young man, frank,
brave, chivalrous, and amiable, was a husband of whom any girl might
well be proud, and ought to have a brilliant future before him. It is
possible that the rumours of their prospective son-in-law’s addiction
to feminine society which had reached them may have occasioned them
some misgivings; but Gaspard de Coligny, who had negotiated the affair,
assured them that marriage would change all that, and that he had no
doubt that, once in possession of the prince’s affections, Éléonore
would be able to fix them permanently. This, in view of what we shall
presently relate, seems a decidedly bold assertion; but then Coligny,
the most faithful of husbands, was generously inclined to judge others
by himself; while the political advantages of a match which would unite
the Houses of Montmorency, Bourbon and Châtillon, and counterbalance
the exorbitant credit of the Guises, may well have disposed him to
regard the young prince’s gallantries with a lenient eye.
After being accepted by the Comte and Comtesse de Roye, the project was
submitted to the Constable, who was graciously pleased to approve of
it, and promised to obtain the sanction of the King. This proved far
from an easy task, as Diane de Poitiers and the Guises did everything
possible to persuade his Majesty to refuse his consent; but, in the
end, Montmorency triumphed over their opposition, and on June 22, 1551,
the marriage was celebrated at the Château of Plessis-lès-Roye, by the
Cardinal de Bourbon, the bridegroom’s uncle.
This marriage added little to Condé’s fortune, but it brought him “an
inexhaustible treasure of affection and devotion.” “If ever, in fact,”
writes an enthusiastic biographer, “a young girl, pure and loving,
entered married life with the energetic resolution to consecrate all
the living forces of her soul to the practice of the most holy duties,
and raised herself by her piety and her virtues, by the generosity of
her soul and the heroism of her character, to the rank of a _femme
d’élite_, it was this incomparable Éléonore de Roye, who, from the
day of her union with Louis de Bourbon, became for this prince, and
remained up to the day when she succumbed prematurely to the cruel
attacks of disease, a tender and submissive companion, a faithful
friend, an immovable support in time of trial.”[11]
Amidst that band of noble Huguenot ladies, who in the evil days
to come so bravely upheld their persecuted faith against the
overwhelming forces arrayed against it, and inspired their disheartened
co-religionists with fresh energy and enthusiasm to maintain the
unequal struggle, there is no nobler figure than that of Éléonore
de Roye. Less capable, less ambitious, than Jeanne d’Albret, she is
infinitely more attractive, for she possessed a boundless fund of
sympathy, an exquisite tact, and a charity which was but too seldom
found among the leaders of “the Religion.”
Catholic as well as Protestant writers bear homage to the charms and
virtues of this admirable woman. “She was a lady of much intelligence,
of heroic courage, and of an admirable chastity,” says De Thou; Le
Laboureur, while describing her as “a very obstinate Huguenot,” admits
that she was “beautiful and very virtuous”;[12] while Désormeaux
declares that she yielded to none of her sex in beauty, in grace, in
intelligence and in chastity, and that she “surpassed every one in
knowledge, in courage, and in magnanimity.”[13]
Condé could not be indifferent to the devotion of such a woman, and
there can be no doubt that, for a long time, he reciprocated her
affection and that he always entertained for her a sincere regard.
Nevertheless, his marriage did little to subdue his taste for
gallantry, and his attentions to the light beauties of the Court must
often have caused her the keenest pain. “The good prince,” observes
Brantôme, “was as worldly as his neighbour and loved other people’s
wives as much as his own, partaking largely of the nature of the
Bourbons, who have always been of a very amorous complexion.”
If, however, Condé shared his family’s weakness for the fair sex, he
shared also its taste for a military career, and, for some years after
his marriage, it was the camp rather than the Court which claimed the
greater part of his time. The long and bitter struggle between the
Houses of France and Austria, closed for a time by the Peace of Crépy,
broke out afresh in the early summer of 1551, in Italy, where Henry
II. and Charles V., though still nominally at peace, intervened in
the dispute between Pope Julius III. and his vassal Ottavio Farnese,
Duke of Parma. Condé, though only a few days married, at once demanded
and obtained permission to serve as a volunteer in the Army of Italy,
commanded by the Maréchal de Brissac, and set out for Piedmont.
When Louis Joseph de Bourbon, Prince de Condé, went to the wars, two
centuries later, he took with him an immense retinue of servants, and
a long procession of carts and carriages, to transport which over
two hundred horses were required;[14] while a whole regiment had to
be detached for the protection of his precious person. His ancestor
must have started on his first campaign in very different fashion;
indeed, there was probably little to distinguish him from the crowd of
gentlemen volunteers whom the prospect of some hard fighting had drawn
across the Alps; and he evidently did not disdain to perform the work
of the humblest soldier, since we hear of him toiling for two whole
nights at the task of dragging the guns up the steep heights which
commanded the Castle of Lantz. At the conclusion of the campaign, in
which he had given abundant proof that he possessed all the courage of
his race, although his general had found him “a little difficult to
manage,” he reappeared for a brief interval at Court, and then, in the
spring of 1552, took part in the “Austrasian expedition,” that military
promenade through the Rhine country which gave to France, almost
without striking a blow, Metz, Toul, and Verdun.
In the autumn of the same year, when Charles V., freed from his
Germanic embarrassments by the agreement of Passau, laid siege to Metz,
Condé and his brother, the second Comte d’Enghien, were among the young
nobles who received permission “to take their pleasure at the siege.”
The two Bourbon princes were entrusted with the defence of a part of
the ramparts, and acquitted themselves with courage and capacity.
The summer of 1553 found Condé in Picardy, sharing with the Duc de
Nemours the command of the light cavalry. In an engagement with the
Imperialist cavalry at Doullens, he brought up four squadrons at a
critical moment, and, by a brilliant charge on the enemy’s flank,
decided the day. In the following year, he commanded the light cavalry
on the Meuse and distinguished himself at the combat at Renty, and in
1555 he returned to the Army of Italy, in which he rendered excellent
service on several occasions, notably at the siege of Vulpiano.
But the enmity of the Guises barred the way to the royal favour, and
when, in 1556, the Truce of Vaucelles put an end to the war, the
only recompense he had been able to obtain was the captaincy of a
_compagnie d’ordonnance_, the nearest equivalent to a modern
regiment.[15]
The truce, which had been concluded for five years, was soon broken,
and at the beginning of 1557 the dogs of war were again slipped. In the
summer, the Spaniards invaded Picardy and laid siege to Saint-Quentin,
on the Somme, one of the bulwarks of Paris. Realizing the importance
of saving a town the fall of which would open the road to the capital,
the Constable hurried northwards with all the troops he could muster,
and Condé accompanied him. The overwhelming superiority of the enemy in
numbers, however, decided Montmorency not to risk an engagement, but
merely to make a feint against the besiegers’ lines, and, under cover
of this movement, to throw reinforcements and provisions into the town,
after which he intended to retire. But the non-arrival of the boats
required to transport the reliefs across the Somme caused a delay of
more than two hours; and, when Montmorency began to retire, he found
that the enemy had crossed the river by a ford of which he appears to
have been in ignorance, seized the only road by which he could retreat,
and cut his army right in two.
Surprised and hopelessly outnumbered, the French were routed with
terrible loss. Condé’s brother, the gallant Comte d’Enghien, was
among the slain, while the Constable and the Maréchal de Saint-André
were taken prisoners. Condé himself, who was stationed with part of
the light cavalry on the extreme right wing of the army, displayed
the most admirable courage and presence of mind amid the general
panic, and, keeping his men together, succeeded in cutting his way
through the victorious Spaniards and reaching La Fère. He lost no
time in taking the field again and kept it throughout the autumn,
continually harassing the enemy and attacking their foraging-parties
and convoys. So much activity and vigour on the morrow of a great
defeat undoubtedly merited some substantial recognition; but when,
at the beginning of the following year, he solicited the post of
colonel-general of the light cavalry which he had so gallantly led,
he was, to his intense mortification, passed over in favour of the
Duc de Nemours, the candidate of the Guises. It is true that, by way
of compensation, he was nominated colonel-general of the Cisalpine
infantry, that is to say, of the infantry stationed in Piedmont; but,
since France had lately withdrawn all her troops from Piedmont with
the exception of a few garrisons, the appointment was regarded as an
affront rather than an honour.
The Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis, which was concluded in the following
spring, prevented Condé from acquiring any further military distinction
in the service of his country, and henceforth whatever laurels fell
to his share were gained on fields where Frenchmen were opposed to
Frenchmen. If, however, the life of Henri II. had been prolonged only a
little while, it is almost certain that the prince’s faithful services
would not have remained unrewarded; for both the King and Diane de
Poitiers were becoming seriously alarmed at the growing power and
arrogance of the Guises, and the latter had broken with them and formed
an alliance with Montmorency. But before the summer was over, Henri II.
slept with his fathers at Saint-Denis; Diane and the Constable had been
disgraced, and the Guises, thanks to the marriage of their niece, Mary
Stuart, to the new King, had become the masters of France.
* * * * *
Condé’s patience had been severely tried during the reign which had
just terminated; and it was scarcely to be expected that a young
prince of his ambitious and energetic character would resign himself
to the sight of the royal authority concentrated in the hands of those
whose aim it had always been to exclude his family from their rightful
share in the direction of affairs. Nor were the means for giving very
effective expression to his dissatisfaction wanting.
The Reformation in France, which had made immense strides during the
last years of Henri II., notwithstanding the fierce, if intermittent,
persecution to which it had been subjected, had ceased to be a purely
religious movement and was developing into a formidable political
combination with which it was the interest of discontented and
ambitious nobles to make common cause, without in any way partaking
of its spiritual aspirations. Condé, with his gay and pleasure-loving
nature, could have had but little sympathy with the austere tenets
of Calvinism, and it is probable that the mortifications he had
experienced, the hope of uniting his fortunes with the chances of
success which the Reformers were able to offer, and, above all, his
hatred of the Guises, contributed far more than religious convictions
to decide him to embrace their faith and their cause. His elder
brother, Antoine, who, on the death of his father-in-law Henri
d’Albret, in 1555, had succeeded to the throne of Navarre, had already
done so, but, though brave enough in war, he was irresolute and shifty
to the last degree, and now, when faced with the necessity for vigorous
action, he declined to compromise himself; and it was therefore to
the second Prince of the Blood that the Huguenots and the swarm of
disbanded soldiers and disappointed office-seekers whom the Guises had
driven into the ranks of the opposition looked for leadership. How
far Condé was implicated in the Conspiracy of Amboise, whether or no
he was the _chef muet_ who, in the event of a first success, was
to place himself at the head of the movement, is a question which is
never likely to be satisfactorily answered. It is sufficient that he
was almost universally identified with that mysterious personage at the
time, and that this belief came near to costing him his life.
Although permitted, after his indignant denial of the charge, to
withdraw from Court, he and the King of Navarre, notwithstanding the
entreaties of the Princesse de Condé, most imprudently resolved to obey
the summons of François II. to the States-General at Orléans. It was to
place his head in the lion’s mouth, for in the interval fresh evidence,
or what might pass for evidence, against him had been obtained, and
the Guises were resolved on his destruction. On 30 October, 1560,
the two princes arrived at Orléans. The King received them with
ominous coldness, and, as Condé was leaving the apartments of the
Queen-Mother, where the audience had taken place, he was arrested,
and conducted to a house near the convent of the Jacobins, which was
immediately barred up, surrounded by soldiers, and transformed into
a veritable Bastille. His wife, who, on learning of his arrest, had
hastened to Orléans, was refused permission to see him; his attendants
were withdrawn, and he was kept in the most absolute solitude.
Catherine de’ Medici, who at this time possessed little or no power,
and had been compelled, from the instinct of self-preservation, to
cling to the Guises, pretended to approve of what had been done, and
replied to all who besought her not to allow the prince to be brought
to trial. “It is my son’s will.” She confined her efforts to saving
the King of Navarre, who was merely kept under surveillance in his
apartments.
Although, as a Prince of the Blood, it was Condé’s undoubted privilege
to be tried by the Grande Chambre of the Parlement in Paris, in
which the princes and peers sat, the King entrusted his examination
to a commission of judges presided over by Christophe de Thou,
First President of the Parlement. Condé denied the competency of
this tribunal, and “appealed from the King ill-advised to the King
better-advised.” But his imprudence in accepting the services of two
advocates gave a semblance of legality to the proceedings, and his
appeals and protests having been overruled by the Privy Council, in
which such was the fear inspired by the Guises that no one dared to
utter a word in his defence, on 26 November, he was sentenced “to lose
his head on the scaffold.”
It was at first considered probable that the King’s clemency would be
extended to his condemned kinsman, “in consideration of his youth,” and
every effort was made by the Princesse de Condé, the Châtillons, and
other persons of high rank to secure a remission of the sentence. But
nothing less than the death of their rival would satisfy the Guises,
and, though the Chancellor de l’Hôpital, under the pretext of some
legal flaw in the decree, succeeded in delaying the execution, it was
finally fixed for 10 December, and the scaffold on which it was to take
place was erected before the royal lodging.
Condé, whose courage had never once failed him, was calmly awaiting his
fate, and actually playing cards with some of the officers who guarded
him, when one of his servants, who had been permitted to attend him,
approached as though to pick up a fallen card, and whispered: “_Notre
homme est croqué!_” Mastering his emotion, the prince finished his
game, and then, taking the man aside, learned from him that François
II. was dead. The sickly young King had been taken ill on 16 November,
and, though he so far recovered as to preside over the Council which
passed judgment against Condé, on the following day his malady assumed
a grave form, and on 5 December an abscess which had formed in the ear
suddenly broke, and he died in a few minutes.
Foreseeing her eldest son’s approaching end, Catherine de’ Medici, on
the advice of l’Hôpital, had determined to save the Bourbons, in order
to use them to counterbalance the Guises and assure the independence
of the royal power of which she was about to hold the reins. Scarcely
had François II. drawn his last breath, when the old Connétable de
Montmorency, hastily summoned by her, arrived at Orléans, at the head
of eight hundred gentlemen; and the despotism of the Lorraine princes
was at an end.
The death of François II. opened the doors of Condé’s prison, but the
prince, who attached more importance to his honour than his liberty,
refused to accept the latter until the former had been publicly
vindicated, and, in the meanwhile, announced his intention of remaining
where he was. In this decision he was supported by his wife, but, as
his health had suffered during his imprisonment, she persuaded him,
towards the end of December, to exchange the severe régime of his
detention at Orléans for a mitigated captivity, more apparent than
real, in the form of residence on an estate belonging to the King of
Navarre, near la Fère, in Picardy. Here he remained for some weeks,
when he returned to Court, where his innocence was acknowledged by
a declaration of the new King, Charles IX., which was subsequently
confirmed by the Parlement, and he was restored to his former position.