_By Frances Elliot_
Old Court Life in France
_2 vols. 8º._
Old Court Life in Spain
_2 vols. 8º._
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
OLD COURT
LIFE IN FRANCE
BY
FRANCES ELLIOT
AUTHOR OF “DIARY OF AN IDLE WOMAN IN ITALY,”
“PICTURE OF OLD ROME,” ETC.
[Illustration]
_ILLUSTRATED_
VOLUME I.
G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS
NEW YORK AND LONDON
The Knickerbocker Press
COPYRIGHT, 1893, BY
G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS
Entered at Stationers’ Hall, London
BY G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS
Made in the United States of America
The Knickerbocker Press, New York
TO MY NIECE
THE COUNTESS OF MINTO
THIS WORK IS
INSCRIBED
PREFACE
TO THE FIFTH EDITION.
I cannot express the satisfaction I feel at finding myself once more
addressing the great American public, which from the first has received
my works with such flattering favour.
I have taken special pleasure in the production of this new edition of
_Old Court Life in France_, which was first published in America some
twenty years ago, and which is, I trust, now entering into a new lease
of life.
That the same cordial welcome may follow the present edition, which was
accorded to the first, is my anxious hope.
A new generation has appeared, which may, I trust, find itself
interested in the stirring scenes I have delineated with so much care,
that they might be strictly historical, as well as locally correct.
To write this book was, for me (with my knowledge of French history) a
labour of love. It takes me back to the happiest period of my life,
passed on the banks of the historic Loire: to Blois, Amboise, Chambord,
and, a little further off, to the lovely _plaisances_ of Chenonceaux and
Azay le Rideau, the woods of magnificent Versailles, and Saint Cloud
(now a desolation), on to the walls of the palatial Louvre, the
house-tree of the great Kings and Queens of France--never can all these
annals be fitly told! Never can they be exhausted!
To be the guide to these romantic events for the American public is
indeed an honour. To lead where they will follow, with, I trust,
something of my own enthusiasm, is worth all the careful labour the work
has cost me.
With these words I take my leave of the unknown friends across the sea,
who have so kindly appreciated me for many years. Although I have never
_visited_ America, this sympathy bridges space, and draws me to them
with inexpressible cordiality and confidence, in which sentiment I shall
ever remain, leaving my work to speak to them for me.
FRANCES ELLIOT.
_June, 1893._
PREFACE
TO THE THIRD EDITION--IN REPLY TO CERTAIN CRITICS.
To relate the “Court life” of France--from Francis I. to Louis XIV.--it
is necessary to relate, also, the history of the royal favourites. They
ruled both court and state, if they did not preside at the council. The
caprice of these ladies was, actually, “the Pivot on which French
history turned.”
Louis XIII. was an exception. Under him Cardinal Richelieu reigned.
Richelieu’s “_zeal_” for France led him unfortunately to butcher all his
political and personal opponents. He ruled France, axe in hand. It was
an easy way to absolute power.
Cardinal Mazarin found France in a state of anarchy. The throne was
threatened with far more serious dangers than under Richelieu. To feudal
chiefs were joined royal princes. The great Condé led the Spanish troops
against his countrymen. Yet no political murder stains the name of the
gentle Italian. He triumphed by statescraft,--and married the Infanta to
Louis XIV.
Cardinal de Retz possessed much of the genius of Richelieu. No cruelty,
however, attaches to his memory. But De Retz was on the wrong side, the
side of rebellion. He was false to his king and to France. Great as were
his gifts, he fell before the persevering loyalty of Mazarin.
The personal morality of either of these statesmen ill bears
investigation. Marion de l’Orme was the mistress and the spy of
Richelieu; Mazarin--it is to be hoped--was privately married to the
Queen Regent Anne of Austria. Cardinal de Retz had, as a contemporary
remarks, “a bevy of mistresses.”
We have the authority of Charlotte de Bavière, second wife of Phillippe
Duc d’Orléans, brother of Louis XIV., in her _Autobiographical
Fragments_, “that her predecessor, Henrietta of England, was poisoned.”
No legal investigation was ever made as to the cause of her sudden
death. There is no proof “that Louis XIV. disbelieved she was poisoned.”
The number of the victims of the St. Bartholomew-massacre is stated by
Sully to have been 70,000. (_Memoirs_, book I., page 37.) Sully and
other authorities state “that Charles IX., at his death, manifested by
his transports and his tears the sorrow he felt for what he had done.”
Further, “that when dying he sent for Henry of Navarre, in whom _alone_
he found faith and honour.” (Sully, book I., page 42.)
That Sorbin, confessor to Charles IX., should have denied this is
perfectly natural. Henry of Navarre would stink in the confessor’s
nostrils as a pestilent heretic. As to the credibility of Sorbin (a
bigot and a controversialist), I would refer to the _Mémoires de l’état
de France sous Charles IX._, vol. 3, page 267.
According to the _Confession de Saucy_, Sorbin de St. Foy “was made a
Bishop for having placed Charles IX. among the Martyrs.”
FRANCES (MINTO) ELLIOT.
August, 1873.
PREFACE
All my life I have been a student of French memoir-history. In this
species of literature France is remarkably rich. There exist
contemporary memoirs and chronicles, from a very early period down to
the present time, in which are preserved not only admirable outlooks
over general events, but details of language, character, dress, and
manners, not to be found elsewhere. I was bold enough to fancy that
somewhat yet remained to tell;--say--of the caprices and eccentricities
of Louis XIII., of the homeliness of Henri Quatre, of the feminine
tenderness of Gabrielle d’Estrées, of the lofty piety and unquestioning
confidence of Louise de Lafayette, of the romantic vicissitudes of
Mademoiselle de Montpensier; and that some pictures might be made of
these old French personages for English readers in a way that should
pourtray the substance and spirit of history, without affecting to
maintain its form and dress.
In all I have written I have sought carefully to work into my dialogue
each word and sentence recorded of the individual, every available trait
or peculiarity of character to be found in contemporary memoirs, every
tradition that has come down to us.
To be true to life has been my object. Keeping close to the background
of history, I have endeavoured to group the figures of my foreground as
they grouped themselves in actual life. I have framed them in the frames
in which they really lived.
FRANCES ELLIOT.
FARLEY HILL COURT,
Christmas, 1872.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I--FRANCIS I. 1
II--CHARLES DE BOURBON 6
III--BROTHER AND SISTER 12
IV--THE QUALITY OF MERCY 20
V--ALL LOST SAVE HONOUR 28
VI--BROKEN FAITH 33
VII--LA DUCHESSE D’ÉTAMPES 42
VIII--LAST DAYS 49
IX--CATHERINE DE’ MEDICI 55
X--A FATAL JOUST 58
XI--THE WIDOWED QUEEN 63
XII--MARY STUART AND HER HUSBAND 67
XIII--A TRAITOR 74
XIV--THE COUNCIL OF STATE 80
XV--CATHERINE’S VENGEANCE 86
XVI--THE ASTROLOGER’S CHAMBER 94
XVII--AT CHENONCEAU 101
XVIII--A DUTIFUL DAUGHTER 113
XIX--BEFORE THE STORM 122
XX--ST. BARTHOLOMEW 129
XXI--THE END OF CATHERINE DE’ MEDICI 139
XXII--THE LAST OF THE VALOIS 146
XXIII--DON JUAN 158
XXIV--CHARMANTE GABRIELLE 172
XXV--ITALIAN ART 186
XXVI--BIRON’S TREASON 198
XXVII--A COURT MARRIAGE 207
XXVIII--THE PREDICTION FULFILLED 215
XXIX--LOUIS XIII. 227
XXX--THE ORIEL WINDOW 235
XXXI--AN OMINOUS INTERVIEW 244
XXXII--LOVE AND TREASON 254
XXXIII--THE CARDINAL DUPED 263
XXXIV--THE MAID OF HONOUR 271
XXXV--AT VAL DE GRÂCE 283
XXXVI--THE QUEEN BEFORE THE COUNCIL 291
XXXVII--LOUISE DE LAFAYETTE 302
NOTES 317
ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
THE CHÂTEAU OF CHENONCEAU _Frontispiece_
From the painting by Debat Ponson.
(With permission of Ad. Braun et Cie.)
PORTION OF THE ROOF OF THE CHÂTEAU OF CHAMBORD 2
CHÂTEAU OF AZAY LE RIDEAU 6
FRANCIS I. 10
From the painting by Titian.
DOOR OF THE CHAPEL, CHÂTEAU OF AMBOISE 16
HENRY, DUKE OF MONTMORENCI, MARSHAL OF FRANCE 24
From a portrait by Balthasar Moncornet.
THE CHEVALIER BAYARD 40
After A. de Neuville.
(By permission of Estes & Lauriat.)
QUEEN ELINOR 44
CHÂTEAU OF AMBOISE 48
DUCHESSE D’ÉTAMPES 52
CHÂTEAU DE CHAMBORD 56
SPIRAL STAIRCASE, CHÂTEAU OF BLOIS 78
(By permission of Neurdein, Paris.)
COUÇY 86
THE GARDENS OF THE TUILERIES, PARIS 90
A GATE OF THE LOUVRE, AFTER ST. BARTHOLOMEW’S DAY 102
CHARLES IX. 106
From the painting by Clouet.
HENRI DE GUISE 122
From a drawing in the Louvre.
(By permission of A. Giraudon, Paris.)
NOTRE-DAME, PARIS 126
ADMIRAL GASPARD DE COLIGNY 132
From a drawing by François Clouet.
(By permission of A. Giraudon, Paris.)
CATHERINE DE MÉDICIS 140
CHÂTEAU DE BLOIS 150
HENRY IV. 158
From a contemporary painting in the Museum at Versailles.
DIANA DE POITIERS, BY JEAN GOUJON 164
From the Château of Anet, now in the Louvre.
(By permission of Levy, Paris.)
THE CASCADE OF ST. CLOUD 174
From an engraving by Rigaud.
GENERAL VIEW OF FONTAINEBLEAU 190
From an old print.
MARIE DE MÉDICIS 204
From a steel engraving.
COUÇY--INTERIOR, SHOWING THICKNESS OF WALLS 218
LOUIS XIII., KING OF FRANCE AND NAVARRE 232
From an old print.
CARDINAL RICHELIEU 270
CHÂTEAU OF NANTES 280
AUTHORITIES
Mémoires de Brantôme.
Mémoires de son Temps, Du Bellay.
Histoire de Henri Duc de Bouillon.
Mémoires de Condé.
Dictionnaire de Bayle, “_Duc de Guise_.”
Histoire des Guerres Civiles de la France, par Davila.
Mémoires pour servir à l’Histoire de France, par Champollion.
Mémoires de Coligni.
Novaes, Storia dei Pontefici.
Mémoires de Marguerite de Valois.
Journal de Henri III.
Mémoires de Sully.
Histoire de Henri IV., par Mathieu.
Histoire des Amours de Henri IV.
L’Intrigue du Cabinet sous Henri IV. et Louis XIII.
Mémoires pour l’Histoire du Cardinal de Richelieu.
Mémoires du Cardinal de Richelieu.
Histoire de la Mère et du Fils, par Mezeray.
Mémoires du Maréchal de Bassompierre.
Observations de Bassompierre.
Mémoires de feu Monsieur (Gaston) Duc d’Orléans.
Mémoires de Cinq-Mars.
Mémoires de Montrésor.
La Cour de Marie de’ Medici, par un Cadet de Gascogne.
Lettres de Madame de Sévigné.
Mémoires de Mademoiselle de Montpensier.
Mémoires du Duc de Lauzun.
Mémoires de Madame de Motteville.
Mémoires de M. d’Artagnan.
Mémoires du Cardinal de Retz.
Mémoires de La Porte.
Mémoires de Mazarin.
Œuvres Complètes de Saint-Simon.
Mémoires de la Duchesse de la Vallière.
Mémoires de la Marquise de Montespan.
Mémoires de la Marquise de Maintenon.
Amours des Rois de France.
Dulaure, Histoire de Paris.
Histoire de la Touraine, dans la Bibliothèque Publique à Tours.
Capefigue, Ouvrages Divers.
OLD COURT LIFE IN FRANCE.
CHAPTER I.
FRANCIS I.
We are in the sixteenth century. Europe is young in artistic life. The
minds of men are moved by the discussions, councils, protests, and
contentions of the Reformation. The printing press is spreading
knowledge into every corner of the globe.
At this period, three highly educated and unscrupulous young men divide
the power of Europe. They are Henry VIII. of England, Charles V. of
Austria, and Francis I. of France. Each is magnificent in taste; each is
desirous of power and conquest. Each acts as a spur to the others both
in peace and in war. They introduce the cultivated tastes, the refined
habits, the freedom of thought of modern life, and from the period in
which they flourish modern history dates.
Of these three monarchs Francis is the boldest, cleverest, and most
profligate. The elegance, refinement, and luxury of his court are
unrivalled; and this luxury strikes the senses from its contrast with
the frugal habits of the ascetic Louis XI. and the homely Louis XII.
His reign educated Europe. If ambition led him towards Italy, it was as
much to capture the arts of that classic land and to bear them back in
triumph to France, as to acquire the actual territory. Francis
introduced the French Renaissance, that subtle union of elaborate
ornamentation with purity of design which was the renovation of art.
When and how he acquired such exact appreciation of the beautiful is
unexplained. That he possessed judgment and taste is proved by the
monuments he left behind, and by his patronage of the greatest masters
of their several arts.
The wealth of beauty and colour, the flowing lines of almost divine
expression in the works of the Italian painters of the Cinque-cento,
delighted the sensuous soul of Francis. Wherever he lived he gathered
treasures of their art around him. Such a nature as his had no sympathy
with the meritorious but precise elaboration of the contemporary Dutch
school, led by the Van Eycks and Holbein. It was Leonardo da Vinci, the
head of the Milanese school, who blended power and tenderness, that
Francis delighted to honour. He brought Cellini, Primaticcio, and
Leonardo from Italy, and never wearied of their company. He established
the aged Leonardo at the Château de Clos, near his own castle of
Amboise, where the painter is said to have died in the arms of his royal
patron.
As an architect, Francis left his mark beyond any other sovereign of
Europe. He transformed the gloomy fortress-home--embattled, turreted,
and moated--into the elaborately decorated, manorial château. The bare
and foot-trodden space without,
[Illustration: Portion of the Roof of the Château of Chambord]
enclosed with walls of defence, was changed into green lawns and
overarching bowers breaking the vista toward the royal forest, the
flowing river, and the open _campagne_.
Francis had a mania for building. Like Louis XIV., who in the century
following built among the sandhills of Versailles, Francis insisted on
creating a fairy palace amid the flat and dusty plains of Sologne. Here
the Renaissance was to achieve its triumph. At Chambord, near Blois,
were massed every device, decoration, and eccentricity of his favourite
style. So identified is this place with its creator, that even his
intriguing life peeps out in the double staircase under the central
tower--representing a gigantic fleur-de-lys in stone--where those who
ascend are invisible to those who descend; in the doors, concealed in
sliding panels behind the arras; and in many double walls and secret
stairs.
Azay le Rideau, built on a beautifully wooded island on the river Indre,
though less known than Chambord, was and is an exquisite specimen of the
Renaissance. It owes the fascination of its graceful outlines and
peculiar ornamentation to the masterhand which has graven his crowned F
and Salamander on its quaint façades. The Louvre and Fontainebleau are
also signed by these monograms. He, and his son Henry II., made these
piles the historic monuments we now behold.
Such was Francis, the artist. As a soldier, he followed in the steps of
Bayard, “Sans peur et sans reproche.” He perfected that poetic code of
honour which reconciles the wildest courage with generosity towards an
enemy. A knight-errant in love of danger and adventure, Francis comes
to us as the perfect type of the chivalrous Frenchman; ready to do
battle on any provocation either as king or gentleman, either at the
head of his army, in the tournament, or in the duello. He loved all that
was gay, bright, and beautiful. He delighted in the repose of peace, yet
no monarch ever plunged his country into more ruinous and causeless
wars. Though capable of the tenderest and purest affection, no man was
ever more heartless and cruel in principle and conduct.
Francis, Duc de Valois,[1] was educated at home by his mother, Madame
Louise de Savoie, Duchesse d’Angoulême, Regent of France, together with
his brilliant sister, Marguerite, “the pearl of the Valois,” poetess,
story-teller, artist, and politician. Each of these royal ladies was
tenderly attached to the clever, handsome youth, and together formed
what they chose to call “a trinity of love.” The old Castle of Amboise,
in Touraine, the favourite abode of Louis XII., continued to be their
home after his death. Here, too, the hand of Francis is to be traced in
sculptured windows and architectural façades, in noble halls and broad
galleries, and in the stately terraced gardens overlooking the Loire
which flows beneath its walls. Here, under the formal lime alleys and
flowering groves, or in the shadow of the still fortified bastions, the
brother and sister sat or wandered side by side, on many a summer day;
read and talked of poetry and troubadours, of romance and chivalry, of
Arthur, Roland, and Charlemagne, of spells and witcheries, and of Merlin
the enchanter whose magic failed before a woman’s glance.
Printing at that time having become general, literature of all kinds
circulated in every direction, stirring men’s minds with fresh tides of
knowledge. Marguerite de Valois, who was called “the tenth Muse,” dwelt
upon poetry and fiction, and already meditated her Boccaccio-like
stories, afterwards to be published under the title of the _Heptameron_.
Francis gloated over such adventures as were detailed in the roundelay
of the “Four Sons of Aymon,” a ballad of that day, devoured the history
of _Amadis de Gaul_, and tried his hand in twisting many a love-rhyme,
after the fashion of the “Romaunt of the Rose.”
In such an idyllic life of love, of solitude, and of thought, full of
the humanising courtesies of family life, was formed the paradoxical
character of Francis, who above all men possessed what the French
describe as “the reverse of his qualities.” His fierce passions still
slumbered, his imagination was filled with poetry, his heart beat high
with the endearing love of a brother and a son. His reckless courage
vented itself in the chase, among the royal forests of Amboise and of
Chanteloup, that darkened the adjacent hills, or in a tustle with the
boorish citizens, or travelling merchants, in the town below.
Thus he grew into manhood, his stately yet condescending manners,
handsome person, and romantic courage gaining him devoted adherents. Yet
when we remember that Francis served as the type for Hugo’s play of _Le
Roi s’amuse_ we pause and--shudder.