The Castle of Bleink-Elmeink.--Romantic and Extraordinary Discovery.--An
Innocent and Persecuted Wife.--Madame de Bleink-Elmeink at Chaillot.
After the siege and surrender of Maestricht, when the King had no other
end in view than the entire conquest of Dutch Brabant, he took us to this
country, which had suffered greatly by the war. Some districts were
wholly devastated, and it became increasingly difficult to find lodging
and shelter for the Court.
The grooms of the chambers one day found for us a large chateau, situated
in a woody ravine, old-fashioned in structure, and surrounded by a moat.
There was only one drawbridge, flanked by two tall towers, surmounted by
turrets and culverins. Its owner was in residence at the time. He came
to the King and the Queen, and greeting them in French, placed his entire
property at their disposal.
It had rained in torrents for two days without ceasing. Despite the
season, everybody was wet through and benumbed with cold. Large fires
were made in all the huge fireplaces; and when the castle's vast rooms
were lighted up by candles, we agreed that the architect had not lacked
grandeur of conception nor good taste when building such large corridors,
massive staircases, lofty vestibules, and spacious, resounding rooms.
That given to the Queen was like an alcove, decorated by six large marble
caryatides, joined by a handsome balustrade high enough to lean upon. The
four-post bed was of azure blue velvet, with flowered work and rich gold
and silver tasselling. Over the chimneypiece was the huge Bleink-Elmeink
coat-of-arms, supported by two tall Templars.
The King's apartment was an exact reproduction of a room existing at
Jerusalem in the time of Saint Louis; this was explained by inscriptions
and devices in Gothic or Celtic.
My room was supposed to be an exact copy of the famous Pilate's chamber,
and it was named so; and for three days my eyes were rejoiced by the
detailed spectacle of our Lord's Passion, from His flagellation to His
agony on Calvary.
The Queen came to see me in this room, and did me the honour of being
envious of so charming an apartment.
The fourth day, when the weather became fine, we prepared to change our
quarters and take to our carriages again, when an extraordinary event
obliged us to send a messenger for the King, who had already left us, and
had gone forward to join the army.
An old peasant, still robust and in good health, performed in this gloomy
castle the duties of a housekeeper. In this capacity she frequently
visited our rooms to receive our orders and satisfy our needs.
Seeing that the Queen's boxes were being closed, and that our departure
was at hand, she came to me and said:
"Madame, the sovereign Lord of Heaven has willed it thus; that the
officers of the French King should have discovered as the residence of
his Court this castle amid gloomy forests and precipices. The great
prince has come hither and has stayed here for a brief while, and we have
sought to welcome him as well as we could. He gave the Comte de
Bleink-Elmeink, lord of this place and my master, his portrait set in
diamonds; he had far better have cut his throat."
"Good heavens, woman! What is this you tell me?" I exclaimed. "Of what
crime is your master guilty? He seems to me to be somewhat moody and
unsociable; but his family is of good renown, and all sorts of good
things have been, told concerning it to the King and Queen."
"Madame," replied the old woman, drawing me aside into a window-recess,
and lowering her voice, "do you see at the far end of yonder court an old
dungeon of much narrower dimensions than the others? In that dungeon
lies the good Comtesse de Bleink-Elmeink; she has languished there for
five years."
Then this woman informed me that her master, formerly page of honour to
the Empress Eleanor, had wedded, on account of her great wealth, a young
Hungarian noblewoman, by whom he had two children, both of whom were
living. Such was his dislike of their mother, on account of a slight
deformity, that for four or five years he shamefully maltreated her, and
at last shut her up in this dungeon-keep, allowing her daily the most
meagre diet possible.
"When, some few days since, the royal stewards appeared in front of the
moat, and claimed admittance, the Count was much alarmed," added the
peasant woman. "He thought that all was discovered, and that he was
going to suffer for it. It was not until the King and Queen came that he
was reassured, and he has not been able to hide his embarrassment from
any of us."
"Where are the two children of his marriage?" I asked the old woman,
before deciding to act.
"The young Baron," she answered, "is at Vienna or Ohnutz, at an academy
there. His sister, a graceful, pretty girl, has been in a convent from
her childhood; the nuns have promised to keep her there, and as soon as
she is fourteen, she will take the veil."
My first impulse was to acquaint the Queen with these astounding
revelations, but it soon struck me that, to tackle a man of such
importance as the Count, we could not do without the King. I at once
sent my secretary with a note, imploring his Majesty to return, but
giving no reason for my request. He came back immediately, post-haste,
when the housekeeper repeated to him, word for word, all that I have set
down here. The King could hardly believe his ears.
When coming to a decision, his Majesty never does so precipitately. He
paced up and down the room twice or thrice, and then said to me, "The
matter is of a rather singular nature; I am unacquainted with law, and
what I propose to do may one day serve as an example. It is my duty to
rescue our unfortunate hostess, and requite her nobly for her
hospitality."
So saying, he sent for the Count, and assuming a careless, almost jocular
air, thus addressed him:
"You were formerly page to the Empress Eleanor, I believe, M. le
Bleink-Elmeink?"
"Yes, Sire."
"She is dead, but the Emperor would easily recognise you, would he not?"
"I imagine so, Sire."
"I have thought of you as a likely person to be the bearer of a message,
some one of your age and height being needed, and of grave, secretive
temperament, such as I notice you to possess. Get everything in
readiness, as I intend to send you as courier to his Imperial Majesty. I
am going to write to him from here, and you shall bring me back his reply
to my proposals."
To be sent off like this was most galling to the Count, but his youth and
perfect health allowed him not the shadow of a pretext. He was obliged
to pack his valise and start. He pretended to look pleased and
acquiescent, but in his eyes I could detect fury and despair.
Half an hour after his departure, the King had the drawbridge raised, and
then went to inform the Queen of everything.
"Madame," said he, "you have been sleeping in this unfortunate lady's
nuptial bed. She is now about to be presented to you. I ask that you
will receive her kindly, and afterwards act as her protector, should
anything happen to me."
Tears filled the Queen's eyes, and she trembled in amazement. The King
instantly made for the dungeon, and in default of a key, broke open all
the gates. In a few minutes Madame de Bleink-Elmeink, supported by two
guards, entered the Queen's presence, and was about to fling herself at
her feet; but the King prevented this. He himself placed her in an
armchair, and we others at once formed a large semicircle round her.
She seemed to breathe with difficulty, sighing and sobbing without being
able to utter a word. At, length she said to the King in fairly good
French, "May my Creator and yours reward you for this, great and
unexpected boon! Do not forsake me, Sire, now that you have broken my
fetters, but let your might protect me against the unjust violence of my
husband; and permit me to reside in France in whatever convent it please
you to choose. My august liberator shall become my lawful King, and
under his rule I desire to live and die."
In spite of her sorrow, Madame de Bleink-Elmeink did not appear to be
more than twenty-eight or thirty years old. Her large blue eyes, though
she had wept, much, were still splendid, and her high-bred features
denoted nobility and beauty of soul. To such a charming countenance her
figure scarcely corresponded; one side of her was slightly deformed, yet.
this did not interfere with the grace of her attitude when seated, nor
her agreeable deportment.
Directly she saw her, the Queen liked her. She looked half longingly at
the Countess, and then rising approached her and held out her hand to be
kissed, saying, "I mean to love you as if you were one of my own family;
you shall be placed at Val-de-Grace, and I will often come and see you."
Recovering herself somewhat, the Countess sank on her knees and kissed
the Queen's hand in a transport of joy. We, led her to her room, where
she took a little refreshment and afterwards slept until the following
day. All her servants and gardeners came to express their gladness at
her deliverance; and in order to keep her company, the Queen decided to
stay another week at the castle. The Countess then set out for Paris,
and it was arranged that she should have the apartments at Chaillot, once
constructed by the Queen of England.
As for her dreadful husband, the King gave him plenty to do, and he did
not see his wife again for a good long while.