“Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that
hath no money.”—ISA. lv. 1.
IN the year 1547, Henry II. ascended the throne of France. With the
intrigues of the court it is not our province to intermeddle; but from
the fierce contests waged during that stormy period, our story cannot be
dissevered. There were four principal factions, each pledged to the
interests of a distinct chief, of whom the most influential were the
celebrated constable, Anne de Montmorency, and his great rivals of the
house of Guise. The constable was a personage of supreme importance,
possessing enormous wealth, and raised to the pinnacle of power. As he
became, in course of time, one of the chief patrons of that skill which
Palissy was acquiring at the cost of so much toil and suffering, a slight
sketch of this famous man, who stands out as one of the giants of the
ancient monarchy, will not be misplaced here.
In early life he had gained a powerful influence over the mind of Francis
I., which he long retained, and on the death of that monarch he stood
high in favour with his successor, Henry II. Faithful to the interests
of the throne and of his country, valiant in arms, possessed of intrepid
courage, and resolute in the maintenance of what he believed right, he
was, nevertheless, full of terrible blemishes and errors. He was an
austere man, hard and rugged, rough and ungracious in manner, stern in
his resolves, and fearful in the severity of the punishments he
inflicted.
One of the first acts of the new king was to issue an edict confirmatory
of religious penalties. A blasphemer was to have his tongue pierced with
a hot iron, but all heretics were to be burned alive. The spirit of this
sanguinary enactment was completely in harmony with the fierce bigotry
which formed one of the distinguishing traits of Montmorency’s character.
So great was his zeal against the heretics that he received on one
occasion the nickname of “Captain Bench-burner,” because he made bonfires
of the pulpits and benches taken from the churches of the Calvinists.
Such was the man who now undertook the suppression of a revolt which
broke out among the inhabitants of Saintonge and the surrounding
districts. The occasion of this disturbance was the oppressive character
of the new salt tax, which heavily burdened the poor country-people, who
were consequently the first to take up arms and drive out the officers of
the gabelle. In a short time the excitement spread. Pillage, fire, and
massacre abounded, and the insurrection extended to Bordeaux, which
became the head-quarters of the disaffected. Montmorency marched in
person against the inhabitants of the disturbed districts, and wherever
he went he erected gibbets and inflicted horrible punishments.
The inhabitants of Saintes had now something to divert their thoughts
from the doings of Palissy. They trembled as they heard of the
tremendous scenes enacted at Bordeaux, where the stern marshal,
disdaining to accept the keys of the town, marched his troops into it as
a triumphant enemy, and presently put to death one hundred citizens in
its great square; at the same time compelling the magnates of the town to
dig up with their nails the body of the royal governor, who had been
slain in one of the recent tumults. Having inflicted this summary
vengeance at Bordeaux, Montmorency advanced through Saintonge, resting,
on his route, at Pons, a town not far from Saintes, where resided the
king’s lieutenant for that department, who was also the Count of
Marennes, the famous salt district. This nobleman, Sire Antoine de Pons,
and his lady, Anne de Parthenay, were among the earliest and staunchest
friends and patrons of Palissy. It was at their château he saw the cup
of “marvellous beauty,” which had acted as a talisman to elicit his
genius; and from them he had frequently received commissions for various
works of art. The “Dame Pons” was, especially, a lover of gardens, and
delighted in floriculture. Scarcely could she have found another so
admirably suited to give her assistance in her favourite pursuit as
Palissy, whose congeniality of taste in this matter caused him in after
days to say, “I have found in the world no greater pleasure than to have
a beautiful garden.”
[Picture: Palissy relating his failures to Lady Anne]
It chanced at the time when Montmorency came to Pons, that Bernard was
engaged at the château of the Sire Antoine, in designing some panels and
decorations, as well as in laying out the pleasure grounds. He had
suffered another disappointment in his darling object, even more
overwhelming than all previous ones, and had been again driven to a
temporary renunciation of its pursuit. The narrative of his toils and
struggles had been drawn from him by the gentle-hearted lady, who, as she
marked with discerning eye the exquisite skill and taste of Palissy,
became interested to learn somewhat of his history. He told her, in his
own strong and simple language, all that had befallen him from the day
when her lord had shown him the Italian cup. Alas! his latest trial,
like all the others had proved a failure, and (as he declared) “his
sorrows and distresses had been so abundantly augmented,” that he lost
all countenance.
“And yet,” said the lady Anne, as she listened to his tale, “you assure
me, that on this last occasion you had been right in every one of your
calculations, and that the enamel was so correctly mixed, and the furnace
so well ordered, that one single day was sufficient for the melting.
How, then, did you fail?”
“From this unforeseen accident,” said Palissy; “the mortar of which I had
erected the furnace, had been full of flints, which burst with the
vehement heat, at the same time that the enamels began to liquefy; and
the splinters, striking against the pottery, which was covered with the
glutinous matter, became fixed there. Thus, all the vessels, which
otherwise would have been beautiful, were bestrewn with little morsels of
flint, so firmly attached to them that they could not possibly be
removed. The distress and embarrassment I felt from this new and
unforeseen disaster exceeded all I had before experienced. The more so
that several of my creditors, whom I had held in hope to be paid out of
the produce of these pieces, had hastened to be present at the drawing of
my work, and now seeing themselves disappointed of their long delayed
expectations, departed in blank dismay, finding their hopes frustrated.”
“Were there none of your pieces that had escaped injury?” “None, madame;
it is true, though they were all more or less blemished, they would hold
water, and there were some who would have bought them of me at a mean
price, but because that would have been a decrying and abasing of my
honour, I broke in pieces the entire batch from the said furnace, and lay
down in melancholy—not without cause, for I had no longer any means to
feed my family. After a while, however, reflecting that if a man should
fall into a pit, it would be his duty to endeavour to get out again, I,
Palissy, being in like case, resolved to exert myself in making
paintings, and in various ways taking pains to recover a little money.”
“A wise resolve,” replied the lady; “and one in which it will be in my
power to assist you. But hark! there sounds a horn, which I know to be
that of my lord, and it announces his approach, accompanied by
Monseigneur, the duke de Montmorency. An idea strikes me; his highness
has great taste for ornamental art; his patronage would secure the
fortune of one who possesses your skill in designing. Bring hither
to-morrow your paintings and sketches of animals, foliage, and groups,
not forgetting the designs of your vases, and I will take occasion to
present them to the notice of Monseigneur.”
The lady was as good as her word; and, as she had foreseen, Montmorency
was struck with the marks of genius perceptible even in these early and
imperfect productions of the great artist, and he immediately decided to
afford Palissy an opportunity of exercising his talents in his service.
In this manner did the great constable first become acquainted with
Palissy. A few years later he was intrusted with important charges in
the pot decoration of the celebrated château d’Écouen, one of the most
famous architectural works of France in that day.
The building of this château, distant about four leagues from Paris, had
been one of the principal amusements of the wealthy marshal, during his
seasons of forced leisure, when the sunshine of royal favour had deserted
him. The architect employed upon it was Jean Bullant, who afterwards
enjoyed the patronage of Cathurine de Medici, and assisted in the
building of the Tuilleries. Of the work contributed by Palissy towards
the decoration of the château, nothing remains in the present day but the
beautiful pavement in the chapel and galleries. Much time was employed
by him in the painting and enamelling of the decorated tiles which
compose this pavement. The designs were all his own, of subjects taken
by him from the Scriptures, very highly finished, and so admirably
arranged and contrived as to give to the whole a surprisingly rich effect
of beautiful colouring, surpassing, it is said, that of the finest turkey
carpeting.
In one part of the sacristy the passion of our Lord was represented upon
pottery, in sixteen pictures, in a single frame, copied from the designs
of Albert Durer, by the hand of Palissy. Of this piece, and of another
painted by him on glass, representing the history of Psyche, after the
designs of Raffaelle, there remain only representations upon paper. {58}
Of all the windows of Écouen, Palissy is also said to have been the
painter; nor must we omit to mention that in a grove of the garden there
was formerly a fountain, called “_Fontaine Madame_,” to which was
attached a rustic grotto, of which Palissy always spoke with pride, as
one of the chief triumphs of his handiwork. His skill and ingenuity were
exerted in the adornment of the grotto; and the rock from whence the
cascade fell was a grand specimen of his painted pottery. Figures of
frogs and fishes were placed in and about the water, lizards were upon
the rock, and serpents were coiled upon the grass. And, that devout
thoughts might be awakened in the breasts of those who came to enjoy the
sweets of this pleasant retreat, its pious artificer had contrived that
on a rustic frieze, should be inscribed in a mosaic, formed with various
coloured stones, the text we have chosen as the motto of this chapter.
“HO, EVERY ONE THAT THIRSTETH, COME YE TO THE WATERS.”
Probably the formation of the fountain, and the arrangements made for its
supply, were suggested by Palissy, whose acute observation in the study
of nature had, by that time, led him to the discovery of the true theory
of springs. “I have had no other book than heaven and earth, which are
open to all,” he was wont to say, and upon all subjects connected with
the study of that marvellous volume, Palissy was assuredly far in advance
of the men of his time. He delighted in grottoes and fountains of
waters, and his inquiry into the sources of natural fountains conducted
him to the true solution of an enigma which baffled all the skill of
Descartes. {60}
We are, however, antedating the course of this narrative. At the time of
Palissy’s introduction to the constable, he was about forty years old,
and his labour to discover the enamel ware had been spread over a period
of some eight years. It cost him eight years more during which he
endured great toil and numerous mishaps, before he attained full
perfection in the moulding and enamelling of ornamental pottery. But
from this time he did not lack patronage, and business was always to be
obtained sufficient for the supply of household necessities. We shall
presently have occasion to return with him again to the detail of his
trials and struggles, and to hear of privation and distress yet to be
endured in the prosecution of the object of his ambition. But first we
are about to see him in a new aspect, and it will be necessary to
interrupt the story of his toil in the pursuit of art, while we dwell
upon some other facts in his history, by which his mind was exercised,
and his character, as a man and a Christian, formed and illustrated.