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 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924028150914 
 
THE 
 GIRLHOOD OF MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS 
 
BY THE SAME AUTHOR 
 THE LIFE OF THE 
 
 EMPRESS EUGENIE 
 
 Third Edition. Illustrated. los. 6d. net 
 
 " Finely told, with tact and yet with frankness." 
 — Daily Chronicle. 
 
 "As interesting as a first-rate novel." — 
 Standard, 
 
 "Singularly good for a book of the kind; on 
 the whole the book is excellent." — Athenceum. 
 
 HODDER & STOUGHTON, LONDON 
 
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THE GIRLHOOD 
 
 OF 
 
 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS 
 
 FROM HER LANDING IN FRANCE IN AUGUST 1548 
 
 TO 
 
 HER DEPARTURE FROM FRANCE IN AUGUST 1561 
 
 JANE T. STODDART 
 
 ' ' Die Tochter einer Guise und selbst eine Guise von dera 
 Grunde ihres leidenscbaftlichen Herzens aus: Maria Stuart." 
 
 ("The daughter of a Guise and tierself a Guise from the 
 depths of her passionate heart; Mary Stuart.") 
 
 Erich Marcks. 
 
 WITH SIX ILLUSTRATIONS IN PHOTOGRAVURE 
 
 HODDER AND STOUGHTON 
 
 PUBLISHERS LONDON 
 
TO 
 
 Dr. ROBERTSON NICOLL 
 
PREFACE 
 
 The phrase of Professor Marcks which is quoted on 
 the title-page explains the origin as well as the plan of 
 this narrative. The writer had been for some years 
 closely occupied with the history of the Guises^ as set 
 out in their private correspondence between 1538 and 
 1588, when the story of Queen Mary's girlhood in 
 France began to disengage itself from the larger subject. 
 The homes of the Guises acquired a new interest on 
 holiday visits as early homes of the Scottish Queen. 
 
 Although the space of time here dealt with covers 
 only thirteen years, they were years of vital import- 
 ance in Mary's personal history and in the larger 
 concerns of France and Europe. Her life falls into 
 four clearly marked divisions : the infancy in Scot- 
 land, the thirteen years in France, the six years of 
 stormy rule, and the years in prison. In France 
 Mary bore a spotless reputation, though she enjoyed 
 there two years at least of comparative personal 
 liberty, during which her character was free to develop 
 along its natural lines. The Court gossip-mongers, 
 who did not leave unassailed the conduct even of such 
 highly placed women as Anne d'Este, Duchess of 
 Guise, and Margaret of Valois, sister of Henry 11., 
 would have been ready to calumniate Mary on the 
 slightest pretext. Brantome tells us that Antoine de 
 Bourbon, King of Navarre, wished to repudiate his 
 
The Girlhood of Mary Queen of Scots 
 
 wife Jeanne on religious grounds and to marry the 
 royal widow. Damville, one of the Constable's sons, 
 also a married man, is named as a fervent admirer, 
 and he travelled in the Queen's train to Scotland. 
 M. Dargaud suggests that this rough soldier, whose 
 favourite companion, in later years, was his tame wolf, 
 had actually won the Queen's heart, and that but for 
 his marriage, in 1559, to Mademoiselle de Bouillon, 
 granddaughter of Diane de Poitiers, he might have 
 aspired to a royal alliance. M. Dargaud mentions 
 that the Queen was accused of having advised Damville 
 to poison his wife, so that no obstacle might remain 
 between them.' He goes on, however, to remark : 
 " This first accusation was never proved, and history 
 repudiates it as a calumny." One of Mary's letters 
 bears eloquent testimony to her affection for Made- 
 moiselle de Bouillon, whom she suggested as a bride 
 for Arran. " She loves me so much," wrote the Queen 
 to her mother in May 1557, " that she is willing to 
 marry anybody who is chosen for her, if only she may 
 always remain with me." " Faithfulness to friends 
 and attendants who were faithful to her was one 
 of the Queen's most noticeable characteristics, and 
 there is not a shadow of proof that for the sake 
 of Damville she advised the poisoning of an early 
 companion. 
 
 That " Letter from a Person unknown " to Robert 
 Dudley which was sent from Orleans on December 
 31, 1560, fairly represents contemporary opinion as to 
 Mary's conduct during her later months in France : 
 " For assuredly the queue of Scotland her majesties 
 cosen dothe carrye hcrselfe so honorably, advisedlye 
 
 ' Histoire de Mario Stuavl, par J. M. Dargaud, vol. i. p. ii6. 
 ^ Labanoff, Rocucil, vol. i. p. .|j. 
 
Preface 
 
 and dyscrytlye as I can not but feare her pro- 
 gresse." * 
 
 Political events in France during Mary's girlhood 
 have been treated in this book, as far as possible, from 
 a personal standpoint, in their bearing on the Queen's 
 own life, and on the careers of her relatives of the 
 house of Guise. Within these thirteen years are 
 included such incidents of national importance as the 
 siege of Metz (1552), the battle of Renty (1554), the de- 
 feat of the French at Saint-Quentin (1557), the taking 
 of Calais from the English (1558), and the great 
 European settlement of Cateau-Cambresis (1559). 
 Mary left France before the outbreak of the Wars of 
 Religion, but seeds were sown during her childhood 
 which sprang up in that harvest of blood. 
 
 It is probable that fresh facts of minor importance 
 connected with these thirteen years of Mary's history 
 may be disclosed as the libraries of Europe are ran- 
 sacked for hitherto unpublished diplomatic letters. 
 In the Revue d'Histoire Diplomatique for 1899 and 1900, 
 for example, valuable letters were published from the 
 MSS in the Imperial Library of St. Petersburg. They 
 were gleanings from the portfolio of Sebastien de 
 I'Aubespine, Bishop of Limoges, French Ambassador 
 at the Court of Spain, whose main body of corre- 
 spondence was so admirably edited by M. Louis 
 Paris. In one of these letters, dated July 20, 1560, 
 the Bishop of Limoges wrote to Queen Mary that 
 he was sending her a book on chess by Le Saffre, 
 " un des plus grands joueurs d'eschecs qui se soit 
 jamais trouve." After beating all Italy and the 
 rest of the world where he had travelled, Le Saffre 
 had arrived at Madrid. The Bishop sent the book 
 
 ' Illustrations of the Reign of Queen Mary (Maitland Club), p. 84. 
 
The Girlhood of Mary Queen of Scots 
 because he understood that Mary took much pleasure 
 in the game. 
 
 The Guises, as Rene de Bouille says, were almost 
 the last representatives, if not of the feudal system, at 
 least of a powerful aristocracy which continually 
 menaced the throne. In Queen Mary's childhood no 
 observer could have foretold the early downfall of 
 their greatness. Between 1548 and 1561 they were 
 strengthening their position yearly by new ecclesi- 
 astical dignities, wealthy matrimonial alliances, and 
 the acquisition of estates. The births of sons to the 
 Dukes of Guise and Aumale and to the Marquis 
 d'Elboeuf gave promise, as the Cardinal of Lorraine 
 wrote, that " our Lord does not mean to leave our 
 house without heirs." Homes of the Guises, during 
 this period, were scattered over the north-eastern and 
 central provinces. The Cardinal, who in troublous 
 times used daily in his private devotions the 31st 
 Psalm, must often have recited one verse with a 
 consciousness of the might of the house of Guise : 
 " Benedictus Dominus, quoniam mirificavit miseri- 
 cordiam suam mihi in civitate munita." Now the 
 moss covers a few mouldering fragments of stone 
 which mark the site of the feudal stronghold of Join- 
 ville, and even in Rheims we search in vain for the 
 Cardinal's statue. 
 
 While the works of predecessors in this most 
 interesting field — especially those of Miss Strickland, 
 Father Stevenson, and M. de Ruble — have been care- 
 fully consulted at every point, the writer may fairly 
 claim to have introduced a great deal of matter which 
 was not used by any of these historians, and to have 
 approached the subject from a fresh point of view. 
 
NOTES ON SOME FRENCH 
 AUTHORITIES 
 
 The general sources on which the writer has drawn 
 are indicated, as far as possible, by notes throughout 
 the volume, but a few comments on some less known 
 French authorities may not be out of place. 
 
 The Balcarres Papers in the Advocates' Library in 
 Edinburgh have been freely used. Although many 
 of the letters in this priceless Collection have been 
 published in fuU,^ there is sufficient unpublished 
 material to reward the student for many days and 
 weeks of research. It is a curious fact that French his- 
 torians, with the exception of Francisque-Michel, have 
 not followed Prince Labanoff in exploring these 
 treasures. The Marquis de Pimodan, in preparing 
 his work. La Mere des Guises, which contains many 
 letters of Antoinette de Bourbon, gathered nothing 
 from Scotland. M. de Ruble, in writing La Premiere 
 Jeunesse de Marie Stuart, had not, as far as appears, 
 any original knowledge of this storehouse . M . Edmond 
 Bapst, in his learned work, Les Mariages de Jacques V., 
 copies the few references he requires from the Bal- 
 carres Papers from the first volume of Francisque- 
 
 ' Besides the volumes of Prince Labanoff, we may mention the 
 letters of Henry il. in the Maitiand Club Miscellany , and the 
 Lettres de Quelques Hauls Personnages A la reine d'Ecosse, Marie de 
 Guise. 
 
The Girlhood of Mary Queen of Scots 
 
 Michel. It seems likely that French historians of the 
 last fifty years have supposed that Prince Labanoff 
 had gone, as the Antiquary proposed to go to the ruins 
 of St. Ruth, and had fairly trenched the area, laying 
 bare every treasure connected with Queen Mary. 
 Francisque-Michel, in preparing his volumes, Les 
 tcossais en France (1862), was fortunate in having the 
 help of some of the chief historical experts of his time. 
 He says in his preface that he owed much to Mr. David 
 Laing and Mr. William Turnbull, both of whom placed 
 their collection of documents at his disposal. The 
 passages he was able to quote from the Balcarres 
 Papers have greatly enriched his narrative. The 
 writer desires to thank Mr. W. K. Dickson, Keeper 
 of the Advocates' Library, for the courtesy with which 
 these Papers were placed at her disposal. For students 
 of the sixteenth century there can be few more memor- 
 able days than that on which we handle for the first 
 time these volumes, which contain the manuscripts 
 of great personages of Queen Mary's time. On one 
 page we find a clearly written note from the future 
 Cardinal of Lorraine as a schoolboy, on others letters 
 in which Francis of Lorraine, afterwards Duke of 
 Guise, mentions (and makes light of) the terrible 
 wounds he received during his early experiences 
 of war. 
 
 Although the letters here printed in full from this 
 Collection have been limited to those which bear 
 directly upon Queen Mary's life in France, many others 
 have been indirectly helpful. The transcripts used 
 for publication have been made by a well-known 
 expert, the Rev. Henry Paton, M.A. 
 
 The writer has also examined many of the relevant 
 letters in the Bibliothequc Nationale in Paris, and must 
 
Notes on some French Authorities 
 
 thank M. Charles de la Ronciere, the eminent authority 
 on the French Navy, for directing her attention to 
 M. de Br^ze's letter, written from Roscoff on August i8, 
 1548. Some of the letters from the Bibliotheque, 
 printed in Appendix A, have been quoted in part by 
 M. de Ruble or M. Guiffrey. The latter historian, in 
 his Lettres de Dianne de Poy tiers (1866), displayed a 
 wealth of learning by which he has laid all subsequent 
 writers under debt. His notes, in which almost every 
 personage named in the letters of Diane de Poitiers 
 forms the subject of a separate discussion, are largely 
 based on manuscript sources. The historian who has 
 made fullest use of M. Guiffrey 's researches is the late 
 M. de Ruble, whose own numerous original works, 
 with his editions of sixteenth-century authors, are an 
 indispensable possession for the student. 
 
 The best of the Guise historians is Rene de Bouille, 
 whose four volumes (1849) ^^^ never likely to be super- 
 seded. He made cautious and discriminating use of 
 the manuscript histories of Oudin and Fornier, in the 
 Bibliotheque Nationale. M. de Pimodan remarks that 
 while these two old writers err on the side of panegyric 
 and seek to represent the Guises as at all times faithful 
 servants of the French monarchy, they are correct as 
 a rule on every point on which it is still possible to 
 check them. " From that fact we may assume the 
 general accuracy of these historians, who had in their 
 hands documents which are now lost. Oudin, 'an 
 ecclesiastic by profession ' as he says in his preface, 
 belonged very probably to a family of standing, which 
 came from the neighbourhood of Joinville, where the 
 Guises exercised a kind of regal sway. . . . All the 
 Oudins were learned and well-instructed men. Fornier 
 (Pierre-Pol), a lawyer at the Parliamentary bar, no 
 
The Girlhood of Mary Queen of Scots 
 
 doubt had to do professionally with the business of the 
 Guises. He must have known all their papers." ^ 
 
 M. Forneron's well-known work in two volumes, 
 Les Dues de Guise ef leur 6poque (2nd edition, 1893), 
 though brightly written and more attractive to the 
 general reader than that of Rene de Bouille, depends 
 more on the gossip of contemporary memoirs than on 
 original research. In his preface M. Forneron says : 
 " Books have already been written on the history of 
 the House of Guise ; from them we have learned all 
 that can be drawn from the manuscripts preserved in 
 our archives ; but the authors have made no use of 
 the researches of foreign historians. Yet it has be- 
 come difficult to speak of the events of the sixteenth 
 century without studying the works of Gachard in 
 Belgium, of Froude in England, of Ranke in Germany, 
 of Prescott and Motley in America, of Alberi in Italy." 
 
 As a general introduction to the history of the 
 Guises, M. Forneron's book has great value, but 
 he made no attempt to obtain new facts, and he 
 relies on memoirs such as those of Vieilleville and 
 Tavannes, which are now discredited. Professor 
 Lemonnier, in his bibliography for the reign of 
 Henry 11. (Lavisse, History of France, vol. v. part ii. 
 pp. 123, 124^) remarks : " La plupart des Memoires 
 sont extrgmement suspects, et c'est pr6cis6ment chez 
 eux qu'on a pris tant d'anecdotes, qui continuent a 
 avoir cours dans presque tons les livres." He adds in 
 a later paragraph : " Les Memoires de Gaspard de 
 Saux Tavannes, i530-i573 (Michaud et Poujoulat, 
 t. viii.) doivent gtre ecart^s. II en est de m6me de 
 ceux dits de Vieilleville : voir Ch. Marchand, Le 
 
 ' La Mire dcs Guises, p]i. 11,12 (note). 
 "This volume appeared in ii)o.|. 
 
Notes on some French Authorities 
 
 Marechal Frangois de Scepeaux de Vieilleville et ses 
 Memoires, 1893." 
 
 It is surprising that any reader of Charles 
 Marchand's learned work should still continue to 
 quote Vincent Carloix's Memoires de Vieilleville as 
 a reliable authority. M. Marchand ranked them as 
 among tales for Christmas firesides. 
 
 While some of the most popular of the old memoirs 
 must be discarded by the modern student, there are 
 many contemporary booklets which will repay a 
 closer examination than they have hitherto received. 
 In this class we may place the descriptions of royal 
 entrances into the great cities, the accounts of wedding 
 festivities and municipal banquets, the stories of 
 royal and princely funerals, and the memorial 
 sermons. The sermon of Claude Despence on the 
 death of Mary of Lorraine, with its touching dedica- 
 tion to her daughter, Queen Mary, is very little 
 known, though a reference to it was made by Fran- 
 cisque-Michel. In the numerous biographies of the 
 Queen we have not been able to find any quota- 
 tions from one of her favourite poets, the Sieur de 
 Maisonfleur. 
 
 Much has been gathered from the relevant works 
 belonging to the " Collection de Documents inedits," 
 and especially from the Negociations sous Frangois II., 
 edited by Louis Paris ; the Negotiations with Tuscany 
 and the Levant ; the Letters of Catherine de' Medici, 
 edited by Count de la Ferriere ; and the reports of 
 the Venetian ambassadors published by Tommaseo, 
 which so usefully supplement the larger collection of 
 Alberi. 
 
 Some of the personal letters of the Guises have 
 been translated from the Memoires- J ournaux of the 
 
The Girlhood of Mary Queen of Scots 
 
 Duke Francis of Guise (Michaud et Poujoulat, 
 ist Series, vol. vi.)- Others are from the volumes of 
 Teulet, Labanoff, and Father Pollen. A few have 
 been taken from Rene de Bouille, the Marquis de 
 Pimodan, and Joseph de Croze. 
 
 For the Tumult of Amboise, careful use has been 
 made of the articles of M. Charles Paillard in the 
 Revue Historique (vol. xiv.), and of M. Mignet in the 
 Journal des Savants. 
 
 A list of the historians and memoir writers con- 
 sulted for this volume would be useless without 
 particular references, and these will be found in the 
 notes. There is one question, however, which must 
 be of the deepest interest to every student of Queen 
 Mary's life in France. How far is Regnier de la 
 Planche a trustworthy historian ? Michelet and 
 Professor Baird have accepted his statements without 
 reserve. It is hardly an exaggeration to say that the 
 worst stories told against the Guises rest on his 
 authority, and these are passed from book to book 
 without note or quahfication. Yet there can be no 
 doubt that any future historian of the Huguenots 
 would be expected to sift with the closest scrutiny 
 every statement made by La Planche in the prin- 
 cipal work ascribed to him : Histoire de I'Estat dc 
 France . . . sous le regne de Frangois IL Is this 
 a serious history, or must it be classed with that 
 amusing jeu d'esprit, Le Livre des Mcurhauds, which is 
 unmistakably from the same pen ? 
 
 The best known modern editions of the Histoire 
 de I'Estat de France are those of M. Mennechet (1836) 
 and of the Pantheon Litteraire. M. Mennechet, 
 in his preface, deals impartially with the merits of 
 Regnier de la Planche. He quotes the tribute of 
 
Notes on some French Authorities 
 
 De Thou, according to which La Planche was " trcs 
 vers6 dans les negociations." He goes on : " If the 
 Queen-Mother considered that he was the man who 
 could best enUghten her on the true cause of the 
 factions which were disturbing France at that time, 
 we think it our duty to follow the example of 
 Catherine de' Medici, and to ask from that historian 
 the truth about the short and troubled reign of 
 Francis ii. But has La Planche really told us the 
 truth which we seek ? Has not his zeal for the Re- 
 formed doctrines led him to misrepresent facts which 
 were opposed to them ; and even if we admit his 
 good faith, has not his judgment been sometimes led 
 astray by passion ? We must recognise it frankly ; 
 the historian has never been able to cast off the 
 Huguenot. His partiality for the Reformed Church 
 is to be seen on every page. Fortunately the very 
 violence of his sarcasms against Rome and the 
 Catholic clergy puts us on our guard against the 
 severity of his accusations. As he was before all 
 things an honest man, we must, in justice to him, admit 
 that he never sacrificed a truth to his religious 
 opinions. He had a sarcastic turn of mind, and often 
 yields to that tendency, but it is rather in his way 
 of judging facts than in the statement of the facts 
 themselves that he shows his doctrines. His contem- 
 poraries all admitted his veracity, and we have not 
 found the events which he narrates disputed by any 
 historian of his time." 
 
 This last sentence reminds us that writers such 
 as Le Laboureur and Guiffrey have shown that Regnier 
 de la Planche is mistaken on important facts. Le 
 Laboureur refutes his shocking story of the death 
 of the Chancellor OUivier, and M. Guiffrey, in a long 
 
The Girlhood of Mary Queen of Scots 
 
 and elaborate inquiry, proves the inaccuracy of one 
 of his stories about Diane de Poitiers. Two points 
 must be kept in mind as we read the narrative of 
 Regnier de la Planche. He was a friend of the 
 Constable Montmorency, and belonged politically 
 to the party most opposed to the Guises. He was 
 also a Huguenot, and therefore opposed to them on 
 religious questions. While accepting his history as a 
 valuable source of information, we must in fairness 
 to the Guises make allowance for his point of view. 
 Professor Mariejol, who bases his account of the 
 Tumult of Amboise largely on the statements of La 
 Planche, says : "A complete legend, which may 
 not be very far removed from the truth, formed itself 
 around the victims of the Guises." ^ His view is 
 therefore substantially that of Mennechet. 
 
 This is not the place for a discussion of the anti- 
 Guise libels generally, but a few words may be per- 
 mitted, as some of these pamphlets have a direct 
 bearing on our subject. This is notably the case 
 with the Letter to the Tiger of France, by Francois 
 Hotman, and La Legende de Charles Cardinal de 
 Lorraine, by Francois de ITsle (a nom-de-plume, it is 
 believed, of Regnier de la Planche). 
 
 In thinking of the heroic Huguenot martyrs 
 and of that soldier-saint and statesman, Gaspard 
 de Coligny, we can only echo the words of Michelet : 
 " May these mighty hearts breathe on us their breath 
 of freedom, and pour upon our dryness some drops 
 of their abundant rains." But the anonymous 
 libeller is one of the ugliest personalities of history, 
 and no appreciation of literary merit ought to blind 
 us to the methods of his dark trade. The genius 
 
 1 Lavisso History of France, vol. vi. pai't i. p. 18. 
 
Notes on some French Authorities 
 
 of Frangois Hotman has led historians to extenuate 
 or even to approve the pubUcation of that hideous 
 hbel, the Letter to the Tiger of France. Who suffered 
 the penalty of this outrage ? Not the writer, secure in 
 his anonymity behind the walls of Strasbourg, but 
 a poor Paris printer, Martin Lhomme, who had dared 
 to circulate the pamphlet, and a harmless merchant 
 of Rouen, Robert Dehors, whose only fault was 
 that he had ventured, on seeing the crowd about to 
 lynch the prisoner on the way to execution, to appeal 
 for a quiet passage for Martin Lhomme to the scaffold. 
 Michel de I'Hopital tells us that the Cardinal of 
 Lorraine was accustomed to laugh at the gossip of 
 the populace, and minded it no more than if a dog 
 had barked at him as he left the house. It was the 
 infuriated mob of Paris, quite as much as the Guises, 
 who demanded these victims. The darts launched 
 at public personages too often struck the helpless 
 and the innocent. While the Protestant libels 
 deserve attentive reading, they must be checked 
 at every point by comparison with the known facts 
 of history. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 PREFACE vii 
 
 NOTES ON SOME FRENCH AUTHORITIES . xi 
 
 INTRODUCTION xxix 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 Mary's Landing at Roscoff and First Year in France 
 
 Memorials of Mary at Roscoff — Was Roscoff her landing-place ? — 
 Tlie narrative of JM. de Breze — Was Joachim du Bellay with 
 the Queen ? — His description of a voyage from Scotland — 
 The journey to Saint-Germain — Preparations for the Queen's 
 coming — Letters of Henry ii. and Diane de Poitiers — The 
 King's journey of 1548 — The marriage of Jeanne d'Albret — 
 The revolt in Guyenne — Return of the King — His opinion of 
 Mary — Arrival of Anne d'Este and her marriage to Mary's 
 uncle Francis, " Le Grand Guise " — Mary at the wedding — 
 Royal triumphs in Paris — The dark shadow . . .1 
 
 CHAPTER II ' 
 
 Mary in the Royal Nursery 
 
 Chief personages of the reign (Henry 11., Diane de Poitiers, 
 Catherine de' Medici, Anne de Montmorency) — The royal 
 children — The Dauphin as a child — Two of his letters — The 
 Dauphin at Anet — Madame d'Humi^res and her charges — 
 Tradesmen of the Queen of Scotland — Her dress and jewels — ■ 
 Bills of the children's kitchen — Some pet animals — Catherine 
 de' Medici on the Queen — Death of Duke Claude of Guise — 
 Was Mary at her grandfather's funeral ? — Death of Mary's 
 great-uncle, the Cardinal John of Lorraine — His character . 29 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 The House of Guise in 1550 — Visit of the Queen 
 Dowager of Scotland to France 
 
 History of the Guises — Their ambitions — The Queen Dowager's 
 loneUness after her daughter's departure — Letters to her 
 
The Girlhood of Mary Queen of Scots 
 
 PAGE 
 
 brothers — Her visit to France — English envoys and the talk 
 of royal marriages — Mary of Lorraine returns to Scotland — 
 Disappointments of her visit— The scandal of Lady Fleming 
 — The attempt to poison Queen Mary — The Cardinal of 
 Lorraine as Mary's " gouvernante " . . . -52 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 Character of Mary's Uncle, the Cardinal of 
 Lorraine 
 
 Bishop Creighton's opinion of the Cardinal — Brantome's estimate 
 — Characteristic stories — The Cardinal's youth — His rare 
 gifts — His sermon at the crowning of Henry ii. — His per- 
 sonal appearance — Foreign ambassadors on his character — 
 The charges of avarice and cowardice — How he spent his 
 revenues — His uncle's debts — A fighting leader — His private 
 correspondence — His relationship to Anne d'Arne — His love 
 of children and care of his niece, Queen Mary . . • 72 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 The Education of Mary and Francis 
 
 Training of the Queen of Scots — Her love of music — Her skill in 
 dancing and in needlework — Her Latin themes — Her Latin 
 address before the Court — Religious instruction — Occultism 
 at Court — Mary's generosity — Early portraits of the royal 
 children — Letter of the Cardinal of Lorraine to his sister — 
 His plans for Mary's household — War with Charles v. — The 
 siege of Metz — The spread of heresy — The Queen in i";53 — 
 Her health and the Dauphin's — Mary becomes mistress of her 
 own estabHshment at the age of twelve — Mary of Lorraine 
 regent of Scotland — Letters of 1554 . . . -91 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 The Dawn of Womanhood 
 
 Open-air amusements of the Court in Mary's girlhood— Tourna- 
 ments and hunting— Mary at Meudon— Her lirst Communion 
 — Baptism of her cousin Charles— Training of the Duke of 
 Guise's children— The daily hfe at Court— A \'cnctian's praise 
 of Mary— Madame de Paroy, the Queen's governess- 
 Quarrels with her pupil— Relations of Mary with Diane de 
 
Contents 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Poitiers — Serious illness of the Scottish Queen — Letters of the 
 Cardinal and Mary of Lorraine — Political events between 
 ISS4 and 1558. ..... 113 
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 The Marriage of Mary and Francis 
 
 Results of the taking of Calais — Popularity of the Guises — Their 
 desire to hasten the marriage — Appeals from Scotland — The 
 betrothal — Invitation to the magistrates — Decorations of 
 Notre Dame — The wedding day — Procession of the bride 
 and bridegroom — The Cardinal Charles de Bourbon unites 
 the royal pair — The Bishop of Paris celebrates the nuptial 
 Mass — The wedding banquets — Dancing and masquerades — 
 The pageant of the ships — Michiel's description of the 
 wedding . . . . . . .136 
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 Scotland and the Marriage — A European Settlement 
 
 The secret pledges of the Queen of Scots to France — The three 
 papers signed at Fontainebleau — Was the Queen respon- 
 sible ? — Excuses for her — Motives of the Guises in this matter 
 — Return of the Scots Commissioners — The mysterious 
 malady at Dieppe and the four deaths — Preliminaries of a 
 general Peace — Henry 11. and Montmorency — Death of Mary 
 Tudor — The treaty of Cateau-Cambresis . . • 1 5 1 
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 The Court in 1559 
 
 Marriage of the Duke of Lorraine with the Princess Claude of 
 France — The King and Queen Dauphin's share in the wed- 
 ding festivities^Ill-health of Francis and Mary — Prepara- 
 tions for the " Treaty " marriages — Madame Margaret of 
 France — Relations of the Constable with the Huguenots — 
 Rivalry between Montmorency and the Guises — Revival of 
 persecution . . . . . . .164 
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 " Those of the Religion " 
 
 "Cast down, but not destroyed" — The Huguenots in 1559 — The 
 year of reformation — The coup d'itat of Henry 11. — Arrest 
 of members of the Parlement of Paris . . -174 
 
The Girlhood of Mary Queen of Scots 
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 The Death of Henry II.— Mary Stuart Queen- 
 Consort OF France 
 
 The noontide spectre— Alba, Orange, and Egmont in Paris— The 
 royal marriages-The Palace of the Toumelles-Rejoicings 
 in Paris-The prisoners in the BastiUe-The wedding jousts 
 -Mary and the arms of England-The fatal tournament- 
 Signs and omens— The dying King— Days of suspense- 
 Arrival of Ruy Gomez-Death of Henry ii.-The Guises 
 take Francis and Mary to the Louvre . • • • 
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 The Reign of Three Kings 
 
 Francis li. rules under the Guises— The changed world— Fall of 
 Montmorency and Diane— Position of the Queen Mother 
 and of Mary Stuart— The royal Seal— Funeral of Henry li.— 
 Illness of Queen Mary— Effacement of the King of Navarre 
 —The Cardinal Pope and King . . • -194 
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 The Coronation at Rheims and the Visit to Bar-le-Duc 
 
 The journey from Villers-Cotterets — Rheims as it was under 
 Francis ii. — Entry of the King and Queen — The hostages of 
 the " Holy Oil-Flask " — Ceremony of the Coronation — The 
 banquet in the Archbishop's Palace — The Court at Bar — 
 Illness and anxieties of Queen Mary .... 203 
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 Autumn Weeks in the Castles of the Loire 
 
 Open-air life of the King and Queen — Dark rumours in the Loire 
 country — The King's supposed leprosy — False reports of the 
 sacrifice of children — Departure of Elizabeth of Valois for 
 Spain — The leave-takings — First stages of the journey — Life 
 in the Castle of Blois — The Advent season — Signs of unrest — 
 Hunting at Chanibord — The martyrdom of Anne du Bourg . 216 
 
Contents 
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 The Tumult of Amboise 
 
 (l) THE PREPARATIONS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Plans for the royal visit to Amboise — The Cardinal's Amboise 
 estate — Unpopularity of the Government — Depletion of the 
 Treasury — Widespread discontent and its causes — The 
 political malcontents find a leader in La Renaudie — Calvin 
 and La Renaudie — The Assembly at Nantes — The " Silent 
 Captain" — Anxieties of the Court — Francis and Mary leave 
 Blois — Throckmorton's interview with Mary at Amboise — 
 First warnings reach the Cardinal — The town and castle of 
 Amboise ....... 232 
 
 CHAPTER XV .—[continued) 
 The Tumult of Amboise ,; 
 
 (2) THE attempt and FAILURE 
 
 Alarm of the Guises — A night watch in the Castle court — Did the 
 Guises believe that the King and Queen were in danger ? 
 — A breathing space — The King and Queen go hunting — 
 Renewal of the panic — Outbreak of the Tumult — Motives of 
 La Renaudie's followers — Activity of the Duke of Guise — He 
 is made Lieutenant-General — Dispersal of the conspirators 
 and death of La Renaudie — The King and Queen at Chenon- 
 ceaux — The Cardinal's rage against the prisoners — His desire 
 to implicate Conde ...... 244 
 
 CHAPTER XV.— [continued) 
 
 The Tumult of Amboise 
 
 (3) the revenge 
 
 The Duke of Guise and the cruelties of Amboise — Number of the 
 victims — Did Mary Stuart watch the executions ? — State- 
 ments of contemporary writers — The scenes of horror — 
 Death of the Chancellor Ollivier — Removal of the Court from 
 Amboise to Marmoutier — The services of Holy Week — 
 Interruption of a sermon by the Cardinal — The war 
 of pamphlets — Persecuting spirit of the Government — 
 The "Letter to the Tiger of France" — Mary and her 
 uncles ........ 254 
 
The Girlhood of Mary Queen of Scots 
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 The Summer of 1560 
 
 PAGE 
 
 gloomy summer in France — The Royal hunting-parties — 
 Catherine de' Medici, the Guises, and Mary Stuart— The 
 Scottish Reformation — Ilhiess and death of Mary of Lorraine 
 — The Cardinal's tribute to his sister — Funeral sermon for 
 the Regent preached in Paris by Claude Despence — His 
 references to Queen Mary — Dedication of the sermon to Mary 
 — Throckmorton's interviews with Mary at Fontainebleau 
 in August — The meeting of the Notables at Fontainebleau . 268 
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 Closing Months of the Reign of Francis II. 
 
 Removal of the Court to Saint-Germain — The plot revealed by 
 La Sague — Contradictory orders of the Government — The 
 King and Queen at Orleans — Discontent of the inhabitants 
 — Beauty of the young Queen — Arrival of Navarre and 
 Conde — Arrest and imprisonment of Conde — First rumours 
 of the King's illness — The Venetian Ambassador describes it 
 — An early close of the reign expected — Rising hopes of the 
 Huguenots — Talk of a second marriage for Mary — Last days 
 of Francis 11. — His death on December 5 — The sorrowing 
 Queen ........ 293 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 The Young Widow 
 
 Loneliness of the widowed Queen — Fall of the Guises — Restora- 
 tion of the Crown jewels — Queen Mary's dowry — Funeral of 
 Francis 11. — Meeting of the States General at Orleans — The 
 forty days of mourning — Throckmorton's praise of i\Liiy's 
 wisdom — Arrival of Don Juan Manrique de Lara from 
 Philip 11. — Requiem for Francis 11. on January 15, 1561, 
 which Mary attends — The Court leaves Orleans for 
 Fontainebleau — The Earl of Bedford brings condolences 
 from Queen Elizabeth— Mary refuses to ratify the Treaty 
 of Edinburgh ....... 306 
 
Contents 
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 Catherine de' Medici and Mary Stuart 
 
 TAGE 
 
 Personal relations of Catherine and Mary after the death of 
 Francis ii. — Mary involved in the discredit of the Guises — 
 Catherine's letters to the Duchess of Savoy and the Queen of 
 Spain — Proposals for Mary's second marriage — Possible 
 husbands — " A gentleman who is going to Champagne " — 
 The portraits shown to Don Carlos — Was one of them Mary's ? 
 — Opposing views of Mr. Armstrong and Baron de Ruble — 
 Catherine's objections to the Spanish marriage for Mary 
 — Her letters to the Bishop of Limoges and the Bishop of 
 Rennes . . . . . . .318 
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 Mary at Rheims and Nancy 
 
 The Cardinal of Lorraine at Rheims — Mary's departure from 
 Court — Reasons for her journey to Rheims — The Abbey 
 of Saint - Pierre - les - Dames — Mary's Book of Hours — 
 Expected visit of the Lord James — Mary's meeting with him 
 at Saint-Dizier — The Lord James's letter from Edinburgh 
 after his return — His advice to his sister — Queen Mary at 
 Nancy — Her illness and removal to Joinville . . -331 
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 
 At Joinville, the Home of the Guises 
 
 Surroundings of Joinville — The town as it was in Queen Mary's 
 time — Relics of the Guises in the hospital, the cemetery, and 
 the Hotel de Ville — The Chateau du Grand Jardin — The 
 legend of its building — Mottoes inscribed upon it — Descrip- 
 tion of the house and grounds — The " Sepulchre " in the 
 parish church — Queen Mary and her grandmother — Quiet 
 weeks at Joinville — Mary's return to Paris — Throckmorton's 
 importunities . . . . . . -346 
 
The Girlhood of Mary Queen of Scots 
 
 CHAPTER XXII 
 
 Farewell to France 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Queen Elizabeth refuses a passport to the Queen of Scots — The 
 courtesy of nations in this matter — The trials of sixteenth- 
 century sea-travel — Elizabeth defends her action — Throck- 
 morton's views — His interview with Mary on July 20 — 
 Mary's dignity and prudence — Opinions of the French 
 Court on Elizabeth's action — Mary's Ifist weeks in France — 
 The state of France in August 1561 — Preparations for the 
 Colloquy of Poissy — The Queen's farewells — Incidents of her 
 journey to Calais — Illness of her uncles — Her meeting with 
 Throckmorton at Abbeville — Her departure from France — 
 Those left behind . . . . . -358 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 French Influences on the Queen's Character 
 
 Mary's happy childhood — The brightness of home-life in France 
 — Letters of Antoinette de Bourbon, Duchess of Guise, to 
 her daughter the Queen of Scotland — Letters of Henry of 
 Guise to his father — Mary and Elizabeth of Valois — Their 
 last letters to each other — Closing days of Elizabeth — The 
 open-air amusements of Mary's youth — Visitors to France 
 from many lands — Dancing, music, dress, and jewels — The 
 Queen's favourite poets — The Hymns of the Sieur de Maison- 
 fleur — His life and character — Was the Court of Henry 11. 
 hopelessly corrupt ? — Views of Professor Lemonnier — The 
 Queen's memories of France ..... 380 
 
 APPENDIX A.— Original Letters connected with Mary's Girl- 
 hood, with Translations . . . . .40? 
 
 APPENDIX B.— Notes on the Dates of Two Letters in Prince 
 
 Labanofl's First Volume ..... 445 
 
 INDEX ... 
 
 • 455 
 
 The photogravure entitled " Fratifois, Dauphin of France, and Maiy Stuart' 
 is published in this volume by hind permission of Mr. John Murr.ir. 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 The course of political events in Scotland during the 
 ten years which preceded the removal of Queen Mary 
 to France may be very briefly outlined. 
 
 From the date of the marriage of Margaret Tudor, 
 daughter of Henry vii. of England, with James iv. of 
 Scotland (August 1503) there had been an English 
 and a French party among the Scottish nobility. 
 M. Edmond Bapst remarks that the marriage of 
 Margaret Tudor did not merely result in a temporary 
 peace between England and Scotland ; it had a far 
 more lasting influence. " It turned towards England 
 the attention of the Scottish nobles, who in earlier 
 days had looked to France alone. The arrival of 
 Margaret fixes the date of the formation of a genuinely 
 English party at the court of the Stuarts." ^ 
 
 The disastrous day of Flodden (September 9, 15 13) 
 turned Scottish hearts once more towards the ancient 
 French alliance. The Three Estates, assembled at 
 Perth in November 15 13, received proposals from 
 Louis XII. for the renewal of the league between 
 France and Scotland. Louis offered to send Albany 
 to Scotland with men and arms for the defence of 
 the country against England. On this incident, 
 M. Bapst remarks : " Of his own accord, Louis xii. 
 met the wishes of a conquered people, — a step which 
 
 * Les Manages de Jacques V., p. 4. 
 
The Girlhood of Mary Queen of Scots 
 
 could not but produce a keen impression on 
 the assembly and dispose it to accept without dis- 
 cussion all the stipulations formulated by the King 
 of France." ^ 
 
 As the infant James v. grew towards manhood, 
 it was natural, says this French authority, that he 
 should wish to contract a marriage under the most 
 favourable conditions ; in other words, that he should 
 seek a wife whose family connections would secure 
 to Scotland the alliance of a powerful State. " With 
 this object in view, he entered by turns into 
 negotiations with the three great sovereigns of the 
 period, the King of France, the King of England and 
 the Emperor ; he asked each of them for the hand of 
 one of their nearest relatives. But none of the three 
 cared to give his daughter or his sister to a poor and 
 weak monarch : they replied by offering him other 
 princesses than the one whom he had suggested, or 
 by postponing to a distant date the fulfilment of his 
 desires." ^ 
 
 After endless delays and difficulties, James v. 
 became the husband of Madeleine, daughter of 
 Francis I. In order to secure her hand, he had 
 refused the Princess first offered to him by Francis, 
 Mary of Bourbon. The wedding of James v. and 
 Madeleine was celebrated on New Year's Day 1537 
 in the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. The 
 wedding festivities, like those of James's daughter 
 twenty-one years later, were held in the stately hall 
 of the Palais de Justice. Fourteen Scottish ships 
 waited in the port of Havre to receive the young 
 couple, and Francis i. lent them eight French vessels 
 as an escort. Wild weather delayed the voyage, 
 
 ' Les Manages de Jacques V., p. g. » ibid. p. 5. 
 
Introduction 
 
 and at Rouen Madeleine became so ill that her im- 
 mediate death was expected. On May ii the 
 embarkation took place, and on May 19 the King 
 and Queen were received, amid demonstrations of 
 joy, at the port of Leith. Scarcely had the fragile 
 Princess touched the soil of her Northern kingdom 
 when fever attacked her, and a doctor was summoned 
 from Paris. She had a brief rally, but her malady 
 developed swiftly in the harsh climate, and on July 7 
 she died at Holyrood. " She was deeply mourned," 
 writes Brantome, " by the King and all the country ; 
 for she was very good and made herself greatly 
 beloved. She was very intelligent, wise and 
 virtuous." 
 
 David Beaton, afterwards the noted Cardinal, 
 was sent to France in August on a mission of con- 
 dolence, and with instructions to arrange a second 
 French alliance for his master. The lady proposed 
 by the French King was Mary of Lorraine, eldest 
 daughter of Claude, first Duke of Guise, and widow of 
 the Duke of Longueville. M. Bapst remarks on this 
 offer : " Although Francis declared that he ' could 
 make no better choice,' the offer made to James of a 
 widow encumbered with two infants ^ was a strange 
 one ; and but for the influence of the Cardinal [John] 
 of Lorraine, it is probable that the King would have 
 selected another Princess. The ambitious prelate was 
 able to use adroitly in his niece's favour the credit he 
 had won with Francis. The Duke of Guise had also 
 sought to win the throne of Scotland for his daughter ; 
 
 ' Francis, Duke of Longueville, eldest son of Mary of Lorraine, 
 was bom on October 30, 1535, and died on September 22, 1551. 
 Mary's second son, Louis d'Orleans, was born on August 4, 1537, 
 two months after the death of his father. He died in December of 
 the same year. 
 
The Girlhood of Mary Queen of Scots 
 
 as soon as he learned the object of Beaton's mission, 
 he had wished to hurry to see James v., and to offer 
 him, of his own accord, his daughter's hand, but the 
 war against the Emperor had prevented the reahsa- 
 tion of this fine plan. He was obhged to remain in 
 his government of Champagne, and had, as events 
 fell out, no reason to complain of this piece of ill- 
 luck, since the cause of his daughter was, immediately 
 afterwards, pleaded by the King of France himself." ^ 
 
 Henry viii. came forward as a rival for the hand of 
 the Duchess of Longueville, and the house of Guise 
 was disposed to accede to his wishes, while the young 
 widow, doubtless instructed by her relatives, used 
 cautious and temporising language.^ Francis I., how- 
 ever, considered himself definitely pledged to his 
 son-in-law, and the Guises were obhged to accept the 
 less imposing of the two alhances. The private 
 correspondence of Antoinette de Bourbon shows that 
 the family were by no means satisfied with the 
 marriage contract drawn up by the King, but that 
 they dreaded to offend him by pressing the claims of 
 the little Duke of Longueville. 
 
 In June 1538, Mary of Lorraine, then aged twenty- 
 three, landed at Crail in Fife, and met her bride- 
 groom at St. Andrews. The nuptial blessing was 
 pronounced in the Cathedral church. Pitscottie tells 
 how at her entry a great cloud was caused by the 
 Lyon-Herald, Sir David Lindesay of the Mount, to 
 come out of heaven. It opened, and there appeared 
 a fair lady, most like an angel, ha\ing the keys 
 of Scotland in her hands, and delivered them to the 
 Queen, in sign and token that all the hearts of 
 Scotland were open to receive her Grace. 
 
 ' Les Manages de Jacques V., pp. 314, 315. = /^jU p_ 321. 
 
Introduction 
 
 Two sons were born to the King and Queen, and 
 the succession to the throne seemed again secure. We 
 may gather from the tone of Antoinette de Bourbon's 
 letters that her daughter was happy, on the whole, 
 during the four and a half years of her married life in 
 Scotland. The duties of the nursery and the Cotut, 
 the constant communication with her relatives in 
 France, may have kept her from brooding over the 
 tragedies which had darkened the history of the royal 
 house for four generations. As Dr. Hill Burton says : 
 " Through all its passionate and bloody restlessness 
 Scotland was advancing in wealth and strength, and 
 taking a place for itself among European Powers. It 
 is over the personal history of the kings themselves 
 that there hangs a gloom. Not one of them had lived 
 to pay the simple debt of human life to the natural 
 laws of vitahty. Battle and murder and sudden death 
 had swept away four of them ; the fifth died of a spirit 
 broken down by the weight of calamities." ^ 
 
 Unlike his father, James v. failed to win the trust 
 and affection of his nobility. When the inevitable 
 war with England broke out in 1542, he was to find 
 that the great territorial lords had resented his con- 
 fiscation of many estates alienated from the Crown 
 during his minority, and his general policy of insult 
 and injury. 
 
 Misfortunes began to gather thickly upon him in 
 1541, when he lost both his infant sons. The kingdom, 
 which had been tortured by long minorities, was now 
 again without an heir. In the summer of 1541 
 Henry viii. proposed, through Sir Ralph Sadler, that 
 his nephew should meet him, and an interview was 
 arranged at York for the month of September. Henry 
 
 ' History of Scotland, vol. iv. p. 187. Edition of 1905. 
 
The Girlhood of Mary Queen of Scots 
 
 duly appeared at the appointed place, but James failed 
 to keep his engagement, having been dissuaded by 
 his clerical advisers from venturing into England. 
 Francis i., who at the time was in bad relations with 
 Henry, had also opposed the interview. Indignant 
 at his nephew's discourtesy, Henry talked of seizing 
 the Scottish King and conveying him as a prisoner 
 to England. An expedition was iitted out under the 
 leadership of the Duke of Norfolk, who had instructions 
 to march upon Edinburgh. Norfolk burnt Roxburgh 
 and Kelso, but his movements were so harassed by the 
 enemy that he was forced to retire into England. 
 James v., meanwhile, had collected an army of 36,000 
 men, and proceeded to Fala Moor, expecting a battle. 
 On learning that Norfolk had retreated he was eager 
 for a pursuit, but his nobles declined to cross the 
 Border. They alleged the danger to the King's Hfe 
 in the event of another Flodden, reminding him, no 
 doubt, that there was not now even an infant to 
 succeed him on the throne. 
 
 On November 24, 1542, the disastrous battle of 
 Solway Moss brought the King's misfortunes to a 
 climax. Sir Oliver Sinclair, a personal favourite of 
 James v., announced before the engagement, and when 
 the enemy was already in sight, that he was com- 
 missioned by the sovereign to head the troops. The 
 nobles refused to accept his leadership, and the entire 
 Scottish army fell into confusion. They were driven 
 back upon the Esk, which they attempted to cross by 
 a narrow ford where they were at the mercy of the 
 Enghsh. The King had sent them into battle without 
 a leader, and it is not surprising that panic over- 
 whelmed a host which was broken by dissensions. 
 The dead numbered only twenty, but there were 
 
Introduction 
 
 1200 prisoners, including two earls, five barons, and 
 about five hundred lairds and gentlemen.^ 
 
 On this disaster Professor Hume Brown remarks : — 
 
 "It is the concurrent testimony of the early 
 Scottish historians that the tidings of Solway Moss 
 cut off the last hope of James, and was the immediate 
 cause of his premature and pathetic death. His 
 misfortunes of the last few years had all converged 
 to one end. The loss of his children, the miscarriage 
 of his desires at Fala Moor, and the late ignominious 
 overthrow, tended alike to foreclose the policy to 
 which willingly or unwillingly he had committed him- 
 self since he had become a responsible sovereign. 
 With England hostile, his most powerful subjects 
 alienated and France a dubious ally, a greater spirit 
 than that of James might well have abandoned hope ; 
 and beaten down by his successive disasters James 
 succumbed to his evil fortunes." ^ 
 
 James was at Lochmaben when the news of the 
 disaster reached him. He removed to Edinburgh, 
 and thence to Falkland, where on December 6 he took 
 to his bed, stricken with mortal illness. His mind 
 was haunted with visions of shame and sorrow, and 
 he was heard to murmur, in delirious wanderings, 
 the name of his favourite, Oliver Sinclair, who had 
 not died honourably on the field, like so many brave 
 Scotsmen at Flodden, but had been captured with 
 the royal standard in his charge. 
 
 On December 8, 1542, Mary Stuart was born 
 in the Palace of Linlithgow, and on December 14 
 her father passed away, aged thirty years and eight 
 months. The tidings of the birth of his child had 
 brought him no consolation. " Far from being up- 
 
 ' Professor Hume Brown, History of Scotland, vol. i. pp. 394, 395. 
 ' Ibid. vol. i. p. 395. 
 
The Girlhood of Mary Queen of Scots 
 
 lifted by the news," writes Dr. Hay Fleming, " his 
 thoughts reverted to Marjory Bruce, through whom 
 the throne had come to the Stuarts, and according 
 to Knox, he exclaimed, ' The devil go with it ! It 
 will end as it began. It came from a woman and 
 it will end in a woman.' Or, as Pitscottie has it, 
 ' It came with a lass and it will pass with a lass.' " ^ 
 Cardinal Beaton, immediately after the King's 
 death, produced a will — now believed to have been 
 a forged document — by which he, Argyle, Moray, and 
 Huntly were appointed Governors of the kingdom. 
 The fraudulent nature of this instrument was at 
 once suspected, and the Regency was conferred upon 
 James, Earl of Arran, the next heir to the crown 
 after Mary. He was proclaimed Governor on January 
 
 3, 1543- 
 
 Henry viii. now conceived the plan of uniting 
 the infant heiress of Scotland in marriage with his 
 own son Edward, a child of five. He allowed the 
 Solway prisoners to return to Scotland, having 
 pledged them, by solemn oaths, to further his interests 
 in their native land. A double treaty between 
 England and Scotland was concluded in Greenwich 
 on July I, 1543. It was provided that Mary Stuart 
 should marry Edward on the completion of her tenth 
 year, and that from the date of the treaties peace 
 should be preserved between the two kingdoms until 
 a year after the death of one or other of the parties. 
 Henry viii. was far from satisfied with this arrange- 
 ment, as he had wished the Queen to be dehvered at 
 once into his keeping, and had also insisted on the 
 rupture of the Scottish league with France. 
 
 The infant Queen was removed on July 26 from 
 
 1 • Mary Queen of Scots, p. 2. 
 
Introduction 
 
 Linlithgow to Stirling Castle, and at Stirling she was 
 crowned on September 9. Cardinal Beaton, who 
 headed the party opposed to Henry viii., became 
 reconciled at the same time to his old enemy Arran, 
 who had been counted on as a favourer of English 
 interests. Henry had made flattering offers to Arran, 
 even promising the hand of the Princess Elizabeth 
 for his eldest son. He learned with fury of the 
 Governor's falling away to the Cardinal's party. 
 The strength of that party became apparent in the 
 Parliament which met in December (1543). In this 
 Parliament the Greenwich treaties were declared 
 null and void, and the ancient alliance with France 
 was renewed. Beaton, now Chancellor of Scotland, 
 set himself to the task of stamping out heresy. At 
 Dundee and at Perth there were executions for 
 religion. 
 
 Henry viii. sent the Earl of Hertford into Scotland 
 in the spring of 1544, with instructions to lay waste 
 the country and seize Edinburgh. With ruthless 
 severity, the veteran soldier made himself the exe- 
 cutioner of his master's revenge. Leith and Edin- 
 burgh were captured, and Hertford boasted that he 
 had desolated the country to within six miles of 
 Stirhng. In 1545 Hertford devastated the Border 
 district. He destroyed five market towns, two hundred 
 and forty-three villages, and sixteen fortified places. 
 " The ruin of the abbeys of Kelso, Melrose, Dry burgh, 
 Roxburgh and Coldingham," writes Professor Hume 
 Brown, " was the work of Hertford's miscellaneous 
 host and not of the followers of John Knox, as till 
 recent years was the accepted tradition of Scottish 
 history." ^ 
 
 ' History of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 19. 
 
The Girlhood of Mary Queen of Scots 
 
 The chief events of the year 1546 were the martyr- 
 dom of George Wishart, the murder of Cardinal 
 Beaton, and the siege of the Castle of St. Andrews.* 
 Henry vin. died on January 28, 1547, but his death 
 brought no peace to distracted Scotland. For the 
 third time Hertford (now Duke of Somerset) invaded 
 the country, and on September 10, 1547, won the 
 battle of Pinkie. After this disaster the child Queen 
 was removed for greater security to the island of 
 Inchmahome, in the Lake of Menteith. 
 
 The Governor, the Queen Dowager, and the 
 principal nobles resolved to appeal for aid to Henry 11., 
 proposing in return for his aid, that Mary should 
 be sent to France, to be educated under his care, and 
 eventually married to the Dauphin. 
 
 In June 1548, Henry dispatched a force of 
 6000 men to Scotland, under the command of 
 Andre de Montalembert, Sieur d'Esse, and Leo Strozzi. 
 The first task of the French was that of driving the 
 English troops out of Haddington.* On July 7, a 
 week after the opening of the siege, a Parliament was 
 held in the Abbey of Haddington, about a mile from 
 the town. The French King's plans were made 
 known to the Estates through his Lieutenant-General, 
 M. d'Esse. He asked that a marriage should be arranged 
 between the Queen of Scots and his son, the Dauphin 
 Francis. In return he promised to defend Scotland 
 against her enemies, and to maintain her independence 
 
 'The Castilians surrendered on July 21, 1547. Leo Strozzi, Prior 
 of Capua, had been sent by Henry 11. of France to the assistance of 
 Arran, and after a month's assault from the French ordnance, the 
 defenders yielded, receiving pledges which wore broken on their arrival 
 in France. 
 
 'This proved a tedious effort, for the Enghsh occupation of Had- 
 dington did not end till September 1549. 
 
Introduction 
 
 against the cruelty and arrogance of England. He 
 offered further aid in troops, money, and arms. He 
 also undertook to superintend the education of the 
 young Queen with care and affection. The Estates 
 accepted Henry's proposals, laying down as their 
 one condition that the laws and liberties of the realm 
 of Scotland should be preserved inviolate. Pre- 
 parations were immediately adopted for the removal 
 of the Queen to France. 
 
 The natural sorrow which the tender-hearted 
 Mary of Lorraine must have felt in the prospect of 
 losing her child was greatly softened, we cannot 
 doubt, by the knowledge that the heads of the house 
 of Guise would watch with jealous care over the 
 young Queen's welfare. She herself, though absent 
 in Scotland, had in spirit remained a child at the 
 household hearth. The letters of her mother, the 
 Duchess Antoinette, preserved among the Balcarres 
 Papers, are sufficient proof that the wife of James v. 
 had never been allowed to feel herself an exile in a 
 strange land. If carelessness and infidelity could be 
 charged at any time against her husband, there was 
 a constant interchange of letters with France which 
 must have strengthened her courage and set her 
 steps more resolutely in the path of duty. She was 
 reminded continually of her position as a descendant 
 of the sovereign house of Lorraine, as a princess chosen 
 to accomplish international services, as a woman 
 with strong protectors and devoted friends. The 
 mere rumour of her unhappiness in the months follow- 
 ing her marriage had disturbed the family peace at 
 Joinville, and the Duke of Guise had talked of taking 
 a journey to Scotland.^ Even the words at the 
 
 ^ Balcarres Papers, vol. ii. No. 7. 
 
The Girlhood of Mary Queen of Scots 
 
 beginning of letters, " Ce porteur s'en va vers vous/' 
 were a reminder of unaltered affection. Every 
 incident in the comings and goings of the soldiers and 
 Churchmen of her house, every journey of "our 
 scholars " from Joinville to Paris, every httle illness 
 of brothers and sisters, was duly described by 
 Antoinette to her eldest daughter. She watched 
 with anxiety for each report of the health of James's 
 bride, and later for the details of nursery life. " I 
 greatly wish," wrote Antoinette (in a long letter of 
 " August i8th," which we may safely assign to 1538) 
 " to know how you have been in health since your 
 arrival. I have already sent off two or three packets 
 to remind you to let us have news from you. I don't 
 know whether you have received them." ^ 
 
 The Duchess of Guise sent to her daughter a 
 doctor and a chemist, taking care that the latter was 
 supplied with the necessary store of drugs .^ The 
 medicines of Paris, we may gather from her letters 
 on this subject, were more esteemed than those of 
 Edinburgh. Mary of Lorraine was also kept well 
 informed by her mother about the gossip of the 
 French Court, and the wise elder princess warned the 
 younger to keep some things private ; for, as she 
 writes, " I don't want to be mixed up in their 
 business."* In the same letter, after references to 
 money matters, Antoinette wrote : "I believe you 
 have such trust in me that you know I will act in all 
 your affairs as if they were my own." * 
 
 • Balcarres Papers, vol. ii. No. lo. The original is as follows: " Je 
 bonne envye savoir comme vous vous seres portee depuis vostre aryvee. 
 Je vous ay deja mys deus ou trois pasques en chemyn affin vous re- 
 mentevoir nous faire part de vos nouvelles ne ses sy les ares eue." 
 
 " Ibid. vol. ii. No. 29. 
 
 " Ibid. vol. ii. No. 10. > Ibid. 
 
Introduction 
 
 When Mademoiselle de Curel arrived with good 
 news from Scotland, Antoinette wrote : "I cannot 
 help telling you how glad I was to hear from Made- 
 moiselle de Curel so much news about the King and 
 you. . . . You may believe that she was not left in 
 peace amongst us, and that she was often called upon 
 to talk about you ; I could not grow weary of hearing 
 from her about the kindness which the King always 
 shows you."^ It was the constant effort of the 
 Duchess of Guise to maintain and confirm good 
 relations between the young couple in Scotland. 
 Some of her letters were obviously meant for James's 
 eyes ; others were addressed to him. She promised 
 in the letter first quoted to send the King a falconer 
 with a present of birds for hawking. 
 
 Other relatives who wrote frequently to Mary 
 were her uncles, the Duke Antoine of Lorraine and 
 the Cardinal John.* Though many of their com- 
 munications are brief and formal, each must have 
 had its value as a proof that she was not forgotten. 
 When the baby princes of Scotland died, letters of the 
 most affectionate condolence were sent from France. 
 Antoinette wrote : " The news was very painful to 
 us, but because it was the will of Him who has 
 power over all to make them very happy by taking 
 them out of this world, we have cause to praise Him. 
 I am very glad that the King has borne the loss so 
 piously and that you on your side have resolved to 
 imitate him. ... I shall not fail soon to send you 
 someone, that I may learn more surely about the 
 King's health and your own. For this reason I will 
 
 1 Balcarres Papers, vol. ii. No. 7. 
 
 ^ A number of their letters are preserved among the Balcarres 
 Papers. 
 
 xli 
 
The Girlhood of Mary Queen of Scots 
 
 not write you at greater length, but will only pray 
 God to give you patience. May you always live so 
 virtuously that He may be glorified, trusting thus to 
 have joy in this world and in the next. The surest 
 way to attain it is that of tribulation and sorrow." ^ 
 The Cardinal John of Lorraine assured his niece of 
 the sympathy of Francis i.,^ and begged the bereaved 
 mother to mention any way in which her relatives 
 could help her, for, he added, " you are as much 
 loved and honoured as any princess I have ever seen." 
 At the birth of the eldest son of James v. and Mary 
 the Cardinal John wrote that the King of France was 
 as much pleased as if the child had been his own. 
 
 There was one honoured member of the house of 
 Lorraine who is mentioned in the letters of Antoinette, 
 the " Nun-Queen," Philippa, mother of Claude, Duke 
 of Guise. Through her devout life, a fragrance as 
 from the legends of old Flemish saints lingered about 
 the family even in the times of Francis i. 
 
 Philippa of Gueldres, widow of Duke Rene ii. of 
 Lorraine, took the veil in the Convent of the Clares 
 at Pont-a-Mousson in 1520. Visiting the town 
 ostensibly for change of air, she entreated the nuns 
 to receive her into their holy company. They thanked 
 the Duchess that she had chosen to honour their 
 humble house, but objected that she could not bear 
 the austerities of the rule. Philippa assured them 
 that the Divine grace would be sufficient for her. 
 Returning to Nancy, she set her worldly affairs in order, 
 then assembled all her children round her on a Decem- 
 ber afternoon of 15 19 at the convent, and bade them 
 a tender farewell. For a moment her courage faltered, 
 but strengthened by prayer, she gave her last blessing 
 
 ' Balcarrcs Papers, vol. ii. No. 3. ' Ibid. No. 132. 
 
 xlii 
 
Introduction 
 
 to her sons and daughters. "Farewell, farewell!" 
 she cried. " If my poor blessing is of any avail, I 
 give it you with all my heart. I entreat you to live 
 and die in the faith and union of the Holy Catholic, 
 Apostolic and Roman Church, as all your ancestors 
 have lived, and especially the late King Rene of 
 glorious memory, your good lord and father. . . . You 
 have the honour of yielding precedence to very few 
 families in Europe. Yield nothing of the glory of 
 God." 
 
 For twenty-seven years Philippa lingered at Pont-a- 
 Mousson. She signed her letters to her superiors, 
 " Sister Philippa, a humble servant of Jesus," or, 
 " Philippa, a poor worm of the earth." The renown 
 of her holiness spread through Lorraine and France. 
 She performed the humblest duties of the convent, 
 serving as portress, gardener, and cook. " In her 
 cell a little lark . . . well learned in the language of 
 heaven . . . repeated very often this sweet refrain : 
 ' Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.' Other little birds along with 
 the lark, gave from time to time pleasant and 
 melodious concerts. When the Duchess died, these 
 tiny songsters awoke at once and to the admiration 
 of all present began to warble." ^ 
 
 The nuns who watched her body perceived a 
 great light in the garden, and on going to the window 
 saw the blessed Philippa with stately port and mien, 
 covered with a white robe and rising gently towards 
 heaven. Next morning two monks entered the cell. 
 One was short, thin, and feeble ; the other tall and 
 of splendid presence. No one had been seen from 
 the turret and the gates were shut. " It was be- 
 
 ^ PSre Christophe Merigot, quoted by the Marquis de Pimodan, 
 La Mire des Guises, p. 95. 
 
 xliii 
 
The Girlhood of Mary Queen of Scots 
 
 lieved," writes P6re Merigot, " that the monks were 
 St. Francis and St. Anthony of Padua." 
 
 Mary Stuart was less than five years old at 
 the time of her great-grandmother's death, which 
 occurred in February 1547. 
 
 xliv 
 
CHAPTER I 
 
 MARY'S LANDING AT ROSCOFF AND FIRST YEAR IN 
 
 FRANCE 
 
 Memorials of Mary at Roscoff — Was Roscoff her landing-place ? — 
 The narrative of M. do Breze — Was Joachim du Bellay with the 
 Queen ? — His description of a voyage from Scotland — The journey 
 to Saint-Germain — Preparations for the Queen's coming — Letters 
 of Henry ii. and Diane de Poitiers — The King's journey of 1548 
 — The marriage of Jeanne d'Albret — The revolt in Guyenne — 
 Return of the King — His opinion of Mary — Arrival of Anne 
 d'Este and her marriage to Mary's uncle Francis, " Le Grand 
 Guise " — Mary at the wedding — Royal triumphs in Paris — The 
 dark shadow. 
 
 The traveller who approaches Roscoff by train from 
 Morlaix has before his eyes, for most of the journey, 
 that " granite arrow/' the Creizker of Saint-Pol-de- 
 Leon. The crew of Villegaignon's galley, which 
 carried Queen Mary to France, must have seen it with 
 thankfulness after their stormy voyage from Dum- 
 barton in August 1548. The spire, with its grey 
 stone lacework, is, as Pierre Loti tells us, a landmark 
 for Breton sailors. " We were pleased," he writes, 
 " to think we had at last succeeded in climbing the 
 Creizker, which had so often looked down on us as 
 we passed by amid the waste of waters. It was 
 always calmly fixed, always there ; inaccessible 
 and unchangeable, while we poor sailors were 
 beaten about by all the contrary winds of the open 
 sea." 
 
Mary's Landing at RoscofF 
 
 Looking northward from the summit of the spire 
 Yves and his friend saw at the water's edge the httle 
 port of Roscoff, with the multitude of small, oddl> 
 shaped rocks that crowd its bay. Roscoff was once 
 a nest of pirates and smugglers. To-day it is a popular 
 sea-bathing resort, much frequented by the clergy 
 with several hotels. The climate resembles that oi 
 Torquay or Falmouth. The church, finished in 1550, 
 has a terraced tower which appears, when seen from 
 a distance, like an opening flower of stone. Above 
 one portal is a carved stone ship, with the arms of the 
 town, and opposite the main porch are two low stone 
 structures of the Renaissance period, which may once 
 have served as ossuaries. Images of death and sorrow 
 meet us everywhere in the Leon country, and for 
 costume " the black is most in use." Roscoff has 
 no spacious harbour like that of Paimpol, and the 
 ships which are moored alongside its rude, dwarfish 
 pier are more suited for fishing expeditions round the 
 lie de Batz than for ocean voyages. Between the 
 church and the harbour, on the left hand as we descend 
 the main street, is the " Maison de Marie Stuart," an 
 ancient, substantial building, with gargoyles on the 
 chimney-stack. The house is in private ownership, 
 and the guardian leads the way along a passage to a 
 small grey stone cloister. The arches are of graceful 
 design and form two sides of a square. Beyond the 
 cloister is a cellar-storeroom, and out of that a door 
 leads to the small boat-shaped garden which caiTies 
 on its seaward angle the " Turret of Queen Mary." 
 On the beach at the foot of the rock, which at low 
 tide is uncovered, Mary lirst touched French soil. 
 Through the openings of the turret we see the wide 
 bay of Roscoff with the low line of the lie de Batz, 
 
Was Roscoff the Port ? 
 
 the many sharp-crested islets which break the smooth 
 surface of the sea, the orange-sailed fishing-boats 
 gliding from shore to shore, and on a neighbouring 
 height the white chapel of Sainte-Barbe. The pilot 
 who guided Mary's ship into Roscoff harbour must 
 have been a man of skill and prudence, for this is 
 one of the most perilous coasts in Europe. In the 
 distance, still looking from the turret, we see the 
 foam breaking against half-sunken reefs. Strong 
 currents run between the islands, and French guide- 
 books warn tourists not to embark for the lie de Batz 
 except in the finest weather. The best of living 
 writers on Brittany, Anatole Le Braz, has unveiled 
 the legends of this iron-bound shore. The fisher- 
 folk of Leon are nurtured in superstition. They tell 
 of ghosts returning from the sea, of phantom vessels 
 drifting landwards on winter nights, of long-dead 
 sailors who revisit the Campo Santo of Saint-Pol. 
 We who look to-day through the arches of Queen 
 Mary's turret, and remember the destiny of the child 
 traveller, carry in our thoughts the reflection of a 
 darker tragedy than any which belongs to the death 
 lore of Finistere. 
 
 Some historians have named Brest as Mary's first 
 landing-place on the soil of France, but the honour 
 belongs to Roscoff. Two contemporary letters seem 
 to prove the fact beyond dispute. The original of 
 each is in the Paris Bibliotheque. The more important 
 of the two is the letter of M. de Breze to the Duke of 
 Aumale (Francis of Guise), which was written from 
 Roscoff on August i8. The relevant passage is as 
 follows : " Monseigneur, when the galleys had arrived 
 in this port of Roscoff, I did not fail, three or four 
 days after the landing of the little Queen of Scots, to 
 
 3 
 
Mary's Landing at Roscoff 
 
 send them to Rouen, to await the King's instructior 
 as to their further action. This was done by th 
 advice of the Seigneur de Villegaignon, who is goin 
 to meet the King, and who has accomplished his dut 
 as well and as wisely as you could have wished, 
 assure you, Monseigneur, that, as far as I can lean 
 nothing will be lacking on his part for the fulfilmer 
 of the task which the King has laid upon him. 
 must not forget, Monseigneur, to let you know tha 
 if the King would leave some troops in Scotlanc 
 this would be very welcome to the Queen [i.e., I\Iar 
 of Lorraine], who has bidden me tell the King he 
 wishes." ^ 
 
 The other letter was addressed from Turin b 
 Henry ii., on August 24, to M. d'Humieres. Th 
 King mentioned that he had received definite new 
 that his daughter, the Queen of Scots, had arrive^ 
 in good health at the haven of Roscoff, near Leor 
 in his Duchy of Brittany.^ 
 
 Little more than a month had passed since th 
 Estates of Scotland, assembled at Haddington Abbe} 
 had agreed to the marriage of Mary and the Dauphir 
 and had accepted the proposal of Henry 11., mad 
 through his lieutenant-general, Andre de Montalem 
 bert, Sieur d'Esse, that the Queen should be remove^ 
 to France without delay. On July 8, i'4S, the da 
 
 ' Bibliotheque Nationale. Fonds £r£ui9ais, J0457, fol. iji. For tl: 
 original of this letter see Appendix A. 
 
 ^ Fonds fran9ais, No. ,3134, fol. 12. There is a copv of this lettf 
 in the Egerton MSS of the British Museum, and from this copy ti 
 letter was quoted by Father Stevenson. ALirv Stitart, p. o^ inote^. 
 
 The chapel of St. Ninian at Roscoff was built, as many antiquarif 
 believe, to commemorate the Queen's landing. Its ruins have bee 
 much dishonoured, and the walls were rcccnllv co-\-crcd with advertisi 
 ments. At the lime of writing Lord Guthrie is raising funds for 
 partial restoration of this \'cucrablc structure. 
 
Preparing for the Voyage 
 
 after the Parliament, Mary of Lorraine, the Queen 
 Dowager, wrote to her brothers, Francis and Charles : 
 " Yesterday there was held here a Parliament of all 
 the Estates, in which each consented to be subject 
 to the said Lord [Henry ii.], because of the honour 
 he is doing the Queen my daughter in wishing to 
 marry her to his son. I start to-morrow to send her 
 to him, as soon as the galleys shall have returned, 
 as his Ambassador is writing to him." ^ The 
 Parliament had exacted from the French King, 
 through his representative, a solemn assurance that 
 he would preserve the laws and liberties of the 
 realm. 
 
 The adventurous voyage of the French galleys, 
 from the port of Leith round the north coast of Scotland 
 to Dumbarton on the Clyde, has been often described. 
 The scheme by which the watchful English fleet was 
 evaded had its origin, no doubt, in the brain of that 
 bold seaman, Villegaignon, who was afterwards so 
 unfortunately associated with Coligny's colonial enter- 
 prise. Jean de Beaugue describes Villegaignon as " a 
 very worthy personage, one of those to whom im- 
 portant charges are committed." No galleys, accord- 
 ing to this writer, had ever made the same voyage. 
 " They are not suitably built for resisting the violent 
 onsets of that sea, caused by the tides, which are 
 there wonderfully strong, and by the perpetual 
 storms." 
 
 At Dumbarton the royal child was taken on board. 
 The names of some of her companions are well known 
 to history. With her sailed the Lords Erskine and 
 Livingston, the Lady Fleming (a natural daughter 
 of James iv.), and the four Maries, daughters 
 
 '■ Memoires-Journaux du Due de Guise, p. 3. 
 
Mary's Landing at Roscoff 
 
 of the houses of Fleming, Beaton, Seton, and 
 Livingston.^ 
 
 The details of the voyage are supplied to us in 
 the series of letters which the Sieur de Breze addressed 
 to Mary of Lorraine between July 31 and August 18.^ 
 The first was written on shipboard while the royal 
 
 1 Did Joachim du Bellay accompany the Queen from Scotland ? — A 
 recent writer on the Queen's girlhood, Baron de Ruble, says that the 
 poet Joachim du Bellay accompanied the Queen from Scotland {La 
 Premiere Jeunesse de Marie Stuart, p. 15). His authority for this 
 statement is the passage in which the poet describes an imaginary voyage 
 from the far northern seas to the coast of Brittany. The lines will be 
 found in a poem of 1559 entitled " Entreprise du Roy Daulphin pour 
 le Tournoy soubz le nom des chevaliers advantereux." The piece was 
 originally published in the small volume of 1561, which was named 
 from its chief subject, " The Marriage Ode on the Wedding of the Duke 
 of Savoy with Margaret of France." Joachim du Bellay speaks as the 
 mouthpiece of the "Adventurous Lovers," who sailed from the remote 
 island and passed Orkney, Shetland, and the coast of Ireland on their 
 journey to France. Not one of his biographers makes any allusion 
 to such a voyage. The most recent French writers on Joachim du 
 Bellay are M. Leon Seche and M. Henri Chamard. They have examined 
 all available sources of information, and they inform us that at the 
 end of 1547 or the beginning of 1548 he entered the College Coqueret 
 in Paris, after completing his legal studies at Poitiers. M. Seche dates 
 Joachim du Bellay's first relations with the Court from the time of 
 the publication of L'Olive (1549-50). " L' Olive" he savs, "had 
 scarcely appeared when Joachim, who had nothing further to do at 
 the College Coqueret, felt the need of pushing his fortunes at the 
 Court " {Revue de la Renaissance, vol. i. p. 142). His earhest patroness 
 was Margaret, sister of Henry 11., afterwards Duchess of Savov. The 
 story of Queen Mary's voyage must have been familiar to every one 
 at Court, and nothing was more natural than that the poet should 
 have woven its main incidents into his fanciful narrative. M. dc 
 Ruble, it may be noted, misled many readers bv inserting the words 
 "a Roscof " into the lines he quotes from Joachim du Bellay which 
 describe the landing in Brittany. The words "a Roscof " do not occur 
 in the text. M. de Ruble did not of course mean to interpolate them, 
 but a reader unacquainted with the poem would naturally suppose 
 that they were the poet's and not his o^vn. 
 
 ^ Attention was called to this group of letters (^contained in vol. iii. 
 of the Balcarrcs Papers in the Ad\ocatos' l.ibrar>-. Edinburgh) by 
 Mr. Moir Bryce in an article whicli appeared in The English Historical 
 Review lor January 1907. Translations of the most important passages 
 arc there given. For the originals, see Appendix A. 
 
 6 
 
Letters of M. de Brdz^ 
 
 galley was still in the Clyde. " Madame," said the 
 young Queen's Governor, " I have just received the 
 letter you have been pleased to write me, along with 
 the packet of M. Berthier, the Ambassador, the reading 
 of which will serve to relieve the tedium of our voyage, 
 and afterwards I shall be able to report accurately 
 on the ability of the personage, as I shall not fail to 
 do. I assure you, Madame, that the Queen your 
 daughter fares as well and is as cheerful as you have 
 seen her for a long time. I pray our Lord to preserve 
 her in this state." 
 
 The next letter, which is undated, was written 
 near the house of M. de Corsefot, probably a day after 
 the first, since the writer speaks of the continuance 
 of fairly good weather : — 
 
 " Madame, I am unwilling to lose this opportunity 
 of writing you this short letter by M. de Corsefot, 
 who visited the Queen in this place near his house, 
 where we anchored this evening, and to inform you 
 that the Queen, thank God, fares exceedingly well, 
 and has not yet been ill on the sea. The weather is 
 fairly good, and I hope it will go on improving. I 
 shall not fail to let you know when, by God's blessing, 
 we land in France." 
 
 On Friday, August 3, the reports continued satis- 
 factory, though the wind was rising and the sea 
 becoming rougher as the estuary widened. 
 
 " Madame, I received this morning the letter you 
 have been pleased to write me, and as for the news 
 of the Queen your daughter, I can assure you that she 
 fares as well and is as healthy as you ever saw her. 
 For this I praise our Lord, and only regret that I am 
 unable to give her greater comfort. But I assure you, 
 Madame, that nothing will be lacking on my part 
 
Mary's Landing at Roscoff 
 
 to serve her to the utmost of my power. Were 
 it only because this was the King's command to 
 me, I should not fail in my duty. I am very sorry 
 that the weather has been such that this bearer should 
 have found us here, but every seafaring man must 
 have patience. To-day the weather has set fair, and 
 should it continue, I hope soon to send you news 
 which will be extremely welcome to you. I desire to 
 assure you, Madame, that in spite of the very high winds 
 during the last few days, which tossed the galley most 
 severely, the Queen has never been sick. This makes 
 me think she will suffer but little on the open sea." 
 
 M. de Breze repeated in this letter his promises of 
 faithful service to the Queen Mother : " If even a dog 
 came to the place where I was, and I were told it 
 was from you, I would show it all the attention that 
 was possible." 
 
 The fourth letter was written on August 6, " from 
 the roadstead of the island of Lamlash." 
 
 " The weather, which up to the present has been 
 unfavourable, showed signs of moderating, with a 
 slightly favouring wind. For this reason we at once 
 set sail for the open, and that is why I have not had 
 time to write you. But just as we reached the open 
 the wind veered round against us, and we were com- 
 pelled to return to port and our former shelter. \Miile 
 we were there, five or six other ships, laden with 
 provisions, arrived, and I was unwilling to let them 
 pass without a greeting and also without informing 
 you that the Queen, your daughter, is well and as 
 little wearied as possible, as are also the rest of the 
 company. I hope that as soon as the fine weather 
 returns, we shall make such good use of it that we 
 shall soon be in France." 
 
Letters of M. de Br6z6 
 
 The last and most interesting of the sea-letters 
 was written from Saint-Pol-de-Leon on August i8. 
 The Sieur de Breze enlarged on past perils : — 
 
 " We were almost compelled on two or three 
 occasions to return to port at Dumbarton ; and one 
 night about ten leagues from the Cape of Cornwall, 
 when the sea was wondrously wild, with the biggest 
 waves I ever saw, to our great consternation the 
 rudder of our galley was broken. Nevertheless our 
 Lord was pleased to intervene, so that we replaced the 
 rudder almost at once, in spite of the heavy sea that 
 was running." 
 
 In the same letter M. de Breze wrote : — 
 
 " Madame, as I believe you will be very glad to 
 have news of the Queen your daughter and her 
 company, I am unwilling to fail in my obedience to 
 the orders which you were pleased to give me at my 
 departure, and I inform you that she prospers and is 
 as well as ever you saw her. She has been less ill 
 on the sea than any one of her company, so that she 
 made fun of those that were. I think this was as 
 great a piece of good luck as could happen to me in 
 my life. We landed in this place, Saint-Pol-de-Leon, 
 on the 15th of this month of August, having been 
 eighteen days on board ship, amidst heavy storms." 
 
 On the same day, as we have seen, M. de Breze 
 had written to the Duke of Aumale, informing him 
 that the Queen had landed at Roscoff. This letter 
 was written at Roscoff, probably on the morning of 
 August 18, that to Mary of Lorraine from Saint-Pol-de- 
 Leon, in the afternoon or evening. M. de Breze could 
 not have expected that any misapprehension would 
 arise, as the ancient cathedral city is half a mile in- 
 land. Possibly he mentioned Saint-Pol to Mary of 
 
Mary's Landing at Roscoff 
 
 instructions of Henry ii. He added that the Duke 
 and Duchess of Guise, M. d'litampes, and M. de 
 Rohan were coming to meet her. The next letter in 
 M. de Breze's series is dated " All Saints' Day, 1548/' 
 so that an interval of more than two months separated 
 it from the hurriedly written communication from 
 Saint-Pol-de-Leon. 
 
 M. de Breze had received instructions from the King 
 that he should join the Duke of Aumale and after- 
 wards meet the Constable Montmorency in the South. 
 He left Mary with her grandmother in a house belong- 
 ing to his own family, the Queen's health continuing 
 excellent. In this letter M. de Breze mentioned the 
 illness of the Lords Erskine and Livingston, and the 
 death of one of the Queen's train, " le petit Ceton," 
 who had passed away at Ancenis, twenty miles 
 above Nantes. We thus learn incidentally that the 
 Queen's train proceeded overland to the Loire from 
 Morlaix. 
 
 Some travellers in that century went towards 
 Paris from Breton ports by land, others by water. A 
 year after Mary's coming, James Melville, then a boy 
 of fourteen, was sent to France in the train of Jean de 
 Montluc, Bishop of Valence. They landed near Brest, 
 the Bishop " tok post" for Paris, but thinking that 
 the boy would not endure the post, the good- 
 natured prelate provided him with money and left 
 him to come on slowly in the charge of two Scottish 
 gentlemen with whose father he was acquainted. 
 Three " little naigis " were purchased, and ]\Ielville 
 informs us that the time spent in riding from Brest to 
 Paris was thirteen days. 
 
 De Thou says that the fleet arrived off the coast 
 of Brittany, " whence the Queen was conducted by 
 
The Journey to Saint-Germain 
 
 short stages to the Court." The Duchess of Guise, 
 Mary's grandmother (Antoinette de Bourbon) wrote 
 to the Queen Dowager of Scotland : " Madame, I felt 
 happier than I can say when I heard that our little 
 Queen had arrived in as good health as we could 
 wish for her. I grieve for the anxiety which I 
 think you must have felt during her voyage, and 
 before you had learned of her arrival here, and 
 also for the sorrow you must have had when she 
 set out. You have had so little happiness in this 
 world, and are so much accustomed to have trouble 
 and care, that I think you can hardly know what 
 pleasure means, except that through her absence and 
 loss you hope for some rest for this little creature, 
 with honour and more good fortune than ever, if 
 God will. I hope to see you sometimes again before 
 I die." 
 
 The writer of these lines survived her daughter 
 by more than twenty years. 
 
 In the same letter, the Duchess said : " I will start 
 this week, God willing, to meet her as quickly as I 
 can, and to bring her to Saint-Germain, according 
 to the King's instructions." 
 
 The Queen probably went by river-barge from 
 Nantes to Orleans, where the land journey was resumed. 
 The later incidents of the progress are described by 
 the Duchess of Guise in three letters addressed to her 
 eldest son. The first was written on October i from 
 Tours, the second on October g from Illiers, the third 
 on October lo from Chartres.^ 
 
 Antoinette wrote from Tours on October i to her 
 son on two other matters before she referred to the 
 presence of the Scottish Queen. The first was con- 
 
 ^ "Le Marquis de Pimodan," La Mire des Guises, pp. 294-97. 
 
 13 
 
First Year in France 
 cerned with the welfare of the poor people of Southern 
 France, who had rebelled against their King. 
 
 " My son," she said, "I was glad to have news 
 of you by Hanget, but I should have liked better to 
 see you. I know well that this is an unreasonable 
 wish, remembering the business in which you are 
 engaged. God grant that you may carry it through 
 so well that all shall redound to His glory, to the 
 good of the realm, and the comfort of these poor 
 people. They have done wrong, but they have been 
 so tortured— as I learn from every one — that there is 
 some little excuse for them. I entreat you to get to 
 know the faults and robberies that have been com- 
 mitted, as they say, so that you may tell the King on 
 your return and have them remedied. . . . Have 
 pity on these poor people, for they trust you." 
 
 The generous heart of Francis did not need this 
 admonition. 
 
 The second subject touched on by the Duchess 
 was that of her son's marriage to Anne d'Este. 
 " Think, my dear, what pleasure I feel in hearing 
 them talk of that noble princess who, I hope, will be 
 yours. I shall find the time go slowly while I wait 
 to see her. If she is such as Hanget describes, you 
 will be very happy, and so shall L" 
 
 Having mentioned this great family event, 
 Antoinette proceeded to describe " Sete petite dame " 
 —Mary Stuart. " She is very pretty indeed, and as 
 intelligent a child as you could see. She is brune, 
 with a clear complexion, and I think that when she 
 develops she will be a beautiful girl, for her com- 
 plexion is fine and clear, and her skin white. The 
 lower part of the face is very well formed, the eyes 
 are small and rather deep set, the face is rather long. 
 
 M 
 
Arrival at Court 
 
 She is graceful and self-assured. To sum up, we 
 may well be pleased with her." ^ 
 
 The Duchess added that the rest of the Queen's 
 train, with the exception of Lady Fleming, were not 
 handsome, " et sy fey propre quy lest possible." 
 
 The i6th of October is given in this letter as the 
 probable date of arrival at Saint-Germain. 
 
 On October 9, Antoinette wrote to her son that 
 " our little Queen and all her train are as well as 
 possible." " I am bringing her by slow journeys 
 straight to Saint-Germain, where I hope to arrive 
 with her on Saturday next." 
 
 Henry li. was not at Saint-Germain to welcome 
 his " little daughter." He had succeeded his father, 
 Francis i., on March 31, 1547, and when urgent home 
 business left him free to travel, he set out for a tour 
 in the Eastern provinces. In May 1548 he arrived at 
 Troyes, accompanied by his wife, Catherine de' Medici, 
 and the chief personages of the Court. Leaving the 
 ladies in France, he pushed on during the summer 
 to Turin, for the armed and watchful peace with the 
 Emperor Charles v. might be broken at any moment, 
 and it was important that the new sovereign should 
 see the fortresses of Piedmont. At Turin the King 
 heard of the rebellion that had broken out in Guyenne. 
 The tortured people of the South had risen in mutiny 
 against the collectors of the salt tax, and Bordeaux 
 was the headquarters of the insurrection. The 
 alarming news defeated the King's plans for a double 
 wedding — that of Antoine de Bourbon, Duke of 
 Vendome, first Prince of the blood royal, with Jeanne 
 d'Albret, the heiress of Navarre ; and of Francis, 
 Duke of Aumale, heir of Duke Claude of Guise, with 
 
 • La Mire des Guises, p. 295. 
 15 
 
First Year in France 
 
 Anne d'Este, daughter of the Duke of Ferrara and 
 Renee of France, whose father was Louis xii. The 
 King dispatched his trustiest general, the Constable 
 Montmorency, to quell the insurrection, and with 
 him was sent the rising hope of the French army, 
 the young and already laurel-crowned Francis of 
 Lorraine. The Constable suppressed the rebellion 
 with terrible cruelty, for to his narrow intellect any 
 rising against the King was a crime which deserved 
 the most merciless chastisement. The young heir of 
 Guise won in this painful task a well-deserved reputa- 
 tion for clemency.^ It was Montmorency, not Guise, 
 who ordered men to be broken on the wheel, and 
 burned alive. In that age of autocratic personal 
 monarchy the hand that was lifted against the King 
 must be forthwith struck from the body. The horrors 
 of Bordeaux in 1548 help us to understand the 
 severities of Amboise in 1560. 
 
 In the last week of September, Henry 11. entered 
 Lyon, and was entertained for several days with costly 
 magnificence. One of the most interesting publica- 
 tions of the time is the illustrated booklet printed in 
 1549, which describes the pageants on land and water." 
 Perhaps the most curious of the woodcuts is the 
 obelisk crowned with a crescent, the emblem of Diane 
 de Poitiers, the King's famous mistress. The city of 
 Lyon had accepted the motto of the reign, which we 
 see inscribed to-day on the roof of the gallery of 
 Henry 11. at the Louvre, Donee totiim ini pleat orbcm. 
 
 • M. Decrue, in his learned monograph on Anne de Montmorency, 
 has attempted to palhate the conduct of his licro and to minimise the 
 honour won by the Duke of Aunialo. 
 
 ^ La magnificence de la sufcrbc cl triuniplunitr ciilih- dc la noble et 
 antique CM de Ia'oii jaictc an lirsc/ireslieii Koy de France, Henry, 
 dcuxicsiue de ce nom (pubhshed at Lyon, 15.^9). 
 
 16 
 
The Absence of Henry II 
 
 In the royal procession through the narrow streets 
 of the Southern mercantile capital there were borne 
 in an open litter draped with black velvet the King's 
 aunt, Margaret, Queen of Navarre, and her daughter, 
 Jeanne d'Albret. By the side of the litter rode that 
 courtly cavalier, Antoine, Duke of Vendome. Jeanne, 
 we may believe, viewed him with no disfavour. His 
 correspondence with her in their early married life 
 includes several of the most charming love-letters 
 of the century. Henri d'Albret and his wife Margaret, 
 on the other hand, were dissatisfied with the match, 
 and wished to gain time. Henry ii. wrote to the 
 Constable, the partaker of all his secrets, that his 
 aunt did not favour the marriage, and he added : 
 " I shall do all I can to carry through the wedding, 
 or at least the betrothal, at Moulins. I can assure 
 you that the thing shall be done, either willingly or 
 by constraint." ^ 
 
 On October 8 the Court arrived at Moulins, a 
 feudal castle built in the fifteenth century by the 
 Dukes of Bourbon. After the condemnation of the 
 Constable de Bourbon it had passed to the Crown. 
 Henri d'Albret arrived, sullen and menacing, but 
 the King succeeded in pacifying him. The wedding 
 of his only child to the Duke of Vendome was cele- 
 brated on October 20. The happiness of the bride is 
 mentioned in one of the King's letters. To Francis 
 of Guise, in announcing his early return to Saint- 
 Germain, Henry wrote : " There it will be your turn 
 to run, and we shall see if you will prove as nice a 
 companion as my cousin the Duke of Vendome." ^ 
 
 While absent on this progress, Henry 11. had not 
 
 ' A. de Ruble, Le Manage de Jeanne d'Albret, pp. 257-58. 
 
 ' Ibid. p. 265. 
 
 B 17 
 
First Year in France 
 
 forgotten the royal child who was to become £ 
 inmate of his nursery. The most careful preparatioi 
 were made for Mary's reception. Many letters testi; 
 to the King's anxiety for her personal comfort/ ar 
 to his consciousness of the advantage brought hi: 
 by the Scottish alliance. He ordered his Ambassado 
 M. de Selve, to inform the Protector Somerset th; 
 as the father of the Dauphin, who was to marry tl 
 Scottish Queen, he had taken the realm of Scotlan 
 under his charge. He even used the expression, " 
 who hold at present the place of King of Scotlanc 
 with the obedience of its vassals and subject: 
 who cannot henceforth have any other will tha 
 mine." ^ To the Estates of Scotland Henry announce 
 the safe arrival of his dear and much-loved daughtf 
 in a port of Brittany.^ " We are now causing her t 
 be transported in good and honourable company t 
 the place where our dearly loved son the Dauphir 
 her husband, is staying, that she may be brought u 
 with him and our dearly loved daughters, his sisters 
 We have provided and given orders that she sha 
 be received, treated, and honoured in all our town 
 and other places through which she may pass as i 
 she were our dearly loved consort the Queen in persor 
 having power and right to grant pardons and to se 
 prisoners free. We have omitted nothing, we believf 
 of all the honour that should be paid to her, fo 
 we hold and esteem her for what she is, ou 
 daughter." 
 
 To his Ambassador at Constantinople, M. d'Ara 
 mon, Henry sent an account of the French successe 
 
 ' See letters printed in Appendix A. 
 
 " G. Ribier, Lcttrcs ct Mciiioivcs d'Esla/, vol. ii. p. 152. 
 
 '■' Ibid. p. 150, 
 
 i8 
 
Instructions to M. d'Humiferes 
 
 in Scotland. They would prove to the Sultan, he 
 suggested, " that I am not a useless friend, for 
 without my aid and succour this poor kingdom of 
 Scotland would be still a prey to these English, given 
 up to their will. They wanted to usurp it, under 
 pretext of a marriage they wished to conclude between 
 the little Queen, who is a minor, and their King. 
 But I have provided against this, for I have had 
 the Queen taken away and brought hither, that she 
 may be educated along with my children." ^ The ex- 
 pression, " that I am not a useless friend," shows 
 that Henry felt his consequence in the world much 
 increased by the Scottish negotiations. 
 
 The Governor of the royal children at this time 
 was the Sieur Jean d'Humieres, and he received letters 
 about Mary from his master and from Diane de 
 Poitiers. Henry desired him to have the house of 
 Carrieres at Saint-Germain prepared for her reception, 
 and to see to the cleansing of the chateau of Saint- 
 Germain, with the base-court and the village. This 
 could be done most conveniently, he thought, while 
 the royal children were at Carrieres, and the little 
 ones " can gain nothing but benefit by a change of 
 air." Instructions were also given that no workman 
 or other stranger must be allowed to enter Saint- 
 Germain, and especially the palace, who came from 
 any place where infectious disease had broken out, 
 and the same rule was to apply to Poissy and the 
 villages in the neighbourhood. 
 
 Writing to M. d'Humieres on October 15, Diane 
 de Poitiers begged him to see that the women 
 kept on good terms with each other, " for if the 
 
 ' Negociaiions de la France dans le Levant, vol. ii. p. 7 1 (Collection 
 de Documents inedits). 
 
 19 
 
First Year in France 
 King hears there is any partiality, he will not be 
 pleased." ^ 
 
 On October 17, Henry ordered that as soon a; 
 Mary was at Carrieres, all the foreigners with hei 
 should be sent home, for he wished that she shoulc 
 be served by the officials who waited on his owr 
 children.^ 
 
 From Moulins, on October 18, Henry wrote tc 
 the Duke of Aumale that he was eager to judge foi 
 himself about the Queen of Scotland, " since all whc 
 have come here after seeing her praise her as a wonder 
 This doubles the desire I have to see her, as I hope tc 
 do ere long." 
 
 The King remarked in this letter that he hac 
 heard from the Duchess of Guise and the Sieui 
 d'Humieres that the child Queen and the Dauphir 
 got on as well together from the first day of theii 
 meeting as if they had known each other a long time.' 
 In August he had instructed d'Humieres that the 
 little guest must receive the full honours due to hei 
 rank. " In answer to your question as to the ranli 
 which I wish my daughter the Queen of Scotland tc 
 occupy, I have to inform you that it is my desire 
 that she should take precedence of my daughters 
 For not only is the marriage between my son anc 
 her fixed and settled, but she is a crowned Queen, anc 
 as such it is my wish that she should be honoured anc 
 served." 
 
 Diane de Poitiers was a second mother to the 
 children of France. Several times during the autumr 
 she conveyed the King's instructions by letter te 
 M. d'Humieres. On October 3, she informed him tha' 
 
 ' G. Guiffrey, Leilrcs t/c Diainic dc Poylii)s, p. 42. '- Ibid. (note). 
 " MSmoircs-Joiiriiaux du Due de Gkisc, p. j. 
 
Diane de Poitiers and Mary 
 
 the King wished " Madame Ysabel " (his eldest 
 daughter, better known to history as Ehzabeth of 
 Valois) to be lodged with the Queen of Scotland : 
 " You will choose the best apartments for them and 
 for their suite, for the King desires that from the 
 beginning these two should become friends, so you 
 will see that this is done." ^ " Madame Ysabel " 
 was only three and a half at this time. Mary reached 
 her sixth birthday on December 8, 1548. On 
 October 20, writing from Moulins to M. d'Humieres, 
 Diane said that the King had been delighted to hear 
 of the friendliness with which the Dauphin had 
 welcomed the Queen of Scotland, " and I know well 
 that that was through your teaching. If you want 
 to please the King, go on teaching him these pretty 
 little ways." ^ 
 
 Catherine de' Medici also had been solicitous for 
 the health and comfort of the child Queen. On 
 September 3, writing to M. d'Humieres, she mentioned 
 that there was sickness in Paris, and asked that those 
 who came from Paris should not be permitted to 
 enter the house where her children were staying. 
 " I hope that the number of my children may soon 
 increase, and that they may have with them the little 
 Queen of Scotland, and this gives me much pleasure." ^ 
 
 At the earliest possible moment after the marriage 
 of Jeanne d'Albret, the King set off in haste from 
 Moulins, and travelling rapidly, accompanied by a 
 handful of followers, he reached Saint-Germain in 
 the second week of November. He wished, as Diane 
 
 ' Guiffrey, Letires de Dianne de Poy tiers, p. 35. 
 ^ Ibid. pp. 45-46. 
 
 ' Lettres de Catherine de Medicis, edited by Count H. de la Ferriere, 
 vol. i. p. 26. 
 
First Year in France 
 
 says, to enjoy his children's company alone. He 
 again wrote to M. d'Humieres, expressing his happi- 
 ness at the good news which had reached him of 
 their health. " I gather from the portraits you 
 have sent me that they are all very well." After 
 his first meeting with the Queen of Scotland, he 
 described her as " the most perfect child I have ever 
 seen." 
 
 M. de Breze wrote to Mary of Lorraine from Saint- 
 Germain on December ii that the King had given her 
 daughter the kindest possible reception, and con- 
 tinued to show her the same kindness from day to 
 day, thinking himself very fortunate that she had 
 arrived at his Court without accident or sickness. 
 " He holds her to-day for no less than his own daughter, 
 and I do not doubt that if she and the Dauphin were 
 of marriageable age or approaching it, the King would 
 soon put the business in hand. Meanwhile the King 
 wishes them to be brought up together and that their 
 people should make one household. The reason of 
 this is that they may early grow accustomed to each 
 other's society. I assure you, Madame, that the 
 King thinks her the prettiest and most graceful little 
 princess he has ever seen. The same opinion is held 
 by the Queen and all the Court." 
 
 This letter of M. de Breze contains a remarkable 
 allusion to a lady in the Queen's train. The beauty 
 of the Lady Fleming, it is evident, had caught the 
 fancy of Henry ii. at this early date. He had seen 
 Mary's " governess " for the first time in the middle 
 of November, and on December ii, M. de Br6ze used 
 these significant words : "I assure you, Madame, 
 that you have sent a lady hither with the Queen your 
 daughter who has pleased all this company as much 
 
Mary's First Court Festivity 
 as the six most virtuous women of this kingdom 
 could have done. For my part, I would not for the 
 world have had her absent, having regard not only 
 to the service of the Queen, but to the reputation of 
 the Kingdom of Scotland, — I mean Lady Fleming." 
 
 The infatuation of Henry ii. for Lady Fleming 
 became an open scandal during the visit of the Scottish 
 Queen Mother to France (1550-51). 
 
 The first Court festivity with which Mary was 
 associated was the wedding of her uncle Francis with 
 Anne d'Este. The alliance had been proposed by the 
 Cardinal Charles of Guise during his visit to Italy 
 in the autumn of 1547. While Francis was engaged 
 in establishing order under Montmorency in Guyenne, 
 the Cardinal was with the Court, and in one of his 
 long gossiping letters he announced that their father, 
 Duke Claude of Guise, had started for Grenoble to 
 meet the bride, who was expected on October 25. 
 " You will have news of her by this packet, which 
 Muret will bring you. God knows how he sings the 
 praises of those in the place from which he comes, 
 but I won't tell you more, lest it should make your 
 mouth water. Madame de Valentinois [Diane de 
 Poitiers] is keeping the ring, and I can assure you that 
 no one in the world is more at your command, or 
 more entirely ours than she is." ^ 
 
 The bridegroom-elect wrote in November to his 
 sister, the Queen Dowager of Scotland, that the 
 wedding would take place as soon as he and the 
 Constable returned to Saint-Germain. " I shall wish 
 that you were there, so that you might form some 
 idea what kind of a sister-in-law this is, who is not 
 yet eighteen years old, and is as tall as you. Our 
 
 ' Memoires-Journaux du Due de Guise, p. 3. 
 23 
 
First Year in France 
 
 royal letter than that which he wrote on December 21, 
 1546, three months before the death of his father 
 called him to the throne ? His son Francis had been 
 appointed by his royal grandfather nominal Governor 
 of Languedoc. The baby refused to wear girl's 
 clothes any longer. " He does not want to be dressed 
 as a girl," wrote the Dauphin, " and I like him the 
 better for it. It is quite reasonable that he should 
 have breeches since he asks for them, for I am sure 
 he knows very well what kind of dress he ought 
 to wear." ^ 
 
 The Constable Montmorency, in a letter to Mary 
 of Lorraine, written from Chantilly on March 30, 
 1548-49,^ said : " I may tell you, Madame, that the 
 Queen your daughter is going on so well in every way 
 that the King finds the fullest possible pleasure and 
 satisfaction in her. I can also assure you that 
 Monseigneur the Dauphin cares for her and loves her 
 like his sweetheart and his wife ; and that it is easy 
 to see that God caused them to be born for each other. 
 I often wish you were here to see them together." 
 
 M. de Breze continued to keep the Queen Dowager 
 of Scotland informed as to her daughter's welfare. 
 Writing from Maignelay on August 10, 1549, he said : 
 " I must not omit to assure you of the health of the 
 Queen your daughter, which, thanks to our Lord, 
 is as good as you could wish it to be. We see her 
 increasing every day in stature and intelligence. 
 The King treats her with as much honour as if she were 
 his own daughter, as I hope some day to see her. 
 Meanwhile, until she is old enough, c\'erything possible 
 is being done to make lier and the Dauphin get on 
 
 ' Lclk-r quoted by A. dc Ruble, /.,( Pi'rniit'n' Jaiiicssc, p. j6. 
 ' Balcarrcs Papers, vol. iii. No. h). 
 
Paris in 1 549 
 
 well together. They are already as fond of each 
 other as if they were married." ^ 
 
 The chief public event of 1549 was the coronation 
 of Catherine de' Medici at Saint-Denis, and the state 
 entry of the King and Queen into Paris. The Court 
 had become, under Francis i., the intellectual centre 
 of the country, and the population of the capital 
 was increasing so rapidly that in November 1548 
 the King issued an order forbidding houses to be 
 erected outside the faubourgs. The reason, as De 
 Thou remarks, was to prevent the city, which was 
 already oppressed by its own size, from becoming 
 any larger. It was complained that as the population 
 of the outlying quarters increased, apprentices left 
 their masters before their time was finished, and 
 opened shops for themselves where the crowd of 
 newcomers was thickest. The taverns in these 
 districts were always full, crimes of violence were 
 common, and gangs of ruffians terrorised not only 
 the immediate neighbourhood but the central parts 
 of the town. Luxury was growing so fast among 
 all classes that another regulation was published, 
 forbidding field labourers and artisans to hunt or 
 shoot, " in order," as De Thou says, " to reform by 
 this means excessive expenditure on the table, and to 
 prevent luxury from making further progress." 
 
 The royal pageants occupied the greater part of 
 June. On the loth Catherine was crowned, and on 
 the i8th she made her entry. The King's state 
 entry was on June 16. Claude Guyot again officiated 
 as chief of the merchants, riding on a mule caparisoned 
 with black velvet bordered with fringes of gold. The 
 records of that brilliant month, during which the 
 
 ^ Balcarres Papers, vol. iii. No. 123. 
 27 
 
First Year in France 
 
 King and Queen lived at the Palace of the Tournelles, 
 show us Catherine borne through the streets in her 
 open litter, with its covering of silver cloth which 
 swept the ground. Her brow was encircled by a 
 crown, and jewels glistened on her ermine mantle. 
 Every honour was paid by Henry ll. in public to the 
 mother of his children. 
 
 Paris welcomed the King none the less warmly 
 because of the cruel deeds that were committed under 
 royal warrant. De Thou tells us that after Mass the 
 King dined in public at the house of the Bishop of 
 Paris, " and after he had dined he witnessed on his 
 way back to the Tournelles the execution of several 
 persons who were being burned because they had been 
 convicted of holding the doctrines of Luther. He 
 did not do this of his own inclination (for he was 
 gentle, humane, and a hater of cruelty), but at the 
 instigation of some of those who were with him." 
 
 Tournaments, naval battles on the Seine, pro- 
 cessions, banquets, martyrdoms — such was the order 
 of these summer days. The reign of Henry ii. began 
 and ended with cruel persecutions. 
 
 28 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 MARY IN THE ROYAL NURSERY 
 
 Chief personages of the reign (Henry ii., Diane de Poitiers, Catherine 
 de' Medici, Anne de Montmorency) — The royal children — The 
 Dauphin as a child — Two of his letters — The Dauphin at Anet — 
 Madame d'Humieres and her charges — Tradesmen of the Queen 
 of Scotland — Her dress and jewels — Bills of the children's kitchen 
 — Some pet animals — Catherine de' Medici on the Queen — Death 
 of Duke Claude of Guise — Was Mary at her grandfather's funeral ? 
 — Death of Mary's great-uncle, the Cardinal John of Lorraine — His 
 character. 
 
 The four chief personages in the kingdom watched 
 with solicitude over the children of France. The 
 Constable Montmorency and Diane de Poitiers 
 had almost as large a share in ruling the 
 nursery as the King and Queen. The best charac- 
 teristics of each were revealed in these homely 
 cares. 
 
 Mary of Scotland^ we may be sure, felt no dread 
 of the monarch who calls her so affectionately in his 
 letters " my little daughter." Henry ii. was physically 
 one of the stateliest princes of the age, tall, well-made, 
 with a vigorous frame which he strengthened by con- 
 tinual exercise. He was the swiftest runner and the 
 most graceful horseman in France. Though he had 
 never taken part in a battle, his courage was un- 
 questioned, for he was ready for the most dangerous 
 games. He loved the excitement of the lists and 
 of the hunting-field, and often challenged his courtiers 
 
 29 
 
Mary in the Royal Nursery 
 to jumping matches over ditches filled with water 
 and swollen brooks. 
 
 Jean de Saint-Mauris, Ambassador of Charles v., 
 describes him in 1548 as an early riser, who spent 
 most of his time at tennis and in exercising his great 
 horses. He was disposed to fulness of body, and it 
 was to check this tendency, according to Saint-Mauris, 
 that he occupied himself continually with active 
 sports. 
 
 " His dark, Spanish complexion reminded men 
 of his captivity," writes Michelet, " recaUing the 
 shadow of the dungeon in Madrid. His heavy 
 shoulders seemed pressed down under the weight of 
 the low vaults. It was a prisoner's face." In the 
 regular and majestic features of Henry 11. there is a 
 coldness and a lack of intelligence which contrast 
 significantly with the brilliant vivacity of his father's 
 earlier portraits. 
 
 Intellectually, indeed, he was not altogether feeble. 
 Some of the verses he addressed to Diane de Poitiers 
 have a tender grace. He is said to have devoted 
 some time each day to literature, and like many 
 princes of that century, he played skilfully on the 
 lute. As we see from his treatment of Montmorency, 
 he was capable of unswerving devotion in friendship. 
 His moral character compares, on the whole, very 
 favourably with that of his father. One friend and 
 one woman possessed his heart, and the affection 
 which they did not absorb was lavished on his children. 
 Scarcely was his father cold in death when he hurried 
 from Rambouillet to Saint-Germain, where the Con- 
 stable was living in seclusion and disgrace, and, after 
 a two hours' conference, restored him to all his honours, 
 and made him the chief Minister of State. Incapable 
 
 30 
 
Character of Henry II 
 
 of thinking clearly on politics, without initiative or 
 force of will, Henry ll. was the slave of contending 
 factions. The chief personages round the throne 
 " devoured him as a lion does its prey." Insatiable 
 rapacity characterised them all. With a dull in- 
 difference, Henry permitted his people to be spoiled. 
 " He was born under Saturn," said the Spanish 
 diplomatist, Simon Renard. His slow, leaden nature 
 was driven on by more eager minds. Though we 
 have the testimony of a Secretary of State, Claude 
 de I'Aubespine, that his gentle and kindly manners 
 won the hearts of all who approached him, he was 
 capable of remorseless cruelty. When a poor Hugue- 
 not tailor ventured to reprove Diane de Poitiers, 
 Henry swore that with his own eyes he would see 
 him burned. From a window in the Rue Saint- 
 Antoine he watched the ghastly spectacle. The 
 martyr directed his dying gaze so fixedly on the 
 King's face that Henry shrank back pale and trem- 
 bling. Never again, he declared, would he witness so 
 horrible a scene. Yet the ashes of persecution were 
 never long cold during his reign. 
 
 In considering Henry's relations to Diane de 
 Poitiers, we must remember, first, that he was brought 
 up in the Court of Francis i., and had seen his own 
 mother pushed aside to make room for the King's 
 mistress ; next, that his sullen, taciturn nature owed 
 such finer qualities as it possessed to the influence, 
 training, and counsel of Diane, who was his senior by 
 nearly twenty years. During the later years of 
 Francis i., while the King was sinking into premature 
 old age, the Dauphin had formed his own Court, in 
 which his wife, Catherine, was a pale shadow, eclipsed 
 before the rising orb of Diane. The King's mistress, 
 
 31 
 
Mary in the Royal Nursery 
 
 the Duchess d'fitampes, put herself at the head of 
 the party which mocked at Diane as " the old woman," 
 sending her a present of false hair on one day, on 
 another a gift of teeth. Diane secured an ample 
 vengeance when her lover ascended the throne. 
 Madame d'fitampes was driven out with ignominy, 
 and " la grande Senechale " became Duchess of 
 Valentinois. Her relationship with Henry was ac- 
 cepted and regularised by custom. The most virtuous 
 ladies of the land, such as Antoinette de Bourbon, 
 Duchess of Guise, allowed their young sons to pay 
 court to her. Her daughter was given in marriage 
 to the third son of the Duke of Guise. The manners 
 of the Duchess of Valentinois were as stately and 
 formal as the stiff robes of black and white which she 
 wore as a token of perpetual mourning for her husband, 
 the Sieur de Breze. It is difficult to imagine her 
 unbending among the young. There is no record of 
 her giving toys or other presents to the royal children, 
 but they were occasionally her guests at Anet, the 
 chateau planned for Diane by PhiUbert Delorme, a 
 place full of amusements, with aviaries and fish- 
 ponds, fountains and running streams. Sir William 
 Pickering, the English representative at the French 
 Court in 1552-53, describes Anet as " a wonderful fair 
 and sumptuous house." After an audience with the 
 King, " Madame Valentinois commanded that colla- 
 tion (as they term it) should be prepared for me in a 
 gallery, and that afterwards I should see all the com- 
 modities of the house, which were so sumptuous and 
 prince-like as ever I saw." ^ 
 
 Diane was accustomed to nurse Catherine de' 
 Medici during her frequent illnesses, and the two 
 
 ' Foreign Calendar, " Edward VI.," p. 258. 
 
Anne de Montmorency 
 
 women lived peacefully side by side, dividing the cares 
 of the household. Each was necessary to the other. 
 Notwithstanding the fidelity of the King, Diane must 
 often have realised the insecurity of her position. 
 She had seen women much younger and not less 
 lovely than herself chased ruthlessly out " by the 
 golden door," and if death removed her royal lover, 
 her one hope would lie in the indulgence of Catherine. 
 The Queen, on the other hand, kept some slight hold 
 of her husband's affection through Diane's good 
 offices, and was far too wary to offend either of them. 
 After the birth of her son Francis her position, in the 
 eyes of the nation, was secure, and while her husband 
 lived she did not, except on one or two occasions, 
 aspire to political influence. 
 
 Anne de Montmorency, himself the father of 
 eleven children, belonged to the innermost circle of 
 the royal household. Letters exist which he wrote 
 to M. d'Humieres and his wife, giving directions and 
 advice on nursery matters. He selected doctors for 
 the delicate infants, and told M. d'Humieres to see 
 that the Dauphin used his pocket-handkerchief. 
 " Be sure that you don't let him go out, for this sick- 
 ness is dangerous in cold weather." ^ He knew how 
 to amuse the babies. Princess Claude asked him to 
 give her some dolls, dressed as little men and women. 
 He invented toys for his " little masters," and sent 
 his wife's dressmaker to cut out bodices for the girls. 
 
 It is pleasant to find these paternal qualities in 
 the grim Anne de Montmorency, who was known at 
 Court as " le grand rabroueur " (" the great snubber "), 
 and whose manner to his equals was harsh and over- 
 bearing. This soldier of fifty -five, superstitious, 
 
 ' F. Decrue, Anne de Montmorency , vol. ii. pp. 30-31. 
 C 33 
 
Mary in the Royal Nursery 
 
 ignorant, and sometimes ferociously cruel, was s 
 strange companion for the children, who called hin: 
 by pet names,—" my husband " and " my wife." ' 
 
 Queen Mary, though she had her share of childish 
 illnesses, must have seemed in these early days like 
 the hardy heath-flower beside the drooping blossoms 
 of the palace. The elder children of Henry ii. and 
 Catherine de' Medici were all sickly, and the feeblesi 
 was the Dauphin Francis, the Queen's destined 
 husband. His constitution was thoroughly unsound. 
 In the autumn of 1549 he had a serious illness, and we 
 find Francis of Guise writing to express his sympathji 
 with the King, who had all but lost his heir : " I think. 
 Sir, that your presence must have helped, [to cure him" 
 partly because of the pleasure he had in seeing you, 
 and also because he obeyed you by taking whal 
 was necessary for his health." ^ 
 
 The Dauphin was naturally a bright and gallant 
 child, and he struggled manfully against his weakness, 
 At the age of three he had suffered from smallpox, and 
 the Court letters from that time onwards are full oi 
 his childish ailments. In spirit, he inherited some- 
 thing of his father's exuberant vitality. He loved 
 to hear of hunting and shooting, and the game of war 
 Could there be a sadder contrast than that which 
 the watchful attendants must have noted between 
 the two children, Francis and Mary, each of royaJ 
 descent, each trained for royal destinies ? In natural 
 pride and courage Francis was not inferior to Mary 
 but he was the victim of maladies which have caused 
 historians to describe him as " un roi pourri." Mary 
 on the other hand, drew from her grandparents and 
 
 ' F. Dccruc, Atiiic i!c ]\foii!iiioirvcv, vo\. ii. p. 31. 
 ' Mimoires-Joiiriuiiix (hi Due de Guise, p. 10. 
 
Letters of the Dauphin 
 
 great-grandparents that wholesome and vigorous 
 health which had renewed the ancient stock of 
 Lorraine. She was the descendant of fighting 
 captains ; great-granddaughter of Rene, Duke of 
 Lorraine, who conquered Charles the Bold at Nancy, 
 granddaughter of the first Duke of Guise, who was 
 called the Protector of Paris. 
 
 The disposition of the little Dauphin may be 
 gathered from two letters which he wrote at the age 
 of five and six.^ The first was addressed to the 
 Sieur de Becquincourt,^ lieutenant of his company 
 (February 17, 1550) :— 
 
 " I have heard from the King what good work 
 you are doing every day in his service, in the place 
 where you are, against his enemies. I wanted to tell 
 you that I knew of this and to beg you to continue in 
 the same course, and you will find in me a master who 
 will acknowledge your service when I have the power. 
 That time will come soon, for my King has told me 
 that I shall follow him and serve him as soon as I am 
 past seven." 
 
 The second letter was written to the Duke Francis 
 of Guise, under date May 21, 1551. He thanked the 
 Duke for a suit of armour sent as a present, and pro- 
 mised to keep it in his wardrobe. Some one should 
 look after it every day, and if the rust was gathering, 
 he would have it brightened, for he hoped, in the 
 first combat between himself and the giver, to spoil 
 that mail so that the armourers would not be able to 
 
 ' Quoted by A. de Ruble, La Premiire Jeunesse, pp. 33-35. 
 
 ^ M. de Ruble printed the name " Bocquincourt," but the letter 
 was surely written to Jean de Becquincourt (or Bequencourt, as 
 M. Guiffrey spells the name), son of the Sieur d'Humieres, 
 
 35 
 
Mary in the Royal Nursery 
 mend it. " Till that hour comes, I am practising 
 often as I can in arms, so as to meet you as a gem 
 knight face to face, for I hope that with the favour 
 that lovely and virtuous lady your niece, half t 
 honour of our fight will be mine." 
 
 These letters are not in the Dauphin's handwritir 
 but, as M. de Ruble remarks, they were written to the 
 who knew him intimately, and they represent t 
 little boy as he appeared to the home circle. 
 
 After a visit to Anet in 1550, he wrote : " I nev 
 slept better than in a big bed, where I lay in the roo 
 of my King." He praised the beautiful house 
 Anet, " the fine gardens, galleries, aviaries, and mai 
 other good and pretty things." There is eviden 
 that the children of Henry 11. clung to him rath 
 than to their mother, and they suspected no wro] 
 when they were taken to the house of " ma cousi 
 de Valentinois." ^ 
 
 M. d'Humieres, tutor of the royal nurslings, die 
 after a very brief illness, in July 1550. His wi: 
 Frangoise de Contay, was the mother of seven so 
 and eleven daughters. Her vigilant care of t 
 children won the confidence of the King and Ouee 
 and after the death of her husband she retained h 
 position as directress of the household. " You a 
 one of the people," wrote the King, " whom I mc 
 wish to see beside my children." The Govern 
 who succeeded Jean d'Humieres was Claude d'Ur 
 
 ' When Mary came to France, there were four infants in the ro 
 nursery : the Dauphin (born 1544) ; EUzabeth (1545) ; Claude (154, 
 and the baby Louis (1548). This youngest child died of measles 
 Mantes in October 1550. Between 1550 and 1554 other babies w 
 added to the group. The future Charles ix. was born in June 15 
 the future Henry m. in 1551, Margaret in 155.^, and Francis of Alen^ 
 in 1554. 
 
Mary's Wardrobe 
 
 formerly Ambassador at Rome. It was his special 
 charge to regulate the expenses of the establishment, 
 while Madame d'Humieres superintended the matrons 
 and maids of honour. The ordering of the girls' 
 wardrobes must have been a heavy task for some- 
 body. The treasurers' accounts for 155 1 ^ prove 
 that Mary Stuart, at the age of eight, was as richly 
 provided with clothes and jewellery as a modern 
 royal bride. Rene Tardif, silversmith to the King, 
 supplied lengths of violet, crimson and yellow velvet, 
 fine Holland linen, white satin from Venice, and 
 pieces of violet, black, red and white taffeta, which 
 were to be made up into garments for the Queen of 
 Scots. The catalogue includes frocks of golden 
 damask and cloth of silver, linings of white silk and 
 satin, and muffs of velvet trimmed with sables. Six- 
 teen dresses were made for her in 1551. Mathurin 
 Lussault, a goldsmith, furnished gloves, pins, combs 
 and brushes. Another goldsmith provided twelve 
 dozen crescent-shaped buttons, enamelled in black 
 and white, which were to trim a pair of sleeves and 
 a coif of violet velvet. Mary possessed a golden 
 girdle, enamelled in white and red. Her jewels were 
 so numerous that three brass chests could scarcely 
 hold them.^ 
 
 Extravagance in dress was carried to the extremest 
 hmit in the reign of Henry 11. Our hearts ache as we 
 think of the weary, sickly children's bodies encased 
 in the costliest fabrics wrought by the master crafts- 
 men of Europe. The wrappings of gold and silver 
 tissue could not conceal the tired expression of pale 
 faces and heavy eyes. How seldom, in the portrait- 
 
 ' Published by A. de Ruble, La PremQre Jeunesse, Appendix vi. 
 ' Ibid. pp. 37-40. 
 
 37 
 
Mary in the Royal Nursery 
 ure of the Valois Court, do we encounter a brilliant 
 careless child's glance. Silks and satins and velvet 
 could not hide the ravages of disease. 
 
 The bills of Queen Mary's furnishers should b 
 supplemented by the details of masculine costume 
 which are contained in one of the King's account 
 books, preserved in the British Museum. Henry' 
 children were, perhaps, rather more simply clad tha: 
 the " crowned Queen " their companion, but the up 
 keep of the royal nursery, with its many highly pai^ 
 servants, must have been a considerable tax on th 
 revenue. In 1551 the expenditure under this hea 
 amounted to 81,321 " livres tournois," or fror 
 £60,000 to £65,000 of our money .^ This sum appear 
 
 1 Experts differ both as to the actual monetary value of the " livj 
 
 tournois " and its relative value in our own coinage. Professor Lemoi 
 
 nier, in the Lavisse History of France, discusses the question at lengl 
 
 (vol. V. part i. p. 267, note), and cites the opinions of M. de WaiU; 
 
 M. d'Avenel, and M. Levasseur. His own conclusion may be gathere 
 
 from his estimate of the salaries paid to Duke Claude of Guise and 
 
 the Constable Montmorency under Francis I. The former receive 
 
 18,000 "livres tournois" a year; the latter 12,000 (vol. v. part 
 
 p. 268). Professor Lemonnier says in a note to this page that tl 
 
 livre may be calculated as equal to four francs, and the relati' 
 
 value may be multiplied by five. " Guise would thus receive to-d; 
 
 i8,oooX4X S = 36o,ooo[francs ; Montmorenc}' 240,000, etc." Bringii 
 
 this to pounds sterling by dividing by 25, we fix the Duke of Guisf 
 
 income from State funds as roughly ^14,400 of our money. " On 1 
 
 peut done aboutir qu'a des approximations," writes JNI. Lemonnif 
 
 His colleague in the new French History, Professor Mariejol, d 
 
 cusses the subject afresh (vol. vi. part ii. p. 2, note). The Uv 
 
 tournois, he saj^s, was worth, according to Natalis de Wailly, 
 
 francs 78 centimes in 1561, 3 francs 14 c. in i.^iSo, and 2 frar 
 
 92 c. in 1602. According to M. d'Avenel, it was worth 3 frai) 
 
 II c. from 1561 to 1573, etc. "Difficult as it is to determine t 
 
 actual value (of the livrc tournois) in sil\rr or gold, il is almc 
 
 impossible to decide on the dilTcrcncc between its purchasi 
 
 power then and now, or in olher words, its relative vaJi 
 
 M. d'Avenel (vol. i. p. 27, note i, and p. 32, note i) thinks that wli 
 
 wo have chanj';c(l the livres and other moneys into francs we mi 
 
 multiply the sums of that age by 3 from 1551 to 1575, by 2 J fr< 
 
 38 
 
Accounts of the Tradesmen 
 
 very moderate when we realise how many persons 
 were entertained at the King's expense. Thirty- 
 seven children, belonging to noble famihes, were 
 brought up with the Dauphin and his sisters. The 
 number of officials, from the highest to the lowest, 
 was not less than a hundred and fifty. The cooks, 
 with their assistants, numbered fifty-seven, the pur- 
 veyors of wine from five to twelve, but there was 
 only one water-carrier for the large household. The 
 quantities of food consumed in a single day must 
 have kept the cooks busy. Among the British 
 Museum manuscripts there are some curious food- 
 bills of the Dauphin and the Queen of Scots, be- 
 longing to the year 155 1. The provisions for one day 
 include two calves, sixteen sheep, five pigs, and seven 
 geese, besides pieces of choice beef, chickens, pigeons, 
 ■ hares, and one pheasant. Thirty-six pounds of cutlets 
 are on the butcher's bill for this day, besides calves' 
 feet, partridges, and larks. Seventy-two dozen loaves 
 were supplied by the baker, and five different merchants 
 provided wine. The fruiterer sold, besides his 
 own special goods, white and yellow wax, for house- 
 hold and church use. The items for firing conclude 
 the list of expenses, which amount in all to 210 
 livres, 2 sols, i denier. This is dated December i, 
 155 1, when the Queen of Scotland and the Dauphin 
 were at Blois.^ The next account belongs to Wednes- 
 day, December 16, in the same year. The headings 
 under " Cuisine " include a great variety of fish, for 
 the Advent fast was strictly observed at Court. Not 
 
 1576 to 1600, in order to obtain tlieir equivalent in money of our own 
 time. But these coefficients are disputable and have been dis- 
 puted." (See on the subject of monetary values F. Decrue, vol. ii. p. 7.) 
 ' British Museum, Add. ch. 13955. 
 
 39 
 
Mary in the Royal Nursery 
 
 a single piece of meat was purchased on tha 
 day." 
 
 From other Court accounts of 1551, we learn tha 
 the royal children had many favourite animals 
 Among these were four large , bulldogs, " wel 
 muzzled," and twenty-two little drawing-room dogs 
 They had horses and ponies, falcons, tiercelets, an( 
 tame birds in cages. The greatest nobles of Franc( 
 sent them horses and dogs. The Dauphin's favouriti 
 horses were named " Fontaine," " Enghien," an( 
 " Chastillon " ; the Queen of Scotland's, " Bravane ' 
 and " Madame la Reale." Wild animals and serpent 
 from Africa were shown to the children. " Wolve 
 were brought for them to see, and boars caught in th 
 snare. The Count of Saint-Aignan gave the Dauphii 
 a hind, which amused him for a long time. Th 
 Sieur des Carpentils and the Marshal Saint-Andr 
 each sent him a bear." ^ 
 
 Grown-up people, as well as children, were foni 
 of collecting wild animals. Catherine de' Medic 
 wrote to the Duke of Florence, asking him to send he 
 two lion cubs, and in another letter she thanked hir 
 for the gift.^ 
 
 The watchful care of the Duchess Antoinette c 
 Guise never failed her granddaughter, though sh 
 did not put herself obtrusively forward in the Cour' 
 She had promised the Queen Dowager of Scotland tha 
 after bringing the child to Saint-Germain she woul 
 remain with her a few da3^s, to make her at hora 
 with the Dauphin and his sisters. The had>- Fleminj 
 who had been selected as Mark's governess, woul 
 
 ' British Museum, Add. ch. 1^156. 
 
 - A. dc Ruble, L(( I'rniiicic Jcuin-ssc, p. 69. 
 
 ' LcUrcs dc Calliaiiw dc Midicis, vol. i. p. 34. 
 
 40 
 
Lady Fleming 
 
 not have been the personal choice of her grandmother, 
 who preferred Mademoiselle de Curel, but Antoinette 
 admitted that as she had lived with the Queen from the 
 child's infancy and understood her constitution, it 
 was but right that she should retain her post. " As 
 for French and the accomplishments which will be 
 wanted here, since Mademoiselle de Curel understands 
 them better than the others, I do not think you will 
 mind if she helps and serves her [Lady Fleming]." 
 On January i6, 1549, Madame de Guise wrote : 
 " She could not possibly be more highly honoured. 
 She and Madame Elizabeth, the eldest daughter of 
 the Queen [Catherine de' Medici] are lodged together, 
 and this seems to me a very good thing, for so they 
 will be brought up to love each other as sisters." 
 
 Father Pollen prints the very interesting letter of 
 Giovanni Ferreri to the Bishop of Orkney on the 
 choice of a physician for Mary.^ 
 
 " Inquiries are being made here," he says, " about 
 a medical adviser, who may pay attention to her 
 health, according to the custom of Courts. There are 
 many French who desire the office, but in my opinion 
 it would not be prudent, nor very fitting for her 
 Majesty [to give them the post]. The greater part of 
 them either do not appreciate the importance of their 
 art, or are not the persons to comprehend a Scottish 
 temperament. . They will all rather do harm than 
 good to the young Queen. Only one [candidate] is of 
 Scottish race, William Bog, Doctor of Medicine. He 
 is so learned that he will bear comparison with any 
 Frenchman, and is by far the best in diagnosing 
 Scottish temperaments. All the Scots at Court 
 ardently wish him to get the post, but the modest 
 man hesitates to accept such a responsibihty until he 
 
 ' Papal Negotiations, pp. 414,415. 
 41 
 
Mary in the Royal Nursery 
 
 has won the Queen Mother's consent. But as he 
 cannot easily find a man of authority and note to 
 obtain that consent for him, he has dealt with me to 
 request you not to fail him, or rather not to fail the 
 Queen in a matter like this. I well know that you are 
 so acceptable to the Queen Mother that she will not 
 refuse this favour, be it what it may, if only she knows 
 that it is sanctioned by your advice. 
 
 "A very important point is that Lady Fleming 
 would not iDe able to explain in her own language 
 except to a Scot what the little Queen's ailments were, 
 should such occur. To provide for health it is of the 
 first importance to diagnose the nature of the body. 
 
 " But perhaps I am more prolix than necessary. 
 You know what a difference there is between a doctor 
 of one's own country and a foreigner. My friend, 
 besides being of your nation, is both a skilful druggist 
 and doctor, and above all a lover of religion and of 
 his country's liberty. If you do this favour, I shall 
 reckon it as done to myself." 
 
 Father Pollen thinks that the office must have 
 been granted to one of the many French who desired 
 it, for William Bog's name is not included in the list 
 of Mary's household. 
 
 The infant Queen won all hearts from the day of 
 her coming to France. Jean de Beaugue describes 
 her as " one of the most perfect creatures that were 
 ever seen." " Beginning as she did in early child- 
 hood, with such wondrous and laudable gifts, there 
 was reason to form as high hopes of her as of any 
 pi-incess on the earth." 
 
 Catherine de' Medici wrote to Mary's mother that 
 the child was as pretty, good, and \irtuous as possible 
 — " more so, indeed, than might be expected at her 
 age." " You arc wonderfully fortunate in ha\'ing 
 such a daughter, and I am more fortunate still because 
 
Death of the First Duke of Guise 
 
 God has so disposed matters as to grant her to me, for 
 I think it will be the strength of my old age to have her 
 with me." 
 
 The spring of 1550 brought changes to the house 
 of Guise. Duke Claude passed away on April 12, at 
 the Castle of Joinville, after an illness which had 
 lasted two months. Of his six sons, two only, the 
 eldest and the youngest, were in France at the time of 
 his death. The others were widely scattered. Charles 
 and Louis had gone to Rome near the end of 1549, 
 when the news of the death of Pope Paul iii. reached 
 France. Charles, then known as Cardinal of Guise, 
 was one of the most influential members of the Con- 
 clave which elected Julius iii. The full story of 
 the action of this masterful prelate of twenty-four 
 is set out in the Venetian State Papers, in the letters 
 of Claude d'Urfe, and in a significant letter of the 
 Cardinal Odet de ChMillon to the Constable. 
 
 He himself wrote to the Queen Dowager of Scot- 
 land from Rome in February : " The news of the 
 death of the late Pope Paul was so suddenly brought, 
 and my departure from Court was so hurried, that I 
 had not time to write you and take leave of you by 
 letter, as I had to go to that holy election. It was 
 delayed until the 7th of this month, when it pleased 
 God to inspire our conferences and to elect as Pope, 
 Julius, third of that name, formerly surnamed the 
 Cardinal de Monte. I hope that the Church and all 
 Christendom will find in him a very good pastor and 
 governor, and especially that you will find him helpful 
 and favourable to your affairs." ^ 
 
 The Grand Prior of the Knights of St. John of 
 Jerusalem in France, fifth son of the Duke of Guise, 
 
 ^ Balcarres Papers, vol. ii. No. 1 39. See Appendix A. 
 43 
 
Mary in the Royal Nursery 
 was dispatched by Henry ii. to congratulate his 
 HoUness. Claude, the third son, was to proceed to 
 England as a hostage after the Treaty of Boulogne. 
 
 Tender letters were sent by Antoinette de Bourbon 
 to her eldest son, Francis, informing him of the pro- 
 gress of his father's malady. 
 
 She told him that " the good lord suffers much." 
 " He received the Host on Sunday, after having 
 made Confession three times during the week. He 
 told me to-night that he wishes to receive extreme 
 unction. I see no prospect of his recovery." The 
 Duchess added, " Save for God, I can have no other 
 hope or consolation except in you, my children. I 
 have no doubt of your goodwill. May God help us 
 and give you health and His grace, and to me patience 
 that I may bear His will. I want to have it, but I 
 cannot help feeling such deep sorrow that in truth it 
 is as much as I can bear." ^ 
 
 Claude, Duke of Guise, was only fifty-four at the 
 time of his death, yet as a statesman he had found 
 himself too old at fifty. Henry ii., at his accession, 
 reorganised the private, or inner Council. Its 
 members included middle-aged men, such as the 
 Cardinal John of Lorraine, Henry of Navarre, and the 
 Constable Montmorency, but with them were found 
 the King's contemporaries, Antoine, Duke of ^'en- 
 dome, and Francis, Duke of Aumale, while a place was 
 found for the Archbishop of Rheims, Charles of 
 Lorraine, who had completed his twenty-second year 
 at the time of the accession. Dr. W'otton, writing on 
 April 6, 1547, to tlie Council of Edward vi., said that 
 of the " younger sort of those that are at the Court 
 already, these seem to be chief favourites : Andelot, 
 
 ' Mcmoircs-Joiiyiiaiix du Due dc Guise, p. 31. 
 
 44 
 
Was the Duke Poisoned ? 
 
 younger brother of Chatillon, and his brother, the 
 Cardinal of Chatillon ; the Duke of Guise's sons, 
 in a manner all, but especially these : Monsieur 
 d'Aumale [Francis], the Bishop of Rheims [Charles], 
 and the Bishop of Troyes [Louis], who, as I hear, are 
 all three of the Council. Monsieur d'Aumale is in 
 very great favour— but in greatest estimation and 
 favour of all, as it appeareth hitherto, either of them 
 of the older sort or of the younger sort, seemeth to be 
 the said Bishop of Rheims, who had the chief ordering 
 of the King's house, he being Dolphin, whom I could 
 wish to be of as good judgment in matters of religion 
 as I take the Cardinal du Bellay to be, but I hear 
 he is not so, but very earnest in upholding the Romish 
 blindness." 
 
 The star of the Duke of Guise had waned before 
 his children's glory. His own place under Henry ii. 
 was in the " after-dinner Council," which we should 
 call, perhaps, " the outer Cabinet." The lirst of the 
 two Councils was in every way the more important, 
 and the statesmen who guided its deliberations were 
 the most influential Ministers of the reign. Mary of 
 Lorraine, as we may gather from a letter to her brother 
 Francis, had resented the arrangements which re- 
 legated her father to a secondary position. " If it 
 were in my power, my father would be more honoured 
 than he is, for he would have a more important place 
 in the Council, and the white-bearded man would not 
 be kept waiting at the door." ^ 
 
 It was strongly suspected by the family that the 
 first Duke of Guise perished by poison, but no ac- 
 cusation was fixed on any individual. Shortly before 
 his death he said to his wife, " I know not whether 
 
 * MSmoires-J ournaux du Due de Guise, p. 33. 
 45 
 
Mary in the Royal Nursery 
 he who has given me the poisoned food is great oi 
 small, but even if he were present and I knew hi; 
 name, I would not mention it, or accuse him ; bu1 
 would pray for him and do him good. I pardon hin 
 for my death as freely as I pray my Saviour to pardor 
 me my sins." After receiving the viaticum, the 
 dying Duke said, "Please God, I am about to gc 
 hence, and to dwell with Him and His saints." 
 
 Students of the Guise annals learn to accept with 
 caution the death-bed stories which were compiled 
 by obsequious ecclesiastics to suit the taste of the 
 family. " He can't be wrong whose death is in the 
 right," was a favourite principle in the sixteenth 
 century. The inscription on the Duke's coffin assigned 
 poison as the cause of his malady, and in his funeral 
 sermon it was said that he had been poisoned b}; 
 " an Anti-Christ and minister of Satan." Histor}; 
 does not confirm this belief, but there can be no doubt 
 as Rene de Bouille remarks, that the dying words oJ 
 Claude of Lorraine " left a profound and gloomy im- 
 pression on the hearts of his children." ^ They turned, 
 as with a common impulse, to the new head of the 
 family, the young Duke Francis, who at his father's 
 death had reached the age of thirty. " Henceforth," 
 wrote Francis, the Grand Prior, to his brother and 
 godfather, " you will be to me both father and 
 brother. Such you have been since my life began, 
 and I will obey you as your own son." 
 
 The Queen Dowager of Scotland wrote to the Duke 
 " I have lost the best father that ever any child lost," 
 and she committed herself and her daughter to the 
 rare and protection of the new chief of the family. 
 
 The widowed Antoinette consulted her son on the 
 
 ' Histoire des Dues dc Guise, vol. i. p. 215. 
 46 
 
Was Mary at the Funeral ? 
 
 arrangements for the funeral, which was deferred till 
 the middle of June on account of the absence 
 of the four brothers. We gather from her letters 
 that the magnificence of the obsequies diverted 
 her mind, in some degree, from personal suffering. 
 " I am puzzled what to do about the mantle," she 
 wrote to Francis, " because the herald has told us 
 that you had decided to have it sewn with Jerusalem 
 crosses." 
 
 Father Stevenson is mistaken when he states that 
 Queen Mary took part in the funeral services held at 
 Joinville in the last week of June 1550 for the Duke 
 Claude of Guise. ^ He cites as his authority Emond du 
 BouUay, King-at-Arms of Lorraine, whose important 
 work of over a hundred pages, dedicated to the new 
 Duke Francis, and published in 1551, ought cer- 
 tainly to be conclusive.^ A careless reader of Emond 
 du BouUay might suppose that the Queen Dowager 
 of Scotland and her daughter were both present, for 
 he refers more than once to " les Roynes d'Escosse " 
 as taking part in the prolonged ceremony. But the 
 student who has any acquaintance with the period 
 will remember that Mary of Lorraine did not arrive 
 in France till September 1550, so that she at least was 
 not present in person at her father's funeral. Father 
 Stevenson's mistake is the more surprising, because 
 Emond du BouUay states clearly, three or four times 
 over, that the royalties of France and Scotland were 
 represented by their envoys. The representative of 
 Henry 11. was spoken of and honoured as " the King," 
 those of the Scottish mother and daughter were 
 
 • Mary Stuart, p. 104 : " The little Mary assisted at the funeral." 
 ^ Le tres-excellent enterrement du tres-hault et tres-illustre Prince, Claude 
 de Lorraine, Due de Guise. 1551. 
 
 47 
 
Mary in the Royal Nursery 
 " the Queens of Scotland." The point is interesting^ 
 for if the child Queen had indeed taken part in the 
 majestic and regal rcrcmonies at Joinville, this would 
 have been her first close personal contact with the 
 solemn pomp of death. She must have heard those 
 mournful words which brought the funeral to a close : 
 " Silence, silence, silence. The mighty and illustrious 
 Prince Claude of Lorraine, Duke of Guise and peer oi 
 France, is dead ; the Duke of Guise is dead, the Duke 
 of Guise is dead." The major-domo broke his bettor 
 of office, kissed the two ends, and ifung the pieces into 
 the hall, crying as he did so, " His household is broker 
 up ; let each provide for himself." 
 
 The royal child was not at Joinville in June 1550, 
 The following passage of Emond du Boullay is con- 
 clusive : " When this was finished, the King's envoj; 
 was led into a richly decorated hall, where supper was 
 served to him in royal state, and in the same way all 
 the others were treated, just as if the King himself 
 the Dauphin, the Queens, and all the Princes of the 
 blood had been present in person." 
 
 Henry 11. was visiting Boulogne during the weeks 
 of mourning, and the new Duke was sent for to arrange 
 with him in person the order of the funeral. The 
 King-at-Arms of Lorraine was in the ducal train 
 and he informs us that the King agreed to the 
 sumptuous and prolonged memorial rites because 
 " Duke Claude was the son of a King, a Prince oJ 
 Lorraine, which is a sovereign House." H Henry ll. 
 in his slow intellect, retained an\' memory of his 
 father's warning against the ambition of the Guises 
 the ]:)rocccdings of the eight funeral days must have 
 filled him with misgivings. Kings of France — Henry'; 
 own son Francis, among others— haAc been buriee 
 
 48 
 
A Stately Burial 
 
 with far less magnificence than Claude of Guise. 
 The absence of royal personages from the funeral 
 may not have been without significance, and we shall 
 see, as the reign proceeds, that a sullen ill-will grew 
 up in Henry's mind against the Princes without a 
 fatherland. 
 
 One lesson of the funeral may be touched upon in 
 passing. It was the fashion with sixteenth-century 
 historians to represent the Duke Francis of Guise as 
 a glorious soldier and patriot, whose faults were 
 caused by the evil influence of his brother, the 
 Cardinal Charles. Agrippa d'Aubigne says that his 
 natural disposition would have led him, not to the 
 ruin, but to the extension of France, " in another age 
 and under a different brother." ^ Claude de 
 I'Aubespine describes him as " a great warrior-chief, 
 a captain who might have served his country, 
 if his brother's ambition had not hindered 
 and poisoned him." ^ But who arranged for that 
 funeral triumph at Joinville ? Not the Cardinal 
 Charles, for he was at Rome when his father died. 
 The responsibility for that display, on French soil, of 
 the princely honours of a house whose head was not 
 under French allegiance, belongs to Duke Francis 
 only. He was the last man to be enslaved by an 
 ambitious younger brother, though he valued the 
 superior statecraft of Charles, and was bound to him by 
 personal affection. As Michelet has truly said, the 
 best characteristic of the Guises was their spirit of 
 brotherly union. They moved as one man in pursuit 
 
 ^ Histoire Universelle, vol. ii. pp. 143, 144. Edition of the French 
 Historical Society, edited by A. de Ruble. f 
 
 " Histoire particuliere de la Cour du Roy Henri II. (Cimber at Danjou, 
 " Archives curieuses," ist Series, vol. iii.). 
 
 D 49 
 
Mary in the Royal Nursery 
 
 of a common aim. Each morning, when all we] 
 at Court, the four younger brothers went to tl: 
 Cardinal's room, and with him they proceeded t 
 visit Francis, under whose wing the five went later o 
 to meet the King. If one were absent, the othei 
 knew how to direct the common policy. 
 
 The Cardinal John of Lorraine, Queen Mary 
 great-uncle, passed away not long after h 
 brother, on his return journey from Rome. Emon 
 du BouUay, who wrote an account of his funera 
 describes him as " the most generous of all the Cai 
 dinals in the world." A blind beggar in Italy, a 
 Brantome tells us, cried out, on receiving alms from 
 passing stranger, " You are either Jesus Christ o 
 the Cardinal of Lorraine." On festival occasions th 
 Cardinal John provided himself with a wallet, contain 
 ing coins which he distributed to the people. He wa 
 the companion of Francis i. in business and pleasure. 
 
 The account which Emond du BouUay gives o 
 the last days of this amiable worldling is a sufficien 
 warning to the student to beware of the memoria 
 eloquence of the Valois period. What could be mor 
 unctuous than the following passage? — "And as on 
 day they were reading to him a Psalm of David, fu] 
 of consolation and of the high mysteries of th 
 Eternal, he took comfort and so stayed himself oi 
 the sure promises of God that for several days pas 
 he had not been heard to speak so profoundlv of God 
 or to admire more devoutly and carefully the great 
 ness of His good and holy will, and the wondrou 
 effects of His eternal ixn\'cr. He spoke of thesi 
 things from noon until about four o'clock, when h 
 sat down at table to supper." At table, he wa 
 carried off by an aj)0])lcctic seizure. 
 
 5° 
 
The Cardinal John 
 
 Diane de Poitiers, on hearing of the death of the 
 Cardinal John, wrote to the new Duke of Guise that 
 this was sorrow on sorrow. "It is a visitation sent 
 you by our Lord, in order that He may still make 
 trial of your virtues." ^ 
 
 The worst men and women of the Court of Henry ii. 
 wrote as if the recording angel were leaning over their 
 shoulders. The letters of the period are rarely a 
 true indication of the moral character of the sender. 
 The language of the most fervent devotion rose to 
 lips sullied by the darkest crimes. The Queen of 
 Scotland spent her earliest years in a world where 
 religion, in high places, was sometimes fatally divorced 
 from morality. That is one essential fact amid the 
 broken records of her childhood. 
 
 ^ Guiffrey, Letires de Dianne de Poyiievs. p. 60. 
 
 Si 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 THE HOUSE OF GUISE IN 1550— VISIT OF THE QUEEN 
 DOWAGER OF SCOTLAND TO FRANCE 
 
 History of the Guises — Their ambitions — The Queen Dowager's loneli- 
 ness after her daughter's departure — Letters to her brothers— 
 Her visit to France — English envoys and the talk of royal marriages 
 — Mary of Lorraine returns to Scotland — Disappointments of hei 
 visit — The scandal of Lady Fleming — The.attempt to poison Queen 
 Mary — The Cardinal of Lorraine as Mary's "gouvemante." 
 
 Claude, the first Duke of Guise, was a son of Duke 
 Rene ll. of Lorraine, and his wife, Phihppa of 
 Gueldres. He was born in 1496, and as a youth 
 was sent to seek his fortunes in France. He married, 
 when only seventeen, Antoinette de Bourbon, 
 daughter of Francis, Duke of Vendome. Antoinette 
 became the mother of twelve children, of whom ten 
 are known to history, the others having died in in- 
 fancy. It was her sad destiny to survive all but one 
 of them, the Abbess Renee of Saint-Pierre at Rheims, 
 who passed away in 1602, at the age of eighty. The 
 Duchess died in 1583, in her eighty-ninth year. As son 
 after son was lost to her in the prime of manhood, 
 her heart consoled itself with the thought that they 
 had died for God's glory, and in defence of His cause. 
 She thought of them as like the holy witnesses " under 
 the altar," who awaited the Divine vengeance upon 
 their enemies ; and of herself as honoured above 
 women, the mother of martyrs. Her sons Io\ed her 
 
 52 
 
'■^rn.'-.-^fTXIa.lj'.-rS^h. Jc 
 
 - inlouicUc cic !^Jjcu rhoi 
 
 ..J'roin <iii ena/iiel poT'h'iiol ui i/ir L'fntu/-. f(ii.''tii/n .bJcirL. 
 
Ambition of the Guises 
 
 tenderly. " If it were not for my old mother/' wrote 
 the Cardinal Charles in the year of his death, " I 
 should never have wished more earnestly to be at 
 Rome." The private letters of the Duchess are full 
 of motherly solicitude. It startles us to find 
 Michelet describing her as " that old fury, Antoin- 
 ette." 
 
 The workings of the law of heredity are strikingly 
 manifested in the history of these semi-royal ad- 
 venturers the Guises. If we ask what qualities 
 Claude and Antoinette transmitted to their children, 
 the first answer must be, a boundless ambition. 
 Through their ancestor, Rene of Anjou, who married 
 the heiress of Lorraine, they had claims on Naples 
 and Sicily. The Cardinal Charles, on his first visit 
 to Rome in 1547, urged Henry 11. to assert his rights 
 over the kingdom of Naples. " Some say to me," 
 wrote the diplomatist of twenty-two, " that if you 
 do not wish to undertake this enterprise, you might 
 accredit me or one of my brothers. They will give 
 me men and money, and put me in that kingdom 
 that I may hand it over to a brother of mine." * 
 The Cardinal proposed at this time to call in the aid 
 of the infidels against his fellow-Christians in Southern 
 Italy. 
 
 A glance at the family shield reveals the high pre- 
 tensions of the Guises. Besides the silver eaglets 
 of Lorraine they quartered the lilies of Anjou and 
 Sicily, the crimson bars of Hungary, and the double 
 cross of Jerusalem. In recognition of splendid ser- 
 vices rendered by Claude of Guise, Francis i. had 
 raised his countship to a duchy in 1527. Claude had 
 fought heroically by the King's side at Marignano in 
 
 1 Letter quoted by Rene de Bouille, vol. i. p. 179. 
 53 
 
The House of Guise in 1550 
 1515, and had received twenty-two wounds. One of 
 his brothers was killed, and he himself lay apparently 
 lifeless on the field, when he was rescued by a Scottish 
 gentleman of the royal household. Claude's gallant 
 conduct in rallying the German mercenaries who had 
 retreated, at Marignano, before the fierce onset of 
 the Swiss, laid the foundations of his fortunes in 
 France. As a military leader, he was brave, resource- 
 ful, and sagacious, but his popularity was slowly 
 undermined by his greed and selfishness. In char- 
 acter he was not unlike a German officer of mercen- 
 aries, ready to sell his sword to the highest bidder. 
 The love of money was strong within him. " His 
 greedy, calculating spirit," says a French writer, 
 "is in striking contrast with the generous and dis- 
 interested heart of Bayard." ^ He called himself a 
 descendant of Charlemagne, and had the instincts 
 of the petty trader. 
 
 Claude did not accompany the army to Italy in 
 1525, thus escaping the defeat of Pavia. During the 
 King's captivity he made himself necessary to the 
 Regent, Louise of Savoy, and it has been suggested 
 that he dreamt at this time of founding an Angevin 
 dynasty in France.^ According as it suited their 
 policy, the Guises were accustomed to act as French- 
 men or as foreigners. Their splendid military achieve- 
 ments were more than counterbalanced by the 
 recklessness of their ambition. Though Duke Claude 
 had thirteen estates in France, he chose to represent 
 himself as a foreign prince. His son Francis, at the 
 time of his marriage, called himself by the royal title, 
 " Francis of Anjou," and the Cardinal Charles, on his 
 
 1 H. Fomeron, Les Dues de Guise et lettr £pogue, vol. i. p. 29. 
 ' Ibid. p. 33. 
 
 54 
 
Hereditary Characteristics 
 
 first visit to Rome, adopted the same distinction. 
 Henry ii. gave tliis dangerous and much-disputed 
 title to one of his own sons, thus placing the name 
 " Anjou " and the lofty pretensions bound up with it 
 beyond the reach of any subject. 
 
 Claude of Guise handed on to his sons the tradition 
 of prowess in the field, extreme religious bigotry, a 
 hard and grasping disposition, together with vague 
 dreams of sovereignty. No conscientious scruples 
 had ever been allowed to interfere with his personal 
 advancement. The faults which marred the char- 
 acters of his sons, Francis and Charles, can be traced, 
 with rare exceptions, to paternal example and in- 
 heritance.^ 
 
 The credit of the Guises in France had been in- 
 
 1 Father Stevenson is right, we believe, in his opinion that Queen 
 Mary learned much that was good from her grandmother Antoinette, 
 and other members of the house of Guise, but he fixes on the worst 
 person connected with the family for special commendation. " Claude, 
 Duke of Guise," writes Father Stevenson, " had a son named after 
 himself, who died Abbot of Cluny in 1604. It appears then that the 
 young Queen had many opportunities of spending part of her time 
 with several of her near relatives, from whose conversation and example, 
 one may presume, she would gain much benefit and instruction " (Mary 
 Stuart, p. 96). The ' ' Claude ' ' referred to by Father S tevenson was an ille- 
 gitimate son of the first Duke of Guise, and a man of abandoned morals. 
 His character did not, as far as history records, possess one redeeming 
 feature. Readers of that ferocious pamphlet, La Legende de Damp 
 Claude de Guise, will remember that he is accused, among other crimes, 
 of poisoning the Cardinal Charles by means of a scented purse. Dom 
 Claude of Guise, Abbot of Saint Nicaise de Reims and afterwards of 
 Cluny, was, according to Rene de Bouille (Les Dues de Guise, vol. i. 
 p. 222), " a man of such depraved morals and of so intolerant and 
 cruel a disposition (as was shown during the massacre of St. Bartholo- 
 mew) that the attacks made upon him in the "Legend," although unjust 
 in some particulars, are easily explicable as regards their sources." 
 A more recent authority, M. Fomeron, remarks : " That curious type 
 of Abbot, Dom Claude, distinguished himself by his exploits at the 
 St. Bartholomew, was accused of having poisoned his brother, the 
 second Cardinal of Lorraine, and died, after a career which was 
 generally despised " (JLes Dues de Guise, vol. i. p. 47). 
 
 55 
 
The House of Guise in 1550 
 Sir John Mason, writing a year later, said, " The credil 
 of the House of Guise in this court passeth all others 
 For albeit the Constable hath the outward administra- 
 tion of all things, being for that service such a man as 
 hard it were to find the like, yet have they so much 
 credit as he with whom he is constrained to sail, and 
 many times to take that course that he liketh never a 
 whit." ^ 
 
 Duke Claude had smoothed the way with much 
 astuteness for his successor. By the self-effacing 
 policy of his later years he gave time for old jealousies 
 to die, old exactions to be forgotten. If the seeds of 
 opinion unfavourable to the Guises had been planted 
 in the mind of Henry 11. by his father's warning they 
 could ripen but slowly in the companionship of the gay 
 and generous Duke Francis. 
 
 With the masses, also, Claude had skilfully in- 
 gratiated himself. His work in later life had been to 
 defend the eastern frontier, and to protect Paris. 
 Thus he was constantly in the public eye, and won 
 gratitude for obvious services, while other leaders 
 were losing credit in the weary Italian campaigns. 
 
 The favour of the people passed in double measure 
 to his successor, whose military genius was as far 
 superior to his father's as his personal character was 
 more gracious and lovable. 
 
 Careful preparations were made for the journey of 
 the Queen Dowager. On August 3, 1550, Sir John 
 Mason mentioned to the Council that he had been 
 required to write for her " good entreating," in case 
 she should be driven by stress of weather into any 
 English port, or require a passport for a hackney or 
 two. " It is said she is to be married to the King of 
 
 » Foreign Calciuhtr, " Edward VI.," p. 76. 
 58 
 
The Entry into Rouen 
 
 Navarre [Henry d'Albret], whom the Lady Margaret 
 has refused." ^ 
 
 On August 25, Sir John wrote that great prepara- 
 tions were being made for Mary's reception and that 
 M. de Guise with the whole of the nobihty was gone to 
 Dieppe to meet her. Before leaving for Scotland to 
 fetch the royal visitor, the Prior of Capua, ^ according 
 to Mason, had provided for about a thousand ells of 
 white damask wherewith to apparel the slaves and 
 mariners. The little Mary suffered from illness about 
 the time of her mother's arriving. On September 10 
 the English Ambassador wrote : " For the last ten or 
 twelve days the Queen of Scots has been so dangerously 
 ill of the prevailing flux that her recovery was doubtful, 
 but within the last two she is considered to be out of 
 danger." * 
 
 The Queen Dowager, attended by a distinguished 
 company of Scottish nobles and gentlemen, entered 
 Rouen on September 25. Sir John Mason reported 
 that the Scots " with their bands fill all this court ; 
 and such brawling, chiding and fighting make they 
 here for their lodgings and others' quarrels, as though 
 they lately came from some new conquest." * 
 
 By the King's orders, Mary was received with the 
 highest honour " by all estates of the town." The 
 ancient capital of Normandy had been preparing for 
 many months for the King's state entry. Her magis- 
 trates wished to outdo the triumphs of Lyon and Paris. 
 Permission had been granted in August to the book- 
 seller Robert leHoy, to prepare an illustrated Souvenir 
 
 • Foreign Calendar, " Edward VI.," pp. 51, 52. " The Lady Mar- 
 garet " was the sister of Henry 11. 
 
 ^ Leo Strozzi. 
 
 ° Foreign Calendar, " Edward VI.," p. 54. 
 
 * Tytler's Edward VI. and Mary, vol. i. p. 329. 
 
 59 
 
The House of Guise in 1550 
 
 of the occasion, and his work, with its beautiful plates, 
 is one of the most precious treasures of the reign. It 
 was not ready till December 1551, and meanwhile 
 another printer, Robert Masselin, published a shorter 
 and less pretentious narrative of the events of 
 October i and 2} 
 
 Henry II. had brought the child Queen to Normandy, 
 and she, with her mother, must have witnessed the 
 public entertainments in honour of Henry and 
 Catherine. It was on Wednesday, October i, that 
 the King made his " joyous and triumphant entry 
 into his good town of Rouen," which is as well adapted 
 as Lyon or Paris for outdoor festivities. We can 
 picture the scene to-day, as we follow the winding 
 course of the Seine, with the many islets which are 
 like barges arrested in midstream. The river-breeze 
 on that autumn morning ruffled the folds of countless 
 banners, the morning light was reflected from sparkling 
 jewels and threw up the rich colouring of the citizens' 
 gala uniforms. First in the state procession came 
 the religious orders, then the secular clergy with their 
 gold and silver crosses, next the tradesmen of the 
 city in costly apparel. The powerful corporation 
 of the salt merchants rode in costumes of gre v- taffeta, 
 with black velvet caps adorned with white feathers.* 
 The drapers wore white satin doublets, and gold 
 buckles shone in their caps. The fishmongers had 
 doublets of red satin. Twenty-four Councillors passed 
 by in their black satin robes. A high official of the 
 Parlement was resplendent in scarlet, with ermine 
 
 1 Robert Masselin's booklet of 1550 was republished in 1S82 by the 
 Soci6t6 des Bibliophiles Normands. 
 
 ' Brant6me says of the Duke Francis of Guise that he loved feathers, 
 and he shared this fancy with the majority of his countrymen. 
 
 60 
 
Reception of the King and Court 
 
 cap surmounted by great pearls. The horses were 
 
 apparelled hardly less sumptuously than their masters. 
 
 After the riders came gay companies of foot men, some 
 
 dressed in white and green, others in white and red. 
 
 Surprising indeed to the child Queen must have been 
 
 the sight of the triumphal cars, bearing goddesses 
 
 and nymphs. In one car sat a mimic King, robed in 
 
 white velvet, and behind him stood a beautiful woman, 
 
 holding a crown over his head. The most astonishing 
 
 show was the procession of six elephants : the first 
 
 carried on its back a tray of lighted lamps, the second 
 
 a church, the third a villa, the fourth a castle, the 
 
 fifth a town, and the sixth a ship. Here was a company 
 
 of soldiers in Turkish costume, there a group of men 
 
 each of whom carried a live sheep. The Constable 
 
 Montmorency bore the naked sword before Henry ii., 
 
 who rode alone on a chestnut horse, followed by the 
 
 archers of the guard. His costume was of white velvet 
 
 and cloth of silver, with a white plume in his hat. 
 
 Entertainments of " strange device " were provided 
 
 for him on his journey. In the suburb of Saint Sever 
 
 he had received addresses from public bodies, and as he 
 
 approached the main bridge there crept out from a 
 
 huge artificial rock Hercules and the seven-headed 
 
 hydra. Within the cave sat Orpheus on a throne, 
 
 and soft music was played by fairylike girls around 
 
 him. The procession halted while Hercules fought 
 
 with the serpent and crushed it in the dust. The first 
 
 river-marvel was a huge whale. Salvoes of artillery 
 
 welcomed the King as he crossed the bridge. The 
 
 people of Rouen had squandered money on this 
 
 reception. Fifty Brazilian natives had been landed 
 
 at the port, and these joined in a combat between two 
 
 ships, one of which was given over at the end to the 
 
 6i 
 
The House of Guise in 1550 
 
 savages, who pillaged and burned it, while the crew 
 took refuge on an island.^ 
 
 The most impressive sight of all was that shown 
 to the King near the bridge of Robec. There was 
 displayed a green enclosure, described by Masselin 
 as "an Elysian field or earthly paradise." Within 
 the enclosure lay two figures, representing Francis i. 
 and Henry 11., with a goddess watching their slumbers. 
 Latin inscriptions were placed on either side : " Sedes 
 ubi fata quietas ostendunt," and " Ut requiescant a 
 laboribus suis." 
 
 What modern city would dare to present such 
 reminders of the everlasting rest to a monarch in the 
 prime of his years ? 
 
 The King heard Mass in the Cathedral, and dined 
 at the Abbey of Saint-Ouen. On the following day 
 Catherine de' Medici made her entry, accompanied 
 by the ladies of the Court. Two only are mentioned 
 by Robert Masselin : Madame Margaret, the King's 
 sister, and the Duchess of Valentinois. Catherine 
 was dressed in cloth of silver, and her ducal cap was 
 covered with gems. " The eye sank before the 
 vision of her magnificence," says the old writer. 
 Diane was in black velvet, trimmed with ermine. 
 Each lady in the Queen's procession wore a white 
 feather.^ 
 
 1 For details of this pageant, see the work of Jean Ferdinand 
 Denis, Une Fete bresilienne ciUbr&e A Rouen. 
 
 ' Mary of Lorraine was not forgotten by the chroniclers of these 
 royal festivities. M. de Merval, a Norman antiquary, published in 
 1868 a curious contemporary poem which describes these October 
 days. It contains a flattering reference to the Queen Dowager : — 
 
 " Icy ne fault passer dessoubz silence 
 La grant vertu, la virile Constance, 
 Icy ne fault que Ton mecte en arrifere 
 Le cueur royal de lour Royne douairi^re, 
 
 6j 
 
The Winter at Blois 
 
 Mary of Guise felt that she had deserved well of 
 the Crown of France, and the nobles in her train were 
 greedy for rewards. English statesmen had by no 
 means yet abandoned the project of marrying the 
 Queen of Scotland to Edward vi., and the credit for 
 saving her for a French alliance belonged to her mother 
 and the Parliament of Haddington. On December 4, 
 Sir John Mason wrote from Blois, " The Scots bear a 
 fell rout in this court, and be much made of all estates." 
 Bishop Lesley informs us that the King behaved 
 so graciously to the Scots nobles " that at all tyme 
 the said King Henrie was thocht to be the moist 
 humane and luffing King to Scottis men of ony that 
 had bene mony yeris preceding, and so hie contenowit 
 in the same favour to his deith." ^ 
 
 The winter was spent merrily at Blois. Sir John 
 Mason describes gay doings between Candlemas and 
 Shrovetide. In the first week of February (1550-51) 
 there were processions, tournaments, and masked 
 dances, to which the ambassadors were invited. 
 The little Mary must have been a spectator of some, 
 at least, of these amusements. A banquet was 
 given by the Cardinal of Lorraine, at which the King 
 
 Qui ne craignoit ny armes ny meslee, 
 Faisant devoir d'une Pantliazilee : 
 
 Et n'eust este I'ordre par elle mis, 
 L'Escosse fust aux angloys ennemys : 
 Mais toutesfois Dieu la gardoit affin 
 Que son Roy fust nostre Francoys daulphin, 
 Et batissoit lors une trinite, 
 De sceptre uny en une majeste, 
 Que dire vray je puisse qu'il viendra 
 Ung jour qu'4 France Albyon se joindra." 
 
 L'Entree de Henri II. roi de France d Rouen. Avec notes par S. de 
 Merval. Soc. des Bibliophiles Normands, 1868. 
 
 ' History of Scotland, Bannatyne Club edition, p. 236. 
 
 63 
 
The House of Guise in 1550 
 
 himself was steward and the Constable clerk of the 
 kitchen. To this banquet also " were bade the 
 ambassadors, to see but not to feed." Sir John 
 had never witnessed a more goodly or a richer sight. 
 " A man would have thought that all the jewels in 
 Christendom had been assembled together, so gor- 
 geously were the dames beset with great numbers 
 of them, both their heads and their bodies." * 
 
 On February 23, Mason heard that the King and 
 Court were bent on war with England. The insti- 
 gators were the Duke of Guise and his house, "in so 
 much as it is already half concluded to send away the 
 Queen of Scots with all convenient speed, and with 
 her 300 or 400 men of arms and 10,000 foot." - He 
 added that Mary of Lorraine "is in this court made 
 a goddess. Mons. de Guise and M. d'Aumale and 
 the Cardinal of Lorraine, partly at her egging and 
 partly upon an ambitious desire to make their house 
 great, be no hindrance of her maUcious desire," that 
 is, for the subversion of England.^ 
 
 Sir John's suspicions can hardly have survived 
 the friendly negotiations at Chateaubriand in June 
 155 1. The Marquis of Northampton \\as sent by 
 Edward vi. at the head of a splendid embassy to 
 invest Henry 11. with the Garter. Among the English 
 representatives were the Bishop of Ely, Sir Philip 
 Hoby, Sir WiUiam Pickering, and Sir John IMason. 
 They were instructed to treat on Edward's marriage, 
 to sound the King in the first place with regard to the 
 Queen of Scots, and if she were held to be pledged 
 definitively to the Dauphin, to make proposals for 
 the hand of the Princess Elizabeth. 
 
 ' Foreign Calendar, " Edward VI., " pp. 71, /j. 
 » Ibid. p. 75. a Ibid. 
 
 64 
 
Games at Chateaubriand 
 Writing on June 20 to the Lords of the Council, 
 the Marquis of Northampton and his colleagues 
 acknowledged the hospitahty of their reception, and 
 the liberal entertainment given them by M. de 
 Chatillon.^ Cohgny was acting, no doubt, on behalf 
 of his uncle the Constable, who was a Knight of the 
 Garter and was in closest touch with the Court of 
 England. M. de Chatillon feasted the guests " all 
 the way to the court, making us such cheer (at his 
 own charges) as was not to be looked for in Bretagne, 
 where, besides the scarcity of good victuals, every- 
 thing is extreme dear ; and yet was his provision such 
 as made us wonder in that place to see it." 
 
 Pleasures were interspersed with graver business 
 at Chateaubriand. On the first evening the young 
 English lords joined the King in the garden in shoot- 
 ing at the butts. " Then he brought us and all the 
 company to the Queen's chamber, where we found 
 him with the old and the young Scottish queens, and 
 a great company of ladies, at whose hands we had 
 also such good welcome as might be had, and so the 
 King fell to dancing and drove forth the night to 
 bedtime." On the following day, after dinner, 
 Henry 11., who loved to display his agility in games, 
 invited the English guests to look on while he joined 
 in a tennis match. There was wrestling, on the Satur- 
 day evening, between Bretons and Englishmen. " That 
 done, we returned in, and the King fell to dancing, 
 as he did the night before, causing some of our 
 younger Lords to dance for his pleasure. Then he 
 had us into his bedchamber, where we heard his 
 musicians sing, which he delighteth wonderfully to 
 hear." 
 
 ' Tytler, England under Edward VI. and Mary, vol. i. pp. 385-402. 
 E 65 
 
The House of Guise in 1550 
 
 On Sunday morning Henry received the Ordei 
 after a brief Latin oration from the Bishop of EI5 
 which was translated to the King by the Cardinal c 
 Lorraine. The Cardinal responded in Latin that th 
 King his master highly thanked his good brothe 
 and was contented to receive the Order, with 
 singular desire for perpetual amity. At the banque 
 which followed, the Marquis of Northampton, th 
 Constable, and the Cardinal had places at the roya 
 table, the Knights of the Garter wearing their heav; 
 robes, which they were glad to throw off as soon a 
 the meal was finished. 
 
 At an afternoon conference with Henry, thi 
 Marquis set forth his instructions about the marriage 
 but the answer was withheld until the following day 
 when the English envoys met the principal member: 
 of the French Council of State. After Northamptoi 
 had pressed for the delivery of Mary, the ConstabL 
 made reply. The task was left to him partly, perhaps 
 because of his known popularity in England. " ' B3 
 my troth,' quoth the Constable, ' to be plain anc 
 frank with you, seeing you require us so to be 
 the matter hath cost us both much riches anc 
 no little blood, and so much doth the honoiu: o 
 France hang hereupon as we cannot tell hov 
 to talk with you therein, the marriage bein^ 
 already concluded between her and the Dauphin 
 and therefore we would be glad to hear no mon 
 thereof.' " 
 
 There is reason to think that Northampton'; 
 offer for Mary was a matter of form. Far fron" 
 pressing the suit, he at once brought forward the name 
 of Elizabeth, and to this proposal the Constable gave 
 a favourable reply on his master's behalf. A dowrj 
 
 66 
 
Mary of Lorraine and the Regency 
 
 of 1,500,000 French crowns was asked for with the 
 Princess. " ' Frankly demanded,' quoth they, 
 laughing." The English envoys were instructed to 
 haggle about the dowry and to lower their terms to 
 200,000 crowns if necessary, rather than break off 
 the marriage. The death of Edward vi., two years 
 later, put an end to this promising scheme, and the 
 Princess Elizabeth, at the age of fourteen, became 
 the third wife of Philip n. 
 
 The Queen Dowager was occupied, during her 
 year in France, in preparing the way for her accession 
 to the Regency in place of Ch§.telherault. She pro- 
 cuied from Henry 11. gifts and promises for the 
 Scottish lords in her train, thus pledging them closely 
 to her interests and his. Bishop Lesley mentions 
 that the King undertook to cause the Queen of Scot- 
 land to confirm these favours at her coming of age, or 
 that he should " gif thame as guid within the realme 
 of France." ^ As the year advanced, Mary of Guise 
 tried the King's patience by her ceaseless importuni- 
 ties about money. On May 10, Sir John Mason 
 wrote from Tours : " The Dowager of Scotland maketh 
 all this Court weary of her, from the high to the low, 
 such an importunate beggar is she for herself and 
 her chosen friends. The King would fain be rid of 
 her, and she, as she pretendeth, would fain be gone." 
 " The 'trucking,' " added Sir John, " is about money 
 matters ; the King wishes her to go upon a promise 
 of payment, but she wishes to have the money with 
 her." ^ 
 
 The boastful talk which had been heard from the 
 Scots in their first months in France — talk of the ease 
 
 • Lesley's History, p. 237. 
 
 ' Foreign Calendar, "Edward VI. ," p. 103. 
 
 67 
 
The House of Guise in 1550 
 
 with which Ireland might be conquered, that Calai: 
 was not a seven nights' work, and that advantag( 
 might be taken of the pohtical dissensions in Englanc 
 — died after the friendly settlement made with th( 
 English at Chateaubriand. There was, while Edwarc 
 lived, a truce to the old enmity between France an( 
 England. 
 
 The scandal connected with Lady Fleming mus 
 have embittered the Queen Mother's stay at Court 
 even if no personal trials had supervened to mar he 
 holiday. 
 
 This beautiful Scotswoman, as we have seei 
 from a letter of M. de Breze, appears to havi 
 attracted the admiration of Henry 11. soon afte 
 her coming to France. The King wrote to Mar 
 of Guise on Lady Fleming's affairs on Jun( 
 26, 1549, while he was in Paris for the stati 
 triumphs. 
 
 " My good Sister, I believe that you appreciat 
 sufficiently the care, trouble, and great watchfulnes 
 which my cousin the Lady Fleming shows from da; 
 to day about the person of our little daughter th 
 Queen of Scots. She has indeed done her duty S( 
 well and so virtuously in this matter that it is reason 
 able that you and I should remember continually 
 her children and her house." He added that Lad' 
 Fleming had complained to him that one of her chi] 
 dren was still a prisoner in England, and requestei 
 the Queen Mother to arrange for his being exchange 
 for some English captive in Scotland. " You wi" 
 thus be doing a good work, — and for one who de 
 serves it." ^ 
 
 A month later (from Chantilly, on July 25" 
 
 > Maitland Clnb Miscellany, vol. i. pp. ;j2, 227,. 
 
 OS 
 
The King and Lady Fleming 
 
 Henry again appealed to Mary of Guise to secure the 
 exchange for which Lady Fleming entreated him 
 continually, because he wished to reward her " for 
 the good and pleasing services she renders here about 
 the person of our little daughter, the Queen of 
 Scots." 
 
 The love-affair between the King and Lady 
 Fleming was aided, according to some authorities, by 
 the Constable, who wished to humiliate Diane de 
 Poitiers. " The old worn pelf," wrote Sir John 
 Mason, " fears thereby to lose some part of her 
 credit, who presently reigneth alone, and governeth 
 without impeach." Lady Fleming gave birth to a 
 son, who is known to French history as the Bastard 
 of Angoul6me. We can well believe that the Queen 
 Dowager, at the breaking out of this public scandal, 
 thought of removing her daughter to a healthier 
 moral atmosphere. 
 
 The gravest fears for the young Queen's life had 
 been awakened by the discovery, towards the end of 
 April, of a scheme for poisoning her, devised by an 
 archer of the guard named Robert Stuart. A mystery 
 hangs over this man's origin, the inception of his 
 plot, his motives and possible supporters, and his 
 ultimate fate.^ 
 
 ^ We can find no contemporary evidence in favour of Father Steven- 
 son's suggestion that it was the same man who murdered the President 
 Minard in 1559. Mr. Andrew Lang says : " Whether he was hanged, as 
 Lesley says, or not, Dumas furnishes him with later adventures in the 
 novel called L'Horoscope" (History of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 17). ButDumas 
 introduces his Robert Stuart, the murderer of Minard, as aged twenty- 
 two or twenty- three in 1 5 59, so that he could hardly have supposed him 
 to be the same man who in 1 5 5 1 , at the age of fifteen or sixteen, plotted 
 against Mary. There is not a word, as far as we can discover, in 
 L'Horoscope to show that Dumas identified the murderer of 1559 with 
 the plotter of 1551. 
 
 69 
 
The House of Guise in 1550 
 
 The French Ambassador in London, M. de Che- 
 mault, wrote to the Constable ^ that a Scot named 
 H6risson (or Henderson) had revealed to him Stuart's 
 design. The would-be assassin had seen the Ear] 
 of Warwick and Lord Paget, and had suggested tc 
 them that by committing such a crime he might 
 render valuable service to the Council. Warwick 
 according to his own account, expressed horror at the 
 proposal, declaring that it was a thing to which 
 neither he nor the lords of the Council could consent 
 even if they were to gain thereby the kingdoms oi 
 Scotland and France. He had sent the archer tc 
 prison, and readily agreed to give him up to the French 
 Government. 
 
 After some delay the extradition took place, anc 
 Stuart was imprisoned in the Castle of Angers on the 
 5th of June 155 1. The King wrote to M. de Che- 
 mault on June 6, "I have received the confessior 
 made at Calais by that miserable Scot who arrivec 
 here two days ago. I hope we shall soon get the 
 truth out of him about that wicked and unhapp} 
 plot." 
 
 Bishop Lesley says that Stuart was tortured 
 hanged and quartered, and there is no reason tc 
 suppose that he was set free, or escaped, as Fathei 
 Stevenson suggests, to commit new crimes. - 
 
 The Queen Dowager's last weeks in France wer( 
 saddened, not only by the parting from her daughter 
 but by the death of the young Duke of Longueville 
 her son by her first marriage. Writing on October if 
 to her mother from Dieppe, Mary of Guise men 
 tioned that her brother the Cardinal had visited he 
 
 ' Teulet, Papiers d'etat, vol. i. pp. 249-60. 
 - Mary Stuart, pp. 114-15. 
 
 70 
 
Departure of Mary of Lorraine 
 
 and that they had conversed on business matters. 
 " God wills that we should think we have eternal life 
 in that place where we have perfect rest.^ I think, 
 Madame, as you are pleased to write me, that our 
 Lord wills that I should be one of His own, since He 
 has visited me so often and so heavily. Praised be 
 He for all ! " 
 
 On October 22, Mary arrived at Portsmouth, 
 escorted by the Baron de la Garde with ten ships 
 of war. She travelled to London by way of Guild- 
 ford and Hampton Court, and was lodged in the 
 Bishop of London's palace, proceeding afterwards 
 to dine with Edward vi., who received her 
 with honour. Bishop Lesley says that she was 
 pressed to use her influence with Henry 11. for the 
 abandonment of her daughter's marriage with the 
 Dauphin.^ Skilfully waiving such appeals, Mary 
 took leave of her youthful host, with most hearty 
 and earnest thanks for the kingly usage of her 
 and hers. 
 
 A letter expressing sorrow for her departure from 
 France was written by Catherine de' Medici to the 
 Duchess of Guise. " I regret her going so much," 
 says Catherine, " that I cannot think of it without tears 
 in my eyes." ' 
 
 Earnest consultations must have been held at 
 Joinville that autumn, between Mary of Guise and 
 her widowed mother. Both these good women may 
 well have dreaded the influence of such a Court as 
 that of Henry 11. on the girl whose character would be 
 
 ^ " Dieu veult que nous pensions avoir Teternelle vie la oil nous 
 avons parfaict repos." Letter printed by le Marquis de Pimodan, La 
 Mire des Guises, pp. 380, 381. 
 
 ' History, p. 240. 
 
 '' Lettres de Catherine de MSdicis, vol. i. p. 48. 
 
The House of Guise in 1550 
 
 formed within the next six years. It may have 
 been as the result of some definite family agreement 
 that we find Queen Mary, after her mother's visit, 
 under the constant and watchful supervision of the 
 Cardinal of Lorraine. 
 
 72 
 
- ///(■ Cardinal of Jorrainc a I lite mje oj 2'2 
 
 y^ /u^U'r/rap/u^^^ i'l/ Mmu t'nl l;>ctini.\Uv7i /rri?t l/ic bortrnd in t/i.e 
 ■ irr/t I- (. i/u>fj .'i v'v^y lace a t 0\h ein i .. > 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 CHARACTER OF MARY's UNCLE, THE CARDINAL OF 
 LORRAINE 
 
 Bishop Creighton's opinion of the Cardinal — Bran tome's estimate 
 — Characteristic stories — The Cardinal's youth — His rare gifts — 
 His sermon at the crowning of Henry ii. — His personal appear- 
 ance — Foreign ambassadors on his character — The charges of 
 avarice and cowardice — How he spent his revenues — His uncle's 
 debts — A fighting leader — His private correspondence— His 
 relationship to Anne d'Arne — His love of children and care of his 
 niece, Queen Mary. 
 
 Bishop Creighton, in The Age of Elizabeth, sums up 
 as follows the character of Charles, Cardinal of Lorraine: 
 " He was justly popular with the people, — a man of 
 commanding presence, great affability, ready eloquence, 
 unblemished moral character, unwearied zeal in dis- 
 charging the duties of his archbishopric, and a high 
 reputation for sanctity." ^ Hardly a single unbiased 
 French historian, from the sixteenth century to our 
 own time, would have agreed with Dr. Creighton on all 
 these points. The Cardinal owes much more to 
 foreign writers than to those of his own country. 
 Ranke was one of the first to point out that the 
 scandalous stories related by Brantome refer, not to 
 him, but to his uncle the Cardinal John.^ When 
 Brantome mentions by name the statesman whom he 
 describes in one place as " the pearl of all the pre- 
 
 ^ 17th edit. p. 54. * Werke, viii. 141. 
 
 73 
 
The Cardinal of Lorraine 
 lates of contemporary Christendom," ^ he is divide^ 
 between a strong and manifest personal dishke and ai 
 equally obvious unwillingness to offend the family. 
 
 Two of his tales may be quoted. The Cardina 
 was preaching on one occasion before the King, Queer 
 and all the Court at Fontainebleau, and there wer 
 among the congregation several hundred Huguenots 
 In expounding the passage on the temptation in th 
 wilderness he cried, " O Satan, my friend, what hav 
 I done that you should tempt me so ? " There wa 
 much laughter, especially among the Huguenots 
 which the preacher did not understand. On comiuj 
 down from the pulpit he asked his followers to explaii 
 the reason of this untimely merriment. " They wer 
 laughing," was the reply, " because you called th 
 devil your friend." The Cardinal was much vexed 
 and said he would rather have spent ten thousan( 
 crowns than make this unconscious blunder. 
 
 The other anecdote refers to his visit to Venice ii 
 1556. Many of the loveliest ladies of the city cam 
 to the windows of the palaces overlooking the Gran( 
 Canal, that they might see the handsome stranger 
 With Charles, in the state barge, was an elderl; 
 politician, who engaged him in conversation on publi 
 affairs. The Venetian noticed, after a while, that hi 
 companion's eyes were travelling towards the beautifn 
 women who smiled upon him from balconies an< 
 window-gratings, and he said, " Monseigneiu-, I se 
 you are not listening to me, and I do not wonder, fo 
 there is much more pleasure to be found in watchin; 
 these pretty ladies at the windows than in listening t^ 
 a tiresome old man like me, even if I were telling c 
 
 ' Vol. iv. p. 27S (Edition de la Soci6lc de I'Histoire de France, edite 
 by L. Lalanne). 
 
 74 
 
Eloquence of the Cardinal 
 
 some conquest much to your advantage." The 
 Cardinal, instantly recalled to his good manners, 
 offered to repeat to the aged statesman every word 
 that he had uttered, and did so, as Brantome adds, so 
 successfully " that he left that good old man much 
 pleased with him." 
 
 When Brantome, in his life of the Duke of Guise, 
 enters on a closer analysis of the Cardinal's character, 
 he seems to be drawn in two directions. Brantome 
 was happy in the company of Aumale, Elboeuf, and 
 the Grand Prior, and he had a genuine reverence for 
 the Duke of Guise, but he hated and feared their all- 
 powerful brother. Charles, he says, was by nature 
 very timid and cowardly ; "he even acknowledged 
 this." ^ At the same time " he had a most subtle 
 mind and sound judgment, and an excellent memory." 
 He was very graceful and handsome, spoke well and 
 eloquently on all subjects, secular as well as religious. 
 People thought him a great mischief-maker, very 
 active and very ambitious. 
 
 Brantome had heard the Cardinal preach, and in 
 common with all contemporaries, felt a sincere admira- 
 tion for his eloquence. He praises especially the 
 sermon delivered at Fontainebleau, on the first 
 Sunday of Lent, after his return from the Council of 
 Trent. Conde and the other leading Huguenots were 
 present, and, says Brantome, " it was a pleasure to 
 hear him, for no better sermon was ever preached." 
 The Huguenots, though they laughed at the unlucky 
 apostrophe to the great Tempter, could not restrain 
 their eulogies.^ 
 
 A phrase of Brantome on which historians have 
 fastened is that in which the Cardinal is said to have 
 
 1 Vol. iv. p. 229. ' Vol. iv. pp. 276, 277. 
 
 75 
 
The Cardinal of Lorraine 
 
 had " a deeply stained soul " Mn comparison with hi; 
 brother, the Duke of Guise. An examination of the 
 context leads us to suppose that this dubious ex- 
 pression may have had a political meaning. Brantome 
 may possibly have intended to suggest that the Church- 
 man was less simple and straightforward in his methods 
 than the soldier, and more deeply sunk in the mire oi 
 party intrigue. 
 
 Charles, Cardinal of Lorraine, was born on Februarj; 
 17, 1525. At the age of nine he was appointed 
 Archbishop-designate of Rheims. He studied at the 
 College of Navarre in Paris, and among the personal 
 friends of his youth were Pierre Ramus and Ronsard. 
 We know from one of Ronsard' s poems how he 
 cherished these early friendships. He was a quick 
 and eager student, and although the papal envoy, 
 Santa Croce, sneered at him as juvenis non illiteratus, 
 he was able, in after years, to hold his own with 
 success against Beza at the Colloquy of Poissy, and to 
 astonish the doctors at Trent by the powers of memory 
 shown in his citations from the Fathers. Scholars 
 from all parts of Europe sent contributions to his 
 library, and it was the fashion among French writers 
 to dedicate their books to him. 
 
 His earliest and best biographer, Nicolas Boucher, 
 gives a charming picture of his student-life in Paris. 
 As soon as he could escape from the Court routine, 
 the boy prelate would shut himself into his room to 
 read or write. At the College of Navarre, they said 
 he had " always something on his mind." Ronsard 
 refers to the premature gravity of his manners. 
 
 He invited learned men to dine or sup, not caring, 
 says Boucher, if their origin was humble. By his 
 
 ' "rfirrn; fort barboiullro " (vol. iv. p. J29). 
 76 
 
His Early Career 
 
 powerful protection Ramus was established in a 
 chair of eloquence and philosophy. If a scholar 
 called on the Archbishop unbidden : "Sit down/' 
 he would say, " and let us talk philosophy." He 
 disputed in public and in private with the most 
 learned doctors of the day. It would have been easy 
 for him to follow the path of self-indulgence chosen 
 by his uncle John, or by his brother Louis, " the 
 bottle-loving Cardinal," but from childhood he set 
 an example of strenuous industry. He acquired a 
 fluent, if not an elegant Latinity, and we have the 
 testimony of a Venetian ambassador that he spoke 
 Italian like a native. The gifts which most dazzled 
 his countr5nnen were his eloquence and his incom- 
 parable memory. French poets called him " our 
 Mercury." The Chancellor OUivier, as an anagram 
 on the name Carolus Lotaringus, gave him the 
 title. Orator Gallicus unus, — " the one French 
 orator." 
 
 At the age of seventeen Charles was summoned to 
 Court, where Francis l. entrusted him with the super- 
 vision of the Dauphin's household, though Henry 
 was his senior by six years. Rene de Bouille says 
 that he surrounded himself with young gentlemen 
 among whom he sought to encourage devout attach- 
 ment to religion and the love of learning. At the 
 age of twenty he was consecrated Archbishop of 
 Rheims in the private chapel at Joinville, and two 
 years later, as we have seen, he was admitted to the 
 innermost councils of the State. 
 
 No choice had been granted him by destiny in the 
 shaping of his career, for the first Duke of Guise 
 possessed nothing of that haughty independence 
 which led the Constable Montmorency to despise 
 
 77 
 
The Cardinal of Lorraine 
 
 the wealth of the Church, and to select for each of 
 his sons the military profession. Duke Claude wished 
 to grasp money from all possible treasure-stores, and 
 to win for his house the powerful support of the 
 clergy as well as of the army and the people. Such 
 talents as his second son possessed were from infancy 
 developed so as to fit him for great ecclesiastical 
 position. It was natural that Charles should step into 
 the shoes of his uncle, the Cardinal John, who intro- 
 duced him to Francis i. and secured for him his place 
 in the royal household. Fanatical ideas were in- 
 stilled into the boy's mind by one of his tutors, 
 Frangois le Picart,^ and his father had the instincts of 
 the persecutor. More liberal views, we may assume, 
 must have been cautiously expressed by his uncle, 
 but the pleasure-loving character of this man may 
 well have neutralised his intellectual influence. There 
 is reason to believe, however, that Charles was in 
 youth attracted towards the Reformed doctrines. 
 Coligny's brother Andelot taunted him with this at 
 the time of his own arrest for heresy, and some of 
 the more bigoted Catholics suspected him till the 
 end of his life as a secret Lutheran.^ His steadfast 
 patronage of Pierre Ramus — so honourable to both 
 men — ceased only in the years before the St. Bartholo- 
 mew. If any gleam of enthusiasm visited him at 
 the College of Navarre, any ingenuous sympathy 
 with the heroic early Protestant martyrs, it had, 
 alas, been quenched effectively by the time of the 
 coronation of Henry il. We cannot wonder that a 
 modern French historian, confronted with the difficult 
 problem of the Cardinal's religious opinions, should 
 
 ' N. Weiss, La Chaiubrc ArJcii/c, p. iv. 
 - Brantonic, vol. iv. pp. 275-78. 
 
 7S 
 
His Views on Heresy 
 
 describe him as "a fanatic by profession, an un- 
 believer at heart." ^ 
 
 A year before Queen Mary came to France, the 
 brilhant uncle who was to exercise so great an influence 
 in her training, appealed to Henry ii. from the pulpit 
 to extirpate the new religion. In his coronation 
 sermon, the Archbishop of Rheims, who was about 
 to be made a Cardinal, pronounced these memorable 
 sentences : " By one man . . . not Germany and 
 France alone, but almost all the universe has been 
 shaken. If God had not provided for this evil through 
 the intervention of princes, who does not see that 
 there would have been an overturning of the greatest 
 kingdoms and governments, and of all things in 
 general ? If there is corruption, let it be corrected 
 by means of a general Council. If one member of 
 the Church is decayed, let it be cut off so that the 
 whole body may recover, but do not let us suppress 
 ever5rthing, as some desire. I have dwelt on these 
 things at all the greater length, because I think it 
 belongs to thee alone, or almost alone, to cure all 
 these wounds of the Church. Therefore act so that 
 posterity shall say of thee : If Henry ii.. King of 
 France, had not reigned, the Roman Church would 
 have utterly perished,— and thou wilt do it if thou 
 rememberest that nothing could be more pleasing to 
 God. . . . And thus thou wilt become, not only 
 King of France, but (as French monarchs alone can 
 be) the priest, and as it were, the public servant of 
 Almighty God." ' 
 
 ^ Professor Lemonnier, in the Lavisse History of France, vol. v. 
 part ii. p. 130. 
 
 ^ This extract is published in French by M. Weiss, in his valuable 
 work, La Chamhre Ardente, p. Ixi. M. Weiss found it in the historical 
 Fragments of Pierre Paschal, historiographer of Henry 11. 
 
 79 
 
The Cardinal of Lorraine 
 
 To this admonition the King rephed, " I agree to 
 all that thou hast said on the Government, on the 
 King, on my ancestors, and on religion." The 
 Cardinal then prayed that the new sovereign might 
 defend the Church with zeal and courage against 
 every assault of the wicked and unbelieving. The King 
 was thus supported and encouraged by him in that 
 policy of persecution which darkened French history 
 for more than a century. 
 
 The earliest portrait of the Cardinal, painted in 
 the coronation year, hangs in the Archbishop's 
 palace at Rheims. Although the colours are much 
 faded and the general effect is that of a dark, instead 
 of a fair complexioned man, there is no doubt as 
 to the genuineness of the work. The expression is 
 enigmatic ; suggesting, perhaps, the weariness and dis- 
 illusionment of one whose intellect has been forced 
 too early into a narrow groove. The biographer of 
 Ramus says truly, " There is nothing in the face 
 which wins our sympathy." ^ It is not from such a 
 picture that we can form a true idea of the splendour 
 and grace of his appearance — the commanding 
 height, lofty forehead, sparkHng blue eyes, which 
 historians and ambassadors have described. Boucher, 
 who was preceptor of the Princes of Lorraine, and knew 
 the Cardinal intimately, speaks of his joyous and 
 laughing air, and his habitual gaiety in company, 
 though in private he had the downward look of a 
 statesman intent on deep plans. 
 
 Michelet notes the less pleasing characteristics 
 which are found in one of the contemporary crayon 
 drawings. " The Cardinal, whose complexion is 
 transparent, infinitely delicate, though quite the grand 
 
 ' C. Waddington Kastus, Picyyc Ramus, p. 300. 
 So 
 
Venetian Estimates 
 
 seigneur, — evidently witty, eloquent, with fine, pale- 
 grey cat-like eyes, — surprises us by the angry com- 
 pression of the corner of his mouth, which we can see 
 under his fair beard." 
 
 The " mother-of-pearl complexion," Michelet says 
 elsewhere, was a point of resemblance between the 
 Cardinal and his royal niece. We gather from poems 
 of Ronsard and Michel de I'Hopital that he was grey 
 before the age of thirty. 
 
 The letters of the Venetian and Florentine am- 
 bassadors contain many estimates of the Cardinal's 
 character. The most frequently quoted accounts 
 are those of Soranzo (1558) and Giovanni Michiel 
 (1561). These can fortunately be supplemented 
 from dispatches of an earlier date, which show how 
 he was regarded by impartial foreign observers about 
 the time of Queen Mary's coming to France. Matteo 
 Dandolo, writing to the Doge and Senate on December 
 17, 1547, says that although the Cardinal of Guise 
 is still very young,^ he is " the whole heart and soul 
 of this King, as he of Lorraine [John] was of the 
 other." 
 
 Lorenzo Contarini, writing in 1551, mentions that 
 the Cardinal leads " una vita onestissima." " Al- 
 though he is still young, and although some of the 
 older Cardinals in France lead a most licentious 
 life, he is always cautious in all his doings, for which 
 he deserves to be highly praised." ^ 
 
 The expression " egli va sempre riser vato " re- 
 
 1 " II quale S molto giovane, si che non ha ancora la barba. " Alberi, 
 Relazioni, vol. ii. p. 176. 
 
 ^ Alberi, vol. iv. p. 76. " Tiene poi il Cardinale una vita onestissima, 
 perocche con tutto che sia giovine, e che gli altri Cardinali piu vecchi 
 assai siano licenziosissimi in Francia, egli va sempre riaervato in tutte 
 le sue operazioni ; per il che merita esser grandemente lodato." 
 
 F 81 
 
The Cardinal of Lorraine 
 
 minds us of the saying of Michiel that in his hfe, " S( 
 far as the outside is concerned," ' Charles observec 
 the decorum which was suitable to his position 
 Possibly the ambassadors beheved him to be < 
 cautious voluptuary. They wished the Senate t( 
 understand, however, that in self-control and ii 
 devotion to public duty the youngest of the Frencl 
 Cardinals set an example to his brethren. Neithei 
 hawks nor hounds were to be found in his palace 
 Each year, as Easter approached, it was his custon 
 to retire to a religious house and give himself up t( 
 spiritual exercises. 
 
 The Florentine Ricasoli, in a dispatch of Decembei 
 14, 1547, speaks of his lofty virtue and his gracious 
 manners. Supported as he is by his family connec 
 tions and by the affection of the King, the greatesi 
 things may be expected from him ; "he will soon rule 
 France." ^ 
 
 The favourable judgment of Bishop Creighton is 
 sustained, on the whole, by the diplomatic corre- 
 spondence of the first years of Henry 11. 
 
 The chief faults attributed to the Cardinal b} 
 foreign ambassadors, as the years went on, wen 
 falsehood, avarice, and cowardice. Ambitious anc 
 successful statesmen have, in all ages, seemed tc 
 their opponents monsters of perfidy and double 
 dealing. Surian observes that in the art of dis- 
 simulation the Cardinal had no rival in the world. 
 
 The charge of avarice is somewhat discounted bj 
 the fact that he died deeply in debt, and that his 
 
 ' " Di vita, quanto all' esteriore, molto onesta e convenienteal grade 
 ch'ha, al coiitrario di quello si vede iiegli altri Cardinali e prelati d 
 f|ucl rc',!;n<), liccnziosissinii per naUira." Tommasco, Rtidlioiis de 
 Atnbas&adcurs Vciii/ii'iis, vol. i. p. 438. 
 
 ' N/igocialions i/c hi /■'ruiirc htcc !a Tosc(i)ie. vol. iii. p. 215. 
 
His Lavish Expenditure 
 
 funeral was paid for by a loan from the citizens of 
 Rheims. Keen as he was to acquire riches, he was 
 unsuccessful in managing either his own financial 
 affairs or those of his niece, Queen Mary. We may 
 assume that greedy underlings drew rich pickings 
 from his revenue. Brantome tells us that when he 
 congratulated Duke Henry of Guise on the supposed 
 accession of wealth that had come to him with his 
 uncle's death, the Duke replied that this was quite a 
 mistake, and that the debts left him by his uncle 
 were as heavy as those inherited from his father, 
 Duke Francis. 
 
 What did the Cardinal do with his ample revenues ? 
 
 1. He kept up an army of couriers who brought 
 him news from every part of Europe.^ 
 
 2. He spent with lavish generosity in his diocese 
 of Rheims, draining the swamps round the city and 
 cutting down the wood of his forest at Joinville for 
 building purposes. By this means he gave employ- 
 ment to an army of workmen. Dom Marlot, the 
 historian of Rheims, says he transformed the whole 
 appearance of the city. He founded the University, 
 a seminary and a convent, and joined with his mother 
 in founding the hospital at Joinville. He entertained 
 at his personal cost 2000 Catholic refugees from 
 England and Ireland, paying the fees and board 
 of promising students and helping the religious orders. 
 One of the French doctors at Trent wrote to a friend 
 that but for the Cardinal of Lorraine he and his 
 companions would have starved. Of his gifts to 
 Rheims Cathedral some remain to this day. With 
 his sister, the Abbess Renee, he presented the great 
 bell " Charlotte," on which are still inscribed their 
 
 • Brantome, vol. iv. pp. 275, 276. 
 83 
 
The Cardinal of Lorraine 
 
 names and titles. The finest pictures in the Cathedral, 
 the " Nativity " by Tintoret and " Christ Washing 
 the Disciples' Feet " by Mutiano, were given by him 
 on his return from Italian journeys. It was said 
 that he never visited Rheims without bringing a gift 
 for his " bride." 
 
 3. His resources were freely drawn upon by other 
 members of his family, especially for the expenses 
 of the wars. 
 
 A blot upon the Cardinal's memory and one great 
 reason for his unpopularity with the shopkeeping class 
 in Paris was his neglect to pay off the enormous 
 debts of his uncle John. His conduct in this matter 
 is mentioned reproachfully by Claude de I'Aubespine, 
 De Thou, Regnier de la Planche, and others. It is 
 difficult to find an excuse for such dishonesty, save 
 that ready money may not have been too plenti- 
 ful in the family at the moment of his succession. 
 Possibly Charles may have thought that his uncle's un- 
 bounded generosity to the people should have counter- 
 balanced the heavy debts which were flung upon his 
 own young shoulders. The refusal to satisfy the 
 late Cardinal's tradesmen was, to put it on the lowest 
 ground, the first of many acts of foolish and short- 
 sighted policy by which he slowly undermined the 
 fair fabric of his fortunes and drew upon himself the 
 hatred of the masses. 
 
 The question of these debts is less simple than 
 the anti-Guise historians would have us imagine. It 
 was all-important that the Duke Francis should 
 confirm and extend his father's popularity with the 
 Parisians, and his shrewd, calculating intellect — so 
 widely awake in the smallest monetary concerns — 
 could hardly have acquiesced, without some plausible 
 
 84 
 
Was he a Coward ? 
 
 reason, in the deliberate repudiation of family debts 
 in Paris. His brother prostrated every gift of 
 intellect, and, it must be confessed, every scruple 
 of conscience, on the altar of the family greatness. 
 Claude de I'Aubespine assures us that the Duke, in 
 moments of irritation, uttered these words of the 
 Cardinal : " That man will one day ruin us." What 
 influence did he exercise over his young brother in 
 this matter of their uncle's debts ? 
 
 Among the soldiers who surrounded Henry ii., 
 the charge of cowardice was whispered against the 
 too-successful statesman. To modern readers it is 
 clear that Charles was a coward in the same sense in 
 which Hurree Babu, in Kim, was " a fearful man." 
 The more fearful he was, the more " tight places " 
 he got into. Churchmen, as well as soldiers, were 
 expected to handle weapons in sixteenth - century 
 warfare, and the Cardinal, at the end of a letter in 
 which he has been giving military advice with his 
 usual impulsive vehemence, confesses that " when 
 all is said, that's not my business." ^ 
 
 One of his numerous enemies, Claude de I'Aubes- 
 pine, State Secretary under Henry ii., draws a comic 
 picture of his attitude on the bloody day of Renty.^ 
 His younger brother, Louis, Cardinal of Guise, was 
 not thinking of his breviary, " but of how to strike a 
 good blow." He was close to the King's side in the 
 battle, wearing a rich coat of mail. The Cardinal 
 of Lorraine was " in the midst of the baggage, among 
 the mules." Instead of arms he wore a red velvet 
 robe with a white cross, and was mounted on a grey 
 
 1 MSmoires-Journaux du Due de Guise, p. 234. 
 
 ^ Histoire particuli&re de la Cour du Roy Henri II. (" Archives 
 curieuses," Series i, vol. iii.). 
 
 85 
 
The Cardinal of Lorraine 
 mare, " that he might fight with the spurs, if it became 
 necessary to fly." 
 
 The danger which soldiers encountered on the 
 battlefield at rare intervals menaced the Cardinal 
 at all hours during his anxious career. He believed, 
 and with good reason, that he was a mark for the 
 assassin's dagger. Yet he was ever in the forefront 
 of the ecclesiastical conflict. 
 
 He might have lived to old age as the Maecenas 
 of men of letters, bringing scholars from all parts of 
 Europe to adorn his University of Rheims, winning, 
 like the Bishop of Valence, the renown of a popular 
 Catholic preacher, while by sympathetic generalities 
 he conciliated the Huguenots. He might have shared 
 the learned leisure of the Cardinal Odet de Chatillon, 
 who was in the fierce conflicts of the age, but not of 
 them, and who understood the art of graceful 
 withdrawal. The Cardinal of Lorraine, through all 
 his public life, was a strenuous worker and fighter, 
 skilled in the use of every weapon save the sword and 
 musket. 
 
 The more amiable qualities of the man are unveiled 
 in his private correspondence. He was one of the 
 best letter-writers of the age, and his pen was seldom 
 idle. Many of his dictated or autograph notes are 
 the mere formal dispatches of the busy statesman, 
 who is fain to confess himself too tired to write at 
 length. In others we recognise some personal char- 
 acteristic — his affection for his elder brother, his 
 playful fondness for children. Henry of Guise is 
 described to his father at the wars as " the prettiest 
 little creature ever seen." Not less conspicuous is 
 the family pride which was part of the Cardinal's 
 religion. When Guise's eldest daughter was born, 
 
 86 
 
His Moral Character 
 
 he regrets it was not a boy ; but " please God, this 
 httle girl will some day bring us a good alliance." 
 Already he has had offers of brilliant matches for 
 her. Old Madame de Montpensier proposes her son, 
 with thirty thousand livres of income, unburdened 
 by any allowance to his sisters. "He is handsome, 
 well-born and healthy." Another great lady had 
 spoken of writing to the Duchess of Guise, and the 
 Duke of Nevers would be likely to put in his claim. 
 " Thus, if we play our parts skilfully, we shall have 
 a choice of husbands, and we shall have time enough 
 to consider the matter well." 
 
 A passage in the same letter shows that he recog- 
 nised the danger from his own hasty temper, easily 
 uplifted and easily cast down. " I control myself well 
 with everybody, and there is no squabbling. Our 
 master treats me better than ever he did." A note 
 of heady exaltation runs through some of his cor- 
 respondence. All is going successfully, brilliantly ; 
 the Lorrainers touch the height of joy and splendour. 
 Often as he must have preached on the futility of 
 mortal hopes, he builds on his brother Francis as 
 on a rock-foundation. The death of the Duke, by 
 the hand of Poltrot de Mere, was in a sense the 
 death of the Cardinal also. Never again do we 
 catch in his letters the same note of infatuated 
 confidence. 
 
 The Cardinal's moral character may not have been, 
 as Dr. Creighton suggests, altogether " stainless," 
 though it compared well with that of other highly 
 placed ecclesiastics of the period. Little importance 
 need be attached to the libels of anonymous pamphlet- 
 eers on the Huguenot side. There is, however, one 
 curious circumstance of his private life which is 
 
 87 
 
The Cardinal of Lorraine 
 
 fairly well attested by history. Writers who have 
 praised his paternal devotion to his niece Queen Mary 
 forget to mention that he was in all probability the 
 father of a little girl, who may have been five or six 
 years younger than the Queen. Anne d'Arne, who 
 was sent to Spain in 1559 to be brought up in the 
 Court of Elizabeth of Valois, was understood to be 
 the Cardinal's daughter. The most important refer- 
 ence to her is contained in a letter from the diploma- 
 tist Lansac to the Cardinal, dated from Tudela, 
 January 15, 1560.^ " Monseigneur," he says, " I 
 see habitually in this company Mademoiselle Dame, 
 who is very pretty, good and graceful : and as I have 
 heard that you do her the honour to acknowledge 
 that she belongs to you in some way, I have offered 
 to do her service, as I will wherever I have the power, 
 if only the power is not wanting. Here, at least, 
 I will help her with counsel and information, as 
 if she were my own daughter. This is in yoiur 
 honour, to whom I desire to render very humble 
 service, etc." ^ 
 
 Brantome, in his chapter on Coligny/ mentions 
 that Anne d'Arne was the Cardinal's daughter, and 
 adds, though vaguely, that he could give the name 
 of her mother. Nothing further is known as to the 
 Archbishop's early love-affair. Anne d'Arne was 
 given in marriage to the scoundrel Besme, the 
 murderer of Coligny. On the day after Charles's 
 death at Avignon (December 26, 1574), the Cardinal 
 
 ' N&gociations sous Fvanfois II., p. 178. 
 
 ^ The editor of the Nigociations, M. Paris, says in a note: 
 " I have not been able to discover any particulars about this young 
 person, in whom the Cardinal took so keen an interest. The field of 
 conjecture is therefore left free as far as she is concerned." 
 
 ° Vol. iv. p. 309, 
 
 8S 
 
His Love of Children 
 
 Louis wrote to Philip il. that he was sending Besme 
 to the Court and hoped that the King would pay 
 the money which had been promised to his wife Anne 
 at the time of the marriage.^ Brantome mentions 
 that after the death of Queen Elizabeth of Spain, Anne 
 d'Arne returned to France, and lived with the Queen 
 Mother .2 
 
 Other children with whom the Cardinal was 
 closely associated were the young Duke of Longue- 
 ville, Mary's half-brother, whose education he super- 
 intended; and his nephew Francis, son of the Duke 
 of Guise, whom he began to train as his successor at 
 Rheims. The death of this promising boy was one 
 of the heaviest sorrows of his closing years. 
 
 Henry of Guise wrote to his father in 1557 : " I 
 have heard some fine sermons from my uncle at 
 Rheims, but I promise you I could not repeat them in 
 full, for they were so very long that I don't remember 
 the half of them. He made me carry his amice 
 before him, and asked me if I would not like to be a 
 Canon at Rheims, but I replied that I had rather 
 be with you, that I might break a lance or a sword 
 on some brave Spaniard or Burgundian, so as to see 
 if I have a good arm : for I like fencing and lance- 
 breaking better than being always shut up in an abbey 
 in the monk's gown." 
 
 The Cardinal's personal care of his royal niece 
 began about the year 1552, when she was ten and 
 he was twenty-seven. He acted on state occasions 
 as her " gouvernante," chaperoning her at enter- 
 tainments given by the citizens of Paris to the royal 
 
 ' Rene de Bouille, vol. ii. p. 505. Besme perished miserably in 
 
 1575- 
 
 " Vol. iv. p. 309. 
 
The Cardinal of Lorraine 
 
 family.* Many eyes must have watched wi 
 pleasure as the child Queen, in her dress of stiff si 
 encrusted with jewels, and with a mask half concealii 
 her fair features, walked by the side of the tall Churc 
 man in his scarlet robes. 
 
 ' Rene de Bouill6, vol. i. p. 206. 
 
 90 
 

 ■'•■ .:i 
 
 
 . Ildiii c)(iiart . aijcd nine 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 THE EDUCATION OF MARY AND FRANCIS 
 
 Training of the Queen of Scots — Her love of music — Her skill in dancing 
 and in needlework — Her Latin themes — Her Latin address before 
 the Court — ReUgious instruction — Occultism at Court — Mary's 
 generosity — Early portraits of the royal children — Letter of the 
 Cardinal of Lorraine to his sister — His plans for Mary's household- 
 War with Charles v. — The siege of Metz — The spread of heresy 
 — The Queen in 1553 — Her health and the Dauphin's — Mary 
 becomes mistress of her own establishment at the age of twelve — 
 Mary of Lorraine regent of Scotland — Letters of 1 5 54. 
 
 The Queen of Scots was carefully trained in the 
 courtly accomplishments of the time. The love of 
 music was a taste which she shared with all the 
 members of her mother's family, and especially with 
 her grandfather, Duke Claude, and her uncle Francis. 
 The Cardinal's voice was often raised in the psalms 
 and anthems of Rheims Cathedral. When the Guise 
 brothers were exiled from Court, they divided the 
 days at their country houses between hunting and 
 music. Brantome tells us that Mary " sang very 
 well, attuning her voice to the lute, which she played 
 very prettily with that fair white hand of hers, and 
 those well-shaped fingers, which were lovely as the 
 fingers of Aurora." 
 
 Conaeus says that " in the excellence of her singing, 
 she profited greatly by a certain natural — not acquired 
 — modulation of her voice. She played well on the 
 cittern, the harp and the harpsichord as they call it. 
 
 91 
 
The Education of Mary and Francis 
 She danced excellently to music on account of her 
 wonderful agility of body, but yet gracefully and 
 becomingly, for by quiet and gentle motion of 
 her limbs she could express any harmony of the 
 strings." 
 
 According to Conaeus, Mary " devoted great 
 attention to acquiring some of the best languages of 
 Europe, and such was the sweetness of her French 
 that she was considered eloquent in it, in the judg- 
 ment of the most learned. Nor did she neglect 
 Spanish or Itahan, which she employed more for use 
 than for show or lively talk. She understood Latin 
 better than she could speak it." ^ 
 \ In needlework also Mary was taught with so much 
 care and skill that the exercise of this womanly art 
 became to her no mere task, but a pleasure and re- 
 creation for the rest of her life. Gloomy prison hom-s 
 in England were shortened by the pastime of em- 
 broidery, and she must often have thought lovingly 
 of the early instructors who foresaw that she might 
 one day require a diversion from literary and 
 political occupations. Sir Walter Scott, in The Abbot, 
 pictures her as working with her ladies at " those 
 pieces of needlework, many of which still remain 
 proofs of her indefatigable application." At the age 
 of eleven she had learned the art of knitting, and 
 wool for this purpose is entered among her ex- 
 penses.^ 
 
 In her twelfth and thirteenth years Mary wrote 
 the sixty-four short Latin themes which are preserved 
 in a morocco-bound exercise-book in the National 
 
 ' See Dr. Hay Fleming's Mary Queen of Scots, notes on chap. ii. 
 pp. 202, 203. 
 
 ^ A. de Ruble, La Premiire Jcunesse, p. 40. 
 
Mary's Latin Themes 
 
 Library in Paris/ The original French themes, set 
 by M. de Saint-Estienne or some other tutor of the 
 princesses, have been inserted, with a few omissions, 
 on the left-hand page. The French is much less 
 legible to a modern reader than the Latin on the 
 right-hand page, and it may be remarked, as a general 
 rule, that the best sixteenth-century handwriting is 
 that of the children. There are eighty-six pages in 
 the volume. The greater number of the exercises 
 are addressed in the form of letters to Mary's closest 
 companion, the Princess Elizabeth, with whose 
 name that of the Princess Claude is more than once 
 joined. Two letters are for the Cardinal of Lorraine 
 and two for the Dauphin.^ No. 24, which was meant 
 for the Cardinal's eye, begins with the sentence : 
 " Many people in these days, my uncle, fall into 
 errors in the Holy Scriptures, because they do not 
 read them with a pure and clean heart." 
 
 In this letter we may suppose that the little 
 Queen had been trying to write with special care, and 
 the result is that the corrections and small slips are 
 more numerous than usual. 
 
 The Dauphin's dislike for lessons was well known, 
 and his preceptors may have sought to encourage 
 him to work by a letter from Mary, in which the 
 words occur : " Love learning, most illustrious prince." ^ 
 
 1 This small red volume belongs to " la reserve " of the MSS depart- 
 ment. Attention was first called to it by M. Ludovic Lalanne, the 
 learned editor of Brantome. It was printed, with an interesting 
 introduction, by M. Anatole de Montaiglon, for the Warton Club in 
 1855. These short Latin exercises, in the Uttle girl's handwriting, are 
 the most precious reUc of the Queen's childhood. 
 
 '^ M. de Montaiglon, and Father Stevenson, following him, are mis- 
 taken in saying that Nos. 23 and 24, which have the heading " M. Sc. R. 
 Avunculo a Lotharingia S.P.D.," are intended for the Duke of Guise. 
 
 ' " Ama igitur literas, princeps illustrissime." 
 
 93 
 
The Education of Mary and Francis 
 The Queen signs her name to the first exercise in 
 capital letters and in a single line — 
 
 MARIA SCOTORUM REGINA. 
 
 The corrections are comparatively few ; the words 
 in some places have a tendency to run into each 
 other. The paper is not ruled, though faint lines 
 may possibly have been drawn and wiped out. There 
 is no trace of this, but the lines are very regular. 
 The headings are extremely interesting. The words, 
 " Ma soeur, ma mignonne," are translated " Soror 
 integerrima." Did the Queen, we wonder, invent 
 for herself such inscriptions as " Suavissimae sorori " ? 
 She seldom inserts the names of places, though oc- 
 casionally the date. 
 
 Some of these childish exercises have a gleam of 
 human interest, notwithstanding the schoolroom stiff- 
 ness of expression. " I am going to the park to rest 
 my mind a little." " The King has given me leave 
 to take a deer in the park with Madame de Castres, 
 so I have no time to write you a longer letter." " The 
 Queen has forbidden me to go to see you, my sister, 
 because she thinks you have measles, for which I am 
 very sorry." The delicacy of Elizabeth is hinted at 
 in several of the letters. The only trouble of her 
 own that Mary mentions is toothache. 
 
 The names of Plato, Plutarch, and Cicero are 
 frequently quoted. The references to Erasmus prove 
 that the Colloquia must have been well known to the 
 princesses. Fifteen letters are filled with the names 
 of learned women and girls. One very unexpected 
 personage, John Calvin, is found among the corre- 
 spondents. The eighteenth theme is addressed to the 
 Reformer, and it has been conjectured that as an 
 
 94 
 
Mary's Letter to Calvin 
 
 edition of the Institutes was published in Paris in 
 1553 by Robert Etienne, Calvin's writings may have 
 been often mentioned at Court, and even in the 
 children's hearing. There is no reason to suppose 
 that the letter was forwarded. Calvin is informed 
 that Socrates, Plato, and other heathen philosophers 
 had knowledge of purgatory, which he denied, miser- 
 ably and to his own hurt, though living under the 
 law of grace. " May Christ, the Son of God, recall 
 thee, Calvin ! ' ' One can hardly read these words, 
 traced by the young girl's hand, " Christus filius 
 Dei te avocet, Calvine," ^ without remembering what 
 Calvin wrote on hearing of the death of Mary's 
 husband, Francis : " He who had pierced the father's 
 eye struck the ear of the son." 
 
 These exercises may have been intended, M. de 
 Montaiglon thinks, as a preparatory coaching for 
 the Latin speech which Mary delivered, early in 1555, 
 before the King, the Queen, and all the Court, in 
 the great hall of the Louvre.^ Her themes are 
 much occupied with the achievements of learned 
 ladies, and in the oration she argued, in opposition 
 to a widespread opinion of the day, that a knowledge 
 of letters and the liberal arts was suitable and becoming 
 for women. 
 
 " Only think," writes Brantome, " what a rare 
 and wonderful thing it was to see that learned and 
 beautiful Queen declaiming thus in Latin, which she 
 
 1 The letter ends : " Christus filius Dei te avocet, Calvine, interim 
 cura ut recte et pie sapias." The words from " interim " are not in 
 the French. 
 
 2 The Cardinal of Lorraine, in his letter to his sister of Feb. 25, 1553, 
 mentions another speech which his niece, then aged ten, had made 
 before the King: " Ce porteur vous dira la harangue que la Royne 
 vostre fille fist au Roy " (Labanofi, Recueil, vol. i. p. 16). 
 
 95 
 
The Education of Mary and Francis 
 
 understood and spoke very well ; for I have seen 
 her do it. . . . It was a pleasure to watch her talking, 
 whether to the greatest or to the humblest ; and 
 all the time she was in France, she set apart two 
 hours a day regularly for study and reading : there 
 was hardly any branch of human knowledge, indeed, 
 of which she could not talk well. Above all, she 
 loved poetry and poets, but especially M. de Ronsard, 
 M. du Bellay, and M. de Maison Fleur, who wrote 
 charming poems and elegies for her, including those 
 on her departure from France, which I have often 
 seen her reading to herself in France and in Scotland, 
 with tears in her eyes and sighs in her heart." ^ 
 
 Brantome notes that the Scottish tongue, which 
 in itself " is very rude and barbaric," was spoken 
 with such charm by the Queen, and the words so 
 prettily pronounced, that in her it seemed beautiful 
 and pleasant, but not in others. He admired the 
 grace with which she wore the Highland costume — 
 " the barbaric fashion of the savages of her country." 
 " Her mortal form, in this rude and coarse dress, 
 appeared like that of a very goddess." We can 
 imagine indeed that in the tartan Mary, as she grew 
 towards womanhood, may have looked like a youthful 
 image of Diana the Huntress. The King and Queen 
 thought this dress more becoming to her than any 
 of her rich robes of state. 
 
 Religious teaching, as we may gather from the 
 Latin themes, was never neglected in the royal 
 nursery. On September 14 (1554), Mary reminds 
 her correspondent that " this is the festival of the 
 Holy Cross, on which for our salvation hung Jesus 
 
 ' Vol. \ii. [i. 406. Joachim du Bellay died at the beginning of 
 1560. 
 
 96 
 
Religious Instruction 
 
 Christ, the eternal Son of the eternal Father." 
 Mary of Lorraine had stipulated that her daughter 
 should be present every day at Mass. Baron de 
 Ruble mentions that during the long sojourn of the 
 children at Blois in 1551 Mary was taken to three 
 different churches, and that her chaplain, Guillaume 
 de Laon, carried the Queen's sacred vessels with him 
 from one to the other. 
 
 It has been assumed too hastily that with the 
 Cardinal of Lorraine religious instruction was pure 
 formaUsm. The student of this great Churchman's 
 career must often be tempted to think of him as 
 a sixteenth-century Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, or to 
 discern his inner being as " a mere polity of multi- 
 farious, incongruous, and independent denizens." 
 But there is a curious sentence introduced, all un- 
 consciously, by Brantome, in his biography of 
 Charles ix., which proves that the Cardinal, who 
 knew his Bible from the days when he studied under 
 Jean Hennuyer, sought to give his royal pupils some 
 glimpses of its deeper meaning. Brantome says 
 that M. Amyot, the preceptor of Charles ix., was 
 accustomed, after the King had kissed the Gospel, 
 according to royal custom, during the Mass, to take 
 the book, sit down beside the boy King, and read the 
 sacred words to him with explanatory remarks. 
 " It was the Cardinal of Lorraine," says Brantome, 
 " who began this practice with the late King Francis. 
 I have seen him do it, and several others with me." ^ 
 
 Superstition lived in the Court of Henry 11. side 
 by side with devout religious observance. The 
 horoscopes of the royal children were taken by 
 Nostradamus, the most famous soothsayer of the 
 
 1 Vol. V. p. 284. 
 G 97 
 
The Education of Mary and Francis 
 
 period. He prophesied that the infant Prince Loui 
 who died at the age of two, should enjoy a long an 
 prosperous career. When the future Charles ix. wj 
 born, Nostradamus announced that he would be 
 great, valiant, and fortunate ruler, whose glory woul 
 equal that of Charlemagne.^ 
 
 Henry ii. was less addicted to occult studies tha 
 his wife Catherine. Sir James Melville relates 
 curious instance of attempted necromancy at th 
 French Court. His patron, Bishop Montluc, wishe 
 to be initiated into the " art of matematique," an 
 sought out an expert named Cavatius, who informe 
 him, after frequent conference, that two familia 
 spirits were in Paris, waiting upon an old shepher 
 who in his youth had served a priest, by whom th 
 spirits were bequeathed to him. The Bishop pre 
 posed to bring Cavatius to Henry ii., and the sag 
 offered to lose his head if he failed to show the tw 
 spirits to his Majesty, or to any that he would send, ii 
 the form of men, dogs, or cats. " Bot the King cause* 
 burn the schephird," writes Melville, " and imprisoni 
 the said Cavatius and wald not see the saidis spritis.' 
 Another occult scholar mentioned by Melville ^^■as ; 
 palmist, who announced that he would die before th 
 age of twenty-eight. He went to Lausanne and died 
 as he had prophesied. 
 
 Generosity was one of Queen Mary's most endearinj 
 qualities. As a child she begged her mother that thi 
 wages of her servants might be raised." Sir Jame 
 Melville says, writing of the Queen in 1564, " Schi 
 was naturally liberall, mair than sche had moyen." 
 
 ' Dumas says, in L'Horoscope, that there were 30,000 " sorciers ' 
 in Paris in 1559. 
 
 " Labanoff, Rccucil, vol. i, p. 7. * Memoirs, p. 1 1 1. 
 
 9S 
 
Lost Portraits of Mary- 
 Many at the French Court could have endorsed 
 Melville's testimony, " Sche was sa effable, sa gratious 
 and discret that she wan gret estymation, and the 
 hartis of many, baith in England and Scotland, and 
 myn amang the rest, sa that I thocht her mair worthy 
 to be servit for little proffet then any uther prence in 
 Europe for gret commodite." 
 
 Many portraits, which have long perished, must 
 have been made of the child Queen. Catherine de' 
 Medici wrote to Madame d'Humieres that she wished 
 to have her children painted,^ " both boys and girls, 
 with the Queen of Scotland, just as they are, not 
 forgetting any feature of their faces. Crayon portraits 
 will do, as I want them quickly made. Send them 
 to me as soon as you can." 
 
 Catherine again wrote : ^ " Madame d'Humieres, 
 from your letter of the 13th of this month I learn how 
 busy the painter is in making the portraits of my 
 daughter, the Queen of Scotland, and my sons and 
 daughters." She asked that the pictures should be 
 sent as soon as possible to Chalons. Germain le 
 Monnier was the painter appointed by Henry 11. in 
 1547 ^^^ 'the royal nursery, and Catherine had probably 
 her favourite Italian artists. She complained, how- 
 ever, that the children's features were not caught, 
 especially in profile,* and wished for full-face like- 
 nesses. 
 
 Catherine's letters, at this period, were chiefly 
 
 * Lettres de Catherine de Midicis, vol. i. p. i8. The letter is dated 
 June I, 1552. 
 
 ^ Letter of June i8, 1552. 
 
 ' M. de Ruble mentions the surprising fact that Catherine seems 
 to have employed no painter of European celebrity. The names given 
 in her accounts are those of Saget, Tibergeau, Scipion, Portat, and 
 Lucas, who were unknown men (jLa Premiire Jeunesse, pp. 80, 81). 
 
 99 
 
The Education of Mary and Francis 
 
 occupied with the dress, the state of health, the 
 changes of residence, of her children. In May 1552 
 they were taken to Amboise, as plague had broken 
 out in the neighbourhood of Blois, and the Queen 
 exchanged letters with Madame d'Humiferes on the 
 sanative qualities of Amboise air. Hardly three 
 months passed without one or another of the nurslings 
 being in bed from illness. The Queen, Diane de 
 Poitiers, and Madame d'Humiferes were occupied in 
 finding a wet-nurse for the future Charles ix. The 
 Princess Claude was worried with a cough, and Diane 
 wrote to the mistress of the children's household : 
 " I will trust in your opinion rather than in that of the 
 doctors, especially in view of the many children you 
 have had." ^ At other times complaint is made that 
 Madame d'Humiferes did not immediately obey the 
 Queen's instructions. Henry ll. and Catherine de' 
 Medici kept vigilant watch over the material welfare 
 of all their little ones, including their daughter of 
 Scotland. 
 
 The fullest information with regard to Mary's 
 life at the French Court is supplied in letters written 
 by the Cardinal of Lorraine to his sister, the Queen 
 Dowager. In the first, dated from Saint-Germain 
 on February 25, 1552-53, the Cardinal says he had 
 gone with the King to Amboise, as his Majesty wished 
 to see the Dauphin, his other children, and the Queen 
 of Scotland.^ 
 
 " The Lady, your daughter, has so grown and is 
 growing every day in stature, goodness, beauty, 
 
 1 G. Guiffrey, Lettres de Dianne de Poyiicrs, p. S3. Letter of May 11, 
 1551. Madame d'HumiSres had eighteen children, 
 a Labanoff, Reoueil, vol. i. pp. 9, 10. 
 
The Cardinal's Letters 
 
 wisdom, and virtues that she is as perfect and accom- 
 phshed in all things honest and virtuous as it is pos- 
 sible for her to be. There is no one like her to be found 
 in this kingdom, either among noble ladies or others, 
 whether of low degree or middle station. I must tell 
 you, Madame, that the King has taken such a liking 
 for her that he amuses himself in chatting with her 
 for an hour at a time, and she is as well able to enter- 
 tain him with good and sensible talk as if she were a 
 woman of five-and- twenty." 
 
 The Cardinal goes on to mention that the King has 
 given the Dauphin a separate establishment, with 
 M. d'Urfe as his Governor. 
 
 " The Queen," he says, " is taking her two 
 daughters with her, and is not giving them a separate 
 household. She has decided that they shall sleep in 
 her dressing-room, or in another room as near as 
 possible to her own. They are to have no one with 
 them except Madame d'Humieres and their waiting- 
 women. The said Lady [Catherine de' Medici] 
 declares that while she lives, and until her daughters 
 are married, no one shall have control over them 
 except herself. For that reason she prefers that they 
 shall have no separate establishment, and that their 
 ladies shall be those who attend on her. This (as she 
 believes) is the best way to keep them in fear and 
 obedience, for she says that when separate households 
 were formerly given to the daughters of France, the 
 reason was that they had lost their mothers. I agree 
 with her on this point, and I think, Madame, that you 
 should imitate her example, and allow no one except 
 yourself, or those to whom you delegate your authority, 
 to have control over your daughter. Keep a tight 
 hand, I entreat you, in this matter, and so you will 
 always have more power over her. Knowing her 
 virtues as I do, however, I can assure you that she 
 will always yield you the fullest obedience.^ 
 
 1 Labanoff, Recueil, vol. i. pp. lO, ii. 
 
 lOI 
 
The Education of Mary and Francis 
 
 "She is coming hither [to Saint-Germain] with the 
 Princes and Princesses, and is bringing her train 
 with all her wonted retinue. You must now consider 
 what state you would like her to hold. In order to 
 give you some guidance and suggestion, I have had 
 a list drawn up of all the people who are with her, and 
 of the increase that seems necessary, and of her 
 probable yearly expenditure. I send you this list, 
 and in each article of it I have noted with my hand 
 what, in my opinion, ought to be done in this matter. 
 Will you come to a decision on these points, and let 
 me know your good pleasure, so that it may be fol- 
 lowed, and your commands obeyed. I think that 
 in the list as it stands there is nothing either super- 
 fluous or mean ; (meanness is the thing she hates most 
 in this world). Her spirit, I assure you, Madame, is 
 already so high and noble that she lets her annoy- 
 ance be very plainly seen because she is thus un- 
 worthily treated. She wants to be out of tutelage and 
 to exercise her independent authority. If you think, 
 Madame, that the scheme I have drawn up is not on 
 a scale sufficiently liberal for her rank and quality, 
 you can enlarge and increase it according to your 
 discretion. You must, at the same time, give 
 instructions with regard to the expenditure, and see 
 how the money is to be provided, so that there should 
 be no arrears. You must not expect or hope for any 
 help from this side, because the King says that the 
 revenue of the realm is very small, and so he cannot 
 support her. And if in future the King grants a 
 subsidy for the fortifications in Scotland, he will haA-e 
 to make corresponding deductions from her expenses 
 here in France." 
 
 The amount proposed in the budget revised by 
 the Queen's uncle was 50,000 to 60,000 francs. 
 
 The Cardinal, who was a connoisseur in precious 
 stones, must have had a casket containing some of 
 his sister's jewellery in keeping, for he suggests that 
 
Keeping Political Secrets 
 
 he should lend some of the Queen Dowager's orna- 
 ments to his niece for state toilets. " If you will 
 also grant her some of those you have, as you were 
 good enough to promise us, we shall be able to make 
 her look very pretty when need arises." 
 
 In an autograph postscript he says it will be a 
 joy to him to serve both mother and daughter. 
 " I shall always attend to your instructions and see 
 them carried out, and I hope to manage so well that 
 you will be satisfied. Only I do want you to feel 
 assured, Madame, that you have the best of daughters 
 and that her upbringing is in all respects excellent." 
 
 From her nursery days Queen Mary learned how 
 to keep political secrets, and a reference in one of 
 her letters shows that her mother had praised her 
 caution.^ " I can assure you, Madame," writes the 
 child, " that nothing which comes from you shall be 
 known through me." To her uncles she showed, in 
 confidence, the letters she received and sent.^ The 
 years following the Queen Dowager's departure were 
 so full of stirring events for France that the youngest 
 child in the royal household must have heard echoes 
 of battles and sieges. The Peace of Boulogne was a 
 preliminary to long warfare between Henry ii. and 
 the house of Austria. England was conciliated in 
 order that France might be free to attack the 
 Emperor Charles v. Negotiations were opened with 
 the Lutheran princes of Germany, who sent an embassy 
 to Henry, asking aid against the Emperor, as he 
 wished to enslave the German people for ever. At 
 Chambord (January 15, 1552) the King signed a 
 treaty with the Confederate princes, agreeing to help 
 them with money, while they permitted him to seize 
 
 ' Labanoff, Recueil, vol. i. pp. 5,6. '^ Ibid. pp. 6, 7. 
 
 103 
 
The Education of Mary and Francis 
 
 the " three bishoprics " of Metz, Toul, and Verdun. 
 War broke out in the spring, and on April lo the 
 French entered Toul, while the Constable took pos- 
 session of Metz. Henry ii. pushed on to Nancy, where 
 he proclaimed himself the protector of the young 
 Duke of Lorraine. It is a proof of the influence of 
 the Guises that Henry did not dare, at this time, 
 to annex Lorraine to the crown of France. He sent 
 the boy Duke to Courtj and installed the Comte de 
 Vaudemont as Regent of the Duchy. 
 
 During the summer Charles v. prepared a powerful 
 force, including bands of veterans from Italy, his 
 immediate object being to dispute with France the 
 possession of Metz. In August Francis of Guise 
 arrived in the city and began to organise the defence. 
 The great opportunity of his life had come, and he 
 used it with consummate wisdom. The flower of 
 the French nobility, not yet broken by the cruel 
 religious divisions, rallied to his support. Coligny 
 wrote to him (October 15) : "I could wish nothing 
 better than to be near, if the Emperor comes to 
 besiege you. For though you have many honest 
 fellows with you, yet would I boast that my men 
 would be none the worse for having me with them." 
 Among the volunteers at Metz were three princes 
 of the blood royal. The proudest gentlemen worked 
 under the Duke's orders as willingly as the privates. 
 " Tell the Constable," wrote Guise to the Cardinal, 
 " that his children are well, and that Damville knows 
 how to carry the hod better than he knows how to 
 write." 
 
 Solicitude for the safety of the Duke and his gallant 
 comrades is apparent in the letters of the autumn. 
 " You have a brother who cannot be at rest till he 
 
 104 
 
The Duke of Guise at Metz 
 
 sees a happy issue," wrote the Cardinal. " I have 
 felt more anxiety this time than ever I did before. 
 I hope that God will soon lift the burden from me 
 and save you from all danger. . . . Your little son 
 is well and prays to God for you." ^ 
 
 The pinch of .famine was not seriously felt in 
 Metz, though in December fresh meat was becoming 
 scarce. The Duke had made his preparations early 
 and thoroughly. Shortly before the end of the 
 siege he was able to announce that the salt meat 
 would last till Lent, and that afterwards there would 
 be bread and wine enough till Whitsuntide. On 
 December 26 the besieging army began its retreat, 
 and the Emperor withdrew on January i, 1553. 
 
 The Duke of Guise had shown during the siege the 
 qualities of a strategist and a born leader of gentlemen. 
 The humanity with which he treated the sick and 
 starving derelicts of the opposing army was the 
 theme of universal praise. It is impossible to read 
 the contemporary descriptions of the siege without 
 feehng that he was one of the greatest soldiers who 
 ever served France. It was true of the Guises as of 
 Wallenstein that the night brought out their star. 
 The Duke and the Cardinal had given of their private 
 fortune freely for the victualling of the army. The 
 Duke seems to have known by instinct the rules of 
 modern warfare. It was an age of pillage, but he 
 insisted that the peasants should be paid a fair price 
 for the food they brought. Though a biographer 
 tells us that it was his custom in time of peace to 
 sleep long and deeply, he grudged himself every hour 
 of rest during the siege, laboured side by side with 
 the humblest soldiers, and cheered the weary men 
 
 ' Mimoires-J ournaux du Due de Guise, p. 138. 
 los 
 
The Education of Mary and Francis 
 with words of courage. His dinner was often taken 
 to him on the ramparts, as he would not waste time 
 in going to and from his house. " The Cardinal," 
 writes M. Forneron, who in common with most 
 historians, takes an unfavourable view of the prelate's 
 character, " shared the passion of his brother with 
 all the ardour of his heady temperament." His one 
 thought was how he could help the Duke and save 
 Metz. " He was busy every moment in suggesting 
 ideas to the King, in proposing a sudden attack on the 
 assailants, and (a remarkable precaution which reveals 
 the party leader hidden under the courtier's robe) in 
 recommending to the King the gentlemen whom his 
 brother had mentioned for distinguished service in 
 the sorties ; in naming the wounded and asking that 
 his own partisans might obtain the offices once held 
 by the dead." 
 
 Sir Wilham Pickering mentioned that on Wednes- 
 day, the 8th of February, " M. de Guise, accompanied 
 by the princes and gentlemen who had been at Metz, 
 came to the Court, where there was such joy and 
 feasting for the two days following as for that time 
 almost nothing else was minded." ^ 
 
 Mary of Guise wrote, on February 20, to the Duke ^ 
 that he had great cause to thank God and to acknow- 
 ledge His grace. " I am sure you have not forgotten 
 Him. I wish I could have taken a leap, so as to have 
 my share in the happiness which your return has 
 brought." 
 
 Henry 11. greeted the brave Balafre with the 
 words, " You have conquered me as well as the 
 Emperor by the obligation under which you have 
 
 ' Foreign Calendar, " Edward VI.," p. 245. 
 ^ MSmoires-Journaux du Due de Guise, p. 16;;. 
 
 106 
 
The Cardinal Louis of Guise 
 
 laid me." Guise received the thanks of the Parle- 
 ment of Paris, and public rejoicings were held in 
 many parts of the kingdom. He had rolled back 
 the tide of war from the frontiers, for the campaigns 
 of the next two years were languidly conducted on 
 both sides. ^ 
 
 The happiness of the Guises was enhanced by 
 the promotion of the fourth of the brothers, Louis, 
 to the rank of Cardinal. In a letter to the Duke, 
 Louis told how the King himself had changed his 
 black biretta for a red one. 
 
 There is not a word of religious feeling in the 
 letter in which the youthful Cardinal of Guise in- 
 formed the head of the family of his new honours. 
 He was destined to outlive all his brothers, and 
 Brantome says that his powers developed late. He 
 does not appear to have exercised any influence, for 
 good or for evil, on the early life of the Scottish 
 Queen. 
 
 The Reformed religion was spreading at the French 
 Court about the time of the siege of Metz. The 
 Duke of Guise had made a bonfire of all the heretical 
 books he could find in that city, though he did not 
 ask for the names of heretics. While eager to sup- 
 press the new faith, Henry ii. was in a difficult position, 
 and the diplomatic correspondence of the time reflects 
 his embarrassments. He had allied himself with the 
 Protestants of Germany and with Edward vi., while 
 at home he was the persecutor of the Huguenots. 
 Sir William Pickering wrote (February 1553) that 
 men of learning and reputation came to him almost 
 
 ^ The outstanding incidents were the sack of Therouanne and 
 Hesdin by the Imperial troops and the victory of the French at Renty 
 in August 1554. 
 
 107 
 
The Education of Mary and Francis 
 
 daily, who were " great and earnest favourers of God's 
 Word." He knew at least fifteen who would in a 
 few days be in England for fear of the faggot. Sir 
 William also reported that certain ladies of the Court 
 had of late kept a communion among themselves, 
 " but not so secretly that the thing was not discovered, 
 wherewith the King is much offended." The Marshal 
 Saint-Andre's wife was the leader of this little band 
 of devout ladies. " These matters," said Pickering, 
 " are marvellously sown abroad throughout all this 
 country." ^ The Constable Montmorency had a 
 troublesome part to play between his narrow-minded 
 and bigoted sovereign and his friends across the 
 Channel. Pickering complained to him that a 
 Jacobin friar had denounced the King of England in 
 a sermon as a heretic, and as likely to prove false 
 to the French King as he had been false to his God. 
 He further said that by his heresy and infidelity 
 Edward had lost the power of working such miracles 
 as the cure of the falling sickness. The Constable 
 promised that the friar should be severely and 
 promptly punished, but after a few weeks Pickering 
 found that he was still preaching. He again remon- 
 strated with the Constable, but was put off on the 
 plea of lack of evidence against " a sober man and one 
 of the most virtuous preachers in France." " 
 
 The Queen of Scots was kept out of the way of 
 heretical teaching, and her devoutness in religion is 
 mentioned with commendation by the Cardinal. 
 Pickering saw her during the festixal of St. George 
 at Poissy in 1553, when she attended the service of the 
 Order of the Garter along with the other royal children. 
 On St. Mark's Day, the Constable presented the 
 
 ' Foreign Calendar, " Edward VI." p. 250. = Ibid. pp. 23S, 258. 
 
 108 
 
The Health of Mary 
 
 English Ambassador to the Dauphin, who is de- 
 scribed as "of handsome stature and better liking 
 than his late sickness doth well suffer him to be." 
 The Dauphin's name is hardly ever mentioned in 
 these years without some reference to his ill-health, 
 but Mary suffered only from occasional attacks of 
 faintness brought on by too hearty eating. The 
 Cardinal, in reporting this to her mother, promised 
 to look more carefully to her dietary.^ A record of 
 August 1556 ^ informs us that he was called one 
 night to go to his niece, who was suffering from 
 indigestion, caused by eating too much melon. No 
 care was too trifling for the Primate of France to 
 undertake on the child's behalf. Every month it 
 was his custom to go through her establishment, 
 " so as to find out in detail all that is going on." 
 We can picture the statesman peeping into drawers 
 and cupboards, lecturing the servants on their duties 
 and warning them that no stranger must enter the 
 household. 
 
 At the beginning of 1554 Queen Mary became 
 mistress of her own establishment, and entertained 
 the Cardinal to supper as her first guest. ^ On 
 April 12 of the same year Mary of Lorraine was 
 proclaimed Regent of Scotland in place of Chatel- 
 herault. In John Knox's opinion, she was very ill 
 fitted for such a position. To put a crown on her 
 head was, in the Reformer's language, as seemly a 
 sight (if men had eyes) as to put a saddle on the 
 back of an unruly cow. Knox considered that Arran 
 had been deposed " justly by God but most unjustly 
 
 ' Labanofi, Reciteil, vol. i. p. 21. 
 
 ' Quoted by Rene de Bouille, Les Dues de Guise, vol. i. p. 206. 
 
 5 Labanofi, vol. i. p. 18. / 
 
 109 
 
The Education of Mary and Francis 
 by men.^ " And so began she," writes Knox, " to 
 practise practise upon practise, how France mycht be 
 advanced, hir freindis maid riche and sche brought 
 to immortall glorie ; for that was hir commoun talk, 
 ' So that I may procure the wealth and honour of my 
 freindis and a good fame unto myself I regard nott 
 what God do after with me.' And in verray deid in 
 deap dissimulatioun, to bring her awin purpose to 
 effect, sche passed the commoun sorte of wemen, 
 as we will after heare. Butt yit God, to whose 
 Evangell she declared hir self ennemye, in the end 
 frustrat hir of all hir devises." ^ 
 
 In these sentences Knox indicates but too truly 
 the fatal blot on the Regent's administration, her 
 attempt to govern Scotland by Frenchmen. Her 
 chief adviser was M. d'Oysel, whom Pitscottie de- 
 scribes as " a man of singular good judgment, great 
 experience, especially in warfare." M. d'Oysel pos- 
 sessed the Regent's full confidence, and may have 
 suggested most of the other French appointments, 
 which excited the jealous rage of the Scottish 
 nobles. 
 
 We may introduce at this point a few extracts 
 from letters written by the Cardinal Charles and the 
 Duke Francis in 1554. Writing on February 20 
 (1553 - 54) from Fontainebleau, the Cardinal in- 
 formed his sister that Mary had been suffering during 
 the last few days from toothache, which had caused 
 her cheek to swell slightly.^ " On this account she was 
 obliged to stay behind us three or four days in Paris, 
 until the pain was over. She is coming here to-day, 
 
 ' Laing's Knox, vol. i. p. 242. 
 
 = Ibid. 
 
 ' Balcancs Papers, vol. ii. No. 143. 
 
 110 
 
The Regent of Scotland 
 
 and her health, thank God, is as good as ever it was.^ 
 For the rest, Madame, she is increasing so much 
 every day in goodness and beauty that I could not tell 
 you how much satisfaction she gives to every one." 
 
 The Duke of Guise in a letter dated from Paris on 
 April 17, expressed satisfaction that the Scottish 
 nobility were willing to serve the King (Henry 11.) 
 and his niece. He added : "I am sure that for 
 this she feels herself not a little bound and obliged 
 to you. And although her age does not permit of her 
 understanding great matters for the present, still she 
 knows even now that she owes these good things to 
 you alone." ^ 
 
 The Duke's next letter, written on May 28, was dic- 
 tated from a sick-bed, and its chief purpose was to in- 
 form his sister of the approaching departure of the army. 
 " We are actually beginning to-day to say good-bye 
 to the ladies, hoping that we shall not return from this 
 journey without changing the plans of our enemy." 
 
 Francis congratulated his sister on her accession 
 to the Regency of Scotland. " . . .1 know you are a 
 lady fit to govern the kingdom and to give order to 
 aU things not only in peace but in war, and to make 
 provision for them as you have well and wisely done 
 in the past." * After further compliments and the 
 assurance that he knew his sister could carry on war as 
 well as he could himself, the Duke informed her that 
 her daughter was growing every day in beauty and 
 goodness, " so that we all feel that she does us honour." 
 " I will say nothing about the great satisfaction which 
 
 ^ The consideration shown by the Cardinal for his sister's feelings 
 is very noticeable in all his references to her daughter's health. He 
 never, if possible, informs her of even the smallest trouble until he 
 is able to add that the trouble is over. 
 
 ' Balcarres Papers, vol. ii. No. 95. ' Ihid. No. 96. 
 
 Ill 
 
The Education of Mary and Francis 
 
 the King finds in her, and in what you have done 
 for the said Queen, your daughter. I leave the 
 King himself to write to you about this, and my 
 brother the Cardinal is writing to you also." 
 
 After the battle of Renty, Francis wrote (August 19, 
 1554), praising the courage shown by his younger 
 brothers, the Duke of Aumale, the Marquis of Elboeuf, 
 and the Grand Prior, " who fought so well and so 
 bravely in the contest as to give proof that they came 
 of good stock. Many captains and gentlemen who 
 saw them can confirm my testimony." ^ 
 
 Had the Duke, we cannot help wondering, heard the 
 camp rumours as to the shelter sought by the Cardinal 
 Charles amongst the mules, and of his readiness to 
 " fight with spurs " if the French troops were routed ? 
 He is silent, not only on this story, but on the supposed 
 valour of the Cardinal Louis, on the bloody day of 
 Renty. Possibly the explanation may be that while 
 he gloried in the prowess of the Grand Prior, he thought 
 that Cardinals were better occupied with their breviaries 
 than in following the troops. 
 
 ' Balcarres Papers, vol. ii. No. 97. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 THE DAWN OF WOMANHOOD 
 
 Open-air amusements of the Court in Mary's girlhood — Tournaments 
 and hunting — Mary at Meudon — Her first Communion^Baptism 
 of her cousin Charles — Training of the Duke of Guise's children — 
 The daily life at Court — A Venetian's praise of Mary — Madame 
 de Paroy, the Queen's governess — Quarrels with her pupil — 
 Relations of Mary with Diane de Poitiers — Serious illness of the 
 Scottish Queen — Letters of the Cardinal and Mary of Lorraine — 
 Pohtical events between 1554 and 1558. 
 
 As in all transition reigns, the imitative spirit governed 
 the Court of Henry 11. Men's thoughts were stirred 
 by classical legends and mediaeval romance. The 
 sermons, speeches, memoirs, and poetry of the age are 
 as full of classical allusions as the exercises of the 
 children. Some doctors of the Sorbonne, such as 
 Claude Despence, who could, when he chose, write a 
 plain prose style, lie overthrown in the heavy armour 
 of their memorial oratory. Frenchmen of the sixteenth 
 century tried to imitate the paladins of the Amadis 
 de Gaul. 
 
 "AH that the old Dukes had been, without knowing it. 
 This Duke would fain know he was, without being it ; 
 'Twas not for the joy's self, but the joy of his showing it, 
 Not for the pride's self, but the pride of our seeing it. 
 He revived all usages thoroughly worn-out, 
 The souls of them fumed forth, the hearts of them torn out ; 
 And chief in the chase his neck he perilled." 
 
 H 113 
 
The Dawn of Womanhood 
 
 The manners of the time, though superficial! 
 pohshed, retained something of the rudeness of earUe 
 European courts. The captains of Henry ii. ate an 
 drank hugely, and delighted in rough horse-pla] 
 In their dealings with women, if Brantome may I 
 trusted, they had lost the reverence of more Christia 
 centuries. In the two great pleasures and occupatior 
 of peace they resembled their ancestors. The tourni 
 ment, which in the days of Francis i. was the amus( 
 ment of private gentlemen, became under Henry i 
 the royal sport, in which the King challenged all riva 
 and risked his life on every chance occasion. 
 
 Gay ladies from their tapestried boxes watche 
 the prowess of the champions, and whispered myster 
 ously as to the meaning of the colours worn. Quee 
 Mary breathed from childhood an atmosphere iir 
 pregnated with scandal. Must it not also be admitte 
 that she was early familiarised with sights and thoughl 
 of cruelty ? The dreadful facts of the persecution cannc 
 have been wholly hidden from her. She must ha\ 
 known that in this beautiful France there was th 
 awful institution of the estrapade, on which men an 
 women, some young and of noble birth, were suspendec 
 after having their tongues torn out, above the fier 
 furnace, and alternately raised and lowered until the: 
 bodies became mere palpitating cinders. The Pre 
 testant allies of Henry ii. were powerless to prever 
 these inhuman tortures. 
 
 The frequent watching of tournaments was likel 
 also to harden the feelings of a yoimg girl. Nominall 
 these contests were conducted with courtesy an 
 gentleness, but as the day wore on, passions wei 
 inflamed, fierce blows were given and received, and th 
 champion who had ridden out in the morning resplender 
 
 114 
 
Mary as a Horsewoman 
 
 in his enamelled armour, with gilded lance and plumed 
 helmet, might be carried home at nightfall with his 
 rich array all bloodstained. 
 
 The pleasures of the hunt were enjoyed by men and 
 women equally. Catherine de' Medici had ingratiated 
 herself with her father-in-law, Francis i., by joining him 
 in sylvan sports, and two of her sons, Francis ii. and 
 Charles ix., carried the passion for hunting to such an 
 extreme as to wear out their most energetic followers. 
 
 The Scottish Queen was a fearless and graceful 
 horsewoman, and she bore herself gallantly when 
 an accident occurred. On a winter afternoon/ when 
 hunting near Blois, she was caught by the bough 
 of a tree, and flung off her horse with such force that 
 she was unable to cry for help. Several ladies and 
 gentlemen of her suite had in the excitement of 
 the rush passed on before she was noticed, " and some 
 of their horses rode so near her her hood was trodden 
 off. As soon as she was raised from the ground, 
 she spoke and said she felt no hurt, and herself began 
 to set her hair, and dress up her head, and so returned 
 to the Court, where she kept her chamber till the 
 King removed. She feels no incommodity by her 
 faU, and yet has determined to change that kind of 
 exercise." 
 
 The Queen led a healthful, open-air life when 
 visiting her relatives at their country houses. She 
 was an occasional guest of her uncle the Cardinal 
 at Meudon. Writing to his sister-in-law, the Duchess 
 of Guise, before the end of the siege of Metz, Charles 
 said : "I was at Meudon during my visit to Paris, 
 and I can assure you that when the house is finished, 
 
 'This incident occurred in the autumn of 1559, when Mary was 
 Queen Consort. 
 
 "S 
 
The Dawn of Womanhood 
 
 as it soon may be, and when we have added a fev 
 Httle ideas that I have imagined, and our busts anc 
 marbles from Paris, it will be equal to the fines 
 houses in this kingdom, and just as suitable for i 
 great prince. I hope before Lent to receive botl 
 you and your husband there, and you will see if I an 
 a true prophet, and if not put the blame on me." ^ 
 
 There are few traces left of the Meudon describee 
 in the poems of Ronsard and L'Hopital. Nothing 
 remains of the grotto which bore the inscriptior 
 " Quiete et musis Henrici Secundi," and which was 
 built, Ronsard tells us, by " Chariot, whose nam( 
 is sacred in the forests." Michel de I'Hopital write; 
 of the view from the heights of Meudon, and bids the 
 Cardinal seek relaxation amid its country pleasures 
 from the cares of state. An observatory now occupies 
 the site of the ancient chateau. From the terrace 
 we may still look " over the fertile fields which th( 
 Seine waters, to Vincennes and the sepulchres of th( 
 Kings." In lower Meudon rises the square, massive 
 tower of Rabelais' church, the only building, perhaps 
 which belongs to Queen Mary's time.^ 
 
 An event at which the Queen was present was th( 
 baptism at Meudon (April 1554) of Charles, seconc 
 son of the Duke of Guise, afterwards to be celebratec 
 in history as the Duke of Mayenne, General of th( 
 League. The Cardinal of Lorraine told the story ii 
 one of those letters to his sister in Scotland, whicl 
 
 1 Letter quoted by RenS de Bouillfe, vol. i. p. 206. 
 
 ''At Meudon (Easter 1554) Mary made her first Communior 
 Writing to her mother, she said : " I have come to Meudon to Madam 
 my grandmother in order to keep the feast of Easter, because she an 
 my uncle, Monsieur the Cardinal, wish that I should take the Sacrament 
 and I pray to God very humbly to give me grace that I may make 
 good beginning " {National MtDiuscripts of Scotland, part iii. No. 39). 
 
 116 
 
Mary at Meudon 
 
 are in themselves sufficient proof that he possessed 
 some charming quaUties. The King, he said, had 
 been his guest at Dampierre and afterwards at Meudon, 
 " where we celebrated, last Thursday, the christening 
 of the little son whom God has given us, as healthy 
 and as pretty a boy as you could see. The Duke of 
 Ferrara and I were godfathers, Madame de Valentinois 
 godmother. I gave him my name, and I tried to 
 show as much hospitality as I could to the whole 
 company." 
 
 He proceeded to tell that Mary had been present 
 at the christening, and that her health was perfect. 
 " I am amazed to hear that some have written to 
 you that she is sickly. They must have been malicious 
 and ill-intentioned people, for I assure you she was 
 never better, and even the doctors say that her con- 
 stitution gives promise that she will live as long, with 
 God's help, as any of her relatives." ^ 
 
 Mary must have found pleasure sometimes in 
 playing with her baby cousins, the children of the 
 Duke of Guise. These children were often left in the 
 care of their grandmother, and one of the Dowager's 
 letters to Anne d'Este gives a glimpse of the strictness 
 of her training. " As for your children who are here, 
 they are all healthy and well. The eldest is big, 
 and quite good ; the second is a pretty and a naughty 
 boy. He has become so provoking that it is some- 
 times a pity to see him. I have already given him 
 a whipping. He is afraid of me because of this, and 
 when they speak to him of grandmamma I work 
 wonders.^ When you see him I think he will please 
 
 '■ Labanoff, Recueil, vol. i. pp. 20-21. 
 
 ' This little Charles of whom the Duchess writes, " Je luy ay deia 
 donne des verges," was less than two years old. 
 
 117 
 
The Dawn of Womanhood 
 
 you well and Louis also. He is getting so pretty 
 and so intelligent and so healthy that it is a pleasure 
 to see him." There is a tenderness in the old lady's 
 letter which leads us to doubt whether her whippings 
 hurt much.^ 
 
 The Venetian Ambassador, Giovanni Capello, 
 writing in 1554 , drew the portraits of the chief per- 
 sonages at Court and described the daily routine.^ 
 He was more flattering, or at least more cautious 
 in his criticisms than his successors, Soranzo and 
 Michiel. The King, in his opinion, could not spend 
 his time more profitably ; his days were usefully and 
 honourably filled. In summer it was his custom 
 to rise at dawn, in winter as soon as it was light, and 
 he began each day with prayer. He afterwards 
 attended the secret or inner Council. " The Coun- 
 sellor of whom the King thinks most highly is the 
 Constable, because he is the eldest, and the one whose 
 advice and exploits have best demonstrated his 
 devotion and zeal. Afterwards the King goes to 
 Mass, at which his behaviour is most devout, for 
 he knows that all good comes from God, and that 
 prayer wins for us success and wise counsels. After 
 Mass he dines, but with a very poor appetite. One 
 might think he was more occupied with his thoughts 
 than with his need of food." Hunting parties, accord- 
 ing to Capello, were at this time held twice a week. 
 
 The Dauphin was described by Capello a^^ a good- 
 looking boy, well proportioned, but delicate in health. 
 " He does not care much for letters, at which the 
 King is displeased. Very good teachers have been 
 
 ' Lo Marquis de Pimodan, La Mire des Guises, p. 306. 
 " Tommaseo, Relations des Aiiibassadcurs Vciiiticns, vol. i. pp. 
 371-76. 
 
 iiS 
 
Madame de Paroy 
 
 provided for him, and they instruct him never to 
 refuse to do what is asked of him, so that by constant 
 practice he may acquire all the liberal culture that 
 is needed for a king. Yet their success is very small." 
 
 The Dauphin was more anxious to shine as a soldier 
 than as a scholar. In early childhood he had written 
 that he was to follow his King after the age of seven, 
 and there is a pathetic sequel to that letter in Dr. 
 Wotton's statement of October i, 1555, that the 
 King was to be accompanied to the frontier by the 
 Dauphin, " who shall this journey begin to wear 
 harness, at least mail, and some other light gear 
 meet for him to wear ; he shall have his own band 
 waiting for him, whereof he rejoices not a little." ^ 
 
 The sagacious and witty Dr. Wotton, one of the 
 most literary of our ambassadors, had been impressed, 
 it is clear, with the high spirit of the eleven-year-old 
 boy, and saw a brighter glance in his eyes than the 
 portraits reveal to us. 
 
 The Venetian Capello overflowed with praises 
 of Mary. He described her as "most beautiful." 
 The Dauphin, he said, loved her dearly, and liked 
 to chat with her in private. 
 
 The post of governess to the Scottish Queen was 
 given, after Lady Fleming's disgrace, to Frangoise 
 d'Estamville (Madame de Paroy), a lady of middle 
 age and irreproachable character. The Cardinal was 
 at first enthusiastic in her praise. " I must not 
 omit to tell you that Madame de Paroy is doing her 
 duty as well as possible, and you may be sure that 
 God is well served according to the ancient way." ^ 
 
 ' Foreign Calendar, "Mary," p. 187. 
 
 ^ Labanoff, Recueil, vol. i. p. 16. Letter to Mary of Lorraine of 
 February 25, 1552-53. 
 
 119 
 
The Dawn of Womanhood 
 
 Madame de Paroy, unfortunately, did not succeed 
 in winning the affection of her pupil, and her mean 
 and jealous disposition caused continual disturbance. 
 The royal girl, following her mother's instructions, 
 presented a dress to her aunt, the Abbess Renee, and 
 another to the Abbess Antoinette, to be cut up and 
 used as altar coverings. These gifts and some 
 other presents to the servants of the Queen's house- 
 hold seemed to Madame de Paroy to be stolen from 
 her perquisites. She complained bitterly that Mary 
 wished to keep her poor, and seemed to claim the 
 right to take out of the wardrobe any disused dress 
 that caught her fancy. When the Queen looked for 
 a robe to give away, she often found it had disappeared, 
 and she wrote to her mother that Madame de Paroy 
 would not willingly allow her to give away a single 
 pin, and that in consequence people were beginning 
 to think her mean, " and even to say that I am not 
 like you." ^ The displeasure of the Queen with her 
 governess developed later into an open quarrel. " I 
 am amazed," she wrote to her mother, " that she 
 dares to tell you such untruths. I send you an 
 inventory of all the dresses I have had since I came 
 to France, from which you will see how matters stand, 
 and how she has acted." 
 
 Mary must have pressed her uncle to get rid of 
 Madame de Paroy, who was evidently a favourite 
 with the Queen Dowager. In April 1557 - he wTote 
 from Villers-Cotterets to his sister that the governess 
 was ill in Paris, and was in danger of suffering from 
 chronic dropsy. She had been too ill to attend to 
 her duties since the beginning of the year, and though 
 Mary's behaviour was as good as if she had had a 
 
 ' Labanoff, RccueU, vol. i. p. 31. = Ibid. p. 36. See Appendix B. 
 
Unkind Treatment of Mary 
 
 dozen governesses, still it did not look well that at 
 her age she should have no lady with her in constant 
 residence. Madame de Paroy, in the Cardinal's 
 opinion, was not hkely to live long, and indeed it 
 was hardly thought probable that she would survive 
 till Christmas. He praised Mary for the patience 
 with which she had endured provocations, but so 
 many things had come to light that it was impossible 
 she should go on bearing the same treatment. In 
 place of Madame de Paroy, he recommended Madame 
 de Brgne, a lady chosen by the King. 
 
 It was hoped at this time that Mary of Lorraine 
 might visit France, and her brother assured her in 
 this letter that her presence was " more than necessary." 
 The King was planning the marriage of the Dauphin 
 for the coming winter, and the bride's mother, it was 
 thought, could hardly be absent on the great occasion. 
 
 Madame de Paroy must have been a woman of 
 disagreeable character, though some of her faults 
 may be excused on the ground of failing health. 
 The worst accusation brought against her is that she 
 spoke unkindly of Mary to Catherine de' Medici. 
 The dazzling position of the Scottish Queen at the 
 French Court may have recalled to Catherine in painful 
 contrast the first ten years of her own life as the 
 consort of Henry. She came from Italy as a girl of 
 fourteen, and because no child had been born to her 
 in the later years of Francis i. there was talk among 
 the courtiers of annulling the marriage and sending 
 her back to her Florentine relatives. Poets and 
 historians have written of these years of wistful 
 waiting, but no contemporary writer has penetrated 
 the secrets of this strange heart. Catherine bore 
 the slowly deepening agony of childlessness, contempt, 
 
The Dawn of Womanhood 
 
 actual if not legal repudiation ; and the poison dis- 
 tilled itself in bitter drops, hardening her against 
 her own children, blotting out her belief in love. 
 The boy Francis, who seemed the divinely given 
 answer to her sorrowful prayer, "Voce mea ad 
 Dominum clamavi," was not her favourite child. 
 Her affection was lavished on the miserable Henry in., 
 the most Itahan of her sons, who had all the vices 
 and few of the virtues of the house of Medici. 
 
 Reading between the lines of Mary's letters and 
 the Cardinal's, we can understand the mischief wrought 
 by Madame de Paroyand the bitter feelings of Catherine. 
 The Cardinal tells his sister that although the governess 
 was a good woman, she deserved no gratitude from the 
 family of Guise, and that her conduct had nearly 
 cost the life of the Queen. ^ Mary herself, in a letter 
 written a month after her uncle's,^ said that Madame 
 de Paroy had almost been the cause of her death, 
 " because I was afraid of falling unde^' your displeasure, 
 and because I grieved at hearing through these false 
 reports so many disputes and so much harm said of 
 me." It is impossible to avoid the conclusion that 
 when Madame de Paroy tried to influence Catherine 
 de' Medici against her pupil, the unkind words were 
 caught up by a ready listener. 
 
 The correspondence does not inform us at what 
 moment Mary was released from the yoke of this 
 treacherous invalid, but the last letter referring to 
 her is dated May 1557, less than a year before the 
 Queen's marriage. 
 
 Among the most interesting passages in IMary's 
 early correspondence are the references to Diane de 
 Poitiers. A curious paragraph of all-round gratitude 
 
 ' Labanoff, Rccueil, vol. i. p. _^5. - Ibid. pp. 40, 41. 
 
Mary and Diane de Poitiers 
 
 occurs in the long letter dated from Blois on Holy 
 Innocents* Day (December 28).^ 
 
 The thirteen-year-old Queen wrote : — 
 
 " Madame, I must not forget to tell you that my 
 uncle Monsieur de Guise and my aunt Madame de 
 Guise take more [care] of me and my concerns than 
 of their own children ; but as for my uncle the Cardinal, 
 I [tell you] nothing about him, for you know it already : 
 all my other uncles [would do] the same if they had 
 the means. I pray you to thank them and to com- 
 mend me always to them, so that they may go on as 
 they are doing, for you would hardly believe how 
 careful they are of me. I can say the same of Madame 
 de Valentinois : if you please, Madame, write about it 
 to them all." ^ 
 
 In a letter of May 1557,* Mary said to her mother : — 
 
 " For the rest, you know how I am bound to do what 
 I can for Madame de Valentinois and her relatives, 
 because of the affection which she shows me more 
 and more. I could not render her a better service than 
 by arranging for something which I see she wants, the 
 marriage of my cousin Arran with her [grand] daughter. 
 Mademoiselle de Bouillon. It would not be difficult 
 to manage this if you approved, for he is very devoted 
 to her. The King would like it very much, for he 
 has spoken to me affectionately about him, saying that 
 he had promised to find him a wife, and he could 
 not do so in a better family. The daughter of Monsieur 
 de Montpensier is promised and the others married, 
 
 ^ The year is not mentioned, but Prince LabanofE was probably 
 right in sissigning it to 1 5 5 5 ; for the Court, in that year, spent Christmas 
 at Blois. 
 
 ^ Labanoff, Recueil, vol. i. p. 32. 
 
 ^ The date of this letter is clearly fixed by the allusion to the marriage 
 of Fran9ois de Montmorency with Madame de Castres, which took 
 place on May 4, 1557 (Labanoff, vol. i. pp. 40-45). 
 
 123 
 
The Dawn of Womanhood 
 
 except Mademoiselle de Nevers, who is a girl likely 
 to look farther." 
 
 The Queen adds that Mademoiselle de Bouillon 
 loved her so much that she was willing to take any 
 husband if only she might remain by her mistress's 
 side. 
 
 There is no reason to suppose that Mary of Guise 
 heard with uneasiness of her daughter's close associ- 
 ation with Diane de Poitiers. The Regent, as a 
 woman of the world, would have approved that letter 
 which her brother wrote to Diane after his elevation 
 to the Cardinalate : " I cannot refrain from thanking 
 you again for the special favour you have shown me, 
 and for the great happiness it has given me. I will 
 use every effort to serve you more and more, and I 
 hope from these efforts to reap good fruit for you as 
 well as for myself, since my interests henceforth cannot 
 be separated from yours." 
 
 The author of this letter was likely to encourage 
 his niece in subserviency to the all-powerful favourite. 
 What were Mary's thoughts, we wonder, as her growing 
 intelligence realised the true state of affairs at the 
 Valois Court ? Trained as she had been in strict 
 religious observance, in the moral precepts of anti- 
 quity, in the wise words of Erasmus, how did she regard 
 the proud widow whose robes of black and white 
 gleamed with the lustre of the crown jewels ? Did 
 she see in Diane an evanescent divinity, whose hght 
 must one day pale before her own rising sun ? And 
 the mother, who in her Northern palaces read and 
 re-read the affectionate girlish letters — must not her 
 heart have trembled sometimes, amid her worldly 
 schemes, lest her child might in the distant future 
 
 124 
 
Illness of Mary 
 
 be superseded, as kings' daughters had been super- 
 seded on every throne of Europe, by some frail, 
 beautiful woman, who would carry a monarch's heart 
 in her hand ? 
 
 Diane de Poitiers, in the years during which Queen 
 Mary bears testimony to her personal kindness, was 
 enriching herself with property confiscated from the 
 Huguenots, and used the sums gained by these dis- 
 graceful executions to ransom her son-in-law, Aumale, 
 from his captivity after the siege of Metz. 
 
 The extraordinary cleverness of Diane is shown 
 in her conduct towards the ladies of the royal house- 
 hold. She conciliated Catherine, she acted as a tender 
 guardian to Mary, and so when the moment came 
 for the disgrace which her cool mind must have con- 
 fronted a thousand times across the years, she was 
 not driven ruthlessly out of the palace like Madame 
 d'fitampes, but was allowed to make an honourable 
 retreat. She had filled her unlicensed place with 
 such dignity as to force respect even from her anta- 
 gonists, and her influence was never stronger than in 
 the closing months of Henry's life. 
 
 In August 1556, Queen Mary was seriously ill. The 
 heat of the summer had been so extraordinary, as 
 the Cardinal wrote to his sister, that the like had 
 not been experienced in the memory of man. " In 
 consequence there have come upon us an infinite 
 number of diseases." ^ He proceeded to give one 
 of the very rare pieces of bad news which are men- 
 tioned in his correspondence with the Queen-Dowager. 
 
 " Madame, on the eighth of this month a persistent 
 fever attacked the Queen, your daughter, who was 
 
 ' Father Pollen, Papal Negotiations, p. 42 1 . 
 125 
 
The Dawn of Womanhood 
 
 living at Fontainebleau with the Queen [of France], 
 the King and myself being at Anet. The ailment 
 was wonderfully severe and sharp. The pains which 
 our Queen took over her were really incredible, for 
 she did not leave her night or day. Thus helped 
 in good time, she took medicine the second day, was 
 bled on the third day, and on the fourth day she was 
 quite free of fever. 
 
 "Now, Madame, the Queen had sent word with 
 speed to inform me, and I had to set out immediately 
 by post. Leaving Anet that evening, I was with her 
 by dinner-time next day to pay her the service which 
 I owe. I found that the persistent fever was subsiding. 
 I remained there three days, during which she had 
 two accesses of prolonged fever, which lasted till 
 nightfall, and this is her fourth attack, but there was 
 no mishap or danger at any time. The doctors think 
 that there will be seven attacks. The day before 
 yesterday I came to Paris to see the King, and shall 
 return to-morrow morning. The King will not arrive 
 till the day after to-morrow. 
 
 " I beg you, Madame, not to distress yourself, and 
 take my assurance that there is no danger. The Queen 
 hardly ever leaves her, not even during her attacks. 
 She and her sister ^ are always there, and I could not 
 sufficiently tell you your obligations to them. . . . 
 
 " I shall soon send you the news of the complete 
 recovery (with God's aid) of the Queen your 
 daughter." 
 
 This was a lingering and trying illness, which hung 
 about the Queen till the end of the year. 
 
 • Father Pollen, whose translation of this letter is here copied, says 
 in a note (p. 419): "Who 'Madame sa sour' may be is not clear. 
 Catherine was an only child, and the sisters of the ' Madame ' addressed 
 were either dead or in the cloister. ' Sisters ' are mentioned again in 
 the next letter. Perhaps sisters-in-law arc moanl." 
 
 Is not the reference undoubtedly to Madame Margaret, sister of 
 Henry 11. ? The Cardinal usually refers to his own sister-in-law, Anne 
 d'Este, as " ma siuur." 
 
 126 
 
Letters from the Cardinal 
 
 On October 2, the Cardinal again wrote : ^ — 
 
 " Madame, I have aheady written twice to inform 
 you of the sickness of the Queen your daughter, 
 which is more strange than dangerous, and has no 
 other inconvenience than its length. Sometimes she 
 is eight or ten days without having fever, then we are 
 all in dismay because she has some symptoms of 
 relapse in the form of little shiverings. I really believe, 
 Madame, that everything possible is being tried in 
 order to cure her completely, but thus far without 
 success, so obstinate is the ailment. It is one of 
 the maladies of this year which are affecting 
 many. Our little nephew,^ the Prince of Joinville, 
 has had his share, viz., a daily fever, of which he has 
 had almost sixty returns. M. the Dauphin is in this 
 town with a quartan fever, into which he fell from the 
 first, and we were greatly afraid, and so were the doctors 
 too, that your daughter's fever would return yet 
 again. But the course of her malady now puts 
 an end to our concern. We have had her taken to 
 Meudon, where she has been for some time for the 
 benefit of the air, which is remarkably good during 
 the summer season. But seeing the cold weather 
 return, we thought well to bring her back here, where 
 we shall not neglect anything for the entire restoration 
 of her health, which, with the help of God, will be ere 
 long." 
 
 In an autograph postscript, the Cardinal said : 
 " I beg you not to be disturbed, and to believe that 
 in her ailment there is no other danger than the length 
 of it. She is living at the Maison de Guise. The 
 King and Queen go there daily. The Dauphin is at 
 the Tournelles.^ None of us, brothers and sisters, 
 
 ^ Papal Negotiations, pp. 422, 423. 
 
 " Father Pollen translates the words, " Notre petit nepveu," " our 
 grandnephew," but the reference is to Henry of Guise, who bore the 
 title " Prince of Joinville." He was at this time six years old. 
 
 * The palace of the Tournelles in Paris, where Henry 11. died in 1559. 
 
 127 
 
The Dawn of Womanhood 
 
 forget any of our bounden services to her, and we 
 beg you to trust me." 
 
 On January 13, 1557, the day on which Dr. Wotton 
 mentions that Mary was with the Court at Poissy, 
 the Regent wrote to the Cardinal from Edinburgh : 
 "... I learn that the sickness and convalescence of 
 my daughter are over, which has given me very great 
 pleasure. Stilly I cannot absolutely quiet my anxiety 
 until I hear that her health continues, which I beg our 
 Lord graciously to grant, and also to send to Monsieur 
 the Dauphin a perfect recovery, so that our satis- 
 faction at their health and good estate may be 
 complete." ^ 
 
 The Queen's illness had caused the gravest anxiety 
 in Scotland, as is evident from the later paragraphs 
 of this letter. The document as a whole is the best 
 key to the character of that heroic and sorely tried 
 woman, the Regent Mary of Lorraine. She clung, 
 as we can see, with an almost childlike wistfulness to 
 the strong, powerful younger brothers who were 
 pushing their way at the French Court, and who, as 
 she thought, were forgetting that her interests were 
 linked with theirs. In courage she knew herself to 
 be the equal of Francis, and could share, as well as 
 appreciate, the noblest qualities of his character. If 
 she leant with a peculiar tenderness on the Cardinal 
 Charles, the reason is partly, no doubt, that she 
 remembered him as a bright and lovable boy at 
 Joinville before her departure for Scotland ; partly 
 that she was compelled to acknowledge his intellectual 
 
 ' Papal Ncf^olialioiis, p. 427. From the Cardinal's letter of April 8, 
 1556-57, wc may assume that ho iliscovcred, during the course of this 
 illness, that his royal niece had been greatly distressed on account of 
 the neglect and the uncliaritable talk of her governess. 
 
 12S 
 
The Regent in Scotland 
 
 superiority ; perhaps also that she bent instinctively 
 before his sacred office. The annals of great families 
 furnish few more pleasing letters than those exchanged 
 between the children of Claude and Antoinette of 
 Guise. 
 
 After the accession of the Queen Mother to the 
 Regency of Scotland, a firmer strain is recognisable 
 in her correspondence. The lachrymose, almost 
 hysterical tone disappears, her private woes sink out 
 of sight, she begins to feel herself the guardian of a 
 people. This descendant of a great ruling house 
 laid no uncertain hold upon the sceptre. Lonely as 
 her lot might be in the halls of Stirling and Holyrood, 
 she represented the high majesty of France and 
 Scotland, and she heard the approving voice of all 
 Christian sovereigns cheering her in the hours of 
 exile. We can picture the stately widow presiding 
 over the council of her nobles, and soothing quarrels 
 with large-hearted charity. When work was over, 
 we see her unfolding with tremulous fingers the latest 
 packet from France, searching first for her daughter's 
 handwriting, the scrolls which to us are so pale and 
 dim, then turning with tear-filled eyes to ask the 
 messenger for the latest news of her dear ones. In 
 the public gaze she was ever proud and queenly, and 
 kept the breath of scandal far away. If she failed 
 as an administrator, the reason is that she was too 
 good a Frenchwoman. 
 
 Writing to the Cardinal on January 13, 1557, the 
 widow of James v. expressed solicitude for the fortunes 
 of the three brothers who had embarked on the 
 inglorious Italian campaign. Charles, who had been 
 the chief instrument in breaking the Truce of Vaucelles, 
 which Coligny had arranged with the Emperor, must 
 I 129 
 
The Dawn of Womanhood 
 
 have doubted, as he read her letter, whether he h: 
 acted wisely in stirring up " this war of the Pope." 
 
 " I am more disturbed over it," wrote the Reger 
 " than ever I was when the war was raging in tt 
 country. Not that I so much dread the force ai 
 power of the foe as their underhand dealings and tl 
 poisons which they often use, also the want of supplie 
 which, I fear, will run short. But one must alwa; 
 leave all in the hand of God, for He it is that is tl 
 Lord of victories." ^ 
 
 The allusion to poisons inevitably suggests tl 
 thought, What did the Regent think of the report 
 current sixteen months later, that her brothers ha 
 used poison to get rid of some of the Scots Con 
 missioners for her daughter's marriage ? 
 
 With statesmanlike insight, the Regent foresa 
 that trouble would arise in Italy through the via 
 and lawlessness of the French troops, though si 
 could not have predicted the treachery of the houi 
 of Caraffa, nor the enervation which sank upon tl 
 Duke of Guise in Rome. 
 
 Turning her thoughts from the Italian expeditioi 
 the Regent gave an account of her troubles with tl 
 lords. 
 
 " They are more difficult to manage than eve 
 God knows, brother mine, what a life I lead. It 
 no small thing to bring a young nation to a state ( 
 perfection, and to an unwonted subservience to thos 
 who desire to see justice reign. Great responsibilitif 
 are easily undertaken, but not discharged to God 
 satisfaction without difficulty. Happy is he who h£ 
 the least to do with mundane affairs. I can say the 
 for twenty years past I have not had one year ( 
 rest, and I think that if I were to say not one mont 
 
 ' Papal Negotiations, p. 427. 
 130 
 
Mary and her Countrymen 
 
 I should not be far wrong. Pain of the heart is worse 
 than any other ill, and I can assure you that my 
 brothers' expedition assuages nothing of my grief." ^ 
 
 The Regent admitted that her daughter's illness 
 had disturbed men's minds so much " that those 
 from whom I hoped the most, I have found more 
 estranged than I have ever seen them, not only since 
 I have ruled them, but since I have known Scotland." 
 " I am forced," she added, " to keep up many pretences 
 till I come to the proper time." ^ 
 
 The diplomatic correspondence of the period 
 proves but too clearly that foreign Powers regarded 
 Scotland, during Mary's minority, almost as a province 
 of France. Soranzo reported to the Doge and Senate, 
 on August i8, 1554, that " Mary Queen of Scotland, 
 being now twelve years old, is out of her minority, 
 during which she was under the guardianship of the 
 Earl of Arran, who is also styled Duke of ChStelherault 
 in right of a duchy given him by the King of France. 
 . . . The fortresses are all in the hands of the French, 
 and of the Queen Dowager, who being a French- 
 woman, it may be said that everything is in the power 
 of his most Christian Majesty, who keeps some thousand 
 infantry there as garrison, that force being sufficient, 
 as in two days they can send over as many troops 
 as they please." * 
 
 To her own countrymen who visited the French 
 Court Mary was gracious and affable. The ambas- 
 sadors of Mary Tudor passed through France in 1555 
 on their way to Rome, and joined the royal circle at 
 Fontainebleau. The Bishop of Ely and Viscount 
 
 • Papal Negotiations, pp. 428, 429. * Ibid. p. 430. 
 
 ' Venetian Calendar, vol. v. p. 540. 
 
 131 
 
The Dawn of Womanhood 
 
 Montagu had some talk with Henry n., and afte 
 wards " were brought into the Queen's chamber ( 
 presence, where the French Queen, accompanie 
 with the Queen of Scots, and two of her own daughter 
 was ready to receive them. . . . The next day afte 
 being the nth day, the rest of the train that cou] 
 not be lodged at the Court came thither, and desire 
 certain Scottish gentlemen that they might see tl: 
 Queen of Scots, who being told of their desire to se 
 her, immediately she very courteously came fort 
 out of her privy chamber into her chamber of presenc 
 amongst us all, and said unto us she was very gla 
 to see us, calling us her countrymen." ^ 
 
 It is not known at what time the girl Queen ha 
 the attack of smallpox to which she refers in a lette 
 to Queen Elizabeth of 1566.^ Her beauty was save 
 by the skilful treatment of Fernel, chief physician t 
 Henry 11., and Mary says that he had kept his pre 
 scription secret. The ravages of this malignan 
 disease in the sixteenth century taxed the skill of th 
 foremost doctors, and Mary probably owed as muc' 
 to Fernel as her uncle Francis owed to the bold surger 
 of Ambroise Pare. 
 
 French palaces were hotbeds of infectious maladies 
 partly caused by the neglect of the simplest sanitar 
 precautions, and partly by the constant minglinj 
 of the royal servants with the populace of the towns 
 The Queen of Scots was on more than one occasio] 
 hurried away as a precaution against some illness whicl 
 had broken out in the King's nursery. Capello 
 writing from Laon (June 30, 1554), mentioned tha 
 Catherine de' Medici had been prevented from goin| 
 
 ' Ilardwickc Papers, vol. i. p. 68. 
 
 " Labanoff, Recucil, vol. vii. pp. 304-306. 
 
Proposals for Peace 
 
 to Rheims owing to a slight indisposition which had 
 suddenly seized her eldest daughter, Madame Isabel 
 (Elizabeth). And he added that " On the same day 
 they sent off the Dauphin, with the most serene Queen 
 of Scotland and her Majesty's other daughter, to 
 Rheims." ^ 
 
 The three years preceding the marriage of Queen 
 Mary with the Dauphin were marked by strange 
 vicissitudes for France. After the raising of the 
 siege of Metz, efforts were made by the Pope to recon- 
 cile Charles v. and Henry ii. Cardinal Pole was sent 
 as Legate to confer with both sovereigns, and Dr. 
 Wotton acknowledged that if any Cardinal could 
 do good, Pole was that person, " being esteemed 
 of an honest mind and virtuous life, and so much 
 respected by the Emperor that at the last vacation 
 of the Papacy the Imperial Cardinals laboured to 
 have him made Pope." ^ Pole failed in his mission, 
 but he joined with the Constable and the Cardinal 
 in the negotiations of Marck, near Ardres (May 1555). 
 It was clear to the watchful Venetian, Soranzo, that 
 Henry 11. was not anxious for peace at this time.' 
 He had been fairly successful in warfare, and his 
 coffers were not yet empty. The conference dissolved 
 on the understanding that the negotiations for peace 
 were not closed. 
 
 The Cardinal of Lorraine departed for Rome in 
 October, and was absent from Court for six months. 
 Henry 11., no longer overborne by the imperious 
 Churchman, listened to the counsels of his friend the 
 Constable, and on the 5th of February 1556 the 
 
 ^ Venetian Calendar, vol. v. p. 517. 
 ' Foreign Calendar, " Mary," p. 19. 
 ' Venetian Calendar, vol. vi. part i. p. 79. 
 
 133 
 
The Dawn of Womanhood 
 
 Truce of Vaucelles was signed. Charles v., who 
 wished to retire from the world, agreed to accept for 
 five years the general results of the war. The truce, 
 which was negotiated by Coligny, was honourable 
 to France, and might have led to a permanent peace 
 but for the machinations of the Cardinal of Lorraine 
 in Italy. From boyhood he had dreamt of an Italian 
 crown for his brother, and he persuaded the aged 
 Pope Paul IV. to enter into an alliance with France 
 against the Imperialists. 
 
 The story of the rupture of the truce is graphically 
 given by the Huguenot historian, Pierre de la Place, 
 who was not unkindly disposed to the Cardinal. He 
 describes him as " a person endowed with many gifts 
 and graces, but (as is the nature of great intellects) 
 ambitious and aspiring to high things." ^ 
 
 Returning from Italy after Easter, the Cardinal 
 was informed of the conclusion of the truce, which 
 meant the undoing of his work at Rome. "As he 
 passed through Nevers, travelling by water, he said 
 aloud in the presence of several persons, that this 
 was not what the King had promised him, and that 
 he possessed means to break the truce, promising 
 that he would do so as soon as he reached the Court, 
 which was then at Blois." 
 
 Once more the dominating brain of his ablest 
 statesman worked on the feeble Henry ll., but war 
 might still have been averted had not the Constable 
 found it necessary, in arranging the marriage of his 
 son Francis with Madame de Castres, natural daughter 
 of the King, to secure the favour of Paul iv. Possibly, 
 
 ' Commentaires de I'Estat de la Religion ct RSpublique (Pantheon 
 edition), p. i . Pierre de la Place wrote, it should be remembered, in the 
 Cardinal's lifetime. He was one of the victims of the St. Bartholomew. 
 
 134 
 
The Duke of Guise in Italy 
 
 as Pierre de la Place suggests, he was not sorry to 
 allow his great rival, the Duke of Guise, to wear away 
 his strength in Italy. The baleful influence of the 
 ex-condottiere, Cardinal Carlo Caraffa, nephew and 
 legate of the Pope, was also on the side of war. In 
 the last days of December 1556, the Duke of Guise 
 crossed the Alps, and arrived in Rome at the beginning 
 of Lent. He had accomplished, as the Pope told him 
 bluntly, little for his master's honour and still less 
 for his own, when the defeat of the Constable's army 
 at Saint-Quentin (August 10, 1557) caused the French 
 people to recaU, as with a cry of anguish, the hero 
 of Metz as the defender of the fatherland. 
 
 13s 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 THE MARRIAGE OF MARY AND FRANCIS 
 
 Results of the taking of Calais — Popularity of the Guises — Their 
 desire to hasten the marriage — Appeals from Scotland — The 
 betrothal — Invitation to the magistrates — Decorations of Notre 
 Dame — The wedding day — Procession of the bride and bride- 
 groom — The Cardinal Charles de Bourbon unites the royal pair— 
 The Bishop of Paris celebrates the nuptial Mass — The wedding 
 banquets — Dancing and masquerades — The pageant of the ships — 
 Michiel's description of the wedding. 
 
 With the taking of Calais, history sheds her brightest 
 ray on the ducal diadem of Guise. When Charles v., 
 in the monastery of Yuste, heard of the defeat oi 
 Saint-Quentin, a last gleam of ambitious joy shone 
 in the eyes from which all earthly splendotirs were 
 fading, and the Emperor, remembering the great 
 days of his rivalry with Francis i., cried out, " Is my 
 son in Paris ? " Philip might have been in Paris but 
 for Coligny's heroic defence of the town of Saint-Quentin 
 seconded, no doubt, by his own habitual caution 
 " How many days' journey from here to Paris ? " he 
 asked his prisoners. " Three days," replied a veterar 
 of the wars of Francis i., " and that means three 
 battles, for the King has yet three ai-mies." Nc 
 one knew better than the valiant M. la Roche di 
 Maine that the King's one efficient army was witl 
 Guise in Italy, and that Guise alone, the friend anc 
 brother of the common soldier, could be trusted t( 
 
 136 
 
The Taking of Calais 
 
 lead back that army in good condition. Three 
 thousand were left dead on the battlefield of Saint- 
 Quentin, and there were seven thousand prisoners. 
 Coligny saved Paris for the moment, holding out 
 gallantly from the loth to the 29th of August. In the 
 horrors of the sack of Saint-Quentin even his services 
 were forgotten. The Constable, Saint-Andr^, the Ad- 
 miral himself, were prisoners. Andelot escaped from 
 the doomed town, and told the story to his country- 
 men. Each tortured, dying inhabitant of Saint- 
 Quentin had perhaps saved the lives of hundreds of 
 Parisians. A modern French historian ^ compares 
 Philip II. to the bull in the arena, which neglects the 
 picadores that he may wreak his vengeance on the 
 horse which he has disembowelled. 
 
 The Duke of Guise returned, as the nation ex- 
 pected, bringing the army in sound health and spirits. 
 He had won no credit in Italy, and his return would 
 have been humiliating but for the extraordinary 
 series of accidents which recalled him as the saviour 
 of his country. 
 
 " His rivals," says a French writer, " had rejoiced 
 in the eclipse of his glory ; they were gloating over 
 his early fall, but now it is he who is brought back to 
 repair their faults, to efface their disaster. At the 
 very moment when he has lost hope in his own enter- 
 prise, he sees the nation, in her distress, place her 
 hopes in him. An unlucky General on the frontier 
 of Naples, he is yet a pledge of success for France." ^ 
 
 Guise was made Lieutenant-General of the Kingdom, 
 and in the early months of 1558, after the taking of 
 Calais,^ he and his brother attained the summit of 
 
 ' Fomeron, Les Dues de Guise, vol. i. p. i88. 
 
 ^ Rene de Bouille, vol. i. p. 396. ' January 1558. 
 
 137 
 
The Marriage of Mary and Francis 
 
 their glory. Under Francis ii. they possessed a mo: 
 regal authority, but they had not, as in 1558, tl 
 suffrages of the people. It was natural that th( 
 should decide to carry through, while Montmorenc 
 was absent, the marriage of their niece the Queen < 
 Scots with the Dauphin Francis. Henry 11., deprive 
 of his beloved friend the Constable, was dehvere 
 over to the rule of half-foreign princes whom he admirei 
 suspected, and feared. A vivid glimpse of the inn( 
 life at Court is given by the Venetian Ambassad( 
 in a letter of December 6, 1557.^ He tells that 
 Spanish gentleman arrived at the palace, with 
 safe-conduct from Montmorency, addressed to tl 
 Cardinal Odet de ChMillon. That gentle-hearte 
 Churchman was anxious, we may be sure, as to tl 
 welfare of his uncle and his brother Gaspard, and 1: 
 may naturally have supposed that the envoy ha 
 private messages from the Constable to the King, j 
 he " watched the hour for introducing him to tl 
 King during the absence of the Cardinal of Lorraine 
 which was when he had taken leave of his Majest 
 to go to bed." The Spanish gentleman talked f( 
 two hours with Henry, and then set out on his homi 
 ward journey. At the very moment of the Guis 
 supremacy at Court, Henry 11. was hungrily longin 
 for a word from the Constable, and we may conjectu] 
 that plans for Montmorency's escape, or for a peao 
 however humiliating, which would ensure his freedon 
 were already maturing in the King's mind. But I 
 dared converse on such things only when the watchfi 
 eyes of his chief minister were closed in sleep. 
 
 The commanding position of the Cardinal ( 
 Lorraine at the Court of Henry 11. is the most strikin 
 
 ' Venetian Calendar, vol. vi. part iii. p. 1385. 
 ■38 
 
^ \iarij (jHuarl- 
 
 SJrojji ihe luitii tdttrr pain tine? in tht' 
 ivr-i^ d' ^Jl rarest ej^ (jnthcrinc etc _ ite'tiirLs 
 in tkf -Jctii^rf af .-^arLt . 
 ( Eniarqeitirom the Oriainal-j 
 
Hastening the Marriage 
 
 fact attested by the Venetian correspondence. During 
 the Council of Trent, as the archives of Venice prove, 
 Charles was regarded by the Republic as almost in 
 himself an independent European Power.^ His great 
 abilities were admitted without reserve by the Italian 
 diplomatists, though his character and political methods 
 impressed such men as Soranzo and Michiel unfavour- 
 ably. After the taking of Calais, Michiel suggested 
 to the Doge and Senate that in any letter of con- 
 gratulation the Cardinal's name, as well as the Duke's, 
 should be expressly mentioned, " this victory giving 
 them such repute that the administration of France 
 will remain in their hands for ever." ^ 
 
 The motives for hurrying on the Dauphin's marriage 
 were perfectly understood by the Venetians, though the 
 Cardinal seems to have placed the responsibility 
 on the King. Le Laboureur has very truly remarked 
 that everything published against this statesman was 
 better received than his praises. He had rushed to 
 the rescue after Saint - Quentin, collecting soldiers 
 and money, enrolling in every province of the kingdom 
 young men who were capable of bearing arms. " The 
 Cardinal displayed at every point an activity and a 
 presence of mind which restored public security and 
 which inspired in the nation a genuine gratitude." ^ 
 But France understood instinctively that, owing to 
 his half-foreign ancestry, her keenest working brain 
 did not exert itself in her interests solely or chiefly. 
 It was the Ufelong subordination of national interests 
 to family and party intrigues which wrought the 
 Cardinal's ruin. 
 
 1 Armand Baschet, Journal du Concile de Trenie, p. 214. 
 ' Venetian Calendar, vol. vi. part iii. p. 1423. 
 ^ Rene de Bouille, vol. i. p. 404. 
 
 139 
 
The Marriage of Mary and Francis 
 
 To the Ambassador Michiel, he said that the 
 King's chief reason for wishing the Dauphin's marriage 
 to take place was that he might no longer be pestered, 
 whenever the agreement was discussed, with proposals 
 for some other matrimonial alliance, " as now no one 
 could any longer hope to thwart or impede this result, 
 and that they would consequently turn their thoughts 
 to something else, hinting also at the Constable as 
 among the other opponents of the marriage." ^ 
 
 The retiring Ambassador, Soranzo, meanwhile, 
 had discovered, as early as November 1557, the true 
 motives of the French Court in hastening the wedding. 
 These motives were, (i) that they might avail them- 
 selves more surely of the forces of Scotland against 
 the kingdom of England next year ; and (2) to gratify 
 the Duke and the Cardinal, who would thus be secured 
 against any other alliance that might be proposed 
 to the King during the negotiations for peace/ " the 
 entire establishment of their greatness having to 
 depend on this : for which reason the Constable, by 
 all means in his power, continually sought to prevent 
 it." Antoine de Bourbon, King of Navarre, whispered 
 to Michiel during the dances on the handfasting day, 
 " Ambassador, thou this day seest the conclusion 
 of a thing which very few persons credited until now." 
 
 It is probable that the wish of the Guises to establish 
 their position by Queen Mary's marriage was strength- 
 ened by appeals received from Scotland. The victor 
 of Saint-Quentin was King of England, and the Scots 
 nobles dreaded a general war in which their country 
 might be involved. On March 29, 1557, M. d'Oysel 
 had written to the Bishop of Dax that the lords wished 
 the marriage hastened, and had suggested that the 
 
 ' Venetian Calendar, vol. vi. part iii. p. 14S7. * Ibid. pp. 1365, 1366. 
 
 140 
 
The Scottish Commissioners 
 
 Queen Dowager should go to France to arrange it, 
 or send some of them/ Mary of Guise repHed that 
 Henry ii. had a true affection for the Queen, their 
 sovereign mistress, her kingdom and subjects, and 
 that she herself was as keen as they were for the mar- 
 riage. It was, however, impossible, at such a time, 
 with war all around, for her to go to France, but 
 she promised to consider the advisability of dispatch- 
 ing some of her nobles. 
 
 On December 14, 1557, the Estates of Scotland 
 were reminded by Henry 11. that the time had come 
 for the completion of the marriage between their 
 Queen and his son, the Dauphin. Commissioners were 
 appointed to proceed to France as representatives 
 of the Scottish nation. The nine envoys were James 
 Beaton, Archbishop of Glasgow, David Panter, Bishop 
 of Ross, Robert Reid, Bishop of Orkney, the Earls of 
 Rothes and Cassillis, the Lord James, Commendator 
 of St. Andrews, Lords Fleming and Seton, and John 
 Erskine of Dun. A tax of £15,000 was imposed to 
 defray the expenses of the Scots Commissioners.^ 
 
 Diane de Poitiers, the powerful favourite, had 
 her own reason for hastening the wedding. Through 
 her son-in-law, the Duke of Aumale,* she was closely 
 linked to the Guises, and she believed that he and his 
 brothers would spare her any disgrace at the beginning 
 of a new reign. That she had assiduously courted the 
 young Queen, Mary's letters bear evidence. We gather 
 from a letter written by Diane to the Duke of Nevers 
 on February 27, 1557-58, that the exact date of the 
 
 ' Teulet, Papiers d'£tai, vol. i. p. 283. 
 
 ^ See Dr. Hay Fleming's Mary Queen of Scots, p. 210 (note). 
 ' Claude, Duke of Aumale, was the third son of the first Duke of 
 Guise and brother of Fran9ois le Balafre. 
 
 141 
 
The Marriage of Mary and Francis 
 
 betrothal had not then been fixed. " I asked him " 
 (the King), writes Diane/ "if it would be well that 
 you should come here about Ash Wednesday. He 
 replied that there was no need, unless you like, 
 until the betrothal of the Dauphin. This will not take 
 place until after Easter, or if it should be earlier, 
 we shall not fail to let you know." ^ 
 
 On March 25, the Dauphin wrote to the Constable, 
 expressing regret, in the postscript, that his father's 
 old friend could not be present at his wedding.^ 
 
 The betrothal ceremony took place on Tuesday, 
 April 19, 1558, and the marriage on the second Sunday 
 after Easter, April 24.* The young pair — a bride 
 of fifteen and a bridegroom of fourteen — plighted 
 their troth in the great hall of the new Louvre, the 
 Cardinal of Lorraine joining their hands. A baU 
 followed, in which Henry 11. danced with the bride 
 elect, Antoine of Navarre with Catherine de' Medici, 
 the Dauphin with his aunt, Madame Margaret, and 
 the Duke of Lorraine with his future wife, the 
 Princess Claude. 
 
 ' Guiffrey, p. 148. 
 
 ' Easter in 1558 fell on April 10. 
 
 " This postscript is in the Dauphin's own handwriting. 
 
 ' Discours du Grand et Magnifique Triumphe faict au manage de 
 tresnoble et magnifique Prince Franfois de Vallois, Roy Dauphin, fils 
 aisnS du treschrestien Roy de France Henry deuxiesme du nom et de ires- 
 haulte et vertueuse Princesse Madame Marie d'Estreuart Royne d'Escosse. 
 The Rouen edition of this well-known booklet (published by Jaspar de 
 R6mortier) has been printed for the Roxburghe Club. The Paris 
 edition was issued by Annet Briere. On the back of the flyleaf are the 
 words : " II est permis ^ Annet Briere imprimer le discours du grand 
 et magnifique triumphe faict au mariage de tresnoble et excellent 
 Prince Franfois de Vallois, Roy-Dauphin, iilz aisnc^ du treschrestien 
 Roy de France. Avec d6fenses i tous autres de I'imprimer ny exposer 
 en vente jusques k un an prochain sans les permission et conge 
 dudict suppliant sur peine de confiscation dcs livres et d'amende 
 arbitraire," 
 
 142 
 
The Betrothal 
 
 The first signatures on the marriage contract 
 were " Henry " and " Caterine " ; next came the 
 names " Frangois " and " Marie," and Antoinette 
 de Bourbon. The Dowager Duchess of Guise acted 
 during the marriage week as her grand-daughter's 
 guardian. The names of the Scots Commissioners 
 stand last in order. The Dauphin had declared 
 " that of his own free will and with the fullest consent 
 of the King and Queen his father and mother, and 
 being duly authorised by them to take the Queen 
 of Scotland for his wife and consort, he promised to 
 espouse her on the following Sunday, April 24th, in 
 the face of holy Church." 
 
 Queen Mary declared " that of her own free will 
 and consent, and by the advice of her lady grand- 
 mother, the Duchess Dowager of Guise, and the 
 deputies of the three Estates of Scotland, she took 
 the Dauphin Francis for her lord and husband, and 
 promised to espouse him on the above-named day, 
 in the face of holy Church." 
 
 On Friday, April 22, the magistrates of the city 
 were invited to be present at the wedding in Notre 
 Dame, and afterwards at supper at the Palace.^ The 
 King, it was said, desired that the marriage should 
 be the most famous ever celebrated. 
 
 Early on Sunday morning, the city fathers, in their 
 parti-coloured robes of crimson and yellow, mounted 
 their mules at the door of the Hotel de Ville. The 
 chief legal functionary was resplendent in a long robe 
 of yellow satin lined with velvet. The archers and 
 town guard fell into step behind the officials. A few 
 minutes' march brought them to the Place du Parvis, 
 where an immense scaffolding had been erected 
 
 ' Teulet, Papiers d'^iat, vol. i. p. 292, etc, 
 143 
 
The Marriage of Mary and Francis 
 
 outside the Cathedral. This platform, or archec 
 gallery, ran from the hall of the Bishop's palace, when 
 the royal party had spent the night, to the entrano 
 of the church and beyond it to the choir.^ At th( 
 door of the church was a pavilion, hung with ricl 
 tapestry adorned with fleurs de lys. On the flooi 
 was a Turkey carpet, stretched the whole length o 
 the gallery. 
 
 As in our modern state services in Westminstei 
 Abbey, the guests were early in their places. Th( 
 members of the Parlement of Paris, in scarlet robes 
 lined with velvet, occupied seats on the right of the 
 chancel, and the civic dignitaries were on the left, 
 The light, streaming through painted windows, fel] 
 on costly furs and glistening satins, and on hangings 
 of priceless needlework. 
 
 The Bishop of Paris, Eustache du Bellay, awaited 
 with his attendant clergy the coming of the state 
 procession. He had taken his station at the Cathedral 
 porch, raised high above the crowding throngs. 
 
 It was nearly eleven o'clock when a fanfare oi 
 trumpets announced that the bridal train had left 
 the episcopal palace. The pressure of the people 
 in the Cathedral square and the surrounding streets 
 was overwhelming. The humblest Parisian wished 
 to have a glimpse of the lovely bride, as she passed 
 along the arcaded gallery with its bower-work of 
 green. First came the Swiss halberdiers carrying 
 their pikes, and followed by the band of their regiment. 
 Francis, Duke of Guise, who performed the duties of 
 
 ' " This splendid gallery," says Miss Strickland, " designed by 
 Charles le Conte, the master of the works of Pai-is, ^^•as embowered 
 overhead with a trellis-work of carved vine leaves and branches, dis- 
 posed so as to represent a cathedral cloister with its rich groining and 
 Gothic sculpture " {Queens of Sco/lnjiif, vol. iii. p. 76). 
 
Procession of the Bride 
 
 Grand Master in the absence of Montmorency, saluted 
 Bishop du Bellay, who was accompanied by his cross- 
 bearer, and by choir-boys carrying lighted tapers in 
 silver candlesticks. The great soldier then turned 
 to the people, and observing that the lords and 
 gentlemen on the dais were crowding so as to obstruct 
 the view, he bade them stand aside. Musicians 
 playing on many instruments advanced along the 
 gallery,^ and these were followed by a hundred gentle- 
 men of the royal household, and by the princes in 
 splendid array. In the procession walked eighteen 
 bishops and abbots, six cardinals — Bourbon, Lorraine, 
 Guise, Sens, Meudon, and Lenoncourt — besides Car- 
 dinal Trivulzio, the Pope's Legate. After these 
 came the bridegroom and bride. The Dauphin was 
 conducted by the King of Navarre, and accompanied 
 by his brothers, Charles and Henry. Queen Mary 
 walked between Henry ii. and the Duke of Lorraine.'' 
 The Hotel de Ville chronicler says that her robe was 
 covered with jewels and decorated with white em- 
 broidery. Like the princess in Love's Labour's 
 Lost, Mary must have seemed to the spectators 
 " a lady walled about with diamonds." * Two young 
 girls bore her long and sweeping train. The 
 
 ^ The musicians wore red and yellow liveries. The contemporary- 
 chronicler says that their playing was " a thing very delightful to the 
 sense of hearing." 
 
 * Not the Cardinal of Lorraine, as Miss Strickland supposes (p. 78). 
 He had gone on with the other prelates. No description, as Miss 
 Strickland reminds us, is given by any of the authorities of the dress 
 and deportment of the bridegroom. 
 
 ^ " A son col pendoit une bague d'une valeur inestimable, avec car- 
 cans, pierreries et autres richesses de grand pris. Et sur son chef portoit 
 une couronne d'or garnie de perles, diamans, rubiz, saphirs, esmeraudes, 
 et autres pierreries de valeur inestimable, et par especial au miUeu de 
 la dicte couronne pendoit une escharboucle estimee valoir cinq cens 
 mil escuz ou plus." 
 
 K I4S 
 
The Marriage of Mary and Francis 
 
 great carbuncle in her tiara was valued at 5oo,0( 
 crowns. 
 
 Immediately after the bride walked Catherine d 
 Medici with the Prince of Conde, the Queen of Navarr 
 Madame Margaret, sister of the King, and oth 
 ladies. On reaching the main door of Notre Dam 
 Henry li. drew from his finger a ring which he hande 
 to the Cardinal de Bourbon, Archbishop of Roue 
 It was this prelate, brother of the King of Navar: 
 and the Prince of Conde, and nephew of the Duche 
 Dowager of Guise, who performed the nuptial ri 
 in presence of all the people. The Bishop of Par 
 delivered an address.^ 
 
 The Duke of Guise, who loved to court the favoi 
 of the Parisians, again exerted himself to keep bac 
 the crowd of gentlemen, so that the masses migl 
 enjoy an uninterrupted view. As the King enten 
 the church, money in great quantities was throw 
 by the heralds, with a cry of " Largesse " three tim( 
 repeated. A frantic struggle ensued, and in tl 
 effort to capture a coin or two, lives were near 
 sacrificed. From the panting, exhausted multituc 
 voices were at length heard calling to the heralds i 
 throw nothing more. 
 
 Mass was celebrated by the Bishop of Paris, ar 
 immediately afterwards the royal party returned i 
 the episcopal palace for the wedding banquet. Durir 
 the meal the King asked two gentlemen, Messieu 
 de Saint-Sever and Saint-Crespin, to hold the crow 
 above the head of the bride. The ci\-ic party did n( 
 accompany the Court to the palace, as their in vita tic 
 was for supper. They dined in a small house on tl 
 
 ' This address is described in the Triumphe as " une scientifique 
 elegante oraison." 
 
 146 
 
The Marriage Festivities 
 
 Place du Parvis, and the town chronicler observes 
 that as this house was very inconvenient it would be 
 inadvisable to return there on a similar occasion. 
 The royalties had a dance after dinner, the King 
 choosing Queen Mary as his partner, and the Dauphin 
 his mother. The King of Navarre danced with 
 Princess Elizabeth, the Duke of Lorraine with Princess 
 Claude, the Prince of Conde with Madame Margaret, 
 the Duke of Nevers with the Queen of Navarre, and 
 the Duke of Nemours with the Duchess of Guise. 
 Fourteen of the greatest personages in the kingdom 
 led this impromptu ball, which ended soon after four 
 o'clock, when the bridal party proceeded to the Palais 
 de Justice for the evening revelries. Catherine de' 
 Medici and Mary Stuart were in the same open litter, 
 with the Cardinals Charles of Lorraine and Charles 
 of Bourbon on either side, and the Dauphin riding 
 behind, followed by all the great personages. The 
 Duke of Guise had made arrangements for the supper 
 and masquerades which were to bring the joyful day 
 to its climax. 
 
 At five o'clock the city fathers set out for the 
 Palais de Justice, where they were welcomed with 
 stately ceremony. At one end of the magnificent 
 hall, round which were ranged statues of all the 
 French kings from Pharamond, stood a white marble 
 table of great size and beauty, and at this the royal 
 family took their places. Twelve masters of the 
 household assisted the Duke of Guise, who was 
 sumptuously dressed in frosted cloth of gold, 
 adorned with jewels. Each dish was presented to 
 the sound of music. More dancing followed the 
 supper, and then began the entertainment which 
 the contemporary chronicler describes as " masques, 
 
 147 
 
The Marriage of Mary and Francis 
 
 mommeries, ballades et autres passetems." Out 
 the Golden Chamber came the seven planets, for i 
 great marriage was to be represented to the people £ 
 pageant gazed upon by unearthly spectators. Merci 
 passed by, arrayed in white satin, with golden gin 
 spreading wings, and the caduceus in his hand. M 
 was clad in costly armour, Venus in floating draper 
 After the planets came the childish fancy of 
 twelve hobbyhorses, caparisoned in gold and sil\ 
 each mounted by a young prince in golden costur 
 Lackeys carefully led the wicker horses, on wh 
 were seated the Princes Charles and Henry, and i 
 children of the Dukes of Guise and Aumale. 1 
 fair head of the eight-year-old Henry of Guise m- 
 have drawn many admiring glances. It was to v 
 the admiration of Tasso in after years. The golc 
 hair, the bright blue eyes, of the last of the gr( 
 Guises, were to be dipped in dust when anotl 
 generation was completed. 
 
 A train of coaches followed, carrying pilgrims 
 symbol, perhaps, of all who in later centuries shoi 
 bow before the shrine of Mary. Lastly, there enter 
 the pageant of the ships, decked with cloth of g( 
 and crimson velvet, and carrying silver sails. Slov 
 they advanced, dipping gently to an artificial bree 
 and gliding as on the surface of deep waters. < 
 each deck there were two seats of state, one occupi 
 by a prince, the other waiting for his chosen one. 
 
 Through the wide hall mo^•ed the ships, as if 
 woven wings, till they paused near the marble tab 
 at which the ladies were sitting. Then the King, 
 bold mariner, drew the bride to her place besi 
 him ; the Dauphin took his mother, the Duke 
 Lorraine the Princess Claude, Antoine of Navai 
 
 148 
 
The Pageant of the Ships 
 
 his own wife, and the Prince of Conde the Duchess 
 of Guise. 
 
 Again, as if swayed by a summer breeze, the ships 
 moved forward. Were there other vessels mingUng, 
 in the April twilight pageant, in and out among the 
 flickering torches ; the ship that was in three years 
 to take the young widow from the home she loved, 
 the ship that waited for Darnley in the Firth of Forth, 
 the ship that was to carry Bothwell from the shores 
 of Scotland ? 
 
 Giovanni Michiel, writing to the Doge and Senate 
 on April 25, described the marriage festivities. 
 " These nuptials," he said, " were really considered 
 the most regal and triumphant of any that have 
 been witnessed in this kingdom for many years, 
 whether from the concourse of the chief personages of 
 the realm both temporal and spiritual thus assembled, 
 there being present and assisting at all the solemnities 
 the Cardinal Legate, and all the other ambassadors, 
 or from the pomp and richness of the jewels and 
 apparel, both of the lords and ladies ; or from the 
 grandeur of the banquet and stately service of the 
 table, or from the costly devices of the masquerades 
 and similar revels." 
 
 He noted that nothing was wanting except jousts 
 and tournaments, which were reserved for a more 
 convenient opportunity, either at the close of the war 
 or when an agreement should be made. It was thought 
 inadvisable to put the lords and gentlemen to greater 
 expense than necessary, as they would be obliged 
 to equip themselves for the year's campaign.^ 
 
 Michiel mentioned that the wedding of Marshal 
 Strozzi's daughter to the son of the Count of Tenda 
 
 ' Venetian Calendar, vol. vi. part iii. pp. i486, 1487. 
 149 
 
The Marriage of Mary and Francis 
 
 was to be celebrated about the same time, and th; 
 the Cardinal before setting out to meet the Duche 
 of Lorraine between Peronne and Cambrai wish( 
 to honour his niece, the Queen of Scotland, with £ 
 especial entertainment in his own house. " Th 
 solemnity," added the Venetian, " has by so muc 
 more gratified and contented the Parisian popula( 
 (among whom money was thrown on entering tl 
 church as a mark of greater rejoicing) as for tw 
 hundred years there is no record of any Dauphi 
 having been married within the realm." Michi^ 
 announced that the Dauphin would henceforth l 
 known as " the King-Dauphin," and his wife as " th 
 Queen-Dauphiness." 
 
 150 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 SCOTLAND AND THE MARRIAGE — A EUROPEAN 
 SETTLEMENT 
 
 The secret pledges of the Queen of Scots to France — The three papers 
 signed at Fontainebleau — Was the Queen responsible ? — Excuses 
 for her — Motives of the Guises in this matter — Return of the 
 Scots Commissioners — The mysterious malady at Dieppe and the 
 four deaths — Preliminaries of a general Peace — Henry ii. and 
 Montmorency — Death of Mary Tudor — The treaty of Cateau- 
 Cambresis. 
 
 The Scots Commissioners, we may imagine, watched 
 the pageants in the Palace with curious and dehghted 
 eyes. Little did they dream that a trickery more 
 cunning than the mechanical contrivances which moved 
 the ships had sought to steal away the independence 
 of their country. To their minds, the ceremony at 
 Notre Dame had put the seal on the old and honourable 
 friendship between France and Scotland, and in the 
 overt settlements of the marriage the two nations 
 treated as equals. The independence of Scotland 
 and the rights and privileges of its people were main- 
 tained in the Instructions with which the envoys 
 were charged by the Estates. On April 15, Mary 
 had pledged herself and her successors, by her royal 
 word, to observe and keep the laws, liberties, and 
 privileges of Scotland, to all the subjects of that 
 kingdom, as they had been kept by their most illus- 
 trious kings. Francis and Mary, as King and Queen 
 
Scotland and the Marriage 
 
 of the Scots, Dauphin and Dauphiness of France 
 signed a similar document on April 30. Reiterate( 
 assurances were given by both Francis and his fathe 
 that the prerogatives and ancient liberties of Scotlanc 
 would be preserved inviolate. On April I9.,vfi letter 
 patent, the King of France and the Dau'phin furthe 
 promised that if Mary should die without issue, th( 
 nearest heir should succeed to the Scots ci/own withou 
 hindrance.^ / 
 
 On April 4, at Fontainebleau, Mar aihad set he 
 seal to three documents which involved her in th 
 guilt of treachery. In the secret history of Fontaine 
 bleau there is no darker or more mysterious inciden 
 than the signing of these papers. A keen-eyed Dr 
 Wotton or a suspicious Throckmorton might hav 
 heard some whisperings had either been with th 
 Court, but owing to the outbreak of war there ha( 
 been no resident English Ambassador in France fo 
 nearly a year, and we are deprived of narratives whicl 
 would have supplemented with invaluable details thi 
 records of the wedding month. 
 
 By the first of the secret papers, Mary hande( 
 over to the King of France, in the event of her leavinj 
 no children, the kingdom of Scotland, and all he 
 rights to the crown of England. The reasons givei 
 for so strange an act seem hardly adequate. The; 
 are (i) that the Kings of France had always showi 
 " singular and perfect affection in protecting an( 
 defending Scotland against the English, ancient am 
 inveterate enemies of the Queen and her predecessor' 
 and (2) that Henry 11. had shown great kindness to th 
 Queen during her minority, having maintained an 
 
 ' For these transactions see Dr. Hay Fleming's Mary Queen i 
 Scots, p. 23, and notes, p. 210. 
 
 15- 
 
The Secret Documents 
 
 still maintaining her establishment at his own 
 cost." ^ 
 
 In this first document the names of the Guises 
 are not mentioned. The donation is said to have 
 been accepted on behalf of the King and his 
 successors by the Cardinal of Sens, Keeper of the 
 Seals of France, and by the royal notaries and 
 secretaries. 
 
 In the second document, in which the Queen is 
 made to state that she is acting by the advice of her 
 uncles, the Cardinal of Lorraine and the Duke of Guise, 
 she transfers to the French King, in the like event, 
 the kingdom of Scotland until a million in gold had 
 been paid to him, or such other sum as might be 
 found owing for his defence of the country. From 
 the language employed, the girl must have been led 
 to suppose (i) that Francis i. had been pouring 
 treasure into Scotland in her father's lifetime as well 
 as her own; (2) that King Henry intended in the 
 future to take upon himself a heavy burden for the 
 defence of her country. " But for the expenses 
 already incurred and still to be incurred, the kingdom 
 of Scotland would have been in evident danger of 
 total ruin, so that its preservation is entirely 
 due to the Kings of France, and for this it was 
 impossible, as she said, for the said Lady to reward 
 them." 
 
 We can trace the hand of the Cardinal of Lorraine 
 very clearly in this second " Donation." He had 
 charge of the finances under Henry 11., and it would 
 have been easy for him to persuade his niece, by large 
 and vague generalities, that the French Treasury had 
 
 ' The text of the three documents is printed by Labanofi, Recueil, 
 vol. i. pp. 50-56. 
 
 153 
 
Scotland and the Marriage 
 
 been depleted by the continual necessity of subsidising 
 Scotland ; that Henry, in fact, had bought in advance 
 the right of inheritance. 
 
 In the third paper, which is signed by Francis as 
 well as Mary, the Queen refers to the Instructions 
 brought by the Scots Commissioners, in which, " by 
 the favour and secret practice of certain persons," 
 it was intended, should she die without heirs, to 
 transfer her kingdom " to certain lords of the country, 
 thus taking away from her, the true Queen, all right 
 and liberty to dispose of it in any way, to her great 
 regret and prejudice." 
 
 Because, for the present, she was without means 
 of openly opposing these purposes, being far away 
 from her kingdom, out of her subjects' sight, doubtful 
 of the safety of her fortresses, she protested solemnly 
 that whatever assent or consent she had given or 
 might give to the Instructions sent by the Estates, 
 she willed that the dispositions she had made in 
 favour of the Kings of France should take full 
 effect. 
 
 A careful examination of this third document 
 shows how cleverly the lawyers had done their work. 
 Every loophole of possible escape is closed. Mary 
 may not have fully mastered the legal phraseology, 
 but the broad fact at least must have been clear to 
 her that in the event of her death without heirs, 
 Scotland would be handed over to the house of 
 Valois, or would be forced to redeem her independ- 
 ence at an enormous and ruinous cost. The best 
 comment is that of Dr. Hay Fleming : " The young 
 Queen — only in her sixteenth year — probably signed 
 these deeds without fully realising their import. If 
 so, her heedlessness gives a rude shock to the pane- 
 
 154 
 
Excuses for Mary 
 
 gyrics of those apologists who speak of her precocity 
 as phenomenal." ^ 
 
 One excuse that may be made for the Queen is 
 that she had been trained from infancy in the habit 
 of impHcit, unquestioning obedience to her uncles 
 of Guise. They had watched over her with the 
 tenderest care : on their counsel she knew that her 
 mother leaned in all emergencies, and they exercised 
 at Court an almost autocratic power. How could 
 she, a girl of fifteen, have dreamt of opposing these 
 strong-willed men, especially in a matter where her 
 personal desires must have seconded their wishes ? 
 Scotland was to her a remote realm, dimly remem- 
 bered through the mists of childhood : it may not 
 unreasonably have seemed to her that she was serving 
 her people best by committing them, in the impro- 
 bable event of her leaving no direct successor, to the 
 strong guardianship of France rather than to con- 
 tending factions of her nobility. The transference 
 of the crown to Chatelherault, or as the deed vaguely 
 puts it, "a aucuns seigneurs du pais," opened up a 
 prospect of civil war. Such arguments may have 
 been suggested to the Queen with the Cardinal's 
 accustomed eloquence. She had been carefully 
 schooled in gratitude as well as in obedience, and 
 may have been sincerely willing to discharge an 
 apparently illimitable debt by a deferred and illusory 
 payment. 
 
 Vague and munificent donations were often made 
 by great personages to relatives who had done them 
 service. Thus Anne d'Este, before her marriage 
 with Francis of Guise, bequeathed to the Cardinal 
 Charles, who had arranged the union, the whole 
 
 ' Mary Queen of Scots, p. 24, and see also note on p. 21 1. 
 155 
 
Scotland and the Marriage 
 
 of the jewels that might be in her possession at 
 the time of her death, if she left no children to his 
 brother/ 
 
 From all we know of Mary's girlhood, from the 
 tone of extreme deference which marks the letters 
 written to her mother when she was thirteen or 
 fourteen, from the fact that her will never once seems 
 to have crossed that of the King or the Cardinal, it 
 may fairly be assumed that no compulsion was needed 
 at Fontainebleau, on the Monday in Holy Week when 
 she was called before high officials to sign these deeds 
 of perilous import. Would pressure have been used 
 if necessary ? Was her hand held morally though 
 not physically, in a grasp like that of Lord 
 Lindsay's mailed glove at Lochleven ? These are 
 questions that we must surely answer in the 
 affirmative. 
 
 The motives of the Guises in advising their niece 
 are very easily read. Their position never needed 
 strengthening more than at this moment when it 
 seemed impregnably strong. The King was learning 
 to dislike them, if only from the fact that their faces 
 were constantly before him, while Montmorency's 
 was absent. He must have viewed with jealous eyes 
 the popularity of Francis, and he may with justice 
 have blamed the Cardinal for stirring up the war 
 which had cost him that daily refreshment of 
 intercourse with the Constable on which his spirit 
 subsisted. The Cardinal, in his prosperity, became 
 unbearably arrogant, and his high, impatient temper 
 never learned to " suffer fools gladly." Ominous 
 indications may have warned the brothers that a 
 Prince's favour is uncertain, unless it rests on personal 
 
 • Ren6 de Bouill6, vol. i. pp. 202, 203, note. 
 156 
 
The Deaths at Dieppe 
 
 affection, and tlie signing of the deeds may have been 
 planned as a magnificent gift which should conciliate 
 Henry's favour. They must have reflected, also, 
 that the women of their house had, with few 
 exceptions, been blessed with large families, and 
 that the young and blooming Mary was not likely 
 to leave barren the great houses of Stuart and 
 Valois. 
 
 The Scots Commissioners had come to France on 
 a very trying mission. We scrutinise the names 
 closely, asking who was man enough to bear the 
 full weight of responsibility for the refusal of " the 
 honours of Scotland," the crown, the sceptre, and the 
 other regalia which were used in the coronation of 
 a Scottish king. The Dauphin Francis never wore 
 the crown of Scotland, for the Estates did not permit 
 the regalia to leave the country. They suspected, 
 with good reason, that the treasures towards which 
 covetous eyes were straining from the other side of 
 the Channel might never return to Edinburgh. In 
 the pathetic pageant of the Palais de Justice no ship 
 bore the symbols of Scottish independence. 
 
 The title " King of Scotland " was frankly allowed 
 to the Dauphin, under the marriage-contract, and 
 the Commissioners " swore allegiance to him during 
 the subsistence of the marriage." ^ 
 
 As autumn approached, the Commissioners set 
 forward on their homeward journey. From Dieppe 
 came the shocking news that sickness had overtaken 
 them, and that the Bishop of Orkney was dead. 
 Cassillis, Rothes, and Fleming succumbed to the 
 malady, and poison was naturally suspected. Con- 
 temporary Scottish writers are in little doubt as to 
 
 ' Dr. Hay Fleming, Mary Queen of Scots, p. 25. 
 IS7 
 
Scotland and the Marriage 
 
 the reason of the outbreak, and to their testimony 
 may be added that of De Thou/ 
 
 The Commissioners who perished at Dieppe were 
 probably victims of one of the epidemic maladies 
 which were specially prevalent in seaports. In August 
 1561, the Duke of Guise and the Cardinal of Lorraine, 
 before seeing their niece away from Calais, were 
 attacked by an illness which roused suspicions of 
 poisoning. There is no evidence for connecting the 
 uncles of the Queen of Scots with the deaths of the 
 four Commissioners. 
 
 In November 1558, the surviving colleagues 
 appeared before the Scottish Parliament to render 
 an account of their embassy. If these four had 
 believed that their companions had perished by 
 poison, would the Estates have consented to send 
 the crown matrimonial to the King-Dauphin by the 
 hands of some lords of the realm ? The question 
 may fairly be asked ; but for sufficient reasons the 
 crown matrimonial was not sent to France, and the 
 twice repeated use of the word " allanerlie " in the 
 Act of Parliament ^ suggests that the envoys may have 
 
 • De Thou says in book xx. of his History that the brothers of 
 the Regent were suspected of poisoning the Scots delegates for the 
 marriage. He pays a tribute to the dead — " tous illustres par leur 
 vertu et par I'amour qu'ils avoient pour leur pais." The Lord James, 
 he says, had been attacked by the same malady as the others, but 
 because of his youth and good constitution he escaped death. He felt 
 the efiects of the malady, however, adds the historian, till the end of 
 his life. 
 
 ^ Dr. Hay Fleming, Mary Queen of Scots, p. 26. 
 
 The Diurnal of Occiirrents says : " Upoun the penult daj^ of 
 September, the zeir foirsaid, the commissionaris quhillv past into 
 France for treiting of the quenis mariage, returnit and come in Scotland, 
 quhairof the names ar befoir specifiet, and the erle of Rothes and 
 Cassillis, and James Lord Flemyng deceissit in Dcip ; and the bischope 
 of Orknay deceissit on his returneing in the said toun of Deip alsua " 
 (P- 52). 
 
 158 
 
Peace Negotiations 
 
 warned the Regent and the Estates that the Dauphin's 
 ill-health promised no long duration for the marriage. 
 
 The first letter written by Mary after her marriage 
 was a commendation of the ambassadors to her 
 mother.^ Her praise is cordial, and gives no hint 
 that the revels at the marriage were to end in a too 
 realistic danse macabre. On September 16, she noti- 
 fied the death of the Bishop of Orkney at Dieppe/ 
 and the illness of his companions. It was a sickly 
 season. The Queen wrote : "As for the news of 
 the Court, the King, the King my husband, and all 
 my uncles are with the army, and all are well, thank 
 God. There are many sicknesses in the camp, but 
 these are beginning to decrease." 
 
 French statesmen, in the months following the 
 marriage, were anxiously occupied in arranging the 
 preliminaries of a European settlement. Proposals 
 for a treaty were made in May 1558, in private inter- 
 views between the Cardinal Charles and the Dowager 
 Duchess of Lorraine. The affection of Henry 11. for 
 Montmorency was the goading influence on the side 
 of France. " I shall die happy," ^ wrote the King to 
 the Constable, " if I can see a good peace, and the 
 man whom I love and esteem more than any other 
 in this world. Since this is so, do not hesitate to 
 fix your ransom at any price, however high." The 
 King, Montmorency, and Diane formed during the 
 last year of the reign a powerful triumvirate opposed 
 to the Guises. The King desired peace chiefly because 
 it would bring back his war-worn general. He wrote 
 to assure the Constable of the loyalty of the Duchess 
 of Valentinois, and of the dangerous disposition of 
 
 ^ Labanoff, vol. i. p. 57. ^ Ibid. p. 58. 
 
 ' F. Decrue, Anne de Montmorency, vol. ii. pp. 211-20. 
 
 159 
 
A European Settlement 
 
 the Duke of Guise. " Monsieur de Guise does n 
 want peace." He warned Montmorency, howev€ 
 that no overt hostility must be shown to the Lorrainei 
 " Make pretence that you are very friendly with tho 
 who are with me ; I say this to you not withoi 
 reason." ^ Yet again Henry wrote : " Do what yc 
 can so that we may have peace. The greatest pleasu 
 I could know would be to have a good peace and i 
 see you at liberty." ^ 
 
 Giovanni Michiel, writing on November 2, 155 
 noted that when Montmorency came to visit the Kir 
 at Beauvais, Henry never loosed his hand during tl 
 time they were together. After their semi-publ 
 meeting in the chamber of Madame de Valentinoi 
 the King withdrew the Constable for two hour 
 private talk on state affairs. The friends suppe 
 together, and the King " had a bed prepared for h 
 Excellency in the wardrobe adjoining his Majesty 
 chamber." ' Michiel remarked that even at th 
 time, while the negotiations for peace were proceedir 
 at Cercamp, an open rivalry had broken out betwee 
 the houses of Guise and Montmorency.* On Noven 
 ber 15 he wrote of the enmity between Diane c 
 Poitiers and the Cardinal of Lorraine, " she being s 
 united with the Constable that they are one and tl 
 same thing." ^ The haughty favourite talked of tl 
 prelate who in his boyhood had served her so assidi 
 ously as " Master Charles." 
 
 The Guises were opposed to a dishonourable peac 
 partly, perhaps, from patriotic motives, but chiefl 
 
 ' F. Decrue, Anne de Montmorency, vol. ii. p. 211. 
 
 ' Ibid. 
 
 ' Venetian Calendar, vol. vi. part iii. p. 1541. 
 
 * Ibid. » Ibid. p. 1545. 
 
 i6o 
 
" A Prisoners' Peace " 
 
 because the uplifting of Montmorency meant their 
 decHne. Michiel remarked on the grief and dejection 
 of the Duke of Guise, who saw the fruits of his con- 
 quests shpping out of his hands/ He appears to have 
 threatened that if the King did not confirm him in 
 the charge of Grand Master, he would retire from 
 his Majesty's service and live in private. " Although 
 the King's reply is not yet known," wrote Michiel, " the 
 rivalry of these two Ministers is already on the verge 
 of enmity and open hatred, and has passed the bounds 
 of emulation, with no slight danger of some strange 
 accidents occurring between them to the detriment 
 of this kingdom." ^ 
 
 A striking sentence occurs in Queen Mary's letter 
 of September i6th. " They were hoping for a peace, 
 but this is still so uncertain that I shall say nothing 
 to you about it, except that they say the peace should 
 not be arranged by prisoners like the Constable and 
 Marshal Saint-Andre." ' 
 
 This talk of a " prisoners' peace " must have 
 been caught up by the Queen from her uncle Charles, 
 for one of his complaints was that his proposals were 
 frustrated by prisoners who wanted peace at any price. 
 He said that the French were too accommodating, 
 and approached the Spaniards with clasped hands. 
 In September he wrote to Montmorency, " As for 
 making new offers, and extending our proposals, I do 
 not see a single reason why the King should do it, 
 and our negotiations will serve no other purpose 
 than to give them something more every time." ^ 
 
 ' Venetian Calendar, vol. vi. part iii. p. 1546. 
 ^ Ibid. p. 1548. ' Labanoff, vol. i. p. 59. 
 
 * Papiers d'etat de Granvelle, vol. i. p. 203. See also A. de Ruble, 
 Le Traite de Cateau-CambrSsis, pp. 3-6. 
 
 I, 161 
 
A European Settlement 
 
 The death of Mary Tudor on November 17, 1558, 
 interrupted the negotiations of Cercamp. Henry 11. 
 caused his daughter-in-law to be proclaimed in Paris 
 as Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland. The 
 arms of England were assumed by Mary and Francis, 
 and the Cardinal of Lorraine, as Melville says, caused 
 the Queen's silver plate to be renewed and " pat 
 theron the armories of England." ^ Dr. Wotton, 
 writing to Cecil on January g, 1559, blamed the Guises 
 for pushing their niece's claims. " Therefore, what- 
 ever they shall say, sing or pipe, their interest is to 
 increase the power of their niece the Queen of Scots 
 and her posterity, which will be the chief staff and 
 pillar that the house of Guise will have to trust to. 
 And for this what could they wish for more than 
 that England might be brought under France by the 
 Queen of Scots' feigned title to the crown of England? " ^ 
 
 The plenipotentiaries reassembled at Cateau- 
 Cambresis, and on April 2nd and 3rd, treaties were 
 signed between England and France on the one side, 
 and between France and Spain on the other. Many 
 singular proposals were put forward during the dis- 
 cussions. It was suggested, for example, that if the 
 Dauphin and Mary Stuart had a daughter, she should 
 marry Queen Elizabeth's son, although Elizabeth was 
 not yet married. If such a union could be concluded 
 in the future, Mary would relinquish all claim to 
 England.* 
 
 The Treaty was considered, especially by the soldiers, 
 to be highly dishonourable to France, which sur- 
 
 ' Memoirs, p. 76. 
 
 ' Foreign Calendar, "Elizabeth," vol. i. pp. 85, 86. 
 "Ibid. p. 131. See also 1'". Dccnio, Ainic de Montmorency, \o\. ii- 
 p. 224. 
 
Peace of Cateau-Cambresis 
 
 rendered all the r.alian conquests of the last eighty 
 years. Italian enterprises had, however, brought no 
 permanent strength to the country, and had proved 
 a drain on the national resources which could ill be 
 borne. France kept the three bishoprics and Calais ; 
 and it was arranged that Philip ii. should marry 
 Elizabeth of Valois, who had been offered at first for 
 his son, Don Carlos ; and that Margaret, sister of 
 Henry ii., should wed the Duke of Savoy. 
 
 163 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 THE COURT IN 1559 
 
 Marriage of the Duke of Lorraine witli the Princess Claude of France — 
 The King and Queen Dauphin's share in the wedding festivities 
 — Ill-health of Francis and Mary — Preparations for the " Treaty " 
 marriages — Madame Margaret of France — Relations of the Con- 
 stable with the Huguenots — Rivalry between Montmorency and 
 the Guises — Revival of persecution. 
 
 One of Mary's child-companions, the Princess Claude 
 of France, became a bride in the early days of 1559. 
 She was born in 1547, and was a baby in arms when 
 the Scots Queen came to France. Alone of the seven 
 royal children who survived infancy, she was destined 
 to leave a grandson to Catherine de' Medici. For the 
 twelve-year-old girl a more attractive husband than 
 the Dauphin had been chosen. Charles of Lorraine 
 was a bright and charming boy, skilled in all the 
 gallantries of the Court, graceful in person, kind- 
 hearted and generous. The prince of Venetian literary 
 portrait-painters, Giovanni Michiel, describes the 
 young Duke's meeting with his mother in May 1558, 
 under the guardianship of the Cardinal of Lorraine. 
 He was told that he might choose freely, either to 
 depart with his mother or to return to the French 
 Court. " The Duke replied that he should not know 
 how to live in any other place than where he had 
 resided hitherto." ^ The Cardinal's attendants re- 
 
 ' Venetian Calendar, vol. vi. part iii. p. 1407. 
 104 
 
Marriage of the Princess Claude 
 
 ported that the Duchess became speechless, and almost 
 fainted with joy when she saw that her boy was grown 
 so agile, so graceful and agreeable in presence.^ The 
 worst calumniators of the Court of Henry ii. cannot 
 deny that it was a training-school for gallant gentle- 
 men. The Duke was received, on his return to Court, 
 with " infinite joy." Henry ii. " again and again 
 threw his arms round his neck and kissed him re- 
 peatedly, the Queen and the King-Dauphin doing 
 the like, and in short the whole Court." Michiel 
 adds that this brief absence had " sufficiently proved 
 the wish for him which he had left behind, and the 
 great love borne him by everybody." ^ 
 
 The boy and girl were betrothed on January 20, 
 1559, in presence of the ambassadors and great per- 
 sonages of the kingdom. They were married on 
 Sunday, January 22, in Notre Dame, with the 
 ceremonies used at the wedding of the Dauphin. 
 The Duchy of Lorraine had voted 200,000 crowns 
 as a wedding gift to its youthful lord, and the bride 
 was to have 300,000 crowns as dowry. Michiel feared 
 that the Duke must have squandered the greater 
 part of his money in grandeur and generosity. A 
 joust was performed at the back of the Hotel of the 
 Duke of Guise, in which the bridegroom was supported 
 by the King, the Duke of Guise, and other princes. 
 They were richly clad at his expense in cloth of gold 
 and silver to match his livery.^ 
 
 The opponents were led by the King-Dauphin, 
 " who in like manner clad his fellow-j ousters." The 
 Duke gave costly fur-lined robes to the lords and 
 ladies of the Court, including Mary Stuart. France 
 
 ' Venetian Calendar, vol. vi. part iii. 
 
 ^ Ibid. p. 1498. ' Ibid. vol. vii. p. 20. 
 
 i6s 
 
The Court in 1559 
 
 was exhausted after costly wars, but no voice pleaded 
 for economy. Michiel informs us that the Duke 
 spent 7000 or 8000 ducats on the masquerade which 
 followed the joust, and the King-Dauphin as much. 
 No wonder that the Constable Montmorency preferred 
 that the wedding of his son Damville to Mademoiselle 
 de Bouillon (granddaughter of Diane de Poitiers) 
 should be celebrated in the comparative quiet of 
 Chantilly. 
 
 Queen Mary and her husband played their part in 
 the festivities held in the Palace of the Tournelles, 
 and in the Hotels of Lorraine and Guise. Foreign 
 ambassadors noted that during the nuptials the arms 
 of the Dauphin's wife had been quartered with those 
 of England.^ The young couple had never been 
 far removed from the Court during their first months 
 of wedded life, and amid the national rejoicings over 
 the peace of Cateau-Cambresis, the precarious health 
 of Francis and his girl-wife must have occasioned 
 much anxiety to their relatives. The hopes of the 
 house of Guise were centred on two delicate chil- 
 dren. 
 
 The Dauphin had seemed fairly well in the autumn 
 of 1558, when he accompanied his father to the camp 
 near Amiens, but experienced physicians must have 
 warned Henry 11. that the constitution of his eldest 
 son gave no promise of long life. Mary had gone 
 into mourning for the Queen of England in the winter 
 of 1558.^ Her own sickliness was noted with satis- 
 faction by Sir John Mason. \A'riting to Cecil on 
 March 18, 1559, he said : " The Queen of Scots is 
 very sick, and those men fear slio will not long 
 
 ' Vciteliau Calendar, vol. vii. p. jy. 
 " Papal Negotiations, p. 12. 
 
 166 
 
Illness of Mary 
 
 continue. God take her to Him so soon as may 
 please Him." ^ 
 
 Throckmorton, who represented the Enghsh 
 Government in Paris, after the peace of Cateau- 
 Cambresis, mentioned the Queen's renewed illness.^ 
 On May 24, the Enghsh envoys for the peace " were 
 conducted to the Scottish Queen, who was in a chamber 
 with the King-Dauphin, to whom the Chamberlain 
 presented the Queen's letters and commendations." 
 Throckmorton added: "Assuredly, Sir, the Scottish 
 Queen in mine opinion looketh very ill on it, very 
 pale and green, and withal short-breathed, and it is 
 whispered here among them that she cannot long 
 live." " 
 
 A sad hint as to the Dauphin's mental feebleness 
 is conveyed in the Ambassador's words, " Being 
 admonished by the Constable, the Dauphin said he 
 was very glad to see his father and the Queen in such 
 amity, and would do all he could for the conservation 
 of it." * The Constable warned the political envoys 
 that the Queen was weak, and " seemed to be loath 
 they should trouble her with long communica- 
 tion." ® After a polite interchange of words, the 
 strangers took their leave. On May 28, Henry 11. 
 ratified the oath of peace with England. Michiel 
 says that the English representatives, when about 
 to take leave, received a courier with an express 
 commission from Queen Elizabeth, bidding them 
 by no means forget to administer the same oath 
 to the King and Queen Dauphin, as rulers of Scot- 
 land. This ceremony took place after evensong 
 
 ' Foreign Calendar, "Elizabeth" vol. i. p. 179- 
 
 ^ Ibid. p. 271. ' Ibid. pp. 272, 273. 
 
 * Ibid. p. 277. ' Ibid. 
 
 167 
 
The Court in 1559 
 
 on the same day, in the private chapel of the 
 Louvre.' 
 
 Mary's health continued very precarious through 
 the summer of 1559. Writing on June 21, Throck- 
 morton said that on the i8th she had been " evil at 
 ease " in church, and was kept from fainting by wine 
 brought from the altar. He had never seen her look 
 so ill, and the French and Scots feared she could not 
 long continue.^ 
 
 Two friends of Mary's childhood were to leave 
 the French Court in 1559, in obedience to the marriage 
 settlements of Cateau-Cambresis. One was her first 
 companion, the Princess Elizabeth, who had been 
 proposed as a bride for Edward vi. and for Don Carlos, 
 and was now to be wedded to Philip 11., a bridegroom 
 of more than twice her years. The other was Madame 
 Margaret, sister of Henry 11., who at the mature age 
 of thirty-five was to be united to the Duke of Savoy. 
 Margaret was one of the most learned women of her 
 time, and is said to have known all languages taught 
 at the College of Navarre, except Hebrew. She did 
 not possess the graceful literary gift of her aunt 
 Margaret, sister of Francis i., but her solid erudition 
 won the admiration of Michel de I'Hopital. The 
 Venetian Ambassador, Marino Cavalli, described her 
 in 1546 as " sopra tutto erudita," for she understood 
 Latin, Greek, and Italian. He was surprised that 
 this lady, who was worthy of a great prince, should 
 be unmarried at twenty-two.^ Brantome tells us 
 that her learning won for her the title of the Minerva 
 
 ' Venetian Calendar, vol. vii. p. 90. 
 
 " h'oreif^ii Caleiidiir, "Elizabeth," vol. i. p. U'7. 
 
 " Tommasco, Relalioiis dcs .iinbassadcuys Vinitiens, vol. i. 
 
 284. 
 
 16S 
 
The " Treaty " Marriages 
 
 of France, that her device was an olive-branch with 
 which two serpents were entwined, and her motto 
 " Rerum Sapientia Gustos." It was the fashion 
 among poets and learned men to dedicate their works 
 to this appreciative patroness. Margaret supervised 
 the studies of her nieces and of the Queen of Scots. 
 Writing on April 25, 1559, to the Duke of Savoy, 
 Mary spoke of the pleasure she experienced on account 
 of " the alliance between you and my aunt, to whom, 
 on account of her virtue and honour, and because 
 of the favour which I have long received and still 
 continue to receive from her, I am under great 
 obligations." ^ 
 
 Preparations for the double wedding enlivened 
 Paris in the months of May and June. The Cardinal 
 of Lorraine was arranging a comedy at a cost of 
 30,000 or 40,000 francs. To outside observers he 
 appeared entirely occupied with pomp and show. He 
 was sent on a flying visit to Brussels to receive the 
 oath of peace from Philip, and told the princes and 
 others who were to accompany him that the more 
 they exerted themselves to be well horsed and sumptu- 
 ously clad, the better would he be pleased.^ " Nothing 
 is talked of here but handsome and costly apparel." 
 Charles received from Philip 11. a service of gold 
 and silver plate worth 15,000 crowns, and Paulo 
 Tiepolo, writing from Brussels, says : "He has left 
 here a very high character for being an adroit 
 and prudent negotiator, and above all an eloquent 
 one." ' 
 
 On his journeys between the Court and Brussels 
 the Cardinal must have been thinking deeply and 
 
 ' Papal Negotiations, p. 43 1 . 
 
 * Venetian Calendar, vol. vii. p. 69. ^ Ibid. p. 87. 
 
 169 
 
The Court in 1559 
 
 darkly. He knew that Diane and Montmorency 
 were all-powerful with Henry li., and that their 
 influence was quietly working against him. A 
 mistress of sixty and a friend of sixty-six divided the 
 affections of a King aged forty. The wedding of 
 Damville to a granddaughter of Diane neutrahsed 
 such influence as the Guises might possess through 
 the marriage of Aumale to her daughter. In letters 
 written to Montmorency during his captivity, Diane 
 was not merely the mouthpiece of the King. She 
 had words of comfort and hope to offer on her own 
 behalf. " If you will remember my natural dis- 
 position, you will find that I am a friend in all the 
 fortunes of the world." ^ 
 
 These two elderly people, from motives of affection 
 as well as of self-interest, must have desired the long 
 continuance of the reign of Henry 11. ; the fortunes 
 of the Guises, on the other hand, were linked with 
 those of the Dauphin and his bride. They had advised 
 Henry to follow the example of Charles v., who saw 
 his son crowned in his lifetime. A crowned son 
 might perhaps become a menace for a reigning 
 monarch. 
 
 Montmorency had long been labouring to maintain 
 good terms with England, and after the Treaty his 
 son Francis was one of the envoys sent to London 
 to receive the oath from Elizabeth. The Constable 
 entertained the English embassy at Chantilly and 
 licouen. When Throckmorton complained that Mary 
 Stuart had assumed the arms of England, the Con- 
 stable reminded him that Elizabeth had not aban- 
 doned the claims of her ancestors to bear those of 
 France. " He wished," writes M. Decrue, " to smooth 
 
 ' G. Guiffrcy, Lctlres in&dites de Dianiic de Poyiiers, p. 158. 
 
 170 
 
Policy of the Constable 
 
 all differences. Praise of Queen Elizabeth was con- 
 stantly in his mouth. He was inclined to further 
 her marriage with the King of Sweden. As the 
 Lorrainers linked their cause with that of the Queen 
 of Scotland and the young King Francis, it seemed 
 that the favourite of Henry ii. ought to attach his 
 own cause to that of Mary Stuart's rival. The English 
 alliance might make up for the reverse of Saint- 
 Quentin ; but the English alliance carried with it the 
 Protestant alliance, and Montmorency did not wish 
 for that." ^ 
 
 The Constable may not have desired a formal 
 league with any Protestant sovereign, but he returned 
 from his captivity in no mood to persecute at home. 
 His nephew Andelot, who had been denounced as a 
 heretic, deprived of the colonelship of the infantry 
 and imprisoned at Melun, was brought back to Court 
 at Montmorency's entreaty. Antoine de Bourbon, 
 first Prince of the blood royal, was the real head of 
 the national party in France, and although long- 
 standing disputes had alienated him from the Con- 
 stable, the veteran statesman must have regarded 
 the Bourbons, and especially their head, the King 
 of Navarre, " as a dyke which would keep back the 
 overwhelming inrush of Guise." The King of Navarre, 
 the restless and inconstant Antoine, was at this moment 
 patronising the Huguenots. In the summer of 1558, 
 he and his wife Jeanne d'Albret had joined in the 
 psalm-singing in the Pre-aux-Clercs, which the 
 Catholics regarded as an open avowal of heresy. 
 Though the Constable did propose to the Duke of 
 Alba (June 1559) that France and Spain should unite 
 against the Swiss, destroy Geneva, and afterwards 
 
 '■ F. Decrue, Anne de Montmorency , vol. ii. p. 233. 
 171 
 
The Court in 1559 
 
 make war upon the Turks/ some of his near relatives 
 and natural aUies were so far compromised that he 
 could not wilhngly have given his sanction to the 
 persecution which the Cardinal of Lorraine desired to 
 initiate on French soil. Peace with England and the 
 restoration of order at home were his political desires. 
 He discouraged any interference with Scotland on 
 the ground of rehgion alone, thereby placing himself 
 in sharp antagonism with the Guises, who advised 
 their sister to put down heresy with a strong hand. 
 In sending Melville to Scotland he used these significant 
 words : " Gif it be only religion that moves them, we 
 mon commit Scottismens saules unto God, for we have 
 anough ado to reuU the consciences of our awen centre 
 men. It is the obedience dew unto ther lawfuU Quen 
 with ther bodyes that the King desyres." ^ He sug- 
 gested that if M. d'Oysel was not liked, the King would 
 send another lieutenant to Scotland, meaning, as 
 Melville supposed, M. d' Andelot his nephew. Henry 11. 
 said, laying his hand on Melville's shoulder, " Do as 
 my gossop hes directed, and I sail reward you." 
 
 The letter written by Henry to Pope Paul iv.,and 
 dated June 29/ promised drastic action against 
 heresy in Scotland. " A large and sufficient posse 
 or force of French soldiers, both infantry and cavalry," 
 was to be dispatched immediately, and a second 
 large army was to follow if necessary. " Our con- 
 fidence," wrote Henry, " is in God, who is signally 
 offended at this wretched pest of ruffians. He will 
 so provide that our most dear and well-beloved son 
 and daughter, the King and Queen Dauphin, and 
 the Queen Dowager their mother, with our aid and 
 
 ' F. Dccruc, vol. ii. p. 249, 
 
 " Memoirs, pp. 80, 81. ■■ Papal Negotiations, pp. 17-20. 
 
 172 
 
Threats of Persecution 
 
 succour, will overcome these heretics and schismatics, 
 and force and power will be in their hands to chastise 
 and punish their great temerity and arrogance." 
 
 He further promised to " correct, extirpate, and 
 exterminate " the heretics " with all demonstration 
 of exemplary rigour, and so to cleanse the said realm 
 of infidels, disturbers and enemies of the common 
 good and general peace." 
 
 If this letter was not actually dictated by the 
 Cardinal of Lorraine, the policy was probably inspired 
 by him, but the promises made to Paul iv. hardly 
 correspond with the cautious instructions given to 
 Melville and Bethencourt.^ Henry ii. could ill spare 
 either soldiers or money for a Scottish war. As we 
 shall see in a later chapter, the State coffers at his 
 death did not contain sufficient money to pay the 
 royal creditors. The dowries of the Princesses Claude 
 and Elizabeth, the costly expenditure for the double 
 wedding of Elizabeth and Margaret, were a heavy 
 drain on Henry's resources, and without peace re- 
 cuperation was impossible. 
 
 It was not surprising that the Duke of Guise, 
 Brissac, Montluc, Tavannes, and other military leaders 
 should regret a peace by which France surrendered 
 nearly two hundred places that had been taken in 
 the recent wars. Such writers as Agrippa d'Aubigne 
 and Pasquier join in the chorus of lamentation. 
 But a worse disaster than the loss of territory now 
 menaced France. The Treaty of Cateau-Cambresis 
 opened a new era of persecution and ushered in the 
 period of the wars of religion. 
 
 ' Papal Negotiations, p. xxxiii. 
 
 173 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 " THOSE OF THE RELIGION " 
 
 "Cast down, but not destroyed" — The Huguenots in 1559 — The 
 year of reformation — The coup d'etat of Henry 11. — Arrest of 
 members of the Parlement of Paris. 
 
 On the staircase of the Martelet at Loches there 
 are engraved some broken Latin words which might 
 sum up the history of the Huguenots until 1559. 
 M. Edmond Gautier, the learned modern scholar who 
 has explored for us the deep and awful darkness of 
 these prisons, gives a facsimile of the inscription and 
 bids us reconstruct it with the help of 2 Cor. iv. 8, 9. 
 The key- words are " sed non." The letters run 
 as follows : — 
 
 Sed non 
 
 Patimur sed non der- 
 Humiliamur sed non co- 
 de] icimur sed 
 perimus. 
 The full Latin text is quoted by M. Gautier : — 
 " In omnibus trihulationem patimur, sed non angnsti- 
 amur : aporiamur sed non dcstiUmnur : 
 
 " Persecutionem patimur, sed -non dcrclinquiinnr : 
 humiliamur sed non confundimur : dejicimnr sed 
 non perimus." 
 
 Wc know tliese beautiful words best in the language 
 of our English Version : " We are troubled on every 
 
 174 
 
The Huguenots in 1559 
 
 side, yet not distressed : we are perplexed, but not in 
 despair : persecuted, but not forsaken : cast down, 
 but not destroyed." 
 
 As M. Gautier points out, the words " Humiliamur, 
 sed non confundimur," have been added to the sacred 
 text.^ 
 
 This is the true motto of the Huguenots in the 
 middle of the sixteenth century. " It was no common 
 hand," says M. Gautier, " which traced in graceful 
 and accurate lettering that proud protest, full of 
 threatening and defiance." 
 
 The name of the writer is unknown, — he lived in all 
 probability before the reign of Henry 11., — but his 
 words are as sacred as the motto of the burning bush. 
 
 The Church of Paris was founded in 1555, in the 
 house of a gentleman living in the Pre-aux-Clercs. 
 The number of Protestants in France, in the year of 
 Mary Stuart's marriage, was reckoned by Calvin at 
 300,000, and by the Venetian Ambassador, Soranzo, 
 at 400,000.^ On May 26, 1559, the first national 
 synod was held, and delegates attended from all parts 
 of the country. 
 
 Contemporary Protestants believed that in the 
 Treaty of Cateau-Cambresis there was a secret clause 
 which pledged Henry 11. and Philip 11. to root out 
 heresy in their respective countries. No proof has 
 been discovered of the existence of such a clause, 
 but the Huguenots were right in apprehending a new 
 era of persecution.^ If Montmorency and Alba had 
 
 ' Histoire du Donjon de Loches, p. 96. 
 
 2 See for many valuable statistics Professor Erich Marcks' Gaspard 
 von Coligny, p. 132. 
 
 ' In the first dispatch which Throckmorton wrote from France 
 (May 15, 1559) he mentioned that he was certainly informed that 
 50,000 persons in Gascoigne, Guyenne, Anjou, Poictiers, Normandy, 
 
 175 
 
"Those of the Religion" 
 
 led a united army against Geneva, their swords would 
 have been turned against the bosoms of many noble 
 Frenchmen. From 1556 there had been a steady 
 stream of emigrants from England, Italy, and France 
 into the city of refuge. After the catastrophe of Saint- 
 Quentin, a whisper went abroad that the lives of the 
 heretics must be a sin-offering to the offended Deity. 
 This explains the ferocity with which the Protestants 
 of the rue Saint-Jacques were punished in the autumn 
 of 1557. While the war lasted, however, French 
 gentlemen of all religious sympathies must be united 
 under the flag. The imprisonment of Andelot at 
 Meaux and Melun was an isolated incident : the 
 King, probably ashamed of his violence, brought 
 the young soldier back to Court at the entreaty of the 
 Constable. It is a curious paradox of the time that 
 the Guises, heads of the persecuting party, were the 
 most zealous adherents of the continuance of the war 
 which made persecution impossible except in sporadic 
 outbursts ; while Montmorency, the uncle of the man 
 who was to lead French Protestantism — Gaspard de 
 Coligny — was the maker of the peace which opened 
 the way to persecution. However severely we may 
 blame the Cardinal of Lorraine for his violence against 
 the Reformers, he was the least responsible of the 
 French plenipotentiaries for the humiliating peace of 
 Cateau-Cambresis. In the negotiations he was over- 
 borne by the Constable and his master.^ 
 
 In the year 1559 long - smouldering rehgious 
 passions burst into flame beyond the borders of France. 
 
 and Maine had subscribed to a confession of religion conformable to 
 that of Geneva, " which they mind shortly to exhibit to the King" 
 {Forcif^n Calendar, " Elizabeth," vol. i. pp. .:55, 256). 
 
 ' He is blamed, however, for letting it be known in private that 
 France would surrender the Italian conquests. 
 
 176 
 
Henry II. as Persecutor 
 
 The month of May saw the arrival of John Knox in 
 Edinburgh and the wrecking of the churches at Perth. 
 " Before the end of the month there were two armed 
 hosts in the field. There were more sermons, and 
 where Knox preached the idols fell and monks and 
 nuns were turned adrift." ^ In the same month took 
 place the hideous auto-de-fe at Valladolid. The negoti- 
 ations of Cateau-Cambresis, it must have seemed to 
 contemporaries, had brought not peace, but sword 
 and fire. 
 
 Henry ii., unwilling to be outdone by his new 
 ally Philip ii., prepared the coup d'etat of June lo, 
 when he arrested at a sitting of the Parlement of 
 Paris, the counsellors Anne du Bourg and Louis du 
 Faur. 
 
 The best contemporary account of the incident 
 is that of the historian Pierre de la Place. ^ 
 
 Complaint was made that the Criminal Chamber 
 of La Tournelle did not proceed with sufficient rigour 
 against heretics. The Cardinal of Lorraine accused 
 the judges of conniving at the escape of the criminals.' 
 President Seguier was blamed for undue leniency, 
 and when he, with some of his colleagues, went to ask 
 the King for the payment of salaries which were 
 nearly two years in arrear, the Cardinal stepped for- 
 ward and said, " I think there is no desire to keep back 
 your wages, if you will faithfully carry out your duties 
 in all respects." Seguier answered that he was not 
 aware that there had been any neglect of duty on their 
 part. " Yes," said the Cardinal, " you do not punish 
 
 ' Professor Maitland in Cambridge Modern History, vol. ii. p. 573. 
 2 Commentaires de I'Estat de la Religion et R&puhlique (Pantheon 
 litteraire). 
 
 ' Pierre de la Place, p. 1 1 . 
 
 M 177 
 
" Those of the ReHgion " 
 
 the heretics." The President responded that the 
 heretics had been so well punished that of all the many 
 persons who had been in the prisons only three were 
 left. " A fine thing ! " answered Charles. " You 
 have got rid of them by sending them to be judged by 
 their bishops ! . . . You are to blame because not 
 Poitiers alone, but the whole of Poitou as far as 
 Bordeaux, Toulouse, Provence, and France in general 
 is filled with that vermin, which increases and multiplies 
 in the expectation of your support." 
 
 The opposing sympathies of the Court and the 
 Parlement came at last into sharp collision. Henry ii., 
 accompanied by the Constable, the Cardinals of 
 Lorraine and Guise, and many other notables, attended 
 the sitting of the Parlement on June lo in the monas- 
 tery of the Augustines. Throckmorton reported 
 that a hundred and twenty counsellors and Presidents 
 were present, and that " the Cardinal of Lorraine 
 earnestly enveighed against the Protestants, request- 
 ing execution to be made of them and confiscation 
 of their goods." ^ 
 
 Throckmorton's account does not correspond with 
 that of Pierre de la Place, who informs us that the 
 King was the first speaker, and that he was followed 
 by the Cardinal de Sens, Keeper of the Seals. Henry 
 said that as God had been pleased to give him a peace, 
 the stability of which was being confirmed by mar- 
 riages, he felt it his duty to seek a remedy for the 
 divisions of religion, for this was the thing which he 
 believed would be most pleasing to God. The Cardinal 
 of Sens asked that the discussion which was proceed- 
 ing on the question of religion should be continued 
 in his Majesty's presence, and that the counsellors 
 
 ' Foreign Calendar, " Elizabeth," vol. i. p. 309. 
 17S 
 
The Coup d'Etat of June 1559 
 
 should give their opinions frankly.^ The members 
 of the Parlement used the gracious permission as 
 freely as it was given. The first speakers named by 
 Pierre de la Place who expressed their views in the 
 royal presence were Claude Viole, Anne du Bourg, 
 and Louis du Faur, who pleaded for a suspension of 
 the persecution. Pierre de la Place does not inform 
 us that any reference to Charles of Lorraine was 
 made by the orators, but Throckmorton mentions 
 that Anne du Bourg attacked " the Cardinals of the 
 realm, who had great revenues and were so negligent 
 in their charge that the flocks committed to their 
 cures were not instructed. The Cardinal was so 
 dashed that he stood still and replied not ; the King 
 likewise was offended, and the Constable (with these 
 terms, ' Vous faictez la bravade ') asked how they 
 durst say so to the King." ^ 
 
 The heroic counsellors were not intimidated by 
 Montmorency's cry of wrath, " They answered, that 
 being admitted counsellors of that Court, they must 
 discharge their conscience, the rather that the King 
 was present ; that the reformation must not begin 
 with the common sort, but must touch the greatest 
 persons of the realm." If they had aimed their first 
 dart at the Church, the second was directed unmis- 
 takably at the throne. 
 
 When the discussion ended, the Keeper of the 
 Seals rose and whispered to the King in private. 
 After some delay, caused by the reading of papers 
 by the notaries and the passing of documents from 
 
 ' Pierre de la Place, p. 13. 
 
 '^ Foreign Calendar," BXizabeth," vol. i. p. 309. Throckmorton, it 
 must be remembered, was an enemy of the Guises, while Pierre de la 
 Place, though himself of Huguenot sympathies, appears to have had a 
 kindly feeling towards them. 
 
 179 
 
" Those of the ReHgion " 
 
 hand to hand, Henry summoned the Constable, and 
 ordered him to arrest Louis du Faur and Anne du 
 Bourg. They were led to the Bastille by the Comte 
 de Montgomery, Captain of the Guards. Three other 
 counsellors were afterwards arrested. All were shut 
 up in separate cells, and closely guarded. Books, 
 paper, and pens were forbidden to them, nor might 
 they hold any communication with their friends. 
 Against Anne du Bourg, who had hinted not obscurely 
 at his relations with Madame de Valentinois, Henry 
 was violently enraged. Forgetful of the dreadful 
 scene from which he had shrunk in 1549, ^^ swore 
 that he would see him burned. While Paris was 
 occupied with the splendid preparations for the 
 double wedding, the five prisoners awaited martyrdom 
 in their dungeons. 
 
 Various conjectures were afloat as to the reasons 
 for this severity. Some thought that the King 
 wished to please Philip 11. and the Duke of Savoy; 
 others that he needed money, and meant to obtain 
 it by confiscations ; others, again, that the old rivalry 
 had broken out between the Guises and Montmorency. 
 President Seguier, it was observed, was a personal 
 friend of the Constable.^ 
 
 In his dispatch of May 23, Throckmorton had 
 noted that " the French King, after the marriages, 
 minds to make a journey to Poictou, Gascoigne, 
 Guienne, and other places, for the repressing of rehgion, 
 and to use the extremest persecution he may against 
 the Protestants in his countries, and the like in Scot- 
 land, and that with celerity, immediately after the 
 finishing of these ceremonies." " 
 
 ' Foreign Calcndcw, " Elizabeth," vol. i. p. 309. » Ibid. p. 272. 
 
 180 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 THE DEATH OF HENRY 11. — MARY STUART QUEEN- 
 CONSORT OF FRANCE 
 
 The noontide spectre — Alba, Orange, and Egmont in Paris — The 
 royal marriages — The Palace of the Tournelles — Rejoicings 
 in Paris — The prisoners in the Bastille — The wedding jousts 
 — Mary and the arms of England — The fatal tournament — 
 Signs and omens — The dying King — Days of suspense — Arrival 
 of Ruy Gomez — Death of Henry ii. — The Guises take Francis and 
 Mary to the Louvre. 
 
 The most terrible of spectres, according to ancient 
 superstition, was the ghost that appeared at noonday. 
 That shadow was hovering over Paris in the June days 
 of 1559, but it was not till after the catastrophe that 
 the visions and dreams were recalled. Scarcely had 
 the doors of the Bastille clanged behind the bold 
 counsellors, when Henry ii. was summoned to receive 
 the Duke of Alba, who was to act as his master's 
 proxy at the wedding of the Princess Elizabeth. 
 On June i6, the Spaniards were received at Saint- 
 Denis by the Cardinal of Lorraine, at the gates of Paris 
 by the foreign Princes and the sons of Montmorency. 
 
 In Alba's train rode William of Nassau, who was, 
 like Alba, one of the State hostages. Who could 
 have guessed that the gay, pleasure-loving, extrava- 
 gant young nobleman was destined one day to be the 
 deliverer of the Netherlands ? Not till long after- 
 wards did he adopt his famous motto, " Saevis 
 
 18! 
 
Death of Henry II. 
 
 tranquillus in undis," but even now he kept his head 
 amid the excitements of Paris, and was able coolly 
 to survey the new situation produced by the Treaty. 
 We learn from his Apologia that at this time he first 
 became aware, through the King's confession at a 
 hunting party, of a secret understanding between 
 Henry and Philip to crush heresy in their dominions. 
 Though himself at the time a Catholic, he resolved 
 that he would seek to drive " this vermin of Spaniards " 
 out of his country. 
 
 Another State hostage was Count Egmont, a hero 
 of Saint-Quentin, on whom the Parisians can have 
 looked with no friendly eyes. 
 
 Gaspard de Coligny acted with his cousin, Francis 
 de Montmorency, as the Constable's deputy in enter- 
 taining the illustrious guests.^ What communica- 
 tions may he have held in private with Orange and 
 Egmont ? All three were nominally Catholics, but 
 in the breasts of each burned the flame of patriotism. 
 Coligny and Orange were to win their places in the 
 foremost rank of world-heroes, while Egmont redeemed 
 all vacillations by his gallant death. Coligny and 
 William of Nassau separated themselves very slowly 
 and cautiously from the old religion. Calvin's letter, 
 written during the Admiral's captivity at Ghent, 
 proves that he could not reckon as securely on the 
 head of the house of Ch^tillon as on Charlotte of 
 Laval, Coligny' s wife. Though he had avoided attend- 
 ing the Mass for the peace at Notre Dame when the 
 English Ambassadors were in Paris, a certain hesita- 
 tion still marked the Admiral's position towards the 
 Reformers. He, as well as Egmont and Orange, 
 might have expressed his inmost feelings at this crisis 
 
 ' Decrue, vol. ii. p. 250. 
 
 1,S2 
 
Festivities in Paris 
 
 in the words which Goethe, in Egmont, puts into the 
 hps of Margaret of Parma : " Oh, what are we great 
 ones on the wave of human affairs ? We think we 
 can control it, and it drives us hither and thither, 
 up and down." ^ 
 
 The serious talk between Alba and Montmorency 
 turned on the poverty of their respective masters, 
 the prospects of an expedition to Geneva or Algiers, 
 the growing audacity of the Reformers in Scotland. 
 We find the Constable and his relatives more 
 prominent in these days than the uncles of Mary 
 Stuart. The Cardinal of Lorraine disliked Alba, 
 and probably regretted the absence of the sagacious 
 Bishop of Arras, whom he could meet on common 
 ground. 
 
 The real business of the hour was amusement. 
 On Thursday, June 22, the Duke of Alba, invested, as 
 Philip's representative, with the insignia of royalty, 
 gave his hand to Princess Elizabeth in Notre Dame. 
 The nuptial benediction was pronounced by the 
 Bishop of Paris. 
 
 Poor as Philip might be at the moment, he had 
 lavished costly gifts on French nobles and statesmen. 
 Besides his present to the Cardinal of Lorraine, he 
 had given jewels, furniture, and horses to the Con- 
 stable and his son Damville, while Ruy Gomez was 
 expected in Paris, with ornaments for the bride. 
 The sum of 1,100,000 crowns was to be spent in Paris 
 on the festivities. 2 Every day was given up to tourna- 
 ments, every night to feasting. 
 
 1 " O was sind wir Grossen auf der Woge der Menschheit ? Wir 
 glauben sie zu beherrschen, und sie treibt uns auf und nieder, bin 
 und her." 
 
 " Decrue, vol. ii. p. 250. 
 
 183 
 
Death of Henry II. 
 
 The Court was lodged in the ill-omened Palace 
 of the Tournelles, the royal residence where the 
 mad King Charles vi. had played at cards, and 
 where the Duke of Bedford had ruled as Regent 
 for the King of England. This turreted mansion 
 was situated on the present Place Royale, and its 
 rambling, old-world corridors and staircases con- 
 tained nesting-places for a large household. Few 
 changes had been made in the Hotel since the time 
 of the Duke of Bedford, and its chief glory was 
 still the famous " Galerie des Co urges," painted 
 for Bedford in 1423. 
 
 The almost delirious intoxication of the marriage 
 weeks in Paris can best be realised from Joachim du 
 Bellay's nuptial ode. The chorus, 
 
 " O Hymen, Hymenee, 
 O nuict bien fortunee," 
 
 sounds Hke " a sweep of lute-strings, laughs and whifts 
 of song " — late music floating to the Palace windows 
 from boats on the river. The praises of Mary 
 Stuart were sung as loudly as those of the brides. 
 Mary and her husband were to play a part in the 
 festivities second only to that of the King and Queen. 
 As the June sunlight flooded the narrow, tortuous 
 streets of central Paris, a feeling of exuberant joy 
 must have possessed all classes of the people. The 
 double marriage was the pledge of a stable and lasting 
 peace. Tradesmen might hope to recoup themselves 
 for the sacrifices of the war : the burden of taxation 
 would be lifted. The ring of the mason's hammer 
 on the new Louvre buildings would replace the din 
 of arms. As the talk of Spaniards and Flemings 
 was heard amid the closely crowded throngs, the 
 
 1S4 
 
Bad News from Scotland 
 
 populace must have felt that the Itahan conquests 
 were cheaply surrendered at the price of this new 
 alliance with the richest world-power. Might not 
 France now share in the treasures of ocean enter- 
 prise ? 
 
 The prisoners in the Bastille were forgotten. 
 From their dismal cells they must have heard the 
 sound of drums and trumpets, and the trampling of 
 horse in the Rue Saint-Antoine. 
 
 Preparations for the jousts had for weeks filled 
 everj^ moment that was not occupied with business. 
 Throckmorton reported that the sickly Dauphin 
 Francis, as well as the King^ practised every day 
 " at the tilt." ^ It had been a month of trying 
 ceremonies for the heir to the throne and his wife. 
 On June ii they were present at the wedding of 
 the Duke de Bouillon to Mademoiselle de Mont- 
 pensier,^ and they attended the fatiguing service at 
 Notre Dame for the ratification of the peace with 
 Spain.' They must have heard the dismal reports 
 from Scotland, brought through Bethencourt, the 
 unwelcome news that the Earl of Argyle with other 
 nobles had raised 20,000 men in defence of the preachers, 
 and that the Queen Dowager, with Chatelherault, 
 were able to meet them with but 5000. Even in these 
 thin ranks there was suspicion and anxiety, for " the 
 Queen Dowager doubts whether she may trust the 
 said Duke." * Queen Elizabeth's Council, on the 
 other hand, were pressing Throckmorton to find 
 out from Montmorency why Mary Stuart had dared 
 to quarter the arms of England with those of 
 
 ' Forbes, Public Transactions, vol. i. p. 122. 
 ^ Foreign Calendar, "Elizabeth," vol. i. p. 310. 
 ' Ihid. p. 326. " Ibid. 
 
 185 
 
Death of Henry II. 
 
 Scotland and France. The Constable, while pleading 
 his own captivity at the time of the wedding as a 
 sufficient personal excuse, could only reiterate the 
 familiar argument, " If Elizabeth bears the arms 
 of France, why may not Mary bear those of 
 England ? " 
 
 The marriage-contract of Margaret of Valois, 
 sister of the King, was signed on June 27, and was 
 celebrated by a three days' tournament. On June 30 
 the King entered the lists. Perhaps he wished to 
 show the Spanish envoys that one King in Europe 
 did not imitate the sedentary, clerk-like habits of 
 Philip II. 
 
 It may be safely asserted that no Frenchman 
 desired the death of Henry 11. He had endeared 
 himself to the nobility by his lavish generosity, and 
 still more by his leadership in every manly sport. 
 The mildness and gentleness of his disposition won 
 tributes even from the Protestants whom he perse- 
 cuted. His moral character compared on the whole 
 favourably with that of most contemporary princes, 
 for it was rooted in fidelity to the mistress and 
 the friend of his youth. Their seniority of half 
 a lifetime (as lives then lasted) makes the re- 
 lationship the more pathetic. United in a forced 
 marriage to one of the most hated women of 
 history, Henry had turned instinctively to choose 
 his own companions. 
 
 The state of the King's health gave every promise 
 of a long reign, though Throckmorton reported in 
 May that he had been dangerously ill " with a disease 
 called vertigo," brought on by over-exercise at tennis 
 and other pastimes.' He had been troubled on other 
 
 • Foreign Calendar, " Elizabeth," vol. i. p. 256. 
 186 
 
The Fatal Tournament 
 
 occasions with symptoms of giddiness, and it is 
 possible that fatigue and a sHght recurrence of faint- 
 ness may have affected him on the day of the fatal 
 tournament. 
 
 He mounted on June 30 his horse " Le Mal- 
 heureux," a present from the Duke of Savoy. For 
 his personal safety the King had always been reckless. 
 On warlike expeditions he took his place in the trenches 
 with the common soldiers, and Montmorency once 
 said to him, " If you persist in acting so, a King's 
 life is worth no more to us than that of the bird upon 
 the branch." ^ 
 
 The four challengers on June 30 were the King, 
 who wore the black and white of Diane de Poitiers, 
 the Duke of Guise, who wore red and white in honour 
 of a lady unknown, the Duke of Ferrara, in yellow 
 and red, and the Duke of Nemours, in yellow and 
 black. ^ The yellow and black, adds Brantome, were 
 the symbols of enjoyment and fidelity, and the hint 
 is plainly given that this great knight, who was loved 
 of the loveliest, had already stolen the affections of 
 the Duchess of Guise. 
 
 All four princes acquitted themselves gallantly 
 before the eyes of hundreds of onlookers, but as the 
 afternoon was declining and the tournament was 
 almost finished, Henry suddenly challenged the Comte 
 de Montgomery to break a lance with him. Mont- 
 gomery, as Brantome tells us, excused himself, but 
 the King, annoyed by his answers, commanded him 
 to obey his sovereign's will. Catherine de' Medici, 
 who had been disturbed on the previous night by 
 bodeful dreams, sent two messengers in succession 
 to implore her husband for her sake to give up the 
 
 1 Brantome, vol. iii. p. 249. ^ Ibid. p. 271. 
 
 187 
 
Death of Henry II. 
 
 dangerous sport, since it was time to finish. Henry 
 replied that he would break but one lance more in 
 Catherine's honour. Turning to the Duke of Savoy, 
 the Queen begged him to entreat on her behalf with 
 her husband. " Tell him," she said, " that he cannot 
 excel the deeds he has already done to-day, and now 
 he must join the ladies." Nothing availed to turn 
 the King from his purpose. 
 
 Margaret of Valois, the youngest daughter of 
 Catherine de' Medici, tells that her mother was accus- 
 tomed to have visions on the eve of important events. 
 " On the night before that wretched tournament, she 
 dreamt that she saw my late father wounded in the 
 eye, just as it happened to him ; and on awakening, 
 she begged him several times over not to enter the 
 lists that day, and to be satisfied with watching the 
 tournament without taking part in it." 
 
 Thankful as he would have been to escape so 
 perilous an honour, Montgomery dared not decline 
 the King's positive orders. Henry would probably 
 have disgraced the Captain of the Scottish Guard 
 had he persisted in his refusal. In the shock of 
 meeting, the lance of the young soldier struck his 
 opponent's breastplate with such violence that it was 
 broken, and a splinter entered above the King's right 
 eye. Throckmorton says that the unlucky Gabriel 
 de Lorges gave the King " such a counterbuff, as he 
 drove a splinte right over his eye on his right side ; 
 the force of which stroke was so vehement and the 
 paine he had withall so great, as he was moch astonished 
 and had great ado (with reling to and from) to kepe 
 himself on horseback ; and his horse in like manner 
 dyd somwhat ycld. Wherupon with all expedition 
 he was unarmed in the field, even against the place 
 
The King's Mortal Wound 
 
 where I stode ... I noted him to be very weake, 
 and to have the sens of all his lymmes almost be- 
 nommed, for being caryed away, as he lay along, 
 nothing covered but his face, he moved neither hand 
 nor fote, but laye as one amazed." ^ 
 
 The wounded sovereign was carried into the 
 Palace of the Tournelles. At first the medical reports 
 were favourable. Montmorency wrote a reassuring 
 letter to Queen Elizabeth, expressing the hope that 
 " the worst that shall happen will be the loss of his 
 eye."^ 
 
 "It is a marvel," wrote Throckmorton, " to see 
 how the noblemen, gentlemen and ladies do lament 
 the misfortune, and contrarywise how the townsmen 
 and people do rejoice. Nemo undique beatus. They 
 let not openly to say the King's dissolute life and his 
 tyranny to the professors of the Gospel hath procured 
 God's vengeance." ^ 
 
 It is uncertain whether Henry spoke a word after 
 receiving his fatal wound or during the course of his 
 iUness. Vincent Carloix mentions in the Memoirs 
 of Vieilleville that he said faintly that he was a dead 
 man. According to Brantome, he said the wound 
 was nothing. De Thou thinks it is doubtful whether 
 he spoke at all. Agrippa d'Aubigne says : " As 
 they were carrying the King away, he turned his face 
 towards the Bastille, and the words fell from his lips 
 with a deep sigh, that he had unjustly persecuted 
 the good men who were imprisoned there.* The 
 Cardinal of Lorraine, who was near him, caught up 
 
 ' Forbes, Public Transactions, i. 151. 
 ^ Foreign Calendar, " Elizabeth," vol. i. p. 345. 
 3 Ibid. pp. 347, 348. 
 
 * Histoire Universelle, edition de la Societe de I'Histoire de France, 
 vol. i. p. 238. 
 
 189 
 
Death of Henry II. 
 
 these words, and said, taking another view, that it 
 was the devil who had inspired them." 
 
 The gates of the Hotel des Tournelles were closely 
 guarded after the King had been borne within. The 
 servants of the nobility were ordered to remain at 
 a distance ; among the guests, only the Dukes of 
 Savoy and Alba and the Prince of Orange were per- 
 mitted to enter. The Constable, the Duke of Guise, 
 his brother Charles^ and the Duke of Savoy remained 
 in attendance all night in the sick-chamber, and in 
 the morning it was reported that Henry had had 
 "a very evil rest."^ It is possible that the King 
 never recovered clear consciousness after his wound, 
 though he lingered for ten days. The utmost caution 
 was observed in the bulletins as to his state. 
 
 Montmorency had assured Elizabeth that the 
 first and second dressings of the wound " appeared to 
 give good hope that the result would be satisfactory," 
 but as days went on, the surgeons could add no 
 reassuring intelligence. The shadow of a great fear 
 enveloped the city. The decorations on the Louvre, 
 the Tournelles, and Notre Dame were torn down. 
 Throckmorton spoke the mind of all Parisians when 
 he wrote : " Thus God makes Himself known, that 
 in the very midst of these triumphs suffers this heavi- 
 ness to happen." ^ 
 
 Ruy Gomez reached Paris on July 5. He had 
 expected, no doubt, to be the gayest of the gay in a 
 laughing and festal throng. He found a cit}' hushed 
 and tearful. " There was marvellous great lamenta- 
 tions and weeping both of men and women." Philip's 
 favourite Minister was admitted at once, booted and 
 spurred as he was, into the royal bed-chamber, and 
 
 • Foreign Calendar, "Elizabeth," vol. i. p. 348. * Ibid. 
 
His Last Hours 
 
 is said to have talked to the King for two hours, 
 but this is the gossip of outsiders. It is probable 
 that the King, by July 5, was past talking to any one. 
 Vesalius, the celebrated doctor of Charles v., and 
 now Court physician and surgeon to Philip 11., took 
 the case in charge, and vainly sought to treat the 
 terrible wound, in which splinters from the lance 
 must have remained. 
 
 Even while the King lay dying, the spirit of per- 
 secution was active. Throckmorton, in one of the 
 last letters written during the reign, mentions that 
 the Bishops and doctors of the Sorbonne had con- 
 demned Anne de Bourg as a heretic, that he was 
 already degraded, and was shortly to be executed. 
 " Great lamentation is made for him, for he is both 
 a godly, virtuous, and great learned man." The 
 Duke of Savoy, at the entreaty of his bride, Madame 
 Margaret, had pleaded for his life, but although the 
 Duke was the bridegroom of the hour, he could by 
 no means procure pardon for the unhappy counsellor. 
 Had the King been well, he might possibly have 
 yielded to the solicitations of his sister. Personal 
 bitterness against Anne du Bourg accounted for the 
 implacable severity shown towards him. The other 
 counsellors who had been arrested were all spared. 
 " The rest who were committed with him at the first 
 (being men that mind to live in the world) have 
 liberties to go abroad under sureties and will do well 
 enough," says Throckmorton.* Diane de Poitiers, 
 
 1 Foreign Calendar, " Elizabeth," vol. i. p. 365. On July 13, Throck- 
 morton wrote : "On the 12th, in the midst of these great matters, two 
 men and a woman were executed for religion ; on the 13 th, proclamation 
 is made that aU who speak against the Church or the religion now used 
 in France shall be brought before the Bishops, who are to do execution 
 upon them " (Ibid. p. 380). 
 
 191 
 
Death of Henry II. 
 
 according to this narrative, had seized upon the 
 property confiscated from the heretics who had fled 
 from Paris. 
 
 The death-bed of Henry ii. might well have been 
 haunted, as was that of his son Charles ix., by images 
 of death and agony, but there is no authentic record 
 of the last words from his lips, whether of penitence 
 or threatening. On July 8, he was said to be " some- 
 what feverous," and the physicians spoke doubtfully 
 of " indicatory days." Those within the Palace 
 must have known that the case was hopeless. On 
 July 10, after a reign of twelve years and three months, 
 Henry ii. passed away. The Constable, the Cardinal 
 de Chatillon, and the Marshal Saint-Andre remained 
 at the Tournelles as guardians of the body, while 
 the Guises removed the young King and Queen to 
 the Louvre. It is said that on the rich tapestry, 
 representing the conversion of St. Paul, which hung 
 over the King's death-bed, these words were em- 
 broidered : " Saul, cur me persequeris ? " " Saul, why 
 persecutest thou Me ? " The Constable Montmorency, 
 according to the story, ordered the hangings to be 
 changed. 
 
 The marriage of Margaret to the Duke of Savoy 
 was privately celebrated on July 8 at midnight. 
 
 The great hall of the Tournelles, which had been 
 prepared for balls, masquerades, and ballets, was 
 transformed into a death-chamber. The triumphal 
 arches and impromptu stages were thrown down.^ 
 
 On the day of Henry's death the Florentine Envoy, 
 Leone Ricasoli, recalled the story that when the 
 Cardinal of Lorraine was in Rome, he caused a sooth- 
 
 ' D'Aubigne, vol. i. p. 239. Catherine de' Medici caused the ill- 
 omcncd Palace of the Tournelles to be destroyed in 1575. 
 
 192 
 
"The Judgments of God" 
 
 sayer to take the King's horoscope, and had been 
 warned that Henry must beware, in his fortieth year, 
 of engaging in single combats, for there was danger 
 that he should lose his life, or at least his right eye.^ 
 Nostradamus, also, had darkly prophesied a great 
 catastrophe. 
 
 On July I, a Protestant minister wrote to Calvin 
 that it would be known in a few days whether the 
 King had a chance of recovery. He added : " The 
 judgments of God- are a deep abyss, which is yet 
 illumined sometimes by a light more brilliant than 
 that of the sun." 
 
 * NSgociations diplomatiques de la Prance avec la Toscane, vol. iii. 
 p. 401. 
 
 193 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 THE REIGN OF THREE KINGS 
 
 Francis ii. rules under the Guises — The changed world — FaJ 
 Montmorency and Diane — Position of the Queen Mother 
 of Mary Stuart — The royal Seal — Funeral of Henry ii. — Illne 
 Queen Mary — Effacement of the King of Navarre — The Can 
 Pope and King. 
 
 At the time of his father's death Francis ii. ] 
 reached the age of fifteen and a half, and ^ 
 held to have attained his majority. The pec 
 knew, however, that he was feeble in mind ; 
 body, and it was whispered that July ii would 
 known in the calendar as the Festival of the Th 
 Kings. The Guises, who now held a regal authoi 
 as the uncles of Mary Stuart, felt that the ho 
 of death was not the best place for the fragile 1 
 and girl who had been called so suddenly to gr 
 responsibilities. Anne de Montmorency might w 
 by the side of his kind master, adjust the d 
 hangings and trim the funeral candles, but 
 Duke and the Cardinal carried their young ma; 
 into the sunlight, and set themseh'es to the tasks of 
 new world. To the Louvre were conducted also 
 Queen, the Queen Mother and the younger ro 
 children. Important changes \\ore rapidly effed 
 Bcrtrand, a friend of Diane de Poitiers, was for 
 to relinquish the Seals, and the Chancellorship ^ 
 conrencd on OUivicr, a man of ability and model 
 
 I'll 
 
" The House of Guise Rules " 
 
 views, who possessed the confidence of the Cardinal of 
 Lorraine. 
 
 Diane de Poitiers departed to an honourable exile. 
 That wise lady had made friends for herself in the 
 families of Guise and Montmorency, and every possible 
 trial was spared her. Mary Stuart, according to our 
 Ambassador, sent to the Duchess of Valentinois, 
 demanding an inventory of the Crown jewels.^ Diane 
 appears to have acted with her usual sagacity. She 
 was asked to exchange her castle of Chenonceaux 
 for Chaumont, and she did not again present herself 
 before the widowed Catherine ; but in the great 
 alUances of her children and grandchildren she had 
 built up a rampart against the storm. 
 
 On July 13, Throckmorton wrote to Queen Eliza- 
 beth : " The House of Guise rules ; nothing further 
 is known till the King of Navarre's coming, which 
 is uncertain, being still in Guyenne." ^ The Duke 
 of Guise presided over the Constable's table ; the 
 Cardinal occupied the Constable's room. " The Queen 
 of Scotland," according to Throckmorton, " is a great 
 doer here and takes all upon her." ^ 
 
 Catherine de' Medici knew that the position of the 
 " uncles of the King " was at this moment unassailable. 
 They were the ablest leaders in the country, popular 
 with the people,* accustomed to the conduct of affairs. 
 With rare good sense, the Itahan Queen realised that 
 she could not fight single-handed against these powerful 
 men. The princes of the blood were of far inferior 
 mould, intellectually and morally. Within a month, 
 the Guises had firmly estabhshed themselves, and 
 
 1 Foreign Calendar, " Elizabeth," vol. i. p. 379. 
 
 2 Ibid. p. 377. ' Ibid. p. 379- 
 * D'Aubign6, vol. i. p. 240. 
 
 195 
 
The Reign of Three Kings 
 
 Catherine was sheltering under their wing. Tl 
 Marshal Saint -Andre conciliated the Ministers t 
 offering his only daughter, the wealthiest heiress i 
 France, in marriage to one of the Duke's sons.^ 
 
 On the day after his accession, Francis ii. signifie 
 to the Council and to a deputation from the Parlemei 
 of Paris that he had conferred upon the Duke of Gui: 
 the charge of military affairs, and on the Cardin; 
 the control of the finances. To what other statesmei 
 it may be asked, could he have turned with the sarr 
 confidence ? He chose the best ability at his disposa 
 but the Guises failed to rise to the height of the 
 opportunity. 
 
 Montmorency came to Court, accompanied by h: 
 sons and his nephews, a week after Henry's deatl 
 The boy King, who repeated by rote the instructior 
 of the Cardinal, received his father's friend wit 
 personal courtesy, confirmed him in his possessior 
 and honours, but added that as the Constable, at h 
 age, could hardly be expected to endure the burde 
 of attendance at Court, he had entrusted to the Dul> 
 and the Cardinal the administration of State affair 
 Catherine, who had old grudges to pay off again; 
 " the great snubber," would not lift a finger to sa\ 
 the veteran statesman from discredit. Montmorenc 
 withdrew with dignity, declining the King's propos; 
 that he should remain a member of the Council. 
 
 " I beg your Majesty to excuse me," he said, " f( 
 there are two reasons which pre\'ent me from acceptir 
 your offer. The first is that I should be placed und 
 those whom I have always commanded ; the secom 
 that as I am old, and, as they say, getting into rr 
 dotage, my advice could be of little or no use to yoi 
 
 • Catherine d'Albon, only daughter of Saint-Andr6, died unmarried 
 
 196 
 
The Constable leaves Court 
 
 At the same time, if events turned out so that my 
 presence were required, I do not say that I should 
 not spend my Hfe and goods, and those of my children 
 also ; as I am doubly bound to do for my King and 
 natural lord." 
 
 With that prophetic "if," and that note of ringing 
 loyalty, the grey-haired soldier left the presence. 
 Some of those who stood beside the Guises must 
 have wished to follow him into his exile, for behind 
 him hovered the ghosts of kings who had been strong 
 and brave men, while on the young, sickly boys who 
 were lords of the future, death was already laying his 
 hand. At Montmorency's departure from Paris after 
 the funeral, he was followed, says Regnier de la Planche, 
 by so stately a train that the King's seemed small 
 in comparison.^ 
 
 The gravest anxieties weighed upon the Guises 
 from the beginning of the reign, and they may some- 
 times have envied the Constable in his retirement. 
 In foreign affairs the prospect was menacing. The 
 news from Scotland became worse and worse ; Queen 
 Elizabeth was advised by Throckmorton that the 
 time was favourable for the recapture of Calais. 
 Since the King was little more than a child, the 
 enemies of France might be expected to seek revenge, 
 and the first care of the Ministers was to secure the 
 confirmation, for the new sovereign, of the Treaty 
 of Cateau-Cambresis. Conde was dispatched to Ghent 
 that he might ratify the peace in the name of Francis ii. 
 
 The King was taken to Meudon about the middle 
 of July for change of air ; and his wife removed to 
 Saint-Germain. From the correspondence of the 
 
 1 Histoire de I'Estat de France sous Frangois II. (Pantheon edition), 
 p. 207. 
 
 197 
 
The Reign of Three Kings 
 
 English, Venetian, and Florentine Ambassadors i 
 the days between the death and funeral of Henry ii 
 it is evident that they thought the Queen Moth( 
 was to have a position of much greater influenc 
 than was actually assigned to her. The heat in Par 
 was excessive, and Meudon was at that time in tl 
 country. Doctors probably warned the Cardinal tht 
 no serious work must be exacted from Francis. Dipl( 
 matic correspondence shows Catherine excessive] 
 meddlesome in affairs, but subservient to the Guise 
 who cleverly used her name as an excuse for tl 
 changes and deprivations which are necessary at tl 
 beginning of every new reign. " The King wills 
 so, because his mother desires it," was the favourii 
 formula. 
 
 In the Council, before the funeral, a dispute toe 
 place between Montmorency and the Guises on tl 
 question of the King's seal. It was to bear the am 
 of England, France, and Scotland, with the inscriptio: 
 " Franciscus Dei Gratia Francorum Rex." The Coi 
 stable, when the seal was shown him, declared th; 
 the King could not honourably bear any other arn 
 than those of France.^ He was at this time in tl 
 friendliest communication with Elizabeth. 
 
 On August II, the funeral procession of Henry ] 
 left the Palace of the Tournelles for Notre Dame. Tl 
 archers of Paris walked in front, carrjang lighte 
 tapers. Then followed the religious orders and tl 
 parish clergy. Highly placed ecclesiastical dignitarit 
 members of chapters and colleges, officials of tl 
 University, and the Bishops and Archbishops, preced( 
 the funeral car. A singular effect must have be( 
 produced by the constant mournful ringing of tl 
 
 ' Foreign Calendar, " Elizabeth," vol. i. p. 416. 
 
Funeral of Henry II. 
 
 town-criers' bells. ^ High above the crowd came the 
 King's effigy, placed on the funeral car, which was 
 surrounded by the counsellors of the Parlement of 
 Paris in their scarlet robes. The four Presidents 
 held the corners of the pall of cloth of gold. Immedi- 
 ately after the car rode the great officers of State, and 
 four hundred archers of the royal guard brought up 
 the rear. It must have been a sorrowful sight for 
 the Parisians when the King's warhorse, in its trappings 
 of violet velvet, covered with fieurs de lys, was led 
 slowly along the wide street where recently the lists 
 had been set. The Cathedral, in which Henry had 
 attended so many a festal Mass, was now hung with 
 black. On the I2th the body was removed to Saint- 
 Denis, where the funeral Mass was celebrated on 
 the 13th, by the Cardinal of Lorraine, in presence of 
 a distinguished assembly. The King-at-Arms, when 
 all was over, cried thrice, "The King is dead," and 
 then, " turning him about, he proclaimed the King 
 alive." The mourners dispersed to the sound of 
 trumpets, and the chief personages went to dinner in 
 the Abbot's Hall. 
 
 The health of Mary Stuart was causing renewed 
 anxiety in August. Chantonay, the Spanish Am- 
 bassador (brother of the Bishop of Arras), told Throck- 
 morton that he had seen her faint after dinner. She 
 was " recovered with aqua composita," " looked very 
 evil," and was " in very dangerous case." ^ By the 
 
 ' Rodolphe du Pare, L'Ovdre tenu au convoy des obseques et pompes 
 funebres du treshault, trespuissant Roy de France, Henry second de ce 
 nom (1559, Paris). 
 
 The fullest and best account of the funeral of Henry 11. is that of 
 Fran9ois de Signac, Seigneur de la Borde, King-at-Arms of Dauphiny 
 "Archives curieuses," Cimber et Danjou, ist Series, vol. iii. p. 507). 
 
 2 Foreign Calendar, " Elizabeth," vol. i. p. 496. 
 
 199 
 
The Reign of Three Kings 
 end of the month the Court was at Villers-Cotterets 
 and in the fresh country air the young Queen regainec 
 strength.* 
 
 The Florentine Ambassador thought that Mar 
 was consumptive, and was not likely to liv 
 long.^ 
 
 The inactivity of the King of Navarre in thi 
 crisis caused profound disappointment to the Protest 
 ants. He was entreated to come to Paris to asser 
 his rights, but he waited at Vendome till his brothe 
 Conde should return from the Netherlands, t 
 council of malcontent nobles was held at Vendome 
 Cardinal Charles de Bourbon, the Duke of Mont 
 pensier, the Prince of La Roche-sur-Yon, and Andelo 
 were present. Coligny was not at Vendome, anc 
 had he joined in the deliberations it is probable tha 
 in his hesitating mood at this moment he would hav( 
 recommended caution. When the King of Navarn 
 at length arrived at Saint-Germain (August i8) he wa 
 received with outward civility, but treated as a persoi 
 of no importance. He effaced himself before the Guises 
 and cheerfully accepted the charge of conducting thi 
 Princess Elizabeth to her Spanish bridegroom. 
 
 The Florentine Ambassador, Leone Ricasoli, wrot( 
 on August 27 : " The Cardinal of Lorraine is Popi 
 and King, with a greater authority than was eve 
 seen before in this kingdom." * 
 
 >■ Foirign Calendar, "Elizabeth," vol. i. p. 587. The chateau c 
 Villers-Cotterets, rebuUt under Francis i., and partially destroyed i 
 the eighteenth century, is now a poorhouse, but the beautiful forest sti 
 remains. Nearly all the places in this neighbourhood have associj 
 tions with the Valois kings. 
 
 ' Nigociations de la France avec la Toscanc, \o\. iii. p. 403. 
 
 ■■"' II Cardinalede Lorraine t quEl Papa e Re, con una autoritAmaggioi 
 cho mai fussc in questo regno" {Nigociaiio7is de la France avec I 
 Toscanc, vol. iii. p. 404). 
 
The Cardinal "Pope and King" 
 
 The Guises had overcome all rivals, and were 
 recognised, at home and abroad, as the first men in 
 France. All the vague dreams of sovereignty which 
 had haunted their imaginations from infancy were 
 now transformed into actual, undisputed power. In 
 that age of personal monarchy they held a position 
 which no other Ministers in Europe could hope to 
 attain. It is amusing to note how Sebastien de 
 I'Aubespine, Bishop of Limoges, the French Ambas- 
 sador with Philip II., addressed himself in the first 
 days of the reign to Montmorency, the King and the 
 Queen Mother, but quickly changing his tone, as the 
 new situation was realised at Ghent, sent letters of 
 the humblest and most obsequious deference to the 
 Guises.^ 
 
 We can hardly be surprised that the brothers, 
 and especially the Cardinal, were incapable of bearing 
 their high honours meekly. At the moment when 
 their credit seemed wavering, when Montmorency 
 and Diane were binding Henry ii. more closely than 
 ever to their service, the stage was suddenly cleared 
 of the chief personages, and a new drama opened. 
 The Cardinal's unbounded self-confidence can best 
 be understood by a study of the innumerable dedica- 
 tions which were addressed to him from early youth 
 by poets, philosophers, historians, and the authors 
 of political pamphlets. He must have appeared 
 to himself like an idol in a temple, before whom 
 incense is perpetually burning. He was flattered, 
 not only by the obscurer literary tribe, but by great 
 men such as Michel de I'Hopital, fitienne Pasquier, 
 and Ramus. There is a strain of genuine admiration 
 and sometimes of unaffected personal regard in many 
 
 ' Negociations sous Franfois II., pp. 3-11. 
 
The Reign of Three Kings 
 
 of these publications, but only a very wise and mode; 
 man could have taken them at their true value. A 
 a specimen of the exaggerated compliments to whic 
 the Cardinal was continually hstening we may quol 
 Charles Choquart's French translation of the Lati 
 address delivered by the ambassadors of Charles u 
 at the Council of Trent in 1562. The pamphlet i 
 dedicated to the Cardinal, who is described as " th 
 last anchor of salvation for this country." " Franc 
 has already derived so much benefit from your happ; 
 government that those who are to-day disturbed b; 
 the seditions which are leading France to shipwrecJ 
 desire nothing better than to traverse the narro\ 
 seas in this season of fogs on board your barque 
 They are sure that the storm will be terrible indeed 
 if under your firm leadership they do not read 
 the haven of rest and tranquillity." ^ 
 
 1 There is a copy of Charles Choquart's little work ia the Britis! 
 Museum. 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 
 THE CORONATION AT RHEIMS AND THE VISIT TO 
 BAR-LE-DUC 
 
 The journey from Villers-Cotterets — Rheims as it was under Francis ii. 
 — Entry of the King and Queen — The hostages of the " Holy 
 OU-Flask " — Ceremony of the coronation — The banquet in the 
 Archbishop's palace — The Court at Bar — Illness and anxieties of 
 Queen Mary. 
 
 On September ii the King left Villers-Cotterets and 
 proceeded by slow stages towards Rheims for the 
 Coronation. He rested first at the Abbey of Long- 
 pont, a building of the twelfth century, traces of 
 which still exist. On the next day he rested at La 
 Fere, a house belonging to the Constable,^ and on 
 the third night he slept at Fismes. On the 15 th 
 he entered Rheims, followed, after a few hours, by 
 his wife.^ 
 
 Visitors to the modern manufacturing city of 
 Rheims may find it difficult to reconstruct the town 
 as it was in the sixteenth century, though the prin- 
 cipal features remain.^ The Porte de Mars, a three- 
 arched Roman gateway of magnificent proportions, 
 
 ^ This is Fere-en-Tardenois, which preserves, on a hill to the north, 
 the ruins of a castle built in the thirteenth century, and altered in the 
 sixteenth by the Constable Anne de Montmorency. 
 
 2 " La reine fit son entree le meme jour que le roi et la regente " 
 {Nigociations sous Franfois II., p. 112). 
 
 ' The work of Dom Guillaume Marlot, whose memory is preserved 
 by a mural inscription in the Church of Saint-Remi, is more helpful than 
 any other book to the historical student at Rheims. 
 
 203 
 
The Coronation at Rheims 
 
 with eight Corinthian columns, is now surroundec 
 by well-kept public gardens, but in the reign o 
 Francis ii. was probably the haunt of a shifting anc 
 needy population. The ancient Church of Saint 
 Remi is now in the heart of a working-class district 
 The Abbey of Saint-Pierre-les-Dames no longer form; 
 a stately hnk between Saint-Remi and the Cathedral 
 We see old buildings which were here in the time o 
 Francis and Mary — the House of the Musicians in th< 
 Rue de Tambour, which belongs to the early fourteentl 
 century, and the timbered fifteenth - century house; 
 in the Place des Marches. On the Place du Parvi: 
 the scene cannot have greatly altered, for as w( 
 enter from the narrow Rue Carnot, we have in fron' 
 of us the majestic Cathedral, and on the right the 
 Archi - episcopal Palace. The " Church of Two 
 Thousand Statues " has lost many of the figures fron 
 its frontage, though the task of restoration is nov 
 earnestly pursued. More than enough remains t( 
 convince us of the genius of the old sculptors. Fron 
 terrace to terrace rise the ranks of figures — kings anc 
 prophets, saints, apostles and martyrs. The grea' 
 scenes of the Gospel history are here represented ir 
 carving which is full of thought, fancy, and humour 
 The faces of women and angels are gay and sweet 
 There is almost a roguish piquancy in the glance 
 with which St. Anne turns to Simeon, and a 3'ounj 
 angel near them is smiling broadly. The pure anc 
 beautiful face of a mitred bishop at the left corne: 
 of the great portal draws the attention e\'en of care 
 less onlookers. Stern warnings are written abov( 
 the Porch of the Last Judgment, near the door b] 
 which funerals are carried in. We see the deae 
 rising from their tombs, some dismayed and horror 
 
 204 
 
In Rheims Cathedral 
 
 stricken, others gazing trustfully heavenwards. The 
 Evil One is roping in a group of sinners, which in- 
 cludes several Churchmen, that he may convey 
 them to the gulf which flames close at hand. Did 
 the eyes of Francis and Mary rest for a moment on 
 this weird symbohsm ? On the North portal, and 
 in the interior also, we see Saint - Nicaise, a martyr 
 beloved at Rheims, holding his mitred head in his 
 hands. 
 
 The winding street that runs behind the east end 
 and the Palace is still called " Rue du Cardinal de 
 Lorraine," for the memory of the Archbishop whom 
 Dom Marlot calls " the brilliant star of our province " 
 lingers among his people. Rene de Bouille is mistaken 
 when he says there is no trace of his burial-place in 
 the Cathedral. The canopied and pillared tomb 
 which he erected in his lifetime was destroyed by 
 the Chapter in 1741, but behind the " Cardinal's 
 Altar " at the east end a humble slab on the ground 
 still bears the texts he chose to be inscribed on his 
 last resting-place. 
 
 At the time of the Coronation of Francis 11. the 
 rich tapestries of Archbishop Robert de Lenoncourt 
 must already have been in possession of the Chapter,^ 
 but it is uncertain whether they were hanging, as 
 now, in the nave. A contemporary writer ^ says 
 that the Cathedral was adorned with the ancient 
 tapestries of the Louvre, on which the Acts of the 
 Apostles were represented. Few, if any, of the 
 pictures which are now in the transepts can have 
 belonged to the Cathedral in 1559. 
 
 The interior stonework of Rheims has not the 
 
 ' They were given in 1530. 
 
 2 Negociations sous Frangois II., p. 1 16, 
 
 205 
 
The Coronation at Rheims 
 
 soft effect as of billows of tossed creamy muslin whicl 
 we see in the nave of Canterbury as we look from tb 
 side aisles of the Choir and Becket's shrine. But th 
 pillars glow with the transparency of alabaster whei 
 the sun shines through the high windows, as if th 
 light which has slept upon them for a thousand year 
 were radiating warmth from within. We pass int( 
 the Treasury and see the offerings of the Kings. Th 
 golden image of his name-saint presented by Francis ii 
 is not shown. Here, however, we see the strangeh 
 beautiful " Holy Sepulchre " given by his father 
 Henry li., in which the Roman soldiers are startin; 
 up in astonishment beside the empty Tomb. Heri 
 too is the costly gift of Henry in., the ship of St 
 Ursula, with its many curious figures ; and the crysta 
 cross of Charles of Lorraine. The least imaginativ( 
 traveller, as he sees the grand rose window high abov( 
 the western porch glowing like a red flower set in ; 
 circle of green leaves, while the morsels of scatterec 
 glass beneath it send out sparks like jewels, must fee 
 with Ruskin that the Alps themselves are less wonder 
 ful than the divinely inspired buildings raised b; 
 human genius. 
 
 For two months the city had been preparing t( 
 receive its young sovereign. Before Henry ii. wa 
 buried, the Chapter had been arranging with th 
 town for a loan to cover the expenses of the Corona 
 tion. " Monsieur de Reims " wrote to his clergy tha 
 all things must be got ready and that the privileges o 
 the Chapter and University were to be duly confirmed 
 
 The first royal visitor to enter was the Spanisl 
 bride, Elizabeth of Valois, who arrived on Septembe 
 14, in a litter covered with black velvet. The chiL 
 Oucen was received under a canopy of white damasl 
 
 206 
 
Entry of Francis and Mary 
 
 upheld by four of the principal townsmen. At the 
 Cathedral porch she was welcomed by the Cardinal, 
 who led her to the high altar and gave her his blessing. 
 Elizabeth was the guest of Renee of Lorraine in the 
 Abbey of Saint-Pierre. 
 
 Francis ii. made his entry in a storm of rain and 
 wind. He was met by the Cardinal-Archbishop, 
 accompanied by twenty bishops and a long train of 
 clergy. Riding on a white horse and preceded by 
 heralds, he appeared at the principal gate, and received 
 the keys of the city from the hands of a beautiful girl.^ 
 The royal procession passed through gaily decorated 
 streets to the Cathedral square, in which there was 
 an artificial fountain adorned with three tall statues. 
 Red wine was poured forth freely from this fountain, 
 and a huge basket was heaped with all varieties of 
 fruit. A canopy of red velvet was carried above the 
 boy King, and before him rode twelve trumpeters clad 
 in violet velvet. Immediately in front of the canopy 
 went the Constable de Montmorency, and behind it 
 came the King of Navarre, with the great officers of 
 State and many gentlemen on horseback. At the 
 west door of the Cathedral Francis was again welcomed 
 by the Cardinal and his clergy, who led him to the 
 high altar that he might make his offering.^ 
 
 Mary Stuart entered on the same day with equal 
 pomp, preceded by the city companies, and with a 
 canopy of state borne over her. 
 
 On the evening before the ceremony, Francis and 
 Mary attended Vespers in the Cathedral. 
 
 Four gentlemen, known as the " hostages of the 
 Sainte-Ampoule," or holy oil-flask, were dispatched 
 on Monday morning, September i8, to Saint-Remi, 
 
 ' Negociations sous Frangois II., p. 115. " Ibid. p. 116. 
 
 307 
 
The Coronation at Rheims 
 
 where the miraculous treasure was guarded, with the 
 formal request that the Prior and monks would bring 
 it to the Cathedral. One of the " hostages " was 
 a son of Montmorency, and all were men of high rank. 
 They pledged themselves, according to custom, to 
 remain with the monks and to guard with their lives 
 the holy oil. In solemn procession the holy Ampulla 
 was carried out of the church and borne to the Cathedral 
 of Notre Dame, while the monks recited prayers and 
 chants. 
 
 The " hostages " rode with the procession, accom- 
 panied by gentlemen carrying their banners. On 
 entering the nave of the Cathedral, the Cardinal Charles, 
 in his magnificent robes, came to meet the Prior, 
 followed by the clergy and nobles. Into the Cardinal's 
 hands the Prior of Saint-Remi delivered the vessel, 
 with these words : " Very reverend father in God, 
 and my much honoured lord, here is the sacred oil- 
 flask which I present to you and place in your hands 
 for the coronation of the King our lord, on condition 
 that it shall be restored to my hands when the ceremony 
 is over." The Cardinal, lajdng his hand on his heart, 
 promised to obey this condition, and carried the 
 Ampulla into the Choir, the Prior and monks following 
 him. 
 
 The death of Henry ii. was too recent to permit of 
 any sumptuous display of costume. Throckmorton 
 had noticed that there was " no show at all " in the 
 city's decorations, " save that the arms of England, 
 France, and Scotland quartered, were very brimly set 
 out in the show over the Gate." * Orders had been 
 
 1 Foreign Calendar, "Elizabeth," vol. i. p. 561. On September 19, 
 Throckmorton wrote : " A Great Seal is lately sent into Scotland, 
 with the arms of England, France, and Scotland, having this style : 
 
 208 
 
The Coronation Mass 
 
 given that no one should wear any goldsmith's work 
 or embroidery, but only silk or velvet, and that on 
 the next day the mourning should be resumed and 
 continued till the year was out.^ Among the ladies 
 who watched the Coronation rites, Mary alone was 
 not in mourning. Francis, at his entry, had worn 
 a coat of black velvet, with the collar of the 
 Order. 
 
 The Mass of the Holy Ghost was celebrated by 
 the Cardinal of Lorraine. The Epistle was read by 
 the Bishop of Meaux and the Gospel by the Bishop 
 of Evreux. The Bishops of Chartres and Auxerre 
 sang the Litany. There was no sermon, as there had 
 been at the Coronation of Henry ii., though Throck- 
 morton says the Cardinal delivered an "oration" 
 when the King made his first entry into the Cathedral 
 on the 15th. Probably it was thought inadvisable, 
 on account of the King's feeble health, to prolong 
 the ceremony beyond reasonable limits.^ 
 
 At the Coronation the Duke of Guise took rank 
 next to the King of Navarre, and the others in order 
 were the Dukes of Nevers, and Montpensier, the 
 Duke of Aumale and the Constable. Everything 
 had been arranged for the honour and glory of the 
 house of Guise. The Cardinal, next to the King, 
 was the central figure of the occasion ; two of his 
 brothers maintained their rank with the Princes of 
 the house of Bourbon. The predominance of the 
 
 ' Franciscus et Maria Dei Gratia Franciae, Scotiae, Anglise et Hibernias 
 Rex et Regina.' " The same arms were also graven upon the French 
 Queen's plate ; and at dinner Throckmorton and Sir Peter Mewtas, 
 Elizabeth's special envoy to Francis 11., were served upon it {ihid. p. 5 59). 
 
 ^Foreign Calendar, "Elizabeth," vol. i. pp. 495-96. 
 
 ^ Mary Stuart, it should be noted, was not crowned at Rheims, as 
 she was already a crowned Queen in her own right. 
 
 O 209 
 
The Coronation at Rheims 
 
 half-foreign Lorrainers was bitterly resented by the; 
 Princes.^ 
 
 The ceremonies were completed before midday 
 and the royal party adjourned to the Archbishop 
 Palace, which is beside the Cathedral. The long an 
 stately banqueting-hall was hung with tapestrie 
 representing the history of Scipio Africanus. Th 
 King dined alone at a table set in the middle of th 
 room, with the spiritual and temporal peers aroun 
 him. When the meal was over, Francis retired fror 
 the noisy scene, on which the ladies had been lookin 
 from a lofty gallery. Before him, as he rose to qui 
 the hall, walked a youthful page carrying a golde 
 rod, at the top of which was the figure of an emperc 
 seated in a chair. The crown, the hand of justice 
 the sceptre and the sword were borne out of the ha 
 in front of the King. On reaching his own rooms 
 Francis sent for the Cardinal of Lorraine, with whor 
 he conversed in private till the hour of vespers. 
 
 Before leaving Rheims, the King visited the torn 
 of Saint-Remi, round which the banners of the fon 
 " hostages " were now hanging.^ 
 
 After the fatigues of the Coronation, the Coui 
 moved to Bar-le-Duc, where Francis and Mary wer 
 entertained by the Duke and Duchess of Lorraine 
 Host and hostess and their royal guests were a 
 under the age of twenty.^ 
 
 The principal features of the sixteenth-century tow 
 
 1 See the curious letter from the Prince of La Roche-sur-Yon to t] 
 Duchess of Nevers, written from Villers-Cotterets on September 
 {Nigociations sous Franfois II., p. 109). 
 
 ' Ibid. p. 117. 
 
 = An excellent short account of the history of Bar is that of J 
 Charles Demoget, with illustrations b\' Iho late I\I. Wlodimir Konarsl 
 It is entitled Les Origines dc I' Architecture de la Renaissance d, Bar-i 
 
Modern Bar-le-Duc 
 
 of Bar-le-Duc may still be recognised. The ancient 
 Tour de THorloge, which sends its solemn hum over 
 the vineyards and valleys, was sounding the hours 
 when the Duke Francis of Guise was born here in 
 his grandfather's castle. The Ornain, a shallow, 
 sparkling stream, must have been spanned in Mary's 
 time by the Bridge of Notre Dame, which keeps to-day 
 its little chapel, and its houses built out above the 
 stream. The waters of the Ornain are bright and 
 pellucid, and as the summer draws near its close the 
 channel becomes almost dry. The low green banks 
 are bordered with young poplars and chestnuts. As 
 the courtly train came from Vitry-le-Frangois in the 
 last week of September, they must have seen flowery 
 gardens on either side of the river, and the banks 
 may have been fringed then, as now, by tall trees. 
 Bar-le-Duc, in the twentieth century, is a place of 
 rich foliage. The writer saw it first on a June day, 
 when the pink chestnuts were in blossom, and the 
 elders bent their snowy branches over the stream. 
 Every gateway in the suburbs was overflowing with 
 roses. White and purple irises bloomed in the gardens 
 above the Ornain. 
 
 Bar had flourished under three great Dukes ; 
 Rene i., by whom it was united to Lorraine ; Rene ii., 
 and his son Antoine. Rene i.. King of Sicily,^ was 
 not only a protector of the Arts, but himself a painter. 
 Montaigne tells that when Francis and Mary visited 
 Bar, a portrait of Rene done by his own hand was 
 presented to the King. Rene had been a coUector 
 
 Due, and is published by the Imprimerie Contant-Laguerre in the town 
 The best story dealing with Bar is La Maison des Deux Barbeaux, 
 by Andre Theuriet. 
 
 1 He succeeded in 1435 to Provence, Anjou, and the kingdom of 
 Sicily. 
 
The Visit to Bar-le-Duc 
 
 of books, and his Library contained the works o 
 Plato, Herodotus, Cicero, Livy, and among modern 
 Dante and Boccaccio. He gathered in Italy manu 
 scripts in many languages. Skilled carpet an( 
 tapestry weavers, goldsmiths, sculptors and illumi 
 nators, were employed in his service. 
 
 Some of the finest houses in Bar date from th 
 early years of the sixteenth century. Duke Rene ii 
 made the town his chief residence from 1491 till hi 
 death in 1509. He restored the ancient castle 
 Rene i., and built the great Record House. Thi 
 people of Bar prospered under the wing of thesi 
 cultured and wealthy Dukes. In the narrow windinj 
 streets which mount from the lower town toward 
 the Chateau, we may still see choice specimens 
 the domestic architecture of the Renaissance. 
 
 The Chateau was enlarged by Duke Antoine 
 but few traces remain of its former splendour. Th( 
 fagade of Antoine now forms one frontage of the boys 
 school on the Castle terrace. Looking from th( 
 terrace, which is shaded by lofty trees, we see, ai 
 Mary must have seen when she walked here on autumi 
 evenings, a noble sweep of landscape, with valleys anc 
 vine-clad heights. The river is not visible from thi; 
 point, as it is lost under the closely packed red roofs 
 nor would any one guess that a bright canal, spannec 
 by many miniature bridges and bordered by irre 
 gularly built houses, gives to Bar-le-Duc in its olde: 
 streets something of a Venetian charm. 
 
 Francis and Mary must have walked in the Ru( 
 des Dues de Bar, a wide, grey, and stately street, ii 
 which almost every house is like a palace. The name: 
 of original residents, families like those of Rodouai 
 and Marlorat, still chng to the sombre buildings 
 
Ancient Houses at Bar 
 
 The upper town preserves, amid its decay, a " life- 
 in-death " like that which startles us in Ligier 
 Richier's skeleton statue in the parish church. 
 
 To the royal party, as they entered, Bar-le-Duc 
 must have seemed a citadel hung in the air. Its 
 cliff-like range of buildings has sometimes been com- 
 pared with Edinburgh Castle and the tall houses of 
 the High Street as they appear from the north. The 
 ramparts below the Avenue du Chateau are now 
 clothed with gardens and orchards, and beyond the 
 mouldering stones of the Place Saint-Pierre we pass 
 into a well-wooded country, with flowering hedge- 
 rows and prosperous-looking villages. M. Demoget 
 has truly observed that every old house in Bar ex- 
 presses the definite purpose of some personality. 
 The owner must himself have presided over the 
 construction of his home, its interior and exterior 
 decoration. He meant to build, not only for himself, 
 but for all his posterity. Each house reflects the 
 tastes and habits of the persons who occupied it. 
 Francis and Mary may have been entertained by 
 some of the nobility of Bar and Lorraine, and may 
 have admired the Flemish tapestries, the precious 
 books, the furniture and pictures which had been 
 collected in Italy or in the Low Countries during 
 the wars. More than one gentleman of the Barrois 
 might have adopted, in the most literal sense, the 
 Marlorat motto, " In cruce cresco," for the sufferings 
 of the border country had put wealth into the coffers 
 of the privileged classes. 
 
 The Duke of Lorraine entertained his royal guests 
 to costly banquets, and kept open house during 
 their visit. Unfortunately, Mary suffered from a 
 return of the illness which had disappeared for a time 
 
 213 
 
The Visit to Bar-le-Duc 
 
 in the healthful air of Villers-Cotterets. Throck- 
 morton says that on hearing bad news from Scotland 
 she had " fallen sick again in such sort as on the 28th 
 instant, she being at evensong to see the ceremony 
 of the Order, was for faintness constrained to be led 
 to her chamber, where she swooned twice or thrice." ' 
 
 With the political anxieties which harassed the 
 Queen at this moment, a personal sorrow was mingling. 
 The health of her mother, undermined by the ever- 
 growing difficulties of the Regency, had begun 
 definitely to fail. Mary of Lorraine, though only 
 forty-four, had already known much ill-health ; and 
 in the later autumn of this year she had a serious 
 illness.^ John Wood, writing to Randall in November, 
 says she was " disparit of all men, but is partly con- 
 valest, but [without] esperance of long lief." Sir 
 Ralph Sadler remarked in December on her great 
 sickness/ adding that her physicians and all Others 
 had lost hope of her recovery, and thought she could 
 not long continue. 
 
 The letters of the period show us the Regent 
 fighting gallantly through her last winter. As her 
 bodily weakness increased, her heart and hopes must 
 have turned ever more wistfully to France, and the 
 news that reached her of the growing unpopularity 
 of her brothers must have caused her troubled thoughts, 
 There was but too good reason for the nation's distaste 
 for their government. All the signs promised an era 
 of persecution worse than the worst outbreaks undei 
 Francis i. 
 
 Throckmorton reported that on August 21 £ 
 
 1 Foreign Calendar, "Elizabeth," vol. i. p. 587. 
 
 ' State Pii/^crs and Letters of Sir Ralph Sadler, vol. i. p. 617. 
 
 ^ Ibid. p. 625. 
 
 214 
 
Renewed Persecution 
 
 man and a woman had been rescued on their journey 
 to Meaux, where they were to be executed for reUgion. 
 " There are in this town [Paris]," he added, " nineteen 
 more condemned to the hke and shall be executed." ' 
 On September lo he wrote: "They begin again to 
 persecute here for religion more than ever they did ; 
 three or four have been executed at Paris for the same, 
 and diverse great personages threatened. The Cardinal 
 of Lorraine said it is not his fault, and that no man 
 hates extremities more than he ; and yet it is known 
 that it is altogether by his occasion." ^ 
 
 ' Foreign Calendar, " Elizabeth," vol. i. p. 497. ^ Ibid. p. 549. 
 
 215 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 AUTUMN WEEKS IN THE CASTLES OF THE LOIRE 
 
 Open-air life of the King and Queen — Dark rumours in the Loire 
 country — The King's supposed leprosy — False reports of the 
 sacrifice of children — Departure of EUzabeth of Valois for Spain — 
 The leave-takings — First stages of the journey — Life in the Castle 
 of Blois — The Advent season — Signs of unrest — Hunting near 
 Chambord — The martyrdom of Anne du Bourg. 
 
 On October i the Court left Bar, and returned by 
 slow journeys to Paris. Hunting parties for the 
 King and Queen were arranged at country houses. 
 On October 21 the Spanish Ambassador announced 
 that his master desired that his wife, Elizabeth of 
 Valois, should set forth on her journey.^ With as 
 little delay as possible, the royal household removed 
 to Blois, accompanying the child-bride on the first 
 stage of her long journey. " At the King's entry 
 into Blois the arms of England and Scotland were set 
 up as they were at Rheims." ^ 
 
 The doctors had advised frequent changes of air 
 as the best remedy for the ill-health of Francis and 
 Mary. The Queen, as our Ambassador writes, on 
 November 11, felt herself " very ill, and looked very 
 pale, and on the 12th kept her chamber all the day 
 long." ^ A terrible rumour was circulating with regard 
 to the physical condition of Francis. On November 15 
 
 • Foreign Calendar, " Elizabeth," vol. ii. p. 56. 
 " Ibid. p. no. " Ibid. p. in. 
 
 216 
 
Was the King a Leper ? 
 
 Killigrew and Jones wrote to Queen Elizabeth : " It is 
 very secretl}^ reported that the French King has become 
 a leper, and for fear of his coming to Chatelherault the 
 people have removed their children, and of late there 
 are certain of them wanting about Tours, which cannot 
 be heard of, and commandment shall be given that 
 there shall be no seeking for the same. The French 
 King, the last day being in hunting, was in such fear 
 that he was forced to leave his pastime and return 
 to the Court. Whereupon commandment was given 
 to the Scotch guard to wear jack and mail and pistolets, 
 and he will not go again hunting unless better accom- 
 panied." ^ 
 
 For an explanation of this ghastly and mysterious 
 passage we must turn to the pages of Regnier de la 
 Planche. It was believed among the people that the 
 sickly Francis ii. had inherited from his maternal 
 grandparents the fatal taint of leprosy, and that one 
 of the cures recommended for the leper was bathing 
 in young children's blood. Francis had been growing 
 rapidly during the months which followed his acces- 
 sion,^ but his health showed no improvement, and 
 his puffed, heavy-eyed countenance told a sad tale 
 of incurable disease. His mother became seriously 
 alarmed, and a consultation of doctors was held at 
 Fontainebleau. They recommended that the winter 
 should be spent at Blois, where the air was mild and 
 bracing, and where Francis had lived during the 
 greater part of his childhood. He could there undergo 
 a special course of treatment, and when spring came, 
 
 ' Foreign Calendar, " Elizabeth," vol. ii. p. 113. 
 
 ^ " Cependant le roy, pourmene 5a et la par eux, commenfa en un 
 instant de croistre a veue d'oeil, en sorte qu'en pen de temps d'enfant 
 il se monstroit homme parfaict" (Regnier de la Planche, Histoire de 
 I'Estat de France sous Frangois II., p. 231). 
 
 217 
 
Autumn in the Loire Valley 
 
 medicinal baths might be prepared for him. One or 
 two of the physicians are said to have warned the 
 Guises that Francis could not live long, and that it 
 was very improbable that he and Mary would havfe 
 children. Two or three years, in the view of several 
 of the doctors, was likely to be the limit of the King's 
 life. Regnier de la Planche suggests that it was the 
 Guises themselves who first spread the rumour of 
 the King's leprosy. It is much more probable that 
 Killigrew and Jones are right in their supposition that 
 the report came from the faction opposed to the 
 Government.^ Regnier de la Planche adds that it 
 was whispered that baths of children's blood had 
 been ordered for the King, and that the handsomest 
 and healthiest children between the ages of four and 
 six were to be sacrificed. " And as bad news always 
 flies faster than good and true news," he says, " this 
 false report so excited the people, in the Loire district 
 and for twenty leagues beyond the Court, that it was 
 a piteous thing to see the fathers and mothers running 
 hither and thither hiding and shutting up their children 
 where they thought they would be in better security." ^ 
 Scoundrels went through the hamlets, taking money 
 from the parents in return for pretended warnings, 
 and on reaching Blois the unfortunate young King 
 found the countryside in a state of fear and sullen 
 mutiny. The remarks of Killigrew and Jones suggest 
 that as he was hunting in the deep woods beyond 
 the Loire, he was startled by the sight of angry 
 peasants, who followed him with menacing gestures 
 and furious glances, crying, perhaps, as if the King 
 had been a vampire, " Monster, restore our children ! " 
 
 ■ Foreign Calendar, " Elizabeth," vol. ii. p. 146. 
 ' De I'Estat de France sous Franfois II., p. J3J. 
 
 21S 
 
Departure of Elizabeth for Spain 
 
 It need hardly be said that there was not the 
 shghtest foundation for the vile report, though such 
 a slander must have robbed the King of all pleasure 
 in his autumn amusements. 
 
 On November i8, he left Blois, accompanied by 
 his Queen, and on the 23rd reached Chatelherault, 
 near Poitiers, where he wished to take leave of his 
 sister. The entry was in full state, Mary having 
 precedence of her husband. A canopy of crimson 
 damask was carried over her by four townsmen, with 
 the arms of England, France, and Scotland quartered 
 on it. The King's canopy was of purple damask, 
 with the arms of France only.^ The two gates of the 
 town through which they passed were painted : on 
 the right side were the arms of France with the King's 
 name, and on the left the arms of England, France, 
 and Scotland, quartered with the Queen's name. 
 Verses in golden lettering were inscribed beneath 
 the portraits of their Majesties on the gates. ^ 
 
 Francis had recovered from his alarm and went 
 out hunting at Chatelherault, probably escorted by a 
 strong guard. Killigrew and Jones wrote that there 
 was " confirmation of the fact of the absenting of 
 children at the King's coming to Chatelherault ; 
 nevertheless there was no such cause, and the report 
 was grounded only upon the practice of such as mislike 
 the government of the house of Guise." ^ 
 
 It had been intended that Catherine de' Medici, 
 and perhaps Mary Stuart also, should accompany 
 Elizabeth as far as Bayonne or Lusignan. Their 
 plans were frustrated by the early and heavy snowfall 
 which came on in the last week of November ; and the 
 
 ^ Foreign Calendar, " Elizabeth," vol. ii. p. 145. 
 2 Ibid. ' Ihid. p. 146. 
 
 219 
 
Autumn in the Loire Valley 
 
 farewells were said at Chatelherault. Many tears 
 were shed at the parting, writes De Thou/ and we 
 can well believe that it was hard for the widowed 
 mother to lose her gentle eldest daughter, and for 
 Mary Stuart to take leave of her companion of infancy, 
 the only sister she had known. Elizabeth was accom- 
 panied by the King and Queen of Navarre and the 
 Cardinal of Bourbon, who were to conduct her to the 
 frontiers. She had reached the age of fourteen years 
 and eight months when she set out to meet her bride- 
 groom of thirty- two. Preparations for her journey 
 had for some weeks occupied the ladies of the house- 
 hold. Giovanni Michiel, writing on November 7 
 from Blois, says : " Nothing is attended to here but 
 preparation for the departure of the Queen Catholic, 
 which has been postponed from the 12th till the i6th, 
 because her most important dresses, which are being 
 made in Paris, are not yet finished." ^ 
 
 The researches of modern historians have destroyed 
 the legend which represented Elizabeth of Valois as, 
 like Mary Stuart, a queen of tragedy. Though she 
 died at twenty-three, the years of her married life 
 were calm and happy, for she possessed the full con- 
 fidence of her husband, and drew forth all the tender- 
 ness that was possible to his nature. Her stepson, 
 the unhappy Don Carlos, who was subject to accesses 
 of violent mania, felt the soothing influence of her 
 presence. Elizabeth had not been a brilliant pupil 
 in the Latin and Greek classes, nor did she possess 
 those gifts of personal fascination which drew all 
 hearts to her companion, the Queen of Scots, and her 
 younger sister, Margaret of Valois. Her virtues were 
 
 ' Histoirc Uiiivcrsrllc, vol. ii. book xiii. 
 ' Vciwtidu Calendar, vol. vii. p. 132. 
 
Character of Elizabeth 
 
 obedience, fidelity, simple devotion to her religious 
 duties, a childlike trust in God and men. Of the 
 four wives of Philip ii., she alone won his affec- 
 tionate, uninterrupted regard. Her two daughters 
 were always especially dear to him. As the Queen's 
 litter moved southwards along the snowy roads, 
 her friends must have wondered whether this great 
 alliance carried with it any pledge for her happi- 
 ness. France had shut out the Inquisition, but in 
 Spain, as a modern traveller writes, the sickening 
 breath of the auto-de-fe seems to linger in most of the 
 great cities. Could Elizabeth enter Valladolid without 
 thinking of the dreadful deaths that had taken place 
 on the Quemadero a few weeks before her marriage ? 
 Apologists for Philip ii. have explained that he believed, 
 amid his worst cruelties, that he was carrying out the 
 Divine purpose, and readers who are scarcely convinced 
 by such arguments, or by the evidence of his voluminous 
 correspondence, must at least acknowledge that he 
 bore his own last illness with patience and fortitude, 
 when he was called to endure in his own person 
 something of the torture he had inflicted on his 
 unoffending subjects. It is not surprising, as M. de 
 Ruble remarks, that a legend of horror should have 
 grown up around the innocent child who was delivered 
 up to the tyrant of Spain and the Low Countries. 
 " The story allows us to impute one crime more 
 to a sovereign who makes but small appeal to our 
 sympathies." ^ 
 
 Philip had personally superintended the trousseau 
 of his child-wife, sending her from Flanders rich gowns 
 of cloth of gold and silver. Silk stockings and under- 
 garments of Flemish linen were included in her 
 
 ' A. de Ruble, Le TraitS de Cateau-Cambresis, p. 245. 
 
Autumn in the Loire Valley 
 
 wardrobe. A list of her costliest treasures has been 
 preserved/ and shows that she took to Spain a jewel- 
 casket of sumptuous magnificence. The roads and 
 bridges near the frontier had been repaired to allow 
 of the passage of her heavily laden waggons and her 
 numerous suite. 
 
 Elizabeth cried bitterly as she set out on Novem- 
 ber 25 for her first sleeping-place at Poitiers. Soon, 
 however, the pleasure of travelling over the crisp, 
 wintry roads restored her spirits. Her eyes wandered 
 with delight to the villages, castles, and churches 
 which shone in their mantle of white. Perhaps a 
 gleam of sunshine lit up the landscape at the moment 
 when Elizabeth cried out in rapture, " Are there 
 houses and churches as beautiful as these in 
 Spain ? " ^ 
 
 The twentieth-century visitor can easily recon- 
 struct the Blois known to Francis and Mary. The 
 Loire is here of noble width, and above it the town 
 rises in clean white terraces. The general contour 
 is best studied from the opposite side of the river, 
 near the top of the long road that leads into the forest. 
 On the left rise the sharp spires of the ancient Church 
 of St. Nicholas, and near it we see the massi^•e, clus- 
 tered walls of the Castle. The chief object on the 
 right is Mansard's Cathedral of St. Louis, which has 
 replaced the sixteenth-century structure. Blois has 
 many steep twisting streets and flights of narrow 
 steps, which remind us of the oldest parts of Hastings. 
 All that remains of the Hotel of the Guises is a 
 round tower, now built into a modern house. The 
 
 ' M emoircs-J omitaux dit Due de Guise, p. 445. 
 
 ' I'alnia Cayet, ClirouoloQic iiovcnanc, p. 176, quoted by A. de 
 Ruble, Lc 'iraitc do CiUcau-CanibrC'sis, p. 25:!. 
 
The Town and Castle of Blois 
 
 most interesting of the older houses is the beautiful 
 Hotel d'AUuye. From every point of vantage — 
 the bridge, the terrace which overlooks the Bishop's 
 garden, the top of private staircases — the eye ranges 
 over broad landscapes. The physicians understood 
 that all the drugs in their pharmacy would be less 
 beneficial to the fragile King and Queen than the 
 daily sight of this sparkling river, with the fields and 
 woods spreading out to the farthest horizon. The 
 shadows of great clouds, reflected on the broad bosom 
 of the Loire, the autumn sunshine which tinged the 
 woodland leaves with pale gold and copper and orange 
 hues, might drop their " medicinal gums " into the 
 tired young hearts. These doctors could not recom- 
 mend the modern remedy of a sea-voyage, yet at 
 Blois, on the Cathedral terrace, we seem to be walking 
 on the, middle deck of a ship, with earth and 
 ocean at our feet, and the illimitable sky overarching 
 all. From the rich fields, the boats on the quays, 
 the waggon-laden roads, the villages, the forest glades, 
 there comes a whisper of wealth and peace. 
 
 The Castle, as Mary knew it, must have been far 
 more sumptuous than in its modern restoration. 
 We linger long at the foot of the glorious open stair- 
 case of Francis i., the perfected symbol of the French 
 Renaissance, with its shell-like convolutions and its 
 apocalyptic visions of living creatures unknown to 
 earth. Did Mary admire these three dehcate statues 
 of fair women, long, Hthe and graceful, which some 
 have ascribed to the youthful genius of Jean Goujon, 
 and which to the modern traveller bear but one name 
 —that of Diane de Poitiers ? Did she admire these 
 marvellous salamanders, surmounted by flaming 
 crowns, surrounded by living fires, animals Uke those 
 
 223 
 
Autumn in the Loire Valley 
 of the prophecies of Ezekiel, clutching the ear 
 with strong, unconquerable, claw-hke grasp, ove 
 coming pain and terror, immortal images amid tl 
 transient pageants of mortality ? Protestant historiai 
 may be pardoned if they have read into the motto i 
 Francis I. a fuller meaning than the King intended. 
 
 The modern visitor to Blois, as he approachi 
 the town from the station along the deeply sunke 
 road which was once the bed of a stream, sees tl 
 Italian palace of Francis i. towering high above hii 
 with its long arcaded galleries. The lightness an 
 beauty of the structure, the grace of the many rounde 
 arches, the exquisite carvings of the balustrade 
 the fantastic spring of the stone-work, seem to pn 
 claim that this is a palace of joy and luxury, whei 
 the languors of the South were to be transported t 
 French soil. But if we come to Blois in the shorter 
 ing autumn days, as Francis and Mary came in th 
 first months of their reign, these long, open-air ga 
 leries are peopled with the shadowy forms of murdere 
 victims who were close kinsmen of the Queen. Th 
 loveliest of French pleasure-houses was to be staine 
 ivith a tragedy. The night of winter has seen n 
 more desperate crime than the murder of Mary' 
 cousin, Henry le Balafre, third Duke of Guise. 
 
 When Francis and Mary entered the Castle a 
 lord and lady, the future murderer, Henry in., wa 
 a little innocent child, living in the nursery with hi 
 sister Margaret and his brothers, under the tutelag 
 of Catherine de' Medici. 
 
 The i"ooms of the Chateau are now glittering wit 
 tlu^ restorer's gold and blue. The}' are of fair siz 
 and lieight, with surprisingly low and narrow door 
 Tlic pancllint^s of stamped and gilded Cordova 
 
 2-4 
 
The Royal Apartments 
 
 leather and the wood carvings are faithfully imitated. 
 Sunlight streams in through the latticed windows, 
 and we can understand that Holyrood and Stirling 
 must have seemed gloomy places to Queen Mary 
 after this bright home of her childhood. 
 
 Everywhere we see the porcupine of Louis xii., 
 the salamander of Francis i., the ermine of Anne of 
 Bretagne, and the swan pierced with an arrow which 
 was the device of Queen Claude. There are secret 
 staircases in the Castle, hidden passages and my- 
 sterious concealed cupboards which the guides describe 
 as the " poison-closets " of Catherine. The empty 
 panelled rooms of the second and third storeys in the 
 oldest part of the buildings are allotted by tradition 
 to the Queen Mother and to Francis and Mary. Re- 
 ception - rooms, dressing - rooms and bedchamber, 
 library, oratory and private study, remain much 
 as they were in the middle sixteenth century, save that 
 the costly furniture is missing. 
 
 The panelling of Catherine's library " still shows 
 traces of the colour which threw into bold relief the 
 exquisite carving of its walls. There are two hundred 
 and thirty panels here, all different, and each a 
 brilliant example of workmanship and design. This 
 cabinet alone would be sufficient indication of the 
 luxury of decoration lavished by four Valois Courts 
 upon the chateau ; its solidity is conspicuous in the 
 great wall of division which cuts through the whole 
 wing Hke a spinal column, and divides each storey 
 into a double range of rooms, each large enough, as 
 Balzac said, to hold a company of infantry with 
 ease." ^ The rooms of Francis and Mary were exactly 
 above those of Catherine. 
 
 1 T. A. Cook, Old Touraine, vol. ii. p. 146. 
 
 p 225 
 
Autumn in the Loire Valley 
 
 The Advent season was observed at Blois wit 
 the customary services. On December 13, KiUigre^ 
 and Jones wrote : " The two Queens have daily 
 sermon in the chapel, or their dining chamber, by 
 frere who can good skill ; which some think is don 
 by the Cardinal of Lorraine's means, to keep in th 
 Queen Mother, who is rather a Protestant tha 
 otherwise." * 
 
 The anxiety about the health of Mary of Guis 
 continued. On Christmas Day six letters concemin 
 her, signed by Francis 11., were dispatched fror 
 Blois. To Elizabeth of England Francis wrote tha 
 having heard of the severe illness of his mother-ir 
 law, and desiring to know her state, he had sent th 
 Sieur de la Marque, bearer of the letter, to inquir 
 respecting her present condition and report to him.^ 
 
 To the invalided Queen Dowager the King wrot 
 that he would not be happy till he heard a bette 
 report of her health. She would not find bette 
 physicians, he playfully suggested, than her daughte 
 and himself.^ 
 
 In pursuit of pleasure the King moved restlessl 
 from palace to palace. The Venetian Ambassadc 
 wrote in December : "To attend better to hawking 
 in which he greatly delights (though his father di 
 not) and to other field sports, the most Christia 
 King has retired till Christmas to the palace of Chan 
 bord four leagues hence, and besides the Queen Mothe 
 and the Queen his wife, he has made the Chancelk 
 and the Privy Council go thither to arrange his finance 
 for next year.* 
 
 ' Foreign. Calendar, " Elizabeth," vol. ii. p. i86. 
 '' Ihid. p. 2_so. '■> Ibid. 
 
 ^ Venetian Calendar , vol. vii. p. 138. 
 
The Court at Chambord 
 
 Chambord is a gigantic piece of masonry, a house 
 of more than four hundred rooms, with enormous 
 towers and thirteen staircases. Its general appearance 
 is now that of a huge and comfortless barrack, but 
 the fresh breezes of the Sologne blow over the sur- 
 rounding fields, and in Mary's time the Castle was the 
 centre of a large and well-wooded park. In this severe 
 winter the lakes and little streams may probably 
 have been frozen, though after the heavy snowstorm 
 of late November, Touraine perhaps enjoyed a spell 
 of open weather before Christmas. Even on this 
 brief excursion, trouble entered the Palace. .Suspicion 
 fell on a Scotsman, Thomas Stuart, who was arrested 
 at Chambord on leaving Mary's apartment and carried 
 a prisoner to Blois. Every Stuart claimed kinship 
 with his sovereign, and this man had apparently asked 
 her good offices in providing him with a passport 
 into Scotland that he might ask the Lords of the 
 Congregation not to confiscate his lands. In the 
 suspicious temper of the Court, such a request could 
 hardly have been urged in more undiplomatic terms, 
 for the Lords of the Congregation were at feud with 
 the Queen's Mother, and Mary could not have been 
 expected to acknowledge their power. Thomas Stuart 
 was further accused of having said he wished the French 
 Queen were in heaven, as she was the cause of so 
 much unquietness in Scotland. 
 
 The minds of Frenchmen were more occupied at 
 this moment with the fate of Anne du Bourg than 
 with the movements of the Court in Touraine. The 
 learned counsellor, who had been lying in prison since 
 June 10, had a host of friends in France, Switzerland, 
 and Germany. For ten years he had filled with 
 distinction a chair of jurisprudence at the University 
 
 227 
 
Autumn in the Loire Valley 
 
 of Orleans, and on three occasions had been chose 
 rector/ He was only thirty-eight, and had tl 
 prospect of a brilliant career. As the nephew of 
 Chancellor of France and the descendant of a nob 
 family, he might hope to rise high in the service ( 
 the State. At Orleans he had remained nominal) 
 a CathoHc, though it is believed that he held inte: 
 course with some of the many Lutherans who studie 
 at the University. One of these, Conrad Mains, we 
 imprisoned for heresy, but was released by the inte: 
 vention of Anne du Bourg. On Easter Eve i55( 
 soon after his settlement in Paris, the young professc 
 partook of the Lord's Supper after the Huguenc 
 ritual. The place of assembly is unknown ; some c 
 the worshippers came in disguise, nor would du Bour 
 ever consent, under the closest pressure, to reve? 
 the names of any of them. 
 
 He emerges into the full light of history with h: 
 speech at the Mercuriale of June lo, which lasted mor 
 than an hour and a half, and was patiently hear 
 by Henry ii. We cannot doubt that he had counte 
 the cost of such a step, for at Orleans he must hav 
 witnessed the fate of martyrs. Francois Morel, on 
 of the ministers of Paris, wrote to Calvin that th 
 Parlement had never heard language more magnificen 
 more free, more respectful, or more holy than that c 
 Anne du Bourg. ^ 
 
 For six months this brave gentleman had lai 
 in the gloomy cells of the Bastille and the Conciergeri< 
 His health suffered severely from his rigorous cor 
 finement, and there were moments when he Wc 
 disposed to imitate the fellow-counsellors who ha 
 
 ' M. LcliO'vrc, Armc du Bourg, p. 8. 
 '' Calvitii Opera, vol, xvii. p. 54S. 
 
Martyrdom of Anne du Bourg 
 
 won their freedom by concessions. Anne du Bourg, 
 like his colleagues, had " a mind to live in the world," 
 and he employed every means suggested by his acute 
 legal knowledge, appealing from Court to Court, 
 from the Bishop of Paris to the Archbishop of Sens, 
 and from the Archbishop of Sens to the Archbishop 
 of Lyon. Through this prolonged struggle, while 
 suspense was wearing out his nerve and courage, 
 he felt that his worst enemy was " that red Phalaris," 
 the Cardinal of Lorraine. 
 
 On three occasions he yielded to a momentary 
 weakness which is fully explained by his circum- 
 stances : once when he denied that he had taken 
 part in the Huguenot Communion, next when he 
 allowed his advocate Marilhac to express his desire 
 to be reconciled to Rome, and again, during the last 
 month of his life, when, acting under the strongest 
 moral pressure, he consented, for a very short time, 
 to withdraw his first confession of faith and replace 
 it by a more ambiguous statement. A letter of 
 Marlorat, full of affection, tender reproach and 
 sublime encouragement, recalled the prisoner to 
 himself, and he sent to his judges, withdrawing his 
 recantation and declaring that he stood firmly by 
 his original confession. Though Anne du Bourg had 
 not been called to endure physical torture, his suffer- 
 ings in the cells of the Conciergerie must have wasted 
 his strength, and he had been too ill to plead his 
 own cause before the Parlement. 
 
 The assassination of the President Minard, one 
 of the enemies of the Protestants, gave the signal 
 for the death of du Bourg. The Cardinal refused 
 to permit any further delay. Emissaries from the 
 Elector Palatine were on their way to Paris, with the 
 
 229 
 
Autumn in the Loire Valley 
 
 offer from the Prince of a chair at Heidelberg for 
 the man who was now languishing in a malefactor's 
 prison. His immediate execution was decided on. 
 
 On Saturday, December 23, he was led to the 
 Place de Greve. By a secret clause in his sentence, 
 the judges had ordered that he should be strangled 
 before the flames touched him. Of this mercy the 
 prisoner knew nothing, and when the executioner 
 was putting the rope round his neck, he asked whether 
 this was necessary, since he was to die by fire. 
 He suffered calmly and bravely, uttering with his 
 last breath the prayer, " Forsake me not, my God, 
 lest I should forsake Thee." Out of the dust of mortal 
 weakness, trembling ever on the brink of disgrace, 
 the chivalry of Christ is fashioned. 
 
 The Cardinal's thoughts about the execution 
 may be learned from his letter to the Bishop of 
 Angoul6me at Rome.^ " The King," he says, " has 
 come back to this town [Blois], where we are not 
 letting an hour be wasted in the ordering of our 
 affairs before we go away from here ; and among 
 other matters we are attending to ' those of the 
 religion ' — as is more than requisite and necessary — 
 with rigorous executions. Only three or four days 
 ago the counsellor du Bourg was publicly burned 
 on the Place de Greve in Paris after having been 
 strangled. This will serve as a notable example to 
 those of like views, the number of whom is infinite." 
 
 ' G. Ribier, Lettres et M&moires d'Estat, vol. ii. p. 819. The date 
 of the letter is given by Ribier as December 20, but this may be a 
 copjrist's error, as Anne du Bourg died on December 23, and the 
 Cardinal speaks of his execution as over. Our diplomatists at Blois 
 were in some doubt as to the date of the execution. On December zy, 
 Killigrew and Jones wrote to Queen Elizabeth : " Bourg was not 
 executed (ill about the 20th instant" {Forci-^n Calendar/' 'EMz&heVa.," 
 vol. ii. p. 243). 
 
 230 
 
Anxieties of the Guises 
 
 The preoccupations of the Guises in December 
 may be understood from their correspondence with 
 the Bishop of Limoges, French Ambassador at the 
 Court of Spain. They were pressing for the restora- 
 tion of the towns which Philip, by the Treaty of 
 Cateau-Cambresis, had engaged himself to return to 
 France, but over which his Flemish Ministers were 
 haggling. Remarkable adroitness and ability are 
 shown in all the letters sent from France by the 
 Cardinal personally, or by Francis ii., in the corre- 
 spondence dictated by his chief adviser. 
 
CHAPTER XV 
 
 THE TUMULT OF AMBOISE 
 
 (i) The Preparations 
 
 Plans for the royal visit to Amboise — The Cardinal's Amboise estate 
 — Unpopularity of the Government — Depletion of the Treasury — 
 Widespread discontent and its causes — The poUtical malcontents 
 find a leader in La Renaudie — Calvin and La Renaudie — The 
 Assembly at Nantes — The "Silent Captain" — Anxieties of the 
 Court — Francis and Mary leave Blois — Throckmorton's interview 
 with Mary at Amboise — First warnings reach the Cardinal — The 
 town and castle of Amboise. 
 
 The Guises did not allow themselves to be influenced 
 by the opinions of the Court physicians, that Francis ii. 
 was not likely to live long. He had overcome many 
 serious illnesses, and might survive many more. 
 Whatever may have been the secret fears of the 
 Ministers, they laid their plans as for a long reign. 
 Early in December (1559) the Cardinal bought the 
 property of Chateau Gaillard, near Amboise, where 
 Charles viii. had formerly planted gardens under 
 the direction of the skilful Neapolitan flower-grower 
 Passiolo. The new proprietor believed that the Court 
 would be frequently in residence in the healthful 
 little town on the Loire, and knowing that the chief 
 burden of the administration must rest on his shoulders, 
 he wished to have a house of his own, where he could 
 carry on State business apart from the noise and 
 distractions of the crowded Castle. \\'orkmen were 
 
The Movements of the Court 
 
 put into the Chateau Gaillard, and improvements 
 on an extensive scale were undertaken, to be aban- 
 doned after the premature close of the reign and the 
 fall of the Guises.^ 
 
 The itinerary of the Court was planned for more 
 than a year ahead. Some historians have written 
 as if the Guises, at the first rumours of disturbance, 
 had flung themselves, with the King and Queen, 
 into the fortress of Amboise. The truth is, that 
 the arrangements for a Lenten sojourn at Amboise 
 were of long standing. On December 2 (1559) 
 Chantonay informed PhiUp 11. that " the Court is 
 to spend Lent at Amboise, and to proceed in spring 
 to Guyenne, travelling by Poitiers, Bordeaux, and 
 Bayonne." Toulouse was to be the next resting- 
 place, and the winter of 1560-61 was to be spent 
 in Provence and Languedoc. 
 
 In January (1559-60), Chantonay wrote from Blois 
 that the time was drawing near for the departure of 
 the Court for Amboise, and that twelve or fifteen 
 days would be occupied on the journey with hunting 
 parties at the houses of private gentlemen.^ 
 
 While the Duke and the Cardinal were dreaming 
 of long-continued power, the nation was rising around 
 them in sullen mutiny. Their best acts were mis- 
 interpreted, and the well-earned popularity of the 
 Duke of Guise was neutralised by the errors of his 
 brother. Veteran soldiers had come back from Italy 
 
 '£tienne Cartier, Essais histonques sur la Ville d' Amboise, p. 83, 
 notes. The estate was sold in 1 566 to M. de Villequier. 
 
 " The correspondence of Chantonay in the Archives Nationales was 
 supplemented by M. Charles Paillard in the Revue Historique (vol. xiv. 
 pp. 61 and 311) by extracts from the Ambassador's letters to Margaret 
 of Parma and the Bishop of Arras in the archives of Brussels. The 
 Brussels letters are copies made in the eighteenth century. 
 
 233 
 
Preparing for the Tumult 
 
 to claim gifts, pensions, and of&ces, but the Cardinal 
 had ordered them to quit Fontainebleau, and had 
 set up a gibbet as a warning to over-zealous suitors. 
 We may assume that the conqueror of Calais would 
 never have permitted such an action had he not 
 known that the royal coffers were empty.^ Brantome 
 tells us that great offence was given by this stroke 
 of policy at the beginning of the reign, and he blames 
 the Cardinal, while on the same page supplying a 
 sufficient motive for his action, for he confesses that 
 " the King found his realm so poor and so deeply in 
 debt that he did not know what to do." The Venetian 
 Republic was pressing for the payment of large sums, 
 the Swiss were clamorous for their money, and the 
 bankers who had advanced funds for the late wars 
 now expected their indemnity. The expenses of a 
 double royal wedding and the large dowries of the 
 Princesses had drawn almost the last coin out of the 
 treasury. " In a word," adds Brantome, " the king- 
 dom was then so poor and so depleted of money and 
 means, that it was long since the financial credit had 
 touched so low a level." ^ " What could the King 
 and his financiers do," continues Brantome, "save 
 to bid these claimants return some other time, for 
 to satisfy their demands would have more than 
 swallowed up ten revenues of France ? " Yet he says, 
 a few lines farther on, in his zeal for the exculpation 
 of his great captain, the Duke of Guise : " I do not 
 say that the Cardinal of Lorraine, who had kept for 
 himself the superintendence of the finances, was not 
 a little to blame for it all, but not M. de Guise " ; and 
 he hastens to tell how Guise excused himself affec- 
 tionately to his old officers and promised to employ 
 
 ' Branl6me, vol. iv. pp. j-\s-225. = Ibid. p. J24. 
 
The Gibbet at Fontainebleau 
 
 them on further service. " Go home, my friends, for 
 a while," he said ; " did you not hear the proclama- 
 tion ? Go away, the King is very poor just now ; but 
 be sure that when the time comes and the chance 
 offers, I will not forget you, but will summon you to 
 my side." 
 
 In the affair of the gibbet of Fontainebleau, as in 
 so many incidents of Guise history, the Cardinal 
 bore the full weight of responsibility for unpopular 
 actions. Henri Martin says that the Duke was the 
 lion and the Cardinal the fox, but a fox-like statesman 
 would hardly have offered the gallows to the royal 
 creditors. There was not money to reward the troops 
 of Brissac when they returned from Piedmont ; the 
 fact should have been admitted, and an appeal made 
 to their patriotism. The Duke of Guise might have 
 conciliated the starving officers, but the Cardinal, 
 ever headstrong, overbearing, and disposed to violence, 
 flung these veterans into the ranks of the malcontents. 
 He gathered on his own head all the hatred which a 
 more cautious politician would have divided. We 
 can picture him working with his secretaries till late 
 hours in his private room in the palace of Blois, striving 
 to make ends meet at the close of the year, and retiring 
 wearily to his short hours of rest. He was not wholly 
 or chiefly to blame for the squandering of the finances 
 under Henry ii., for the struggle which emptied the 
 treasury began before he was born ; but we cannot 
 acquit him of a large share of blame for the rehgious 
 disaffection of the country. There would have been 
 no Tumult of Amboise if he had not persecuted the 
 Huguenots. 
 
 Foolish and unfortunate measures of the Government 
 hastened the crisis. The Parlement of Paris was forced 
 
 235 
 
Preparing for the Tumult 
 
 to undertake in earnest the task of religious purifica- 
 tion. By an edict dated from Villers-Cotterets (Sep- 
 tember 4, 1559) a-11 houses in which Protestant meetings 
 were held were to be destroyed, and another edict 
 (November 9) doomed to death the organisers of 
 unlawful assemblies. Magistrates were ordered to 
 enforce the law on pain of losing office. Though the 
 Inquisition had been refused by France, the Cardinal 
 succeeded in establishing a virtual Inquisition during 
 the first months of his Ministry. 
 
 In January 1560, the Guises were opposed by the 
 princes of the blood royal, by the Constable Mont- 
 morency and his nephews, by a large group of the 
 smaller nobles and gentlemen, by the entire Protestant 
 party, and by a mass of discontented soldiers. The 
 personal following of the Montmorencys alone com- 
 prised most of the great families of purely French 
 extraction. Officers who had served under the Con- 
 stable, Coligny, and Andelot made common cause 
 against the hated " Lorrainers," but Anne de Mont- 
 morency was content to bide his time, and his nephews 
 imitated his prudence. They kept on friendly terms 
 with the Queen Mother, professed the utmost loyalty 
 to the sovereign, and formed a national reserve, 
 which might be summoned to the King's service on 
 any emergency. Through the earlier months of the 
 reign, we can detect a quiet and ever-growing move- 
 ment for the deposition of the Guises. But as Regnier 
 de la Planche observes, the question was. Who should 
 bell the cat ? The Duke Francis was not a man 
 who could be easily " captured and brought to 
 justice." No prince of the blood could be expected 
 to appear openly as the leader of so wild an enterprise. 
 
 A leader for the malcontents was found in Godefroy 
 
 236 
 
Calvin and La Renaudie 
 
 de Barry, Sieur de la Renaudie, a gentleman of Perigord, 
 who bore a doubtful reputation. He had been con- 
 demned as a forger, and had been rescued from the 
 prison of Dijon by the Duke of Guise. La Renaudie 
 fled to Geneva, where he embraced the doctrines 
 of Calvin. From the beginning of their acquaint- 
 ance, Calvin distrusted his motives and disliked the 
 man.^ 
 
 In 1558, when La Renaudie was acting as the 
 agent of the King of Navarre, he warned the Pro- 
 testants of Paris against him. In a letter to Coligny ^ 
 Calvin stated that he was consulted seven or eight 
 months beforehand as to whether it would be lawful 
 to resist the tyranny by which the children of God 
 were oppressed, and what would be the best means to 
 employ. He strongly recommended the abandon- 
 ment of the idea. " Let but a single drop of blood 
 be shed, and streams will flow." " It would be better 
 that we should all perish a hundred times over than 
 that through us the Christian name and the Gospel 
 should be exposed to such disgrace." The utmost 
 that Calvin would admit was that if it were necessary 
 to maintain the princes of the blood in their rights 
 for the common welfare of the realm, and if the courts 
 of Parlement supported them in their claim, then 
 good subjects might lawfully aid them by force of 
 arms. 
 
 Of La Renaudie' s interviews with him Calvin 
 wrote : — 
 
 " Some time afterwards I was much astonished 
 
 ' In his famous letter to Coligny, exculpating himself from any 
 share in the Tumult, Calvin says : " Et de fait jay tousjours dit que si 
 le fait me desplaisoit, la personne de La Renaudier men desgoutoit 
 encore plus " (Calvini Opera, vol. xviii. p. 429). 
 
 ^ Calvini Opera, vol. xviii. pp. 426-31. 
 
 237 
 
Preparing for the Tumult 
 
 when La Renaudie, who had arrived from Paris, 
 told me that the charge of the enterprise had been 
 entrusted to him. ... As I had always known him 
 to be a man full of vanity and presumption, I firmly 
 repelled his advances, so that he was never able 
 to draw from me any sign of consent, but on the 
 contrary I exerted myself to dissuade him from this 
 folly by many reasons which would be too long to 
 repeat." 
 
 La Renaudie did not accept Calvin's rebuff, but 
 went on working in the dark among French Pro- 
 testants at Geneva, making use of Calvin's name as 
 that of a favourer of his designs. 
 
 Calvin was indignant, and in the presence of Beza 
 and others, had a stormy scene with the adventurer. 
 Public proclamation was made, warning the French 
 refugees against leaving the city, but these efforts 
 were unavailing. The French declined to accept 
 the verdict of the Genevan leaders as authoritative. 
 " Not with these alone," they said, " dwells the 
 Spirit of God." Secretly, at nightfall, many slipped 
 out of the city gates, bound on an enterprise com- 
 pared with which the ascent of the snow-peaks of 
 Mont Blanc would have been safe and easy. 
 
 On February i (1559-60) the chief promoters 
 of the conspiracy assembled at Nantes. 
 
 The Parlement of Brittany was in session, 
 and the strangers passed unnoticed in the dis- 
 guise of litigants, their servants carrying behind 
 them bags stuffed with legal papers.^ Among the 
 malcontents were nobles and men of substance from 
 every part of the country, who had come to Nantes 
 
 ' Regnier de la Planche, Dc I'Estat de France sous Franpois 11. , 
 p. 238. 
 
 238 
 
The Meeting at Nantes 
 
 on the summons of La Renaudie, and on the under- 
 standing that he was the agent of the Prince of Conde. 
 It is doubtful whether the Prince's name was men- 
 tioned openly in the deliberations at Nantes, but 
 all beUeved that he was the " Silent Captain " who 
 would lead the venture. La Renaudie discoursed 
 at length on the state of the kingdom, the bad govern- 
 ment of the Guises, and the humiUation of the princes 
 of the blood, and he pledged the assembly to join 
 him in an attempt to capture the Duke and the 
 Cardinal on March 6 at Blois. A solemn oath was 
 sworn that nothing should be attempted against the 
 King's person, or in disobedience to the laws of the 
 realm. The intervening weeks were to be spent in 
 collecting men and money. As to the fate reserved 
 for the " tyrants " had they been taken, little doubt 
 can have been felt among the conspirators at Nantes. 
 They were to be " justly punished, to serve as an 
 example to posterity." ^ Had the attempt suc- 
 ceeded, the Duke of Guise might possibly have been 
 allowed to live, but no power in France could have 
 saved the Cardinal.^ 
 
 Meanwhile, at Court, a certain restlessness pre- 
 vailed for weeks before the plot was suspected. On 
 January 28, Killigrew and Jones wrote to Cecil 
 that the use of tabourins and masks about the 
 Court had been stayed, " partly on account of the 
 fear the Cardinal of Lorraine has of himself, and 
 partly on account of forcible entry of a gentlewoman's 
 house of this town by maskers." ^ It was noted 
 
 ^ Regnier de la Planche, p. 239. 
 
 ' Mr. Whitehead quotes the sajdng of the Mantuan Ambassador, 
 that the real motive of the conspirators was to kill the Cardinal of 
 Lorraine {Gaspard de Coligny, p. 80). 
 
 ' Foreign Calendar, " Elizabeth," vol. ii. p. 337. 
 
 239 
 
Preparing for the Tumult 
 
 also that the soldiers, through hunger, were com- 
 mitting robberies. 
 
 The conspirators were not in the secret of the 
 Court plans, and in fixing their rendezvous for 
 the 6th of March at Blois, they were unaware that the 
 King was to remove to Amboise before the end of 
 February. In the first week of the month he set out 
 on his slow progress, and while the Court was moving 
 between Marchenoir and Montoire (February 12) 
 a definite warning came to the Guises. The first 
 whispers of trouble had reached the Cardinal from 
 Germany, but they were vague and confused. The 
 traitor was the lawyer Des Avenelles, who had enter- 
 tained La Renaudie in Paris, had learned the secret 
 of his designs, and had revealed them to Millet, 
 secretary of the Duke of Guise. Unsuspiciously 
 the royal party was hunting in the forest of March- 
 enoir, when the unwelcome messenger arrived. 
 " Within ten days," said Des Avenelles, " all will be 
 made or marred." The Duke of Guise sent troops to 
 reconnoitre the country, and finding all quiet, did not 
 think it necessary to alarm the King. It was not till 
 February 22, two days earlier than had been originally 
 intended, that the Court established itself at Amboise. 
 
 On the 25th, Throckmorton had an interview 
 with the Queen Mother and Queen Mary, and he also 
 conversed at length in private with the Cardinal. 
 Nothing was said on either side, apparently, about 
 an expected rising. The talk turned on the troubles 
 in Scotland, and the relations between Elizabeth 
 and the Lords of the Congregation. 
 
 Throckmorton saw Catherine de' Medici "and 
 the French Ouene on her right hand set by 
 
 240 
 
Warnings to the Guises 
 
 her, accumpanied with the Cardinalls of Chastillon 
 and Burbon." ^ Catherine expressed the hope that 
 the Enghsh Ambassador would lend his influence 
 towards the promoting of good relations, " for she 
 knew I might do moche in the mater ; for she wold 
 be glad and so wold the Queue her doughter (and so 
 turned towards her, who thereupon smiled,) that all 
 things were amicably compounded. Yes, quoth the 
 yong Quene, the Queue my good suster may be 
 assured to have a better neighbour of me, being 
 her cousin, then of the rebellis, and so I pray youe 
 to signify unto her." ^ 
 
 On March i, the Spanish Ambassador, Chantonay, 
 had an interview with the Cardinal, who complained 
 that the Queen of England was favouring and sup- 
 porting plots against the person of the King and his 
 Ministers. Chantonay then informed the French 
 statesman that his brother, the Bishop of Arras, 
 had told him that a plot was afoot to kill the Cardinal 
 himself and all the members of the House of Guise. ^ 
 
 Notwithstanding these repeated warnings from 
 many different quarters, the Cardinal was surpris- 
 ingly ignorant of the true state of affairs. On Feb- 
 ruary 19 he did not even know that La Renaudie 
 was in France, and asked Coignet, the French Ambas- 
 sador in Switzerland, to see that his movements 
 were closely watched.* 
 
 The Castle of Amboise, where the Court was now 
 established, was one of the strongest riverside fort- 
 resses in Europe, well adapted for the guard of 
 precious lives. Built by the old Counts of Anjou, 
 
 ' Forbes, Public Transactions , vol. i. p. 342. ^ Ibid. p. 343. 
 
 ' Revue Historique, vol. xiv. p. 81. 
 
 * Letter quoted by Mignet, Journal des Savants, 1857, pp. 420, 421. 
 The letter was written from Montoire. 
 
 Q 241 
 
Preparing for the Tumult 
 it had been repaired and fortified by Claarles vii. 
 Two great towers liad been added by Cliarles viii., 
 one facing the river on the north, the other the far- 
 spreading forest of Amboise. The Castle stands 
 on a steep rock on the left bank of the Loire, over- 
 looking the small, closely clustered town. 
 
 The Loire is here wide, with sandy banks ; and 
 the old bridge-builders chose a spot for their con- 
 struction where an island divides the stream. Pass- 
 ing to-day along the narrow streets, called by modern 
 names, — the Rues Newton, Victor Hugo, and J. J. 
 Rousseau, — we are reminded of the past by a noble 
 mediaeval gateway. From the Hotel de Ville, we 
 come by a winding ascent to the Castle entrance, 
 which leads by a covered vaulted passage to a garden 
 filled in summer with yellow, white, and crimson 
 roses. Every rose known to gardeners seemed to 
 the writer — a June traveller — to be flourishing on 
 bushes or trained against the southern-facing walls. 
 The fragrance of innumerable flowers sweetens the 
 courtyard where the martyrs' blood was spilt. Stand- 
 ing on the ramparts, we have immediately before 
 us the ancient chapel of the Castle, perched Uke a 
 crown upon its rock. It is one of the purest archi- 
 tectural gems of France, and is adorned within by 
 a stone lacework of almost incredible delicacy. Above 
 the portal on the outside is a carved representation 
 of the conversion of St. Hubert, which is too fairy-like, 
 as the tourist thinks, for the winds of heaven to visit 
 it. In the upper panel we see Charles viii. and Anne 
 of Brittany, his wife, in kneeling postures. 
 
 Tourists are taken to the top of the gigantic Tour 
 des Minimes, from which they can trace the far-spread- 
 ing valley of the Loire. 
 
The Castle of Amboise 
 
 The memories of horror that survive from 1560 
 are half lost as we gaze on a landscape rich in corn 
 and wine, the fields, the woods, the glancing water. 
 In the gardens at our feet there are beeches and 
 chestnuts, acacias and poplars, and beyond them 
 we look to the crowded red roofs and the stately 
 bridge. The young Agrippa d'Aubigne, entering 
 Amboise in his father's train, saw the heads of traitors 
 blackening above the stream, and heard his execration 
 on the hangmen who had " cut off the head of France." 
 The words were spoken loudly, in the hearing of 
 hundreds who had assembled for the Amboise fair. 
 It was only by spurring his horse that the bold 
 Huguenot was able to escape from the rabble. Put- 
 ting his hand on the head of his young son, he said, 
 " My child, you must not spare your head after mine, 
 to avenge these chieftains full of honour, whose 
 heads you have just seen. If you spare yourself 
 in this matter, you will have my curse." ^ 
 
 In a long pillared room of the Castle, now partially 
 restored, we are shown the window from which, 
 according to tradition, the King, his brothers, and 
 the ladies of the Court watched the executions. On 
 the opposite side, from the balcony facing the river, 
 we may still touch the iron grating on which, as legend 
 tells, rows of ghastly heads were fixed. Francis i. 
 spent his happy childhood at Amboise ; Charles v. 
 was his guest in its vast and lofty halls, but their 
 splendour is forgotten as we realise the cruelties 
 committed in the suppression of the Tumult of 1560. 
 
 ^ MSmoires de Theodore Agrippa d'Aubigni (Pantheon litteraire), 
 p. 472. 
 
 243 
 
CHAPTER XV .—{continued) 
 
 THE TUMULT OF AMBOISE 
 
 (2) The Attempt and Failure 
 
 Alarm of the Guises — A night watch in the Castle court — Did 1 
 Guises believe that the King and Queen were in danger ?- 
 breathing space — The King and Queen go hunting — Renewal 
 the panic — Outbreak of the Tumult — Motives of La Renaudi 
 followers — Activity of the Duke of Guise — He is made Lieutena 
 General — Dispersal of the conspirators and death of La Renaudi( 
 The King and Queen at Chenonceaux — The Cardinal's rage agar 
 the prisoners — His desire to implicate Conde. 
 
 The outbreak of the conspiracy was foreshadowi 
 for March 6, and as the day approached, the Guis 
 became very nervous. The EngHsh and Spani 
 Ambassadors bore witness to their panic. Throe 
 morton, writing on March 7, said : — 
 
 " You shall understand that the Duke of Gui 
 and the Cardinal of Lorrain have discovered a co 
 spiracy wrought against themselfs and their auctoril 
 which they have bruited (to make the matt 
 more odious) to be ment onely against the Kinj 
 whereupon they are in such feare, as themselfs ( 
 were privy coatis, and are in the night garded wi 
 pistoliers and men in arms. They have apprehend 
 eight or nine and have put some to the torture. . . 
 The matter is presently hote, and like enough to 1 
 hoter ; so as if ever time were for to work your suret 
 and to do that you have nede to do, it is now." ^ 
 
 ' Forbes, vol. i. p. 353. 
 
 244 
 
Alarm of the Guises 
 
 So extreme had been the terror, according to the 
 Ambassador, that on the night when the attack was 
 expected, the Duke of Guise, the Cardinal of Lorraine, 
 the Grand Prior, and all the Knights of the Order 
 who were at Amboise, watched all night long in the 
 Court, and the gates of the town were shut and 
 kept.^ 
 
 On March 9 Throckmorton was able to announce 
 that the first alarm was over. Writing to Cecil, he 
 said : "A conspiracy has been here revealed against 
 the house of Guise, which has much troubled them. 
 It is somewhat appeased, and the King goes abroad 
 on hunting." 
 
 In a letter, of March 8, to his brother, the Bishop 
 of Arras, Chantonay spoke of the excessive alarm 
 into which the Ministers had been thrown, adding 
 that a rumour had been spread officially that a plot 
 had been contrived against the King, the elder and 
 younger Queens, His Majesty's brothers, and the 
 House of Guise. ^ 
 
 How far did the Guises believe that the King 
 was the destined victim ? The Spanish Ambassador's 
 letter shows that he fully understood their cleverness 
 in diverting the dimly understood conspiracy from 
 their own shoulders to those of their royal master. 
 They could punish swiftly and cruelly traitors who 
 had armed themselves against the monarch, and 
 his peril would serve as a sufficient excuse for their 
 severities to foreign Catholic powers, as well as to 
 Queen Elizabeth, with her lofty ideas of personal 
 sovereignty. To their sister in Scotland they wrote 
 that the object of the conspirators had been to kill 
 
 1 Forbes, vol. i. pp. 354, 355. 
 
 ^ Letter quoted in the Revue Historique, vol. xiv. pp. 85, 86. 
 
 245 
 
The Attempt and Failure 
 
 them both, "and then to take the King, and give 
 him masters and governors to bring him up in this 
 wretched doctrine." ^ 
 
 On April 9, after quiet had been restored, the 
 Guises wrote to their sister that the object of the 
 conspirators had been " to kill the King ; and they 
 did not forget us." ^ 
 
 The Duke of Guise, according to the indications 
 of contemporary writers, must have contented him- 
 self with seeing to the military preparations, and 
 with securing the Castle and town against a sudden 
 onslaught. Morally the hero of Metz and Calais was 
 as completely effaced during the affair of Amboise as 
 his niece, the girl-Queen, who moves, throughout 
 the reign, as a shadowy consort beside a shadowy 
 monarch. 
 
 The doings of the Court were a daily illustration 
 of the truth of Brantome's dehneation of the Cardinal's 
 temperament. On March 6 he apprehended danger, 
 gathered soldiers about him, watched all night under 
 arms, kept the King and Queen closely mewed up. 
 Three days passed without sign of the enemy's ap- 
 proach ; then he let his birds loose, and flew out with 
 them. 
 
 Chantonay reported about March 10 that Francis 11. 
 and the Court had gone on a hunting expedition to 
 Chenonceaux. " In three days," he writes, " these 
 lords here have lost all their alarm, after having 
 made a great show of terror, and kept themselves 
 close in the Castle, guarded by a watch and by many 
 knights of the Order." ^ "Now," he added, "the 
 
 1 Foreign Calendar, " IHi/abeth," vol. ii. p. 461. 
 
 ' Forbes, vol. i. p. 400 . 
 
 ' Revue Historiquf, vol. xiv. p. 87. 
 
 246 
 
The King and Queen go Hunting 
 
 King goes hunting and hawking. It is true that 
 some of his Court ride on war-horses, if they have 
 them, and two or three grooms keep Spanish and 
 Turkish mounts in reserve." Chantonay supposed 
 that Francis and Mary, with their suite, would travel 
 by the Cher from Chenonceaux to Tours. The King, 
 he said, had slipped off so quietly that his bed had 
 been left behind, and was to be sent after him, with 
 other personal property.^ The Cardinal, though he 
 had forbidden the use of pistols and firearms, long, 
 sleeveless cloaks, and wide boots, in which weapons 
 could be concealed, had no intention of shutting 
 himself up at Amboise while his young master went 
 abroad. Chantonay, writing from Amboise after 
 the departure of the Court, said : " The Chancellor 
 [Ollivier] is here, who can only deal with the 
 affairs of private persons in the Cardinal's 
 absence." ^ 
 
 The Spanish Ambassador believed that the Cardinal 
 was in fear of his life, and reports the oft-told tale 
 that he had gone in disguise, while in Rome, to con- 
 sult a Jewish astrologer, who had warned him that 
 he would be killed in the thirty-sixth or thirty-seventh 
 year of his age.^ Other prophecies of the wizard, 
 it was reported, had been verified by the event, and 
 there is reason to believe that this modern-minded 
 ecclesiastic was not free from the superstitions of his 
 age. Let him have credit at least for refusing to 
 send the young royal pair into any danger which he 
 did not share. Perhaps he thought, as he searched 
 the silvery reaches of the Loire and Cher and the 
 
 ' Revue Historique, vol. xiv. p. 87. " Ibid. p. 88. 
 
 ^ Ibid. p. 90. The Cardinal had entered on his thirty-sixth year at 
 the time of the Tumult. 
 
 247 
 
The Attempt and Failure 
 
 deep woodland glades for the mysterious hidden 
 
 enemy — 
 
 " Danger knows full well 
 That Caesar is more dangerous than he." 
 
 The breathing-space was of short duration. Re- 
 newed whispers of peril must have caused a quick 
 return. About March 12 the first of La Renaudie's 
 straggling followers were arrested. Two prisoners 
 had been brought to the Castle in the first week 
 of March and cruelly tortured. As to the use of 
 torture on others there is unhappily no room for 
 doubt. 
 
 The plans of the leaders had been disconcerted 
 by the removal of the Court from Blois, and probably 
 also by the difficulty of gathering their forces together 
 from all parts of the country. There was no treason, 
 as we understand the word, in the thoughts of the 
 mixed multitude who, by high roads, river-banks, and 
 wooded paths, approached the King's home in the 
 second week of March. Some had been recruited 
 by La Renaudie in Switzerland, and had no clear 
 idea of his purpose, beyond the fact that they were 
 to appeal for the granting of religious liberty. 
 
 On March 8 the Guises had published a tardy 
 and useless edict, proclaiming an amnesty on con- 
 dition that all should henceforth live as good Catholics. 
 The wounds of the commonwealth were too deep for 
 such slight healing. 
 
 Many of the conspirators beheved that Conde, 
 their " silent captain," would be waiting for their 
 entrance into the town of Amboise, and after the 
 arrest of the Guises would be their spokesman to 
 the King. It must have been wideh' known that 
 Coligny was in the Castle, and that Andelot was 
 
 2.|S 
 
Attitude of Cond6 and Coligny 
 
 expected.^ Could the simple gentlemen of the 
 reforming party suspect that these powerful men, 
 who had good reason to hate the Guises, and whose 
 sympathy with the new doctrines was notorious both 
 in France and Switzerland, would not in the moment 
 of crisis espouse their cause ? Would not Conde or 
 Coligny call for the trial of the Ministers, to be fol- 
 lowed by a religious amnesty ? It may safely be 
 asserted that there would have been no Tumult of 
 Amboise if La Renaudie's followers had remembered 
 the warning : " Put not your trust in princes." None 
 of the French leaders on either side gained credit 
 in these March weeks, but the whole burden of the 
 responsibility for the cruel suppression of the Tumult 
 cannot rest upon the Guises. Andelot, writing to the 
 Constable, described the conspirators as " les revoltes," 
 and breathed a pious prayer that God might by His 
 grace correct all the evil and pernicious wills. ^ 
 
 The final arrangements for the execution of the 
 plot were made at the Chateau of Carretiere, near 
 Amboise. March i6 was the date agreed upon. 
 All was revealed by another traitor — Lignieres. The 
 Duke instantly took measures of defence, walling 
 up the gate by which the conspirators were to enter, 
 and securing all the approaches to the town. Bodies 
 of cavalry were sent into the woods to intercept the 
 stragglers. The Duke of Nemours caught several 
 of La Renaudie's captains at Noizay, and persuaded 
 them to surrender on promise of life and liberty. 
 
 ' M. PaiJlard points out that the Cardinal Odet de Chatillon was 
 the first of the three brothers to join the Court at Amboise, that Coligny 
 was there about February 24, and that Andelot arrived with Conde 
 about March 15. 
 
 "Letter of March 26. Professor Marcks thinks that Andelot's 
 letter to his uncle was meant for the eyes of the Guises. 
 
 249 
 
The Attempt and Failure 
 
 No sooner had the hapless prisoners reached Amboise 
 than they were flung into a dungeon. The plans of 
 La Renaudie were disconcerted, and he himself 
 perished in an obscure skirmish on March ig. Conde, 
 the masked leader, was of no use to his supporters.^ 
 The young Prince, arriving on March 15, the day 
 of the affair of Noizay, offered himself as a defender 
 of the Castle, and was allowed to guard a gate under 
 the supervision of the Grand Prior. Not a solitary 
 friend remained to the insurgents within the walls. 
 Hardly realising the peril of their position, peasants 
 and town labourers allowed themselves to be caught 
 in the snare. They had dreamt of standing before 
 the King's face as a great and united company, and 
 of pleading with him for reforms in Church and State. 
 They arrived before the Castle a broken, helpless, 
 leaderless host, and at the first mustering of the 
 royal horse they abandoned the enterprise. 
 
 On March 17 the Duke of Guise was appointed 
 Lieutenant-General of the kingdom, with supreme 
 military power. He set himself at once to stamp 
 out the last embers of rebellion. The Duke and the 
 Cardinal, according to Throckmorton's letter of March 
 21, lived in great fear, and knew not whom to trust. 
 They were aware that La Renaudie' s followers had 
 not acted without " the comfort and favour of some 
 great ones," and although they declared in public 
 that the enterprise had been designed against the 
 King, they must have been full of secret dismay 
 at the evidence of their own unpopularity. Angry 
 and menacing faces, tearful and pleading faces, must 
 
 ' Some historians doiibl whether Condc had any real concern with 
 the plot, though at the time he was regarded on both sides as the chef 
 
 nnirl. 
 
 250 
 
The First Executions 
 
 have encountered them at every step in the halls 
 and gardens of Amboise. OUivier, it is said, warned 
 them that the murder of so many simple people 
 would be considered an enormous crime. By an 
 edict of March 17, forgiveness was extended to all 
 who had assembled in arms near the town of Amboise, 
 for the purpose of presenting to the King a confession 
 of their faith, on condition that they should, within 
 twenty-four hours, return to their homes in com- 
 panies of two or three. Five days later (March 22) 
 a fresh edict excluded from the amnesty all who 
 had taken an active share in the conspiracy. Chan- 
 tonay noted that on the Sunday (March 17) when 
 the Duke was made Lieutenant-General, the exe- 
 cutions began. " I think," he writes, " from the 
 number of prisoners they are bringing in that they 
 will be forced to tie their hands together and fling 
 them into the water, for it is impossible to carry 
 out the executions otherwise." ^ There had been talk 
 of shutting up the King and the two Queens in some 
 strong fortress, and the town of Guise was suggested, 
 but the death of La Renaudie rendered this pre- 
 caution unnecessary.^ 
 
 Giovanni Michiel described the sad gaieties on 
 which the Court ventured on March 20 : — 
 
 " To show some sign of having taken heart and 
 that suspicion had subsided, his Majesty this afternoon 
 chose to go to the heronry, one league hence, accom- 
 panied by his brother-in-law, the Duke of Lorraine, 
 who arrived postwise, having left the Duchess on 
 the road near Orleans, she wishing to come by water. 
 Both of them were called by the King to keep him 
 company for a long while this summer. The two 
 
 ' Revue Historique, vol. xiv. p. 313. ^ Ibid. p. 329. 
 
 251 
 
The Attempt and Failure 
 
 Queens also went to a palace of the Queen Mother's, 
 two leagues hence (Chenonceaux), but they will 
 return this evening after supper." * 
 
 An extraordinary description of the Cardinal's 
 fury is given by that remorseless Venetian critic, 
 Michiel. The horrors of the dungeons of Amboise 
 are scarcely relieved for modern readers by the 
 thought that judicial torture was universally em- 
 ployed in that century even by the most civihsed 
 Governments. 
 
 Michiel informed the Doge and Senate that several 
 prisoners had said openly they were in the service of 
 the Prince of Cond6, 
 
 " they having been invested at Orleans with his 
 arms and provisions, and having received four 
 crowns each for maintenance and earnest money. 
 These men were immediately sent to the Duke de 
 Guise and to the Cardinal, in whose presence they 
 made the same confession, and it has been told me 
 that the Cardinal, from inability to contain himself 
 dashed his beretta to the ground in a rage, stamping 
 on it several times." ^ 
 
 When Conde, at Chenonceaux, justified himself in 
 bold words, and offered to lay aside his princely rank, 
 and meet in the duel any lord who dared to accuse 
 him of treason, the generous heart of Francis of Guise 
 was stirred within him, and he offered to act as the 
 Prince's second. 
 
 But it was rumoured by many persons present, 
 says Michiel, " that during this com'ersation the 
 
 ' Vriu/iitii Ctileiidar, vol. vii. p. 163. 
 - J hid. p. 1().|. 
 
 252 
 
The Cardinal's Rage 
 
 Cardinal of Lorraine, who was behind the King's 
 chair, kept his eyes most sternly fixed on the ground, 
 in sorrow, without ever raising them, nor did he 
 make any sign of assent or satisfaction with what 
 was said." ^ 
 
 ' Venetian Calendar, vol. vii. p. 182. 
 
 253 
 
CHAPTER XY .—{continued) 
 
 THE TUMULT OF AMBOISE 
 
 (3) The Revenge 
 
 The Duke of Guise and the cruelties of Amboise — Number of the 
 victims — Did Mary Stuart watch the executions ? — Statements of 
 contemporary writers — The scenes of horror — Death of the 
 Chancellor OUivier — Removal of the Court from Amboise to 
 Marmoutier — The services of Holy Week — Interruption of a 
 sermon by the Cardinal — The war of pamphlets — Persecuting 
 spirit of the Government — The " Letter to the Tiger of France " — 
 Mary and her uncles. 
 
 In discussing the severities of the Guises after the 
 Tumult of Amboise, we must consider the position 
 of the Duke Francis. He had been for eight years 
 before the eyes of all Europe, the sword and shield 
 of France. By his conduct at Metz in 1552 he had 
 won renown as the greatest and most merciful captain 
 of his age, and if the Italian campaign had somewhat 
 dimmed his laurels, the failure had been retrieved by 
 the seizure of Calais, which drove the English from 
 their last foothold on French soil. The love of per- 
 sonal popularity was for three generations a powerful 
 motive with the princes of his house. He had 
 believed himself, with good reason, the idol of the 
 nation. With what feelings must he have regarded 
 a conspiracy which had for its avowed object the 
 arrest of himself and his brother as usurpers and 
 maladministrators, their public trial and probable 
 
 254 
 
Position of the Duke of Guise 
 
 sentence ? The Duke was very young when he 
 received, fighting for France, that glorious wound 
 which was a perpetual disfigurement. How could 
 any Frenchman of that age, we must ask, look on 
 the battle- worn features of Ambroise Fare's patient, 
 without a thrill of gratitude and affection ? Brantome 
 tells us that the Duke not only cared for the welfare 
 of the common soldiers, but took them into his con- 
 fidence and sought their advice. Yet the conspirators 
 of Amboise proposed to take this hero like a rat in a 
 trap, and to march past his fettered body into the 
 presence of the King. Excuses may be made for 
 them — and they need excuses. Their leader, La 
 Renaudie, had forgotten that the Duke of Guise had 
 delivered him from the forger's cell at Dijon, and had 
 given him an opportunity of retrieving his career. 
 He held that the murder of his relative, Gaspard Le 
 Heu, in the Castle of Vincennes, cancelled all obliga- 
 tions. The Duke's mistake was the failure to realise 
 that the true means of preserving his popularity was to 
 let the mob of Amboise, leaders and followers alike, 
 disperse safely beyond the Loire. Had he granted free- 
 dom even to the Baron de Castelnau, who surrendered 
 on a promise from the Duke of Nemours, the blackness 
 of the cloud would have been lightened. The re- 
 luctance of historians to admit the responsibility of the 
 great captain for the executions of Amboise may be 
 measured by the ferocity of their attacks on his brother. 
 We have no means of estimating accurately the 
 number of the victims. Chalmel, in his history of 
 Touraine,^ says : " Blood flowed in great waves through 
 
 ' Vol. ii. p. 346. The story of Chalmel is evidently founded on 
 De Thou, and he, again, seems to have before him in every sentence 
 the narrative of Regnier de la Planche. 
 
 255 
 
The Revenge 
 
 the town of Amboise : the Loire bed was covered with 
 the corpses of those who had been flung into its 
 waters. The streets were choked with dead bodies, 
 and the pubUc squares were not large enough to 
 contain the gallows and scaffolds. More than fifteen 
 hundred persons perished during the executions." 
 
 On the other hand, M. Cartier, a learned antiquary 
 who examined carefully all the local records, remarks 
 that if so appalling a massacre had taken place, there 
 must have been an outbreak of disease in the closely 
 crowded town, but there is not in the local records 
 any trace of infectious illness having occurred at this 
 time.^ M. Cartier thinks there were only two gibbets, 
 one on the bridge, on which La Renaudie's body 
 was exposed, the other in the small square known as 
 Le Carroy, on which four heads were fastened, those 
 of Castelnau, Raunay, Mazeres, and Villemongis. 
 
 Vincent Carloix, in the Memoirs of Vieilleville, gives 
 the number of the drowned as four hundred and sixty." 
 This statement, though possibly exaggerated, must, we 
 think, be nearer the truth than that of Chalmel. 
 
 Throckmorton, writing on March 21, said : " The 
 xvi of this present there were about fifty persones 
 more taken, for the moost part artificers : whiche being 
 brought before the King and sumwhat said unto 
 them, they were all, saving four of the chiefest, dis- 
 missed and pardoned : to whome, for that they were 
 spoiled, the King gave a crowne apece to every of 
 them ; and to one, who was hurt in the head, five 
 crownes." ^ 
 
 ^ Essais historigues sur la ville d'A mboisc. 
 
 ' M6moires de Vieilleville (Collection Pclitot), vol. xxvii. p. 430. 
 
 " Forbes, vol. i. p. 377. Throckmorton's statement is confirmed 
 by that of Michiel. The two must be compared at c\cry point with 
 the story as told by Chantonay. 
 
 -56 
 
Prisoners Hanged and Drowned 
 
 Here we have the clearest possible indication, 
 from a hostile source, that the Guises did not make 
 war against the poor men of France. 
 
 The Cardinal dismissed the " artificers " with 
 alms, because he wished to strike the leaders only. 
 Like our own Stephen Gardiner, he stooped at the 
 highest game.^ 
 
 Throckmorton's estimate of the number of the 
 sufferers deserves to be quoted. After describing 
 the attempt on the Castle on March 17, he said : — 
 
 " This heat caused upon a suddain a sharp deter- 
 minacion to minister justice, and the two last taken 
 were the same fornone hanged, and two others for 
 cumpeny ; and afterwardes the same day diverse were 
 taken, and in the evening nyne more were hanged ; 
 aU of which dyed very assuredly and constantly for 
 religion, in singing of psalmis. Diverse were drowned 
 in sacks and somme appoincted to dye upon the whele. 
 Amongs all those that were taken, Monsieur de San- 
 sar, a knight of th' order, found twenty-five in a 
 house together ; and because they wold not come 
 furthe, he set the house on fier : whereupon they 
 issued, and one of them, seing his fellowes taken, 
 returned backe and burned himself. The xvii of this 
 present there were twenty-two of these rebellis 
 drownit in sacks, and the xviii of the same at night 
 twenty-five more. Emong all these which be taken, 
 there be eighteen of the bravest captains in France." ^ 
 
 Throckmorton, therefore, estimated the dead at 
 about sixty up to March 18.^ 
 
 ' When, in November 1559, news came to the Court of an overthrow 
 of the Scots by the French troops, KiUigrew and Jones wrote of the 
 Cardinal : " He greatly threatens the noblemen of Scotland but uses 
 clemency to the rest." Foreign Calendar, " Elizabeth," vol. ii. p. 148. 
 
 ' Forbes, vol. i. p. 378. 
 
 'The executions continued, however, till the end of the month, 
 the most highly placed victims being reserved for the last, 
 
 R 257 
 
The Revenge 
 
 The indications from Chantonay's correspondence 
 are important. On March 28, after the rising had 
 been suppressed, he wrote that twenty-one or twenty- 
 two had been pubhcly executed, besides fifty or 
 more drowned, and a great many sent to the galleys. 
 Five days earher, on March 23, he had informed 
 Margaret of Parma that the King went out daily on 
 hunting expeditions, and was planning a second 
 excursion to Chenonceaux. Castelnau praised 
 Catherine de' Medici for her appeals on behalf of the 
 prisoners.^ 
 
 How far was Mary Stuart, Queen Consort of 
 France, implicated as a spectator in the executions of 
 Amboise ? Extraordinary charges against her are 
 current in modern histories. Principal Lindsay, for 
 example, says : " She led her boy husband and her 
 ladies for a walk round the Castle of Amboise, to see 
 the bodies of dozens of Protestants hung from lintels 
 and turrets, and to contemplate ' the fair clusters of 
 grapes which the grey stones had produced.' " ^ 
 
 The learned historian of the Reformation here 
 goes beyond the words of Regnier de la Planche, the 
 chief authority, on the Protestant side, for the in- 
 cidents of the Tumult. That writer does not even 
 
 ^ Mimoires de Castelnau (Le Laboureur), vol. i. p. i8. Michiel 
 says, writing on March 23 : " Other prisoners are being sentenced to 
 death daily, nor will the Queen Mother pardon any of them" {Venetian 
 Calendar, vol. vii. p. 165). Catherine had not the power, even if 
 she had the will, to pardon. " She made herself small" at Amboise, 
 as in many another crisis. 
 
 " History of the Reformalion, vol. ii. p. 310. As Dr. Lindsay mentions 
 as his authority the Lavisse historian, we turn witli natural anxiety 
 to the pages of Professor Mariejol (vol. vi. part i. p. 18). He says: 
 " Le jcune Roi, la jeune Reinc, les dames, venaient apres le diner se 
 recr6er de ces sc6nes de mort." Professor Mariejol quotes no authority 
 for his assertion, but it is evident, from the rest of his description of 
 the Tumult of Amboise, that he is following Regnier de la Planche. 
 
 258 
 
Did Mary watch the Executions ? 
 
 mention the name of Mary Stuart as a watcher of the 
 executions, far less as a ringleader in the sport of 
 seeing the martyrs die.^ 
 
 He says that according to custom the executions 
 took place after dinner. The dinner-hour, in that 
 age, was from ten to twelve. " The Guises," says 
 Regnier de la Planche, '"' did this on purpose to 
 give some amusement to the ladies, who were getting 
 tired of being shut up so long in one place. And the 
 truth is that the lords and ladies ' 'ere placed at the 
 windows of the castle, as if some mask or mummery 
 was to be witnessed." The lordly spectators, he 
 adds, showed no signs of sympathy or pity. " The 
 worst thing of all is that the King and his young 
 brothers appeared at these spectacles, as if they 
 [the Guises] had wished to embitter them, and the 
 Cardinal pointed out the sufferers to them with signs 
 of joy, so that he might stir up this prince the more 
 against his subjects. For when they died with 
 special bravery, he said, " Behold, Sir, these insolent 
 madmen ! See how even the fear of death has not 
 been able to lower their pride and felony ; what 
 would they do if they had you in their hands ? " 
 
 Agrippa d'Aubigne, who, like Regnier de la 
 Planche, wrote from first-hand evidence, says that 
 the sight of the executions " amazed the King, his 
 brothers, and all the ladies of the court, who watched 
 from the terraces and windows of the castle." ^ 
 
 An important detail is given in one of Chantonay's 
 letters. He mentions that the King, the Queen 
 
 ' Nor is Mary's name mentioned by De Thou, Castelnau, La Place, 
 or D'Aubigne. We may assume, perhaps, that she was among the 
 ladies who looked from the windows of Amboise ; we have not the 
 sUghtest reason to suppose that she was a zilatyice. 
 
 ' Histoire Universelle, vol. i. p. 270. 
 
 259 
 
The Revenge 
 
 above his head ; four heads on the edge of the plat- 
 form, and four huddled bodies beneath it ; a gallows 
 on which heads are transfixed, and a group of prisoners 
 led to execution. 
 
 Villemongis, one of the sufferers at Amboise, 
 dipped his hands in the blood of his companions, and 
 cried aloud, " This is the blood of Thy children, 
 Lord : Thou wilt avenge it." ^ Swiftly, terribly, 
 that prediction was fulfilled in the annals of the 
 house of Guise. 
 
 From the true record of the Tumult of Amboise, 
 wild and foolish stories must be eliminated. Modern 
 historians reject the legend of the death of the Chan- 
 cellor OUivier, who cried amid his last agonies : " Ha, 
 ha. Cardinal, all our souls are lost through you ! " 
 
 " Lost, lost ! " the Duke of Guise is said to have 
 repeated ; " that scoundrel was lying ! " 
 
 We know at least that OUivier was not " flung into 
 the kennel like a dog that he is," as La Planche reports 
 the sentence of the Duke ; but was buried in all honour 
 at his parish Church of Saint-Germain I'Auxerrois. 
 His funeral sermon was preached by Claude Des- 
 pence, a friend and former tutor of the Cardinal 
 of Lorraine, from the text : " Ego autem sicut oliva 
 fructifera in domo Dei ; speravi in misericordia Dei 
 in aeternum ; et in saeculum saeculi." - The sermon, 
 
 1 Writing on the death of Villemongis, De Thou says : " Les princes 
 de Guise avoient fait en sorte que les fr^res du Roy se trouvassent a 
 cette execution ; <\ dessein, comme plusieurs le disoient, de les 
 accoustumer au sans; di^s leur jcuncssc. Tons les grands de la Cour et 
 tout ce qu'il y avoit de dames cstoicnt nux fciioslrcs pour voir ce 
 spectacle" (vol. ii. p. 105). 
 
 The Huguenots, it is clear, saw in the bloody exhibition presented 
 to the nine-year-old Charles, heir-a])parent to the throne, a foreshadow- 
 ing of the horrors of the St. Bartholomew. 
 
 ^ Psalm h. 10 in the Latin version (in ours, Psalm hi. 9). 
 
The Chancellor OUivier 
 
 choked as it is with classical and Scriptural allusions, 
 was obviously preached in good faith. Claude 
 Despence, as far as we can judge from his writings 
 and his public action, was a learned and honest 
 Churchman, not without a sense of humour. If he 
 had believed the current Huguenot legend of the 
 Chancellor's last words, could he, with any decency, 
 have preached that sermon, from the punning text, " I 
 am like a green olive-tree in the house of my God" ? * 
 
 As soon as it was safe to move, the Court set forth 
 again for Chenonceaux. Catherine de' Medici erected 
 triumphal arches on the estate as a welcome to her 
 son, and notwithstanding the remonstrances recently 
 uttered by Throckmorton, the arms of England 
 and Scotland were displayed along with those of 
 France. Inscriptions on the arches praised the 
 wisdom of the youthful sovereign. 
 
 Easter in that year fell on April 14, and for the 
 solemnities of Holy Week the Court removed to 
 Marmoutier, close to Tours, of which the Cardinal 
 of Lorraine was Abbot. As the Chief Minister of 
 State, he could not withdraw himself into the still- 
 ness of the country, as was his custom at Passiontide, 
 but the hallowed and gracious influences of the 
 season awoke, as ever, something of his better nature. 
 To modern readers it seems almost impossible that 
 the Churchman whose eyes had blazed with fury 
 as he stamped on his biretta at Amboise, or veiled 
 
 ' It is hardly necessary to repeat the famiHar story, told by La 
 Planche, of the Chancellor's encounter with the Cardinal in his dymg 
 hour. " It is a temptation of the evil one, my brother," said the 
 prelate, as Ollivier uttered the fearful words: "Ha, ha, Cardinal, tu 
 nous fais tons damner." "Well said, well met," cried the dying man, 
 and turned his face to the wall, to shut out the vision of the tempting 
 fiend. Le Laboureur, in his Additions aux Mimoires de Castelnau, was 
 one of the first to throw doubt on this legend (vol. i. p. 391). 
 
 263 
 
The Revenge 
 
 themselves with sullen malevolence as he listened 
 at Chenonceaux to the exculpation of Conde, or 
 looked, in the dungeons, without pity on the tortured 
 bodies of Raunay and Mazeres, should presume, a 
 few days afterwards, to direct the devotions of 
 Christian men and women. As a proof of our slow 
 understanding of sixteenth-century modes of think- 
 ing, it is only necessary to quote Michiel's report of 
 the services at Marmoutier. " During the whole 
 of this Passion week nothing has been attended to 
 but the sermons of the Cardinal of Lorraine, which 
 gathered very great congregations, not only to his 
 praise, but to the universal astonishment and admira- 
 tion, both on account of his doctrines, and by reason 
 of his very fine gesticulation, and incomparable 
 eloquence and mode of utterance. He preached 
 publicly all these days in the presence of the King, 
 of the Queens, and of all the other Princes and Lords 
 of the Court, in the church of one of his abbacies, 
 called Marmoutier, in the suburbs of Tours, whither 
 his Majesty withdrew to keep Easter, for which 
 reason every sort of business was at an end." ^ 
 
 Michiel was well aware that the most eloquent 
 sermons could not reconcile an offended nation. 
 " Notwithstanding these sermons and other good 
 works of the Cardinal," he said, " those who abhor 
 him on account of religion and for other causes did 
 not fail to defame him by libels and writings placarded 
 publicly in several places in Paris, where thej' were 
 seen and read by everyone who wished." " 
 
 If the Guises had imagined that all was tranquil, 
 an incident, reported by Chantona}', must have un- 
 deceived them. A man was seen to be wandering 
 
 ' Veiiciiau Calendar, vol. vii. p. 1S7. . ' Ibid. 
 
 264 
 
Popular Hatred dF the Guises 
 
 about the Abbey Church of larmoutier during sermon 
 time, and was immediately rrested. He was bidden 
 either to Hsten to the preacMg or to leave the build- 
 ing. He replied that he cd not wish to Hsten to 
 " that hateful and accurse< man, the Cardinal." ^ 
 
 The war of pamphlets pad already begun, and 
 the Spanish Ambassador rrote that the Court, as 
 well as Orleans, Paris, and other towns, was full of 
 Hbellous writings directed /gainst his Eminence. In 
 some he was represented ^th his head on the block, 
 ready for decapitation.^ 
 
 That the Guises did hot mean to make peace 
 with the heretics is pro'sed by a letter sent by the 
 King in Holy Week to M.ae Tavannes on the troubles 
 in Dauphine.^ The Kiig had heard that three or 
 four thousand sectaries had gathered at Valence, 
 Romans, and Montelimai, where they caused sermons 
 
 to be publicly preached 
 and carried out all othi 
 
 [after the manner of Geneva, 
 ir insolent actions they could 
 think of. Tavannes w/s ordered to assemble troops 
 and to " cut them in Pieces " if he found them still 
 assembled when he |rrived. In another sentence 
 the boy King was ma(ie to write : "I desire nothing 
 more than to exterm^ate them entirely, and to cut 
 down their root so wdl that there shall be no further 
 growth." * Swift trills and immediate punishments 
 
 ' Revue Historique , vol. riv. p. 352. 
 
 " This statement is conlrmed by other contemporary writers, such 
 as Michiel and Throckmorton. 
 
 ' NSgoctations sous Fraiifois II., pp. 341-343. M. Louis Paris, editor 
 of this invaluable collectioa, describes the letter, which was dated " the 
 12th day of April 1559 before Easter," as " a curious monument of the 
 fury of the Guises." 
 
 ' " Je ne desire rien plus que de les exterminer du tout, et en couper 
 si bien la racine que par cy-aprfes il n'en soyt nouvelles." Negociations 
 sous Franfots II., p. 342, 
 
 265 
 
The Revenge 
 
 were ordered. Can we "onder if Francis, in his dim 
 intellect, realised that amething was far amiss with 
 the body politic, and a the words of a Huguenot 
 historian, cried out, " Wht have I done to my people?" 
 
 The fiercest of the panphlets directed in this year 
 against the Cardinal wa the " Letter to the Tiger 
 of France," written andpubhshed anonymously by 
 Francois Hotman at Stnsbourg. So terrible is this 
 small tract in its concntrated hatred that even 
 to-day we read it with a shudder. Every hne, says 
 Henri Martin, seems tracd with the point of the 
 sword dipped in the blood of the martyrs. Another 
 writer compares it to a cuherin loaded to the mouth. 
 The author weighs each wcrd with cool deliberation, 
 chooses every epithet for a calculated effect, and 
 works up to a climax which leaves the reader shaken 
 and appalled. The parts a.n reversed, and we hear, 
 not from the victim, but fnm the accuser, the low 
 growling of the tiger ere he kaps upon his prey. The 
 deep and threatening notes jroclaim a Dies Irae for 
 the persecutor. " Detestable nonster, everyone knows 
 you, everyone sees you, and y)u are living still. Can 
 you not hear the blood cry a.oud of him whom you 
 caused to be strangled in a room in the forest of 
 Vincennes ? If he was guilty, why was he not 
 punished publicly ? Where aie the witnesses who 
 accused him ? Why did you hy his death break all 
 the laws of France ? ... If you take my advice you 
 will fly and hide yourself in so!.Tie den, some desert 
 place whence neither breath nor news of j'^ou can 
 reach the ears of men. Thus aionc will you avoid 
 the points of a hundred thousand swords which are 
 turned upon you every day." 
 
 Queen Mary must ha\e known of the widespread 
 
 266 
 
The " Letter to the pger of France " 
 
 hatred with which her uncMiivas regarded. During 
 the meeting of the Notables aJFontainebleau (August 
 1560), the Cardinal said it \vk his custom to collect 
 pamphlets published again J himself. "There are 
 twenty-two on my table a this moment," he re- 
 marked. " I preserve theni carefully, for it is the 
 greatest honour I shall evf receive to be blamed 
 by such scoundrels. I hop/ they will form the true 
 eulogy of my life, and maie me immortal." These 
 were brave words, but tie statesman could never 
 have forgiven the author M Le Tigre. Every word 
 in the cruel indictment npst have pierced his heart. 
 The Duke of Guise couldinever have forgiven it, for 
 the honour of his house yas assailed. The people of 
 Paris were furious at me unexampled insult, and 
 resolved that a victim must be found. A printer 
 named Martin Lhomme vas found with the pamphlet 
 in his possession, and ^urried to the gallows, after 
 vain attempts to force f"om him by torture the name 
 of the author. The pipulace were so excited that 
 they pressed upon the giards who were taking Lhomme 
 to execution, and threatened to lynch the prisoner. 
 A peaceable merchaiji; of Rouen, named Robert 
 Dehors, who had just arrived in Paris, and was still 
 in riding-boots, ventured to remonstrate v/ith the 
 crowd. " Good people," he said, " let the hangman 
 do his work. Don't soil your hands with the blood 
 of a poor wretch who is just about to perish." In- 
 stantly the mob turned upon Dehors. To save him 
 from their violence the archers dragged him off to 
 prison, and, though perfectly innocent, he emerged 
 only to perish on the spot where Martin Lhomme was 
 hanged. 
 
 267 
 
CHAITER XVI 
 
 THE SUMIER OF 1560 
 
 A gloomy summer in France — Tie Royal hunting-parties — Catherine 
 de' Medici, the Guises, and Ma-y Stuart — The Scottish Reformation 
 — Illness and death of Mary if Lorraine — The Cardinal's tribute 
 to his sister — Funeral sermoi for the Regent preached in Paris 
 by Claude Despence — His refcences to Queen Mary — Dedication 
 of the sermon to Mary — Thrckmorton's interviews with Mary 
 at Fontainebleau in August— The meeting of the Notables at 
 Fontainebleau. 
 
 The summer did not open very brightly for Francis 
 and Mary. They were too young to appreciate the 
 force of that suggestion mad^; by Louis xi. to Quentin 
 Durward, " There is no periume to match the scent 
 of a dead traitor." Along tie beautiful Loire valley 
 "acorns" as strange as those which Durward noticed 
 on the covin-tree of Plesss-les-Tours must have 
 startled their eyes on hunting expeditions. Probably 
 the Cardinal may have comforted them with the 
 suggestion of Louis : " These are so many banners 
 displayed to scare knaves ; ani for each rogue that 
 hangs there, an honest man may reckon that there is 
 a thief, a traitor, a robber on the highway, a pilleur 
 and oppressor of the people, the fewer in France." 
 I!ut the young Queen must hax'c recognised by many 
 signs that the policy of her uncles was disapproved 
 by a large section of the nobility, nay, that they were 
 themselves regarded as robbers and oppressors of 
 
 268 
 
A Gloomy Sui/mer 
 
 the people, who ought to be pu/shed by the King's 
 justice. Gloom, suspicion, an/ fear haunted the 
 chambers of each royal resideh^- Paris had been 
 quiet during the Tumult, yet/rom Paris came the 
 news that the mob were thsatening to burn the 
 Hotel de Guise, the Hotel de (luny (a town residence 
 of the Cardinal, as Abbot of Qiny), and his unfinished 
 chateau at Meudon. The ict that he had been 
 hanged in effigy in Paris wai known to every one at 
 Court. ^ Madame de Raun/y, wife of the gallant 
 Captain Raunay, who was /ortured and executed at 
 Amboise, was one of May's ladies-in-waiting, and 
 although there is no evidnce that the Queen was 
 ever in the torture chamber the agonies of the sufferers 
 must have been mentioipd in her presence.^ The 
 men on whom she and he husband might naturally 
 have leaned went in dailr fear of assassination, and 
 were guarded closely by faithful followers. As the 
 Cardinal rode from Ambmse to Marmoutier on April 6, 
 the French guard, amed with pistols, accom- 
 panied him.^ Thus eaiy, by personal observation, 
 Mary must have learnda that " there is no receipt 
 against fear." On Jun^ 21, Michiel mentioned that 
 the Cardinal had determined to have himself followed 
 and accompanied by ten brave and faithful men, 
 who were to keep as ciose to his side as they could, 
 
 / 
 
 1 Michiel says : " It is reported that in several places in Paris his 
 painted efSgy in his Cardinal's robes has been seen, at one time hanging 
 by the feet, at another with the head severed and the body divided 
 into four quarters, as wa^ done to those who were condemned." 
 Venetian Calendar, vol. vii. pp. 189, 190. See also Alfonso Torna- 
 buoni's letter of April 23. Negociations de la France avec la Toscane, 
 vol. iii. p. 416. 
 
 ' Venetian Calendar, vol. vii. p. 175. 
 
 ' Foreign Calendar, " Elizabeth," vol. ii. p. 507. See also Venetian 
 Calendar, vol, vii. p. 165 and p. 226. 
 
The Summer of i 5 60 
 
 " each man with a loaded pistol under his cloak, as 
 much concealed a; possible." That this was no 
 special evidence of cowardice on the Churchman's 
 part was admitted b the Ambassador, in the words 
 which follow : " Tht Duke of Guise, when in the 
 country and away frcn the Court, having done long 
 the like." Hardly a day passed without the dis- 
 covery in the halls, prrate rooms, or corridors of the 
 palaces, of some " note and writings of evil nature, 
 abusing the Cardinal ol Lorraine, against whom the 
 plots continue, the iniignation against him aug- 
 menting, although his ^ight Reverend Lordship," 
 added the sarcastic Veietian, " omits no suitable 
 diligence for self-preservaion." ^ 
 
 Depression and sadness ruled at Court in May and 
 June, while central Frarce was putting forth the 
 early freshness of her sunmer, and the King and 
 Queen led an outdoor life, " in villages and woods," 
 spending long days in the saidle, and at night sleeping 
 in the houses of private gentlemen. Health and 
 hope ought to have attended them in the forest glades 
 round Chartres and Chatccudun, but the sunlight 
 flickering between young leaves could not remove 
 the deep and awful shadows that were gathering on 
 their way. Mary especially must have dreaded the 
 sight of every new messenger from Scotland, for the 
 political situation in her realm vas becoming desperate, 
 and the health of her mother failed from week to 
 week. We read that on the 25th of April ' the 
 French Queen made very great lamentations, and 
 wept bitterly, and as it is reported, said that her 
 
 ' Venetian Calendar, vo]. vii. p. iSo. Sec also the Florentine 
 Ambassador's remark, Ni'!;or:\it7\ins t/e la J-'nnirr avee la Toscane, 
 vol, iii. p. 41(1. 
 
 270 
 
rties 
 
 d her to lose her 
 
 when the Queen 
 Mary " would take 
 given her either by 
 
 Royal Hunting 
 
 uncles had undone her, and ca 
 realm." ^ 
 
 According to another accou; 
 Regent's danger was made kno 
 no sort of comfort or consolati 
 the most Christian King, by fie Queen Mother, by 
 her uncles, or by the other *rinces and Princesses 
 of the Court ; she shed most ftitter tears incessantly, 
 and at length, from anguish/and sorrow, had taken 
 to her bed." ^ 
 
 Aimlessly the royal huniing-parties moved from 
 castle to castle, no man kiowing overnight where 
 the King would lodge on tip morrow.^ He was seen 
 in the Sologne and the Be/uce and Perche districts, 
 at Maillebois, Chartres, Danpierre, and at St. Leger, 
 where he kept his racing smd.* 
 
 The influence of the Guises was markedly de- 
 clining through the summer, and that of Catherine 
 de' Medici was quietly grcping. We need not believe 
 the story of Chantonay, that Mary was encouraged 
 to act submissively tomrds the Queen Mother, in 
 order that she might pliusibly declare at a suitable 
 moment that she was [cept in perpetual servitude 
 
 ' Foreign Calendar," Elizabep," vol. ii. p. 597. 
 
 " Venetian Calendar, vol. vii. ]J. 198. From Chateaudun on June 16, 
 Michiel wrote that the Cardii^l, during the last three days, had 
 been greatly troubled with aixieties and melancholy, which had 
 afiected his health. Throckmorton, who talked with him at Amboise 
 six weeks earUer, noted that ' his countenance and gestures in this 
 talk were so demure and grave, mixed with a kind of pitiful plaint 
 that they would have persuaded a man that did not well know him, 
 and know also what a Frenchman is in a little adversity." 
 
 ' Foreign Calendar, " Elizabeth," vol. iii. p. 144. 
 
 'Alfonso Tornabuoni wrote on June 15: " Noi non sappiamo 
 dove si vada, nfe quel che si facci ; e la caccia del cervio fu la grande 
 occupazione della corte. Ed h questo il vero modo da fuggire la tela 
 de' negozii." Negociations de la France avec la Toscane, vol. iii. 
 p. 421. 
 
 271 
 
Tht Summer of 1560 
 
 and subjection, aril that Catherine, a widowed Queen, 
 might be dismissedto her estates, hke Queen Eleanor, 
 widow of Francis 1^ The dehcate health of Francis 
 made it impossible that his mother's care should be 
 withdrawn from hin. But as an ultimate policy, 
 the Guises may Ucturally have contemplated, for 
 their niece's sake, tht termination of an arrangement 
 which kept Mary unda: the tutelage of her mother-in- 
 law. The inner secret, of French politics during the 
 short and troubled regn of Francis 11. have never 
 been fully disentangled. Catherine's influence in such 
 events as the appointment of Michel de I'Hopital to 
 the Chancellorship, in tie Edict of Romorantin and 
 the summoning of the Notables to Fontainebleau, 
 may possibly have been exaggerated. We may safely 
 assume, however, that, as ihe watched the discomfiture 
 and humiliation of the Guises, the declining health 
 of her eldest son, the swift extension and bold pro- 
 fession of the Reformed do:trines in every part of the 
 country, the adhesion of great nobles to the cause, 
 and the rise of the " political " supporters of the 
 Huguenots, Catherine mus: have realised that the 
 prize of the Regency might soon be within her grasp, 
 that her subtle, adaptable intellect might ere long be 
 paramount in the realm. 
 
 The course of public affairs in Scotland had been, 
 from the beginning of their reign, an anxious pre- 
 occupation for Mary and Francis. On the 29th of 
 June 1559, less than a fortnight before the death of 
 Henry 11., the Lords of the Congregation had entered 
 Edinburgh in triumph. Kirkaldy of Grange wrote 
 to Sir Henry Percy on the follo\\ing day that the 
 Reformers were pulling down all manner of friaries 
 
 ' Letter quoted in the Rcvuc Historique, vol, xiv. p. 353. 
 273 
 
Events in Scotland 
 
 and some abbeys, which did not wiUingly receive 
 the Reformation. " They have never as yet meddled 
 with a pennyworth of that which pertains to the 
 Church, but presently they will take order throughout 
 all the parts where they dwell, that all the fruits of the 
 abbeys and other churches shall be kept and bestowed 
 upon the faithful ministers, until such time as a 
 further order be taken. Some suppose the Queen, 
 seeing no other remedy, will follow their desires, 
 which is, a general reformation throughout the whole 
 realm conform to the pure word of God, and the 
 Frenchmen to be sent away. If her grace will do 
 so, they will obey her, and serve her, and annex the 
 whole revenue of the abbeys to the crown ; if her grace 
 wiU not be content with this, they are determined 
 to hear of no agreement." 
 
 The leaders of the Congregation included Glen- 
 cairn, Argyll, and the Lord James ; and although 
 Chatelherault remained for the moment with the 
 Regent, he has been rightly called the Antoine de 
 Bourbon of Scotland. Mary of Lorraine was able 
 to oppose a small force of French veterans, who 
 had served under her brother, to the large, but ill- 
 discipUned army of the Lords. Hatred of France was 
 an even more powerful motive with the Congregation 
 than the desire for religious reform, and shrewd 
 statesmen such as Maitland of Lethington were 
 already preparing the way for an alliance with England. 
 The double-dealing of the Regent had inflamed the 
 fury of her enemies. When the Earl of Glencairn 
 and Sir Hew Campbell reminded her of her previous 
 promises to the Reformers, Mary rephed, in the true 
 diplomatic language of her time, " It becomes not 
 subjects to burden their princes further than it 
 s 273 
 
The Summer of 1560 
 
 please th them to keep the same." The breach of 
 her promise to Erskine of Dun in May 1559 gave the 
 signal for the Scottish Reformation. She had agreed 
 to postpone action against the preachers, but she pro- 
 claimed them as outlaws when they failed to appear 
 at Stirling on the day appointed for their trial.^ 
 
 In July a temporary truce was arranged at Leith. 
 The Congregation agreed to give up the coining 
 irons of the Mint, and to quit Edinburgh within 
 twenty-four hours. The Protestants obtained in 
 return the right to exercise their own religion in 
 Edinburgh, provided they abstained from violence 
 against the Catholics, and the Regent promised to 
 introduce no French troops into the capital. 
 
 In October 1559, Mary of Lorraine was deposed 
 from the Regency by formal proclamation. She 
 and her party took no notice of an act which had 
 been drawn up without the sanction of the spiritual 
 Lords or the Estates. The Regent's policy had been 
 to temporise and grant concessions, until she was re- 
 inforced by the arrival of troops from France. Her 
 deposition was carried out in the names of her daughter 
 and her son-in-law, who were entirely ignorant of it.^ 
 
 The Queen Regent's French troops were estab- 
 lished at Leith during the autumn, ^'ainly besieged 
 by the Congregation. In February 1560 Queen 
 Elizabeth and the Scottish Lords signed the Treaty 
 of Berwick. The Earl of Arran, who had been forced, 
 owing to his Protestant sympathies, to escape from 
 France, had joined the Reformers in September, and 
 
 1 Prof. Hume Brown, Hislory of Sro/land, \ol. ii. p. 57. 
 
 ^ " It must be admitted," wrilcs Mr. P. F. Tytler, " that this violent 
 and unprcccdcnU d measure, although attempted to be concealed under 
 the name and authority of the sovereign, was an act of open rebellion." 
 Hislory of Scotland, vol. vi. (iSC)(i), pp. 146, 147. 
 
 274 
 
Death of Mary of Lorraine 
 
 his father, the Duke of Chatelherault, was now 
 openly identified with the Protestant cause. Mis- 
 fortune after misfortune fell upon the Regent. Her 
 youngest brother, Rene, Marquis d'Elboeuf, set out 
 with a well-manned fleet to her rescue, but was driven 
 back by storms. At the end of March, while her 
 brothers were stamping out the last embers of the 
 Tumult of Amboise, the dying Princess was received 
 within the walls of Edinburgh Castle. She passed 
 away on June lo, at the age of forty-five. The 
 story of her last days has been told with pathos and 
 tenderness by many historians. Her faults, as 
 Sismondi says of her brother Charles, were those of 
 her age ; her virtues were her own ; and she displayed 
 in her closing hours that firm fortitude and queenly 
 generosity which were characteristic of her illustrious 
 race. Her dying thoughts were occupied with the 
 future of the young nation which she had hoped to 
 train, and she advised that both the French and 
 English armies should be sent out of the kingdom. 
 History records few more touching interviews than 
 that between the Regent and the leaders of the Con- 
 gregation.^ 
 
 The letters of Francis ii., the Queen Mother, and 
 the Cardinal of Lorraine, written to the Bishop of 
 
 ' Professor Hume Brown says : " Alike by her own character and 
 gifts, and by the momentous policy of which she was the agent, Mary of 
 Lorraine is one of the remarkable figures in Scottish history. It was 
 her misfortune — a misfortune due to her birth and connections — that 
 she found herself from the first in direct antagonism to the natural 
 development of the country of her adoption, and that the circumstances 
 in which she ruled were such as to bring into prominence the least 
 worthy traits of the proud race from which she sprang. Yet in personal 
 appearance, as La courage and magnificence, she was the true sister of 
 Francis of Guise and the Cardinal of Lorraine, the Pope and King of 
 France." History of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 69. 
 
 275 
 
The Summer of 1560 
 
 Limoges from Loches on May 21, should be carefully 
 compared with the Bishop of Valence's account of 
 his interviews with the Lords of the Congregation 
 in Edinburgh. The Cardinal, and the King whose 
 words he dictated, displayed some nervousness in 
 communications which were intended for the ears 
 of Philip II. They appealed to the Spanish monarch 
 to use his influence in averting war with England, 
 to " put the bridle " in the mouth of Queen Elizabeth, 
 and if necessary to make a demonstration of willing- 
 ness to intervene by force of arms. In the letters 
 from Loches there is already that whining note which 
 affects us so unpleasantly in reading the corre- 
 spondence which passed, twenty years later, between 
 the Spanish monarch and Henry of Guise. We 
 note also that the King and the Cardinal, writing 
 to Philip, declare their resolution to refuse hberty 
 of worship in Scotland ; while from the long and 
 minute narrative of their emissary, Montluc, it appears 
 that the question of religion was not discussed be- 
 tween him and the Scottish Lords. They demanded 
 as the primary condition of a settlement the destruc- 
 tion of the fortifications of Leith, and the removal of 
 French troops from Scotland. The Bishop, one of the 
 ablest and most experienced diplomatists in Europe, 
 seems to have felt himself at a complete disadvantage.^ 
 The news of the death of Mary of Lorraine was 
 known in France on June 18, but was kept from her 
 
 1 For the letters from Loches, see N&gociations sous Francois II., 
 
 PP- 377-391- 
 
 For Montluc's despatch, ibid. pp. _:;q2-4I4. 
 
 To the Bishop of I^imoges, on May j i , tho Cardinal wrote : " The 
 Scots are almost agreed with ns, and Uicrc are only two points remain- 
 ing : the first that they should abandon the English alhance, and the 
 second that they should live according to their former faith and re- 
 ligion." Nigociations sous Franpois II., p. 386. 
 
 276 
 
The Cardinal's Tribute 
 
 daughter until the 28th.^ Michiel wrote on June 30 : 
 " The death of the Queen Regent of Scotland, her 
 mother, was concealed from the most Christian Queen 
 till the day before yesterday, when it was at length 
 told her by the Cardinal of Lorraine ; for which 
 her Majesty showed and still shows such signs of 
 grief, that during the greater part of yesterday she 
 passed from one agony to another." ^ 
 
 A touching tribute to the memory of Mary of 
 Guise is contained in a letter of the Cardinal of 
 Lorraine to Chantonay, in reply to condolences from 
 the Spanish Ambassador.^ After referring to the 
 public loss sustained by the King and Queen, the 
 writer said that he had " lost a sister whom I greatly 
 loved and honoured for her virtues, which are so 
 well known to everyone that it is hardly becoming 
 for me, as so near a relative, to recount them. Well, 
 Monsieur I'Ambassadeur, such is the world, in which 
 there is nothing fixed or certain ; and great Kings 
 and great Princes must with others pay the debt 
 from which none can be excused ; but it is needful 
 that wise men, in proportion as God has given them 
 more understanding than others, should conform 
 themselves the more virtuously to His will, and bear 
 
 ' Venetian Calendar, vol. vii. p. 234. 
 
 ^ Michiel had already written on June 22 : " Your Serenity may 
 imagine the regret of these Guise lords, her Majesty's brothers, as also 
 of the most Christian Queen, who loved her mother incredibly and 
 much more than daughters usually love their mothers" (pp. 227, 228). 
 If the ■ premature announcement of Mary's sorrow for a bereave- 
 ment not yet broken to her was merely a formal Court notice on the 
 part of Michiel, his remark at least shows that the young Queen's 
 great tenderness for her mother was recognised by all around her. 
 
 " The original is in St. Petersburg, and there is a copy in the 
 Bibliotheque Nationale, f. fr., vol. 1234, f. 79. The letter is quoted in 
 full by M. de Ruble, La Premiire Jeunesse, pp. 310, 311. It was 
 written from St. Leger at the end of June. 
 
 277 
 
The Summer of 1560 
 
 patiently what He is pleased to send them. It is 
 true that there is great comfort for those who are 
 left, when they believe that their friends whom He 
 has taken have so hved that the memory of their 
 past hfe is honoured, and that they cannot miss the 
 enjoyment of that eternal felicity which God pro- 
 mises after death to His chosen ones. That thought 
 helps me to take comfort, and I feel besides that 
 I may reasonably be expected to do the work which 
 death prevented her from completing, a work in 
 which I hope God will help us, as, I think, the justice 
 and righteousness of our cause deserve." ^ 
 
 Although the remains of the Queen Regent were 
 not brought to France till the following year, her 
 funeral sermon was preached by Claude Despence 
 at Notre Dame, Paris, on August 12, 1560.^ It was 
 founded on a text from the Apocrypha, " Defuncta est 
 Judith, luxitque illam omnis populus." (" Judith 
 died, and all the people mourned her.") The learned, 
 pedantic, yet kind-hearted doctor of the Sorbonne 
 said that the dead Regent was more esteemed in Scot- 
 land than was once Isis in Egypt or Ceres in Sicily. 
 
 The only other passage worth noting, perhaps, 
 in the long discourse is that in which the preacher 
 referred to the funeral torches and tapers. Torches 
 and tapers, in his view, were typical of the Regent's 
 
 1 In printing this characteristic letter, M. de Ruble remarked : " It 
 shows the place which the Regent of Scotland held in pubUc esteem 
 at the Court of France. It shows us at the same time the Cardinal 
 of Lorraine under an almost novel aspect, that of the thinker and the 
 Christian." M. de Ruble, it is clear, had not made any study of the 
 Cardinal's work as preacher, theologian, and scholar. 
 
 ^ Oraison Fiiiichre . . . de Marie par la grace de Dieii royne 
 douairiire d'Escosse. The sermon was published in 1561, with a 
 dedicalioR to Mary Queen of Scots. IMary of Lorraine was buried in 
 the Abbey Church of Saint-Pierre at Rheims. 
 
 27S 
 
The Funeral Sermon 
 
 life, not only because she had lived in the light of 
 great office, and had held high rank as Duchess, 
 Queen, and Regent of Scotland, but also " because 
 we hope she was a daughter of light, and as such 
 walked ever panoplied in the armour of hght, in all 
 goodness, righteousness, and truth, as St. Paul tells 
 us to live." He quoted three texts bearing upon 
 his point: the first (Rom. xiii. 12), "Let us put on 
 the armour of light " ; the second (i Thess. v. 5), 
 " Ye are all the children of hght, and of the day " ; 
 the third (Eph. v. 8), " Now are ye light in the Lord." 
 
 The real interest of the sermon lies in the dedica- 
 tion, which was addressed to the bereaved daughter 
 in her widowhood. Claude Despence, at the time 
 of writing it, must have been in middle life, for we 
 are told ^ that he had been a tutor of the Cardinal 
 of Lorraine, who was thirty-five in the year of the 
 Tumult of Amboise. He knew the young Queen 
 personally, for she had summoned him after the death 
 of her husband. 
 
 " Did you not say to me then, mourning over 
 your lot, that God had visited you from your birth ? " 
 
 In his dedication, thoughts of comfort were sug- 
 gested to the sorrowing girl : — 
 
 " If God is your God, is He not therefore more to 
 you than father or mother, country and husband ; 
 does He not take the place of these ? " 
 
 " If God loves us infinitely better than our relatives, 
 our fathers and mothers, our wives and husbands, 
 why should not you, holding the estate of Queen, 
 believe and comfort yourself with the thought of 
 the King after God's own heart, who was yet so often 
 afflicted : ' My father and my mother ' — yes, and 
 
 > By Pierre de la Place. 
 279 
 
The Summer of 1560 
 
 my husband also — ' forsook me, but the Lord took 
 me up.' " 
 
 Great words from the Prophets were quoted, 
 such as these texts : " Thou art my Father, the Guide 
 of my youth " ; " Sion saith, the Lord hath forsaken 
 me. Can a woman forget her child, that she should 
 not have compassion on the son of her womb ? Yea, 
 she may forget, yet will not I forget thee." 
 
 He gave the Queen that motto, " Endurez pour 
 durer," which reminds us of the maxim of her famous 
 contemporary. Cardinal Granvelle, " Durate " ; and 
 he quoted the passage from Psalm xxxiv., " The Lord 
 is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart." 
 
 Despence sent along with his sermon a little 
 treatise on widowhood, which, as he said, had long 
 lain hidden among his papers. 
 
 On July 6 was signed the Treaty of Edinburgh, 
 which in itself is a proof of the deep humiliation 
 which had fallen upon the Guises. By the agree- 
 ment between the French and Scots all French troops 
 in Scotland except a hundred and twenty were to 
 be sent home. Francis and Mary were forbidden to 
 order peace or war in Scotland without the consent 
 of the Estates.^ The Treaty of Edinburgh further 
 provided among other things that Francis and Mary 
 should cease to use the arms of England, that no 
 Frenchman should henceforth hold any important 
 office in Scotland, and that the fortifications of Leith 
 should be demolished. The Treaty, which was a 
 triumphant victory for the Lords of the Congregation, 
 was never ratified by Francis and ]\Iar3^ 
 
 Throckmorton had two inter\'iews with the young 
 
 ^ Dr. Hay Fleming, Mary Queen of Scots, pp. 30 and 218. Prof. 
 Hume Brown, History of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 71. 
 
 2S0 
 
The Treaty of Edinburgh 
 
 Queen in August at Fontainebleau. The first took 
 place on tlie 6tli of tfie montli, and Catlierine de' 
 Medici was present. Tlirockmorton addressed him- 
 self first to Mary, who requested him " in Scottish " 
 to talk first with the Queen Mother. Thus admon- 
 ished, he delivered to the elder lady Elizabeth's 
 message, expressing a desire that friendly relations 
 should prevail between France and England. 
 Catherine replied that she had always desired such 
 friendship, and would use her influence to continue 
 it. He repeated the instructions to Queen Mary 
 with reference to Scotland, adding, " that however 
 much she might have been persuaded of his mistress's 
 sinister and unkind dealing towards her, she now saw 
 whereunto it tended, and that she had kept her word 
 and not proceeded further for her surety than she 
 had always promised, and that she had means (if 
 she had not meant well) to have possessed herself 
 of what place she would in Scotland." Throck- 
 morton added that he thought Mary would not be 
 so bent to serve the affection of the King as utterly 
 to neglect her country, and suffer it to be suppressed 
 by strangers and under a foreign government. " For 
 her answer hereunto she first thanked the Queen, 
 and said that the duty that she ought to bear to 
 her husband was none otherwise than to have a 
 care for her country, which she could not easily forget." 
 
 To the Ambassador's further remark that he trusted 
 she would also consider that the amity of England 
 could not at any time be hurtful- to Scotland, Mary 
 answered that she was glad of peace, and hoped that 
 Elizabeth would continue it, as she would do.^ 
 
 Her talk was " all in Scottish." The young girl, 
 
 1 Foreign Calendar, " Elizabeth," vol. iii. pp. 224, 225. 
 
The Summer of 1560 
 
 instructed, no doubt, by the Cardinal and the Duke, 
 was a match for the clever diplomatist. He saw her 
 again on August 19th. "^ Mary was not accompanied 
 on this occasion by the Queen Mother, but was seated 
 in her own chamber, attended by her ladies. " She 
 was set in a chair under her cloth of state, and would 
 needs have him sit upon a low stool right before her." 
 Throckmorton spoke to the Queen " in English " of 
 the ratification of the Treaty of Edinburgh ; where- 
 unto she answered in Scottish, that what the King 
 her husband resolved in that matter, she would 
 conform herself unto ; "for his will (quoth she) is 
 mine." 
 
 Mary assured Throckmorton that she of all princes 
 had especial cause to value the friendship of Queen 
 Elizabeth, owing to the closeness of their relation- 
 ship. 
 
 Referring pathetically to the death of her mother, 
 Mary said, " While she lived, I was less troubled 
 with the care of that country, and now I must be 
 troubled with the care of it myself." She pleaded 
 with Elizabeth, since personal intercourse was denied 
 them, to join her in the promotion of mutual amity. 
 
 Flattery of Elizabeth was not shunned by her 
 rival and immediate heiress. " Indeed (quoth the 
 Queen) they do all greatly praise her, and say that 
 she is both a wise and a very fair lady ; and because 
 the one of us cannot see the other, I will send her 
 my picture, though it be not worth the looking on, 
 because you shall promise me that she shall send me 
 hers, for I assure you, if I thought she would not send 
 me hers, she should not have mine." 
 
 Throckmorton gave a vague promise on behalf of 
 
 ' Uorcign Cahiular, " Elizabolh," vol. iii. pp. 250-251. 
 3S2 
 
The Meeting at Fontainebleau 
 
 his royal mistress, hinting that Mary was as anxious 
 for EUzabeth's portrait " as one that seemeth to be 
 in love with her." The aplomb of the French Queen 
 conquered his misgivings. " Madame," he said, as 
 the interview was closing, " assure yourself that as 
 mine evil memory will serve me, I will not forget to 
 advertise the Queen of your whole discourse." " I 
 pray you (quoth she), let me trust to it. ... I per- 
 ceive you like me better, M. I'Ambassadeur, when 
 I look sadly than when I look merrily, for it is told 
 me that you desired to have me pictured when I 
 wore the deuil." " No, Madame," replied Throck- 
 morton, " not for that cause only, but specially 
 because your Majesty spoke more graciously and 
 courteously to me in that apparel than you did at 
 any time before whensoever I have had to say with 
 
 you." ^ 
 
 Mary and her husband were present at the meeting 
 of the Notables at Fontainebleau in August 1560 ; ^ 
 and the earnest words of Coligny, Montluc, and 
 Marillac must have impressed the girl Queen, as 
 they appealed to every listener. At one o'clock on 
 August 21 the distinguished company gathered in 
 
 • It is difficult to find in the contemporary narratives of this summer 
 any trace of the gayer and lighter aspects of Mary's life. Amid the 
 correspondence of French diplomatists with Spain, there is one passage, 
 however, which affords a pleasant diversion. It occurs in a letter of 
 Florimond Robertet, Secretary of State, who wrote to the Bishop 
 of Limoges that he had promised the young Queen a pair of blue silk 
 and a pair of red silk stockings, and asked the Ambassador to have 
 them manufactured " out of those fine silks which come from Granada." 
 The former pair were to be of a deep turquoise blue, and " rather long." 
 Queen Mary, at the age of eighteen, was thus, like Queen Elizabeth, 
 supplied with the luxuries of dress. Negociations sous Francois II., 
 
 p. 446- 
 
 " Pierre de la Place, Commentaires de I'Estat de la Religion et Re- 
 publique, p. 53. 
 
 283 
 
The Summer of 1560 
 
 the Queen Mother's state apartment. Francis 11. 
 made a short speech, promising full reports from 
 his Chancellor, Michel de I'Hopital, and from his 
 uncles, the Duke and the Cardinal, and asking that 
 free and dispassionate advice should be given to 
 him. 
 
 It is a significant proof of her growing influence 
 that Catherine de' Medici spoke immediately after 
 the King. She asked the Counsellors of the throne 
 to suggest means whereby her son's crown might 
 be preserved, his subjects pacified, and the mal- 
 contents satisfied if this were possible. 
 
 This single sentence of a moderately-minded con- 
 temporary historian, Pierre de la Place, opens door 
 after door in the Palace of Fontainebleau, and reveals 
 the swiftly changing deliberations in the innermost 
 chamber of politics. The Guises, it is evident, were 
 virtually dethroned. France had forgotten their ser- 
 vices, and was looking beyond them to a national 
 government. Scotland had driven out her foreigners 
 — the Frenchmen ; France, inspired by the same 
 spirit of patriotism, sought to rid herself of the Lor- 
 rainers. The Reformation in Scotland was facilitated 
 because it was known that the relatives of the Queen 
 Regent were not the true representatives of the people 
 of France, and we cannot doubt that the Lords of the 
 Congregation, in May and June 1560, had been per- 
 fectly instructed as to the declining fortunes of the 
 Duke and the Cardinal. 
 
 The speakers on the first day at Fontainebleau 
 wore the Chancellor, whose long introductory address 
 must have been dc^prossing to the Assembly ; the 
 Duke of Guise, who gave in his report on military 
 affairs; and the Cardinal of Lorraine, who confessed 
 
 3S4 
 
Coligny's Speech 
 
 that the expenditure of the kingdom was far in 
 excess of the revenue.^ 
 
 On August 23 the sittings were resumed, and as 
 the Notables were waiting for the speech of the Bishop 
 of Valence, the Admiral of France, Gaspard de Coligny, 
 rose from his seat and approached the King. He 
 bowed deeply twice, and presented two petitions, 
 which the Secretary, Claude de I'Aubespine, was 
 ordered to read. They were appeals from the French 
 Protestants, — who, after the Tumult of Amboise, had 
 become known as Huguenots, — asking his Majesty 
 to allow them freedom of worship. Biographers of 
 Coligny have recognised the superb courage which 
 led him, at this crisis, to become the spokesman 
 of the persecuted members of the Protestant com- 
 munion in France. It was within the power of Francis 
 and his Ministers to order his instant arrest, as Henry 11. 
 had ordered the arrest of Anne du Bourg. The men 
 who consigned a prince of the blood, three months 
 later, to a felon's cell at Orleans, were not likely to be 
 deterred by considerations of birth and lofty alliances. 
 The Guises were at this time like royal eagles fighting 
 from the highest munitions of rocks. Coligny recog- 
 nised the danger he had so narrowly escaped when 
 he said, on hearing of the death of Francis 11., " The 
 King is dead ; that teaches us to live." ^ 
 
 He must have known, as he bowed to the King 
 and Queen, that before many hours had passed he 
 
 '■ " Le Cardinal de Lorraine aussi, touchant les affaires d'estat et 
 las finances, donnant a entendre que les charges ordinaires du royaume 
 surmontoyent le revenu de deux millions cinq cens mille livres." Pierre 
 de la Place, p. 54. 
 
 ^ It should be remembered, no doubt, that Coligny was protected 
 by the eight hundred armed men whom his uncle, the Constable, had 
 brought to Fontainebleau. 
 
 285 
 
The Summer of 1560 
 
 might be consigned to those dark dungeons of Paris 
 from which Anne du Bourg had been led to the 
 scaffold. Even the kinsmanship of the Constable 
 and his brave sons might prove an unavailing shelter, 
 for this was a war of princes ; and none knew better 
 than Coligny how the Guises would turn contemptu- 
 ously from meaner antagonists, and strike the shield 
 of the foremost champion until it rang again. 
 
 The Admiral's petition was courteously received. 
 The contemporary narratives leave us hardly in 
 doubt that he acted under the inspiration of Catherine 
 de' Medici, to whom one of the two petitions was 
 addressed. The signatories entreated Catherine to 
 show herself a second Esther, and to take pity on the 
 Lord's people. In bold language they appealed to 
 her to establish Christ's true service in the land, and 
 to drive out all errors and malpractices which hindered 
 His rule. Calvinism, says Professor Marcks, ap- 
 proached the throne with a claim which recognised 
 neither barriers nor disguise. " It pleads not for 
 tolerance, it demands the destruction of idol-worship. 
 Oppressed and persecuted, pleading and insisting 
 on its loyal obedience, it is as absolute as ever in its 
 personal strivings." ^ 
 
 Coligny's speech was followed by that of Jean de 
 Montluc, Bishop of Valence, one of the most gifted 
 prelates of the age. His work as a diplomatist is 
 known to every student of the period. His reputa- 
 tion as a Court preacher was second only to that of 
 the Cardinal of Lorraine. His life-history and that 
 of his brother, the great and cruel Captain, Blaise 
 de Montluc, afford a singular contrast to that of the 
 brcjUiers Francis and Charles of Guise. It was the 
 
 " Cas/^ard von Coligny, p. 400. 
 286 
 
Jean de Montluc 
 
 soldier, not the Churchman, in the Montluc records, 
 who acquired an unenviable reputation for harshness. 
 We read with horror that narrative, callously reported 
 by Blaise de Montluc, of his " mercy " to a young lad 
 of eighteen whose life he spared during an execution 
 of Huguenots. He caused the boy to be flogged so 
 cruelly that he died a few days afterwards. This iron- 
 hearted General was a faithful servant of the Lorrainers; 
 full of tenderness for the sons of Guise and Aumale, 
 the " little princes " whom he introduced to the army. 
 
 Incidents of the private life of Jean de Montluc 
 are unfolded in curious detail in the Memoirs of Sir 
 James Melville. The adventures in the house of 
 Odocarte, on the coast of Ireland, on Fastern's E'en, 
 1549, are little to the credit of the diplomatist. As 
 he sat over the herrings and biscuits in the great dark 
 tower of Odocarte, the French Bishop cast admiring 
 glances at the Chief's daughter, and she was obliged 
 to " avoid his attention." A strange picture is 
 drawn by Melville of the Bishop's coffers lying wet 
 by the sea-walls, and of the servant of Odocarte 
 finding on his bedroom table a little glass in a case, 
 standing by the window, with a sweet odour which 
 tempted her to eat the contents. It was a phial 
 of precious balm that grew in Egypt, and had been 
 given to the Bishop by Solomon the Great during his 
 residence as ambassador in Turkey. 
 
 Loose in morals as he may have been, Jean de 
 Montluc was a statesman of the widest experience, 
 and we see from his treatment of young Melville 
 that his heart was kind.^ 
 
 ' Pierre de la Place, the principal authority on the meeting at 
 Fontainebleau, describes the Bishop as " personnage de grand S9avoir 
 at litterature, mesmes es lettres sainctes d'en dire son opinion." 
 
 287 
 
The Summer of 1560 
 
 He paid a noble tribute to the learning and worthi- 
 ness of the Huguenot ministers, " who were willing 
 to lose their lives as a seal to their profession." " They 
 have ever on their lips the name of Jesus Christ, a 
 name so sweet that it might open the deafest ears, 
 and flow gently into the most hardened hearts. 
 Having found the people unguided by pastor, shep- 
 herd, or any one who would take pains to teach them, 
 they were willingly received and gladly heard ; so that 
 we need not be surprised if many people have embraced 
 this doctrine, learning it from so many preachers and 
 from so many books which have been published in rapid 
 succession." He attacked the Bishops, the Cardinals, 
 the Judges, the Popes themselves. It was a daring act 
 of Coligny to present the two petitions ; it was hardly 
 less daring of Jean de Montluc to utter this bold 
 harangue in the presence of the arch-persecutors. 
 
 Towards the close of his speech he addressed 
 himself pointedly to the elder and younger Queens. 
 He had recently returned from Edinburgh, and he 
 probably understood better than any one present 
 the dangers which beset Queen Mary's reign. He 
 begged the Queens to discontinue the singing of 
 foolish songs in the palace, and to order their ladies- 
 in-waiting and all their suite to sing the Psalms of 
 David and spiritual hymns. " Remember that the 
 eye of God passes over all the places and people of 
 this world, and rests there only where His name is 
 mentioned, praised, and exalted." He argued at 
 length that the Psalms should be sung in the ver- 
 nacular. 
 
 Montluc recommended the liolding of a General 
 Council, and warned the Pope that the King of 
 France, in the event of a refusal, would summon a 
 
 2SS 
 
Address of Archbishop Marillac 
 
 national Council, like his predecessors Charlemagne 
 and Louis. 
 
 It is evident from the tone of the Bishop's address 
 that the cruel sufferings inflicted on the martyrs of 
 the new religion had weighed heavily on his conscience. 
 
 Hardly less striking in its moderation was the 
 speech of Charles de Marillac, Archbishop of Vienne, 
 who, like Montluc, was not in priest's orders. Marillac 
 was a man of pure character and enlightened under- 
 standing. The coming tragedy of civil war was 
 perhaps revealed to him in a vision before death; 
 and his speech at Fontainebleau acquires new mean- 
 ing when we remember that he died two months later, 
 worn out by anxieties. He recommended the sum- 
 moning of a national Council, and reprimanded with 
 the utmost severity the clergy who were making 
 profit out of spiritual things.^ Like Montluc, he 
 spoke contemptuously of the Pope. " Whatever 
 happens, France cannot afford to perish in order 
 to please him." 
 
 On August 24 the speakers were Coligny and 
 the Guise brothers. The Admiral supported the 
 proposal made by Marillac for the summoning of 
 the States General. The Duke of Guise spoke with 
 unwonted bitterness, feeling himself incriminated. 
 He took up Coligny' s announcement that he could 
 bring fifty thousand signatures to the petitions. 
 " The King," cried Francis of Guise, " will set a 
 million against your fifty thousand." 
 
 The Cardinal spoke very quietly. He opposed 
 
 ^ Maxillae said, " Ceste sentence de Jesus-Christ est etemelle : 
 Gratis accepistis, gratis date. Les choses spirituelles se baillent de 
 Dieu gratuitement ; il ne nous est doncques licite en faire marchandise " 
 (Pierre de la Place, p. 61). 
 
 T 28g 
 
The Summer of 1560 
 
 for the moment the summoning of a national Council, 
 but approved the convocation of the States General. 
 As regards the plea for toleration, he declined to 
 yield. " To allow them temples and meeting-places 
 would be to approve their idolatry ; which the King 
 could not do save at the cost of his soul's eternal 
 damnation." ^ 
 
 The Cardinal recommended, however, that no 
 further severities should be used against peaceful 
 subjects who had gone without arms to the preaching, 
 and neglected the Mass. " I am grieved," he said, 
 " that so many rigorous executions have taken place, 
 and if my life or death could be of any service to these 
 poor erring ones, I would expose myself boldly and 
 freely." He advised the Bishops and other learned 
 persons to labour to win the heretics over and correct 
 them according to the Gospel precept : " Corripe 
 fratrem tuum inter te et ipsum." 
 
 Comparing this speech with the letter to the 
 Bishop of Angoul6me after the martyrdom of Anne 
 du Bourg, we understand that the proud prelate 
 was for the moment humbled and defeated. The 
 influence of his talents and character was revealed, 
 however, when the votes were taken on August 25. 
 The Knights of the Order, without exception, agreed 
 
 * Pierre de la Place, p. 67. The King's letter to the Bishop of 
 Limoges of July 28 should be compared with the Cardinal's speech at 
 Fontainebleau. In the letter Francis is made to plead almost with 
 passion for the summoning of a general Council, to which the Protestants 
 of Germany should be invited. On the same day the Cardinal wrote 
 to the Bishop, complaining of the Pope's inaction, and entreating 
 Subasticn de I'Aubespine not to let a single cliancc slip of pressing 
 forward, appealing for and advancing with all his might, at the Court 
 of Spain, the holding of this Council, " which \vc consider the one and 
 only remedy for all our troubles" (Nigocioiioiis sous Franfois II., 
 pp. 442, 443). 
 
 290 
 
Opening of a New Era 
 
 with the opinion of the Cardinal of Lorraine. A 
 meeting of the States General was fixed for December lo 
 at Meaux.^ The French clergy were summoned 
 for an assembly on January 20. The Cardinal desired 
 to hear their views for or against a national Council. 
 
 Possibly the speeches of Montluc and Marillac 
 may have seemed to the young French Queen in- 
 sufferably long and tedious, but she can hardly have 
 viewed with indifference the Admiral's bold action, 
 or heard without emotion the demand he made for 
 the assembly of the States General, the dismissal of 
 the new guard which surrounded her husband, and 
 the granting of " temples " to the Protestants. Ever}) 
 member of the royal circle must have realised, more 
 or less clearly, that a new era was opening. 
 
 If the ancient oaks of Fontainebleau had been 
 gifted, like that of Dodona, with oracular powers, 
 mysterious sighings must surely have been heard 
 from them on these August nights. The two most 
 important men in France, Coligny and the Duke of 
 Guise — each endowed with high qualities of mind and 
 character, each naturally brave, generous and re- 
 ligious, each by the confession of friend and foe 
 well fitted to serve the fatherland — had not only 
 abandoned the friendship of their youth, but were 
 opposed to each other in the sharpest personal and 
 political antagonism. 
 
 The Huguenots were now a numerous, if ill-com- 
 pacted party, bold and clamorous, drawing their 
 strength not only from the commercial and pro- 
 fessional classes, but from important sections of the 
 nobility. The epoch of the civil wars was close 
 at hand, bringing untold miseries to Catholics and 
 
 1 The place was afterwards changed to Orleans. 
 291 
 
The Summer of 1560 
 
 Protestants alike. Scarcely in that generation, for 
 any descendant of Philippa of Lorraine or Louise of 
 Montmorency, were the dying words of the Admiral's 
 mother to be fulfilled : " His mercy is on them that 
 fear Him throughout all generations." 
 
CHAPTER XVII 
 
 CLOSING MONTHS OF THE REIGN OF FRANCIS II 
 
 Removal of the Court to Saint-Germain — The plot revealed by La 
 SagTie — Contradictory orders of the Government — The King and 
 Queen at Orleans — Discontent of the inhabitants — Beauty of 
 the young Queen — Arrival of Navarre and Conde — Arrest and 
 imprisonment of Conde — First rumours of the King's illness — 
 The Venetian Ambassador describes it — An early close of the 
 reign expected — Rising hopes of the Huguenots — Talk of a second 
 marriage for Mary — Last days of Francis ll. — His death on 
 December 5 — The sorrowing Queen. 
 
 From Fontainebleau the Court removed, by way of 
 Melun and Villeneuve-Saint-Georges, to Saint-Ger- 
 main, where a month's stay was made. Before the 
 King's departure, an event occiirred which proved 
 the hollowness of the partial reconciliation. A 
 confidential messenger of the King of Navarre, named 
 La Sague, was captured with compromising papers 
 upon him. Navarre and Conde had kept away from 
 the meeting of the Notables, knowing that they were 
 in bad odour with the Government, and perhaps 
 fearing some act of violence. The most incriminating 
 document found on La Sague was a letter in which 
 that great noble, the Vidame de Chartres, intimated 
 to the Prince of Conde that he was ready to follow 
 him. Under torture La Sague revealed the existence 
 of a plot, giving details which were probably much 
 exaggerated. Conde and his brother were to advance 
 at the head of a strong force into the heart of the 
 
 293 
 
Last Months of Francis II. 
 
 kingdom, and were to occupy Poitiers, Tours, and 
 Orleans, while the Constable and other leaders were 
 to conduct similar movements in the more distant 
 provinces. An assembly of the rebels was to be 
 held at Orleans. The Vidame de Chartres was thrown 
 into prison, and the Bourbon brothers were ordered 
 to appear at the Court. It suited the policy of the 
 Guises to make the most of La Sague's revelations. 
 They had failed to implicate Conde in the Tumult 
 of Amboise, but here was another plot hatching, 
 on a much vaster scale, of which he was again the 
 " Silent Captain." It is probable that before they 
 quitted Fontainebleau the Duke and the Cardinal 
 had resolved that Conde must perish.^ 
 
 The diplomatic correspondence and the official 
 letters drawn up by the Ministers of Francis ll. in the 
 last three months of his reign prove that fear was lord 
 of their actions. As the habit of fear weakens in- 
 tellectual capacity, we note without surprise the 
 self-contradictory tone of documents which must 
 have been prepared, at short intervals, under their 
 personal supervision. It is sufficient for our purpose 
 to glance at two letters which belong to the period 
 immediately following the meeting at Fontainebleau. 
 One is the letter to the Bishops of France on the 
 question of a national Council." 
 
 Every sentence, we may fairly assume, was per- 
 sonally sanctioned, if not actually composed, by 
 the Cardinal of Lorraine. The admission of the 
 need of drastic reforms within the Church is like 
 
 ' Professoi' Marcks, commenting on La Sague's evidence, says : 
 " There seems to be no doubt that King Antoine did for some time 
 project a warhkc enterprise on an extensive scale" (Gaspard von 
 Coligny, p. 407). 
 
 ^ N6gociations sous Franfois II., pp. 594-97. 
 
 294 
 
Renewal of Persecution 
 
 an echo from his speeches and private letters. The 
 Bishops were invited to be in Paris in time for the 
 clerical assembly of January 20th (1561), and their 
 duty for the intervening months is laid down. 
 " Meanwhile you will be careful to see that there is 
 nothing going on in your diocese which may grow 
 worse through your neglect. You must use your 
 ecclesiastical authority, and with such moderation 
 towards those who are suspected or accused of heresy, 
 that the wanderers from the right way shall be brought 
 back rather by your gentle and kindly admonitions, 
 than by the severity and strictness of the judgments 
 which you might execute against them. You will 
 thus be following the example of the Good Shepherd 
 in the Gospel, who leaves the ninety and nine sheep 
 under his care, to seek the hundredth which has gone 
 astray. Far from killing that sheep or hurting it in 
 any way, he lays it on his shoulder and carries it 
 gently back to the flock." ^ 
 
 Compare this circular to the Bishops with the 
 letter sent by the King, on October i, from Saint- 
 Germain, to the Marshal de Termes.^ Francis re- 
 minded the Marshal, who was then at Poitiers, that 
 pacificatory measures had been taken at Fontaine- 
 bleau, but that " those of the new religion " had since 
 been going on worse than ever. They were accustomed 
 to meet privately, but now in many places they were 
 assembling publicly under arms ; " with such con- 
 tempt for the honour of God and despising of my 
 
 • M. Louis Paris, editor of the Negociations sous Frangois 11., re- 
 marked with but too much truth in a note on this passage : " Here 
 we have maxims of an Evangelical gentleness which are in striking 
 contrast with the pitiless measures taken, a few months later, against 
 the Huguenots of the South." 
 
 ' Negociations sous Frangois II., pp. 580-82. 
 
 295 
 
Last Months ot Francis II. 
 
 authority and power that I do not feel I can 
 tolerate it." 
 
 M. de Termes was instructed, if he possibly could, 
 to " catch these preachers, and to punish them 
 soundly." He was also to watch the conduct of 
 officials and find out who were favouring " that 
 sort of people," so as to deprive them of office or inflict 
 on them " some other deserved chastisement." The 
 King added : "I pray you, my cousin, to take pains, 
 now that you have this opportunity, to rid the country 
 so thoroughly of an infinite number of rascals — mere 
 troublers of society — that I shall not have any bother 
 with them hereafter. You will thus render me, I 
 assure you, so great a service that I shaU never 
 forget it." 
 
 The truth is that the Guises never meant to allow 
 freedom of worship, either in France or Scotland. 
 They were willing at the best to grant an amnesty 
 for past faults to those who would consent to five 
 henceforth as loyal subjects in the Catholic faith. 
 In a letter of September 3, to the Bishop of Rennes, 
 French Ambassador at the Emperor's Court, Francis il. 
 denied that freedom of worship had been granted to 
 the Scots under the Treaty of Edinburgh by their 
 Queen and himself.^ 
 
 The task of raising troops was pushed rapidly 
 forward at Saint-Germain. Writing from Melun on 
 September 3, Throckmorton said that although 
 France was still in some disorder, he expected an 
 early restoration of tranquillity, because the Guises 
 were diligent in consultation and provision. " 
 
 Orleans was full of secret disaffection, and the 
 
 ' NSgociaiions som: I'^ranQois II., p. 504. 
 
 " Foreign Ccilnidar, " Elizabeth," vol. iii. p. 274. 
 
 2q6 
 
Francis and Mary at Orleans 
 
 Ministers decided that the King should go there with a 
 bodyguard of veteran troops from Picardy and 
 the Itahan frontiers. On October lo, the Court left 
 Saint-Germain and proceeded southwards by way 
 of Paris, with a large escort of cavalry and over 
 a thousand trusty foot-soldiers. The streets of 
 Orleans were gaily decorated, and liveries had been 
 provided in the colours of the King and Queen. On 
 October i8, the King made his entry, riding under a 
 canopy of cloth of gold, adorned with the arms 
 of the city. With him rode his brothers, Charles 
 and Henry, the Prince of La Roche - sur - Yon, 
 several Knights of the Order, the four hundred 
 archers of the Guard, two hundred gentlemen of the 
 household, and the musketeers of the new guard. 
 Triumphal arches had been erected in the principal 
 streets, and cries were raised of " Vive le Roy," while 
 in the distance guns were fired.^ 
 
 An accident very nearly happened : the King's 
 horse slipped ; it was raised in time, but the people 
 saw in this a bad omen for his Majesty and for the 
 town. 
 
 Francis proceeded to the Cathedral, where an 
 address of welcome was pronounced by the Bishop 
 of Orleans, Jean de Morvilliers. The royal guest 
 was lodged in the splendid house of the late Jacques 
 Groslot, Chancellor of Alengon, on the Place de 
 I'Etape. The son of the Chancellor, the celebrated 
 Jerome Groslot, who has been called the Jacques 
 Coeur of Orleans, was at this time Provost of the 
 city, but in deep disgrace owing to his Huguenot 
 sympathies. 
 
 'Bernard de Lacombe, Catherine de Medicis entre Guise et Conde, 
 p. 65. 
 
 297 
 
Last Months of Francis II. 
 
 In the afternoon, with full regal honours, Mary 
 Stuart, mounted on a white horse, entered Orleans, 
 accompanied by the Princesses and Duchesses of the 
 Court. An old Orleans historian, Frangois Le Maire,^ 
 describes the young Queen as so marvellously beautiful 
 that " if the silvery moon had appeared shining in the 
 midst of her stars, her lustre would have been dimmed 
 beside such rare perfections and such dazzling love- 
 liness." That was to be the last bright pageant of 
 Mary's married life in France, and as compared 
 with many a gay state entry in which she had shone 
 as Queen of Beauty, the reception at Orleans was 
 full of menace. The boy King had been seen to dart 
 at Groslot such a look of anger as he approached to 
 offer the civic welcome, that the Provost trembled 
 and could not pronounce a word. Though the town 
 was like an armed camp full of men devoted to their 
 service, the Guises did not appear either in the pro- 
 cession of the King or Queen. Some said that their 
 minds were again haunted by the warnings of astro- 
 logers, and that they feared that an assassin might be 
 waiting for them in the crowd. The inhabitants of 
 Orleans had been forbidden to carry pistols or daggers, 
 though an exception was made in the case of the 
 German students, an important " nation " of the 
 University, who demanded their ancient privilege. 
 " Fear," wrote the Florentine Ambassador, " is every- 
 where in this kingdom," ^ and the teiTor reached its 
 height at Orleans. The prisons were strengthened 
 with new bars and gratings, " to hold the chief men 
 of the city." Strong guards were placed at the 
 
 > Quoted by M. do Lacombc, Cathciinc de JMcdicis, p. 66. 
 - " La paura 6 universale in questo regno" (Dispatch of Niccolo 
 Tornabuoni of November 1560). 
 
 2gS 
 
Arrest of the Prince of Condd 
 
 gates ; it was rumoured that two thousand Ger- 
 man troops would shortly reinforce the French 
 veterans. 
 
 On October 30, obeying the royal summons, the 
 King of Navarre and the Prince of Conde arrived. 
 Sudan, who had replaced Michiel as Venetian 
 Ambassador, arrived at the same time as the Princes, 
 and described their unfriendly reception by his Majesty 
 in the room of the Queen Mother. Although 
 Antoine approached the King with many humble 
 bows, almost kneeling, Francis treated him with great 
 coldness, motioning him to bow first to Catherine. He 
 did not move a step to meet this near blood-relative, 
 and scarcely raised his bonnet. The Prince of Conde, 
 presented by his brother, was treated with the same 
 disdain. Neither Navarre nor Conde exchanged 
 greetings with the Cardinal or the Duke of Guise, 
 who were standing at a window behind the Queen 
 Mother. Conde' s arrest followed on the same day. 
 He was committed to four Captains of the Guard to 
 be taken to prison, was led away by a secret passage 
 and kept in strict confinement. It seems to us 
 amazing that the Princes should have thus deliber- 
 ately placed themselves in the power of their deadly 
 foes. Navarre and the Cardinal of Bourbon knelt 
 in vain at the feet of Francis, imploring that they 
 might have the custody of their brother.^ 
 
 On all Saints' Day Antoine de Bourbon remained 
 shut up in his house, because of the grief he felt at 
 the arrest. He had only too good reason to fear for 
 
 ' Surian's letters from Orleans may be studied in the original in 
 the volume published in 1891 by the Huguenot Society, under the 
 editorship of Sir Henry Layard. See also the Venetian Calendar. 
 vol. vii. 
 
 299 
 
Last Months of Francis II. 
 
 his own liberty and life. Ambassadors reported 
 that he was treated like a prisoner.^ 
 
 Amid the pressure of other affairs at Orleans, 
 Francis and Mary continued to refuse the ratification 
 of the Treaty of Edinburgh. " My subjects in Scot- 
 land do their duty in nothing," Mary said to Throck- 
 morton, " nor have they performed their part in one 
 thing that belongeth to them. I am their Queen 
 and so they call me, but they use me not so. . . . 
 They must be taught to know their duties." ^ 
 
 Renee of Ferrara, mother of the Duchess of Guise, 
 entered Orleans on November 7, and was received 
 with almost regal honorus. The King went out of 
 the city to welcome her, and rooms were assigned 
 for her use in the Hotel Groslot. The daughter of 
 Louis XII. learned with indignation of the arrest of 
 the Prince of Conde, and is said to have reproved the 
 Duke of Guise for his presumption in attacking the 
 princes of the blood royal, threatening him with mis- 
 fortune to his own family. " But she had to swallow 
 that pill," says Regnier de la Planche.* 
 
 The first whispers of the King's ill-health began 
 to circulate in the third week of November. On 
 
 1 " The King of Navarre," says Niccolo Tornabuoni, " has been 
 ordered not to go far from the Court, and is always followed by some 
 one " {NSgociaiions de la France avec la Toscane, vol. iii. p. 425). 
 
 ° Foreign Calendar, " Elizabeth," vol. iii. p. 394. 
 
 " M. Bernard de Lacombe considers that the advisers of the King 
 were hesitating at this moment between a pohcy of toleration and 
 severity. As he points out, the vacillation of the Ministers is revealed, 
 not only in the stately reception given to a well-kno^vn supporter of 
 the new doctrines such as Renee of Ferraia, but cdso in the fact that 
 even after the King's entry, Protestant ser\ices ^Ycrc held in Orleans. 
 It was not till November 14 that the Reformed Church in Orleans 
 was dissolved. Ministers and ciders were then obliged to quit the town 
 and take refuge in the neighbouring villages {Cathirine de Midicis 
 enire Guise ct Condt, p. 76). 
 
 300 
 
Illness of the King 
 
 the 20th, Surian wrote that their Majesties had decided 
 to go on the previous Monday to Chambord and 
 Chenonceaux on a hunting expedition and to remain 
 there till the end of the month. But on the Sunday 
 Francis had been seized with a severe shivering fit 
 and fever .^ It was said that this illness to which his 
 Majesty was subject was a kind of catarrhal flux, 
 which he had inherited from his father and grand- 
 father. It had shown itself by a running from the 
 right ear, which, when checked, led to severe pains 
 in the teeth and jaws, and to a swelling behind the 
 ear as large as a big nut, which became smaller or 
 larger as the matter increased or diminished. Surian 
 added that the patient's condition was improving, 
 but that he was still not free from fever and confined 
 to bed. The cause of the illness was believed to be 
 the sudden change of weather, which from a spring- 
 like mildness had changed to severe cold. " His 
 Majesty had not taken proper care of himself, and 
 was now obliged to remain in bed, to his great annoy- 
 ance, as his mother desired it. For this reason it was 
 said by many persons that his illness was very serious, 
 and that those who treated it as of little consequence 
 had an interest in doing so." ^ 
 
 In the same letter the Venetian envoy foreshadowed 
 an early close of the reign. Astrologers had pre- 
 dicted that Francis would not live more than eighteen 
 years, and an illness of so unusual a character showed 
 radical defects in his constitution. Already it was 
 whispered at Orleans that his death would involve 
 
 ' He had been overcome by faintness in the Church of the Jacobins 
 on this day after Vesper service. 
 
 ^ These quotations from Surian's dispatches are taken from vol. vi. 
 of the Publications of the Huguenot Society of London, edited by 
 Sir Henry Layard. 
 
 301 
 
Last Months of Francis II. 
 
 the overthrow of the Guises and a complete revolu- 
 tion in religion. The new King, as a minor, would 
 be placed under the probable tutelage of the King of 
 Navarre, as the eldest of the family and the first 
 prince of the blood. Navarre, to humour the popu- 
 lace, who were " for the most part infected with this 
 plague," would open the way to licence and disorder, 
 which would lead, not only to the ruin of France, 
 but of all Christendom. 
 
 k Such was the prognostication of a Catholic diplo- 
 matist, and on the Huguenot side the most sinister 
 reports were current. Cond6 was condemned to death 
 on November 26, and his execution was fixed for 
 December 10, the date of the opening of the States 
 General. 
 
 According to Regnier de la Planche, a massacre 
 like that of St. Bartholomew was preparing at Orleans, 
 and although many statements in the sombre closing 
 pages of his narrative are unconfirmed by con- 
 temporary evidence, there can be no doubt that the 
 last month of the reign was one of the gloomiest in 
 the annals of the century. It was believed that the 
 Guises would not quit Orleans till they had anni- 
 hilated their enemies, and forced from each member 
 of the States General a profession of the Catholic 
 faith. The mortal illness of the King must have 
 appeared to thousands of his most loyal subjects a 
 direct interposition of God. 
 
 The course of the King's illness can be traced 
 from day to day in the dispatches of ambassadors. 
 Throckmorton wrote on November 28 : " The con- 
 stitution of his body is such as the physicians do say 
 he cannot be long-lived, and thereunto he hath by his 
 too timely and inordinate exercise now in his youth 
 
His Closing Hours 
 
 added an evil accident. Some say that if he recover 
 this sickness he cannot hve two years. Therefore 
 there is talk of the French Queen's second marriage. 
 Some say the Prince of Spain, some the Duke of 
 Austria, others the Earl of Arran." ^ 
 
 In the last week of November the King was 
 growing feebler, and hope of his recovery was practi- 
 cally abandoned. " Great lamentation is made at 
 the Court," wrote our Ambassador on the 29th, " for 
 they mistrust the King will not recover." 
 
 On December i the reports were conflicting. 
 Surian wrote : " Last night, which was the 14th [from 
 the commencement of the illness], his Majesty had 
 no rest both from very violent pain in the head, and 
 sickness, and from fever, so he is in a bad way, and is 
 in some danger. Although they endeavour to conceal 
 the malady more than ever, the Queen Mother cannot 
 suppress the signs of her sorrow, which is increased 
 by the recollection of the predictions made by many 
 astrologers, who all prognosticated his very short 
 Ufe. Contrary to custom, the gates of the Court 
 have also been closed during the whole of this day ; 
 no one entered his Majesty's chamber except the 
 Queens and the three Guises, and no one is allowed 
 access to the ante - chamber, which used to be 
 crowded." ^ 
 
 Again, on December 2, the Venetian reported that 
 the patient was dying. " I have now to tell you that 
 labor at in extremis, and he can live but for a few hours." ^ 
 
 Throckmorton was less well informed than Surian, 
 for on December i he mentioned that there had been 
 
 ' Foreign Calendar, " Elizabeth," vol. iii. p. 410. 
 ^ Venetian Calendar, vol. vii. pp. 274-75, 
 ^ Ibid. p. 275. 
 
 303 
 
Last Months of Francis II. 
 
 some improvement, adding, " Now the physicians 
 mistrust no danger of his life." ^ 
 
 Niccolo Tornabuoni wrote on December 3 to 
 Florence : " The King's health is still uncertain. 
 There are processions to the Churches of Orleans, in 
 which the Queen Mother, the wife and brothers of the 
 King, take part." ^ 
 
 Chantonay reported on the same day that the 
 Queen Mother and the Guises never spoke now of the 
 King except with tears in their eyes. 
 
 While Catherine de' Medici was planning in secret 
 with the King of Navarre and securing her own 
 position for the future, Mary Stuart was a patient 
 watcher by the sick-bed of her young husband. The 
 shadow of death hung deeper over Orleans than the 
 shadows of the dying year. The city contained 
 the leaders of two fierce factions, each ready to fly 
 at the other's throat, each professing the most absolute 
 devotion to the throne. The story was told that 
 Francis had vowed to the Saints, and especially to 
 Notre-Dame-de-Clery, that if life were granted him 
 he would zealously continue the persecution of the 
 heretics.^ 
 
 It was also rumoured that the Cardinal of Lorraine 
 had taught the dying boy to pray : " Lord, pardon my 
 sins, and impute not to me those which my Ministers 
 have committed in my name and by my authority." ■* 
 About ten o'clock on the evening of December 5, 
 the King passed away.** 
 
 > Foreign Calendar, " Elizabeth," vol. iii. p. 417. 
 ' ^ NSgociaiions de la France avec la Toscane, vol. iii. p. 427. 
 
 " R. de la Planche. 
 
 " Pierre de la Place, p. 76. 
 
 ' For the details of his illness, see Dr. Potiquet's well-knovra work, 
 La Maladie et la Mori dc Fraii(ois II. 
 
 304 
 
Queen Mary's Sorrow 
 
 Calvin wrote, in a characteristic letter to Sturm : ^ 
 " Did you ever read or hear of anything more timely 
 than the death of the little King ? There was no 
 remedy for the worst evils when God suddenly re- 
 vealed Himself from heaven, and He who had pierced 
 the father's eye struck the ear of the son." 
 
 The English Ambassador wrote that Francis had 
 left " as heavy and dolorous a wife as of right she 
 had good cause to be, who, by long watching with him 
 during his sickness, and painful diligence about him, 
 and specially by the issue thereof, is not in the best 
 tune of her body, but without danger." ^ 
 
 ^ Calvini Opera, vol. xviii. p. 270. 
 
 - Foreign Calendar, " Elizabeth," vol. iii. p. 421. 
 
 30s 
 
CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 THE YOUNG WIDOW 
 
 Loneliness of the widowed Queen — Fall of the Guises — Restoration of 
 the Crown jewels — Queen Mary's dowry — Funeral of Francis ii. — 
 Meeting of the States General at Orleans — The forty days of 
 mourning — Throckmorton's praise of Mary's wisdom — Arrival 
 of Don Juan Manrique de Lara from Philip ii. — Requiem for 
 Francis ii. on January 15, 1561, which Mary attends — The Court 
 leaves Orleans for Fontainebleau — The Earl of Bedford brings 
 condolences from Queen Elizabeth — Mary refuses to ratify the 
 Treaty of Edinburgh. 
 
 Historians have dwelt on the sohtary position of 
 Queen Mary after the blow that struck her at Orleans. 
 She had lost within a few months her mother and her 
 husband. The brilliant uncle on whose guidance 
 she had leant from infancy, the Churchman whom 
 Bossuet describes as "a great genius and a great 
 statesman," had in some fashion, which to her was 
 perhaps inexplicable, won the hatred of Catholics as 
 well as Protestants. Even the military renown of 
 the Duke of Guise did not save him from discredit. 
 The affairs of Scotland caused the Queen deep anxiety. 
 Catherine de' Medici regarded her as a dangerous 
 enemy. The despised Antoine de Bourbon was now 
 able to dictate to the men who would have murdered 
 his brother. 
 
 " No sooner had Francis breathed his last," writes 
 De Thou, " than all the courtiers hurried in a crowd 
 to congratulate Charles his brother, and the new 
 
 306 
 

 Gn^rifWaAJ^.^9'-h. , 
 
 .. nary Ql^liiarl- in CL'tdoto'j ^JrcA.) 
 
 ^Ttvitl a. (JniLL'UKj In/ •.y'ranycu-' Liicnct 
 
Fall of the Guises 
 
 King was received with acclamations when he showed 
 himself in public. Then the Guises, mingling with 
 the other nobles, were seen to forget their past 
 greatness in order to link themselves with the present 
 reign." 
 
 The Guises must long have foreseen the possible 
 ending of their authority through the death of the 
 invalid Francis, yet while breath remained in his 
 feeble body, while he could still mount a horse and 
 appear at public worship, they put the black thoughts 
 from them ; and we can believe the statement of 
 contemporary writers, that the Duke of Guise, who 
 had himself been brought back from the grave by 
 the skill of Pare, swore at the Court physicians and 
 threatened to hang them, because they could not 
 prolong the fading life until the Lorrainers had swept 
 the Bourbons from their path. 
 
 It has been suggested that the Duke, whose armed 
 bands filled Orleans, might, by the aid of his loyal 
 veterans, have established his authority at the moment 
 of the King's death. ^ If such a dream had crossed 
 his mind, his defeat was prepared in advance by 
 Catherine. She had summoned the Constable to her 
 side, although she had helped, seventeen months earlier, 
 to send him into exile. The veteran statesman, at- 
 tended by eight hundred gentlemen, left Chantilly 
 and travelled by slow stages towards Orleans. He 
 received at Etampes the news of his young master's 
 death, and hastened instantly southwards. Finding 
 Orleans defended by troops under the orders of the 
 Duke of Guise, he disbanded them, and assumed 
 the chief military command. Melville writes joy- 
 
 1 Forneron, Les Duos de Guise, vol. i. p. 283. Rene de Bouille, vol. ii. 
 
 p. 115. 
 
 307 
 
The Young Widow 
 
 ously that his old master " lap on horsbak and cam 
 fraely to the court and commandit, lyk a Constable, 
 the men of wair that gardit the croun be the Due 
 of Guise commandement to pak them aff the 
 toun." ^ 
 
 Conde's life was saved, for the King of Navarre 
 was now the first governor of the reahn after Catherine. 
 The Cardinal of Lorraine gave up, on December 6, 
 the seal of Francis ii., which was broken in presence 
 of Charles ix. and Catherine.^ The Crown jewels were 
 handed over by the newly-widowed Queen, and were 
 taken possession of by the Regent on behalf of her 
 son.^ 
 
 Later in the month (December 20) Charles ix. 
 confirmed the provision of Mary's marriage contract 
 by which her dowry was fixed at 60,000 livres tournois, 
 to be taken from the revenues of Touraine and 
 Poitou. 
 
 The decline of Guise influence at the accession of 
 Charles ix. is reflected in the diplomatic correspond- 
 ence. On December 6, while the breaking of seals 
 and the handing over of caskets occupied the thoughts 
 of the mourners, Surian informed the Signory of 
 Venice that although the Duke of Guise was popular 
 in the kingdom, especially with the nobles, the 
 Cardinal of Lorraine was so hated by all that, if the 
 people had their will, he would probably not remain 
 alive. It was rumoured even at this early date that 
 he had sent his most valuable property into Lorraine 
 for security, and that he was about to retire from 
 
 ' Memoirs, p. 86. ' Ndgociations sous Franfois II., p. 733. 
 
 » Ibid. pp. 738-740. The royal receipt for the jewels is dated 
 December 6, so that no time was lost in recovering them. See note 
 at end of this chapter. 
 
 30S 
 
Funeral of Francis II. 
 
 Court. He remained at Orleans, however, for the 
 opening of the States General, at which he suffered the 
 mortification of being excluded from the position 
 he had hoped to adorn, that of spokesman for the 
 Three Estates. For the first time since she came to 
 France, Mary Stuart saw her uncles in actual disgrace. 
 They acted, it must be admitted, with personal dignity, 
 making no attempt to escape from a city where their 
 enemies now ruled. 
 
 The funeral of Francis ii. was celebrated with little 
 pomp. His heart, enclosed in a leaden vase, was 
 borne under a canopy to the Cathedral.^ The vase 
 was carried by Charles de Bourbon, Prince of La 
 Roche-sur-Yon, who was destined, within a few weeks, 
 to suffer an overwhelming loss by the death, through 
 an accident in riding, of his only son, a promising 
 lad of twelve. The Marshals Brissac, Saint-Andre, 
 and Montmorency were supporters of the canopy, 
 and the memorial service was attended by the King 
 of Navarre, the Guises, the Constable, the Cardinals, 
 and the gentlemen of the Court. 
 
 The late King's body was removed by night, and 
 with scant attendance, to Saint-Denis. Pierre de la 
 Place tells that a shp of paper had been found attached 
 to the velvet pall which covered his coffin, with the 
 words inscribed on it, " Where is Messire Tanneguy 
 du Chastel ? But he was a Frenchman." The allusion 
 was to the Chamberlain of Charles vii., who, on seeing 
 his master's body abandoned by the courtiers, gave it 
 a stately burial at his own expense. The comparison 
 was intended to wound the half-foreign princes of 
 Lorraine, who having furthered their own ends through 
 
 ' The Cathedral of Sainte-Croix at Orleans was destroyed by the 
 Huguenots in 1567. 
 
 309 
 
The Young Widow 
 
 the late King, had, as the people believed, forsaken 
 his dead body as they forsook his father's.^ 
 
 On December 13, the States General met at Orleans. 
 In the long list of royal personages and nobles who 
 attended, we recognise the names of many who had 
 listened to Coligny, Montluc, and Marillac at Fontaine- 
 bleau in August, but the name of Mary Stuart is 
 absent, for she was passing through the forty days 
 of her mourning. The letters of ambassadors echo 
 something of the pity which must have been expressed 
 for the royal girl by the strangers who gathered in the 
 city, as they glanced at her darkened windows : — 
 
 "So by degrees everyone will forget the death of 
 the late King," wrote Surian, " except the young 
 Queen, his widow, who being no less noble minded 
 than beautiful and graceful in appearance, the thoughts 
 of widowhood at so early an age, and of the loss of a 
 consort who was so great a King and who so dearly 
 loved her, and also that she is dispossessed of the crown 
 of France, with little hope of recovering that of Scot- 
 land, which is her sole patrimony and dower, so 
 afflict her that she will not receive any consolation, 
 but, brooding over her disasters with constant tears 
 and passionate and doleful lamentations, she univer- 
 sally inspires great pity." ^ 
 
 In her mourning chamber, wearing the widow's 
 white robes, Mary remained "as if buried in a sep- 
 ulchre." She was not too deeply buried, however, for 
 reports of her gracious and gentle behaviour under 
 her altered fortunes to reach the outer world. Throck- 
 
 1 Pierre de la Tlace, Di- I'Eslat de la Religion et RSpuhlique, 
 p. 76. The Huguenot hisloriau does not mention the solemn ceremony 
 of the interment of the King's heart at Orleans. 
 
 " Venetian Calendar, vol. vii. p. 27S. 
 
Mary's "Wisdom" 
 
 morton, who by December 31 had not yet been 
 admitted to an audience, wrote of her conduct in 
 terms of glowing eulogy. Possibly our Ambassador's 
 panegyric derived something of its force from his 
 disappointment with his own mistress, who, as 
 rumour insisted, was to marry Lord Robert Dudley. 
 Cecil was obliged to warn the too ofiicious diplo- 
 matist against intermeddling with the private affairs 
 of Elizabeth. 
 
 On December 9, Throckmorton had announced 
 that the eighteen-year-old widow would be sent in 
 the spring to her own country, convoyed by French 
 galleys. " She is now called La Royne Marye." 
 
 He warned the Lords of the Council (December 31) 
 that they wordd have to concern themselves with her 
 marriage : — 
 
 " During her husband's life there was no great 
 account made of her, for that, being under band of 
 marriage and subjection of her husband (who carried 
 the burden and care of all her matters), there was 
 offered no great occasion to know what was in her. 
 But since her husband's death, she hath showed (and 
 so continueth) that she is both of great wisdom for 
 her years, modesty, and also of great judgment in 
 the wise handling herself and her matters, which, 
 increasing with her years, cannot but turn greatly 
 to her commendation, reputation, honour, and great 
 benefit of her and her country.^ 
 
 Reading between the lines, and noting the insist- 
 ence on the word " wisdom," the Lords must have 
 smiled at the audacity with which the clever and 
 independent Throckmorton praised a rival Queen in 
 such terms as to glance reprovingly at his own 
 
 » Foreign Calendar, " Elizabeth," vol. iii. p. 4/2. 
 
The Young Widow 
 
 Sovereign, who, though by nine years Mary's senior, 
 was, in his view, making herself the laughing-stock of 
 Europe by her passion for Dudley. 
 He continued : — 
 
 " Already it appears that some such as made no 
 great account of her, do now, seeing her wisdom, both 
 honour and pity her. Immediately upon her husband's 
 death she changed her lodging, withdrew herself 
 from all company, and became so solitary and exempt 
 of all worldliness, that she doth not to this day see 
 daylight, and so will continue out forty days. For 
 the space of fifteen days after the death of her said 
 husband she admitted no man to come into her 
 chamber, but the King, his brethren, the King of 
 Navarre, the Constable, and her uncles." ^ 
 
 After referring to the visit of the Spanish Ambas- 
 sador and the rumours of a marriage with the Prince 
 of Spain, he resumed : ^ — 
 
 " And for my part I see her behaviour to be such, 
 and her wisdom and kingly modesty so great, in that 
 she thinketh herself not too wise, but is content to 
 be ruled by good counsel and wise men (which is 
 a great virtue in a Prince or Princess, and which 
 argueth a great judgment and wisdom in her), that 
 by their means she cannot do amiss, and I cannot 
 but fear her proceedings with the time, if any means 
 be left and offered her to take advantage by." 
 
 The Venetian Ambassador reported, on January 9, 
 that he had visited Mary and had found her over- 
 whelmed with grief, and almost buried in a room, 
 only lighted by a few candles, according to custom. 
 She had replied to him in a few \'ery sorrowful words, 
 thanking the Doge for his loving message. 
 
 ' Foreign Calendar, "Elizabeth," vol. iii. p. 472. ^ Ibid. p. 473. 
 
 312 
 
The Requiem Mass 
 
 Don Juan Manrique de Lara, arriving late in 
 January with condolences from Philip ii., had a con- 
 fidential talk with the Queen and her uncles. It was 
 reported in Orleans that he had been instructed to 
 treat of the marriage of Her Majesty to the Prince of 
 Spain, and Throckmorton threatened that if this 
 marriage took place, the friendship between Queen 
 Elizabeth and Philip would be turned into enmity. 
 
 On January 15, the fortieth day, Mary attended 
 a requiem for her husband at the Church of the Grey 
 Friars, Orleans. The Estates were sitting, and the 
 concourse of all classes must have been great, though 
 probably few except the nobility and clergy secured 
 admission. Four Cardinals were present, Lorraine, 
 Tournon, Bourbon, and Chatillon, with twenty Knights 
 of the Order, wearing their collars ; and a crowd of 
 courtiers. After her long confinement such a service 
 must have been a severe ordeal for the widowed 
 Queen, and she removed almost at once for change 
 of air to a chateau in the vicinity of Orleans. 
 
 The States General were prorogued on January 31, 
 and in the first week of February the Court left Orleans 
 for Fontainebleau. The Cardinal of Lorraine set out 
 in the same week for his diocese. A Huguenot of 
 Orleans wrote at this time a satirical letter which 
 reflects the fierce religious contests between parties :— 
 
 " At last came the King of Kings. He destroyed 
 the heavy yoke which France was bearing. He saw 
 the eyes which were weeping, because of the two 
 uncles who trampled the royal lilies under foot. 
 Oh, how cursed was the wind which brought to our 
 shores the princess of Scottish blood ! Oh, three and 
 four times hapless was our kingdom when the mother 
 came from Italy ! These two foreign women will 
 
 313 
 
The Young Widow 
 
 never agree with our royal family. One is born of a 
 barbaric stock, and the other of shopkeepers. The 
 noble French blood never will blend with this low 
 strain." ^ 
 
 The Earl of Bedford was sent to the French Court 
 by Queen Elizabeth on a mission of condolence and 
 congratulation. Accompanied by Throckmorton, who 
 was recovering from a dangerous illness, he had those 
 famous interviews with Queen Mary at Fontainebleau 
 (February 1561) which are described in all narratives 
 of her life. Bedford was instructed to use his best 
 efforts for the prevention of either an Austrian or a 
 Spanish marriage for the Queen of Scots, and to warn 
 the King of Navarre against the danger of such alli- 
 ances. 
 
 The sincerity of the Queen's mourning for her 
 boy - husband impressed all observers. When 
 Elizabeth's condolences were presented by Bedford 
 on February 16, " she answered with a very sorrowful 
 look and speech that she thanked the Queen for her 
 gentleness in comforting her woe when she had most 
 need of it," and promised "to be even with her in 
 goodwill." ^ 
 
 The chief purpose of the diplomatists in the two 
 later interviews (February 18 and 19) was to secure 
 from the now solitary girl the long-deferred ratifica- 
 tion of the Treaty of Edinburgh. The Queen of Scots 
 showed in her replies a ready adroitness which baffled 
 the two diplomatists, though each pressed her hard. 
 At first she excused herself on the plea of the Cardinal 
 of Lorraine's absence, which left her without counsel. 
 " The matter was too great for one of her years." 
 
 ' B. do Lacombe, Ciillihiiic de Mhlicis, pp. 103, 104. 
 - l'orcig)i Calendar, " Elizabeth," vol. iii. p. 566. 
 
 .1I4 
 
Restoring the Crown Jewels 
 
 She requested delay, and at a final interview definitely 
 refused Elizabeth's request on the ground that none 
 of the nobles of her realm was with her, and that so 
 weighty a matter could not be concluded without 
 their advice. 
 
 NOTE 
 
 On what Day did Mary restore the 
 Crown Jewels ? 
 
 In the Inventaires de la Royne Descosse, edited 
 by Joseph Robertson for the Bannatyne Club, there 
 is a slight confusion as to the date on which the 
 Queen handed back the Crown jewels of France. 
 Mr. Robertson wrote : " Her sickly husband, King 
 Francis the Second, died in December 1560 ; and 
 Mary, hastening to quit a court which was now under 
 the sway of one whom, in her brief day of power, she 
 had taunted with being a merchant's daughter, fol- 
 lowed the Duke of Guise to Joinville in March 1561. 
 On the eve of her departure, she made over to 
 Catherine of Medicis, the Queen Mother, the Crown 
 jewels of France, as described in two lists, which 
 set forth the price at which each jewel was 
 valued by a goldsmith of the French King, and by 
 two goldsmiths of the King of Navarre." (Preface, 
 p. XV.) Students of the reign of Francis 11. will 
 remember that M. Louis Paris, in his invaluable 
 collection of documents which were published in 
 1841 for the French Government under the title, 
 Negociations, Lettres, ef Pieces diverses relatives au 
 regne de Frangois II., gives the inventories of Crown 
 jewels handed over by Mary, and the receipts re- 
 turned to her on behalf of the King (pp. 738-744). 
 We see from the "Inventaires" of the Crown jewels 
 printed by Louis Paris that Mary handed them over 
 on the day following her husband's death (December 6), 
 
 315 
 
The Young Widow 
 
 and the two receipts she received are dated the 
 same day. There is nothing in this fact inconsistent 
 with the receipt on which Mr. Robertson rehed, for 
 this, as we see from his Appendix, was not for Mary, 
 but for the goldsmiths who had taken the jewels into 
 their possession for the purpose of estimating their 
 value {Inventaires de la Royne Descosse, pp. 203, 204).^ 
 The point is well worth noting. Mary was not per- 
 mitted, as Mr. Robertson supposed, to hold the Crown 
 jewels for several months after her husband's death, 
 but was required to hand them over on the first day 
 of her widowhood. Catherine de' Medici took them 
 at once into her charge, and the goldsmiths proceeded 
 to value them. It is interesting to compare the 
 hsts printed by Mr. Robertson with those printed by 
 M. Paris. 
 
 The jewels, as we might expect, are much more 
 fully and closely described in the later than in the 
 earlier inventories. The pieces, for example, num- 
 bered I, 2, and 3 in the inventory printed by Mr. 
 Robertson (and supplied to him by M. Teulet), occupy 
 nearly three pages of his text. In the hastily written 
 inventory prepared for Queen Mary in the first hours 
 of her sorrow, twelve lines suffice for the mention of 
 these three precious treasures. The order is the 
 same in the different accounts, but the goldsmiths' 
 assistants had their professional pride in numbering 
 and estimating every gem. There is no attempt at 
 estimating values in the inventories of December 6, 
 which were very hurriedly prepared. 
 
 To the modern reader there is something char- 
 acteristic of Catherine de' Medici in the haste with 
 which the girl Queen was despoiled of the jewels of 
 the Crown of France. She had watched with patient 
 affection by the side of the sufferer, but no sooner 
 was the breath out of his bod3' than she was ruth- 
 lessly summoned to a business which might in decency 
 
 ' This receipt is dated April ,^i\ 1561. The jewellers had been at 
 their task since February 26. 
 
 3'6 
 
Restoring the Crown Jewels 
 
 have been deferred till after his funeral. In ex- 
 amining and comparing these inventories, we realise 
 to the full the lonehness of the widowed Queen's 
 position. She might well turn for support to her 
 mother's nearest relatives, for they at least would 
 respect the first hours of her bereavement. Might 
 not some slight breathing-space have been accorded 
 to her by the mother-in-law who was now virtual 
 Queen of France ? The words of the " Certification " 
 of December 6, 1560, are worth quoting in the 
 original : — 
 
 " Nous, Charles, par la grice de Dieu, roi de 
 France, certifions a tous qu'il appartiendra qu'ayant 
 pleu a Dieu appeler a sa part le feu roi Frangois, 
 deuxieme du nom, notre trfes-honore seigneur et 
 frere, que Dieu absolve, la royne Marie, notre tres- 
 chere et tres-aimee soeur, a en presence de notre 
 tres-chere et tres-honoree dame et mere remis en nos 
 mains toutes les bagues et joyaulx de la couronne de 
 France qui luy feurent delivres a I'advenement de 
 feu notredict seigneur et frere, son seigneur et espoux, 
 a cestedicte couronne, et qui sont contenus en I'in- 
 ventaire qui en fut faict lors de la delivrance, en date 
 du XVI. juillet I'an mil cinq cent soixante,^ signe 
 Fran9oys et contresigne Robertet," etc. [N egociations 
 sous Frangois II., p. 740, and see pp. 742, 743). 
 
 Catherine de' Medici's personal receipt to Mary for 
 the Crown jewels placed in her care is also dated 
 December 6 {N egociations sous Frangois II., p. 744). 
 
 '■Sic. The use of the word "soixante" must be an error due to 
 haste, for it has been stated in the preceding hnes that the jewels were 
 given to Mary at the accession of Francis ii. (July 1559)- 
 
 317 
 
CHAPTER XIX 
 
 CATHERINE DE' MEDICI AND MARY STUART 
 
 Personal relations of Catherine and Mary after the death of Francis ii. — 
 Mary involved in the discredit of the Guises — Catherine's letters 
 to the Duchess of Savoy and the Queen of Spain — Proposals for 
 Mary's second marriage — Possible husbands — " A gentleman who 
 is going to Champagne " — The portraits shown to Don Carlos — 
 Was one of them Mary's ? — Opposing views of Mr. Armstrong 
 and Baron de Ruble — Catherine's objections to the Spanish 
 marriage for Mary — Her letters to the Bishop of Limoges and 
 the Bishop of Rennes. 
 
 Although herself a widow of less than two years' 
 standing, Catherine de' Medici showed no tenderness to 
 her daughter-in-law in these days of mourning. The 
 time was gone for ever when she had hoped to find in 
 the Scottish Queen the prop of her old age. After 
 the death of Henry ii. the relations between the elder 
 and younger Queens had remained friendly, and 
 Catherine yielded precedence without ill-grace to her 
 son's wife. Mary wrote tenderly to her mother of 
 Catherine's sufferings under her bereavement, and 
 the serious condition of her health.^ It was only the 
 dutiful obedience of the King her son that made 
 her cling to life, and her death, added the writer, 
 " would be the greatest misfortune that could happen 
 to this poor country and to all of us." 
 
 Cardinal Santa Croce is the authority for the 
 statement that Mary had described the Queen Mother 
 
 ' Maitland Club Miscellany, vol. i. pp. 244, 245. 
 .^18 
 
Catherine and Mary 
 
 as a shopkeeper's daughter, and, if such words were 
 used, Catherine may have laid them up along with 
 Montmorency's insulting observation, that the only 
 child of Henry ii. who resembled him was his natural 
 daughter, Diane of France, wife of the Constable's 
 son Francis.^ Sir James Melville, who declares that 
 Catherine was " blyeth of the death of King Francis 
 hir sone, because sche had na gyding of him," ^ adds 
 that the Regent was " content to be quyt of the 
 governement of the house of Guise," and that she had 
 " a gret mislyking of our Quen." Mary, according 
 to Melville, was fully aware of her own altered position 
 after the Guises had been " driven to the door," and 
 left the Court because she was no longer " weill lyked." 
 Melville's testimony must rest on facts learned from 
 Mary, whom he saw as " a sorowfuU wydow ... in 
 a gentilman's house four myll fra Orleans." ^ The 
 Queen Mother's " rygorous and vengeable dealing " 
 was explained on the ground that she had been de- 
 spised by her daughter-in-law during the short reign 
 of Francis li. The Guises were blamed for instigating 
 their niece to such unkindness, and it was, indeed, 
 inevitable that something of their disgrace should 
 fall on her. 
 
 The private letters of Catherine, written during 
 her eldest son's illness and after his death, are instruc- 
 tive in their silence about Mary. While Francis lay 
 dying, Catherine was preparing for her own political 
 triumph, and the letters she wrote in December to 
 ambassadors indicate that she had full confidence in 
 her own ability to reconcile divided parties among 
 the nobility. 
 
 1 F. Decrue, Anne de Montmorency, vol. ii. p. 256. 
 
 2 Memoirs, p. 86. " Ibid. p. 87. 
 
 319 
 
Catherine and Mary 
 
 A letter to her sister-in-law, Margaret, Duchess 
 of Savoy, which is undated, but was probably written 
 on December 3 or 4, proves, as does her official com- 
 munication of December 4 to the Sieur de Ville- 
 francon, that the fatal issue of the King's malady 
 was clearly foreseen.^ Writing frankly to the Duchess, 
 Catherine wavers between hope and fear, but her 
 thoughts, it is clear, are already wrestling with the 
 morrow. In mind she is living in the new reign, 
 though her heart has not quite withdrawn its tender- 
 ness for the sufferer whose breath is growing fainter 
 through the long winter nights. " I beg you. Madam, 
 to pardon me if I cause you distress, for the desire 
 I have to see myself so supported that the King of 
 Navarre shall not do wrong to him who is of your 
 blood [Charles] is the cause, and not that I am not of 
 hope of seeing him [Francis] recover." ^ She had 
 evidently feared that the kind-hearted Margaret of 
 Savoy might think an appeal for her own and her 
 husband's loyal support to a new sovereign somewhat 
 premature while the issue of the King's illness was 
 doubtful. Was it by accident or design that Catherine 
 did not make one sympathetic reference to her 
 daughter-in-law in writing to the Princess who had 
 watched with solicitude over the young girl's early 
 education ? 
 
 The most pathetic of Catherine's letters of this 
 period is addressed to her eldest daughter, Elizabeth, 
 Queen of Spain. ^ She is full of pity for herself, but 
 has no word of pity for Elizabeth's once beloved 
 companion. " I am left," she saj^s, " with three 
 little children, and in a kingdom deeply divided, 
 
 ' NSgociations sous Franfois II., p. 730. 
 
 * Lcttres de CathCyinc de M6dicis, vol. i. p. 155. ' Ibid. p. 158. 
 
 320 
 
Proposals for a Second Marriage 
 
 having not a single person whom I can trust at all, 
 and who is not guided by some private passion." 
 " You have seen me as happy as you are, thinking 
 I should never have any other trouble than that I was 
 not loved as much as I could have wished to be, by 
 the King your father, who honoured me more than I 
 deserved." The thoughts of the Regent were centred 
 on the four children under her charge, the eldest of 
 whom, though she did not include him among the 
 little ones, was only ten years old. 
 
 Proposals for Mary's second marriage were dis- 
 cussed with the same indecent haste with which 
 Catherine had put forward " a true and lawful suc- 
 cessor " to the crown. 
 
 On December 6, Throckmorton had written : " As 
 far as I can learn, she more esteemeth the continuation 
 of her honour, and to marry one that may uphold her 
 to be great, than she passeth to please her fancy by 
 taking one that is accompanied with such small benefit 
 and alliance as thereby her estimation and fame is not 
 increased." ^ 
 
 The Ambassador, ever ready to warn and to 
 advise, thought that English statesmen should see to 
 it that the second marriage of the Queen of Scotland 
 should " do but little harm." 
 
 The marriage which the English most dreaded was 
 that with the son of Philip ii. Catherine, also, was 
 opposed to such a union, for she had destined her 
 youngest daughter, Margaret, to be the bride of Don 
 Carlos. Montmorency laid this scheme before Chan- 
 tonay in an interview of January lo.^ The Con- 
 stable, as an ally of England, was opposed to a Scottish 
 
 1 Foreign Calendar, " Elizabeth," vol. ill. p. 423. 
 ^ F. Decrae, Anne de Montmorency, vol. ii. p. 295. 
 
 X 321 
 
Catherine and Mary- 
 union with Spain, and he dreaded also the possibility 
 of Mary's marriage with the little Charles ix., since 
 this would mean a restitution of Guise sovereignty. 
 He was agreed with Catherine and Antoine de Bourbon 
 in favouring the Queen's marriage with Arran, who, 
 as the three fancied, might become a puppet of France. 
 " In politics, Montmorency agreed with England ; 
 in religion, with Spain." 
 
 In the correspondence of the Bishop of Limoges, 
 French Ambassador at the Spanish Court, we find, 
 soon after the death of Francis ii., mysterious refer- 
 ences to a " gentleman who is going to Champagne." 
 This " gentleman " was Mary Stuart. 
 
 Writing to the Bishop on December 19, Catherine 
 said : " You know the plan for a marriage which, 
 as I lately caused your brother to inform you, 
 is brewing here.^ I have since heard that it is 
 being pushed forward. Take care to find out how 
 matters stand in this respect." In the same letter 
 Catherine revealed anxiety lest Philip 11. should have 
 resented the fall of the Guises and the elevation of 
 his enemy, the King of Navarre, and she insisted that 
 Antoine de Bourbon was entirely under her own 
 control and holding a subordinate position. She 
 characteristically pleaded that the fa\-our shown 
 to him and the other princes of the blood had been 
 granted " by force and necessity." For her young 
 son, Charles ix., she claimed the fatherlv protection 
 of Philip. 
 
 Madame de Clermont, lady-in-waiting to the Queen 
 of Spain, writing from Toledo on February 6 to the 
 Queen Mother, told that Don Carlos had scon portraits 
 
 ^ Nvfiiicia/itiiis sous Fi'cintflis II., p. 7S7. The Secretary of State, 
 Claude dc rAiibcs[)iiu-, was a brother of the Bishop of Limoges. 
 
Portraits seen by Don Carlos 
 
 sent from France, among which was one of the httle 
 Margaret of Valois. Asked which he preferred, he 
 answered, " La chiquita," " The little one." " I rephed 
 that he was right, for she was better for him, at which 
 he began to laugh and blush. There is no talk here 
 of the other marriage, except that it is understood 
 that she is going to Joinville." ^ 
 
 Whose were the portraits which Don Carlos was 
 invited to compare ? We gather from the letter of 
 Madame de Clermont that there were only two,^ and 
 
 1 NSgociations sous Frangois II., p. 803. 
 
 ^ The passage is as follows: — "Quant vostre courier est arive il 
 [Philippe] ne faisoit que partir de sa chambre, et la prinsesse [Jeanne 
 de Portugal] y estois, qui trouva les deux paintures fort belles, prinsi- 
 paUement la petite Madame. Et sur I'eure arriva le prinse [Carlos] 
 a qui ils furent montrees et lui demandes qui lui samblet la plus belle ? 
 II me fit responce la chiquite, ou je luy dis qu'il avoit raison, pour ce 
 qu'elle estoit mieus pour lui ; de quoi i! se prist a rire et rougir" 
 {Negociations sous Frangois II., p. 803). 
 
 Madame de Clermont, it is evident, was comparing the portrait of 
 the child Margaret, not with that of Elizabeth, but with that of Mary. 
 The only justification for the opposite view is drawn from a letter of 
 the Queen of Spain to her mother, which is undated, but follows, in the 
 portfoho of the Bishop of Limoges, immediately after that of Madame 
 de Clermont {Negociations sous Frangois II., pp. 805, 806). Elizabeth 
 writes : " Madame, pour continuer tousjours a faire vostre com- 
 mandemant de vous mander toutes nouvelles, je n'ay voullu failler a 
 vous escrire la presente ; pour vous dire comme quant les pintures 
 arrivarent, la princesse estoit issy, qui les treuva les plus belles du 
 monde et prinssipalement celle de ma pettite seur ; et le prince vint 
 apr^s, qui les vist et me dist trois ou quatre fois en riant : Mas hermosa 
 es la pequegna. Si es aussy, et je ay asseures bien qu'eUe estoit bien 
 faite, et Madame de Clermont luy dit que c'estoit une belle famme 
 pour luy ; il se print a rire et ne respondit." 
 
 Mr. E. Armstrong, in reviewing M. de Ruble's book, Le TraiU 
 de Cateau-CambrSsis, in the English Historical Review (vol. v. p. 164), 
 refers to the Queen's letter, and remarks that Don Carlos repaid with 
 gratitude, if not always with pohteness, the kindness shown him by 
 Ehzabeth. " On being shown a portrait of Margaret he exclaimed, 
 'The Uttle one is the prettier.' 'Which indeed,' the young Queen 
 plaintively remarks, ' is true.' " This is a misinterpretation of the 
 words " si es aussy," which Elizabeth did not apply to herself or her 
 own portrait, but surely to that of Mary. It may be noted that in 
 
 323 
 
Catherine and Mary 
 
 although there is some difference of opinion among 
 historians, the writer agrees with M. de Ruble that 
 one was that of Mary Stuart, and not, as Mr. Arm- 
 strong supposed, that of the Prince's stepmother, 
 Elizabeth of Valois. Why should Catherine send a 
 portrait of Ehzabeth from France ? 
 
 On March 3, Catherine wrote to the Bishop of 
 Limoges, pressing him to use his influence in favour 
 of a marriage between Don Carlos (then aged fourteen) 
 and Margaret of Valois (aged seven). Again the 
 Regent expressed her earnest wish to break off the 
 other scheme, writing as usual vaguely, and without 
 mentioning the name of her daughter-in-law. " One 
 of her uncles [the Cardinal] has left for Champagne, 
 whither she was to have followed him three days 
 after our arrival here [Fontainebleau], but her de- 
 parture was delayed, and she shows here as much 
 submissive obedience [literally " obsequiousness "] to 
 me as she ever did." ^ 
 
 On March 10, the Bishop of Limoges wrote again 
 to Catherine about the " gentleman." He was evi- 
 dently afraid that his dispatches might fall into the 
 hands of the Guises. They were therefore unsigned, 
 and were addressed to " M. le Cure de Rocquerolles." 
 The Ambassador hinted in this letter that the 
 
 his allusion to the letters of the Queen and Madame de Clennont in 
 Le Traite de Cateau-CambrSsis M. de Ruble expressed no opinion as to 
 the other picture or pictures sent from Orleans, and indeed only men- 
 tioned that of Margaret (pp. 307, 308). His opinion must be sought 
 for in another work, Antoinc de Bourbon et Jeanne d'Albrct (vol. iii. 
 p. no). He says that Catherine " proposa a Philippe n. la main de 
 Marguerite de Valois, S03ur du roi, pour I'infant Don Carlos, et envoya 
 £l I'infant les portraits des deux princesses. Marguerite et Marie. Le 
 peintre, bon courtisan, avait flatte la premiere et enlaidi la seconde. 
 Le petit prince Ics rcgarda toutcs deux et dit scntcncicusement, ' Mas 
 hermosa es la pequcgtia.' " 
 
 ' NigociatioHS sous Inanfois 11., p. Siy. 
 
" The Gentleman " in Champagne 
 
 Spaniards, who had heard that the Queen of England 
 was ill, believed that through a marriage of their 
 Prince to Mary, the heir to the English throne, they 
 would gain complete possession of that country. 
 "That is assuredly their aim and pri-ncipal object, 
 if my judgment is sound, for whatever good words 
 the master [Philip ii.] may have said to his wife, 
 and other servants to me, I see and grasp the fact 
 that in meetings held in private they speak differently, 
 and do not expect or desire any other issue than to 
 see the said gentleman [Mary] out of your hands and 
 power." ^ Philip ii. was at this moment much 
 tempted, it would appear, by the offer of Mary's 
 hand for his son, and Don Carlos, though a sickly, 
 unattractive boy, had not yet fallen into the dangerous 
 mental and physical state which resulted from his 
 accident in April 1562. 
 
 The Queen Mother heard with annoyance of the 
 " fancy they are beginning to take over there for the 
 gentleman," and in a letter of April i, she again ap- 
 pealed to Sebastien de I'Aubespine to break off the 
 negotiations. " There is nothing I would not rather 
 attempt and risk than to see that come to pass which 
 would displease me so much and which would be so 
 injurious to her [Elizabeth of Spain] and to me, and to 
 this kingdom also." ^ On April 7, Catherine asked 
 help from Ruy Gomez, Prince of Eboh,^ favourite 
 Minister of Phihp. From an undated letter of 
 Elizabeth to her mother, it would appear that her 
 husband denied to her that the Guises were treating 
 for the marriage of their niece with the Prince,* — a 
 
 ' Negociations sous Francois II., p. 824. ^ Ibid. p. 844. 
 
 ' A. Ch6ruel, Marie Stuart et Cathirine de Medicis, p. 19. 
 
 * Negociations sous Franfois II., p. 847. See also pp. 871, 872. 
 
 32s 
 
Catherine and Mary 
 denial wliich was not likely to impose upon the 
 Regent. 
 
 " The said gentleman," wrote Catherine, " left 
 Court the other day, and after this festival [Easter] is 
 to go to see his grandmother, and I hear that the 
 Duchess of Arschot has been to visit him at Rheims. 
 There have been great discussions between them 
 and the uncle who is there. I do not know whether 
 they are not preliminary to the erection of that 
 building [i.e. the Spanish marriage]. You may let 
 the Queen my daughter know of this, so that she 
 may try to discover over there what is the meaning 
 of the said journey, as I will do on my side." ^ 
 
 Catherine's letter of April ii to the Bishop of 
 Rennes (Bernardin Bochetel) has been misunderstood 
 by some writers. Because it is addressed to the French 
 Ambassador at the Emperor's Court, the assumption 
 has been hastily made that " le prince Charles " men- 
 tioned by Catherine was the Archduke Charles, while 
 it was obviously the Prince of Spain, Don Carlos." 
 
 ' A Cheruel, Marie Stuart et CaihSrine de Medicis, p. 20. 
 
 ' The letter is printed by Le Laboureur in his A dditions to the 
 Memoirs of Castelnau, vol. i. p. 555, and by Count de la Ferrifere in the 
 Letters of CaihSrine de MSdicis, vol. i. p. 186. The learned editor of the 
 letters assumed that " le prince Charles " was the Archduke. In the 
 Foreign Calendar (" Elizabeth," vol. iv. p. 65) a translation of the letter 
 is introduced in a rather curious connection. Shers wrote to Cecil 
 from Venice on April 19, 1561 : "There is a rumour risen here this 
 week amongst the best, and not yet common, that the late French 
 Queen and the Queen of Scots has concluded for marriage, or rather as 
 some others will say, is about to conclude, wth the Emperor's son ; 
 and upon the same there want no discoursers and setters forth of many 
 good good-morrows touching our country." 
 
 Father Stevenson inserts liis translation of Catherine's letter of 
 April II to the Bishop of Rennes as a footnote to this passage, quoting 
 in the margin Le Laboureur as his authority. But on turning to the 
 pages of Lc Laboureur, we find that he at least had no suspicion that 
 " le prince Charles " was any one except Don Carlos. He introduces 
 the letter with a paragraph (ivol. i. p. 555) explaining the reasons why 
 
 326 
 
Suitors for Mary 
 Catherine wrote : ^ — 
 
 " Yesterday I received your letter of the 13th 
 March, which came by Switzerland, and to-day that 
 of the nth, which came by Flanders, which show 
 me that you are well informed of what is passing 
 with you. In answer to your last letter I may 
 state that the extract which you send me from 
 the dispatch of the Emperor's Ambassador at 
 Rome addressed to the Emperor corresponds with 
 what I have said to Jean Manriques in the matter 
 which he is pursuing here. Hence I am more and 
 more confirmed in my impression of the truth of the 
 discovery which I have made, viz. that the mission of 
 Manriques hither was not entirely one of condolence, 
 since I perceive that he is a personage on familiar 
 terms with his master and much beloved by Prince 
 Charles. Add to this the reasons which I have from 
 other quarters, that there are some here [the Guises] 
 who are strenuously urging forward this project,^ 
 
 Catherine disliked the prospect of a marriage between Carlos and 
 Mary. These reasons were (i) the great accession of power which 
 would thus be obtained by Philip ii., and (2) the danger of a close 
 alliance between Spain and the house of Lorraine. She feared that with 
 such an increase of authority, the Guises might be able to maintain 
 themselves independently of the French Crown. 
 
 Immediately after printing the letter, Le Laboureur goes on (p. 556) : 
 "Le Cardinal de Granvelle et le sieur de Chantonay son frfere, 
 ambassador, ou pour mieux dire, explorateur d'Espagne en France, 
 soUicitoient fortement le mariage de ITnfant avec Marie Stuart, tant 
 envers le Roy CathoHque qu'envers le Due de Guise et le Cardinal de 
 Lorraine, et pour en mesme terns le haster a le conclure et d'une mesme 
 main eloigner et rompre, s'il leur estoit possible, celuy du Roy Charles ix. , 
 avec la fiUe du Roy des Remains ils firent pubUer qu'il recherchoit 
 aussi la Reine d'Escosse ; et qu'il ne tenoit plus qu'a la dispense a 
 laquelle on travailloit." 
 
 In letters where she has occasion to mention the Archduke Charles, 
 Catherine gives him his proper title, " I'Archiduc " (Le Laboureur, 
 vol. i. p. 554). 
 
 1 Translation in Foreign Calendar, " Elizabeth," vol. iv. p. 65, note. 
 
 2 Literally, "pushing hard at this wheel." "Joint les autres 
 arguments que j'avois d'ailleurs que Ton poussoit fort a cette roue \k 
 de ce coste icy." 
 
 327 
 
Catherine and Mary 
 
 which, however, I would not wish to see carried out 
 as far as the good of this realm is concerned. There- 
 fore, M. de Rennes, I trust that you (having regard 
 to the trust which I have in you, and to the duty im- 
 posed upon those persons who are employed in the 
 service of the King, my son) will employ all the skill 
 you possibly can to discover the truth of this pro- 
 jected marriage between the Queen of Scotland 
 my daughter, and the Prince Charles, and that 
 immediately you have anything to communicate 
 you will enclose it, in cipher in the packet of 
 I'Aubespine, informing me of the pros and cons of 
 what you may detect. This will help me to see my 
 way clearly and to remedy what may become 
 necessary." 
 
 The key to this letter lies in the references to 
 Don Juan Manrique. His master was not the 
 Emperor, but Philip ii., and Catherine wished the 
 Bishop of Rennes to find out what gossip on the sub- 
 ject of the marriage of Don Carlos was going on at 
 the Imperial Court. On January lo, Throckmorton 
 had announced that " the King of Spain minds to 
 send to this Prince [Charles ix.] Don John Manryques, 
 Great Master of the Artillery in Spain, a man in 
 great credit with his master and of his council." ^ 
 Don Juan reached Orleans on January 25, and on 
 February 11 Bedford wrote to Cecil : " Manriques 
 is departed, rewarded with 1500 crowns." If the 
 emissary of Philip 11. tried to " push " at any matri- 
 monial " wheel," it was that of his master's son, not 
 that of the Archduke Charles. 
 
 In the long and important letter of April 21 to the 
 
 ' Throckmorton used almost the same words in January that 
 Catherme did in Ajiiil — " personnagc pri^s dc son maJtre, fort aime du 
 prince Cliarks." 
 
 .5-S 
 
Considerations of Policy 
 
 Bishop of Limoges/ Catherine proposed that a meeting 
 should be arranged between lierself and Phihp ii. 
 To this interview she meant to bring her daughter 
 Margaret, hoping that when Phihp saw the httle girl, he 
 might be persuaded to accept her as his son's bride. 
 Catherine's dread of the Spanish marriage for Mary 
 Stuart was shared by the Queen of England and the 
 Protestant party in France. Phihp ii. did not venture 
 to press the matter against the will of two nations, 
 and the personal disabilities of Don Carlos became in 
 later years the chief hindrance to all schemes for his 
 marriage. 
 
 Even if Catherine had retained something of her 
 early maternal feeling for the Queen of Scots, con- 
 siderations of policy must still have led her to dis- 
 approve of the Spanish alliance. The lives of Princes 
 were apt to be short in that century, and if Ehzabeth 
 of England died, and Mary were the wife of Carlos, 
 Spain, already the first world-power, would acquire a 
 preponderance that must be perilous to her neighbours. 
 
 The Cardinal of Lorraine was naturally tempted 
 by the prospect of the Spanish marriage for his niece. 
 Chantonay tells that one day, when he was mourning 
 over her bereavement and the difficulty of finding 
 for her an equal match, he said distinctly that the 
 only fitting husband was Don Carlos. The Am- 
 bassador replied in general terms that so beautiful 
 and charming a Princess would have no difficulty in 
 finding a husband worthy of her rank.^ According 
 to Chantonay, Catherine tried to dissuade the Cardinal 
 from furthering this marriage. 
 
 ' A. Cheruel, Marie Stuart et Catherine de MSdicis, p. 25. 
 ''Letter quoted by A. de Ruble, Antoine de Bottrbon et Jeanne 
 d'Albret, vol. iii. p. 109. 
 
 329 
 
Catherine and Mary 
 
 The feelings of the Regent, the King of Navarre, 
 the Constable and his family, towards the Queen of 
 Scots in the spring of 1561, might be summed up in 
 the Duke of Alba's report to Philip 11., written from 
 Huesca in October 1563, two years after Mary had 
 returned to Scotland. Alba wrote that all those who 
 surrounded the Queen Mother, being enemies of the 
 Queen of Scots, because she belonged to the house 
 of Guise, feared that if she again ascended the throne 
 of France, that family would regain its former credit 
 and might overthrow themselves. 
 
 Alba reminded his sovereign that the Constable, 
 
 when they were together, " se donnait au diable " on 
 
 the question of Mary's first marriage, because of the 
 
 power it had brought to the house of Guise, adding 
 
 that if they had waited till he was out of prison, she 
 
 would never have become the Dauphin's bride. ^ 
 
 Catherine had, in fact, one worse fear than that of the 
 
 Spanish marriage. If Mary were to become the wife 
 
 of Charles ix., her own authority would be ruined, 
 
 and the cup of power, which she had barely tasted, 
 
 would be dashed from her lips. Le Laboureur says 
 
 that Philip of Spain " swallowed up in expectation 
 
 all the realms of Christendom." Catherine, in her 
 
 secret heart, may have applied this thought to her 
 
 daughter-in-law . 
 
 • Papiers d'£tai de Granvelle, vol. vii. p. 238. 
 
 330 
 
CHAPTER XX 
 
 MARY AT RHEIMS AND NANCY 
 
 The Cardinal of Lorraine at Rheims — Mary's departure from Court — 
 Reasons for her journey to Rheims — The Abbey of Saint-Pierre- 
 les-Dames — Mary's Book of Hours — Expected visit of the Lord 
 James — Mary's meeting with him at Saint - Dizier — The Lord 
 James's letter from Edinburgh after his return — His advice to 
 his sister — Queen Mary at Nancy — Her illness and removal to 
 Joinville. 
 
 The position of the widowed Queen at Fontainebleau 
 must have been painful indeed if the Regent's manner 
 reflected anything of the harshness of her correspond- 
 ence, and Mary doubtless accepted with joy the 
 invitation to spend Easter at Rheims with her aunt, 
 the Abbess of Saint-Pierre-les-Dames. 
 
 The Cardinal of Lorraine had set out for his diocese 
 before the rising of the States General. Surian men- 
 tioned that many persons doubted whether he would 
 return to Court. It was thought, wrote the Venetian 
 Ambassador, that his absence would lead to peace 
 and unity in the Government, as he was imiversally 
 hated ; " for although he possessed remarkable ability, 
 much learning and eloquence, great experience in 
 governing, and a knowledge of many things, he was 
 held to be very obstinate in his opinions and incom- 
 petent, and was frequently defeated in negotiations. 
 Moreover, he was very hatighty and disagreeable in 
 his behaviour to every one, and was accused of having 
 
 331 
 
Mary at Rheims and Nancy- 
 excited many disturbances, in order to put down 
 and humble the other great personages of the 
 kingdom." * 
 
 With Surian's dispatch we may compare the letter 
 addressed by the Cardinal to the Bishop of Limoges 
 on April 9 from Rheims.^ The writer was evidently 
 in a chastened and softened mood. 
 
 " Monsieur de Limoges," he said, " your brother, 
 M. de I'Aubespine,'' has sent on the letter you have 
 written me, and I am very glad to have the full account 
 you give me of the news from over there [Spain]. 
 I thank you for this, and wish I had something to pay 
 you back with from this place to which I have retired 
 and where I have been living all this Lent. I have 
 no news to give you except of the services and sermons 
 with which I am busy, teaching and edifying my 
 little flock. I assure you that I find as much pleasure 
 in these as I formerly did in the toils and business of 
 the Court, and I feel so much sweetness and rest in 
 this work that the wish to return thither is at present 
 far removed from my thoughts. ... I start to-morrow 
 to escort Queen Mary, who is here, to Joinville, and 
 thence I go to Lorraine, intending to come back here 
 for the Coronation, which has been fixed for May 11." ^ 
 
 This is the typical letter of a statesman out of office, 
 and the ecclesiastical politicians of earlier centuries 
 had this advantage over modern party-leaders that 
 
 ^ Dispatches of Suriano and Barbara (Huguenot Society's Publica- 
 tions, vol. vi.), p. 14. 
 
 " Easter Day, in 1561, fell on April 6, so that the Cardinal's letter 
 was written on Wednesday in Easter Week, and he had planned to 
 leave Rheims with Queen Mary on the Thursday. 
 
 ^ Claude, the Secretary of State. 
 
 ■" The original of this letter is in the Biblioth&que de Rouen. It is 
 quoted in full by Joseph de Croze in Les Guise, les Valois et Philippe II., 
 vol. i. pp. J2<), 230 ; and also by M. Chferuel. 
 
spies in Mary's Household 
 
 they could turn from the cares of pubHc life to a bracing 
 and revivifying occupation, which called forth all 
 that was best in their natures. The expression 
 " faire fame," had a real meaning for them. At his 
 Palace in Rheims, the Cardinal is said to have 
 welcomed Beza, and it is reported, on the authority 
 of the "Bourgeois de Reims," that the Reformer said, 
 as he retired from the conference, "If I had that 
 man's eloquence, I should convert half France." 
 
 There can be no doubt, however, that Surian was 
 justified in his description of the odium into which 
 the Cardinal had fallen, and the Duke of Guise was 
 probably more thankful than any one to see him 
 depart from Court. 
 
 The Queen of Scots was in Paris on March 20, on 
 her way to Rheims.^ On the 22nd, Throckmorton 
 wrote : " The Queen of Scotland is gone towards 
 Rheims, where she minds to lie this Easter, and then 
 goes into Lorraine, where she minds to receive Lord 
 James, her brother." ^ 
 
 The Ambassador regretted that he might fail to 
 obtain full knowledge of Mary's doings, " for that some 
 of his instruments are left behind, and others cannot 
 go where she will be." 
 
 Notwithstanding the watchfulness of her relatives, 
 the Queen's household, it appears, was haunted by 
 English spies, and the fact is noteworthy in view of 
 the stainless reputation she bore in France. Had 
 there been the faintest cause for scandal, a hundred 
 tongues would have been wagging, and Throckmorton's 
 
 ^Foreign Calendar, "Elizabeth," vol. iv. p. 29. Surian's letter 
 of March 18 mentions Mary's arrival in Paris, but the paragraph may 
 have been added on the 20th. 
 
 ^ Ibid. p. 34. 
 
 333 
 
Mary at Rheims and Nancy 
 
 letters would have been filled with innuendoes. It is 
 pleasant to learn from him that the young girl spent 
 her one day in Paris " looking upon such robes and 
 jewels as she had here." Mary was regaining her 
 spirits, after the shock of bereavement, which had 
 followed days of close attendance by a sick-bed. 
 Change of air and a freer, gayer life than that of the 
 Court were now essential to her full recovery. From 
 the scarcely veiled enmity, the hourly supervision 
 of Catherine, she escaped to the tender care of her 
 aunt and her grandmother. " Divers reasons," wrote 
 Throckmorton, " are pretended for this ; such as 
 change of air, and to take away some part of her 
 sorrowful remembrance of her late husband ; but it 
 is thought rather that the matter of the late motion 
 of a marriage with one of the Emperor's sons may 
 be better and more secretly [handled there. This 
 matter is greatly followed by her uncles, but not so 
 well liked of the rest here." ^ 
 
 There were rumours also of proposals for a 
 marriage with Frederic ii.. King of Denmark, 
 which were not approved by the Guises.- The 
 Ambassador of Denmark had boasted that his master 
 was the strongest Prince of Christendom upon the 
 sea. 
 
 Eric XIV., King of Sweden, put in his claim, and 
 the Prince of Orange was also named as a suitor for 
 Mary's hand. On March 31, Surian wrote that he had 
 learned from Throckmorton that the King of Spain 
 was favourable to this arrangement. " This pro- 
 posed marriage did not, it appeared, please M. de 
 Guise, who intended to find a higher aUiance for 
 
 ' Fonign Calciu/ny, " Elizabeth," vol. iv. p. 41. 
 » IbvL p. .1;. 
 
 334 
 
The Abbey of Saint-Pierre 
 
 the Queen of Scots." The presence of the Duchess 
 of Arschot, sister of the Prince of Orange, at 
 Rheims, led to the belief that the affair was far 
 advanced.^ 
 
 The royal guest was received in the Cathedral 
 city by four of her uncles, the Cardinals of Lorraine 
 and Guise, the Duke of Aumale and the Marquis of 
 Elboeuf. Her grandmother, the Duchess Antoinette, 
 was also at Rheims on a visit for Easter. 
 
 Though the Abbey of Saint -Pierre at Rheims 
 exists no longer, visitors are still shown portions of 
 the conventual buildings, which are surrounded by 
 newer houses. Very silent and deserted to-day is the 
 Rue Saint-Pierre-les-Dames, which opens from the 
 Place Goudinot. Except for the noise of the tram- 
 cars in University Street, this square is as still as the 
 Place du Parvis. By a dark and narrow stone stair- 
 case, now belonging to a private residence, we climb 
 to the so-called " room of Mary Stuart," which the 
 Queen is said to have occupied on her visit of 1561. 
 One of the other rooms has a large and ancient fire- 
 place and richly panelled walls. From the pulpit 
 of the Abbey church, Charles of Lorraine delivered 
 some of his Lenten sermons. The Abbey could be 
 reached in a six or seven minutes' walk from his 
 Palace. 
 
 In the public Library of Rheims is preserved that 
 priceless Book of Hours which once belonged to 
 Queen Mary. It is bound in calf, the back and 
 sides being covered with arabesques and the edges 
 gilt. On one side are the arms of France and 
 Scotland, and on the other the device of Francis 11. 
 
 ' Dispatches of Sunano and Barbara, p. 22. Foreign Calendar, 
 " Elizabeth," vol. iv. p. 45. 
 
 335 
 
Mary at Rheims and Nancy 
 
 It was given by the Queen to her aunt, Renee of 
 Lorraine.^ 
 
 If the daily services of Holy Week occupied much 
 of the Queen's time, pohtical talk can hardly have been 
 excluded from the Abbey parlour or the Archbishop's 
 library. The chief subject of Lenten gossip must 
 have been the approaching visit of the Lord James 
 from Scotland. A Cardinal's hat, it was rumoured, 
 was at the disposal of Mary's brother if he would 
 accept it. 
 
 English politicians, meanwhile, were bending all 
 their energies to secure the ratification of the Treaty 
 of Edinburgh. Throckmorton, whose release had 
 been made to depend on this diplomatic success, 
 foresaw that the result of the private deliberations 
 at Rheims would not be favourable to his hopes. He 
 dolefully announced to Cecil that if his return de- 
 pended on the ratification he would not come home 
 at all, and in one of those passages of self-pity which 
 interrupt so amusingly the general strain of his sharp 
 and worldly correspondence, he dwelt on the thought 
 that ere long poverty would send him home and make 
 him keep there, or death send him to his long home. 
 
 ' M. Louis Paris, in a note on the first fly-leaf, wrote: "II ne 
 reste qu'un seul souvenir du sejour de Marie Stuart en cette ville. 
 Cast un livre d'Heures qu'elle laissa au monast^re de Saint-Pierre- 
 les-Dames, et qui se trouve aujourd'liui a la bibliothi^que. La reliure 
 de ce volume est des plus remarquables et dans le genre des reUures 
 dites de Grolier. Sur I'un des plats se voient les arnies de Francois, 
 dauphin et roi d'£cosse, avec la lettre F ; sur I'autrc une sphere sus- 
 pendue au del au-dessus du globe teireslrc, avec cette devise, Ufius 
 lion sufficit orbis, qu'il prit, ainsi que le dit Mezeray (\o\. iii. p. 47) 
 lorsqu'il epousa Marie Stuart, h&itit^rc d'ficosse." 
 
 A further description of this beautiful volume (which visitors may 
 sec in the Hotel de Ville at Rheims b>- asking permission of the 
 Librarian) is given by M. Baucharl in Lcs Fciiimes Bibliophiles, vol. i., 
 and by Mr. G. F. Barwick in A Book Bound for Mary Queen of Scots 
 (Illustrated Monographs issued by the Bibliographical Society , No. IX.). 
 
 .5.56 
 
The Meeting with Lesley 
 
 Mary left Rheims on or about April lo, and pro- 
 ceeded by way of Chalons and Saint-Dizier to Joinville. 
 She must have leant more closely than even in child- 
 hood's days on her uncle as she advanced to meet 
 the formidable relative who had been sent from 
 Scotland, and who, as the French Catholics knew, 
 was a persona grata to Elizabeth. The Queen of Scots 
 had sent in February four messengers to Edinburgh, 
 requesting the Estates to renew the ancient alliance 
 with France. As a result of the Catholic meeting at 
 Stirling, Lesley, afterwards Bishop of Ross, was sent 
 to France to consult with his sovereign. He was 
 the emissary, not only of the Bishops, but of the great 
 Catholic peers, including Huntly, Athole, Crawford, 
 and Caithness. Lesley was commissioned to invite 
 the Queen to land at some northern port, where her 
 nobles would be ready to support her with twenty 
 thousand men. Lesley saw his mistress on April 14 
 at Vitry-le-Frangois in Champagne, and promised 
 "faithfuU service and dewtie from all the principall 
 nobill men, bischoppis, clergie and borrowis of the 
 north of Scotland, quhilk was acceptit in very guid 
 part be hir highness." ^ 
 
 The astute counsellors who stood beside the Queen 
 understood the futility of this request from a beaten 
 party. Huntly's loyalty was doubtful. If Mary 
 returned to her realm, she must go as Queen of all 
 her people. The Guises did not contemplate at this 
 moment any wars of religion for Scotland.^ 
 
 ' History of Scotland, p. 394. 
 
 '^ M. Philippson, commenting on Mary's refusal of Lesley's proposal, 
 says : " Nous croyons ne pas nous tromper en supposant, qu'un plan 
 de campagne aussi profond et sagace lui avail ete suggere par son 
 conseiller ordinaire, le ruse et perspicace Cardinal de Lorraine." Marie 
 Stuart, vol. i. p. 291. 
 
 Y 337 
 
Mary at Rheims and Nancy 
 
 The most trusted counsellors of Mary of Guise, 
 including M. d'Oysel, were now in France, and had 
 given advice which did not correspond with Lesley's. 
 According to Sir James Melville, they advised the 
 young Queen to return to Scotland, and to " serve 
 the time," accommodating herself to her subjects 
 and giving her chief confidence to her brother, and 
 to the Earl of Argyll, who had married her sister. 
 Lady Jane Stuart. They further recommended her 
 to use Secretary Lethington and the Laird of Grange 
 " maist tenderly in all her affairs," " and in effect, 
 to repose maist upon them of the reformed religion." ^ 
 
 It has been remarked that the Lord James, in 
 seeking the interview at Saint-Dizier, was putting 
 his head into the lion's mouth. May it not be 
 suggested that his friendly visit to the Guises in 1561, 
 when he was their guest for several days at Joinville, 
 is fair evidence that he did not suspect them of having 
 poisoned the Scots Commissioners in 1558, or of having 
 brewed for himself that " ill drink " from the effects 
 of which, some said, he suffered ever afterwards ? 
 
 For the actual incidents of the interview, we 
 must read between the lines of the letter which the 
 Lord James wrote to his sister on June 10, eleven 
 days after his return to Edinburgh.^ He has been 
 
 1 Memoirs of Sir James Melville, pp. 88, 89. 
 
 '^ Philippson, Marie Stuart, vol. iii. Appendix A. ]\I. Philippson 
 remarks (vol. i. p. 292) : " Le frfere de Marie Stuart partit a^•ec la ferme 
 intention de faire servir surtout ce \-oyagc a son profit personnel." 
 M. Philippson, whose history was published in 1891, mentions that 
 this letter (British Museum, Add. MSS, 3JO91, fol. 189) was imknown 
 until he discovered it (vol. i. p. 296, nolo j;), but this must be the same 
 letter which is mentioned by the Historical MSS Commission of 1876 
 (Appendix to Fifth Report, p. 310). It is there given as from the 
 MSS of Sir Alexander Malet, and a passage is quoted wliichis practically 
 identical with the text as printed by M. Phihppson. The passage is as 
 follows: "Take stintc, Madame; judge this with yourself that thair 
 
 33S 
 
Visit of the Lord James 
 
 severely blamed by some historians because he 
 communicated to Throckmorton, on his return to 
 Paris, the facts of his interviews with the Queen. 
 It must be remembered, however, that to him the 
 maintenance of the Scottish Reformation was a 
 matter of primary importance, that he had good 
 reason to dread the further interference of the Guises 
 in the affairs of his country, and that the help of 
 England might ere long be necessary to the nobles 
 in resisting Catholic encroachments. The statement 
 that as he returned through England he advised 
 Elizabeth to provide for religion and her own safety 
 by intercepting his sister on her journey is, as Dr. Hay 
 Fleming points out, " inconsistent with Lesley's 
 statement that the Lord James hastened home to 
 prepare for her early and honourable reception, and 
 is still more inconsistent with the remarkable letter 
 concerning the English succession, addressed by the 
 maligned Commendator of St. Andrews to Elizabeth 
 on the 6th of August." ^ In that letter the Lord 
 James suggested " that Elizabeth's title to the English 
 crown should ' remain untouched ' both for herself 
 and her issue ; that Mary's place shoxild be reserved 
 as ' next in lawful descent of the right line of Henry 
 
 is na man that knoweth perfectly the present estate of your realm 
 and desireth with true affection the advancement of your grace's 
 service, that will ever advise your grace to meddle with matters of 
 religion at this time. If it shall please your grace to credit me and 
 follow my foresaid advice, proceeding from an unfeigned heart that 
 truly willeth your grace's advancement, then fear not that your grace 
 shall have a perfect obedience in despite of any will press the contrair 
 whatsoever they be (God willing), and thereupon I will bestow my 
 own life most willingly." 
 
 For the meeting between Mary and her brother, Dr. Hay Fleming's 
 important notes should be consulted. Mary Queen of Scots, pp. 234- 
 236. 
 
 '/6jU pp. 235, 236. 
 
 339 
 
Mary at Rheims and Nancy- 
 Henry VII.,' and that, in the meantime, ' this isle 
 should be united in a perpetual friendship.' " ^ 
 
 Turning to the letter written by the Lord James 
 from Edinburgh on June lo, we hear echoes of the 
 talks at Saint-Dizier and Joinville which are more 
 helpful than Throckmorton's reports. The difhciilties 
 of the writer's position are painfully evident. He 
 was near the throne ; young, gifted, in all respects 
 capax imperii ; but the bar sinister on his escutcheon 
 was a broad band of cloud shutting out his hopes. 
 We are not told whether he met at Joinville Dom 
 Claude, that illegitimate son of the first Duke of 
 Guise, who was provided with the Abbey of Saint- 
 Nicaise. The sons of Duke Claude behaved well 
 to that discreditable relation, and they had been 
 accustomed from boyhood to pay honour to Diane 
 of France, the love-daughter of Henry ii. Don 
 John of Austria was treated with brotherly tender- 
 ness by Philip ii. There is not the faintest reason 
 to suppose that even the Duchess Antoinette looked 
 scornfully on this great lord, whose presence may 
 have recalled sad circumstances of her daughter's 
 life in Scotland. The Cardinal of Lorraine could 
 not have adopted the Pharisee's look or tone if he 
 remembered his own little girl, Anne d'Arne, who 
 was growing up at the Court of Spain. Unacknow- 
 ledged affections were part of the history of great 
 houses, but the Lord James, a man of pure morals 
 and sensitive conscience, must have carried about 
 with him a daily sorrow as he realised that he, who 
 understood most truly the needs of his country, was 
 condemned, by the shadow of his birth, to play 
 the part of a courtier or Churchman, when he 
 
 ' Dr. 1 lay Fleming, Mary Queen of Scots, p. 66. 
 340 
 
Advice to Mary- 
 might have reigned as one of Scotland's greatest 
 kings. 
 
 To the impartial reader there is, notwithstanding 
 the pietistic phrasing, a note of sincerity in the long 
 Edinburgh letter. 
 
 The Lord James mentioned the Queen's wish that 
 ecclesiastics should not be disturbed in their posses- 
 sions. He replied that the Council and nobility 
 agreed that if the duties of a charge were performed, 
 its temporalities must not be confiscated. But they 
 opposed the granting of such things to persons " whilk 
 notoriusly to the haill people wer knawn unhable for sic 
 chardge als wele for evill example of lyif az doctrin." 
 
 These words " az doctrin " must have been read 
 with impatience by the Queen and her circle. Had 
 not she and the Cardinal sought earnestly to turn the 
 Lord James from his religion, recognising his great 
 ability and influence, and seeing in him, next to Knox, 
 the soul of the Scottish revolt from Rome. The 
 Huguenots had never become formidable till the 
 Bourbons and the Chatillons, with their wide family 
 connections, had espoused the Protestant cause. A 
 red hat would have been cheaply granted at the price 
 of James Stuart's submission. But he wrote, after 
 many earnest entreaties : " Abuif all things, madame, 
 for the luif of God preisse na maters of religion not for 
 ony mannis advise on the earth." He recognised that 
 the counsellors of Her Majesty might not approve 
 this policy, " Summ ar moved be hatreyt against the 
 religion the knaw not and farr less knaw in, or regarding 
 what danger may ensew to your hyghnes' affayres 
 thairthorogt." ^ 
 
 ' This was probably a reference to the Cardinal of Lorraine, who 
 had never been in Scotland. All Mary's other immediate coun- 
 
 341 
 
Mary at Rheims and Nancy 
 
 In sarcastic sentences the Lord James passed in 
 review the Catholic lords and gentlemen adventurers 
 who had suffered deprivation by the changes in 
 Scotland. Though he mentioned no names, some 
 ears in the Queen's audience-room must have tingled. 
 At whom was he glancing when he denounced " ane 
 tasse of idill vagabonds and ignorants whais good 
 qualiteis wes never hable to obtejm thame lyiffs in ony 
 quyett commoun wele " ? ^ 
 
 It cannot be denied that a strongly ambitious vein 
 is recognisable in the Lord James's letter. He must 
 have heard in France continual talk of a great con- 
 tinental aUiance for his sister, and he probably con- 
 sidered her early return to Scotland as at the best 
 uncertain. He had come under the spell of a magician 
 — the Cardinal of Lorraine ; and as they paced the 
 terrace of Joinville before supper on April evenings, 
 he may have seen the map of Europe unrolled in 
 colours brighter than those of sunset on the fields of 
 Champagne. With his sister reigning in Madrid, or 
 possibty again in Paris, he might be her vicegerent in 
 Scotland, with full acquiescence of the Catholic powers, 
 if he would return to the old religion. It was im- 
 possible that the Cardinal should not fancy that the 
 interests of a Commendator of St. Andrews were 
 closely allied to his own. His brother Louis was 
 Abbot of Kelso ; the three may have talked con- 
 fidentially as brethren. Charles knew in France 
 only one ecclesiastic of his own rank who had 
 embraced the Huguenot doctrines, the Cardinal Odet 
 de Chatillon, whose domestic circumstances partially 
 
 sellers, with the cxcc-ptiou of the Dukt- of Guise, had visited that 
 
 country. 
 
 1 ■; ' i'liilijipiioii, vol. ill. p. 44J. 
 
 342 
 
The Visit to Nancy 
 
 supplied, to Catholic minds, the reasons for his 
 action. 
 
 Queen Mary had the wisdom to accept her brother's 
 reiterated counsel that she should not " mail with 
 materis of religion at this tym." It was not through 
 rehgious bigotry that her life was wrecked. 
 
 After a brief stay at Joinville, whither she had 
 proceeded from Saint-Dizier,^ the Queen travelled 
 to Nancy on a visit to the Duke and Duchess of Lor- 
 raine, whose guest she had been in happier days at 
 Bar-le-Duc. Details of the journey are supplied by 
 Lesley. Mary was accompanied by the Cardinals of 
 Lorraine and Guise, and the Duke of Aumale. The 
 Duke of Lorraine and his mother, Christina of Denmark, 
 met her on the frontier, and at Nancy the fifteen-year- 
 old Duchess Claude welcomed once more her play- 
 fellow of Saint - Germain and Fontainebleau. The 
 youthful host and hostess did their utmost to chase 
 away the shadows which still hung over Mary's spirit, 
 arranging outdoor and indoor entertainments " sum 
 tymes in hunting on the feildis and uther quhills 
 seing and behalding plesant farces and playes, and 
 using all kinde of honorabill pastymes within the 
 palice." ^ 
 
 The Queen's health had, however, received a severe 
 shock, and a breakdown was to be expected. Throck- 
 morton, in his zeal for the interests of his own 
 sovereign, would not allow Mary even a few weeks of 
 rest. His own health was not yet re-estabUshed, and 
 
 ' Saint-Dizier, Wassy, and Joinville are within easy distance of 
 each other. The writer, when calling recently at the Protestant 
 Church of Wassy in hope of obtaining local information about the 
 Reformed community, saw a notice stating that the pastor lived at 
 Saint-Dizier. 
 
 '^ Lesley's History, p. 295. 
 
 J4J 
 
Mary at Rhelms and Nancy 
 
 his presence would scarcely have been tolerated in 
 the Court of Lorraine. He sent Mr. Somer to Nancy, 
 charged to secure if possible the ratification of the 
 Treaty of Edinburgh. Mr. Somer returned on April 
 28 ^ with his commission unfulfilled. He had been 
 assured that the Queen of Scotland expected to arrive 
 on May 8 at Rheims, where the coronation of Charles ix. 
 was to take place on May 15. A definite answer was 
 promised for that date. 
 
 The Queen's illness, however, made it impossible 
 for her to attend the coronation ceremonies. A 
 tertian fever attacked her at Nancy, induced, perhaps, 
 by exposure and over-exertion in the hunting-field. 
 The quiet of Joinville, as her friends must have realised, 
 was likely to prove more beneficial to the invalid than 
 the gay court life at Nancy, and to Joinville she was 
 removed by easy stages under the care of her grand- 
 mother, Antoinette, Duchess Dowager of Guise. 
 
 From hour to hour. Queen Elizabeth's Ambassador 
 busied himself with two concerns — the Treaty of 
 Edinburgh and Mary's marriage. On April 24 he 
 discussed the latter question in a private interview 
 with Coligny. The Admiral assured him that the 
 alliance with the Prince of Spain was very likely to 
 take place, and that Philip 11. " had an eye to England." 
 " It would be better for him to marry in sundry other 
 places, both for alliance and commodity than there, 
 if he sought nothing else but the realm of Scotland. 
 As that marriage might bring great danger to religion 
 and to England, so it would be dangerous for France, 
 and the more so if both England and Scotland fell into 
 the hands of the King of Spain." - Throckmorton 
 
 ' Forcif^ii Calendar, " Elizabeth," vol. iv. p. S9. 
 ' Ibid. vol. X. pp. 82, 83. 
 
 344 
 
Talk of a Spanish Marriage 
 
 replied that he could not believe either that the King 
 of Spain would derive any advantage from such a 
 union, or that the Queen's uncles would permit her 
 to do an act so damaging to their sovereign, " for the 
 King would hereafter repute them his enemies, and 
 withhold from her all the dowry she had in France." 
 
 345 
 
CHAPTER XXI 
 
 AT JOINVILLE, THE HOME OF THE GUISES 
 
 Surroundings of Joinville — The town as it was in Queen Mary's time — 
 Relics of the Guises in the hospital, the cemetery, and the Hotel 
 de Ville — The Chateau du Grand Jardin — The legend of its build- 
 ing — Mottoes inscribed upon it — Description of the house and 
 grounds — The " Sepulchre " in the parish church — Queen Mary 
 and her grandmother — Quiet weeks at Joinville — Mary's return 
 to Paris — Throckmorton's importunities. 
 
 The train from Bar-le-Duc passes through a fertile, 
 well-wooded country, with many sparkling streams 
 and closely planted villages. There are few more 
 picturesquely situated towns in Eastern France 
 than Joinville, which lies on a branch of the Marne, 
 in a valley overshadowed by undulating tree-clad 
 heights, on one of which, until near the end of the 
 eighteenth century, stood the castle of the Guises. 
 When Queen Mary arrived with her grandmother, 
 the beauty of early summer must have been unfolding 
 itself in the deep glens and along the hedgerows. The 
 woods of Joinville to-day are full of singing birds. 
 Every variety of foliage clothes the deep ravines. 
 The high road leading towards Wassy is fringed with 
 innumerable small, well-kept gardens, and the air, 
 on May evenings, is not only light and bracing, but 
 sweet with the scent of flowers. The little town 
 must have changed very much in appearance since 
 the sixteenth century. It once possessed a wall and 
 
 346 
 
Joinville in Mary's Time 
 
 three gates, and an old map in the Hotel de Villa shows 
 more than a dozen spires. Joinville, as we have 
 seen, was made a principality by Henry ii. It acquired 
 great importance under the first Dukes of Guise, who 
 used it as their habitual country residence, and enter- 
 tained royal personages in the Castle with regal magni- 
 ficence. That proud Castle was allowed to fall into ruins 
 during the eighteenth century. Its last possessor, 
 Louis-Philippe- Joseph, Due d' Orleans, sold the worn 
 masonry in 1791 to MM. Berger and Passerat, who 
 carried out its demolition.^ The Collegiate Church, 
 which once served as the private chapel of the Dukes, 
 and was enriched with relics from the Sainte Chapelle 
 in Paris, perished with the Castle. 
 
 The hospital, which when seen from the hill 
 looks, as M. Feriel says, like an immense grey coffin, 
 bears the date 1567, and was given by the Cardinal 
 of Lorraine and his mother. It is a plain substantial 
 house, to which additions have been made in modern 
 times. One of the Sisters conducts the visitor to 
 the " Chambre des Princes," which contains the 
 chief existing relics from the old Castle. Here are full- 
 length portraits of the Dukes Claude, Francis, and 
 Henry of Guise, with a painting of the Cardinal Charles 
 seated in an arm-chair in his robes of scarlet and lace, 
 holding a heavily bound and clasped volume, with a 
 skull and a crucifix on the table beside him. Though 
 these are all portraits de galerie, which date from the 
 seventeenth century, they have a peculiar interest 
 from the fact that they hung for long years in the 
 Castle on the hill, and must have been accepted by 
 the later Guises as hfelike portraits of the great men 
 of their house. Other relics are the iron charter- 
 
 ' Rene de Bouille, Histoire des Dues de Guise, vol. i. pp. 229, 230. 
 
 347 
 
Joinville, the Home of the Guises 
 
 chest of the Dukes, and the golden reredos from the 
 altar of Saint-Laurent, with several pieces of furniture. 
 Looking down from the wooden gallery of the hospital 
 at the garden courtyard where convalescents are 
 enjoying the morning sun, we realise something of 
 that extensive and liberal-handed charity by which 
 the Guises won popularity in their own district. 
 
 The cemetery is close to the hospital, and here, 
 under a black marble table, lie the scattered remains 
 of the old seigneurs, whose bones were torn from their 
 graves in 1792. It is believed that this table formed 
 originally part of the splendid mausoleum erected 
 by Antoinette de Bourbon for her husband and herself. 
 Two statues, which according to tradition also be- 
 longed to the tomb, are shown in the Hotel de Ville, 
 and two other striking emblematic figures which once 
 adorned it are now in the Louvre.^ 
 
 M. Feriel mentions that the cemetery once bore 
 the inscription, " C'est ici le lieu de repos," but that 
 in his time all had been effaced save the simple and 
 sufficient " C'est ici." 
 
 The picturesque quays near the church, where the 
 grass-impeded Marne runs between rows of tall, 
 irregularly built houses, cannot have altered greatly 
 since Queen Mary's time. In unexpected corners 
 we find whitewashed houses adorned with old and 
 costly sculptor's work, with carved pillars, and scrolls 
 of vine leaves surrounding the porch. One such 
 
 ^ Students of the history of Joinville will find much help from 
 the rare work by Jules F6riel, Notes historiqiies stir la Ville et les 
 Seigneurs de Joinville (i8,s5). A copy was lent to the %vriter by M. 
 Emile Ilumblot, of Join\illc, one of (he most learned antiquaries in 
 the district, whose own pamphlets, Lc Chiilcciu du Grand Javdin and 
 Le Sipiikrc de Joinville, are indispensable aids to students of Guise 
 history. 
 
 ,i4S 
 
"Le CMteau du Grand Jardin " 
 
 house is passed on the left, as we climb the castle 
 hill/ 
 
 Time's revenges have been gently taken at Join- 
 ville. The mouldering fragments that, as some anti- 
 quaries suppose, mark the site of the tennis court, 
 may be missed by all but careful searchers. The slopes 
 are now clothed with vineyards, small fields, and 
 gardens, and there is everywhere a wealth of flowers. 
 
 From the top of the hill we have a view over miles 
 of country. Roads are seen leading to brown-roofed 
 villages in the distance, while others lose themselves 
 mysteriously among the woods. Along one of these 
 roads on a March Sunday of 1562 rode the murderers 
 of Wassy. Thinking of the glory of the Guises for 
 eighty years, and of the early and utter extinction 
 of their greatness, we may wish that they had taken 
 as their own the motto of the town of Joinville, 
 "Omnia tuta time." ^ 
 
 Though the Castle, the fortified gates, and the 
 many spires are gone, there is one building in Join- 
 ville which remains very much as it was at the time 
 of Queen Mary's visit. This is the " Chateau du 
 Grand Jardin," which was erected in 1546 by the first 
 Duke of Guise as a pleasure-house for himself and 
 his wife Antoinette. It is close to the modern railway 
 station, hidden behind trees, and is approached by an 
 avenue of chestnuts and a meadow bordered by tall 
 elms. This wooded space, which is now divided by 
 the road from the grounds of the Chateau, may once 
 
 ' Rene de Bouille, whose work on the Dukes of Guise was published 
 nearly sixty years ago, says that a vinedresser's poor hut then marked 
 the site of the Castle on the summit of the hill that overlooks the town. 
 Such a hut is on the hill to-day. There are fragments of the old masonry 
 of the Castle, half buried among grass and flowers. 
 
 ^ " Beware when all things are safe." 
 
 349 
 
Joinville, the Home of the Guises 
 
 have belonged to the Duke's private park. Inside 
 the grounds there are more trees, and carefully- 
 trimmed garden-beds. 
 
 According to tradition, Duke Claude, who had 
 grown weary of the society of his grave and virtuous 
 wife, fell in love with a beautiful village girl, and often 
 rode aside, on his return from hunting-parties, to seek 
 rest and amusement in her cottage. Antoinette de 
 Bourbon heard of her lord's infatuation, and prepared 
 for him a loyal revenge. On entering the peasant 
 home one day, the Duke was amazed to find it deco- 
 rated as sumptuously as the Castle on the hill, and to 
 see his lovely favourite robed as a duchess. He was 
 so deeply touched, as the story goes, by his wife's 
 generosity, that he ordered a little castle to be built 
 close to the hut of "la Viergeotte," and on its walls, 
 along with the monograms of Claude and Antoinette, 
 he caused these mottoes to be inscribed : " Toutes pour 
 une," " La et non plus." ^ 
 
 Le Grand Jardin is now in private ownership, 
 
 1 Rene de Bouille assigns this love affair to the early days of the 
 Duke (vol. i. p. 230), but the Chateau dates from 1546, four years before 
 his death. The story rests chiefly on the doubtful testimony of the 
 Guise historians, Former and Oudin. 
 
 M. Humblot, in his learned and beautifully illustrated pamphlet on 
 Le Grand Jardin (Joinville, 1906), mentions that some ha\-e supposed 
 that the Duke's real reason for building the Chiteau was not repentance 
 and a desire to honour his generous wife, but a wish to give his mistress 
 a dwelling more worthy of her than the hut of " la Viergeotte." He 
 adds : " For the credit of the proud and upright Duke who founded 
 the House of Guise, who was honoured \\ilh the King's friendship and 
 held the high post of Governor of Champ;igne, we prefer to keep to the 
 story of the renunciation and the triumph of \irtue in this contest 
 between love and duty " (p. 8). 
 
 The motto, " Toutes pour une " was changed, M. Humblot reminds 
 us, from that of Claude's father, the Duke Ren6 11. of Lorraine, " Une 
 pour toutes." The device of the hand grasping a sword also belonged 
 to him. 
 
 350 
 
Story of the Chateau 
 
 but visitors are courteously permitted to study the 
 ancient armorial bearings, monograms, and mottoes 
 which still cover the walls. The restorer's hand has 
 been busied with the grey stones without and within. 
 Nothing of real importance, fortunately, has been 
 tampered with, and the blue carpet of forget-me-nots 
 on the lawn at the foot of the stately Renaissance 
 staircase has been spread like dreams under the feet 
 of the historical student. Beneath the fir-trees, on 
 the garden-walks, and in the chapel, a voice seems to 
 be whispering — 
 
 " Tread softly, because you tread on my dreams." 
 
 Possibly the Duke had been inspired by the sight 
 of Italian architects working at Chambord and Blois, 
 restoring Villers-Cotterets, and perhaps building Anet. 
 He wished, as M. Humblot says, to erect in the valley 
 of Joinville a house in the style of the period, warmer, 
 brighter, homelier than his feudal Castle. A manu- 
 script history of Joinville, dating from 1632, praises 
 the garden, the orchard, the spacious buildings, the 
 windows with their armorial traceries, the fountains, 
 rockeries, and fish-ponds. 
 
 Henry of Guise wrote in 1575 to his wife, Catherine 
 de Cleves : " Stay at the Grand Jardin. Have my 
 workroom arranged there just as it was when I left." 
 From the possession of the Guises the house passed 
 to that of the Orleans princes, and in 1791 it was sold, 
 one room only being reserved for the preservation of 
 its ancient archives.^ We may be fairly certain that 
 Queen Mary spent some time during her convalescence 
 at Joinville in "La Maison de 1' Amour Repenti." 
 
 Another very interesting sixteenth-century monu- 
 
 1 Rene de Bouille, vol. i. p. 231. fimile Humblot, p. 14. 
 
 351 
 
Jolnville, the Home of the Guises 
 
 ment in Joinville is the so-called " Sepulcre " at 
 the west end of the parish church, in which we see 
 apostles and holy women standing about the bier of 
 the dead Saviour. It is the work of an unknown 
 sculptor, and has been erroneously attributed to 
 Ligier-Richier.^ There appears to be no doubt that 
 this marvellous group of statuary was given about 
 1567 by Antoinette de Bourbon to the Priory Church 
 of the Cordeliers near Joinville, whence it was removed 
 to the present Church of Notre Dame. The Priory 
 was a very ancient building on a hill, and was 
 dependent on the Abbey of Saint-Urbain. It was 
 destroyed in 1795. 
 
 M. Humblot quotes many authorities to prove that 
 the Duchess Dowager did not cause the monument 
 to be constructed for the Cordeliers, but that the monks 
 asked her to assign to them a work of art which was 
 already one of the glories of the district. They took 
 possession of the Priory in 1567. " A careful reading 
 of all these texts," writes M. Humblot, " allows us to 
 suppose that the ' Sepulchre ' was not executed for 
 the Cordeliers, and that, when they took possession 
 of the old Priory, they requested that thev might give 
 shelter within their walls to that mar\-el of art which, 
 for several years, had been kept in some other part 
 of the town." We may suppose, therefore, that this 
 masterpiece of religious thought and feeling, with the 
 richly-robed women, and the noble figures of St. 
 John and St. Joseph of Arimathea, was at Joinville 
 in the year of Queen Mary's visit. All the beauty 
 of Renaissance costume, jewellery, and hair ornament 
 is displayed in the statue of Mary Magdalene, 3'et her 
 
 ' ' M. Ftiimblot, in the tiiudc stir Ic S(■l^uh■rc tic Joinville (p. 2 s), corrects 
 this error. 
 
 35^ 
 
Mary and her Grandmother 
 
 face, bent downwards towards the bier, is as deeply 
 marked with sorrow as that of the Virgin Mary, 
 Veronica, and the mother of James. If it was under 
 the personal supervision of the Duchess Antoinette 
 that this work was designed and executed, her piety 
 cannot have been altogether morose and gloomy. 
 The robes of her own widowhood were of coarse serge, 
 yet her Mary and her Veronica were like gentlewomen 
 of the Court of Francis i. or Henry ii. 
 
 Students of Guise history must smile at Miss 
 Strickland's mention of " the melancholy castle of 
 Joinville." The Guises were not a melancholy family, 
 and grandchildren were left by tender mothers in the 
 charge of the Dowager Duchess. Her letters to her 
 daughters-in-law, the Duchess of Guise and the 
 Duchess of Aumale, prove that " Madame Guise 
 Mere " was not only one of the most religious, but 
 one of the most tender-hearted women of her time. 
 For every little illness, real or fancied, her counsel 
 was ready. The babies took their airings under her 
 watchful eyes. " Our grandson," she wrote, " is very 
 well and very plump and healthy, and if he goes 
 on as he is doing he will soon be able to run alone." * 
 
 Chantonay wrote, after the death of Francis li., 
 that Queen Mary and her grandmother occupied the 
 same room at Orleans.^ During the forty days of 
 mourning, the loving care of one who had nursed upon 
 her knees so many sons and daughters must have 
 
 ' Letter of the Dowager Duchess Antoinette to the Duchess of 
 Guise. The baby to whom she refers in an autograph postscript 
 message to the Duchess of Valentinois was a son of the Duke of Aumale 
 and his wife, the daughter of Diane de Poitiers ("Le Marquis de 
 Pimodan," La Mire des Guises, p. 294). 
 
 * Letter of December 28, 1560, quoted by A. de Ruble, Antoine 
 de Bourbon et Jeanne d'Albret, vol. iii. p. 107. The original is in the 
 Archives Nationales. 
 
 2 353 
 
Joinville, the Home of the Guises 
 
 soothed the orphaned and widowed girl. At Join- 
 ville, amid flowers and fresh spring foliage, in a 
 stillness undisturbed by political messages or the 
 summons to exciting amusements, Mary regained 
 her strength ; though her recovery was too slow to 
 permit of her attending the Coronation of Charles ix. 
 at Rheims. Thirteen years later, when preaching 
 the young King's funeral sermon at Rheims from 
 the Psalm " Saepe expugnaverunt " (" Many a time 
 have they fought against me from my youth up, may 
 Israel now say"), the Cardinal of Lorraine mentioned 
 that at the Coronation the child had complained that 
 the crown was too heavy for him. Did the Duchess 
 Antoinette, watching the languid, graceful figure of 
 her eldest granddaughter reclining on warm evenings 
 on the terrace at Joinville, ask whether Scotland's 
 crown might prove too heavy for the young brow ? 
 For Mary, under the shelter of royal palaces, life had 
 been, and must continue to be, a warfare and a mere 
 pilgrimage, nor was she ever to experience those sure, 
 abiding home affections which consoled the Duchess 
 Antoinette amidst her terrible bereavements. 
 
 That text from the 45th Psalm which greeted 
 Elizabeth of Valois when she entered Spain as the 
 bride of Philip il. may have been present to the 
 mind of Antoinette as she thought of the great 
 alliances proposed for Queen Mary : " Hearken, 
 daughter, and consider, incline thine ear ; forget also 
 thine own people and thy father's house." The 
 French, we are told, disliked the parading of these 
 words at Guadalaxara, but through the private history 
 of royal ladies in that age the words run like a mournful 
 refrain, " Audi filia et vide." The most unpromising 
 personal alliances were sought and accepted on 
 
 354 
 
"Ratify the Treaty" 
 
 political grounds, and the correspondence of such 
 mothers as Catherine de' Medici and Antoinette de 
 Bourbon reveals the mingling ambition and fear for 
 their loved ones. 
 
 Throckmorton had sent Mr. Somer to Nancy, and 
 also to Rheims at the time of the Coronation, but 
 had failed to obtain any satisfactory answer about 
 the Treaty of Edinburgh. At Nancy the Queen 
 postponed her reply until her expected visit to 
 Rheims ; at Rheims the Cardinal of Lorraine declared 
 that his niece was sick at Joinville, and that he 
 meddled no more in her matters. He added that she 
 was going shortly to Villers-Cotterets, where the 
 Ambassador might speak with her. 
 
 On June lo, the Queen arrived in Paris, and the 
 weary badgering by Throckmorton was resumed. 
 Historians have quoted at length her stately and 
 composed answers to his entreaties. At the inter- 
 view on June i8, " she respited the resolute answer 
 until she had the advice of the Estates and nobles 
 of her own realm, whither she intended to make her 
 own voyage very shortly. Though the matter 
 touched her principally, it also touched them, and 
 they would be most offended if she proceeded without 
 their advice." ^ 
 
 In this interview Mary informed the Ambassador 
 of her intention to embark at Calais, and of her 
 desire to receive from " her good sister those favours 
 that Princes use to do in such cases." 
 
 Throckmorton, aching with home-sickness, urged 
 the plea on which his own release depended, " Ratify 
 the Treaty." The Queen, lately risen from a sick-bed, 
 and by her own admission not yet fully recovered, 
 
 1 Foreign Calendar, " Elizabeth," vol. iv. pp. 150, 151. 
 355 
 
Joinville, the Home of the Guises 
 
 diverted the talk with great skill to a discussion on 
 religious differences. 
 
 It was in the course of this conversation that she 
 uttered her well-known confession of personal belief : — 
 
 " I will be plain with you, and tell you what I 
 would all the world should think of me. The religion 
 that I profess I take to be most acceptable to God, 
 and indeed neither do I know, nor desire to know, 
 any other. Constancy doth become all folks well, 
 but none better than Princes and such as have rule 
 over realms, and especially in the matter of religion. 
 I have been brought up in this religion, and who 
 might credit me in anything if I should show myself 
 light in this case ? And though I am young and 
 not greatly learned, yet I have heard this matter 
 disputed of by my uncle, my Lord Cardinal, with 
 some that thought they could say somewhat in the 
 matter,^ and I found therein no great reason to 
 change my opinion." 
 
 Throckmorton sought to shake her firmness' by 
 quoting the Cardinal's own words to himself, admitting 
 that there were great errors and abuses in the Church 
 and " great disorders in the ministers and clergy, 
 insomuch as he desired that there might be a reforma- 
 tion of both." The Queen calmly replied that she had 
 often heard him say the like. " She was none of those 
 who would change their religion every year." Marv 
 promised tolerance to her subjects and demanded it 
 for herself. 
 
 On June 19, Chantonay, writing to Philip 11., 
 
 1 This remark seems to imply that the Queen had hstened, while 
 at Rheims for Easier, to discussions between her uncle and the Pro- 
 testant ministers who were recei\cd about tliis time at the Palace in a 
 kind of informal prelude to the Colloquy of Poissy. 
 
 356 
 
A Profession of Faith 
 
 mentioned Throckmorton's visit to the Queen of 
 Scotland/ and said he had begged her to accept the 
 new rehgion, adding that she would be the only 
 adherent of the old faith in her kingdom, and quoting 
 the Cardinal as in his secret heart a favourer of the 
 Reformed doctrines. Mary, according to Chantonay, 
 repUed that she would rather be the sole Catholic 
 in Scotland than consent to become a Protestant. 
 As for the Cardinal, she ought to know his views, 
 as she had often heard him preach in public, and clearly 
 understood his meaning. 
 
 Had the spirit of her great-grandmother, Philippa 
 of Lorraine, repeated the message of Pont-a-Mousson 
 to the Queen as she knelt in the Church of Saint- 
 Laurent at Joinville : " Yield nothing of the glory of 
 God " ? 
 
 ^ Teulet, Papiers d'etat, vol. ii. pp. 3, 4. 
 
 357 
 
CHAPTER XXII 
 
 FAREWELL TO FRANCE 
 
 Queen Elizabeth refuses a passport to the Queen of Scots — The courtesy 
 of nations in this matter — The trials of sixteenth-century sea- 
 travel — Elizabeth defends her action — Throckmorton's views — 
 His interview with Mary on July 20 — Mary's dignity and 
 prudence — Opinions of the French Court on Elizabeth's action — 
 Mary's last weeks in France — The state of France in August 1561 
 — Preparations for the Colloquy of Poissy — The Queen's fare- 
 wells — Incidents of her journey to Calais — Illness of her uncles — 
 Her meeting with Throckmorton at Abbeville — Her departure from 
 France — Those left behind. 
 
 At the end of June M. d'Oysel was sent to England 
 with instructions to ask a passport for Queen Mary, 
 with permission (i) to buy provisions and other 
 necessaries in any Enghsh port at which she might 
 touch, and (2) to proceed by land, if this course were 
 preferred, through Elizabeth's territories, to Scot- 
 land.^ 
 
 On May 23, Charles ix. had already written to the 
 Bishop of Limoges that he was sending j\I. LhuilUer 
 to Philip II. with a special commission to obtain a 
 permit for his sister-in-law to land and refresh herself 
 in Spanish territory.^ 
 
 ' Foreign Calendar, " Elizabeth," vol. iv. p. 173. 
 
 ' Nigociations sous Fran(ois II., p. 867. This passage in the 
 child King's long letter is worth quoting : — 
 
 " L'une dcs principales occasions pourquoy je I'envoye devers 
 vous est pour le passaigc dc la royne ma belle-seur, laquelle estant 
 appell6e par tous scs subjects, et contrainte, si elle ne veult perdre 
 
 358 
 
Sea-Travel in the Sixteenth Century 
 
 Such passports were granted by the ordinary 
 rules of diplomatic courtesy whenever a royal per- 
 sonage set out on a sea journey. A refusal was 
 almost tantamount to a declaration of hostilities. 
 Queen Mary's mother had asked and obtained a per- 
 mit from Edward vi. for her journey to France in 
 1550. With all the comforts that could be provided, 
 sea-voyages were a trying experience in the sixteenth 
 century, and there was always a possibility that 
 storms or sickness might make it necessary to land 
 the passengers on unexpected shores. The traveller 
 who set out from Calais or Antwerp for a few days 
 on board ship conjured up in imagination half the 
 adventures of Sinbad's voyages. The terrors of sea- 
 sickness may be guessed from that pitiful letter 
 written by the Cardinal of Lorraine to his brother 
 Francis in October 1555, when he was on his way to 
 Italy.^ He had been forced to turn back by storms. 
 " I felt so ill," he wrote, " that I thought I was going 
 to die. The Cardinal de Tournon urged upon me 
 so strongly that the King's business would be ruined, 
 and his interests left all in disarray and disorder if I 
 did not continue my journey, that at last I gave in 
 to his persuasions and decided to go on to Rome. 
 Not by sea, however, for I could never endure it, 
 and I shall never take a sea-voyage again except 
 in case of extreme necessity. I shall go by land 
 with those of my people who are most necessary to 
 me, and I shall proceed to Switzerland and thence to 
 
 son royaume, d'y aller de bref, elle m'a prie de faire faire ung honneste 
 ofiSce envers le roy mon bon fr^re, a ce qu'il escrive k ses costes qu'ils 
 ayent a luy donner tout I'ayde et favour qu'ils pourront pour sa naviga- 
 tion, si de fortune la mar la contraingnoit d'y relascher et prendre port, 
 ce que j'estime qu'il ne vouldra reffuser." 
 
 ' Memoires-Journaux du Due de Guise, p. 250. 
 
 359 
 
Farewell to France 
 
 Ferrara. I hope to reach Rome about the 20th of 
 next month." ^ 
 
 The Duke of Guise replied in a soothing and sym- 
 pathetic letter. " Your health and the safety of 
 your person are dearer to me than any rapid travelling 
 you might have accomplished." 
 
 M. d'Oysel had provided himself with a recom- 
 mendation from Throckmorton, and appears to have 
 made friends amongst the EngUsh. His conduct 
 of the difficult negotiations about the passport hardly 
 justifies the confidence reposed in him by Mary of 
 Lorraine. Ehzabeth asked whether he had any answer 
 concerning the ratification of the Treaty. He replied 
 that he had nothing to say. Elizabeth asked for 
 delay, and in a later audience informed him that she 
 must refuse to grant a passport while the Treaty 
 remained unratified. If this promise were fulfilled, 
 she would be glad to welcome Mary to England " and 
 to have such acquaintance with her as might make 
 an end of all controversies." ^ 
 
 Elizabeth wrote in explanation of her action to 
 Charles ix., the Queen Mother, and Queen Mary, en- 
 deavouring to soften the blow by protestations of 
 general friendship. 
 
 " She means so to the Scottish Queen as the world 
 shall perceive that in kindness, honour, and friend- 
 ship she shall not overcome her, and on the other 
 part, she means not to yield." Elizabeth's advisers 
 knew that her action would amaze even French 
 statesmen who were no friends of Mary, and she 
 
 ' The Cardinal visited Italy twice again after this uncomfortable 
 journey — for the Council of Trent (i 50;-63) and in the St. Bartholomew 
 year (1572). 
 
 ' Forcifi;)! Calendar, " Elizabeth," vol. iv. p. 177. 
 
 360 
 
Refusal of the Passport 
 
 asked Throckmorton to explain matters to the Con- 
 stable and the King of Navarre. 
 
 It had been decided before the middle of July 
 that Mary should be accompanied to Scotland by 
 the Duke of Longueville, by Damville (second son 
 of the Constable), and by three of her uncles, the 
 Duke of Aumale, the Grand Prior, and the Marquis 
 d'Elboeuf. Four galleys and twelve other French 
 and Scottish ships were to form her escort. 
 
 Conjectures as to the Queen's possible action on 
 her arrival in Edinburgh filled up the interval of 
 waiting, and the Earl of Bothwell, who on July 5 
 " arrived in post," may have exchanged confidences 
 with Throckmorton. 
 
 The English Ambassador understood on July 13, 
 " that the Queen of Scotland is thoroughly per- 
 suaded that the most dangerous man in all the realm 
 is Knox, and is therefore ftiUy determined to use all 
 means to banish him thence, or else to assure them 
 that she will never dwell in that country as long as he 
 is there." 
 
 To make Knox more odious to Queen Elizabeth, 
 Mary had thought of sending to her rival Knox's book 
 " against the Government of Women." Throck- 
 morton sought to smooth ma**"" for Knox by assuring 
 his royal mistress that the Reformer was " as much 
 for her purpose as any man of all that nation ; and that 
 his doing therein and his zeal sufficiently recompense 
 his fault in writing that book, and therefore he is not 
 to be driven out of that realm." ^ 
 
 Throckmorton, as is evident from his letter of 
 July 13 to Elizabeth, did not expect that his sovereign 
 would take the extreme step of refusing a safe-conduct 
 
 • Foreign Calendar, " Elizabeth," vol. iv. p. 180. 
 361 
 
Farewell to France 
 
 to her royal sister. Mary had asked him earUer in 
 the month whether he had news for her from England, 
 and hearing that no promise had come, " she prayed 
 him, as soon as he had word of it, to advertise her, 
 and said that her going would be about the beginning 
 of August." Throckmorton added : "By this it 
 appears that she is very desirous of the said safe- 
 conduct, and in case it has not been already delivered 
 to M. de la Haye to bring to her, he thought it would 
 be more pertinent to send it to him to deliver into her 
 hands." ^ 
 
 Anxiety had brought on a slight return of the 
 tertian fever from which Mary had suffered at Nancy. 
 Throckmorton observed that " it had somewhat 
 appaired her cheer, though she makes no great matter 
 of it, the worst being past." 
 
 To Cecil, on the same day, the Ambassador wrote, 
 advising that the safe-conduct should be placed in 
 his hands for delivery, " as thereby he might see her 
 acceptation thereof, and also have occasion to see the 
 state of her health, which presently is casual." ^ 
 
 In Throckmorton's letter of July 13 reference was 
 made to the approaching visit of the Queen of Scotland 
 to Fecamp, for the funeral service of her mother, Mary 
 of Lorraine.^ 
 
 In her answer to M. d'Oysel, Queen Elizabeth 
 required the ratification of the Treaty of Edinburgh 
 as the condition of favours from England. If this 
 formality were completed, the way was open for a 
 safe passage for Mary through England to her own 
 dominions, and a meeting between the royal ladies 
 " for a corroboration and perfection of their amity." * 
 
 ' Foreign Caletidar, " Elizabeth," vol. iv. p. i8o. ' Ibid. p. iSi. 
 
 ' Ibid. p. 179. * Ibid. p. 187. 
 
 362 
 
Mary's Dignified Attitude 
 
 On July 20, Throckmorton had an interview with 
 Mary, whose plans for travel had been sadly discon- 
 certed by the bad tidings brought by M. d'Oysel, 
 with whom she was talking when he entered her 
 audience-chamber. Throckmorton, who understood 
 so perfectly the art and science of diplomacy, must 
 have realised the awkwardness of his position, especi- 
 ally when the young widow invited him to a seat by 
 her side and bade all the attendants withdraw. With 
 noble dignity Mary controlled the bitter feelings 
 which had been roused by M. d'Oysel's recital, saying 
 that " she knew not well her own infirmity, nor how far 
 she might with her passion be transported; but she liked 
 not to have so many witnesses of her passions as his 
 mistress had when she talked with M . d' Oysel . Nothing 
 grieved her more than that she had so forgotten herself 
 as to require of his mistress that favour which she needed 
 not ask. She might pass well enough home to her 
 own realm without the Queen's passport or licence, for 
 though King Henry used all the impeachment he could 
 to stay her and catch her when she came hither, yet 
 she came safely ; and she might have as good means 
 to help her home if she would employ her friends." 
 
 The wisest ruler could not have shown more 
 dignity and more discretion than Mary showed in this 
 painful interview. The insult offered her by Elizabeth 
 was against the comity of nations, but not a word 
 of personal resentment, not a threat that was not 
 carefully veiled, passed her lips. Her position was 
 one of anxiety and even peril, for the hopes of her 
 " disobedient subjects " were fixed on Elizabeth, and 
 the English Queen, as Mary said with melancholy 
 emphasis, believed her to be a woman without friends. 
 She threw herself, in her widowed state, upon Eliza- 
 
 363 
 
Farewell to France 
 
 beth's kindness, forgetting perhaps, for the moment, 
 the offence that had been given by the continual 
 quartering of the arms of England with those of 
 Scotland and France during her husband's lifetime. 
 
 " The Queen says that she is young and lacks 
 experience, yet she has age enough and experience to 
 use herself towards her friends and kinsfolk friendly 
 and uprightly ; and trusts that her discretion will not 
 so fail her that her passion shall move her to use 
 other language of her than becomes a Queen and her 
 next kinswoman. She further said that she was 
 allied and friended as she was, and that her heart 
 was not inferior to hers, so as an equal respect might 
 be had on both parts. She also told him that the accord 
 was made in her husband's time, by whom she was 
 governed, and for the delays used then she was not 
 to be charged ; and since his death, her interest faihng 
 in the realm of France, she left to be advised by the 
 Council of France, and they left her also to her own 
 counsel. Her uncles, being of the affairs of that 
 realm, did not think meet to advise her; neither do 
 her subjects think that she should be advised other 
 than by the Council of her own realm ; and as the 
 matter touches them as well as her by the wisest of 
 them, and she had often told him, she said that as 
 soon as she had their advices, she would send reasonable 
 
 answer." ^ 
 
 Mary complained, with justice, that her plan for 
 consulting her Scottish Comicil with regard to the 
 ratification had been frustrated by the refusal of the 
 passport. Keen displeasure possessed her mind that 
 the prohibition should have extended not only to 
 herself but to her representative, M. d'Oysel, whose 
 
 ' I''orngii Calendar, " Elizabeth," vol. iv. pp. 200, 201. 
 364 
 
Interview with Throckmorton 
 
 return to Scotland had been hindered, though he had 
 the assurance that his communications would be for- 
 warded. She dwelt on Elizabeth's patronising refer- 
 ence to her youth. " She might as well say that she 
 was as foolish as young, if in the State and country 
 she was in she proceeded in such a matter without 
 counsel. That which was done by her late husband 
 must not be taken to be her act, so that neither in 
 honour or conscience was she bound to perform all 
 that he commanded. She never meant more harm 
 to the Queen of England than to herself." ^ 
 
 The interview proceeded amidst many repetitions, 
 Throckmorton reiterating his demand for ratification 
 and declining to accept excuses, Mary falling back on 
 " the nobles and Estates of her realm," whose loyalty, 
 the Ambassador may have reflected, was none of the 
 surest ; and as regards earlier causes of offence, 
 sheltering herself behind her dead father-in-law and 
 dead husband. To us who read dispassionately the 
 ofi&cial account of the conversation, the intellectual 
 readiness of the eighteen-year-old Queen is the more 
 remarkable when we remember that she was alone 
 with Throckmorton, that there was no Cardinal or 
 Constable behind her chair to prompt her replies as 
 they had prompted her husband's. She was a match 
 for the shrewdest of European diplomatists, having 
 profited, no doubt, by lessons taught her at Rheims, 
 Nancy, and Joinville, and having inherited the great 
 mental quickness of her mother's family. 
 
 On the following day (July 21) Throckmorton saw 
 Charles ix. and Catherine de' Medici, to whom he 
 explained his mistress's reasons for the denial of the 
 safe-conduct. The Regent spoke out boldly in the 
 
 > Foreign Calendar, " Elizabeth," vol. iv. p. 201, 
 365 
 
Farewell to France 
 
 interests of her daughter-in-law, every word she 
 uttered being prompted, perhaps, less by kindness for 
 Mary and a desire to avert war, than by her wish to 
 send the royal widow out of France. Catherine 
 upheld Mary in her decision to defer the ratification 
 of the Treaty until after her return to Scotland, and 
 requested that Elizabeth would accept the excuse and 
 " accommodate her with such favour as she demanded." 
 
 The question of immediate importance, after the 
 receipt of Elizabeth's message, was whether the Queen 
 of Scotland would or would not venture to pursue 
 her journey. So impatient was Throckmorton to 
 learn her decision that he proceeded on the same day 
 to take his leave, expressing regret that as she had 
 failed to satisfy his Sovereign, he could not conveni- 
 ently wait on her to her embarking.^ Mary answered 
 that if her preparations had not been so far advanced, 
 his mistress's unkindness might have stayed her 
 voyage, " but now she was determined to adventure 
 the matter whatsoever came of it. She trusted that 
 the wind would be so favourable that she need not 
 come on the coast of England ; and if she did, then 
 the Queen, his mistress, would have her in her hands 
 to do her will of her ; and if she was so hard-hearted 
 as to desire her end, she might then do her pleasure 
 and make sacrifice of her." 
 
 With a sad prophetic impulse, the Queen added, 
 " Peradventure that casualty might be better for me 
 than to live ; in this matter God's will be done." 
 
 Throckmorton, the hater of the Guises, the shrewd 
 cold critic of Mary's actions, has left testimonies as to 
 her words and doings which are worth more than all 
 the evidence of her panegyrists. He knew how to 
 
 1 Vorcign Cflciular, " Elizabeth," vol. iv. p. 203. 
 366 
 
Mary's Diplomatic Skill 
 
 reproduce, with photographic clearness, the per- 
 sonalities of Kings, Queens, and Princes, and remem- 
 bering how he met the solemn gaze of the young girl 
 who was devoting herself to death rather than become 
 the vassal of Elizabeth, he allows us to see his own 
 embarrassment even while he falters out once more 
 the phrases of the long contention. Lofty courage 
 and noble purpose must have risen in the Queen's 
 eyes as she spoke her final words : " For her part, 
 she would not take all things at the worst, and hoped 
 that the Queen would do the like, whereof she did 
 not doubt, if ministers did no harm between them. 
 And so the said Queen embraced him." ^ 
 
 In her intercourse with the Ambassador of Eliza- 
 beth, Mary displayed a royal dignity, a fertility of 
 resource, a womanly candour, which justified the 
 decision of her uncles to leave her to fight out the 
 duel alone. Mary, with the Cardinal of Lorraine 
 behind her throne, was an object of suspicion to 
 Throckmorton, but when they sat side by side in 
 her private audience-room, her beauty and her sweet 
 words gained imperceptibly upon his feelings, and 
 the dispatches of this period testify to his admiration 
 all the more clearly because the language is so care- 
 fully guarded. That formal embrace with which 
 the Queen dismissed him gave, perhaps, one of the 
 few sensations of genuine pleasure he had known 
 during his long and perilous residence at the Court 
 of France. That he disapproved of the refusal of the 
 safe-conduct is suggested by his letter to Cecil of 
 July 26 :— 
 
 "As he hears of no equipage or force by sea in 
 readiness to impeach the Queen of Scots' passage or 
 
 ' Foreign Calendar, " Elizabeth," vol. iv. p. 203. 
 
 367 
 
Farewell to France 
 
 make good that which M. d'Oysel reported that she 
 [Ehzabeth] said, which was that she would provide 
 to keep her from passing home, he thought it would 
 have been better if no such thing had been said, but 
 passage granted." ^ The Queen of Scotland, he 
 reported, did not intend to embark till she had 
 watched from Calais the possible preparations of her 
 rival to hinder the voyage. 
 
 In a postscript the Ambassador added : "If they 
 mean to catch the Queen of Scots, their ships must 
 search and see all, for she means rather to steal 
 away than to pass with force." 
 
 Mary's last weeks in France had not been whoUy 
 occupied with diplomatic interviews. Lesley tells of 
 " all kinde of honest recreatione aswell be boittis 
 appoun the ryver of Seane as utherwyis be triumphes 
 and feactis of armes exerced within the abbay of 
 Sanct Germans." ^ 
 
 When it was known that she was really going, 
 the Regent and her advisers were willing to honour 
 the parting Sovereign, and to forget their o\\'n heavy 
 anxieties in a succession of amusements like those 
 of 1549, when tournaments and river pageants had 
 celebrated the entrance of Henry 11. into his capital. 
 Charles ix. was lodged in the Faubourg Saint-Germain, 
 because he had not yet made his state entry ; and it 
 is probable that the boating parties of July kept out 
 of sight, on reaches of the Seine beyond the old city. 
 
 The country which Mary was leaving was 
 distracted almost to madness by rehgious divi- 
 sions. There was an absence, fortunately, at this 
 moment, of overt persecution. The great reign 
 
 ' Foreign Calcni'ar, " Elizabeth," vol. iv. p. 206. 
 - History, p. 296. 
 
 36S 
 
Preparing for the Colloquy of Poissy 
 
 of Francis i. had been disfigured by cruelties so 
 abominable that Pope Paul in. had discountenanced 
 them and appealed for milder treatment of the 
 heretics. Under Henry n. the burnings had con- 
 tinued. When Mary visited Paris for the last time, 
 the scholars of the Roman Cathohc and Reformed 
 Churches were preparing to meet in friendly argu- 
 ment at Poissy, and the Cardinal Charles was 
 blamed as the chief promoter of the Colloquy by co- 
 reUgionists who suspected him of wishing to display 
 in pubhc that eloquence which impressed Beza at 
 Rheims. 
 
 A few weeks after the Queen's departure the 
 Cardinal engaged in friendly private talk with Beza 
 before the Regent and her Court, asked courteously 
 about the age and health of Calvin, and quoted 
 a text from the Revelation which confirmed the 
 Reformer's arguments. He begged for free discussion, 
 and promised that Beza would find him not so black 
 as he was painted. The wittiest lady in the royal 
 circle, Madame de Crussol, took the Cardinal's hand 
 at the close of the evening and said with significant 
 emphasis, " You are a good man to-night, but what 
 will you be to-morrow ? " Her words reflected the 
 hesitation and mistrust which prevailed in both the 
 great parties, and the failure of the Colloquy of 
 Poissy justified her misgivings. More than twenty 
 years of internecine strife were to elapse before France 
 attained a temporary religious peace, but something 
 had been gained by the mere fact that the sons of 
 Henry ii. were not expected in 1561 to feast their eyes 
 upon the agonies of martyrs. The thirteen years of 
 Mary's residence had witnessed the slow beginnings 
 of toleration. 
 
 2 A 369 
 
Farewell to France 
 
 On July 20, according to Lesley, Mary left Paris, 
 and proceeded to Saint -Germain, accompanied by 
 the King, the Regent, the Duke of Anjou, the King 
 of Navarre, and a splendid retinue of nobles. At 
 Saint - Germain the last farewells were said, "with 
 confirmatione of ane perpetuall frendschipp to stand 
 amangis thame, as it had done betuix thair pre- 
 decessouris be most ancient bande and leage inviolably 
 observit in all tymes past." ^ 
 
 On August 3, Mary was reported at Beauvais on 
 her journey towards Calais. She had visited the 
 Constable's house at Merly, eleven leagues from Paris, 
 where the Duke of Guise and the Cardinal of Lorraine 
 had been seized with sudden illness. 
 
 The Venetian Ambassador, Surian, gave the date 
 of her departure from Court (Saint - Germain) as 
 July 25.^ " The Queen of England," he said, " con- 
 trary to expectation and certainly in opposition to 
 the dictates of humanity, had declined to give her a 
 safe-conduct." The essential meanness of Elizabeth's 
 character as displayed in this action was apparent 
 to impartial diplomatists. Surian supposed that 
 Mary would go into Flanders or perhaps into Zeeland 
 by land, and thence embark at a favourable moment, 
 crossing the Straits to her kingdom without touching 
 England. " This refusal of the safe-conduct," he 
 noted, " had caused much dissatisfaction in France. 
 The Spanish Ambassador had told him that it would 
 also displease the King of Spain and that it might 
 induce him to persuade the Oueen of Scots to take 
 a step, as regards her marriage, which would vex the 
 Queen of England— namely, to accept for husband 
 
 ' Lesley, History, p. zciy. 
 
 ' Disj'iilclu's of Siiyia)io and Barbara, op. cit., p. 33. 
 
 370 
 
Final Interview with Throckmorton 
 
 either the King of Denmark or the King of Sweden, 
 especially as the ambassadors of the latter had quitted 
 England much dissatisfied. If the forces of the 
 Queen of Scots were to unite with either of these 
 two Kings, she could cause considerable trouble to 
 the Queen of England, who would well deserve it for 
 her inhumanity in refusing to give a passage through 
 her dominions to a woman, a widow, unarmed and 
 almost banished from her own home." ^ 
 
 It is significant that Surian did not mention the 
 Prince of Spain as one of the possible alliances which 
 Philip II. might have had in view for Mary. This 
 project had been abandoned for the moment. Surian 
 mentioned the mysterious illness which befell the 
 heads of the house of Guise at the Constable's chateau. 
 " This had given rise to a great deal of talk at Court, 
 principally on account of a prophecy of Nostradamus 
 referring in some mysterious way to poison. . . . The 
 Cardinal recovered very quickly, but the Duke 
 was still seriously ill, although he was getting 
 better, and it was hoped that he would soon 
 recover. The King of Navarre had been ill, but not 
 seriously." ^ 
 
 From Abbeville the Queen sent a message to 
 Throckmorton, requesting a final interview. The 
 meeting took place on the evening of August 7. Once 
 more the language of conciliation was used by Mary, 
 and the old arguments were reiterated on both sides. 
 " I assure you," said the Queeuj " whatsoever is 
 thought, there is none of my uncles, nor none other 
 here, that will (I know not for what respect) give me 
 their advice in this matter ; but they do advise me to 
 
 ^ Dispatches of Suriano and Barbara, op. cit., pp. 33, 34. 
 ' Ibid. p. 34. 
 
 371 
 
Farewell to France 
 
 use the counsel of my own subjects. You know I am 
 young and do lack experience to proceed in so great 
 a matter without advice. I do so much know mine 
 own infirmity that I will do nothing (though it be of 
 less weight than this is) without counsel." ^ 
 
 On August 8, in the morning after dinner, Throck- 
 morton had another audience, and made a last pathetic 
 effort to overcome her resolution. He felt the sea 
 wind at Abbeville, and longed that some ship might 
 carry him also out of Calais roads. At 5 p.m. he 
 took his leave, and on August 19 he wrote to 
 Elizabeth from Paris that his servant, coming by 
 Calais, had seen " the Queen of Scotland haling out 
 of that haven on the 14th inst. about noon, with two 
 galleys and two great ships." ^ 
 
 Catherine de' Medici wrote in an undated letter 
 to her daughter, the Queen of Spain : " She set sail 
 a week ago, and if the winds were favourable, she is 
 in Scotland." ^ 
 
 The ships sailed northwards under a favouring 
 mist, and the Queen came safely to Leith harbour. 
 She had taken leave, on Calais sands, of the truest 
 and kindest friends that remained to her in the world. 
 Could she have foreseen the futm-e of those left 
 behind, the sea-fog might have appeared smilight to 
 her in comparison with the black cloud which was 
 gathering over the house of Guise. Three uncles 
 sailed with her — Claude, Duke of Aumale, who was to 
 perish in 1573 during the siege of La Rochelle ; 
 Francis, the Grand Prior, who died in 1563 as the 
 
 ' Foreign Caleinlar, " Elizabeth," vol. iv. pp. J43, 244 note. 
 
 " Ibid. p. 263. Ixslcy says there were two galleys and four great 
 ships. History, p. 297. 
 
 ' Nigociations soics Francois 11. , p. 873. " Ele s'et enbarquee 
 yl y a hcuyt jours, ct s'el a heu bon vent, aylc est enn Escose." 
 
 37^ 
 
Those Left Behind 
 
 result of a chill caught by exposure after the battle 
 of Dreux ; and Rene, Marquis d'Elboeuf, who died at 
 the age of thirty. Over two of the young uncles 
 who accompanied Mary to Scotland the shadow of 
 an early death was falling. On Calais beach she 
 kissed for the last time the great Duke Francis, then 
 aged forty-one, for whom less than two years of life 
 remained. He died in February 1563, from the wound 
 inflicted by the assassin Poltrot de Mere. The Cardinal 
 Louis of Guise, who accompanied the family party 
 to Calais, was the only one of the six brothers who 
 was destined to complete (though he scarcely passed 
 beyond) his fiftieth year.^ 
 
 Schiller in his drama, Mary Stuart, commits a 
 strange anachronism when he represents the Cardinal 
 Charles of Lorraine as still alive on the eve of Fother- 
 ingay. He was not aware that the prelate died on 
 December 26, 1574, at Avignon, aged forty-nine 
 years and ten months. According to Schiller, the 
 last gleam of comfort that visits Mary in prison is 
 Mortimer's message from the beloved uncle in whom 
 he saw " the model of a royal priest." Mary speaks 
 of him as " the dearly-loved, the noble man who 
 was the guide of my tender youth." ^ Mortimer 
 replies in a burst of enthusiasm by claiming 
 
 ' The Cardinal Louis was born in 1527 and died in 1578. 
 
 ^ Schiller's presentation of the Cardinal, as he appeared to Catholic 
 eyes (especially outside France), is wonderfully true and lifelike. 
 Mortimer tells how the Scots and French gentlemen at Rome intro- 
 duced him to the great French Churchman : — 
 
 " Sie brachten mich zu eurem edeln Oheim, 
 Dem Kardinal von Guise. — Welch ein Mann ! 
 Wie sicher, klar und mannlich gross ! — Wie ganz 
 Geboren, um die Geister zu regieren ! 
 Das Muster eines koniglichen Priesters, 
 Ein Fiirst der Kirche, wie ich keinen sah ! " 
 
 373 
 
Farewell to France 
 
 the Cardinal as his spiritual father, and Mary 
 answers — 
 
 " You, then, are one amongst the thousand souls 
 Whom he, with heavenly power of gracious speech, 
 Like to the glorious Preacher of the Mount, 
 Has grasped, and led to everlasting peace." 
 
 The Cardinal would have been sixty-two had he 
 lived to the year of Fotheringay, but this " rock of 
 the Church," as the royal prisoner calls him in 
 Schiller's tragedy, had been swept away thirteen 
 years earlier, prematurely worn out in body, and 
 deeply discouraged in spirit by the work of death 
 around him. 
 
 Though history must acquit him of any direct 
 complicity in the massacre of St. Bartholomew, 
 he was an accessory after the fact. Joseph-Marie 
 Chenier, in his drama Charles IX., represents him as 
 blessing the swords of the assassins. Historically 
 this is inaccurate, for Charles and his brother Louis 
 went to Rome in 1572 for the election of a Pope. 
 M. Guillemin, in his biography, seeks to remove 
 from the Cardinal all responsibility for the executions. 
 As the dire event was planned and executed within 
 a few hours between Saturday evening and Sunday 
 morning, the King, the Queen Mother, and their 
 immediate advisers must bear the blame. But the 
 Cardinal received the news in Rome with rapturous 
 joy, gave a rich present to the messenger, and cele- 
 brated a Mass of thanksgi\'ing. No thought of re- 
 morse seems to have troubled him, though his life, 
 from that hour, sank steadily gra\-ewards. The 
 blood-feud of the Guises against Coligny was finished, 
 the death of Duke Francis was avenged. The Duke 
 on his death-bed had been tortured, it is said, with 
 
 374 
 
The Cardinal's Last Days 
 
 regrets for the massacre of Wassy. The Cardinal 
 returned to France to dehver before the King a 
 strange, exultant address, in which he compared 
 Charles ix. with King Josiah, who destroyed the idols 
 of the false prophets of the groves. Dom Marlot, who 
 gives the oration in his History of Rheims, says that 
 the Cardinal's apologies for the massacre can be 
 excused only by the excited state of public feeling at 
 the time.^ The speaker dwelt on the text in Genesis, 
 "Da nobis animas, caetera toUe tibi," — " Give us the 
 souls, take the rest for thyself." " Give us the souls," 
 he cried, " and first. Sire, give us your own soul. Give 
 it to God and to us, by purity of life, by the avoid- 
 ance of every vice, by zeal for the pure religion." 
 He pictured a holy and peaceful France, in which 
 the virtues of the monarch should be universally 
 imitated. Then, taking a sterner note, he told how 
 in Josiah's time the Book of Deuteronomy, dusty 
 and mildewed, had been found in the recesses of the 
 Temple, and he read over solemnly the curses which 
 had terrified the youthful Hebrew monarch. This 
 must have been one of the strangest scenes in French 
 history. Charles ix. was already haunted by the 
 visions and shadows which pursued him to his dying 
 hour. Charles of Lorraine was inculcating personal 
 hoHness and promising the Divine blessing on a 
 purified Church and State, apparently unconscious 
 of the deep disgrace which the crime of his own 
 poHtical party had brought upon the nation. Out- 
 wardly, indeed, all seemed flourishing. Soon after 
 the massacre. Queen Elizabeth became godmother to 
 the daughter of Charles ix., and sent a rich christen- 
 ing gift. WiUiam the Silent recognised the guilty 
 
 ^Hisloire de la Ville, Cite et University de Reims, vol. iv. pp. 423-34. 
 
 375 
 
Farewell to France 
 
 sovereign as the protector of Holland. But the 
 ravens were gathering outside the Louvre, and each 
 dark staircase and echoing corridor was peopled 
 with the spectres of the slain. The King and the 
 Cardinal were soon to follow Coligny. 
 
 Queen Mary, though she blamed her uncle for 
 neglect in the administration of her dowry, clung 
 to him with tender love until the end. One of the 
 most touching of her letters is that addressed to the 
 Archbishop of Glasgow and the Cardinal of Lorraine 
 on January 9, 1575/ a fortnight after the Cardinal's 
 death. On November 8, the Queen had written 
 to acknowledge a letter received from her uncle on 
 October 24. That letter, she said, had given her more 
 comfort and pleasure than anything that could 
 happen to her except the liberation of her son and 
 herself, because it was a proof that she was not for- 
 gotten, as she had feared, by her relatives in France.* 
 She wished that her son could be in the Cardinal's 
 charge, and appealed to him to gather money for 
 her assistance. " My kind uncle," she added, " if 
 I see that you are caring for me, I will bear all things 
 patiently, and will seek to preserve my life, so that 
 I may obey you for all time to come." ^ 
 
 The Cardinal, meanwhile, was in the train of the 
 new King Henry in., who had returned from Poland 
 by way of Italy. He had latterly come much under 
 the influence of the Jesuits, whose founder, Ignatius 
 Loyola, he had known in 3'outh. A strict asceticism 
 marked his closing years. \Ye read of his visiting 
 village churches, standing for hours at the altar to 
 administer the sacrament, walking with head and 
 
 • I.abanoff, Rtxaci/, vol. iv. pp. 248-57. 
 ^ Iliii/. p. .' ?_\ * Ibid. p. 234. 
 
 376 
 
Mary's Last Letters to her Uncle 
 
 feet bare in penitential processions. His fatal 
 illness was caught at Avignon by exposure to the 
 evening dew while he was leading one of these 
 troops. 
 
 On the day of the Cardinal's death (December 
 26, 1574) Mary wrote to the Archbishop of Glasgow 
 begging that her uncle would oppose the granting 
 of the royal title to her son,* and renew the alliance 
 between herself and the King of France. The 
 prisoner's hopes had been raised, though without 
 good reason, by the accession of Henry in. On 
 January 9, she addressed a long letter to the Arch- 
 bishop and the Cardinal jointly, acknowledging 
 cipher communications of September 30, October 7, 
 and November 11. The political pleadings of this 
 letter are mournful enough, when we remember that 
 the passionate words were falling on a deaf ear. 
 Towards the close the Queen wrote : " All my friends 
 in this country are praying to God for you and are 
 not slackening." Then she repeated her demand 
 for money, and ended with the following sentence : 
 " To sum up, my kind uncle, I beg you to love me, 
 and to command me as if I were your own daughter 
 who loves you as herself." ^ 
 
 The letter closed with a passage intended for the 
 Archbishop of Glasgow, and in a postscript the royal 
 prisoner asked that a golden mirror might be sent her. 
 It was to be a small, dainty looking-glass, which could 
 be hung from the girdle, ornamented with her own 
 monogram and that of Elizabeth, and with an appro- 
 priate motto which her uncle was to suggest. The 
 Queen did not know that the busy brain which had 
 been planning and contriving for her from childhood 
 
 • Labanoff, Recueil, vol. iv. p. 243. ^ Ihid. p. 255. 
 
 377 
 
Farewell to France 
 
 in great things and small was now at rest for ever, 
 and that the Cardinal's funeral procession was already 
 on its way to Rheims. 
 
 With characteristic attention to detail, the states- 
 man who could draw up on one day the articles of a 
 European treaty and on another the items of a niece's 
 trousseau had left directions in his will for the con- 
 veyance of his body to his Cathedral city, in the event 
 of his dying away from home. The coffin was to be 
 covered with black cloth for the road journeys, but 
 a pall of black velvet, crossed with white satin, was 
 to be thrown over it on the entry into towns and 
 villages. He had chosen two texts for the stately 
 canopied tomb he erected for himself in Rheims 
 Cathedral : "I believed that Thou art the Christ, 
 the Son of the living God, who didst come into the 
 world," and " I wait till my change come." ^ 
 
 " I am a prisoner," wrote Mary to Beaton on 
 February 20, 1575, after hearing the sad news, " and 
 God takes away the being that I loved the best. 
 What shall I say more ? He has taken from me, at 
 one stroke, my father and my uncle. I shall follow 
 him, when God wills, with the less regret." - 
 
 On January 27, the Bishop of Verdun and other 
 prelates had received the Cardinal's body on its entry 
 into Rheims, and it was borne through the city amid 
 the blaze of fifteen hundred torches. 
 
 Brantome, who loved the soldier Guises, and whose ' 
 
 •"Ego credidi quia tu es Chiistus, filius Dei vivi, qui in hunc 
 mundum venisti " ; " Expecto donee veniat immutatio mea." 
 The tomb was destroyed in 1741, but these texts may still be read 
 on a slab on the floor behind the " Cardinal's altar." NXTien the writer 
 last visited Rheims, tliis stone was hidden by the decorative frame- 
 work prepared for the Fi:tc-Dieu. 
 
 " Labanofl, Recucil, vol. iv. p. ztiy. 
 
 378 
 
The Deaths of Great Captains 
 
 heart overflows with tenderness as he attempts to 
 pay his tribute to Queen Mary's sailor-uncle, the 
 Grand Prior, must, we think, have had the Princes 
 of Lorraine in his mind by contrast when he pitied 
 the many great captains who survived into a feeble 
 old age. " It is a sad thing," he writes, " when 
 these great captains grow old and die. I compare 
 them with the fine ears of wheat, which when they are 
 green and vigorous in their growth during the bright 
 month of May, shoot high in their pride, and lift their 
 lofty crests. But when they ripen and grow yellow, 
 we see them leaning and bending down, as if they 
 awaited merely the scythe which shall take their life 
 away. Even so is it with these great and brave 
 captains, who in the flower and freshness of their 
 years, lift their heads, defy the foe, and conquer him. 
 Nothing seems impossible to them then ; but as they 
 approach old age, and are tortured with infirmities 
 and sickness, they bend down and sink slowly into 
 their graves, and nothing is left to them save their 
 proud names and the renown which they have won. 
 Ah, what a sweet and blessed hope it would be for them 
 if like the corn they could be born again and renew 
 themselves in this world. It is true that the joyful 
 resurrection which God has promised us makes 
 amends for all." ^ 
 
 ' Vol. iv. p. 71. 
 
 379 
 
CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 FRENCH INFLUENCES ON THE QUEEN's CHARACTER 
 
 Mary's happy childhood — The brightness of home-Ufe in France — 
 Letters of Antoinette de Bourbon, Duchess of Guise, to her daughter 
 the Queen of Scotland — Letters of Henry of Guise to his father 
 — Mary and Elizabeth of Valois — Their last letters to each other — 
 Closing days of Elizabeth — The open-air amusements of Mary's 
 youth — Visitors to France from many lands — Dancing, music, 
 dress, and jewels — The Queen's favourite poets — The Hymns of the 
 Sieur de Maisonfleur — His life and character — Was the Court of 
 Henry ii. hopelessly corrupt ? — Opinion of Professor Lemonnier — 
 The Queen's memories of France. 
 
 Though the Queen of Scots, during the thirteen 
 years of her residence in France, had her full share of 
 public and private troubles, there can be no doubt 
 that girlhood was the happiest period of her life. 
 Before her marriage with the Dauphin and the death 
 of Henry il, she lived continually in the warm glow 
 of affection and admiration. The fact that her 
 home was with the royal family did not withdraw 
 her from the constant and careful super\'ision of her 
 nearest relatives, and there is abundant e^•idence that 
 the children brought up by the Guises breathed the 
 atmosphere of love rather than fear, and enjoyed 
 a frank, gay intercourse with their elders. The letters 
 to the Queen Dowager of Scotland concerning her 
 daughter should be compared with those written 
 some years earlier by the Duchess Antoinette to Mary 
 of Lorraine, in which she tells of the progress made 
 
 380 
 
Home Life of the Guises 
 
 by another child whose welfare was very dear to her 
 —her eldest grandson, the little Duke of Longueville.^ 
 Amidst the arid descriptions of lawsuits and the 
 perpetual allusions to money matters, the gossip of 
 the Court, the record of family movements, and the 
 formal compliments, there are a few sentences which 
 blossom like flowers on the edge of sands, and which 
 show us the gentler home-life of the bustling, am- 
 bitious Guises. 
 
 "As for our grandson," writes Antoinette to her 
 daughter in Scotland, " he is well and is growing fast. 
 He begins to understand very well, and can almost 
 say his paternoster. He is a pretty and good boy." ^ 
 
 One of the earhest letters must be that dated 
 November 15 (1538 ?),' in which Antoinette hopes 
 that her daughter and her royal son-in-law, James v., 
 may soon have " a fine boy." She says in this letter : 
 " Your father is going to Court, and I am going to see 
 my mother, who is quite well. So are the good Queen 
 [Phihppa] * and our grandson, who is a wonderfully 
 fine and pretty child." She thanks King James for 
 the gift of a diamond, which she will keep all her 
 life, and adds : " I thought he looked so handsome in 
 his portrait that if you knew how much I love him I 
 am afraid you would be jealous." 
 
 1 There is a group of these letters in the Balcarres Papers, vol. ii., 
 from which the extracts given in this chapter have been selected. 
 Unfortunately, the most skilled experts find it dif&cult to decipher 
 some of them. There is much mis-spelling, the letters " e " and " o " 
 and " i " and " r " are often indistinguishable from one another, while 
 the ends of some lines are torn away. The year is seldom given. 
 
 ' Balcarres Papers, vol. i. No. 4. " Ibid. No. 1 1 . 
 
 *The expression " King " and "Queen'" appUed by relatives to 
 Rene 11., Duke of Lorraine, and his widow, Philippa, will not puzzle 
 readers who remember that the Dukes of Lorraine claimed rights to the 
 kingdom of Sicily. 
 
 381 
 
French Influences 
 
 This is one of the very few playful touches in the 
 correspondence of a lady whose reputation is chiefly 
 associated with the sterner virtues. 
 
 When the infant Princes of Scotland died within a 
 few days of each other (1541), Antoinette wrote to 
 King James that she would seek the prayers of ''that 
 good Queen who is a nun, and of her holy companions." ^ 
 Kindly messages about the cloistered Philippa were 
 frequently sent to Scotland, and she appears to have 
 been regarded as a blessed saint, still lingering upon 
 earth, who watched over the fortunes of her de- 
 scendants. 
 
 In another letter to her daughter, Antoinette says : 
 " I keep as the best bit the news of our grandson, 
 who will very soon be a man. If only we had a painter, 
 you would see how pretty he is. He is the best child 
 I ever saw. He is tall and very healthy, thank 
 God. I hope he will be a joy to you — may our Lord 
 grant it." ^ 
 
 ' Balcarres Papers, vol. ii. No. 6. 
 
 " Ibid. No. 7. This letter is facsimiled, copied, and translated in the 
 National Manuscripts of Scotland, part iii. Letter xxii. The diffi- 
 culties of Antoinette's mis-spelt and unpunctuated sentences may well 
 lead to differences of opinion among translators. For example, take 
 the following passage : — 
 
 " Nous avons ceans monsieur vostre oncle et monsieur le due debar 
 et sa fame Revenant de la court quy tons font bonne chere monsieur 
 vostre pere et sy enpeche a les festyer qua grant peine aies vous lestres 
 de luy." 
 
 This is translated as follows in the National jSIanuscripts : " We 
 have here Monsieur your uncle and Monsieur the Duke of Bar and his 
 wife returning from Court, who all make good cheer to Monsieur your 
 father, and he so busies himself feasting them that it is with much 
 ado vou get letters from him." 
 
 The writer prefers this translation (leaving out the word " Mon- 
 sieur ") : — 
 
 " We have here your uncle and the Duke of Bar and his wife on 
 their way back from Court, who are all very well. Your father is so 
 busy in entertaining them that you will hardly get letters from him." 
 
 382 
 
The Duke of Longueville 
 
 The Duke of Longueville was regarded with the 
 same pride and affection which Mary Stuart inspired 
 in later years. Almost every letter of the Duchess 
 Antoinette between 1539 and 1541 contains some 
 news about " the httle man," * his growth, his pretty 
 ways and his intelligence. These letters prove, how- 
 ever, that there were frequent illnesses among the 
 children. At different times the Duchess mentions 
 that five of them had been suffering from fevers and 
 other maladies. 
 
 The Duke of Longueville was one of the first to 
 tell the Queen Mother in Scotland of the charms 
 and graces of his royal half-sister. In a letter 
 written in that beautiful boyish handwriting of 
 the sixteenth century which became so quickly 
 spoiled, he says : "I would not forget to let 
 you know that the little Queen of Scotland is 
 thought so very pretty in this company that 
 the King is much pleased with her. I am re- 
 solved, Madame, to do her all the service in my 
 power." ^ 
 
 The note of sincere praise of the child Queen is 
 heard in the letters addressed by great ladies of the 
 Court of Henry 11. to Mary of Lorraine in Scotland. 
 Modern writers assure us that French society in the 
 first half of the sixteenth century was emerging 
 slowly from the semi-barbarism of the Middle Ages ; 
 but have not we of the twentieth century much to 
 learn from the wonderful and voluminous corre- 
 spondence of that period, in which extreme delicacy 
 
 '"Le petit homme se porte ausy bien quyl est possible" 
 (No. 10). There are similar references to the little Duke in 
 No. 8. 
 
 ' National Manuscripts of Scotland, part iii. No. 30. 
 
 383 
 
French Influences 
 
 of feeling is joined with perfect goodwill ? We may 
 search through twenty volumes without finding a 
 single unkind letter. The peculiar situation of each 
 friend is perfectly understood, and the writer knows 
 as if by instinct how to choose the word which will 
 cheer and strengthen. Each extant communication 
 addressed to the exiled Queen Dowager of Scotland 
 seems to us like " a brook by the way." Anne 
 d'Este, Duchess of Guise, in an undated letter, 
 wrote : "I assure you only, Madame, that you have 
 the best and prettiest young Queen that I think 
 can be in the world. I believe that you would have 
 great satisfaction if you saw her, for we must 
 no longer think of treating her as a child. Her 
 conversation and behaviour retain nothing of child- 
 ishness." ^ 
 
 Diane de Poitiers wrote, about the time of Mary's 
 marriage : " Be assured, Madame, that there is no person 
 who desires more your health and prosperity than I 
 do, nor of what concerns you. Among these things, 
 Madame, I can assure you that as regards the Queen 
 your daughter, I will exert myself to do her service 
 more than to my own daughter, for she deserves it 
 more. I assure you truly that she did not speak as 
 a child, but as a person of fifty years, as Messieurs 
 the deputies of Scotland can testify to you, — 
 which has been a very great pleasure to all the 
 company." " 
 
 There is something which is hardly conventional 
 flattery in the references of French contemporary 
 writers to Mary's girlhood. Mellin de Saint-Gelais, 
 one of the most courtly poets of the age, seems 
 
 ' National Manuscripts of Scotland, part iii. No. 33, 
 " Ibid. No. 34. 
 
 3S4 
 
"A Little Rosebud" 
 
 carried beyond himself in the enthusiasm of his 
 praises — 
 
 " II luy verra, sous cheveleure blonde 
 Une chenue et prudente pens6e, 
 Sur qui I'espoir de maint laurier se fonde ; 
 En la blancheur par nul trouble offensee 
 De I'ample front, il verra vertu peinte, 
 Finie en elle, aux autres commencee." ^ 
 
 An early biographer of Mary, Nicolas Caussin, 
 sums up the opinion of courtiers on the Queen's first 
 years in France : — 
 
 " She was still a little rosebud, who kept her charms 
 shut up in early childhood. But as she developed 
 with growing years, she was seen to be a Princess 
 descended from the blood of more than a hundred 
 kings. She possessed a body formed by the 
 hands of beauty, a clear mind, a firm judg- 
 ment, a lofty virtue, and an incomparable grace of 
 speech." 
 
 Writing on her marriage, Nicolas Caussin 
 says : " All things smiled beneath the rays 
 of that dawn, and it seemed as if happiness 
 must pour forth her favours with full hands 
 upon a marriage whose knot had been tied in 
 heaven, in order to win the approval of all the 
 earth." 
 
 We cannot but wish that history had pre- 
 served for us such frank and charming letters 
 from Queen Mary as those which Henry of Guise 
 wrote to his father during the Italian expedi- 
 tion. They are full of the spirit of childish fun 
 and frolic, and show the seven-year-old writer as 
 a mischievous, naughty, lovable boy. No tutor, 
 
 ' (Euvres (edition de Prosper Blancliemain), vol. ii. p. 282. 
 
 2 B 385 
 
French Influences 
 
 it is evident, had overlooked these composi- 
 tions.^ 
 
 Writingon January 22, 1556-57, from Saint-Germain, 
 Henry says : " On Innocents' Day they gave us a 
 good fright ; for Madame Isabeau came to give us 
 our ' innocents ' ; ^ but I was up already, and the Duke 
 of Bavaria, who also came to give them to us, got a 
 nice beating, and I did the same to M. de Lorraine 
 in his bed. I shall keep a good look-out in future 
 for fear of blows." 
 
 We can hear " a hurry of feet and little feet " 
 along the dark corridors of Saint - Germain on the 
 winter morning ; the smothered laughter and whisper- 
 ing, the rushes from door to door, the pretended 
 groans of the fourteen-year-old Duke of Lorraine as 
 his little cousin greeted him so roughly on Innocents' 
 Day. 
 
 Henry writes as if his father were merely a big 
 schoolboy like the Duke of Lorraine, and there must 
 have been something very sweet in the home 
 atmosphere which produced such letters. He de- 
 scribes the hunting, and tells how the pages ate up 
 all the good bits of the hares, " and I assure you 
 they have had no toothache." He tells that the 
 King had promised hackneys to him and his cousin, 
 that a new court for pall-mall had been made at 
 Nanteuil, one of the family houses, and that he was 
 going to look carefully after his little brothers.' 
 " They have been telling grandmamma that I was 
 obstinate, but Desfosses [probably one of his tutors] 
 
 ' They are printed from the originals in the Bibhoth^que at Rouen 
 by M. Joseph de Croze in his work, Lcs Gnisc, les Va.'ois et Philippe 11. , 
 vol. i. p. 3? 2. 
 
 ^ Blows with a whip given in fun. 
 
 ' " Jc scrois Icur gouvorneur ct Icur apprendrois leur cour." 
 
Mary and Elizabeth of Valois 
 
 shows that this is not true, for if I had been, he would 
 have given me a beating." We see from this letter 
 how the Court fools, Brusquet and Stic, made fun 
 for the children. Henry concludes as follows : 
 " Monseigneur, I will not write you a longer letter, 
 because I am hungry and want my dinner. I assure 
 you I have a good appetite." ^ 
 
 Writing from Villers-Cotterets on April 27, Henry 
 says : "I have now another pretty little brother 
 whom my mother gave me at Nanteuil, directly after 
 I had left to go to Rheims with my uncle." 
 
 The Court etiquette must have been stiffer than 
 that of Nanteuil, Meudon and Joinville, and the 
 royal children had not the exuberant vitality which 
 Mary shared in early girlhood with her cousins of 
 Guise. But the severe suffering caused her by the 
 unkindness of Madame de Paroy proves that the 
 Scottish Queen had been accustomed to petting and 
 indulgence. She was encouraged to cultivate the 
 closest affection for every companion in the nursery. 
 Henry 11. and his wife educated their children on the 
 plan approved by Camillo in The Winter's Tale : 
 " They were trained together in their childhoods ; 
 and there rooted betwixt them then such an affection, 
 which cannot choose but branch now." The rest 
 of Camillo' s speech is not inapplicable to the relations 
 of Mary and the Princess Elizabeth, for when the 
 former was a captive in England and the latter was 
 within a few months of her early death, they " shook 
 hands, as over a vast, and embraced, as it were, 
 from the ends of opposed winds." Elizabeth desired 
 that one of her daughters should marry Mary's son. 
 
 Mary wrote from Bolton on September 24, 1568, 
 
 ' " Je vous promets que j'avons \sic] bon app6tit." 
 387 
 
French Influences 
 
 to thank the sister of old nursery days for her kind 
 and comforting letters, which to her had been God's 
 messengers of consolation. " I see well/' wrote the 
 Queen, " that I ought to praise God because, for my 
 good fortune, we were brought up as children together. 
 For that reason we are bound by an indissoluble 
 friendship, which you on your side have shown me. 
 But alas ! how shall I make you a return except in 
 loving and honouring you, and — if ever I have the 
 power — in serving you according to the wish I shall 
 have and have had all my life." ^ 
 
 A Queen of twenty-six, for whom nineteen years 
 of captivity remained, wrote thus to a Queen-Consort 
 of twenty-three, who was already dying under the 
 hands of Spanish physicians.^ In July Elizabeth 
 had suffered from fainting fits, and from strange 
 attacks of melancholy, during which she wept " with- 
 out knowing why." 
 
 The letters which cheered the captive Queen of 
 Scots must have been written while the " suavissima 
 soror " of old days was herself sinking fast towards 
 the grave. Mary's last letters to Elizabeth are dated 
 September 24. On September 22, according to con- 
 temporary accounts, the Queen of Spain's iUness 
 entered on a critical phase. She foretold her early 
 death, and her ladies spent days and nights weeping 
 beside her bed. On Sunday, October 3, the best and 
 most beloved of Catherine de' Medici's children gave 
 birth prematurely to a httle daughter, and herself 
 passed away soon after noon. The French Ambassa- 
 
 ^ Labanoff, Recueil, vol. ii. p. i8^ 
 
 ^ M. de Ruble has described the closing weeks of Elizabeth's hfe in 
 his book, Le Traiti de Catcau-CambrtHis, pp. 317-22. See also the 
 excellent biography of Ehzabeth by the Marquis du Prat, and Major 
 Martin Ilume's chajilcr in Queens of Old Spain. 
 
 3S8 
 
Elizabeth's Early Death 
 
 dor, Fourquevaulx, tells that in her dying hour the 
 Queen called him to her side and said, " Ambassador, 
 you see that I am about soon to leave this poor world 
 for a happier kingdom, where I trust that I shall 
 dwell with my God in everlasting glory." 
 
 Elizabeth slept in peace, her hands folded over 
 the crucifix, "as if in a gentle slumber " ; and 
 Philip II., who loved her truly, and had said his fare- 
 wells before her consciousness departed, shut himself 
 up for a month in a monastery, where he mourned 
 her amid continual services. 
 
 On October i8, the Bishop of Cuenga preached 
 Elizabeth's funeral sermon, amid the sobs of a great 
 congregation. Brantome bears testimony to the 
 universal mourning for this young Queen, who had 
 followed through life the simple path of duty. 
 
 Now that all the sinister legends to which Bran- 
 tome gave too ready heed have been dispelled, we 
 understand that the " Queen of the Peace " received 
 her reward even in this world, because she had made 
 the best of her opportunities. The Duchess of Alba 
 and the other ladies of the Court laid flowers on her 
 cofiin, and history has placed other wreaths beside 
 these faded blossoms. 
 
 In her last letter Mary told her " good sister " 
 the story of eleven months' imprisonment, and hinted 
 at her fears for the future. " I am in the hands of 
 those who watch me so closely that a little thing 
 would serve as their excuse for doing me a worse 
 turn than that of keeping me against my will. Save 
 for that, I should long ago have been in France." ^ 
 
 " You have made in jest a proposal," wrote Mary 
 in the same letter, " which I wish to take seriously ; 
 
 ' Labanoff, Recueil, vol. ii. p. 184. 
 389 
 
French Influences 
 
 the reference to your daughters." She offered her 
 son for either of the Spanish Princesses, if only 
 Phihp II. and Charles ix. would help her to regain 
 her throne. In the letter of September 24 we see 
 the imprisoned Queen beating fiercely against her 
 bars, and still under the illusion that royal knight- 
 errants might arise on her behalf in France and Spain. 
 Though in some respects this is one of the least pleasing 
 of Mary's letters, there is pathos in the attempt to 
 link her wild fortunes with those of the child-com- 
 panion whom, in the Latin letter dated on the same 
 day from Bolton, she addressed as " Soror mea 
 optima," subscribing herself " Vestra dilecta soror 
 et cognata." ^ She had wished that Elizabeth should 
 receive her storm-tossed ship into a safe harbour,^ 
 and the expression reminds us that the hves of 
 sixteenth-century princes and princesses were in a 
 singular degree at the mercy of winds and waves. 
 Elizabeth cast anchor in earliest girlhood in a land- 
 locked haven ; Mary was driven about in troublous 
 seas. Mr. Andrew Lang expresses the truth when 
 he says : " The stress of contending world-forces was 
 thrusting against a girl." ' 
 
 On November 30, 1586, Mary wrote a letter of 
 condolence to Philip 11. on the death of his voung 
 wife : — 
 
 " In the midst of my troubles I have received 
 two pieces of news at once, through which it seems 
 that fate is redoubling its efforts to put a full end to 
 me. One of these pieces of news is that of the death 
 of the Queen, your wife and my good sister, whose 
 soul may God have in His keeping. The other is the 
 
 ' Labanoff, Recueil , vol. ii. pp. i88, 189, ' Ibid. 
 
 » History of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 138. 
 
 390 
 
Open-air Pastimes 
 
 information that you have been told that I am in- 
 constant in the matter of rehgion, and that, unhappily 
 for me, you suspect sometimes that this is true." ^ 
 
 Mary's tribute to her child-companion was heart- 
 felt and sincere. " I have lost the best sister and 
 friend that I had in the world, and her on whom my 
 hope was chiefly fixed. And although this loss is 
 irreparable, and we must resign ourselves to it and 
 submit ourselves to the will of God, who has called 
 her to Himself and taken her away from this world 
 that He may give her the enjoyment of one which is 
 far more blessed, I cannot speak to you as yet about 
 this loss or even think of it without my heart melting 
 in tears and sighs, while the love I bore to her comes 
 up continually before my memory." ^ 
 
 With such letters before us, we can hardly exag- 
 gerate in saying that some of the purest influences on 
 the Queen's character were derived from her residence 
 at the Court of France. Looking back on these 
 thirteen years, she must have remembered, not only 
 the pomp and glitter of the Court of Henry ii., but a 
 home-life in which it was possible that Christian 
 virtues should thrive. 
 
 She may have thought also, during weary prison 
 hours, of the healthful open-air amusements which had 
 strengthened her constitution, of her pastime in the 
 deep woods that fringed the Loire, and the habit of 
 vigorous exercise which prepared mind and body 
 to endure the anxieties of State. She had seen the 
 Court escape, as at Amboise, from the midst of diffi- 
 culties into the April sunshine, as if the worst perils 
 
 ' Mary's letter of September 24, with its excuses, may well have 
 stirred suspicion in the mind of Philip 11. 
 " Labanoff, Recueil, vol. ii. p. 238. 
 
 391 
 
French Influences 
 
 could be dashed aside like the raindrops of an Easter 
 shower. 
 
 An incident which happened on this Amboise 
 visit reminds us that Mary's passion for amusement 
 must have been encouraged, in girlhood, by a thousand 
 ingenious and mirthful displays. It is the story told 
 by Brantome of how her uncle, the Grand Prior, 
 dressed as an Egyptian lady, and carrying on his left 
 arm a monkey, tilted against the Duke of Nemours, 
 that renowned cavalier who had ridden on a Shrove 
 Tuesday down the staircase of the Sainte Chapelle 
 on his horse " le Real," and who, for this occasion, 
 was attired as a city housewife in black cloth, with a 
 bunch of a hundred keys hanging from his girdle. 
 The Grand Prior, who appeared masked, robed in 
 velvet and with widely puffed silk sleeves, had 
 dressed his monkey in baby-clothes, to the high 
 delight of the spectators, but finding that it 
 frightened his horse, he was obliged to hand it to 
 an attendant. The jingling of the Duke of Nemours' 
 keys on their great silver chain made a noise, says 
 Brantome, like that of bells each time that his horse 
 leaped. 
 
 There was no end to the inventiveness of the 
 young nobles in devising pleasures for themselves 
 and the King. The fancy for dressing in Oriental 
 costume was developed under Henry ii. Knights of 
 Malta were seen in the ballrooms of the Louvre, dancing 
 a ballet with ladies dressed in Turkish costume. 
 Sometimes the dancers were robed as ]\Ioorish kings and 
 queens, or as Indian savages with coloured feathers. 
 Henry ii., the Dauphin, and a company of nobles, 
 dressed themselves up as Turks during the rejoicings 
 for the capture of Calais, and rode out of the Palace 
 
 39- 
 
The Court in Fancy Dress 
 
 of the Tournelles along the Rue Saint-Antoine in 
 robes of white silk, each carrying on his left shoulder 
 a quiver full of arrows. The winter night was set 
 aflame by torch-bearers, and at the head of the 
 Turkish troop rode the royal trumpeters on horseback, 
 followed by a Turkish band of musicians wearing white, 
 and mounted on mules and donkeys. The Turks 
 were challenged by a body of Moors, who had started 
 from the Hotel de Montmorency, and a tournament 
 took place amid the acclamations of the multitude, 
 to the sound of barbaric music. The ladies of the 
 Court, we may assume, were spectators of this weird 
 display,^ as they were always watchers of King Henry's 
 amusements. 
 
 We have seen something of the magnificence with 
 which the chief provincial towns welcomed Kings and 
 Queens. The entertainments were partly contrived 
 from classical subjects, partly from the dimly under- 
 stood new world which was revealing its mysteries 
 so slowly to Europe. Leonard Limosin, on one 
 of his enamelled dishes, represented Henry ll. 
 as Jupiter seated at the table of Olympus, having 
 beside him two goddesses, Catherine and Diane, and 
 around him the inferior divinities of the kingdom.^ 
 Classical representations were frequent at Court, 
 but we suspect that a keener delight came from the 
 reception of dusky potentates like Shakespeare's 
 Prince of Morocco, who could boast that their scimitar 
 had slain " the Sophy and a Persian Prince," and 
 " won three fields of Sultan Solyman." 
 
 The Ambassador of the " King of Argos," who 
 
 ' Sauval, Histoire et Antiquitis de la Ville de Paris, vol. ii. p. 692. 
 ' E. Bourciez, Les Moeurs polies et la litUrature de cour sous Henri II., 
 pp. 176, 177. 
 
 393 
 
French Influences 
 
 visited Paris in 1552 with a gift of horses for Henry ll., 
 was received by the magistrates of the city with 
 honour, and was taken to visit the Louvre, the Tour- 
 nelles, Notre Dame, and the Bastille. So keen was 
 the interest of the populace that a double row of 
 archers lined the streets to guard him.^ Intellectual 
 curiosity on geographical and ethnological questions 
 was widely awake at the French Court during Mary's 
 girlhood. The world outside Europe was a hunting 
 field for fancy, and travellers' tales provided ever 
 varying ideas for municipal and private entertain- 
 ment designed to please royalty. 
 
 The love of pleasure in all its varieties, and 
 especially of dancing, music, and dress, must have 
 been planted deeply in the heart of every lady brought 
 up at the Valois Court. Brantome, in his biographies 
 of the Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret, daughters 
 of Henry 11., dwells at length on the sumptuousness 
 and taste of their costumes, and though sadder themes 
 occupy most of his celebrated chapter on Mary Stuart, 
 she probably possessed in girlhood richer robes and 
 costlier jewels than those of Elizabeth, Claude, or 
 Margaret of France. The young Queen of Spain, 
 Brantome says, never wore the same gown twice,^ 
 and the depredations of Madame de Paroy suggest 
 that the Queen of Scots had a large reserve of velvet 
 and satin dresses in her wardrobes. The love of 
 jewels was a feminine characteristic which Mary 
 shared with her girl - companions. She had been 
 richly provided even in childhood with ornaments, 
 as we know from one of the Cardinal's letters to her 
 
 • E. Bourciez, Z.M Ma-iirs /-lolus e/ /ii Htliraturc deco-ur sous Henri II., 
 pp. 56, 57. 
 
 " Vol. viii. p. 19. 
 
 5')4 
 
Mary's Jewels 
 
 mother.* In a letter of her own, which must in all 
 probabihty belong to the spring of 1556, the Queen 
 says she had been informed by Arran's people that 
 his father, the Duke of Chatelherault, was sending 
 a gentleman with some jewels for her at Easter.^ 
 The messenger, Sir James Hamilton, arrived in the 
 summer of 1556, bringing with him much valuable 
 property which had been in the possession of the 
 elder Arran since the death of James v. As next 
 heir to the throne, he had been appointed Governor 
 of Scotland and tutor to the infant Queen. On his 
 retirement from these offices in 1554, he received 
 royal and parliamentary discharges for the property 
 of the Crown which he had held in trust. But some 
 jewels, tapestry, and clothes still remained in his 
 hands, and for these Sir James Hamilton received a 
 receipt from the Queen dated June 3, 1556.^ 
 
 Among the jewels handed over to Mary were 
 thirty-one rings, thirteen of which were set with 
 diamonds, eleven with rubies, four with emeralds, 
 and three with sapphires. There were many jewelled 
 ornaments, twelve pieces of tapestry in cloth of gold 
 or silver, and a richly gemmed dagger which had been 
 presented by Francis i. to his son-in-law, James v. 
 " It was brought back to Holyrood in 1561, and is 
 last heard of, five years afterwards, in the hands of 
 that Lord Ruthven who rose from his death-bed to 
 play such a memorable part in the murder of Riccio."* 
 
 It was an agate-hilted poniard, set with emeralds, 
 
 'Labanoff, Recueil, vol. i. p. 12. Letter dated February 25, 
 
 1552-53- 
 
 ' Ibid. p. 6. 
 
 ' Joseph Robertson, Inventaires de la Royne Descosse, pp. 3-6 and 
 Preface, xi, xii. 
 
 ' Ibid. Preface, p. xii. 
 
 395 
 
French Influences 
 
 rubies, pearls and diamonds, and with a great sapphire 
 on the head. 
 
 Although Mary did not agree to the alleged 
 proposal of her uncle Charles that she should leave 
 her jewels in his keeping when she returned to Scotland, 
 she was generous in her gifts to relatives, and pre- 
 sented the Duchess of Guise, before her departure 
 from Calais, with a necklace of rubies, emeralds, and 
 diamonds.^ When making her will, before the birth 
 of her son in 1566, the Queen bequeathed to the 
 house of Guise " a legacy of great rubies and great 
 pearls, to be handed down from generation to genera- 
 tion as the inheritance of its first-born." - Costly 
 separate gifts were set apart for various members of 
 the family, and the children of her uncles Claude, 
 Duke of Aumale,^ and Rene, Marquis d'Elboeuf, were 
 to have their full share in the inheritance. To the 
 Cardinal of Lorraine she left an emerald ring. Her 
 natural disposition was most generous, and the gifts 
 she set apart for her maternal relatives are proofs 
 of her unaltered regard. Little more than two years 
 after she was ordering with regal magnificence for 
 the'Tdisposal of these priceless treasures in the event 
 
 ' Joseph Robertson, Inventaires de la Royne Descosse, Preface, p. xvi 
 and p. 10. 
 
 ^ Ibid. Preface, p. xxxiv and pp. 96, 97, loi, 102. 
 
 ^ The learned editor of the Inventaires, in a note to p. xxxv of his 
 Preface, is mistaken in his remarks on the Duchy of Aumale. He says 
 that Claude, third son of the first Duke of Guise, " became Duke of 
 Aumale in 1547. It was at his marriage, as we learn from a letter of 
 Henry ii., that Queen Mary, after her arrival in France in 154S, first 
 danced with the Dauphin." It was Francis, not Claude, of Guise who 
 became Duke of Aumale in 1547. He held the title till the death of 
 his father in 1550, when he became Duke of Guise. His brother 
 Claude, Marquis of Mayenne, thereafter took the title of Duke of 
 Aumale. It was at the marriage of Francis, not Claude, that the 
 little Mary danced with the Dauphin. The marriage of Claude to the 
 daughter of Diane de Poitiers had taken place in 1547. 
 
 396 
 
Mary's Favourite Poets 
 
 of her death, the prisoner-Queen wrote to EHzabeth 
 from Bolton, begging that the remainder of her 
 jewels should not be sold, as the Scottish Parliament 
 had decreed. " I should be very well content," she 
 added, " if you could have them, for greater security, 
 since they are no fit meat for traitors, and between 
 you and myself I make no difference. I should be 
 glad if there were any you fancied, that you should 
 take them from my hand or with my full consent." ^ 
 
 To the pleasures of open-air life, of dress and per- 
 sonal adornment, the daughters of the house of Valois, 
 and the Queen of Scots their companion, added those 
 of Uterature. Brantome tells that the Princesses Eliza- 
 beth and Margaret loved books, and he mentions as the 
 favourite poets of Queen Mary two of the best known 
 and one of the least known writers of the age, Ronsard, 
 Joachim du Bellay, and Maisonfleur. " The nymph of 
 Scotland " was among the brides to whom du Bellay 
 said farewell in his Ode on the Marriage of Margaret 
 of Savoy : — 
 
 "Adieu soeurs, adieu belles; 
 Adieu doctes pucelles." 
 
 The tributes of the two world-famous poets are 
 quoted by many biographers of Mary, and need not 
 be repeated here.^ 
 
 ' Labanoff, Recueil, vol. ii. p. 172. 
 
 ^Prosper Blanchemain's edition of Ronsard in eight volumes 
 enumerates in the Index eleven longer or shorter references to the 
 Scottish Queen. The editor suggests that it was at her request that 
 Ronsard published the first edition of his works in 1560 (vol. viii. p. 28). 
 The first Ode addressed to the Queen in these volumes belongs to 1567, 
 the year of her tragedy (vol. ii. p. 481). Ronsard wrote with evi- 
 dently sincere sorrow about the Queen's darker years. In his view 
 she was ever an exile — 
 
 " Se souvenant de France et du sceptre laisse, 
 Et de son premier feu comme un songe passe." 
 (vol. iv. pp. 35-36). 
 
 397 
 
French Influences 
 
 The third poet mentioned by Brantome, 
 L'Huilher, Seigneur de Maisonfleur, is httle known 
 to modern readers. Ronsard, in a poem dated 1564, 
 addresses the " learned L'Huilher " and condoles 
 with him on the loss of their royal patroness. He 
 wishes that he might have been a bird to fly 
 after her, or a star to shine above her vessel.^ 
 Ronsard's editor, M. Blanchemain, says in a note, 
 that the "Cantiques" of Maisonfleur was "one 
 of the books of poetry which Mary Stuart took 
 with her to Scotland, and which she loved to 
 read." ^ 
 
 M. Lalanne, in a note on Brantome's brief refer- 
 ence to Maisonfleur, says : "I know only thirteen 
 hymns of Maisonfleur, in a collection entitled The 
 Hymns of the Sieur de Valagre and the Hymns of 
 the Sieur de Maisonfleur (Paris, 1587, i2mo) ; 
 and besides there are in the MSS 1663 of the 
 Fonds frangais (folios 89 and 122) three pieces of 
 verse. None of these has any connection \\ith Mary 
 Stuart." ^ 
 
 In the British Museum there is a small volume 
 published a year earlier than that to which 
 M. Lalanne refers, in which the "Cantiques" of 
 Maisonfleur are bound up with poems by Remy 
 Belleau and other writers.^ It is fairly certain 
 that this was not the first collection of Maison- 
 
 ' Vol. vi. p. 22 (Blanchemain's edition). 
 
 ^ This remark was probably quoted from Brant6me. 
 
 ^ Brantome, vol. vii. p. 406, note. 
 
 * The British Museum possesses tluee small volumes besides that 
 mentioned above, which contain the " Cantiques " of Maisonfleur, 
 among other poems. The first, dated 15S7 and pubhshed in Paris by 
 Mathieu Guillemot, is that to which M. Lalanne refers. The others 
 were published at Koucn in lOoi and 1613. These three add nothing 
 to our knowledge of the poet's life. 
 
 39S 
 
The Poet Maisonfleur 
 
 fleur's sacred pieces which was pubhshed in France, 
 for in the prefatory notes there is a reference 
 to " this last edition." The small book is de- 
 scribed as "an excellent work and full of 
 piety." ^ It was dedicated in 1580 to Charlotte 
 of Bourbon, Princess of Orange, but, owing] no 
 doubt to the disturbed times, did not appear till 
 six years later. In 1580 the author, as we learn 
 from the dedication, was no longer amongst the 
 living. One or two facts as to his career may be 
 gleaned from the address " To Readers." The 
 editor of the " Cantiques," who appears to have been an 
 intimate friend of the poet, says that Maisonfleur 
 had been brought up amidst the delights of the Court, 
 that he had tasted the poisons of this world and 
 had sometimes plunged as deeply into pleasure as any 
 other gentleman of his time. By the mysterious 
 leading of God's providence,^ his heart had been so 
 touched that he came to hate these earthly vanities ; 
 and resolving that he must make some return to 
 God for His mercy, " he set himself to exalt in 
 these beautiful verses His goodness, truth, and 
 power, giving to us all thereby a singular example 
 of piety." The editor of Maisonfleur deplores 
 the fact that the age had produced so few poets 
 who were willing to write on " holy and serious 
 matters." 
 
 As a specimen of Maisonfleur' s work we take 
 three verses from the first " Cantique." His " ivory 
 lute " was consecrated, as he says in the concluding 
 
 ' This edition of 1586 was published by Jean Houze in Paris. His 
 house is described on the title-page as " la boutique au Palais, en la 
 galerie des prisonniers pres la chancellerie." 
 
 ' " Par un secret de la bonte de Dieu." 
 
 399 
 
French Influences 
 
 lines of his last hymn, to the perpetual praise of 
 God. 
 
 " Mais bien que mon pech6 loin du del me recule 
 Que ma perversity me fait mon proces, 
 Si scay-je que j'auray vers mon Dieu seur acces 
 Par le sang espandu de I'Agneau sans macule. 
 
 " Ces playes, ces tourments, ces injures souffertes 
 Ceste croix, ce mespris de sa divinite, 
 Ce mourir infini de son humanite 
 Me tiennent de ta paix les grandes portes ouvertes. 
 
 " O Dieu dispensateur de la paix eternelle 
 Sans toy mille remords la guerre me feront. 
 Toy qui promets d'ouvrir a ceux qui heurteront 
 Ouvre a celuy qui heurte et ton secours appelle." 
 
 The prayer for peace and pardon breathes 
 through all the hymns of Maisonfieur/ and 
 although his is perhaps the dimmest of the many 
 shadows which surround the Queen of Scotland, 
 there is reason to believe that his verses, which 
 she possessed, perhaps in manuscript only, were, 
 in Ronsard's words, like a star shining over her 
 vessel. 
 
 Much has been written on the darker side of Court 
 life under Henry ii., and there is a ^videspread opinion 
 that, if any influences could have acted more per- 
 niciously on Mary's childhood than those of the 
 wicked Guises, they would have been found in Court 
 manners as depicted by Brantome in Lcs Dames 
 Galantes. We have attempted, in these pages, to 
 give a faithful and impartial picture of the home-life 
 
 ' Branlomc describes this poet as " gentil cavalier pour les lettres 
 cl pour lcs armcs " (vol. vii. p. 415). 
 
 400 
 
The Court of Henry II. 
 
 of the Guises during Mary's youth, and on the larger 
 question we have pleasure in quoting the following 
 passage by Professor Lemonnier : ^ — 
 
 "It is very difficult for us to know how far cor- 
 ruption penetrated. We cannot always trust im- 
 plicitly the contemporary writers ; or the stories 
 told by them may apply only to exceptional cases. 
 We shall certainly not accept all the sayings of Bran- 
 tome in his Dames Galantes. Very often these are 
 only reproductions of old stories, or of scandalous 
 narratives which are entirely fanciful, and to which 
 he put names in order to give them a greater 
 piquancy. We must not preserve everything, and 
 yet we must preserve something, of the impression 
 left upon us by his narratives. We have seen 
 what an example was set by Francis i. and his 
 Court ; the same spirit prevailed under Henry ii. 
 and his successors. And yet, in the homes of the 
 Montmorencys, of the Guises, of the Bourbons, and 
 other highly placed persons, we find properly conducted 
 and fairly harmonious households, and an honour- 
 able family life. As for the middle classes, their 
 time was filled up by the daily duties of their 
 calling." 
 
 To the modern student of the Valois reigns, not 
 the least noteworthy fact is that eloquence, entirely 
 apart from character, was highly esteemed in Court 
 preachers and theologians. No pulpit orator of the 
 age, with the exception of the Cardinal of Lorraine, 
 was more admired than Jean de Montluc, Bishop of 
 Valence. From Brantome and Sir James Melville 
 we gain a dubious impression of this prelate's 
 character, but with his speech at Fontainebleau 
 
 ' Lavisse History of France, vol. v. part ii. p. 262. 
 2 C 401 
 
French Influences 
 
 before us, we feel that Brantome did him less than 
 justice. '^ 
 
 It is certain that although Mary was brought up 
 as a devout Catholic, she was not educated to a bigotry 
 like that of Phihp ii. Cruelty was alien from her 
 disposition, though she had seen cruelty. Brantome 
 says : " This Queen was never cruel ; she was all 
 kindness and gentleness. She never did a cruel act 
 in France, nor even found pleasure or had the heart 
 to see the execution of poor prisoners condemned by 
 justice, as many great ones I have known have done. 
 When she was on board her galley, she would not 
 allow the lightest stroke to be given to any gaUey- 
 slave. She begged her uncle the Grand Prior to carry 
 out her wishes, and commanded the convicts' overseer 
 to the same effect, for she grieved deeply over their 
 sufferings and pitied them from her heart." ^ 
 
 De Thou has taken a sorrowful view of the Queen's 
 thirteen years in France. He says : " Her marriage 
 was truly glorious, but she had not, so to speak, more 
 than the outward show of all those fortunate things 
 which were spread before her eyes, for her mother, 
 a very illustrious Princess, and the King her husband, 
 died almost at the same time. . . . She was even at 
 that early age alternately caressed and ill-treated by 
 Fortune, which made its sport of her as a great and 
 sorrowful example of the uncertainty of the things of 
 this world." " 
 
 ' There is no more savage brief characterisation in Brant6me's 
 writings than his note on the Bishop in the biography of his brother, 
 Blaise de Montluc. He describes tlie Bishop of Valence as " fin, desli6, 
 trinquat, rompu et corrompu, autant pour son sfavoir que pour sa 
 pratique." 
 
 History has not said her final word on this eloquent Churchman, 
 who was accused of Huguenot sympathies. 
 
 ' Vol. vii. p. 4:;!. « Hisioire, vol. ii. p. 315. 
 
 402 
 
Memories of France 
 
 Ronsard was right, perhaps, when he imagined 
 that Mary's years in France would grow dim on the 
 horizon of memory. In the year of her landing at 
 Roscoff, Herberay des Essars published the eighth 
 book of his translation of the Amadis de Gaul, and on 
 the title-page of this, as of the earlier volumes, was 
 printed his motto, which may have expressed 
 the Queen's mood as she recalled in later life her 
 experiences in France, "Acuerdo olvido: Remem- 
 brance — forgetfulness." Remembrance of a thousand 
 kindnesses; forgetfulness of the mortifications which 
 are inseparable from the life of Courts. 
 
 403 
 
APPENDIX A 
 
 Original Letters connected with the Queens 
 Girlhood, with Translations 
 
 The Sieur de Breze to the Queen Dowager of Scotland 
 Balcarres Papers, Vol. III. No. 126 
 
 July 31 [1548]- 
 
 "Madame, — Jay receu a ceste heure la lettre quil vous a pleu 
 mescripre avec le pacquet de Monsieur LAmbassadeur Berthier 
 la lecture duquel servira a lune partye de lennuy de nostre chemyn 
 pour apres en mander au vray la suffisance du personnaige a 
 quoy ne feray faulte Vous disant Madame la Royne vostre fille 
 faire aussi bonne chere et estre aultant joyeuse Dieu mercy que 
 layez veue y a longtemps Je supply nostre Seigneur luy vouUoir 
 maintenir et de ma part je vous supply treshumblement quil vous 
 plaise croyre que navez serviteur en ce monde qui soit plus prest 
 de rendre obeissance aux commendemens de voz voluntez que 
 moy qui sera lendroict pour prier le Createur Madame vous donner 
 en bonne sante treslongue et tresheureuse vye. De gallere ce 
 derniere Juillet. 
 
 " Vostre treshumble et tresobeissant serviteur, 
 
 " Breze." 
 [Addressed] " A La Royne." 
 
 [Translation] 
 
 Madame, — I have just received the letter you have been pleased 
 to write me, along with the packet of M. Berthier, the Ambassador, 
 the reading of which will serve to relieve the tedium of our voyage, 
 and afterwards I shall be able to report accurately on the ability 
 of that personage, as I shall not fail to do. I assure you, Madame, 
 
 405 
 
The Girlhood of Mary Queen of Scots 
 
 that the Queen your daughter fares as well and is, thanks to God, 
 as cheerful as you have seen her for a long time. I pray our Lord 
 to preserve her in this state, and for my own part I beseech you 
 very humbly to believe that you have no servant in this world 
 who is more ready to obey your commands than I am. I will now 
 ask the Creator, Madame, to give you, with good health, a very 
 long and very happy life. 
 
 On board the galley, this last day of July. 
 
 Your very humble and very obedient servant, 
 
 Breze. 
 
 The Sieur de Breze to the Queen Dowager of Scotland 
 
 Balcarres Papers, Vol. III. No. 127 
 
 Undated. 
 
 " Madame, — Je nay vollu faillir de vous faire ce mot de lettre 
 par Monsieur de Corsefot lequel est venu trouver la Royne en ce 
 lieu pres de sa maison ou nous avons donne ce soir fonde Aussy 
 pour vous advertir Madame que la Royne faict fort bonne chere 
 Dieu mercy et na encores este mallade sur la mer Le temps est 
 quelque peu bon pour nous esperant quil samendera de myeulx 
 en myeulx Et ne feray faulte quant Dieu me aura faict si heureux 
 de prandre terre en France de vous en advertir Cependent raadame 
 il vous plaira me faire tant de bien que soye retenu au nombre de 
 vos plus fidelles et affectionnez serviteurs Vous presentant en 
 rest endroict mes treshumbles recommendations bien humble- 
 ment a vostre bonne grace supply[ant] nostre Seigneur Madame 
 vous [donner] en sante longue et heureuse vye, &c. 
 
 "Vostre treshumble et a jamais tresobeissant serviteur et 
 affectionne, 
 
 " Breze." 
 [Addressed'] " A La Royne." 
 
 [Translation] 
 
 Madame,- — I am unwilling to lose this opportunity of writing 
 you this short letter by Monsieur de Corsefot, who visited the Queen 
 in this place near his house, where we anchored this evening, and 
 
 406 
 
Appendix A 
 
 to inform you, Madame, that the Queen, thank God, fares exceed- 
 ingly well and has not yet been ill on the sea. The weather is 
 fairly good, and I hope it will go on improving. I shall not fail 
 to let you know when, by God's blessing, we land in France. Do 
 me the favour, Madame, if it please you, to count me among your 
 most faithful and attached servants. Now I commend myself 
 very humbly to your favour, praying our Lord to grant you, Madame, 
 with health, a long and happy life. 
 
 Your very humble and ever obedient and affectionate 
 servant, 
 
 Br±ze. 
 
 The Sieur de Breze to the Queen Dowager of Scotland 
 Balcarres Papers, Vol. III. No. 129 
 
 August 3 [1548]. 
 
 " Madame, — Jay receu ce matin la lettre quil vous a pleu 
 mescripre et quant a vous faire entendre des nouvelles de la Royne 
 vostre fiUe Je vous puys asseurer Madame quelle faict aussy 
 bonne chere et est aussy sajme que layez jamais veue dequoy de 
 ma part jen loue nostre Seigneur et ne regrette que je nay le moyen 
 de luy faire meilleur traictement mais je vous veulx bien asseurer 
 Madame quil ne manquera rien de ma part a faire toutes les dili- 
 gences quil me sera possible pour luy faire service Et encores que 
 ce mait este le comman dement du Roy je ny vouldroys faillir Je 
 suys tresmarry que le temps na este tant pour nous que ce porteur 
 ne nous heust trouve icy, mais il fault tout homme qui hante la 
 mer avoir patience Ce jourdhuy il a commence a faire ung fort 
 beau temps et sil continue je esperance vous mander bien tost de 
 noz nouvelles qui vous contenteront bien fort Et vous veulx 
 asseurer Madame que encores que ces jours passez ayons heu grans 
 vens qui ayent fort tormente la gallere la Royne na jamais este 
 mallade, qui me faict esperer que en la grand mer elle ne sera gueres 
 Quant au meschant que scavez il me semble que ferez bien de vous 
 en donner garde Car j e ne doubte en rien que ce ne soit ung dangereux 
 paillart et qui meust voUu croyre il heust tenu compaignye a noz 
 galleres. Madame, je ne feray faulte a faire tout le plaisir quil 
 me sera possible adce gentilhomme de qui il vous a pleu mescripre 
 non en cela seulement mais quant ung chien viendroict a la part 
 ou je seroys et quil fust advertye de vous Je luy voudroys faire 
 
 407 
 
The Girlhood of Mary Queen of Scots 
 
 tous les services qui! me seroit possible vous supplyant treshumble- 
 ment Madame voulloir rroyre que ne commanderez jamays a 
 gentilhomme qui ait plus de volunte demployer sa vye pour vostre 
 service que celluy qui en cest endroict vous va presenter ses tres- 
 humbles recommendations bien humblement a vostre bonne 
 grace Et supply nostre Seigneur Madame vous donner en longue 
 et heureuse sante laccomplissement de voz voluntez De gallere 
 du droict de Sacquet ce vendredy iij° Aougst. 
 
 " Vostre treshumble et a jamais tresobeissant fidelle et 
 affectionne serviteur, 
 
 " Breze." 
 [Addressed] " A La Royne." 
 
 [Translation] 
 
 Madame, — I received this morning the letter you have been 
 pleased to write me, and as for the news of the Queen your daughter, 
 I can assure you, Madame, that she fares as well and is as healthy 
 as you ever saw her. For this I praise our Lord, and only regret 
 that I am unable to give her greater comfort. But I assure you, 
 Madame, that nothing will be lacking on my part to serve her to 
 the utmost of my power. Were it only because this was the King's 
 command to me, I should not fail in my duty. I am very sorry 
 that the weather has been so unfavourable for us that this bearer 
 should have found us here,i but every seafaring man must have 
 patience. To-day the weather has set fair, and should it continue, 
 I hope soon to send you news which will be extremely welcome to 
 you. I desire to assure you, Madame, that in spite of the very 
 high winds during the past few days, which tossed the galley most 
 severely, the Queen has never been sick. This makes me think 
 that she will suffer little on the open sea. As for tlie bad man whom 
 you know of, I think you will do well to beware of him, 
 for I have no doubt whatever that he is a dangerous scoundrel, 
 and if my advice had been taken, he would have accompanied us 
 on our galleys. Madame, I shall not fail to show all the attention 
 that is possible to me to that gentleman of whom you have been 
 pleased to write me ; and not in this only, but if even a dog came 
 to the place where 1 was and I were told it was from you I would 
 show it all the attention that was possible. I beg you very humbly, 
 Madame, to believe that you will never have at your command 
 
 ' Lik-rally : " I mil very sorry that the weather has not been so favour- 
 able for us that this bearer should not have found us here." 
 
 40S 
 
Appendix A 
 
 a gentleman who has a better will to employ his life in your service 
 than he who now commends himself very humbly to your favour. 
 I pray our Lord, Madame, to give you all that you desire, with a 
 long and healthful life. 
 
 On board the galley, on the right of Sacquet, Friday, August 3rd. 
 
 Your very humble and ever obedient, faithful, and affec- 
 tionate servant, 
 
 Breze. 
 
 The Sieur de Breze to the Queen Dowager of Scotland 
 Balcarres Papers, Vol. III. No. 131 
 
 August 6 [1548]. 
 
 " Madame, — Je vous veulx bien advertir que ceste nuict sont 
 arrivez deux gentilhommes de France en ung navire charge de 
 vivres en ce lieu lesquelz mont apporte lettres de Madame de 
 Breze, et aussy que vous vouloys escripre de noz nouvelles. Le 
 temps qui jusques icy nous a este contraire a faict apparence de 
 se calmyr avec quelque peu de bon vent qui a faict que incontinant 
 avons faict voguer pour entrer en la mer parquoy nay heu loysir 
 de vous escripre mais ainsy que avons commence dentrer en la 
 mer le vent sest tourne contraire qui nous a faict encores relaizer et 
 tourner a labri auquel nous estiens Et estans la sont arrivees 
 cinq ou six navires chargees aussy de vivres lesquelles nay voUu 
 laisser passer sans recongnoistre et aussy pour vous faire entendre 
 Madame que Dieu mercy la Royne vostre fille faict aultant bonne 
 chere et se treuve aussy peu ennuyee quil est possible comme aussy 
 faict toute sa compaignye Esperans que le premier beau temps 
 qui se presentera nous lemployrons sy bien que serons bien tost en 
 France. Cependant je vous supply treshumblement quil vous 
 plaise me faire tant de bien et dheur de me retenir du nombre de 
 voz plus fidelles et affectionnez serviteurs. Vous presentant en cest 
 endroict mes bien humbles recommendations de bien bon cueur 
 vostre bonne grace pryant le Createur, Madame, vous donner ce 
 que plus desirez en sante treslongue et tresheureuse vye. De 
 la radde de Lisle de Lamelesche ce vj' Aougst. 
 
 " Vostre treshumble et a jamais tresobeissant serviteur, 
 
 " Breze." 
 [Addressed] " A La Royne." 
 
 409 
 
The Girlhood of Mary Queen of Scots 
 
 [Translation] 
 
 Madame,— I wish to let you know that there arrived here this 
 evening, on board a ship laden with provisions, two gentlemen from 
 France who brought me letters from Madame de Br6ze ; and also I 
 wished to tell you our news. The weather, which up to the present 
 has been unfavourable to us, showed signs of moderating, with a 
 slightly favouring wind. For this reason we at once set sail for the 
 open, and that is why I have not had time to write you. But just 
 as we reached the open the wind veered round against us, and we 
 were compelled to return to port and our former shelter. While 
 we were there five or six ships, laden with provisions, arrived, and 
 I was unwilling to let them pass without a greeting, and also with- 
 out informing you, Madame, that, thank God, the Queen your 
 daughter is as well, and is as little wearied as possible, as are also 
 the rest of her company. I hope that as soon as the fine weather 
 returns we shall make such good use of it that we shall soon be in 
 France. I entreat you very humbly to do me the favour and 
 honour to count me among your most faithful and attached servants. 
 Now I commend myself humbly and with all my heart to your 
 favour, praying the Creator, Madame, to give you all that you most 
 desire, with health and a very long and very happy Ufe. 
 
 From the roadstead of the island of Lamlash, this 6th of August. 
 
 Your very humble and very obedient servant, 
 
 BREZfe. 
 
 The Sieur de BRtzi to the Queen Dowager of Scotland 
 Balcarres Papers, Vol. IIL No. 132 
 
 SAiNT-PoL-DE-LfioN, August 18 [1548]. 
 
 " Madame, — Estant asseure que ce vous sera ung grand con- 
 tentement dentendre des nouvelles de la Royne vostre fille et de 
 sa compaignye, je nay vollu faillir en obeissant au commendement 
 quil vous avoit pleu me faire a mon partement de vous advertir de 
 sa bonne jirosperito et quelle faict aultant bonne chere que layez 
 jamays veue Et qui a este moyngs mallade sur la mer que personne 
 de sa compaignye dc sorte quelle se moucquoit de ceulx qui lestoient. 
 Que jestime me est re ung aussy grand heur qui me scauroit advenir 
 
 410 
 
Appendix A 
 
 de ma vye et fymes nostre descente en se lieu de Sainct Paul de 
 Leon le xv^ de ce moys daougst Ayans demeure dixhuict jours sur 
 la mer avec grandes tourmentes et este presque contrainctz deux 
 ou troys foys relaizer a dombertrand et vue nuict ainsy que estiens 
 pres de dix lieulx en Cap de Cornouaille estant la mer merveilleuse- 
 ment impetueuse et avec aussy grans vagues que lay de ma vye 
 veue Le tymon de nostre gallere fut rompu, qui nous myt en 
 bien grand crainte, mais nostre Seigneur y voullut pourveoir de 
 sorte que ne demourasmes gueres sans y en avoir mys ung aultre 
 quelque grosse mer quil y eust. Vous advisant Madame que 
 jespere de brief rendre la Royne vostre fille a Sainct Germain ainsy 
 que le Roy ma mande que sa volunte estoit quelle y fust menee et 
 luy a envoye audevant Maistre dhostel et tons aultres of&ciers pour 
 luy faire service. Aussy que Monsieur et Madame de Guyse, 
 Monsieur destampes et Monsieur de Rohan luy viennent audevant, 
 et ne scachant Madame vous advertir daultres nouvelles pour 
 ceste heure ne vous feray plus long propos, remectant le reste au 
 Sieur de Combas qui vous pourra compter toutes nouvelles de ce 
 pays de France. Et mestime aultant heureulx de lavoir trouve sy 
 prest de son partement que de chose qui me scauroit advenir Pour 
 le grand desir que avoys de vous advertir de la chose de monde qui 
 vous peult rendre aussy ayse et contente qui est de la bonne sante 
 de la Royne vostre fille. Vous asseurant Madame que ne feray 
 faulte ayant apprins aultres nouvelles de vous escripre le plus 
 souvent quil me sera possible, Cependent Madame je vous 
 supply treshumblement me faire tant de bien et dheur que je 
 demeure en vostre bonne grace ainsy que lay toute ma vye desire 
 et desire et comme lung de voz treshumbles serviteurs. De Sainct 
 Paul de Leon ce xviij° Aougst. 
 
 "Vostre treshumble et a jamais tresobeissant affectionne 
 serviteur, 
 
 "Breze." 
 [Addressed] " A La Royne." 
 
 [Translation] 
 
 Madame, — As I believe you will be very glad to have news of 
 the Queen, your daughter, and of her company (and as I wish 
 to obey the orders which you were pleased to give me at my 
 departure), I inform you that she prospers, and is as well 
 as ever you saw her. She has been less ill upon the sea than 
 
 411 
 
The Girlhood of Mary Queen of Scots 
 
 any one of her company, so that she made fun of those that were. 
 I think this as great a piece of good luck as could happen to me in 
 my life. We landed in this place, Saint-Pol-de-Leon, on the 15th of 
 this month of August, having been eighteen days on board ship, 
 amidst heavy storms. We were almost compelled on two or three 
 occasions to return to port at Dumbarton, and one night about 
 ten leagues from the Cape of Cornwall, when the sea was wondrously 
 wild with the biggest waves I ever saw, to our great consternation, 
 the rudder of our galley was broken. Nevertheless our Lord was 
 pleased to intervene so that we replaced the rudder almost at once, in 
 spite of the heavy sea that was running. I inform you, Madame, 
 that I hope shortly to bring the Queen your daughter to Saint- 
 Germain, in accordance with the instructions which the King has 
 sent me, that he wished her to be taken there. He has sent a 
 mditre d'hotel and all other officials, for her service. Also that 
 Monsieur and Madame de Guise, M. d'fitampes and ]\I. de Rohan are 
 coming to meet her. As I have no other news to tell you for the 
 present, Madame, I shall not write you at greater length, but will 
 leave the rest to the Sieur de Combas, who will be able to give you 
 all the news from this country of France. I think myself as 
 fortunate in having found him so nearly ready to start as in any- 
 thing that could happen to me, as I was eager to inform you about 
 that thing of all others which will bring you comfort and satis- 
 faction — the good health of the Queen your daughter. I assure you, 
 Madame, that when I have heard other news I shall not fail to 
 write you as often as I can. Now I beg you, very humbly, Madame, 
 to do me such honour that I may remain in your favour as I have 
 desired to do all my life and still desire ; and as one of your very 
 humble servants. From Saint-Pol-de-Leon, August iS. 
 
 Your very humble and ever-obedient, affectionate servant, 
 
 BREZfi. 
 
 The Sieur de Breze to the Duke of Aum.\le 
 Bibliotheque Natioiialc. Foiids franQais, 20,457, fol. 121 
 
 RoscoFF, Avgust 18, 1548. 
 
 " MoNSEiGNEUR, — Estant les galMres arryvecs en ce lieu de 
 Ivossccou jc n'ay \olhi faillir troys ou quatve jours apres la descente 
 du la petite Roync d'Escossc les cnvoyor a Rouan pour actendre 
 
 412 
 
Appendix A 
 
 le commandement du Roy de ce qu'il luy plaira qu'ils facent et 
 a est6 par le conseil du seigneur de Villegaignon lequel s'en va 
 devers le roy ayant aussy bien faict son debvoir et aussi saigement 
 que I'eussiez sceu desirer vous asseurant monseigneur que de ce 
 que j'en puis congnoistre il ne manquera rien de sa part quant k 
 la charge qu'il a pleu au Roy luy donner. Ne me voullant oblyer 
 Monseigneur de vous advertir que si le Roy laissoit quelques forces 
 en Escosse que la Royne I'auroit fort aggreable, laquelle m'a com- 
 mande le faire entendre au Roy. Qui sera I'endroict ou vous 
 presenteray mes tres humbles recommandations bien humblement 
 a vostre bonne grace suppliant nostre Seigneur Monseigneur vous 
 donner aultant d'heur et de contentement que je vous en ay toute 
 ma vye dfeir6 et ddsire. De Rossegouf ce xviii'= Aougst 1548. 
 
 " Vostre trfes humble et a jamays trfes ob&sant affectionn6 
 fidelle serviteur, 
 
 " Breze." 
 " A Monseigneur. 
 
 "Monseigneur d'Aumale." 
 
 [Translation] 
 
 Monseigneur, — When the galleys had arrived in this port of 
 Roscoff, I did not fail, three or four days after the landing of the 
 little Queen of Scots, to send them to Rouen, to await the King's 
 instructions as to their further action. This was done by the 
 advice of the Seigneur de Villegaignon, who is going to meet the 
 King, and who has accomplished his duty as well and as wisely 
 as you could have wished. I assure you, Monseigneur, that as 
 far as I can learn, nothing will be lacking on his part for the fulfil- 
 ment of the task which the King has been pleased to lay upon 
 him. I must not forget, Monseigneur, to let you know that if 
 the King would leave some troops in Scotland, this would be very 
 welcome to the Queen, who has bidden me tell the King her wishes. 
 Now I will very humbly commend myself to your favour, praying 
 our Lord, Monseigneur, to give you as much happiness and satis- 
 faction as I have wished for you all my life and wish still. From 
 Roscoff, August i8th, 1548. 
 
 Your very humble and ever very obedient, affectionate, 
 faithful servant, 
 
 Brez6. 
 
 413 
 
The Girlhood of Mary Queen of Scots 
 
 The Sieur de BRfizfi to the Queen Dowager of Scotland 
 Balcarres Papers, Vol. III. No. 122 
 
 Bordeaux, All Saints' Day [November i] 1548. 
 
 " Madame, — Jay receu la lettre quil vous a pleu mescripre 
 qui ma este le plus grand plaisir qui meust sceu arriver Tant pour 
 avoir entendu de voz nouvelles que des affaires depar della. Estant 
 bien marry quelles ne se portent a vostre contentement lesquelles 
 le Roy veult estre conduictes par vostre advis et ordonnance. Vous 
 asseurant Madame que peu de temps apres estre descendu a terre 
 avec la Royne vostre fille et sa compaignye le Roy me rescript 
 que layant mise entre les mains de Madame vostre mere quil en- 
 voyait audevant d'elle men allasse trouver Monsieur Daumalle 
 en . . . ou Angoutmoys et dela Monsieur le Connestable en 
 Languedoc lesquelz il envoyoit en ce pays de Bourdelaix pour 
 mettre ordre a quelques mutinations qui y estoient survenues 
 desquelles ne vous manderay pour les remectre a la suifisance du 
 porteur qui vous en pourra dire bien au long craignant aussy vous 
 faire trop longue lettre. Et la laissy troys jours apres que Madame 
 vostre mere leut receue en lune des maisons de mon pere en laquelle 
 elle nous voullut bien faire tant dhonneur que dy passer Et 
 estoit pour lors en tresbonne sante Comme elle est de present a 
 Sainct Germain Le Roy ne la encores veue mais il est party de 
 Moulins pour y aller et croys Madame quil ne la trouverra moings 
 aggreable et a sa fantaisie que tous ceulx qui lont veue lent trouvee 
 jollye et de bon esprit. Les nopces de Monsieur de Vendosme ont 
 este faictes a Moulins avec Madame la Princesse de Navarre lesquelz 
 sont partyz avec le Roy et Royne de Navarre pour sen venir en 
 Guyenne. Aussy Madame estant en ce pays de Bourdelaiz ou 
 les vins sont bien bons Jay diet a Monsieur le Connestable quil 
 feroit fort bien de vous en envoyer ; Ce quil ne luy a falle depuys 
 ramentevoir parce que incontinant il en feist faire provision pour 
 vous en envoyer cent pieces avec ses trouppes. Esperant que 
 verray bien tost le Roy et sil me parle des affaires du pays descosse 
 ne feray faulte de luy en dire ce que jen ay congneu Aussy Madame 
 je croys que avez bien esto advertie de la malladie de Messieurs 
 de Dasquyn et do I.cviston qui a oste fort grande et mesmes de 
 celle dudit Siour de Leviston, qui est pour le present bien guery 
 Quant audit Sieur Dasquyn il commence a se bien pro . . . Le 
 petit Ceton mourut a Encenys dun flux de ventre qui est toute 
 
 4M 
 
Appendix A 
 
 la perte que nous avons faicte en nostre voyage qui ma este grande- 
 ment enuyeuse Monsieur Daumalle et Monsieur le Connestable 
 vous escripvent des nouvelles que me gardera vous en faire plus 
 longue harangue Synon vous supplyer treshumblement Madame 
 me retenir du nombre de vos plus obeissans et affectionnez serviteurs 
 qui ne desire en ce monde plus grand heur que davoir ce bien 
 demployer ma vye pour vostre service. 
 
 " Madame, apres vous avoir presente mes treshumbles recommen- 
 dations a vostre bonne grace je supply nostre Seigneur, Madame, 
 vous donner en treslongue et heureuse sante laccomplissment 
 de voz voluntez. De Bourdeaulx ce Jour de Toussainctz 1548. 
 
 "Madame Je partiray demain pour aller trouver le Roy, Vous 
 asseurant que ne faire faulte vous faire entendre des nouvelles de 
 ce pays le plus souvent quil me sera possible. 
 
 "Vostre treshumble et a jamays tresobeissant serviteur, 
 
 " Breze." 
 [Addressed] " A La Royne." 
 
 [Translation] 
 
 Madame, — I have received the letter you have been pleased 
 to write me, which was the greatest pleasure I could have had, 
 because it told me news alike of yourself and of public matters 
 over there. I am very sorry that they are not going on to your 
 satisfaction. The King wishes that they should be directed by 
 your advice and instructions. I inform you, Madame, that shortly 
 after my landing with the Queen your daughter and her company, 
 the King wrote me that when I had placed her in the hands of 
 Madame your mother whom he was sending to meet her, I should 
 
 go to join M. d'Aumale in or Angoumois, and thence join 
 
 Monsieur the Constable in Languedoc, both of whom he was sending 
 into this country of the Bordelais in order that they might quell 
 some rebellions which had arisen. I will not write you further 
 about these, relying upon the sufficiency of the bearer, who will 
 be able to tell you the whole story, and fearing also to write you 
 too long a letter. I left her three days after Madame your mother 
 had received her in one of the houses of my father, which she did 
 us the honour to visit. She was then in very good health, and 
 so continues to be at Saint-Germain. The King has not yet seen 
 her, but he has set out from Moulins to go thither. And I think, 
 
 415 
 
The Girlhood of Mary Queen of Scots 
 
 Madame, that he will not find her less charming and pleasant to 
 his taste than all those who have seen her and have admired her 
 beauty and intelligence. Monsieur de Vendome ^ has been wedded 
 at Moulins to Madame the Princess of Navarre, and they have set 
 out with the King and Queen of Navarre for Guyenne. I may 
 add, Madame, that as I was in this Bordelais country where the 
 wines are very good, I said to Monsieur the Constable that he 
 would do well to send you some. There was no need to remind 
 him of this afterwards, because he immediately made arrangements 
 to send you a hundred cases along with his troops. I hope I shall 
 soon see the King, and if he speaks to me about Scottish affairs, 
 I shall not fail to tell him what I have learned about them. 
 I expect, Madame, that you have been informed of the illness of 
 Lords Erskine and Livingston, which was very severe, especially 
 that of Lord Livingston, who is now well recovered. As for Lord 
 Erskine, he is beginning to get well [?]. Young Seton died at 
 Ancenis of a flux. This was the only loss we suffered on our 
 journey, and I deeply regretted it. Monsieur d'Aumale and 
 Monsieur the Constable are sending you their news, and this prevents 
 me from writing you at greater length, save that I beg you very 
 humbly, Madame, to count me among your most obedient and 
 affectionate servants, one who desires no other happiness in this 
 world than that he may be fortunate enough to spend his life in 
 your service. 
 
 Madame, after having commended myself very humbly to 
 your favour, I pray our Lord, Madame, to give you all that you 
 desire, with a very long and healthful life. From Bordeaux, All 
 Saints' Day, 1548. 
 
 Madame, I shall start to-morrow to join the King, and assure 
 you that I shall not fail to let you have news from this country 
 as often as I can. 
 
 Your very humble and ever obedient servant, 
 
 BRtZE. 
 ' Antoine de Bourbon. 
 
 416 
 
Appendix A 
 
 Francis, Duke of Aumale, to his Sister, the Queen Dowager 
 
 OF Scotland 
 
 Balcarres Papers, Vol. II. No. 102 
 
 Bordeaux, November 9 [i 548]. 
 
 [This letter has not the date of the year, but the contents show 
 that it belongs to 1548. It is one of the most characteristic letters of 
 the Duke, and may be compared with a letter of Diane de Poitiers, 
 written on October i8th "to the Constable and the Duke of Aumale." 
 In the letter Diane announces the birth of a son to the Marquis of 
 Mayenne (Claude of Lorraine), who had married her daughter, 
 Louise de Breze, on August ist, 1547. In an unpublished letter 
 written from Dijon on July 4th [1548] the Duke refers to his ap- 
 proaching marriage and tells his sister that he does not yet know 
 whether he is to have the elder or the younger daughter of the 
 Duke of Ferrara. ( " J e ne suis certain sy j aray lesnee ou la seconde, " 
 Balcarres Papers, Vol. II. No. 105.) It is a circumstance which 
 throws rather an interesting light on the manners of the time that 
 this great soldier, now almost thirty years of age, should leave it 
 to others to decide which of two brides was to be allotted to him, 
 a child of twelve or her sister aged seventeen. He had not seen 
 either.] 
 
 " Madame, — Encore que Monsieur le Constable et moy vous 
 ayons escript ensemble et mande par chifre et instructions tout ce 
 quil nous semble pour le service du Roy et le vostre je ne lerray 
 de vous escripre ce mot par Fourquevaulx a quy je me fie bien fort 
 et luy ay diet beaucoup de chozes de lanvye que jay de vous voir 
 dont Madame je vous supplie treshumblement le vouloir croire et 
 par luy retournant de dessa men mander vostre oppinion et sy 
 vous me comandes quelque choze vous seres hobeie et servie 
 dung frere quy ny espargnera bien ny vie pour le service que je 
 dois au Roy a vous et a la Reine vostre fille et la sienne et sy en 
 cela je suis paresseux vous poures dire que je ne vous suis rien 
 Madame je croy quavez entendu comme en lieu de la seconde 
 fille de Monsieur le Due de Ferare quy mestoit accordee Ion ma 
 donne Madame la princesse sa seur esnee quy a este a la poursuitte 
 de mon bon mestre elle est a ceste heure a Lion et sera le xxv° de ce 
 mois a Scaint Germain en peu de jours nous y arrivrons mondit 
 Sieur le Connestable et moy pour incontenant faire nos nopces ce 
 
 2D 417 
 
The Girlhood of Mary Queen of Scots 
 
 ne sera sens vous y soubhaitter pour juger ung petit ce que cest de 
 vostre belle seur quy na pas encore xviij ans et est aussy grande que 
 vous Monsieur mon pere a voulu guardant Ihonneur de la mayzon 
 aller au devant jusques a Grenoble et layant trouvee il men a 
 escript les lettres que je vous envoye quy me font amoureulx de 
 loin Madame les ungs ce marient pour appres ce repozer e'-. leurs 
 mayzons mes je ne suis de ceulx la comme jespere le vous faire 
 cognoistre quant il plera au Roy le me commander je ne veulx 
 obblier a vous mander que Madame la Marquize ma belle seur est 
 acouchee dung beau filz Je prie Dieu quil men donne bientost 
 aultant et quil vous donne ce que dezire celluy quy ce recommande 
 treshumblement a vostre bonne grasse et quy vous veult a james 
 demeure. De Bourdeaulx ce ix" de Novambre. 
 
 " Je ne vous mande rien de larrivee a Scaint Jermain de nostre 
 petite raine pourceque les propos seroint trop long et que jay le 
 tout conte audit Sieur de Fourquevaulx 
 
 "Vostre treshumble et hobeissant frere, 
 
 " Francoys de Lorraine." 
 
 [Addressed] " A La Roine doueriere d'Escosse." 
 
 [Translation] 
 
 Madame, — Although the Constable and I have written j'ou a 
 joint letter and have informed you in cipher and by message of all 
 that seems to us desirable for the King's service and your own, I 
 will not omit to write you these few lines by Fourquev lulx, in whom 
 I have much confidence, and to whom I have said a great deal 
 about the wish I have to see you. I beg very humbly, Madame, 
 that you will believe him, and when he returns that j-ou will give 
 him your views, and if you command me to do anj-thing, you will be 
 obeyed and served by a brother who will spare neitlier goods nor 
 life for the service I owe to the King and you, and to the Queen, 
 your daughter and his. If I am slothful in this j'ou may say that I 
 am nothing to you. Madame, I think you have heaid that instead 
 of the second daughter of the Duke of Ferrara.i who was granted 
 me, they have given me the Princess her elder sister. This was 
 done at the request of my kind master [Henry ii.]. She is now 
 
 1 The younger daughter, as M. Guiflrcy remarks in the note on one of 
 Diane's letters referring to the Duke's marriage, was at this time only 
 twelve. Anne d'lCstr was seventeen and the Duke nearly twenty nine. 
 I.iiln-s de Diantw de roylicis, pp. 31, 32 note. 
 
 41S 
 
Appendix A 
 
 at Lyon and will reach Saint-Germain on the 25th of this month. In 
 a few days the Constable and I will arrive there and the marriage 
 will at once be celebrated. I shall wish that you were there so 
 that you might form some idea what kind of a sister-in-law this is, 
 who is not yet eighteen years old and is as tall as you. Our father, 
 taking the honour of the family into his keeping, went to meet her 
 as far as Grenoble, and after seeing her he wrote me the letters I 
 am sending you, which make me in love with her all this way off. 
 Madame, some people get married in order to rest afterwards in 
 their homes, but I am not one of these, as I hope to let you see when 
 the King is pleased to command me. I must not forget to tell you 
 that the Marchioness, my sister-in-law, has given birth to a fine 
 boy. I pray God that He may soon give me one also, and that He 
 may grant you all that is desired by one who recommends himself 
 very humbly to your favour, and who wishes ever to remain yours. 
 From Bordeaux, November 9th. 
 
 I say nothing about the arrival at Saint-Germain of our little 
 Queen, because the story would be too long, and I have told it all 
 to the Sieur de Fourquevaulx. 
 
 Your very humble and obedient brother, 
 
 Francis of Lorraine. 
 
 Henry IL to the Sieur d'HumiSres 
 Bibliotheque Nationale. Fonds francais 3120, fol. 68 
 
 Mezieu, September :8, 1548. 
 
 [The following letter, from Henry 11. to M. d'Humieres, is in- 
 teresting from more than one point of view. It shows the King's 
 anxiety to provide suitable accommodation for his "little daughter," 
 the Queen of Scots, at Saint-Germain, and it proves, incidentally, 
 the truth of Claude de I'Aubespine's remark, that the principal 
 personages of the kingdom devoured the King as a lion does its prey. 
 The greater part of the letter is printed by M. Guiffrey.*] 
 
 " A mon cousin le Sieur de Humyeres, chevalier de mon ordre et 
 gouverneur de mon filz le daulphin 
 
 "MonCousin, — DepuismesderniSres lettres j'ay receu lesvostres 
 de III et xii° de ce moys, tres aise d' avoir veu par icelles comme 
 ' Lettres de Dianne de Poytiers, p. 33 note. 
 419 
 
The Girlhood of Mary Queen of Scots 
 
 mes enfans continuent de se porter de bien en mieulx et pove 
 est re seur que ne me S9auriez faire plaisir ne service plus agr^abk 
 que de m'advertir le plus souvant que pourrez de leurs nouveUei 
 Et pour ce que j'esp&re aUer bien tost k Sainct-Germain-en-Lay( 
 j'ay advis^ de faire dresser et accommoder pour eulx et pour m 
 fille la royne d'Escosse les salles et chambres, tant de dessus 1 
 mienne, que de dessus ceUes de ma femme, de mon oncle le roy d 
 Navarre et de mon cousin le connestable, comme verrey par 1 
 m6moire que je vous envoye ; et mande k Sainct Germain qu'O ; 
 face incontinant besongner en la meilleure diUigence qu'O ser 
 possible. Au demourant, mon cousin, ma cousine la grand 
 seneschalle m'a faict requeste pour vostre filz de Becquincourt d 
 r office d' audit eur de mes comptes i Paris, puis naguSres vacqu 
 par le trespas d'un nomme Potarde ; suivant la promesse que j 
 luy avois cy-devant faicte du premier desdicts offices qui viendroi 
 a vacquer. Ce que je ne luy ay peu accorder, pour ce que j 
 j 'avois faict estat de 1' argent qui proviendroit d'iceUuy office pou 
 employer en mes affaires qui maintenant sont merveilleusemen 
 pressez, actendu mesmement qu'il se retire peu de deniers d 
 Guyenne k cause des troubles et emotions que sfavez qui y sont 
 mais vous povez estre seur, mon cousin, que devant qu'U soi 
 gui^res, je feray bailler a vostre diet filz autant d' argent que ledic 
 office aura estd vandu, cependant il aura ung peu de patience. E 
 au reste je prieray Dieu qu'il vous ait en sa saincte garde. 
 " Escript k Mezieu, le xviii° de septembre 1548. 
 
 " Hexry. 
 "Clausse." 
 [Translation] 
 
 My Cousin, — Since I wrote last I have received your letters c 
 the third and twelfth of this month, and was very glad to see fror 
 them that my children go on improving in health ; and you ma 
 be sure that you cannot give me any more welcome pleasure 
 service than by letting me ha\ e news of them as often as you car 
 And as I hope to go soon to Saint-Germain-en-Laye, I have though 
 it well to have fitted up and furnished for them and for my daughte 
 the Queen of Scotland the rooms and bedchambers above my owr 
 and also those abo\'e the apartments of my wife, of my uncle th 
 King of Navarre and of my cousin the Constable, as you will se 
 from the jiaper I am sending you. I have sent instructions t 
 Saint-Germain that the work is to be at once put in hand an 
 carried through as quickly as possible. For the rest, my cousii 
 my cousin the Grande S(5n(5chale [Diane de Poitiers] has asked m 
 
 420 
 
Appendix A 
 
 to grant to your son de Becquincourt the office of auditor of my 
 accounts at Paris, which was recently vacated by the death of one 
 named Potarde, in accordance with the promise I formerly made 
 to her of the first of these offices that should fall vacant. I have 
 not been able to grant her this, because I had already made use of 
 the money which should come from the office ^ to employ it on my 
 business, which is now exceedingly urgent, especially in view of the 
 fact that we get little money from Guyenne on account of the 
 troubles and disturbances which, as you know, exist there. But 
 you may be sure, my cousin, that before long I will grant to your 
 son as much money as the said office will have cost ; let him have a 
 little patience. I pray God to have you in His holy keeping. 
 Written at Mezieu,^ September i8, 1548. 
 
 Henry. 
 Clausse 
 
 Henry II. to the Sieur d'Humi^res 
 Bibliotheque Nationale. Fonds frangais, 3120, fol. 69 
 
 > La Bresle, October 2, 1548. 
 
 [Portions of this letter have been quoted by M. de Ruble {La 
 Premiere Jeunesse, p. 17), and by M. Guiffrey (pp. 35, 36).] 
 
 " A men cousin le Sieur de Humy^res, etc. 
 
 " MoN Cousin, — Pour ce que ma fille la royne d'Escosse pourra 
 arriver a Sainct Germain-en-Laye environ le xviir de ce mois, 
 et moy bien tost apres, vous envoirez, incontinent la presente 
 receue, faire acoustrer le logeis de Carrieres, pour, icelluy estant 
 acoustre et en ordre, y mener mes enfans, avecques lesquelz madicte 
 fille la royne d'Escosse y logera jusques a ce que je soye par della. 
 Et cependant Ton nectoira le chasteau dudict Sainct-Germain- 
 en-Laye, pareillement la basse-court et le villaige ; et fera Ton 
 audict chasteau ce que sgavez que j'ay ordonn6 y estre faict, beau- 
 coup mieulx et plus ais6ment que si mesdicts enfans y estoient, 
 
 ' The sale of public offices was one of the most characteristic features of 
 the reign of Henry 11. 
 
 ' Mezieu is identified by M. Guiffrey as Meyzieux, twelve miles from 
 Lyon. An old tower on a hill is a probable relic of the castle from which 
 this letter was written. 
 
 421 
 
The Girlhood of Mary Queen of Scots 
 
 lesquelx aussi ne se trouveront que mieulx de changer ung peu 
 I'air. Au demeurant, mon cousin, vous donnerez charge a La 
 Salle que, suivant ce que je luy escriptz presentement par les 
 lettres que je vous envoie, lesquelles vous luy ferez bailler, qu'il 
 donne ordre de ne laisser venir audict Sainct-Germain et princi- 
 pallement au chasteau personne, soit ma^on, manouvrier ou autre 
 de lieu suspect de malladie contagieuse ; et tiendrez main que le 
 semblable se face k Poissy et au villaiges d'alentour, aifin que 
 quant je y seray, je n'y puisse avoir danger. Quant k ce que m'avez 
 escript, par voz lettres du xxvi" du mois pass6 que je receu hier 
 a Lyon, de la malladie de la royne Leonor ma belle mtre ; c'est 
 chose dont j'avois ji este adverty, et I'envoye visiter pour s^avoir 
 comme presentement elle se trouve. Vous advisant au reste que 
 j'ay este tres aise d'entendre les bonnes nouvelles que m'escripvez 
 de la sante de mesdicts enfans ; et qu'il n'y aura faulte que je ne 
 tieigne i vostre filz de Becquincourt ce que je luy ay promis, au 
 lieu de I'of&ce de feu Potarde. Au regard du memoire du depparte- 
 ment du logeis de mesdicts enfans audict Sainct-Germain, je vous 
 renvoieray par la premiere poste le memoire que m'en avez envoie, 
 corrige scelon mon intencion. Cependant je prieray Dieu, mon 
 cousin, qu'il vous aict en sa saincte garde. 
 
 " Escript k la Bresle, le deuz" jour de Octobre 1548. 
 
 " Henry. 
 
 " Clausse." 
 [Translation] 
 
 My Cousin, — As my daughter the Queen of Scotland may 
 arrive at Saint Germain-en-Laye about the i8th of this month, 
 and I myself soon afterwards, you will send, as soon as you receive 
 the present letter, to have the house of Carrieres prepared ; so that, 
 when it is prepared and put in order, you may take thither my 
 children, with whom my daughter the Queen of Scotland will stay 
 until I arrive. And at the same time they will clean the chateau 
 of Saint Germain-en-Laye, with the stablc-\'ard and the vOlage. 
 The work which, as you know, I have ordered to be done in the 
 said chateau will be carried out much better and more easily than 
 if my children were there, and they can derive nothing but benefit 
 from a little change of air. And besides, my cousin, you will instruct 
 La Salle (in accordance with the instructions in the letters which 
 I am sending you for him witli these, and which you will cause to 
 be given him), that lie shall gi\e orders that no one shall come to 
 Siiiiit Germain and es]H-cially to the castle — whether mason, day- 
 iabourci or otliors — Irom any place whicli is suspected of having 
 
Appendix A 
 
 in it infectious disease ; and you will see to it that the same is done 
 at Poissy and in the villages round about, so that when I come 
 there I may be in no danger. As for what you wrote me in your 
 letters of the 26th of last month, which I received yesterday at 
 Lyon, about the illness of Queen Eleanor, my stepmother,^^ I had 
 already heard of it, and I am sending some one to visit her so that 
 I may learn how she is at present. For the rest, I may tell you 
 that I was very glad to hear the good news you wrote me about 
 the health of my children, and that I shall not fail to give your 
 son, de Becquincourt, that which I have promised him instead of 
 the office of the late Potarde. As regards the paper about the 
 appointment of the household of my children at Saint Germain, I 
 will return to you by the first courier the memorandum you sent 
 me, corrected according to my plan. I pray God, my cousin, that 
 He may have you in His holy keeping. 
 
 Written at la Bresle, October 2nd, 1548. 
 
 [Iriere is a postscript to this letter which relates solely to the 
 letters the King is sending to Queen Eleanor. The signatures 
 " Henry " and " Clausse " follow.] 
 
 Henry II. to the Sieur d'Humieres 
 Bibl. Nat. Fonds frangais, 3120, fol. 72 
 
 Nevers, Oct. 25, 1548. 
 [Part of this letter was printed by M. Guiffrey (pp. 46, 47 note).] 
 
 " A mon cousin le Sieur de HumySres, etc. 
 
 " Mon Cousin, — Ce m'a este fort grant plaisir d'entendre par 
 Cabasolles, et depuis par Sainct-Luc, les bonnes nouvelles qu'ilz 
 m'ont dictes de la sante de ma fille la royne d'Escosse et de mes 
 enfans. Et k ce que j'ay veu par leurs portraictures que m'avez 
 envoiees, ilz sont tons en tres bon estat, Dieu mercy. Vous 
 advisant que, pour le desir que j'ay de les veoir, j'ay delibere faire 
 si bonnes journees d'icy a Sainct-Germain que j'espere y arriver 
 le ix° de ce mois prochain, et envoiray bientost davant ung des 
 mareschaulz de mes logeis et des fourriers pour deppartir audict 
 lieu du logeis au train que vous avez par dell4, affin qu'il n'y puisse 
 avoir desordre. Au regard de ce que avez escript touchant la 
 creue de despence qu'il convient faire pour la nourriture des dames, 
 
 ' Queen Eleanor, the second wife of Francis I., was a sister of Charles v. 
 
 423 
 
The Girlhood of Mary Queen of Scots 
 
 gentilzhommes et autres personnes que madicte fille la royne 
 d'Escosse a avecques elle, et pour son am^nagement, j'ay conunande 
 au tr^sorier de mon espargne fournir quelque argent au tresorier 
 de la maison de mesdicts enfans, tant pour subvenir k icelle despence 
 que pour I'achapt seuUement des meubles contenuz au memoire 
 que je vous ay envois par ledict Sainct-Luc ; en attendant que je 
 sole par dell^, oh je feray pourveoir et donner ordre k tout ce qui 
 sera requis et n^cessaire, tant pour icelle madicte fille que pour 
 les siens. Vous priant cependant continuer k m'advertir de leurs 
 nouvelles le plus souvant que pourrez, et k Dieu, mon cousin, 
 qu'i vous aict en sa saincte garde. 
 
 " Escript a Nevers, le xxv"'° jour d'Octobre 1548. 
 
 " Henry. 
 
 "Clausse." 
 [Translation] 
 
 My Cousin, — I was very glad to hear, from CabasoUes and 
 afterwards from Saint-Luc, the good news they have told me about 
 the health of my daughter the Queen of Scotland and of my children. 
 And as I have seen from their portraits which you have sent me, 
 they are all in very good condition, thank God. I must tell you 
 that because of the desire I have to see them I have decided to 
 travel so quickly from here to Saint-Germain that I hope to arrive 
 there on the 9th of next month, and I shall soon send in front 
 of me one of the marshals of my household and furnishers to 
 apportion rooms in the said place to the suite which you have there, 
 so that there may be no disorder. As for what you have ^^ritten 
 me about the increase of expense which we ought to allow for the 
 support of the ladies, gentlemen, and other persons whom my 
 daughter the Queen of Scotland has with her, and for her household 
 outgoings, I have ordered my treasurer to supply some money to 
 the treasurer of my children's household, both as a provision for 
 these expenses and for the purchase of that furniture only which 
 is mentioned on the note which I sent you by the said Saint-Luc. 
 The rest can wait till I arrive in that place, where I wdll make pro- 
 vision and give instructions about all things which are requisite and 
 necessary, both for my daughter and for her people. I beg you 
 none the less to go on sending me news about them as often as 
 you can, and I ]iray God, my cousin, to have you in His holy 
 kee])ing. 
 
 Written at Nrvors, October 25th, 1548. 
 
 Henry. 
 Clausse. 
 
 424 
 
Appendix A 
 
 The Sieur de Breze to the Queen Dowager of Scotland 
 Balcancs Papers, Vol. III. No. 130. 
 
 Saint-Germain, December 11 [1548]. 
 
 " Madame, — Aiant treuve le moyen de vous faire entandre des 
 nouvelles de la Ro3me voustre fille, je nay voullu faillir a vous 
 escripre ce mot par Sande Duram qui sera Madame pour vous 
 asseurer quelle ce porte merveillusement bien la grace a nostre 
 Seigneur et le Roy lest venue . . (torn) . . ce lieu de Sainct Germain 
 la ou elle estoit avec Monseigneur le Daufin et vous veus asseurer 
 Madame que le Roy luy a faict la meilleure chere quil luy a este 
 possible et luy continue encore de jour en jour et sestime grande- 
 mant heureus dequoy elle est venue sans fortune et malladie et ne 
 la tient moindre aujourdhuy que sa propre fille et ne doubte en 
 rien que si Monseigneur le Daufin et [? elle] estoint en age ou 
 aprochant dy estre que le Roy mecteroit bien toust les choses a 
 execusion mays en attandant le Roy les a voullu faire nourir et 
 ne faire que unne maison de tons leurs jens qui est pour les acous- 
 tumer de bonne heure les ungs avec les aultres vous asseurant 
 Madame que le Roy la treuves la plus joUie et la meilleure grace de 
 petitte princesse quil en ait jamays veu aussy a faict la Royne et 
 toutte . . (torn) . . court. Madame apres vous avoir parle de 
 . . (torn) . . voustre fille si esse que ne me veus oublier de vous 
 faire antandre le comptantemant que le Roy a de vous qui est 
 tel et si grant que ne vous en saurois mander la moitie sinon que 
 suys asseure que en touttes choses qui vous toucheront ou a vos 
 serviteurs quil vous en randera comptante vous voullant bien 
 asseures Madame que aves envoye unne dame ycy avec la Royne 
 voustre fille qui a autant satisfaict toute ceste compaignee que si 
 les six plus honestes de ce royaulme y eusent este et de ma part ne 
 vouldroys pour chose du monde quelle ny feust venue tant pour la 
 service de la Royne que pour la reputation du royaulme descoce 
 qui est Madame de flamy. 
 
 " Madame, Dieu ma faict si heureus davoir . . (torn) . . Royne 
 voustre fille jusques entre les mains de Madame de Guise ne luy 
 aiant faict le service ne a sa compaignee tel que jeusse bien desire 
 qui me fera vous suplier treshumblemant Madame excuser mes 
 faultes sil en vient quelqugne a voustre cognoissance et me com- 
 mander vos voullontes en Ihobeissance desquelles jemploiray ma 
 vie et men bien comme le plus fidelle et affectione de tons vos 
 
 425 
 
The Girlhood of Mary Queen of Scots 
 
 treshumblcs ct Ireshobeissants serviteurs qui suply en cest endroict 
 nostre Seigneur vous d[onner] Madame longue et heureuse vie. De 
 Sainct G[ermains] ce xj' de Decambre. 
 
 " Vostre treshumble et a jamays tresobeissant affectione 
 fidelle serviteur, 
 
 "Breze." 
 [Addressed] " A La Royne." 
 
 [Translation] 
 
 Madame,— As I have found means of letting you have news 
 of the Queen your daughter, I did not wish to omit writing you this 
 short letter by Sandy Durham in order to assure you that she 
 is, thanks to our Lord, exceedingly well. The King has come to 
 see her here at Saint Germain, where she was with the Dauphin. 
 I assure you, Madame, he gave her the best welcome possible, and 
 continues to do so from day to day. He thinks himself most 
 foi tunate in that she arrived without accident or illness, and holds 
 her to-day for no less than his own daughter. I have no doubt that 
 if the Dauphin and she were of marriageable age or approaching it, 
 the King would soon put the business in hand. Meanwhile he 
 wishes them to be brought up together, and that their people should 
 make one household. The reason for this ic that they may early 
 grow accustomed to each other's society. I assure you, Madame, 
 that the King thinks her the prettiest and most graceful little 
 princess he has ever seen. The same opinion is held by the Queen 
 and all the Court. 
 
 Madame, after having spoken to you of your daughter, I 
 do not wish to omit telling you of the satisfaction which [the 
 King has in you. It is such and so great that I could not tell you 
 the half, but I may assure you that in all matters which concern 
 you or your servants he will make a full return. I assure 
 you, Madame, that you have sent a lady hither with the Queen 
 your daughter who has pleased all this company as much as the 
 six most vn-tuous women of this kingdom could have done. For 
 my part, I would not for the world have had her absent, having 
 regard, not only to the service of the Queen, but to the reputation 
 of tho kingdom of Scotland — I mean Lady Fleming. 
 
 Madame, God granted me the happiness to place the Queen your 
 <hui}:;htcr in tlu' hands of Madame do Guise. 1 could not do such 
 seivi( I' as 1 could ha\c wished to her and her company, and therefore 
 I pray you \(ry humbly, Madame, to excuse my faults if any of them 
 
 426 
 
Appendix A 
 
 should come to your knowledge, and to lay your commands upon 
 me. In obeying them I will spend my life and my goods, as the 
 most faithful and affectionate of all your very humble and very 
 obedient servants. Now I pray our Lord to give you, Madame, 
 a long and happy life. From Saint-Germain, December nth. 
 
 Your very humble and ever-obedient, affectionate, faithful 
 servant, 
 
 Breze. 
 
 From the; Constable Montmorency to the Queen 
 Dowager of Scotland 
 
 Balcarres Papers, Vol. III. No. 19 
 
 Chantilly, March 30 [1548-49]. 
 
 [An extract from this letter was made by Francisque-Michel in 
 Les Scossais en France, vol.'!. p. 494, and also by Mr. Moir Bryce 
 (English Historical Review, vol. xxii. p. 44).] 
 
 " Madame, — Pour le peu de seurete que nous prenons au passaige 
 de ce por+eur, ceste depesche sera seuUement pour vous advertir 
 de la recepiion de toutes voz lettres, Tant par le contreroUeur des 
 vivres que depuis par les Sieurs de Fourquevaulx et de Visque 
 desquelz jay aussi receues celles quil vous a pleu m'escripre (et 
 entendu nouveUes de votre bonne disposition et de voz affaires 
 Qui est telle que noiis tous la desirons). Quant ausurplus de ce 
 quilz ont apporte, il vous y sera si aulong et amplement satisfaict 
 que jespere en aurez contantement, et aussi de la dilligence qui se 
 fera a faire partir le secours que le roy vous envoye, Cependant 
 Madarne je me voye recommander treshumblement a votre bonne 
 grace, et prier Dieu vous donner tresbonne et longue vye. De 
 Chantilly ce xxx""= jour de Mars 1548. Je vous advise, madame, 
 que la Royne vostre fille continue a si bien se porter en toutes 
 choses que le Roy en a t^ut le plaisir et contantement que Ion 
 scauroit penser. Aussi vous asseuray je que Monsegneur le 
 Daulphin en est soigneulx et amrureulx comme de samye et sa 
 femme et quil est bien aise a juger que Dieu les a faict naistre 
 
 427 
 
The Girlhood of Mary Queen of Scots 
 
 lun pour lautie. Je vous souhaicte souvent icy pour les veoir 
 ensemble. 
 
 "(Signed) Vostre treshumble et tresobeissant serviteur, 
 
 " Montmorency." 
 
 [Addressed] " A La Royne La Royne Douairiere D'escosse." 
 
 [Translation] 
 
 Madame, — As we are doubtful about the safe crossing of this 
 porter, this despatch will only be for the purpose of telling you 
 that all your letters have been received, partly through the pro- 
 vision-master and afterwards also through the Sieurs de Fourque- 
 vaulx and de Visque, from whom I have also received those which 
 you have been pleased to write me (and have heard such news of 
 your good health and of your concerns as we all desire). As for 
 the rest of what they have brought, you will receive such long and 
 satisfactory replies that I hope you will be content with them, and 
 also with the speed with which we shall despatch the reinforce- 
 ments which the King is sending you. Now, Madame, I shall 
 commend myself very humbly to your favour, and pray God to give 
 you a very long and happy life. 
 
 From Chantilly, March 30th, 1548 [i.e. 1549]. 
 
 I may tell you, Madame, that the Queen your daughter is 
 going on so well in every way that the King finds the fullest possible 
 pleasure and satisfaction Ln her. I can also assure \o\i that the 
 Dauphin cares for her and loves her as if she were his sweetheart 
 and his wife, and that it is easy to see that God caused them to be 
 born for each other. I often wish you were here that j-ou might 
 see them together. 
 
 (Signed) Your very humble and very obedient servant, 
 
 Montmorency. 
 
 .|2S 
 
Appendix A 
 
 The Sieur de Brez£ to the Queen Dowager of Scotland 
 Balcarres Papers, Vol. III. No. 123 
 
 Maignelay, August 10 [1549]. 
 
 " Madame, — Aiant antandu ceste depesche je nay voullu faillir 
 a vous faire ce mot de lettre qui sera pour me ramantevoir en vostre 
 bonne grace et comme celluy qui sestimera heureux quant il aura 
 le moien de vous faire service estant bien asseure Madame que 
 seres bien au long advertie de touttes les nouvelles de pardega ne 
 vouUant faillir de vous asseurer de la sancte de la Roinne voustre 
 fille qui est aussy bonne la grace a noustre Seigneur que la luy 
 sauries souhetter et luy cognoist on de jour en jour croistre en 
 grandeur et desprit n'en faisant le Roy moindre estime que sy elle 
 estoit sa propre fille que j espere quelque j our luy voirs et en attandant 
 son age Ion faict tout ce que Ion peult pour les faire bien vivre en 
 samble Monsieur le Daufin et elle qui ont desia telle amitie ensamble 
 comme sUz estoint maries au demeurant Madame vous entanderes 
 par ces portemrs laffection que le Roy a de vous bien secourir tant 
 de la part de della comme de celle de dega qui me guardera pour 
 leur sufisance vous en faire plus long discours et apres vous avoir 
 suplie treshumblemant me retenir tousjours du nombre de vos 
 plus afectiones treshumbles et fidelles serviteurs Je supliray 
 nostre Seigneur, Madame, vous donner longue et heureuse vie. 
 De Maignelay ce dixieme jour d'Aust. 
 
 "Vostre treshumble et a jamays treshobeissant iidelle 
 serviteur, 
 
 " Breze." 
 [Addressed] " A La Royne, en Escosse." 
 
 [Translation] 
 
 Madame, — Having heard this despatch,^ I did not wish to 
 omit sending you this short letter for the purpose of recalling 
 myself to your favour, as one who will esteem himself happy when 
 he has the means of doing you service. I am sure, Madame, that 
 you will be fully informed of all the news here. I must not omit 
 to assure you of the health of the Queen your daughter, which, 
 
 '■ i.e. possibly " having heard that this despatch was going." There are 
 marks of haste in this letter. 
 
 429 
 
The Girlhood of Mary Queen of ^cots 
 
 th:j.nks to our Lord, is as good as you could wish it to be. We see 
 her increasing every day in stature and intelhgence. The King 
 treats her with as much honour as if she were his own daughter, 
 as I hope some day to see her. Meanwhile, until she is old enough, 
 everything possible is being done to make her and the Dauphin 
 get on well together. They are already as fond of each other as if 
 they were married. For the rest, Madame, you will learn from 
 these couriers the desire which the King has to help you, both 
 on the other side and on this side. They are so well informed 
 that there is no need for me to write at greater length, and 
 after having begged you very humbly, Madame, to count me 
 always among your most affectionate, humble and faithful servants, 
 I shall pray our Lord, Madame, to give you a long and happy 
 life. From Maignelay, August loth. 
 
 Your very humble and ever obedient faithful servant, 
 
 Breze. 
 
 The Cardinal of Guise (afterwards Lorraine) to his Sister. 
 THE Queen Dowager of Scotland 
 
 Balcarres Papers, Vol. II. No. 139 
 
 Rome, February 14, 1550. 
 
 [This letter is interesting as a proof of the close attention which 
 the writer was accustomed to give, alike to his sister's private 
 business and to public matters in which she was concerned. The 
 deaths of Duke Claude of Guise and of the Cardinal John of Lorraine 
 took place about two months after the date of this letter.] 
 
 " Madame, — Les nouvelles du deces du feu Pape Paul furent 
 si soubdainement apportees et mon departement de la court si 
 presse que je n'euz loysir vous escripre et prendre conge de vous 
 par lettre pour venir a ceste saincte election laquelle a este differee 
 justques au vij'= de ce moys quil plcut a Dieu inspirer noz consciences 
 et eslire en pape Julius le tiers de ce nom paravant surnomme 
 Cardinal de Monte. Jespere que leglise et toute la Christianite 
 y aura ung tresbon pasleur et t;ou\ erneur ct en particulier que le 
 trouvcrez pour voz afliures secourablc et fa\orable Enquoy Madame 
 ](• nc lauldray faire loffice que je doibz en son endroict et au vostre 
 
 430 
 
Appendix A 
 
 si tost que jen verray les moyens et lopportunitc. Quant a voz 
 affaires de France jespere que durant mon absence Messieurs mes 
 freres y auront donne lordre qui y est requise, et moy de retour 
 je les embrasseray de sorte que vous en aurez contentement qui 
 ne sera toutesfoys plus tost que environ les pasques prochaines 
 Car je suis deliberan de faire icy quelque sejour durant le caresme 
 pres de sa sainctete, affin de commancer par loysir Ce qui sera 
 necessaire pour le bien des affaires du Roy et des vostres Vous 
 asseurant Madame que en tous lieus et endroictz ou je me trouveray 
 je mettray bonne pe; le de vous faire preuve et monstrer par effect 
 le desyr que jay de vous faire treshumble service et ne feray faulte 
 a mon debvoir quant les occasions et moyens sen presenteront 
 pendant et durant ce sejour si vous plaist me faire entendre de 
 voz nouvelles je mettray peine dacomplir ce que men manderez 
 Et apres mes treshumbles recommendations a vostre bonne grace 
 je feray fin pour prier Dieu Madame vous donner treseureuse 
 tresbonne et treslongue vie. De Rome le xiiij° Febur. 1550. 
 
 " (Signed) Vostre treshumble et tresobeissant frere, 
 
 " Charles Car'''- de Guyse." 
 
 [Addressed] " A La Royne douairiere DEscosse." 
 
 [Translation] 
 
 Madame, — The news of the death of the late Pope Paul was 
 so suddenly brought and my departure from court was so hurried 
 that I had not time to write you and take leave of you by letter, 
 as I had to go to that holy election. It was delayed until the 
 7th of this month, when it pleased God to inspire our consciences 
 and to elect as Pope Julius, the third of that name, who was formerly 
 surnamed Cardinal de Monte. I hope that the Church and all 
 Christerdom will find in him a very good pastor and ruler, and 
 especially that you will find him helpful and favourable towards 
 your affairs. In which respect, Madame, I shall not fail to do the 
 duty I owe in his direction and in yours, as soon as I see means 
 and opportunity. As for your business in France, I hope that 
 during my absence my brothers will have been giving it due atten- 
 tion, and after my return I will take it in hand in such a way that 
 you will be satisfied. This will not, however, be earlier than 
 towards next Easter, for I think of making some stay here during 
 
 431 
 
The Girlhood of Mary Queen of Scots 
 
 Lent beside his Holiness, so as to attend at leisure to that which is 
 necessary for the good of the King's business and yours. I assure 
 you, Madame, that in all places where I may be I shall take pains 
 to prove to you and show by deeds the desire which I have to do 
 you very humble service, and I shall not fail in my duty when 
 opportunities and means present themselves during the course of 
 this stay. If you will be pleased to let me hear news from you, I 
 shall take pains to carry out your commands. And after com- 
 mending myself very humbly to your favour, I shall close, Madame, 
 by praying God to give you a very happy, very good, and very long 
 life. From Rome, February 14th, 1550. 
 
 (Signed) Your very humble and very obedient brother, 
 
 Charles Cardinal of Guise. 
 
 Henry II. to Madame d'Humi^res 
 Bibl. Nat. Fonds frangais, 3347, fol. 12 
 
 Reims, March 15 [1551-52]. 
 
 [The following letter gives a glimpse of the difficulties and 
 disputes which arose sometimes among the officials of the royal 
 children's household during the early girlhood of Queen Mary. 
 Easter in 1552 fell on April 17th. This letter must have been written 
 when the King was on his way to the mihtary progress of 1552, 
 when Metz, Toul, and Verdun surrendered to France. Henry 11. 
 entered Toul on April loth, and on the same day the Constable 
 Montmorency took possession of Metz.] 
 
 " A Madame d'Humy^res. 
 
 " Madame de Humy^res, — J'ay entendu tout ce que vous 
 m'avez faict S9avoir par le Sieur de Contay, vostre filz, sur les 
 deuz poinctz qu'il m'a touchez, et que vous pretendez estre de la 
 charge et auctorit^ que je vous ay donnoo en la maison et aupres 
 de mes enfans. Et pour vous faire responce 1^ dessus, vous sgavez 
 bien que pour ce qui touche Ic faict dc la santc regime et gouverne- 
 ment de vivro de mesdicts enfans, il est plus requis et convenable 
 que les medecins, que jc tiens aupres d'eux des meilleurs et plus 
 oxpcrimcntcz que j'ayc, soicnl crouz de ce qu'ilz en diront et feront, 
 
 43- 
 
Appendix A 
 
 que milz autres qui s'en puissent mesler ; et n'ay jusques icy 
 
 pens6 ne entendu que vous ne autres que ausdicts medecins 
 
 appartint ceste charge d'en respondre. Ne semblablement 
 
 d'ordonner aussi sur le faict de la distribution des deniers et v^riffica- 
 
 tion de la despence qui se faict en ladicte maison, sinon au gouverne- 
 
 ment d'icelle, comme i feu Monsieur d'Humyeres vostre mary 
 
 durant le temps qu'il a vescu et au Sieur d'Urfe qui k present 
 
 tient son lieu, auquel vous et autres ayans charge de mesdicts 
 
 enfans, apres avoir certififie par le menu ladicte despence soubz 
 
 vostre seing, vous en devez bailler I'estat, pour sur ce estre par luy 
 
 ordonnd du payement au tr^saurier et payer, lequel ne peult payer 
 
 un seul denier pour luy estre passd et aloue en ses comptes, sinon par 
 
 les ordonnances et mandemens de celuy qui a de moy pouvoir par 
 
 lettres pattentes d'ordonner en cest endroict, comme a ledict sieur 
 
 d'Urfe, et non autre. Et toutefoys quand ladicte maison sera 
 
 divisee et separee, comme elle est maintenant, je veulz et entends 
 
 que en 1' absence dudict sieur d'Urfe estant, comme il est, icy avecq 
 
 mon fUz le dauphin, vous ayez la superintendance sur mes autres 
 
 enfans avecq lesquelz vous estes et sur leur maison, dont vous 
 
 prendrez tel soing que vous avez faict jusques icy, ordonnerez du 
 
 faict de leur despence et en arresterez les estatz du payement, 
 
 comme feroit ledict Sieur d'Urfe, s'il y estoit en personne. Parquoy, 
 
 afin que vous ne soyez plus en peine et dispute sur ce que vous 
 
 aurez k faire quant a ces deuz pointz, je vous en ay bien voulu 
 
 r6souldre, et declairer sur ce mon vouloir et intention, pour estre 
 
 par vous ensuyviz, comme je suys seur que vous ferez. Qui me 
 
 gardera de vous en faire plus longue lettre, priant Dieu, Madame 
 
 de Humyeres, qu'il vous ait en sa saincte et digne garde. 
 
 " Escript a Reims, le xv* jour de mars 1551. 
 
 " Henry. 
 
 " DUTHIER." 
 
 [Translation] 
 
 Madame d'Humi^res, — I have heard all that you have let 
 me know through the Sieur de Contay, your son, about the two 
 points upon which he has spoken to me, and which you think 
 belong to the charge and authority I have given you in the house- 
 hold, with my children. In reply to you on these points — you 
 know well that in all that concerns the health, diet, and mode of 
 living of my children, it is more requisite and suitable that the 
 physicians whom I keep with them (and who are among the best 
 and most experienced that I have) should be obeyed [lit. believed] in 
 
 ^ ^ 433 
 
The Girlhood of Mary Queen of Scots 
 
 what they say and do than a thousand others who may meddle 
 therein. Up to the present I have never thought or meant that you 
 or any others except the said physicians should have the duty of 
 being responsible for this. Neither in the same way does it belong 
 to you, but to the governor of the household, to arrange for the 
 distribution of money and the verification of expenses belonging 
 to it, as your late husband, M. d'Humi^res, did during his lifetime, 
 and as is done now by M. d'Urf6, who at present holds his place. 
 You and others who have charge of my children, after you have 
 certified the expenses in full detail and under your seal, are to 
 give him [M. d'Urf^] the statement of accounts, so that he may 
 arrange about the payment with the treasurer and pay-master, who 
 cannot pay out a single farthing, to be passed and allowed for in 
 his accounts, except by the orders and command of him who has 
 power given him for this purpose by letters-patent from myself — cis 
 the Sieur d'Urf^ has and no other person. When, however, the 
 household is divided and scattered, as it is at present, I wish and 
 intend that in the absence of the Sieur d'Urfe, who is here with my 
 son the dauphin, you should have the charge over my other children 
 with whom you are, and over their household, of which you will 
 take the same care as you have taken hitherto, arranging about 
 their expenses and drawing up the accounts for payment, as the 
 Sieur d'Urfe would do if he were there in person. Wherefore, that 
 you may no longer be in trouble and dispute about your duties 
 as regards these two points, I have been willing to settle the business 
 for you, and to declare herewith my wish and intention, so that you 
 may obey me, as I am sure you will. I need not, therefore, write 
 you at greater length. I pray God, Madame d'Humieres, that He 
 may have you in His high and holy keeping. 
 Written at Rheims, March 15th, 1551 [52]. 
 
 Henry. 
 
 DUTHIER. 
 
 Henry H. to Madame D'HujiifeRES 
 Bibl. Nat. Fonds Clairambaiilt, No. 11 13, fol. 223 
 
 JoiNviLLE. April 4 [1551-5;]- 
 " A Madame de Humycrcs, gouvernante des mos enfans. 
 
 " Madame D'HuMviiKES, — Je nc s(:ay d'oti est venue I'occasion 
 pour laquclle vous ostes en crainctc que Ton m'ait fait entendre de 
 
 -134 
 
Appendix A 
 
 vous autre chose que ce que j'en ay tousjours veu et congneu, 
 sachant combien est grande 1' assurance que j'ay de vous et de 
 vostre bon devoir auprSs de mes enffans, dont je ne suis de ceste 
 heure a faire preuve Et pour autant que tant s'en fault que 
 cella soit vMtable que jamaiz je n'en ay oy parler, je vous prie en 
 demourer en repoz et croire que je vous ay en telle estime et repputa- 
 tion que je doibz avoir une des personnes du monde que je ddsire 
 plus aupres d'eulx continuant 4 y faire, ainsi que vous avez bien 
 faict jusques icy et a mon contantement. Priant Dieu, Madame 
 d'Humy^res, qu'il vous ait en sa garde. 
 
 " Escript k Joynville, le iiii° jour d'avril 1551. 
 
 " Henry. 
 
 " De l'Aubespine." 
 
 [Translation] 
 
 Madame DTIuMifeRES, — I do not know whence the occasion 
 has arisen which has caused you to fear that I have been told 
 something different about you from that which I have always seen 
 and known, since you are aware how great is the confidence I 
 place in you and in your good service to my children, proof of 
 which I have had before to-day. And inasmuch as this is so far 
 from being true that I have never heard it spoken of, I beg you to 
 remain at peace, and to believe that I hold you in such esteem and 
 honour as I ought to hold one of the people in the world whom I 
 most desire to have beside them. Go on doing as you have done, 
 so well and to my satisfaction, up to the present time. I pray God, 
 Madame d'Humieres, that He may have you in His keeping. 
 
 Written at Joinville, April 4th, 1551 [52]. 
 
 Henry. 
 
 De l'Aubespine. 
 
 The Constable Montmorency to Madame d'Humieres 
 [Bibl, Nat. Fonds frangais, 3133, fol. 6 
 
 Le Camp de Haguenault, May g, 1552. 
 " A Madame de Humyeres. 
 
 ' Madame, — J'ay receu les vostres que m'avez escriptes du 
 premier du present, et faict veoir au Roy les siennes oft il a entendu 
 
 435 
 
The Girlhood of Mary Queen of Scots 
 
 any less at present. I recommend him to you, and if through hii 
 means or in some other way we could get news from you, i 
 would be a wonderful pleasure to us, considering how long it i: 
 since we heard last and the anxiety this causes us. As for ou 
 news here, the only thing I have to tell you at this time is that th( 
 Queen your daughter has during these last days had a toothach( 
 which has caused some slight swelling on her cheek, and on thii 
 account she was obliged to stay behind us three or four days ii 
 Paris, until the pain was over. She is coming here to-day, and he 
 health, thank God, is as good as ever it was. For the rest, Madame 
 she is increasing so much every day in goodness and beauty tha 
 I could not tell you how much satisfaction she gives to everyone 
 Now I recommend myself very humbly to your favour, prayinj 
 that God may grant you, Madame, with perfect health, a ver 
 happy and long life. 
 
 From Fontainebleau, February 20th, 1553. 
 
 [Signed] Your very humble and very obedient brother, 
 
 C. Cardinal of Lorraine. 
 
 [Addressed] To the Queen Dowager of Scotland. 
 
 In a letter of the Duke of Guise to his sister in Scotland, writte 
 from Paris on April 17, 1554, there is the following referenc 
 to Mary :— 
 
 " Monsieur le Cardinal mon frere ma diet quil vous e 
 escripvoit si au long que je ne vous en feray autre reditte^ Poi 
 vous dire Madame que jay este tresaise dentendre la grand 
 volunte que la Noblesse de dela a de bien servir le Roy et la Royn 
 Madame vostre fille. Dont je suis seur quelle ne se sent peu teni 
 et obligee a vous. Et encores que son aage ne permette de con 
 prendre pour le present grande affaire nest elle a ceste heure cy 
 congnoistre quelle ne tient ce bien que de vous seuUe." 
 
 (Balcarres Papers, Vol. II. No. 03.) 
 
 [Translation] 
 
 The Cardinal my brother has told me that he w; 
 writing you on these matters at such length that I shall not sei 
 ' I'ossibly the word " sinon " is missing here. 
 
 43S 
 
Appendix A 
 
 you another repetition ^ [except] to tell you, Madame, that I have 
 been very glad to hear of the great willingness shown by the 
 nobility over there to do good service to the King and to the 
 Queen your daughter. I am sure that for this she feels herself not a 
 little bound and obliged to you. And although her age does not 
 permit of her understanding great matters for the present, still 
 she knows even now that she owes these good things to you 
 alone.2 
 
 From the Duke of Guise to the Queen Dowager of Scotland 
 Balcarres Papers, Vol. II. No. 96 
 
 Offemont, May 28, 1554. 
 
 [This letter was written on the eve of the campaign which 
 culminated in the battle of Renty. It is interesting for our pur- 
 pose because of the reference to Mary, and also as a typical com- 
 munication from the head of the house of Guise to his sister in 
 Scotland a few weeks after she had assumed the Regency.] 
 
 " Madame, — Masseurant que ne trouverrez mauvays si ceste 
 lettre nest escripte de ma main pour lindisposition en laquelle 
 je me suis trouve depuis quatre ou cinq jours et graces a Dieu je 
 commance a reprandre ung peu de ma sante nayant voullu laiser 
 pour cella a accompaigner la depesche du Roy de ce petit mot 
 parlequel Madame vous serez advertye comme toutes choses sont 
 si bien preparees que nous sommes disposez de marcher dans le 
 quinziesme jour du moys prochain pour aller trouver nostre armee 
 et loger soubz la tante de sorte que de ceste heure nous commancons 
 a dire adieu aux dames esperant ne retourner de ce voyaige sans 
 faire changer les dessaings de nostre ennemy lequel naura pas 
 si grant moyen de favoriser le passaige et entreprise du Prince 
 despaigne, vouUant bien oultre ce que je me reserve vous escripre 
 de ma main y apres vous advertir encores que je scaiche que estes 
 dame pour Gouvemer le Royaume et disposer de toutes choses 
 non seuUement en paix mais en guerre et y pourveoir ainsi quavez 
 bien et saigement faict par le passe suyvant ce quil vous a pleu 
 me commander Que le temps durant quil est doulx et paisible 
 
 'The business referred to in this and the previous sentence concerned 
 proposals of marriage that had been made for the Duke's little daughter. 
 ' Mary of Lorraine had become Regent of Scotland on April 12, 1554. 
 
 439 
 
The Girlhood of Mary Queen of Scots 
 
 requiert que vostre frontiere soyt plus forte quelle na este jusques 
 icy de sorte que voz voysins ne puissant vous venir voir si a leur 
 ayse et quil y ayt quelque place qui les arreste Ce que je vous 
 en diz Madame nest pas que je ne vous estime pour mener la guerre 
 aussi bien que je pourroys faire mays pour obeyr a voz comman- 
 demens Estant impossible de se pouvoir myeulx ne plus avisement 
 conduire qu'avez faict en la prise de possession par vous faicte 
 du royaume pour la Royne madame vostre fiUe laquelle je vous 
 asseure croist tons les jours en beaulte et vertuz de sorte que nous 
 en sen tons tous honnorez Je ne vous diray rien du grant contente- 
 ment que le Roy en a et de ce quavez faict pour la royne Madame 
 vostredite fille Remectant a ce que ledit Seigneur vous en escript 
 Ainsi que faict aussi de sa part mon frere Monsieur le Cardinal 
 vous suppliray (?) audemourant Madame croyre que me trouverrez 
 tousjours prest a vous faire tout le service que me commanderez. 
 
 " Madame, Je me recommande treshumblement a vostre bonne 
 grace Et prye Dieu vous donner en sante bonne vye et longue. 
 De Offemont ce xxviij' May 1554. 
 
 " (Signed) Vostre treshumble et tresobeissant frere, 
 
 " Francoys de Lorraine." 
 
 [Addressed] " A La Royne La Royne Douairiere descosse." 
 
 [Translation] 
 
 Madame, — I am sure you will not be offended that this letter 
 is not written with my own hand, as I have been Ul for four or five 
 days. Thank God, I am beginning to recover my health a little.^ 
 I did not wish on that account to omit sending along with the 
 King's despatch this little note, which will inform you, Madame, 
 that everything is so well prepared that we are ready to set out 
 on the 15th day of next month to join our army and encamp in 
 the open. We are actually beginning to-day to say good-bye to 
 the ladies, and hoping that we shall not return from this journey 
 without changing the plans of our enemy,^ who will not have such 
 good means of favouring the \'oyage and enterprise of the Prince 
 
 '■ This sentence affords another of the many proofs, which must impress 
 every student of the private correspondence of the Guises, that they did 
 not consider it right or fair to send bad news to their sister in Scotland, unless 
 they could supplement it with words of cheer. 
 
 " Charles v. 
 
 440 
 
Appendix A 
 
 of Spain.i Besides what I am keeping to write you witli my own 
 hand, I want also to tell you, since you have sought my advice ^ 
 (although I know you are a lady fit to govern the kingdom and 
 to give order to all things not only in peace but in war, and to 
 make provision for them as you have well and wisely done in the 
 past), that while the weather is mild and calm your frontier should 
 be made stronger than it has been hitherto, so that your neigh- 
 bours may not come to see you quite so easily, and that there 
 may be some fortress to keep them back. I say this, Madame, not 
 because I consider you less fitted to carry on war than I am, but 
 in obedience to your commands. It would be impossible to act 
 better or more wisely than you have done in taking possession of 
 the kingdom for the Queen your daughter, who, I assure you, is 
 growing every day in beauty and goodness, so that we all feel 
 that she does us honour. I will say nothing about the great 
 satisfaction which the King finds in her and in what you have 
 done for the said Queen your daughter. I leave the King him- 
 self to write to you about this, and my brother the Cardinal is 
 writing to you also. I beg you now, Madame, to believe that 
 you will find me always ready to render you all the service 
 which you may ask from me. Madame, I commend myself very 
 humbly to your favour, and pray God to give you, with good 
 health, a long and happy life. 
 
 From Offemont, May 28th, 1554. 
 
 (Signed) Your very humble and very obedient brother, 
 
 Francis of Lorraine. 
 
 'Philip arrived from Corunna in Southampton Water on July 20, 1554, 
 and his marriage to Mary Tudor was celebrated by Stephen Gardiner in 
 Winchester Cathedral. 
 
 ' We take this as the meaning, if not the strictly literal translation, of 
 the words, " suyvant ce quil vous a pleu me commander." Note the con- 
 sideration with which this most lovable of French sixteenth-century soldiers 
 intrudes advice, derived from his long experience of warfare, upon his elder 
 sister. 
 
 441 
 
The Girlhood of Mary Queen of Scots 
 
 From the Cardinal of Lorraine to the Queen Dowager of 
 
 Scotland 
 
 Balcarres Papers, Vol. II. No. 145 
 
 From the Camp near Dinant,^ July 12, 1554. 
 
 [Reference has been made to this letter by Francisque-Michel 
 (Les £cossais en France, vol. ii. p. 27 note). It is worth quoting 
 in full, belonging as it does to the remarkable group written by 
 the Duke and Cardinal to their sister during the campaign of 1554, 
 when aU the six Guise brothers accompanied the army. The most 
 interesting letter is that of August 19th, in which the Duke, in an 
 autograph postscript, praises the valour of his brothers the Duke 
 of Aumale, the Grand Prior and the Marquis d'Elboeuf, at the bloody 
 battle of Renty. " Madame, je ne veux faillir vous dire que 
 Messieurs daubmaUe delbeuf et grant prieur ont sy bien et vaUlam- 
 ment combattu a ceste rancontre quil ont montre estre venu de 
 bonne race" (Balcarres Papers, vol. ii. No. 97).] 
 
 " Madame, — Je ne vous escrips la presente pour vous discourir 
 les choses qui sont survenues en ce camp depuis quil est dresse 
 me remectant de cela a ce que le Roy vous en escript presentement, 
 bien vous diray je que au partir dicy nous prendrons nostre chemin 
 devers Namur ou lEmpereur est en personne et a son camp la 
 aupres desorte quil ne tiendra que a luy quil ne nous donne la 
 battaille. Mais il est encores ung peu trop foible et puis en ses 
 pais II ne vouldra rien hazarder. Tant ya que nous luy endom- 
 magerons ses pais le plus que nous pourrons, et ne tiendra a nous 
 que nous ne facions encores quelque bonne entreprise avant que 
 nous retirer dequoy et de tout ce qui surviendra vous ne fauldrez 
 destre incontinent advertie. La Royne est demouree a Reims, 
 et est la Royne vostre fille avec elle, qui est quasi tous les jours 
 a St. Pierre avec noz seurs dont elles ont le plus grand contente- 
 ment du monde Car elles navoient nul plus grand desir que de 
 la veoir, et povez penser laise que ce leur est davoir si bonne com- 
 paignyeetcest heur que de lavoir quelque fois aupres delles. Madame 
 nostre mere se porte tresbien et eus encores hier au soir de ses 
 lettres Madame nostre seur est en tresbonne sante, et nest poinct 
 encores grosse mais nos seurs Daumalle et La Marquise le sont 
 toutes deux et ont senty bouger leurs enfans. Monsieur nostre 
 ' This is Dinant on the Mouse, not far from Namur. 
 442 
 
Appendix A 
 
 frere, et tous noz autres freres qui sont icy font aussy bonne chere 
 que Ion scauroit desirer. Quant a voz affaires ilz se portent fort 
 bien. Je nen ay moindre sollicitude que vous mesmes auriez si 
 vous estiez icy. Jattens tousiours de voz nouvelles sur ce que je 
 vous escripvis par le contreroleur Astier, et nayant pour ceste 
 heure moyen de vous faire plus longue lettre Je me recommande 
 treshumblement a vostre bonne grace Et prie nostra Seigneur 
 vous donner en sante et prosperite Madame treslongue et tres- 
 heureuse vie. Du Camp pres Dinan ce xij jour de Juillet 1554. 
 
 " (Signed) Vostre treshumble et tresobeissant frere, 
 
 " C. Car*^ DE Lorraine." 
 
 [Addressed] " A La Royne Douairiere Regente d'Escosse." 
 
 [Translation] 
 
 Madame, — I am not writing this letter to tell you of the things 
 that have happened in this camp since it vfz.s formed. I leave 
 that to what the King is writing you presently. I may, however, 
 mention that when we leave here we shall take our journey towards 
 Namur, where the Emperor is in person. He has his army with 
 him, so that it will be by his own choice if he does not challenge 
 us to fight. But he is still rather too weak, and also, being in his 
 own territories, he will not wish to risk anything. We shall in 
 any case do as mvoh mischief to his territories as we can, and it 
 will not be our fault if we do not carry through some good 
 enterprise before we quit them. Of this and all else that may 
 happen you will be immediately informed. The Queen ^ has stayed 
 behind at Rheims, and with her is the Queen your daughter, who is 
 at Saint-Pierre ^ almost every day with our sisters. This gives 
 them the greatest possible pleasure, for they had no greater desire 
 than to see her, and you may think what happiness it is to them to 
 have such good company, and of their joy at having her sometimes 
 with them. Our mother is very well and I had letters from her 
 last evening. Our sister ^ is in very good health, and is not again 
 
 ' Catherine de' Medici. 
 
 * Saint-Pierre les Dames, at Rheims, of which the Cardinal's sister, Ren^e 
 of Lorraine, was Abbess. The Abbess Antoinette of Farmoutiers was perhaps 
 staying with her sister at the time. 
 
 ' The Duchess of Guise (Anne d'Este). 
 
 443 
 
The Girlhood of Mary Queen of Scots 
 
 expecting a baby, but our sisters d'Aumale and the Marchioness ^ 
 are both expecting and have felt the motion of their babes. Our 
 brother ^ and all our other brothers who are here are as well as 
 one could wish. As for your business, it is going on very well. 
 I take as much care about it as you could do yourself if you were 
 here. I am still waiting to hear from you about that on which 
 I wrote you through the comptroller Astier. As I cannot for the 
 present write you at greater length, I commend myself very humbly 
 to your favour, and pray our Lord that He may give you, with 
 health and prosperity, Madame, a very long and very happy life. 
 From the camp near Dinant, July 12th, 1554. 
 
 (Signed) Your very humble and very obedient brother, 
 
 C. Cardinal de Lorraine. 
 
 ' The Marchioness of Elboeuf, Louise de Rieux, was a rich Breton heiress. 
 Her sister married Andelot, younger brother of the Admiral CoUgny. The 
 marriage of Ren6 of Lorraine and Louise of Rieux took place on February 3, 
 1554, at Biois. An interesting account of the festivities is given by 
 M. Bourciez, in the first chapter of his well-known book, Les Moeurs polies 
 et la LitUrature de Cour sous Henri II. 
 
 ' The Duke of Guise. 
 
 444 
 
APPENDIX B 
 
 On the Date of Two Letters in the First Volume of 
 Prince Labanoff's Recueil^ 
 
 Every student of the early history of Mary Queen of Scots 
 must gratefully acknowledge help received from the first forty-six 
 pages of Prince Labanoff's collection of letters. We have within 
 this hmit fifteen letters from the child-Queen, and three from one 
 of the best letter-writers of the sixteenth century, her uncle Charles, 
 Cardinal of Lorraine. It is greatly to be regretted that Prince 
 Labanoff, owing, no doubt, to the immense extent of ground he 
 covered — the entire correspondence of Mary's life — did not furnish 
 annotations to the early letters, such as those which make 
 M. Guiffrey's Lettres Inedites de Dianne de Poytiers one of the 
 most precious contributions to the history of the period. 
 
 A comparison of the work of these two eminent scholars is 
 highly instructive. Many of Diane's letters are, like Mary's, 
 undated, but M. Guiffrey does not fix their place without explana- 
 tion. If no date is given, he prefaces the supposed year with a 
 mark of interrogation, and in long, careful notes he explains his 
 reasons. The reader is left to form his own judgment, with the 
 assistance of the notes, and the result is that the author's opinion 
 on the letters has never been seriously challenged. His book was 
 published in 1866, and in 1904 Professor Lemonnier (author of 
 Vol. V. in the Lavisse History of France) named it as among the 
 most valuable sources for the reign of Henry 11. 
 
 French and English writers on Mary's girlhood have accepted 
 Prince Labanoff's dates as accurate, but in one case certainly, and 
 
 ' The greater part of this article appeared in the Bookman for May 1907. 
 The only substantial changes are in the closing paragraphs on Mary's letter 
 dated by Prince Labanoff 1552 (Recueil, vol. i. pp. 5-8). The writer is now 
 inclined to think, after a careful examination of the movements of the Cardinal 
 of Lorraine in the spring of 1555, that the letter in all probabiUty belongs 
 to the early spring of 1556, and that the decisive clue is the reference to 
 his return " in a month or three weeks," i.e. from his journey to Italy. 
 
 445 
 
The Girlhood of Mary Queen of Scots 
 
 in another probably, he fixed upon a wrong year. Except where 
 the date is clearly indicated by the internal evidence of the letter, 
 we should hesitate to accept his decision in other doubtful cases. 
 
 Two of Mary's undated letters can be placed at once, as Prince 
 Labanoff saw, in their right month and year. One is the short note 
 which announces the approaching baptism at Meudon of her cousin, 
 Charles, son of the Duke of Guise, in April 1554. The other 
 mentions as a recent event the wedding of Francis de Montmorency 
 with Madame de Castres, and as this took place on May 4th, 1557, it 
 is safe to put the letter in that month and year. 
 
 The Cardinal of Lorraine was accustomed to give the full date of 
 every letter, and to name the place from which he wrote it, yet 
 singularly enough, it is a mistake of Prince Labanoff in dating the 
 third of his letters in this volume which has misled so many his- 
 torians. We refer to the letter written at Villers-Cotterets on 
 " April 8th, 1556," which ought undoubtedly to read 1556-57.1 
 
 A LA REINE DOUAIRlfeRE D'ECOSSE 
 
 De Villers-Cotterets, le 8 avril, 1556. 
 
 " Madame, — J'ay receu les lettres qu'il vous a pleu m'escripre 
 du premier et x^ de mars. Ayant este tres aise d'avoir par icelles 
 cogneu vostre bonne sante, je ne vous y feray autre response, ayant 
 bien amplement instruict et informe Dufautray de toutes noz 
 nouvelles et occurrences, et de ce qu'il m'a semble vous debvoir 
 faire entendre de I'estat des affaires qui se presentent, mesmes de ce 
 qui touche vostre service ; 1' ayant aussy charge de vous faire 
 entendre des nouvelles de monsieur mon frere, lequel, et mes autres 
 fr^res, par les dernieres nouvelles que nous en avons cues, sont en 
 tr6s bonne sante. Ilz faisoient marcher le camp pour aller en 
 I'Abrusse qui est une des provinces du royaulme de Naples. De ce 
 qui surviendra vous en serez toujours advertye ; saichant bien, 
 Madame, que ce vous est grand plaisir d'en entendre de bonnes 
 nouvelles. 
 
 " Je m'en vols jusques a Reims, oil je trouveray madame nostre 
 m^re, et seray de retour en ceste compaignie incontinent apres 
 Pasques. Ma dicte dame notre mere viendra aussy a NanthueU 
 pour veoir madame ma seur qui y est et se trouver aupres d'elle 
 quant elle accouchera, qui sera bien tost. ..." 
 
 He then brings in the oft-quoted references to the illness of 
 Madame de Paroy, Queen Mary's governess, mentioning that she 
 ' Labanoff, Rrcucil, vol. i. pp. 33-36. 
 446 
 
Appendix B 
 
 is suffering from dropsy, and is not likely to live long. After 
 closing the dictated portion of his letter, he adds the following 
 important paragraphs in his own writing : — 
 
 "Madame, Je vous supplie ne point perdre I'anvye de venir 
 icy, car il est plus que ndcessaire. Je vous manderay par Dufaultray 
 toutes choses au long ; mais surtout il faut veoir quant le Roy 
 d'Angleterre partira, et quelle conclusion il aura faict avec sa femme. 
 
 " Madame, quant a Madame de Parroys, elle se voudra retirer ; 
 et quant la maladie ne I'eust contraint nous esp6rions bien, a vostre 
 venue, que vous ne la luy laisseriez. Elle est fame de bien, maiz et 
 vous et toute vostre race luy seront a jamais mal attenuz, et si a 
 cuid6 couster la vie a la Royne vostre fille qui en a extremement et 
 sagemant endure tant que elle et moy avons panse qu'il ne fust 
 sceu, mais a la fin le tamps a decouvert tant de choses qui n'est 
 plus possible les porter. 
 
 " Le Roy et la Royne desirent bien luy veoir une dame d'honneur 
 de qualite, et m'a dit le Roy que puisque cest hiver il delibere la 
 marier — chose dont je ne doute si vous venez mais si vous ne veniez 
 je ne le puis croire — il voudroit que madame la Marechalle de La 
 Marche, comtesse de Brene, la fut. II diet qu'il ne luy espargnera 
 une bonne pansion pour luy faire accepter. La Royne le desire 
 encore plus, et aussi la Royne vostre fille ; mais madame nostre 
 mere vous an mandera son opinion, car ils la veuUent frangoise, 
 et n'est raisonnable [ne] les complaire. Je croy que il ne s'en 
 pourroit trouver de plus propre ni de meilleure maison ; vous 
 entendrez tout par Dufaultray et en ordonnerez. 
 
 " Quant a Monsieur d'Oisel, il n'i a eu ordre pour ceste heure ; 
 mais je pense assuremant que le Roy, a vostre venue, ne vous en 
 refuseroyt. II fault y aller ung peu doucement. 
 
 " Ce sera bien faict, pour guarder les status, que vous commendiez 
 que les heritiers du comte d'Angous renvoyent le collier de de9a. 
 
 "Vous avez veu, madame, ce que la Royne vostre fille et moy 
 vous avons escript de Chantilly touchant les biens du comte 
 d'Angous, dont nous ne vous ferons reditte. Bien vous assurere-ge, 
 madame, que n'est rien plus beau ne plus honneste que la Royne 
 vostre fille, et si est fort devote. Elle gouverne le Roy et la Royne. 
 Monsieur n'est point encores en ceste court, mais il y viendra apres 
 ces Pasques. Nous le tenons pour fort bien gueri. — Votre tres 
 humble et tres ob6issant frere, 
 
 " C. Cardinal de Lorraine." 
 
 447 
 
The Girlhood of Mary Queen of Scots 
 
 Reasons for Assigning this Letter to 1557, not 1556 
 
 (i) The day of the month is in itself conclusive. Easter Day, in 
 1556, fell on April 5th ; in 1557 it fell on April i8th. The Cardinal's 
 letter was written before Easter, as we see from the sentence : " I 
 am going to Reims, where I shall meet our mother, and I shall be 
 back in this company immediately after Easter." 
 
 It was the Cardinal's custom, as we learn from the Venetian 
 ambassador, Soranzo, to withdraw from court each year as Easter 
 approached, to retire to a religious house and give himself to de- 
 votional exercises. He preached Lenten courses of sermons in 
 Reims Cathedral when State business permitted. This letter 
 was written on the Thursday before Holy Week, on the eve of his 
 departure for his diocese. 
 
 Why was Prince Labanoff misled with so clear a sentence before 
 him ? Probably because, while noting that the new year, according 
 to the old style, began on March 25th,^ he did not realise that this 
 was not a hard and fast rule in France in the sixteenth century, 
 and that Easter is the date from which the new year is frequently 
 reckoned. Letters of Diane de Poitiers, which in the original are 
 dated April 4 and April 12, and which clearly belong to 1552, are 
 headed by M. Guiffrey 1551-52." 
 
 (2) The letter must belong to April 1557, because of the 
 sentence alluding to the Duke of Guise's expedition to Italy. The 
 Cardinal says he has instructed Dufautray, whom he is sending to 
 Scotland, " to give you news of monsieur my brother, who is in very 
 good health, according to the latest news we have received, and 
 my other brothers also. They were moving the camp to go into 
 the Abruzzi, which is one of the provinces of the kingdom of Naples." 
 
 The Duke of Guise left court on November i6th, 1556, on his 
 unfortunate Italian venture. Dr. Wotton, writing onNovember 17th, 
 says : — " Yesterday the Duke of Guise took leave for Piedmont, 
 accompanied by his two brothers, the Duke of Aumale, the Marquis 
 d'Elboeuf, the Duke of Nemours, and others." * In the last days 
 of December the Duke, with his army, crossed the Alps. At the 
 beginning of Lent 1557 he reached Rome, where a month was 
 wasted. His delay in marching towards Naples caused surprise 
 
 1 Vol. i., Preface, p. 15. 
 
 ■ In J. J. Bond's Handy Booh for Verifying Dates (1S66 edition, pp. 21, 22) 
 is stated that in different districts of France the year began at different 
 dates, 25th March, Christinas Day, Easter Eve, and ist January. 
 ^ Foreign Calendar, "Mary," p. 276. 
 
 44S 
 
Appendix B 
 
 and doubt at home. On April 27th, Dr. Wotton wrote : " The 
 Venetian Ambassador says that it is concluded that the Duke of 
 Guise shall invade Naples, and that by this time the army has 
 marched." ^ This information, supplied by Wotton a week after 
 Easter, corresponds with that which was known to the Cardinal ten 
 days before the close of Lent. In April 1556, the Truce of Vaucelles 
 was still unbroken, and the Duke of Guise was in France. 
 
 (3) The autograph sentence in which Philip of Spain is alluded 
 to confirms the date we have given, " I shall inform you through 
 Dufaultray of everything at length ; but, above all, we must see 
 when the King of England will start, and what arrangement he 
 will have made with his wife." Philip's stay in England in 1557 
 lasted nearly four months (March i8th-July 3rd). " The immediate 
 object of his visit — to induce Mary to join him in his impending 
 war with France — was one in favour of which his arguments might 
 well appear irresistible." ^ 
 
 (4) At the end of the letter the Cardinal says : " Monsieur 
 [the Dauphin] is not yet in this court, but he will come after Easter. 
 We consider that he is thoroughly cured." 
 
 The Dauphin Francis had been seriously ill in the autumn of 
 1556.^ On May 6th, 1557, Dr. Wotton writes : " The Dauphin 
 has come to court, apparently well recovered." * 
 
 Conclusions from the Change of Date 
 
 If we assign this important document to April 8th, 1557, two 
 deductions foUow ; first, that Mary's governess, Madame de Paroy, 
 against whom such bitter complaint is made by the young Queen 
 in her letters to her mother, remained in her service until less than 
 a year before her marriage ; second, that Henry 11. did not propose 
 to marry his twelve-year-old son to a fourteen-year-old bride in 
 the winter of 1556-57. On the latter point there has been great 
 misunderstanding ; and this makes it not altogether a matter of 
 trivial importance for the student to have the date of the letter 
 set right. The Cardinal mentions that the King had told him he 
 proposed to marry Mary this winter, i.e. in the winter of 1557-58, 
 and, as a matter of fact, she was married at the end of that winter, 
 in April 1558. 
 
 ' Foreign Calendar, "Mary," p. 298. 
 ^ Cambridge Modern History, vol. ii. p. 545. 
 
 ' See the Caxdinal's letter to his sister of October 2, 1556, Papal Negotia- 
 tions, edited by Father Pollen, p. 423. 
 ''Foreign Calendar, "Mary," p. 303. 
 
 2 F 449 
 
The Girlhood of Mary Queen of Scots 
 
 But even such well-informed writers as Mr. Henderson and 
 M. de Ruble have assumed that the King meant the marriage to be 
 a year earlier. Mr. Henderson says : ^ "At last, on April 8th, 1556, 
 the Cardinal of Lorraine informed his sister of the King's intention 
 that her daughter should be married during the coming winter." 
 
 M. de Ruble says : ^ " Henry 11. was in haste to attach the 
 beautiful Mary Stuart and the Kingdom of Scotland to the crown 
 of France by an indissoluble bond. In 1556 he decided to marry 
 her ; Mary of Lorraine announced that she was coming. But 
 the Dauphin was only thirteen [he was born in 1544], Mary Stuart 
 only fourteen ; the union seemed premature." M. de Ruble gives 
 the Cardinal's letter as the authority for his statement. He cannot 
 have read it very closely. 
 
 A Doubtfully dated Letter of Mary 
 
 A wrong date is almost certainly affixed by Prince Labanoff 
 to the following letter, which in his collection is the second of 
 those addressed by Queen Mary to her mother ; ^ — 
 
 Sans date (1552). 
 
 "Madame j'6 resceu les lettres qu'il vous a pleu m'escrire par 
 Artus Asquin, par lequeles j'ay veu I'ayse que avies de ce que je 
 tiens les choses qu'il vous plaist me mander secretes ; je vous 
 puis asseurer, Madame, que rien qui viendra de vous ne sera sceu 
 par moy ; au demeurant je suis fort aise de ce que aves trouve 
 bon les propos que j'e tenu k I'Abbe de Quelouin, et quant k. ce 
 que av6s fait au conte de HonteM, il me semble que av6s trSs bien 
 fait et mesmes de ce que voul^s faire justice, car a ce que je puis 
 entendre, il en ont un bon besoin ; je suis bien ayse de ce que 
 aves trouve moyen de aucmenter vostre couronne. J'escris pre- 
 sentement k Monsieur d'Oysel pour le remersier d6 bons services 
 qu'il vous a fait et fait encores de jour en jour, et lui mande comme 
 j'e parle au Roy pour trouver bon qu'il prist I'estat de chevalier 
 d'honneur ; le quel me respondit comme verres par les dites lettres 
 quej'dcrisi Monsieur d'Oysel, carils sontouvertes dansvotrepaccuet, 
 afifin que les voy^s premier si sont bien selon votre voulont6 ; je les ay 
 montrds a Monsieur de Guise, mon oncle, lequel les a bien trouv6s. 
 
 " Madame j'6 entendu par les gens de mon cousin le conte de 
 Chateleraut, que son p6re me vouloit envoier un gentillome qui 
 
 ' Mary Queen of Scots, vol. i. p. 96. 
 
 ' La T'l-rmii^n- Jeuncsse dc ISIarie Stuart, p. 147. 
 
 ' Labanofi, Rccucil, vol. i. pp. 5-8. 
 
 450 
 
Appendix B 
 
 m'aporteroit quelques bagues k ses piques, toutesfois je n'en suis 
 pas sertaine. Je vous prie tr^s humblement croir que je ne fauder^s 
 d'ob^ir £1. tous ceus qu'il vous plest me commander, et pancer que 
 le plus grand desir que je aye en ce monde est de vous etre agreable 
 et ties ob^issante, vous faisant tous les services qui me sera 
 possible, comme je suis tennue. J 'ay veu par vos lettres que 
 me pries de trouver bon le don du mariage de feu monsieur d'Asquin 
 i son fils qui est issi. Je vous suplie tres humblement ne me 
 paries jamais que par vos bons commandemens comme k votre 
 tres humble et tres obeissante fiUe et servante, car autrement je 
 ne panseroys avoir sest heur d'etre en votre bonne grace. Quant 
 a men maistre, je fair6s comme me mendes. J'ay montr^ les lettres 
 qu'il vous a pleu m'escrire k mon oncle Monsieur de Guise, pansant 
 bien que le voudries ainsi ; toutefois pour le commandement que 
 me faisies, je ne I'eusse montr^e n'eust ete la peur que j'avoye de 
 ne pouvoir bien d^mesler ses affaires sans son aide. Je vous escris 
 encores deus lettres de ma main,reune touschant Madame de Paroys 
 et r autre pour mon maitre, af&n que puissies montrer selle de mon 
 dit maytre sans seste ici, affin que on ne pance que m'en ay6s rien 
 mande. Au demeurant je ne vous diray sinon que je pense que 
 mon oncle, Monsieur le Cardinal de Lorraine, sera issi dans un moys 
 ou trois semaines. Je ne vous manderois rien davantage pour ce 
 que mon oncle. Monsieur de Guise, m' a dit qui vous ecrit du demeurant 
 bien au longue. Je vous eusse bien ecrit en chifre, mais mon 
 secretaire m'a dit qu'il n'en estoit ja besoin et que lui mesmes vous 
 i ecriroit en chifee. J'ecris aussi une lettre a mon frere bastard, 
 selon I'advis de mon oncle monsieur de Guise ; les dites lettres 
 seront ouvertes afin que lui baUles, si sont bien a votre gre. Je 
 vous ay souvent ecrit vous supliant hauser les gages de mes fames 
 de chambre et de mon valet de chambre Gillebert, et de mon taiUeur 
 Nicolas ; ils m'ont prie vous en ramantevoir : qui sera I'endroit 
 oil je vous remersires tres humblement de la painture ; la Royne 
 en a este fort aise, mais elle en vouldroit bien en avoir une qui 
 fust aschevee du tout : je me suis faite forte que lui en envoiries 
 bientost une autre mieus faite et qui sera du tout aschevee. Me 
 recommandant ties humblement a vostre bonne grace, je prieres 
 Dieu vous donner, Madame, en longue sante, tres heureuse et 
 longue vie. 
 
 "Vostre tr^s humble et trSs obeissante fille, Marie. 
 
 "Madame, vous m'escuseres s'il vous plest de ce que j'ecris si 
 mal, car je avois grande haste. 
 
 " Au dos : A la Royne ma mere." 
 
 451 
 
The Girlhood of Mary Queen of Scots 
 
 Difficulties of the Date " 1552 " 
 
 (i) One important clue in this letter is Mary's statement that 
 she had shown her mother's letters to the Duke of Guise, that he 
 had advised her about replies, and would himself write to his 
 sister. The year 1552, it must be remembered, was one of the 
 busiest in the Duke's life. From the middle of August till the end 
 of December he was shut up in Metz, and can have had no direct 
 personal communication with his niece. He was in touch by 
 letter with the King and his family during the siege, but it is personal 
 intercourse and counsel to which the Queen here refers. Between 
 April and^August, except for a short interval of repose at Joinville, 
 the Duke was moving about with the army on the eastern frontier. 
 We may fairly assume, therefore, that if the year is 1552, Mary 
 must have shown him the letters before AprU. 
 
 (2) Her own remark that she had heard that the Duke of 
 Chatelherault was to send her some jewels, " k ses paques," " at 
 this Easter," shows that the letter must have been written in the 
 spring. March 1552 is impossible, for in that month Catherine 
 de' Medici was dangerously ill at Joinville, where she was nursed 
 by Diane de Poitiers. Mary mentions the pleasure with which 
 Catherine had received a portrait of Mary of Guise, and her wish 
 to have a better one. 
 
 Ten months of the year 1552 are thus accounted for. Was 
 the letter written in January or February ? We think it is unlikely, 
 because Mary speaks of letters of thanks she was writing to 
 M. d'Oysel, and he was leaving Scotland in February 1552. On 
 February 14th the Queen Dowager wrote to Edward vi., accredit- 
 ing to him the Sieur d'Oysel, lieutenant of the King of France in 
 Scotland.^ 
 
 (3) It must strike the hastiest reader that this letter is very 
 long and carefully expressed for a child of ten, and that the other 
 letters written by Mary about the same time are much shorter 
 and simpler. On this point Miss Strickland says : " It was morally 
 as well as physically impossible, precocious though she were in 
 understanding, for the little Queen to have written such a letter, 
 unassisted by a governess or preceptor, and indeed without their 
 privity, at so tender an age. Besides, it is clearly, from the circum- 
 stances to which it refers, written in the second year of the Regency 
 of Mary of Lorraine, 1555." 
 
 1 Bain's Scottish Calendar, vol. i. p. 189. 
 
Appendix B 
 
 To what Year does the Letter belong ? 
 
 The question that remains is tliat of the choice between the 
 early spring of 1555 and 1556. 
 
 (a) For the former date the following suggestions maybe offered: — 
 
 The mention of the letters sent from the Queen-mother, 
 through Artus Asquin (Arthur Erskine), reminds us that in 
 October 1554 Mary of Lorraine had written to the Queen of 
 England requesting passports for Arthur Erskine and John 
 Fleming, with six companions, through England to France and 
 back — to endure for a year.^ Arthur Erskine may therefore in 
 all probability have been at the French court in the spring of 1555. 
 
 (&) The reference to Huntly is important. Mary writes : 
 " As for what you have done to the Earl of Huntly it seems to 
 me that you have done very well, and even in your determination 
 to do justice, for as far as I can learn, they need it badly. I am 
 very glad that you have found means to increase your power." 
 
 Huntly's disgrace and imprisonment date from the summer 
 of 1554, after he had failed to crush the rebels of the Clan Ranald 
 under John of Moydart. The full facts with regard to Huntly's 
 fall are not very clear, but on January 27th, 1554-55, Dr. Wotton 
 wrote from Poissy : " The Earl of Huntly is said to be very straitly 
 imprisoned." ^ This expression would fit in well with Mary's 
 letter if we assign it to the spring of 1555, for it shows what was 
 believed in France. The allusion to "doing justice" may refer to the 
 Regent's determination to put down the Highland rebels, to which 
 frequent reference is made by historians at this time. It can hardly 
 refer to her dealings with the Borderers, as Huntly's expedition 
 had been against the Clan Ranald. The expression " de aucmenter 
 vostre couronne " implies that Mary of Guise was already Regent, 
 and she did not attain this position till April 12th, 1554. 
 
 (c) M. d'Oysel had returned from France to Scotland early in 
 1554,^ and had an interview with Mary Tudor about January 12th. 
 The references in this letter to the good services he had rendered 
 may well apply to the help he had given the Queen Dowager 
 during the first anxious year of her Regency in Scotland. We 
 think, however, that there are three important references which 
 justify us in assigning the letter to the early weeks of 1556. 
 
 ' Bain, Scottish Calendar, vol. i. p. 195. 
 ' Foreign Calendar, "Mary," p. 151. 
 ' Bain, Scottish Calendar, vol. i. p. 194. 
 
 453 
 
The Girlhood of Mary Queen of Scots 
 
 (a) Mary mentions that she has written her mother a separate 
 letter about Madame de Paroy. This remark would in itself 
 prove that Prince Labanoff was mistaken in his date " 1552." 
 There is not the slightest reason to suppose that any complaints 
 about Madame de Paroy had arisen in 1552, only a few months 
 after her appointment. The Cardinal of Lorraine praised her highly 
 in 1553. The first letter from Mary in which complaints are 
 made of Madame de Paroy is that written at Blois on December 28th, 
 1555 (Labanoff, Recueil, vol. i. pp. 29-32) and the last in May 1557. 
 We think this doubtfully dated letter [marked 1552] must fall 
 between these two dates. The references to secrecy are in them- 
 selves significant, and the little Queen, in 1556, was keeping such 
 a guard over herself in matters concerning Madame de Paroy that 
 she at last fell seriously ill. Probably that trouble might have 
 been averted had the Cardinal of Lorraine been at home, instead 
 of in Italy, during the winter of 1555-56. 
 
 (6) The reference to the absence of the Cardinal of Lorraine, 
 who is expected " in a month or three weeks," probably gives us 
 the right clue. Such a long absence from court, to students of 
 the Cardinal's movements, points to a foreign journey, and the 
 winter spent in Italy (1555-56) explains Mary's allusion. 
 
 (c) The reference to the jewels to be sent by Chatelherault 
 to the Queen reminds us that in the summer of 1556 Chatelherault 
 sent Sir James Hamilton, a gentleman of his house, to Mary with 
 the jewels, which he had retained till then. Mary's receipt is 
 dated June 3rd, 1556. It is given, with a list of the jewels, in 
 Joseph Robertson's " Inventaires de la Royne Descosse " (Banna- 
 tyne Club, pp. 3-6), and also in the Manuscripts of the Duke of 
 Hamilton (Hist. MSS. Com., Eleventh Report, Appendix, Part VI.), 
 pp. 41-2. 
 
 454 
 
INDEX 
 
 Alba, the Duke of, 171, 175, 
 181-183, 330. 
 
 Albret, Henri d' (see Navarre). 
 
 Albret, Jeanne d' (see Navarre). 
 
 Amboise, the royal children at, 
 100 ; the Tumult of, 232-262 ; 
 Chiteau Gaillard, the Cardinal 
 of Lorraine's house at, 232 ; 
 plans for the royal visit to, 233 ; 
 the Castle of, 241 ; the Loire 
 at, 242 ; the Tour des Minimes, 
 242 ; the modern town, 242 ; 
 gardens and terraces, 242 ; 
 the chapel of the Castle, 242 ; 
 the courtyard of the exe- 
 cutions, 243. 
 
 Ancenis, 12. 
 
 Aramon, M. d', French Ambassa- 
 dor at Constantinople, 18, 19. 
 
 Argyll, the Earl of, 338. 
 
 Ame, Anne d', 88, 89. 
 
 Arran, Earl of, 274, 322. 
 
 Aubespine, Claude de 1', Secre- 
 tary of State under Henry 11., 
 31,49, 85, 28s, 328, 332. 
 
 Aubespine, Sebastien de 1', Bishop 
 of Limoges, French Ambassador 
 with Philip II., 201, 231, 322 ; 
 letter from, to Catherine de' 
 Medici, 324, 325. 
 
 Aubigne, Agrippa d', at Amboise, 
 
 243- 
 
 Aumale, Duke of (i) (see under 
 Guise). (Duke Francis of Guise 
 bore this title from 1 547 to 1550.) 
 
 Aumale, Duke of (2), Claude, 
 third son of Duke Claude of 
 Guise, formerly Marquis of 
 Mayenne, adopted this title 
 after his father's death in 1550: 
 A hostage after Treaty of 
 Boulogne, 44 ; his courage at 
 Renty praised by his brother 
 
 Francis, 112 ; his captivity 
 after Metz and his ransom, 125, 
 141 ; at the coronation of 
 Francis 11., 209 ; accompanies 
 Mary to Scotland, 361, 372. 
 
 Bar-le-Duc, the Court at, 210-215. 
 
 Barry, Godefroy de, Sieur de 
 la Renaudie (see Renaudie, La). 
 
 Batz, the tie de, opposite Ros- 
 cofi, 2. 
 
 Beaton, James, Archbishop of 
 Glasgow, 141. 
 
 Becquincourt, the Sieur de, 35. 
 
 Bedford, Earl of, 314. 
 
 Bellay, Eustache de. Bishop of 
 Paris, 144-146. 
 
 Bellay, Joachim du ; did he accom- 
 pany Mary from Scotland to 
 France ? 6 (note), 397. 
 
 Berwick, Treaty of, 274. 
 
 Blois, Mary in residence at, 39 ; 
 the Court at, in the winter of 
 1550-51, 63, 64 ; the Court at, 
 in the autumn of 1559 ; the 
 town and chateau, 222-225. 
 
 Bordeaux, cruelties of the Con- 
 stable Montmorency at, 16. 
 
 Bothwell, the Earl of, 361. 
 
 Bouillon, Mademoiselle de, 
 Antoinette de la Marck (grand- 
 daughter of Diane de Poitiers 
 and wife of the Constable's son 
 Damville), 123, 124 ; her wed- 
 ding at Chantilly, 166. 
 Boulogne, Treaty of, 56, 57. 
 Bourbon, Antoine de, Duke of 
 Vendome, King of Navarre, 
 17 ; his wedding to Jeanne 
 d' Albret, 17 ; his love-letters, 
 17, 44 ; his position at the 
 accession of Henry 11., 44 ; 
 his remark on Mary's betrothal. 
 
 455 
 
The Girlhood of Mary Queen of Scots 
 
 140 ; patronises the Huguenots, 
 171 ; at Vend6ine, 200 ; his 
 inactivity after the accession 
 of Francis 11. disappoints his 
 supporters, 200 ; arrives in 
 Paris, 200 ; at the coronation 
 of Francis 11., 209 ; his action 
 in the autumn of 1560, 293, 
 294 ; arrival at Orleans on 
 October 30, 1560, 299, 302 ; 
 his powerful influence after the 
 death of Francis 11., 306, 309 ; 
 Catherine de' Medici represents 
 him as under her authority, 
 322. 
 Bourbon, Antoinette de, wife of 
 Claude, first Duke of Guise, 1 1 ; 
 meets her granddaughter, the 
 Queen of Scots, and conducts 
 her to Saint-Germain, 12-15 i 
 letter to her daughter, Mary of 
 Lorraine, 13 ; her letter to her 
 son Francis from Tours (Oct. i, 
 1548), 13, 14 ; her reference to 
 the troubles in the South, 14 ; 
 an allusion to the approach- 
 ing marriage of Francis, 14 ; 
 her opinion of Mary, 14, 15 ; 
 her letters from Illiers and 
 Chartres, 15 ; expected date of 
 arrival at Saint-Germain, 15 ; 
 watchful care of her grand- 
 daughter, 40 ; writes to her 
 eldest son on his father's illness, 
 44 ; consults him about the 
 funeral, 47 ; writes to Anne 
 d'Este about the health and 
 training of her babies, 117 ; 
 at Queen Mary's betrothal and 
 wedding, 143 ; at Rheims for 
 Easter 1561, 335 ; takes 
 Queen Mary to Joinville, 344 ; 
 care of her widowed grand- 
 daughter, 353, 354 ; letters 
 of, 381-383. 
 Bourbon, Charles, Cardinal de, 
 
 145, 146, 200, 299. 
 Bourbon, Louis de. Prince of 
 Conde, at the wedding of the 
 Dauphin and Mary Stuart, 147 ; 
 sent to Ghent in 1559, 197 ; 
 the conspirators of Amboise 
 trust him, 239 ; " the Silent 
 Captain," 239, 248 ; of no use 
 to his supporters, 250 ; defends 
 a gate of Amboise against the 
 
 conspirators, 250 ; justifies 
 himself at Chenonceaux, 252 ; 
 the Cardinal of Lorraine's dis- 
 pleasure with him, 253, 293 ; 
 arrested at Orleans, 299 ; con- 
 demned to death, 302. 
 Bourg, Anne du, his arrest, 177- 
 180, 191 ; his imprisonment, 
 
 227 ; his earlier career, 227, 
 
 228 ; his noble character, 227, 
 228 ; his sufferings, 229 ; his 
 martyrdom, 230. 
 
 Brene, Madame de, 121. 
 
 Brez6, the Sieur de, his letter from 
 Roscofi to the Duke of Aumale, 
 3 ; his letters to Mary of 
 Lorraine about the Queen's 
 voyage, 6-g ; his letter from 
 Saint-Germain describing the 
 King's kindness to Mary, 22 ; 
 his letter from Maignelay, 
 26. 
 
 Calais, 68 ; taken by the Duke 
 of Guise, 136, 137. 
 
 Calvin, John, 95, 182, 228 ; dis- 
 likes and discourages La 
 Renaudie, 237, 238 ; his warn- 
 ing against insurrection in 
 France, 237. 
 
 Capello, Giovanni, on Henry 11. 
 and his Court, 118, 119. 
 
 Carlos, Don, son of Philip 11. of 
 Spain, 313, 321, 322-324, 325, 
 327, 328, 371. 
 
 Carpentils, le Sieur des, 40. 
 
 Carretifere, Chateau of, 249. 
 
 Cassilhs, the Earl of, 141 ; his 
 death, 157. 
 
 Castelnau, Jacques de la Mothe, 
 Baron de, one of the victims of 
 the Guises at Amboise, 255, 
 256. 
 
 Castres, Madame de (Diane de 
 France, daughter of Henry 11.), 
 afterwards wife of Francis de 
 Montmorency, eldest son of 
 the Constable, 94, 134. 
 
 Cateau-Cambresis, Treaty of, 162, 
 163 ; regretted by the soldiers, 
 173 ; ushers in a new era of 
 persecution, 173 ; Was there a 
 secret clause in it, pledging 
 Henry 11. and Philip 11. to root 
 out heresy ? 175, 176, 231. 
 
 Catherine de' Medici, wife of 
 
 456 
 
Index 
 
 Henry ii., accompanies the King 
 on has progress of 1548, 15 ; 
 writes to M. d'Humiferes 
 about her children, 21 ; her 
 coronation and entry into Paris, 
 27, 28; relations with Diane 
 de Poitiers, 33 ; her lion cubs, 
 40 ; letter to Mary of Lorraine 
 praising Queen Mary, 42, 43 ; 
 entry into Rouen in 15 50, 62 ; 
 regrets the departure from 
 France of Mary of Lorraine, 7 1 ; 
 writes to Madame d'Humi^res 
 for portraits of her children, 
 99 ; mentioned in the Cardinal 
 of Lorraine's letters to his 
 sister, loi; her love of hunting, 
 115 ; her early years in France, 
 121, 122 ; at the betrothal of 
 Mary and the Dauphin, 142 ; 
 at the wedding, 146, 147 ; at 
 the fatal tournament of June 
 I5S9) 187 ; her policy towards 
 the Guises at the accession of 
 Francis 11., 195 ; her treatment 
 of Montmorency, 196 ; sub- 
 serviency to the Guises, 198 ; 
 her apartments at Blois, 225 ; 
 Advent sermons at Blois in 
 1559, 226 ; draws closer to 
 the Montmorencies and the 
 Chitillons, 236 ; praised by 
 Castelnau for her merciful- 
 ness at Amboise, 258 ; present 
 at the questioning of the 
 prisoners, 260 ; at Chenon- 
 ceaux, 263 ; receives Francis 
 and Mary at the Chateau, 
 263 ; growth of her political 
 influence, 271 ; her ambitions, 
 272 ; interviews with Throck- 
 morton, 281 ; at the meeting 
 of the Notables at Fontaine- 
 bleau, August 1560, 284 ; the 
 Huguenots put themselves 
 under her protection, 286 ; 
 her lack of kindness towards 
 her widowed daughter-in-law, 
 318-320; writes to Margaret, 
 Duchess of Savoy, 320 ; writes 
 to the Bishop of Limoges 
 about the proposed Spanish 
 match for Mary, 322 ; asks 
 Philip II. to be the protector 
 of her son, Charles ix., 322 ; 
 asks the Bishop of Limoges 
 
 to further a marriage between 
 Don Carlos and her youngest 
 daughter, Margaret of Valois, 
 324 ; objects to a marriage 
 between the Scottish Queen 
 and Don Carlos, 325 ; letter 
 to the Bishop of Rennes, 327, 
 328 ; letter to the Bishop of 
 Limoges, 329 ; proposes to 
 meet Philip 11. and bring her 
 daughter Margaret, 329 ; reasons 
 for her disapproval of a Spanish 
 match for Mary, 329 ; inter- 
 view with Throckmorton, 365, 
 366. 
 
 Chambord, Treaty of, 103 ; the 
 Chateau of, 227 ; Francis 11. 
 visits it, 226, 301. 
 
 Chantonay, Thomas Perrenot de. 
 Ambassador of Philip 11. at 
 the Court of France, 233 ; warns 
 the Cardinal of Lorraine of a 
 plot to kill the Guises, 241 ; 
 describes the executions at 
 Amboise, 251, 258. 
 
 Charles v. the Emperor, besieges 
 Metz in 1552, 104; the with- 
 drawal, IDS, 134 ; joy over the 
 battle of Sain t-Quen tin, 136. 
 
 Charles ix.. King of France, 100 ; 
 his love of hunting, 115 ; his 
 accession, 306-309 ; talk of a 
 marriage between him and 
 Mary, 322, 354 ; letter to the 
 Bishop of Limoges, 358, 365. 
 
 Chartres, the Vidame de, 293, 294. 
 
 Chateaubriand, negotiations at, 
 64-66. 
 
 Ch4telherault, Duke of, 56, 109, 
 
 155, 273. 275, 395, 397- 
 
 Chenonceaux, the Chateau of, 
 195, 246, 258, 263, 301. 
 
 Clermont, Madame de, 322-324. 
 
 Coligny, Frangois de (Andelot), 
 44, 45, 137 ; arrested for heresy, 
 171 ; at Vendome, 200, 236; 
 at Amboise in 1560, 249. 
 
 Coligny, Gaspard de, shows hos- 
 pitality to the Marquis of 
 Northampton and his colleagues 
 in 1551, 65 ; writes to the Duke 
 of Guise before the siege of 
 Metz, 104 ; arranges the Truce 
 of Vaucelles, 129 ; heroic de- 
 fence of Sain t-Quen tin, 136 - 
 a prisoner, 137, 182, 183 • 
 
 457 
 
The Girlhood of Mary Queen of Scots 
 
 meets Egmont and Orange in 
 Paris, 182; after the accession 
 of Francis 11., 200, 236 ; at 
 Amboise in 1560, 249; his 
 speech at Fontainebleau, 
 August 1560, 28.5 ; hostility 
 to the Duke of Guise, 291 ; 
 discusses with Throckmorton 
 Mary's proposed marriage with 
 Don Carlos, 344, 345. 
 
 Coligny, Odet de (Cardinal de 
 Chatillon), 45 ; at Amboise, 
 249 ; receives a Spanish gentle- 
 man, whom he introduces to 
 Henry 11., 138. 
 
 Conde, the Prince of {see Bour- 
 bon). 
 
 Contarini, Lorenzo, on the Car- 
 dinal of Lorraine, 81. 
 
 Contay, Fran9oise de (see 
 Humiferes, Madame d'). 
 
 Creizker of Saint-Pol - do - Leon, 
 the, I. 
 
 Crussol, Madame de, 369. 
 
 Curel, Mademoiselle de, 41. 
 
 Damville, Henry de Montmorency, 
 son of the Constable Anne de 
 Montmorency ; at the siege of 
 Metz, 104 ; his wedding to 
 Antoinette de la Marck, 
 daughter of the Duke of 
 Bouillon and granddaughter of 
 Diane de Poitiers, 166 ; accom- 
 panies Mary to Scotland, 361. 
 
 Dandolo, Matteo, on the Cardinal 
 of Guise (Lorraine), 81. 
 
 Dehors, Robert, 267. 
 
 Despence, Claude, 113; funeral 
 sermon for the Chancellor 
 OUivier, 262, 263 ; funeral 
 sermon for Mary of Lorraine, 
 278-280. 
 
 Dumbarton, 5. 
 
 Edinburgh, Treaty of, 280, 314, 
 336. 
 
 Edward vi. sends the Garter to 
 Henry II., 64; 67; 71. 
 
 Egmont, Count, 182. 
 
 Elboeuf, the Marquis d' {see 
 Lorraine, Ren6 of). 
 
 Elizabeth, Queen of England, 162 ; 
 demands that Mary and the 
 Dauphin shall take the oath of 
 peace, 167 ; praised by Mont- 
 
 morency, 171 ; displeased with 
 Mary, 185, 186 ; Throck- 
 morton's advice about Calais, 
 197 ; Francis 11. writes to her 
 about the illness of Mary of 
 Lorraine, 226 ; messages de- 
 livered by Throckmorton in 
 August 1560, 281 ; Throck- 
 morton disapproves of her con- 
 duct, 311, 312 ; sends the Earl 
 of Bedford on a mission of 
 condolence, 314, 315 ; refuses 
 a passport to Queen Mary, 
 360, 361. 
 
 Elizabeth of Valois, afterwards 
 Queen of Spain {see Valois, 
 Elizabeth of). 
 
 Ely, Bishop of, at Chateaubriand, 
 64, 66, 131. 
 
 Erskine, John Erskine of Dun, 
 141. 
 
 Erskine, Lord, 5. 
 
 Ess6, the Sieur d' (Andre de 
 Montalembert), 4. 
 
 Este, Anne d', wife of Francis, 
 second Duke of Guise, 16 ; her 
 arrival in France and her 
 marriage, 23-25 ; letter from 
 her brother-in-law, the Cardinal 
 of Lorraine, 115, 116; Mary's 
 gratitude to her, 123 ; dances 
 with the Duke of Nemours 
 after the wedding of the 
 Dauphin, 147 ; conditional be- 
 quest to the Cardinal of 
 Lorraine, 155, 156 ; weeps over 
 the victims of Amboise, 260 ; 
 praise of Mary, 384. 
 
 £tampes, the Duchess d', 32, 
 125. 
 
 Faur, Louis du, 177. 
 
 Fismes, 203. 
 
 Fleming, Lady, 5, 15 ; M. de 
 Breze mentions her popularity 
 at Court, 22 ; admiration of 
 Henry 11. for, 23 ; the Duchess 
 Antoinette on, 41 ; the scandal 
 of, 68, 69 ; her son, 69. 
 
 Fleming, Lord, 141 ; his death, 
 
 157- 
 
 Fontainebleau, secret documents 
 signed at, 152-156. 
 
 Francis 11., Dauphin and after- 
 wards King of France, husband 
 of Mary Queen of Scots, 18 ; 
 
 45S 
 
Index 
 
 his early afiection for Mary, 2 1 , 
 22 ; he dances with her at the 
 wedding of the Duke of Aumale 
 with Anne d'Este, 25 ; at the 
 age of three, 26 ; his ill-health, 
 34; illness in 1549, 34; his 
 early letters, 35, 36 ; his visit 
 to Anet, 36 ; his pet animals, 
 40 ; mentioned in Mary's Latin 
 Themes, 93 ; his ill-heaJth, 109 ; 
 his love of hunting, 115; 
 Capello's opinion of him, 118, 
 119; his betrothal to Queen 
 Mary, 142 ; his wedding, 144- 
 150; pledges to the Estates 
 of Scotland, 151, 152 ; the 
 Scottish regalia, 157 ; the title 
 "King of Scotland" allowed 
 to him during the continuance 
 of the marriage, 157 ; the 
 crown matrimonial, 158 ; at 
 the wedding of the Duke of 
 Lorraine, 165 ; his ill-health, 
 166, 167 ; practises at the 
 tilt, 185 ; his father's death, 
 192, 193 ; succession to the 
 throne, 194 ; confers power 
 on the Guises, 196 ; his re- 
 ception of Montmorency, 196, 
 197; goes to Meudon, 197: 
 his seal, 198 ; funeral of his 
 father, 198, 199 ; leaves Villers- 
 Cotterets for Rheims, 203 ; 
 enters Rheims, 203 ; makes 
 his offering in the Cathedral, 
 207 ; the hostages of the holy 
 oil-flask, 207, 208 ; at the 
 Coronation banquet, 210; visits 
 Bar-le-Duc, 210; visits Blois, 
 216 ; rumours of his leprosy, 
 
 217 ; rumoured sacrifices of 
 children, 217 ; rapid growth 
 of Francis, 217 ; doctors advise 
 him to winter at Blois, 217, 
 
 218 ; takes leave of his sister 
 EHzabeth, Queen of Spain, 
 
 219 ; writes to Elizabeth of 
 England about the illness of 
 Mary of Lorraine, 226 ; writes 
 to Mary of Lorraine, 226 ; his 
 visit to Chambord, 226, 227 ; 
 removes from Blois to Amboise, 
 240 ; during the Tumult of 
 Amboise, 247-258 ; watching 
 the executions, 259 ; open-air 
 life during the summer of 
 
 1560, 268-270; at the meeting 
 of the Notables at Fontaine- 
 bleau, 283, 284 ; enters Orleans, 
 297 ; his illness and death, 
 301-304 ; his funeral, 308, 309. 
 
 Gomez, Ruy, 183-190, 325. 
 
 Grand Prior, the (see Lorraine, 
 Francis of). 
 
 Groslot, Jacques, of Orleans, 297. 
 
 Groslot, Jerome, 297, 298. 
 
 Guise, Anne d'Este, Duchess of 
 (see Este, Anne d'). 
 
 Guise, Antoinette de Bourbon, 
 Duchess of (see Bourbon, 
 Antoinette de). 
 
 Guise, Charles, Cardinal of, 
 afterwards of Lorraine (see 
 Lorraine). 
 
 Guise, Claude of Lorraine, first 
 Duke of ; welcomes Anne 
 d'Este at Grenoble, 23 ; " the 
 Protector of Paris," 24 ; at 
 the reception of his Italian 
 daughter-in-law, 24 ; his death 
 in 1550, 43 ; waning of his 
 influence under Henry 11., 45 ; 
 Was he poisoned? 45, 46; his 
 dying words, 46 ; early life in 
 France, 52 ; marriage to 
 Antoinette of Bourbon, 52 ; 
 bravery at Marignano, S3 ; 
 his character, 53, 54. 
 
 Guise, Dom Claude of, 55, 340. 
 
 Guise, Francis of Lorraine, second 
 Duke of, 3, 12 ; letters from 
 his mother, 14, 15 ; her appeal 
 for the rebels of the South, 14 ; 
 her hopes for his marriage 
 with Anne d'Este, 14 ; sent 
 with Montmorency to crush 
 the rebellion in Guyenne, 16 ; 
 his reputation for clemency, 
 16 ; his wedding to Anne 
 d'Este, 23-25 ; letter to Mary 
 of Lorraine describing his 
 bride, 23-24 ; letter to Henry 
 II. on the Dauphin's illness, 
 34 ; letter from the Dauphin 
 to, 36 ; his position under 
 Henry 11., 44 ; succeeds his 
 father as Duke of Guise, 44-48 ; 
 calls himself " Francis of 
 Anjou," 54; the defender of 
 Metz, 104-107 ; receives con- 
 gratulations from his sister in 
 
 459 
 
The Girlhood of Mary Queen of Scots 
 
 Scotland, io6, and from 
 Henry ll., lo6, 107 ; his 
 humanity to the vanquished, 
 105 ; writes to his sister about 
 Mary, iii ; congratulates her 
 on her accession to the Regency, 
 III; Mary's gratitude to him, 
 123 ; crosses the Alps on his 
 Italian expedition, 135 ; recalled 
 to France, 13S ; takes Calais 
 from the English, 137 ; his great 
 popularity, 137, 138 ; at the 
 wedding of the Dauphin and 
 Mary, 144-150 ; anxieties of 
 his position, 156 ; influence in 
 the signing of the secret deeds 
 at Fontainebleau, 1 5 3-1 56 ; 
 dissatisfaction with the peace 
 negotiations, 161 ; threatens to 
 live in private, 161 ; rivalry 
 with Montmorency, 161 ; talk 
 of " a prisoners' peace," 161 ; 
 regal authority under Francis 
 II., 194, ig6 ; has control of 
 military officers, 196 ; his rank 
 at the coronation of Francis 
 II., 209 ; his connection with 
 Bar-le-Duc, 211 ; his unpopu- 
 larity in 1560, 233 ; the 
 failure to pay the disbanded 
 officers, 234 ; promises his old 
 officers to employ them later 
 on, 235 ; the conspirators of 
 Amboise propose to capture 
 him, 239 ; Des Avenelles warns 
 him of the conspiracy, 240 ; 
 appointed Lieutenant-General, 
 250 ; cruel executions at Am- 
 boise, 251 ; his position to- 
 wards the conspirators, 254, 
 255 ; his mistaken policy, 255 ; 
 reports on miUtary affairs at 
 Fontainebleau, August 1560, 
 284 ; contradictory policies, 294, 
 295 ; conduct after the death 
 of Francis 11., 307, 308 ; his 
 illness at Merly, 370, 373 ; 
 letters from his son Henry, 
 386, 387. 
 Guise, Henry of Lorraine, third 
 Duke of, 86 ; letter to his 
 father on his visit to Rheims 
 if ISS7) 89; his babyhood as 
 described by his grandmother, 
 117; takes part in the fes- 
 tivities following the Dauphin's 
 
 marriage, 148 ; letters to his 
 
 father, 385, 386. 
 Guise, Louis of Lorraine, Cardinal 
 
 of, 43 ; his first visit to Rome, 
 
 43, 45. 89 ; made a Cardinal, 
 
 107 ; conduct at the battle of 
 
 Renty, 85, 112, 373. 
 Guise, Mary of. Queen Dowager 
 
 of Scotland {see Lorraine, 
 
 Mary of). 
 Guyot, Claude, 24, 27. 
 
 Hennuyer, Jean, tutor of the 
 Cardinal of Lorraine, 97. 
 
 Henry 11., King of France, his 
 letter to M.d'Humi^res announc- 
 ing Mary's arrival at RoscofiE, 
 4 ; his journey of 1548, 15 ; 
 his visit to Turin, 15 ; at 
 Moulins for the wedding of 
 Antoine de Bourbon and Jeanne 
 d'Albret, 17 ; sends Mont- 
 morency and Francis of 
 Lorraine to quell the revolt in 
 the South, 16 ; writes to the 
 Constable on the wedding of 
 Jeanne d'Albret, 17 ; writes 
 to Francis of Lorraine on his 
 approaching wedding, 17 ; his 
 letter to M. de Selve on the 
 Scottish negotiations of 1548, 
 18 ; his letter to M. d'Aramon, 
 French Ambassador at Con- 
 stantinople, 18, 19 ; his letter 
 to the Estates of Scotland 
 announcing Mary's arrival, 18 ; 
 his return to Saint-Germain, 2 1 ; 
 his admiration for Mary, 22 ; 
 satisfaction at the health of his 
 children, 22 ; M. de Brezfe tells 
 of Henry's kindness to Mary, 
 22 ; Henry describes Mary's 
 dancing at the wedding of the 
 Duke of Aumale, 25 ; his love 
 of children, 25, 26 ; state 
 entry into Paris, 27 ; as perse- 
 cutor, 28, 31 ; his character, 
 29, 30 ; his relations with 
 Diane de Poitiers, 31, 32 ; 
 extravagance in dress in his 
 reign, 38 ; visits Boulogne, 48 ; 
 state entry into Rouen, 59-62; 
 his graciousness to the Scots 
 nobles in 1550, 63 ; invested 
 with the Order of the Garter at 
 Chateaubriand, 64 ; entertains 
 
 460 
 
Index 
 
 the representatives of Edward 
 VI., 65, 66 ; gifts to Scottish 
 nobles, 67 ; his letters to Mary 
 of Lorraine in 1549 about Lady 
 Fleming, 68, 69 ; his liaison 
 with her, 69 ; dislike of occult 
 studies, 98 ; congratulates the 
 Duke of Guise on his defence of 
 Metz, 106, 107 ; his course of 
 hfe as described by Capello, 
 118 ; his love of Montmorency 
 and distrust of the Guises, 
 138 ; at Mary's betrothal and 
 marriage, 142-150 ; the secret 
 documents of Fontainebleau, 
 152-156; his longing for peace, 
 159, and for the Constable's 
 return, 159 ; distrust of the 
 Guises, 159, 160; at the death 
 of Mary Tudor proclaims his 
 daughter-in-law Queen of 
 England, Scotland, and Ireland, 
 162 ; ratifies the oath of 
 peace with England, 167 ; letters 
 to Pope Paul IV. about affairs 
 in Scotland, 172 ; his coup 
 d'etat of June 1559; intends to 
 repress heresy, 180 ; his fatal 
 wound, illness and death, 186- 
 193 ; his funeral, 198, 199. 
 
 leu, Gaspard le, 255. 
 
 loby, Sir Philip, 64. 
 
 Hopital, Michel de 1', 24, 116, 
 168, 201, 284. 
 
 ilotman, Franjois, 266. 
 
 ^oy, Robert le, 59. 
 
 luguenots, spread of the Re- 
 formed religion, 107 ; the Duke 
 of Guise bums heretical books 
 at Metz, 107 ; Henry 11. as 
 persecutor, 107, 108, 174-176 ; 
 the petition presented by 
 Coligny to Francis 11., 285, 
 286 ; their increasing power, 
 291-292. 
 
 ■lumiferes, the Sieur Jean d', 
 Governor of the children of 
 France, 19 ; Henry 11. orders 
 him to prepare the house of 
 Carriferes at Saint-Germain for 
 Mary, 19 ; Diane de Poitiers 
 writes to him, 19-21 ; Catherine 
 de' Medici writes to him 
 about Mary, 21 ; receives 
 directions from the Constable 
 Montmorency, 33 ; his death, 36. 
 
 Humi&res, Madame d' (Franjoise 
 de Contay), 36 ; her care of 
 the royal children, 36 ; Henry 
 II. praises her, 36 ; superin- 
 tends the maids of honour, ^y ; 
 letters of Catherine de' Medici 
 to, 99, 100 ; mentioned by the 
 Cardinal of Lorraine, loi. 
 
 Huntly, the Earl of, 337. 
 
 Joinville, Castle of, death of 
 Claude, Duke of Guise, at, 43 ; 
 his funeral, 44-48 ; Queen 
 Mary's visit to, 346-355 ; 
 picturesque situation of the 
 home of the Guises, 346 ; its 
 importance in the sixteenth 
 century, 347 ; relics of the 
 Guises at, 347, 348 ; Hospital 
 of) 347. 348 ; the " Chateau 
 du Grand Jardin," 349, 350; 
 the legend of its building, 350 ; 
 its present condition, 351 ; a 
 favourite home of Henry of 
 Guise, 351 ; the " Sepulcre " in 
 the parish church, 352, 353. 
 
 Julius III., Pope, election of, 43. 
 
 Knox, John, on the Regency of 
 Mary of Lorraine, 109, no, 177, 
 361. 
 
 Lesley, Bishop, 63, 67, 337. 
 Lethington, Maitland of, 273. 
 Lhomme, Martin, 267. 
 Ligniferes, 249. 
 Livingston, Lord, 6, 12. 
 Loches, the Martelet at, 174. 
 Loire, drownings in the, after 
 the Tumult of Amboise, 256- 
 258. 
 Longpont, Abbey of, 203. 
 Longueville, the Duke of, eldest 
 son of Mary of Lorraine, 70, 
 71, 381-383. 
 Lorraine, Antoine, Duke of, 211, 
 
 212. 
 Lorraine, Charles, Cardinal of — 
 I. Under Henry 11. : Visit to 
 Italy in 1547, 23 ; helps to 
 arrange his elder brother's 
 marriage, 23 ; letter to Francis 
 on the bride's arrival, 23 ; 
 at the wedding of Francis, 24 ; 
 his second visit to Rome, 43 • 
 letter from, to his sister in 
 
 461 
 
The Girlhood of Mary Queen of Scots 
 
 Scotland, 43 ; influential posi- 
 tion at the accession of 
 Henry II., 44,45; on his mother, 
 5 3 ; desires Naples and' Sicily 
 for his brother, 5 3 ; his schemes 
 of conquest, 53 ; calls himself 
 " Cardinal of Anjou," 54, 55 ; 
 responds to the Bishop of 
 Ely'sLatin speech at Chateau- 
 briand, 66; Bishop Creighton's 
 opinion of his character, 73 ; 
 Ranke's view, 73 ; Bran tome's 
 anecdotes, 74, 75 ; his gifts as 
 a preacher, 74, 75 ; his visit 
 to Venice, 74 ; his early career, 
 ■J 6 ; his friendship for Ramus 
 and Ronsard, 76 ; Nicolas 
 Boucher's account of his 
 student-life at the College of 
 Navarre, 76, "jy ; his eloquence 
 and learning, yy ; first years at 
 Court, 7 J ; Archbishop of 
 Rheims, 77 ; Did he sym- 
 pathise with the Reformers ? 
 78 ; his Coronation sermon in 
 1547, 79 ', I'is portrait at 
 Rheims, 80 ; his personal ap- 
 pearance, 80, 81 ; estimates 
 of Venetian and Florentine 
 ambassadors, 81, 82 ; the 
 charge of avarice, 82-84 ; his 
 lavish expenditure for public 
 purposes, 83, 84 ; his gifts 
 to Rheims, 84; the debts of 
 his uncle John, 84, 85 ; the 
 charge of cowardice, 85 ; In 
 what sense was he a coward ? 
 85, 86; his strenuous activity, 
 86 ; his private correspond- 
 ence, 86 ; his moral character, 
 87, 88 ; relationship to Anne 
 d'Arne, 88, 89 ; his nephews 
 Francis and Henry, 89 ; his 
 personal care of Queen Mary, 
 89, 90 ; two of her Latin 
 Themes addressed to him, 93 ; 
 religious teaching, 97 ; letters 
 to his sister about Mary, 100- 
 102 ; letters to his brother 
 Francis during the siege of 
 Metz, 104, 105 ; eager desire 
 to help his brother, 106 ; his 
 care of his royal niece, 109; 
 promises to attend to her 
 dietary, 109, and to examine 
 into the concerns of her estab- 
 
 lishment, 109 ; her first guest 
 in her own household, 109 ; 
 writes to his sister aboutMary, 
 no, 1 1 1 ; letter to the Duchess 
 of Guise about Meudon, 115, 
 116; letter to Mary of Lorraine 
 about the baptism of his 
 nephew Charles at Meudon, 
 116, 1 17; on the healthof Queen 
 Mary, 117; praises Madame 
 de Paroy, 119; recognises that 
 she was not a suitable guardian 
 for his niece, 120, 121 ; Mary's 
 gratitude to him, 123; his early 
 letter to Diane de Poitiers, 
 124 ; informs his sister in 
 Scotland of Mary's serious 
 illness, 125-128 ; Ms care for 
 his niece and tender considera- 
 tion for his sister's feeUngs, 
 127, 128; his mischievous work 
 in Italy, 134 ; his desire to 
 press forward his niece's 
 marriage to the Dauphin, 138 ; 
 his commanding influence, 
 138; Michiel asks the Doge and 
 Senate to congratulate him, 
 139; he gives reasons to the 
 Venetian Ambassador for the 
 hasteniag of the marriage, 
 140 ; betroths Mary to the 
 Dauphin, 142 ; his influence 
 in the signing of the secret 
 documents at Fontainebleau, 
 153-156; peace negotiations, 
 159 ; he meets the Duchess 
 Dowager of Lorraine, 159 ; 
 talk of "a prisoners' peace," 
 161; thinks the French are 
 too accommodating, 161 ; a 
 plenipotentiary at Cateau- 
 CambrSsis, 162 ; arranges a 
 comedy, 169 ; visits Brussels 
 in 1559, 169 ; receives a costly 
 gift from Philip 11., 169 ; his 
 reputation as a negotiator, 
 169; accuses President Siguier 
 of undue leniency to heretics, 
 176, 177 ; attends the sitting 
 of June 10 in the monastery 
 of the Augustines, 178. 
 II. Under Francis 11. : Regal 
 authority under Francis 11., 
 194; controls the finances, 
 196 ; his grave anxieties, 197 ; 
 celebrates the funeral mass for 
 
 463 
 
Index 
 
 Henry ii. at Saint-Denis, 199 ; 
 " Pope and King," 200; his un- 
 bounded self-confidence, 201 ; 
 compliments paid to him by 
 authors, 201, 202 ; Charles 
 Choquart's tribute, 202 ; mem- 
 ories of him at Rheims, 205 ; 
 arranges details of the Corona- 
 tion, 206 ; meets Elizabeth, 
 Queen of Spain, at Rheims, 
 207 ; meets the King, 207 ; 
 receives the holy oil-flask from 
 the Prior of Saint-Remi, 208 ; 
 celebrates the Coronation 
 mass, 209 ; as persecutor — 
 Throckmorton's opinion, 215 ; 
 arranges for Advent services 
 at Blois, 226 ; Anne du Bourg's 
 " red Phalaris," 229 ; writes 
 to the Bishop of AngoulSme 
 on the execution of Anne du 
 Bourg, 230 ; his estate at 
 Amboise, 233; the story of the 
 gibbet at Fontainebleau, 234, 
 235 ; the conspirators of Am- 
 boise and the fate proposed 
 for him, 239 ; his alarm, 244, 
 24s ; writes to his sister in 
 Scotland about the plot, 246 ; 
 his conduct at Amboise, 246- 
 248 ; his alleged superstitious 
 fears, 247; his rage and cruelty 
 at Amboise, 252 ; shows the 
 King and his brothers the 
 dying victims, 259 ; preaches 
 at Marmoutier, 263-265 ; 
 Michiel'spraiseof his sermons, 
 264 ; defamed by libels and 
 placards, 264-266 ; the Letter 
 to the Tiger of France, 266, 
 267 ; he is hanged in effigy in 
 Paris, 269 ; the death of his 
 sister, Mary of Lorraine, 277 ; 
 his letter in reply to con- 
 dolences from Chantonay,277; 
 speaks at the meeting of the 
 Notables at Fontainebleau, 
 August 1560, 284, 289-290; 
 contradictory policies, 294, 
 295 ; his real policy, 296 ; gives 
 up the seal of Francis n., 308. 
 III. Other references : His con- 
 duct after the death of Francis 
 II., 308, 309 ; retires to 
 Rheims, 313; desires a Spanish 
 marriage for Mary, 329 ; at 
 
 Rheims in 1 561, 331 ; letter to 
 the Bishop of Limoges, 332 ; 
 prepares for the Colloquy of 
 Poissy, 369 ; sudden illness at 
 Merly and suspicion of poison- 
 ing, 370, 371; later years, 373- 
 379 ; the two texts he chose 
 for his tomb — " de morte et 
 resurrectione cogitans," 378. 
 Lorraine, Charles, Duke of, 104, 
 142, 145, 147 ; marriage to 
 the Princess Claude of France, 
 164-166 ; his training at the 
 French Court and his character, 
 164, 165 ; entertains Francis 11. 
 and Mary at Bar-le-Duc, 210 ; 
 entertains Mary at Nancy, ^43, 
 386. 
 Lorraine, Charles of (afterwards 
 Duke of Mayenne), son of Duke 
 Francis of Guise ; his baptism, 
 116; his babyhood, 117. 
 Lorraine, Christina of Denmark, 
 Dowager-Duchess of, 150; 
 meets her son in 1558, 164, 165 ; 
 343. 
 Lorraine, Francis of. Grand Prior 
 of France, fifth son of Duke 
 Claude of Guise, 43 ; writes to 
 his brother, the new Duke of 
 Guise, 46 ; his courage at 
 Renty praised by his brother 
 Francis, Duke of Guise, 112; 
 supervises Conde at Amboise, 
 250 ; accompanies Queen Mary 
 to Scotland, 361 ; 372, 373, 392. 
 Lorraine, the Cardinal John of, 
 44; his death, 50, 51; his 
 debts, 84, 85. 
 Lorraine, Louis of, second Cardinal 
 of Guise (murdered at Blois, 
 1588); his grandmother de- 
 scribes his babyhood, 1 18. 
 Lorraine, Mary of. Queen Dowa- 
 ger of Scotland ; letter to 
 her brothers announcing the 
 decision of the Estates of 
 Haddington, 5 ; letter from 
 her brother Francis on his 
 bride, Anne d'Este, 23, 24 ; 
 letter from Henry 11. praising 
 her daughter, 25 ; letter from 
 the Constable also praising 
 Mary, 26 ; letters from M. de 
 Brez^ to her, 22, 26 ; letter 
 from her mother on the honour 
 
 463 
 
The Girlhood of Mary Queen of Scots 
 
 paid to Mary, 41 ; regret be- 
 cause of her father's waning 
 influence at Court, 45 ; her 
 grief for his death, 46 ; her 
 visit to France, 1550-51, 56-71 ; 
 licr ambition to hold the 
 Regency of Scotland, 56 ; her 
 depression and ill-health in 
 1549, 56, 57 ; letters to her 
 brothers, 56, 57 ; family pro- 
 spects in 1550, 57 ; a passport 
 from Edward vi. for her 
 journey ; preparations in France 
 for her arrival, 59 ; she enters 
 Rouen, 59 ; winters at Blois, 
 63, 64 ; " made a goddess " 
 at the Court, 64 ; at Chateau- 
 briand with her daughter, 65 ; 
 preparing her way to the 
 Regency, 67 ; she tries the 
 patience of Henry 11., 6y ; 
 trouble about Lady Fleming, 
 68, 69 ; death of her son, the 
 Duke of Longueville, 70 ; letter 
 to her mother, 70, 71 ; arrival 
 at Portsmouth and return to 
 Scotland, 71 ; letters of her 
 brother, the Cardinal of 
 Lorraine, about her daughter, 
 100-102 ; congratulates the 
 Duke of Guise on his defence 
 of Metz, 106 ; proclaimed 
 Regent of Scotland, 109 ; the 
 Cardinal hopes that she 
 may visit France, 121 ; hears 
 from the Cardinal of her 
 daughter's illness, 125, 126 ; 
 his care to tell bad news gently, 
 126, 127 ; her private and 
 public anxieties, 1 28-1 31 ; her 
 work as Regent of Scotland, 
 129 ; her dislike of the " guerre 
 du Pape " in 1557, 130; fears 
 that the Italians may use 
 poisons, 130 ; her troubles with 
 the Scottish lords, 130, 131 ; 
 the Scottish lords wish her to 
 go to France to arrange her 
 daughter's marriage, 141 ; her 
 anxieties, 185, 186 ; her serious 
 illness, 214, 226; letters sent 
 to her by Francis 11., 226 ; 
 her troubles with the leaders 
 of the Congre,e;ation, 273-276 ; 
 deposed from the Rcgcncv, 
 274 ; her death in Edinburgh 
 
 Castle, 275 ; her character, 
 275 ; funeral sermon preached 
 in Paris by Claude Despence, 
 278, 279. 
 Lorraine, Rene of. Marquis 
 d'Elboeuf , youngest son of Duke 
 Claude of Guise, 43, 275, 361, 
 
 373- 
 Lorraine, Rene i., Duke of, 53, 
 
 211, 212. 
 Lorraine, Rene 11., Duke of, 35, 
 
 212. 
 Lorraine, Renee of, Abbess of 
 
 Saint - Pierre - les - Dames at 
 
 Rheims, 52. 
 Loti, Pierre, on Roscoff, 2. 
 Lussault, Mathurin, 37. 
 Lyon, the Court at, in 1548, 16, 
 
 17- 
 
 Maisonfleur, the Sieur de, 397-400. 
 
 Manrique, Don Juan, de Lara, 
 313, 328. 
 
 Marchenoir, the forest of, 240. 
 
 Marillac, Charles de, Archbishop 
 of Vienne, 289. 
 
 Marmoutier, the Abbey of, near 
 Tours, 263-265. 
 
 Marque, the Sieur de la, 226. 
 
 Mary Queen of Scots — 
 
 I. Her first years in France, 
 1 548-1 553 : Memorials of 
 Mary at Roscofi, 2, 3 ; Was 
 Roscoff her landing-place? 
 3, 4 ; Estates of Scotland 
 consent to her marriage with 
 the Dauphin, 4, 5 ; she sails 
 from Dumbarton, 5 ; her 
 companions, 5, 6 ; details of 
 her voyaye told in letters 
 from M. de Breze, 6-9 : 
 her good health on board 
 ship, 7-9 ; probable date of 
 her landing, 10 ; visit to 
 Morlaix, 10, 1 1 ; her journey 
 from Nantes to Saint-Ger- 
 main, 13-15 ; Henry 11. 
 announces her arrival to the 
 Estates of Scotland, 18 ; 
 honours paid to her during 
 her journey to Court, iS ; 
 affection shown her by the 
 Dauphin, 21 ; shsires the 
 apartments of the Princess 
 Elizabeth, 21 ; dances with 
 the Dauphin at the wedding 
 
 ■I'M 
 
Index 
 
 of her uncle Francis, 25 ; 
 her accounts, 37 ; her rich 
 dresses and jewels, n ; bills 
 of the children's kitchen, 
 39 ; details of her nursery- 
 life, 39-41 ; finding a phy- 
 sician for her, 41 ; claims 
 of William Bog, 41 ; she 
 wins all hearts at the 
 French Court, 42 ; Was she 
 at her grandfather's funeral ? 
 47, 48 ; letter to her grand- 
 mother on the approaching 
 visit of Mary of Lorraine to 
 France, 57 ; illness in 1550, 
 59 ; with her mother and the 
 Court at Rouen, 60 ; pro- 
 posal at Chateaubriand for 
 her marriage to Edward vi., 
 64 ; the English lords meet 
 Mary and her mother at 
 Chateaubriand, 65 ; Robert 
 Stuart's plot, 69-71 ; death 
 of her half-brother, the Duke 
 of Longueville, 70 ; the 
 Cardinal of Lorraine her 
 " gouvemante," 90 ; her 
 education and early training, 
 91 ; love of music, 91 ; skill 
 in dancing, 92 ; knowledge 
 of languages, 92 ; needle- 
 work, 92 ; her Latin Themes, 
 92-95 ; Latin speech before 
 the Court, 95 ; favourite 
 poets, 96 ; in Highland dress, 
 96 ; her religious training, 
 
 96, 97 ; regular attendance 
 at Mass, 97 ; superstition 
 at the Court of Henry 11., 
 
 97, 98 ; occult studies at 
 Court, 98 ; Mary's generosity, 
 
 98, 99 ; lost portraits of the 
 Queen, 99 ; her knowledge 
 of the writings of Erasmus, 
 94 ; her letter to Calvin, 95 ; 
 praised by the Cardinal of 
 Lorraine in letters to her 
 mother, 100-102. 
 
 II. The four years preceding 
 her marriage : Her care to 
 guard State secrets, 103 ; 
 she is kept out of the way of 
 heretical teaching, 108 ; at 
 the festival of St. George in 
 1553, ig8 ; her occasional 
 ill-health and its causes, 109 ; 
 
 receives the Cardinal Charles 
 as her guest at supper, 109 ; 
 public amusements during her 
 girlhood, 113-115; her skill 
 as a horsewoman, 115; visits 
 Meudon at Eastertide 1554, 
 116; the baptism of her 
 cousin Charles, son of Duke 
 Francis of Guise, 116; praised 
 by the Venetian Capello, 
 119; her governess, Madame 
 de Paroy, 119-122 ; com- 
 plaints to her mother, 120 ; 
 the Cardinal of Lorraine dis- 
 covers her unhappiness, 120, 
 121 ; his letter to her 
 mother about Madame de 
 Paroy, 120, 121 ; her serious 
 illness in 1556, 125-128 ; 
 graciousness to her country- 
 men who visited France, 131, 
 132 ; her marriage pushed 
 forward by her uncles after 
 the taking of Calais, 138 ; 
 marriage desired in Scot- 
 land, 140, 141 ; the Scots 
 Commissioners, 141. 
 III. Her marriage to the 
 Dauphin Francis (afterwards 
 Francis 11.), April 24, 1558 : 
 The betrothal, 142 ; the 
 " handfasting " ball, 142 ; 
 the marriage contract, 143 ; 
 invitation to the magistrates, 
 143 ; the wedding festivities 
 on Sunday, April 24, 1558 ; 
 scene on the Place du Parvis, 
 143, 144 ; the pavilion and 
 gallery outside the Cathedral 
 of Notre Dame, 144 ; arrival 
 of distinguished guests, 145 ; 
 the bridal train, 145 ; the 
 Duke of Guise as Grand 
 Master, 145 ; the procession 
 of great ecclesiastics, 145 ; 
 arrival of the bridegroom, 
 145 ; arrival of the bride, 
 145 ; her beauty and rich 
 adornments, 145 ; the Car- 
 dinal Charles de Bourbon 
 performs the nuptial cere- 
 mony, 146 ; the wedding 
 mass, 146 ; gifts to the 
 populace, 146 ; the wedding 
 banquet, 146 ; the royal 
 party arrives at the Palais 
 
 465 
 
The Girlhood of Mary Queen of Scots 
 
 de Justice, 147 ; banquet 
 and entertainments, 147, 
 148 ; pageant of the ships, 
 148, 149 ; Michiel's descrip- 
 tion of the marriage, 149, 
 ISO. 
 
 IV. As wife of the King- 
 Dauphin (April 1558 — July- 
 is 59): Her pledges to the 
 Estates of Scotland, 151 ; 
 the secret documents signed 
 at Fontainebleau, 152 ; their 
 purport, 152, 153 ; Did the 
 Guises influence Mary ? 156 ; 
 their position and motives, 
 156; letter to her mother 
 about the illness of the 
 Scots Commissioners, 159 ; 
 writes to her mother on the 
 peace negotiations, 161 ; the 
 death of Mary Tudor, 162 ; 
 assumes the arms of England, 
 162 ; her silver plate re- 
 newed, 162 ; marriage of the 
 Princess Claude, 164-166 ; 
 Mary takes part in the fes- 
 tivities, 166 ; her weak 
 health, 166, 167 ; wears 
 mourning for Mary Tudor, 
 166 ; her weak health con- 
 tinues, 168 ; she is ill in 
 church, 168 ; a letter to the 
 Duke of Savoy, 169 ; the 
 festivities of June 1559, 185 ; 
 the Guises take Mary and 
 Francis to the Louvre after 
 the death of Henry 11., 
 194. 
 
 V. As Queen Consort of France 
 (July 1559 — December 1560) : 
 Mary requires an inventory 
 of the crown jewels, 195 ; 
 " a great doer " at Court, 
 19s ; renewed anxiety about 
 her health, 199, 200 ; at 
 Villers-Cotterets, 200 ; leaves 
 Villers - Cotterets for the 
 Coronation at Rheims, 203 ; 
 enters Rheims, 203, 207 ; 
 attends vespers in the Cathe- 
 dral, 207 ; does not wear 
 mourning on the Coronation 
 day, 209 ; is not crowned at 
 Rheims with her husband, 
 
 209 ; the Coronation banquet, 
 
 210 ; visits Bar-le-Duc, 210- 
 
 215 ; her ill-health during 
 the visit, 213, 214 ; anxiety 
 about her mother's illness, 
 214 ; goes with the Court to 
 Blois, 216 ; reports of the 
 leprosy of Francis, 217; ac- 
 companies Elizabeth, Queen 
 of Spain, on the first 
 stage of her journey, 219 ; 
 visits Chambord for hunting, 
 
 226 ; Thomas Stuart arrested 
 at Chambord, 227 ; his 
 offence, 227 ; he wishes the 
 French Queen in heaven, 
 
 227 ; Mary leaves Blois with 
 the Court for Amboise, 240 ; 
 arrival at Amboise, 240 ; 
 interview with Throclanorton 
 240, 241 ; Chantonay reports 
 that the conspirators of 
 Amboise included her among 
 their enemies, 245 ; goes 
 out hunting and hawking 
 from Amboise, 247 ; visits 
 Chenonceaux, 252 ; Did she 
 watch the executions ? 258 ; 
 evidence of historians, 258, 
 259 ; unpopularity of her 
 uncles, 265-270 ; leads an 
 outdoor life with her husband, 
 270 ; her unhappiness about 
 affairs in Scotland, 270 ; 
 blames her uncles, 270 ; in- 
 consolable grief about her 
 mother's illness, 271 ; the 
 royal hunting parties, 271 ; 
 her conduct towards 
 Catherine de' Medici, 271, 
 272 ; grief for her mother's 
 death, 277 ; funeral sermon 
 for Mary of Lorraine by 
 Claude Despence, dedicated 
 to Mary, 279, 280 ; the 
 Treaty of Edinburgh, 280 ; 
 interviews with Throck- 
 morton in August 1560, 281- 
 283 ; pathetic reference to 
 the death of her mother, 282 ; 
 references to Queen Eliza- 
 beth, 2S2 ; asks for Eliza- 
 beth's portrait, 282 ; at the 
 meeting of the Notables at 
 Fontainebleau, August 1560, 
 283 ; the Bishop of Valence 
 appeals to her at Fontaine- 
 bleau, 288 ; enters Orleans, 
 
 466 
 
Index 
 
 298 ; her beauty praised by 
 Franfois Le Maire, 298 ; re- 
 fuses to ratify the Treaty of 
 Edinburgh, 300 ; illness and 
 death of her husband, 301- 
 
 304 ; her devoted care as his 
 nurse, 304 ; Throckmorton's 
 testimony to her patient and 
 loving watch by his side, 
 
 305 ; the loneliness of her 
 position, 306 ; gives up the 
 crown jewels on the day 
 foUowingher husband's death, 
 308 ; her dowry fixed by 
 Charles ix., 308 ; her forty 
 days of mourning, 310. 
 
 VI. Her widowhood : The 
 Venetian Ambassador on her 
 grief for the death of Francis 
 II., 310; her wise conduct, 
 311; praised by Throck- 
 morton, 312; thanks the 
 Doge of Venice for his loving 
 message, 312; attends the 
 requiem mass for Francis 11., 
 313; removes to a country 
 house, 313; meets the Earl 
 of Bedford and Throckmorton 
 at Fontainebleau, 314, 315 ; 
 her relations with Catherine 
 de' Medici, 318-320; pro- 
 posals for her second marri- 
 age, 321 ; Throckmorton's 
 opinion, 321 ; "a gentleman 
 who is going to Champagne," 
 322 ; hostile purposes of 
 Catherine, 324 ; mentioned 
 in Catherine's letters, 326, 
 327 ; visits Rheims, 331-334 ; 
 in Paris on her way to 
 Rheims, 333 ; the Kings of 
 Denmark and Sweden men- 
 tioned as possible suitors, 
 334 ; meets Lesley at Vitry- 
 le-Franjois, 337 ; his pro- 
 posal, 337 ; Mary's re- 
 jection of it, 337, 338 ; meets 
 the Lord James; Stuart at 
 Saint-Dizier, 338, 339 ; visits 
 Nancy, 343 ; her illness, 343, 
 344 ; removal to Joinville, 
 344 ; her grandmother's 
 care, 353, 354 ; return to 
 Paris, 355 ; interview with 
 Throckmorton, 355 ; dis- 
 cusses religious matters with 
 
 him, 356, 357 ; a passport 
 demanded from Philip 11., 
 358, and from Queen Eliza- 
 beth, 358 ; Elizabeth's re- 
 fusal, 360-362 ; Mary's dig- 
 nified attitude, 363-365 ; 
 determines to carry out 
 her journey, 366 ; intellectual 
 power shown in her con- 
 versations with Throck- 
 morton, 367 ; pleasures of 
 her last weeks in France, 368 ; 
 takes leave of the French 
 Court, 370 ; Surian on her 
 journey, 370, 371 ; last in- 
 terview with Throckmorton 
 at Abbeville, 371, 372 ; sails 
 for Scotland, 372. 
 VII. Other references : The 
 future of relatives she left 
 behind, 372-379 ; last letters 
 to the Cardinal of Lorraine, 
 376, 377 ; her grief for his 
 death in 1574, 378 ; French 
 influences on her character, 
 380-403 ; her happy child- 
 hood, 380 ; admiration felt 
 for her by great ladies of the 
 Court, 383, 384 ; her praises 
 sung by Mellin de Saint- 
 Gelais, 384, 385 ; later re- 
 lations with Elizabeth, Queen 
 of Spain, 387-391 ; open-air 
 pleasures, 391, 392 ; dress 
 and jewels, 394-396 ; love 
 of literature, 397 ; the 
 " Cantiques " of Maisonfleur, 
 398-400 ; her hatred of 
 cruelty, 402 ; brighter and 
 sadder aspects of her girl- 
 hood, 402, 403, 
 Mason, Sir John, on the Guises 
 and Montmorency, 58 ; on the 
 visit of Mary of Lorraine to 
 France, 58, 59, 63 ; describes 
 gay doings at Blois, 6^, 64 ; 
 rumours of war with England, 
 64 ; at Chateaubriand, 64 ; 
 says that the Court is weary 
 of the Dowager of Scotland, 
 67 ; on the scandal of 
 Lady Fleming, 69 ; on the 
 ill-health of Queen Mary ,5 166, 
 167. 
 Masselin, Robert, 60. 
 Mauris, Jean de St., 30. 
 
 467 
 
The Girlhood of Mary Queen of Scots 
 
 Mazferes, Captain, one of the 
 victims at Amboise, 256. 
 
 Medici, Catherine de', wife of 
 Henry 11. {see Catherine). 
 
 Melville, Sir James, praise of 
 Mary, 99 ; sent to Scotland, 
 172 ; his remarks on the 
 political situation after the 
 death of Francis 11., 319. 
 
 Metz, 104 ; defence of, by the 
 Duke Francis of Guise, 104- 
 107. 
 
 Meudon, the Cardinal of Lor- 
 raine's chateau at, 115. 
 
 Michiel, Giovanni, on the Cardinal 
 of Lorraine, 81, 82 ; describes 
 the wedding of the Dauphin 
 Francis and Mary Queen of 
 Scots, 149, 150 ; describes 
 events at Amboise during and 
 after the Tumult of 1560, 252 ; 
 describes the Cardinal's fury, 
 252. 
 
 Minard, the President, his murder, 
 229. 
 
 Montagu, Viscount, 132. 
 
 Montalembert, Andre de, Sieur 
 d'Esse, 4. 
 
 Montgomery, the Comte de, 180 ; 
 at the fatal tournament of June 
 1559, 187, 188. 
 
 Montluc, Blaise de, 286, 287. 
 
 Montluc, Jean de. Bishop of 
 Valence, his kindness to James 
 Melville, 12 ; his Journey from 
 a Breton port to Paris, 12 ; 
 his visit to Scotland, 276 ; 
 his speech at Fontainebleau 
 in August 1560, 286-288; 
 401, 402. 
 
 Montmorency, Anne de, 12 ; 
 writes to Mary of Lorraine 
 praising her daughter, 26, 29 ; 
 " le grand rabroueur," 33 ; 
 his kindness to his " little 
 masters," 33 ; gives dolls to 
 the Princess Claude, 33 ; fond- 
 ness of the royal children for, 
 34, 44 ; Sir John Mason on his 
 position, 58 ; at the Rouen 
 state entry, 61 ; at Chat- 
 eaubriand, 65-67 ; the Duke 
 of Guise writes to him about 
 his son Damville, 104 ; his 
 friends in ICngland, 108 ; his 
 attitude towards the Italian 
 
 campaign of 1557, 134, 135; 
 defeated at Saint-Quentin, 135 ; 
 a prisoner after Saint-Quentin, 
 137 ; Henry 11. wishes for his 
 return, 159, 160; visits the 
 King at Beauvais, 160 ; rivalry 
 with the Guises, 160 ; " a 
 prisoners' peace," 161 ; warns 
 political envoys of Mary's 
 weak health, 167 ; influence 
 with Henry 11., 170 ; replies to 
 Throckmorton about Mary's 
 adoption of the arms of 
 England, 170 ; praises Queen 
 Elizabeth, 171 ; proposals to 
 Alba, 171, 172 ; his poUcy for 
 Scotland, 172 ; at the Mer- 
 curiale, 179 ; his dignified 
 withdrawal from Court at the 
 accession of Francis 11., 196, 197 ; 
 his friendly relations with 
 Elizabeth, 198 ; enters Rheims 
 at the coronation of Francis 
 II., 207 ; opposes the Guises, 
 236 ; arrives at Orleans after 
 the death of Francis 11., 307, 
 308 ; his views on Mary's 
 marriage to Francis, 330. 
 Montmorency, Francis de, eldest 
 son of the Constable, visits 
 London after the peace of 
 Cateau-Cambresis, 170, 182 ; 
 at the requiem for Francis 11., 
 
 309- 
 Montoire, 240. 
 Morel, Francois, 228. 
 Morlaix, in Brittany, i, 10, 11. 
 Morvilliers, Jean de. Bishop of 
 
 Orleans, 297. 
 
 Nantes, 12 ; meeting of La 
 Renaudie's followers at, in 
 February 1560, 23S, 239. 
 
 Nassau, William of, 181, 1S2. 
 
 Navarre, Henry d'Albret, King 
 
 of, 17, 44. 59- 
 
 Navarre, Jeanne d'Albret, Queen 
 of, her wedding at Moulins to 
 Antoine de Bourbon, 17 ; at 
 the wedding of the Dauphin, 
 147 ; and the Huguenots, 171. 
 
 Na\arre, Margaret of Valois, 
 Queen of, 17. 
 
 Nemours, Duke of (Jacques de 
 Savoie), 147, 255, 392. 
 
 Noizay, 240. 
 
 4f>S 
 
Index 
 
 Northampton, Marquis of, 64. 
 Nostradamus, 97, 98. 
 
 Ollivier, the Chancellor, jy, 194, 
 19s, 247, 251, 262, 263. 
 
 Orleans, 297-3 1 1 • 
 
 Omain, the river, at Bar-le- 
 Duc, 211. 
 
 Oysel, M. d', no, 172, 338, 358- 
 360, 364, 365- 
 
 Panter, David, Bishop of Ross, 
 141. 
 
 Pare, Ambroise, 255, 307. 
 
 Paroy, Madame de. Queen 
 Mary's governess, 119 ; praised 
 by the Cardinal of Lorraine, 
 119; gives offence to her 
 pupil, 1 20 ; takes dresses from 
 Mary's wardrobe, 120 ; her 
 ill-health, 120, 121 ; speaks 
 against Mary to Catherine de' 
 Medici, 121. 
 
 Paul III., Pope, 43. 
 
 Paul IV., Pope, 134, 172. 
 
 Philip II. of Spain, 67, 136 ; his 
 marriage to Elizabeth of 
 Valois arranged at Cateau- 
 Cambresis, 163 ; gifts to French 
 statesmen, 183 ; marriage by 
 proxy to Elizabeth, 183 ; Eisks 
 that she should join him in 
 Spain, 216 ; his affection for 
 Ehzabeth, 221 ; her trousseau, 
 221, 222 ; sends condolences 
 on the death of Francis 11., 313. 
 
 Phihppa of Gueldres, wife of 
 Duke Rene 11. of Lorraine, 
 52, 382 (see also Introduction). 
 
 Picart, Fran9ois le, tutor of 
 the Cardinal of Lorraine, 78. 
 
 Pickering, Sir William, visits 
 Anet, 32, 64 ; describes the 
 Duke of Guise's return from 
 Metz, 106 ; on the French 
 Protestants, 107, 108. 
 
 Poitiers, Diane de. Duchess of 
 Valentinois, 16 ; her letters to 
 M. d'Humi^res, 19-21 ; keeps 
 the wedding ring for Anne 
 d'Este, 23, 29 ; her relation 
 to the children of Henry 11., 32 ; 
 her mourning for her husband, 
 32; her life at Anet; nurses 
 Catherine de' Medici, 32, ■i,i ; 
 receives the Dauphin at Anet, 
 
 36 ; letter to the Duke Francis 
 of Guise on the death of the 
 Cardinal John of Lorraine, 
 51 ; at Rouen in 1550, 62 ; 
 godmother of Charles, son of 
 Francis of Guise, afterwards 
 the " dark Mayenne " of the 
 League, 1 17 ; Mary's references 
 to her in letters, 122, 123 ; 
 her policy towards the French 
 royal family and the Queen of 
 Scots, 124, 125 ; reasons for 
 hastening Mary's wedding, 141 ; 
 letter to the Duke of Nevers, 
 142 ; the King assures the 
 Constable of her loyalty, 159 ; 
 patronises the Cardinal of Lor- 
 raine, 160 ; works against the 
 Guises, 170 ; retirement from 
 Court, 19S ; praise of Mary, 384. 
 
 Ramus, Pierre, 76, 201. 
 
 Raunay, Captain, one of the 
 victims at Amboise, 256, 269. 
 
 Reid, Robert, Bishop of Orkney, 
 141 ; his death, 157. 
 
 Renard, Simon, 31. 
 
 Renaudie, Godefroy de Barry, 
 Sieur de la, leads the mal- 
 contents to the Tumult of 
 Amboise, 236 ; Calvin's opinion 
 of him, 237, 238 ; at Nantes, 
 238, 239 ; betrayed by Des 
 Avenelles, 240 ; his failure and 
 death, 248-250, 254, 256, 261. 
 
 Rene i. (see Lorraine). 
 
 Rene 11. (see Lorraine). 
 
 Renee, Duchess of Ferrara, 24, 
 300. 
 
 Rennes, the Bishop of, letter 
 of Francis 11. to, 296 ; letter 
 of Catherine de' Medici to, 
 326, 327. 
 
 Renty, Battle of, 85, 86, 112. 
 
 Rheims, coronation of Francis 
 II. at, 203-210 ; its ancient 
 churches and abbeys, 204 ; 
 the Cathedral, 204-206 ; the 
 Abbey of Saint - Pierre - les - 
 Dames at, 335 ; Queen Mary 
 at, 335 ; her Book of Hours, 
 .335, 336. 
 
 RicasoU, Leone, on the Cardinal 
 of Guise (Lorraine), 82, 192, 200. 
 
 Roche-sur-Yon, Prince of la 
 (Charles of Bourbon), 200, 309. 
 
 469 
 
The Girlhood of Mary Queen of Scots 
 
 Ronsard, 76, 116, 397. 
 
 Roscoff, port of, in Brittany, i ; 
 
 memorials of Mary at, 2, 3 ; 
 
 Was it her landing-place ? 3, 4. 
 Rothes, the Earl of, 141 ; his 
 
 death, 157. 
 Rouen, state visit to, in the 
 
 autumn of 1550, 59-62. 
 
 Sadler, Sir Ralph, on the illness 
 of Mary of Lorraine, 214. 
 
 Sague, La, 293. 
 
 Saint-Aignan, the Count of, 40. 
 
 Saint-Andre, the Marshal, gives 
 the Dauphin a bear, 40 ; his 
 wife a favourer of the Reformed 
 doctrines, 108 ; a prisoner after 
 Saint-Quentin, 137; 196; 309. 
 
 Saint-Denis, crowning of Catherine 
 de' Medici at, 27 ; funeral of 
 Henry 11. at, 199. 
 
 Saint-Germain, Palace of, 19 ; 
 instructions of Henry 11. to 
 M. d'Humiferes about its cleans- 
 ing, 19 ; Mary's visit in 1553, 
 102 ; 293. 
 
 Saint-Ninian, Chapel of, at Ros- 
 coff, 4. 
 
 Saint-Pol-de-Leon, i, 9-10. 
 
 Saint-Quentin, 135. 
 
 Saint-Remi, the Church of, at 
 Rheims, 204-210. 
 
 Sainte-Barbe, the Chapel of, at 
 Roscoff, 3. 
 
 Savoy, Emmanuel Philibert, 
 Duke of, his marriage to 
 Margaret of Valois, sister of 
 Henry 11., arranged at Cateau- 
 Cambresis, 163 ; pleads for 
 Anne du Bourg, 191. 
 
 Scots, Mary Queen of (see 
 Mary). 
 
 Seguier, President, 176, 177, 180. 
 
 Selve, M. de, French Ambassador, 
 18. 
 
 Sens, Bertrand, Cardinal de, 178 ; 
 forced to relinquish the Seals, 
 194. 
 
 Seton, Lord, 141. 
 
 Somerset, the Protector, 18. 
 
 Soranzo, describes Scotland as 
 almost a province of France, 
 131 ; tells the motives of the 
 French Court in hastening the 
 marriage of Mary and the 
 Dauphin, 140. 
 
 Strozzi, Leo, Prior of Capua, 59. 
 
 Stuart, the Lord James, 141, 273, 
 333) 336, 338-342. 
 
 Stuart, Robert, alleged plot to 
 poison Queen Mary, 69 ; his 
 fate, 70. 
 
 Stuart, Thomas, 227. 
 
 Surian, Venetian Ambassador, 
 reports on the illness and 
 death of Francis 11., 301-304 ; 
 describes the hatred felt for 
 the Guises, 308, 309 ; writes 
 on the sorrow of Queen Mary 
 for her husband, 310; 
 on the Cardinal of Lorraine, 
 33 1 > 333 ; blames Elizabeth 
 for refusing a safe-conduct to 
 Mary, 370 ; on the illness of the 
 Guise brothers at Merly, 371. 
 
 Tardif, Rene, 37. 
 
 Throckmorton, Sir Nicholas, 
 mentions Mary's ill-health, 167, 
 168 ; on the rule of the Guises, 
 195 ; on the coronation of 
 Francis 11. at Rheims, 208, 209 ; 
 mentions Mary's ill-health at 
 Bar-le-Duc, 214; on the per- 
 secution, 215 ; describes meet- 
 ing with Mary at Amboise, 
 240, 241 ; describes the panic 
 of the Guises about March 6, 
 
 1560, 244, 245 ; mentions the 
 fears and mistrust of the 
 Cardinal at Amboise, 250 ; on 
 the Amboise executions, 256, 
 257 ; interviews \viXh Mary 
 in August 1560, 281-283; 
 praises her conduct after her 
 husband's death, 311, 312 ; 
 interviews with IMan,- at 
 Fontainebleau, 314, 315; on 
 Mary's \'isit to Rheims in 
 
 1561, 333> .^34; his eagerness 
 to secure the ratification of 
 the Treaty of Edinburgh, 336 ; 
 sends Mr. Somer to Nancy, 344 ; 
 his disappointments, 355 ; in- 
 terview of June 18, 1561, 355 ; 
 discussion on religion, 356, 357 ; 
 on the safe-conduct required 
 for Mary, 361, 362 ; important 
 interview with Mary, 363-365 ; 
 takes leave of her, 366 ; the 
 last meeting at Abbeville, 371, 
 37^- 
 
 470 
 
Index 
 
 Tournelles, Palace of the, 184- 
 193' 
 
 Urfe, Claude d', governor of the 
 royal children, 36, 37, loi. 
 
 Valentinois, Duchess of (see 
 Poitiers, Diane de). 
 
 Valois, the Princess Claude of 
 (JDuchess of Lorraine), 93, 142- 
 148 ; marriage to the Duke of 
 Lorraine, 164-166 ; entertains 
 the Court at Bar-le-Duc, 210- 
 215 ; entertains the widowed 
 Queen Mary at Nancy, 343. 
 
 Valois, the Princess Elizabeth 
 of, afterwards Queen of Spain, 
 proposed at Chateaubriand as 
 a bride for Edward vi., 66, 67 ; 
 mentioned in Mary's Latin 
 Themes, 93, 94 ; at Mary's 
 wedding, 147 ; her marriage 
 with Philip II. arranged at 
 Cateau-Cambresis, 163, 168 ; 
 her marriage, 183 ; arrives in 
 Rheims for the coronation of 
 her brother, Francis 11., 206, 
 207 ; Phihp II. wishes her to 
 set out for Spain, 216 ; her 
 departure, 220 ; her character, 
 220, 221 ; accompanied by her 
 
 mother and other relatives on 
 the first stage of her journey, 
 220 ; the pleasures of travel, 
 222 ; letter from her mother, 
 320, 321 ; writes to her mother, 
 323, 325 ; her later years, 
 388-391 ; 394. 
 
 Valois, Henry of (Henry iii. of 
 France), 122, 224. 
 
 Valois, Margaret of, Duchess of 
 Savoy, sister of Henry 11., 59, 
 62, 142 ; her marriage with the 
 Duke of Savoy arranged at 
 Cateau-Cambresis, 163; her 
 learning, i68 ; Catherine de' 
 Medici writes to her, 320. 
 
 Valois, Margaret of, daughter of 
 Henry 11., 224, 321, 394. 
 
 Vaucelles, the Truce of, 129. 
 
 Villegaignon, Nicolas Durand, 
 Seigneur de, i, 4, 5. 
 
 Villemongis, one of the victims 
 at Amboise, 256, 261, 262. 
 
 Villeneuve Saint-Georges, 293. 
 
 Villers-Cotterets, 200, 203. 
 
 Viole, Claude, 179. 
 
 Wotton, Dr., letters from, 44 ; 
 his opinion of the Dauphin, 
 119 ; on the Guises and Mary 
 Queen of Scots, 162. 
 
 471 
 
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