TUDOR A PRINCE OF WALES An Historical Novel In TWO PARTS LONDON Printed by H. H. for Jonathan Edwin at the Sign of the Three Roses on Ludgatehill 1678. Licensed Feb. 1. 1678. ROGER L'ESTRANGE TUDOR A PRINCE of WALES An Historical Novel The First Part. IT was about the Time when the War which had continued for so many Ages between the English and Welsh seemed to be put to an end and that these latter were believed for ever unable to retrive their losses or defend their pretensisions That Owen Tudor one of their Princes and whose Lineage they deduced from Cadwalladar an ancient British King endeavoured to mount the Throne He found it no difficult matter to perswade the Welsh to rise in Arms and that people dissatisfied with their new Masters were ready to shed the last drop of their Blood in attempting to shake off that Yoke Tudor was glad to find them so well inclined to the Execution of his desires but their Aid seeming too weak fully to support his hopes he betook himself to the Protection of the Kings of France and Scotland who resolved to second him in his enterprises Henry the Fourth newly Crowned King of England no sooner understood of the powerfull League that was formed against him but that he on his part prepared vigorously for War and having raised an Army of Forty thousand men he marched towards Scotland at the head of it where he met the enemy drawn up on the Borders He offered them Battel which was accepted but the Scots had the worst of the day Tudor was fain to flie for it and the Earl of Doughlas who commanded the Scots was made Prisoner by Henry The loss of that Battel put the Affairs of the Welsh Prince into a bad condition and finding no other support but in the friendship of Charles the Sixth King of France he retreated into his Dominions where that Monarch received him more favourably than he could have expected in his adversity The Grandee's of the Kingdom imitated their Prince and had so great respect for the merit of Tudor that their civilities were sufficient to have made him forget all his losses if he had proposed to himself any thing but Glory But it is very hard for such Souls as are born to command to find satisfaction any other way than in the submission and obedience of Provinces and that Prince would have willingly preferred the Crown of Wales to all the Favours and Civilities which he received at the Court of Charles Wherefore he did all he could to procure from him assistance But France was not at that time what before it had been and after the unlucky accident which befell their King and is mentioned in History the Kingdom was so rent by the different interests of the Princes of the Blood that it had enough to do to maintain it self Tudor thus crossed in his designs bore his misfortune but not without much impatience yet that was not all Fate had new troubles in reserve for him and he had never been sensible of the utmost effects of ill fortune if he had not felt the pains which commonly attend a great but hopeless Love Charles had several Children by his Queen Isabell of Bavaria and Catharine his youngest Daughter was justly esteemed one of the greatest Beauties and most lovely persons that hath ever been The Lustre of her presence surprized all that beheld her and her Actions were accompanied with so many Charms that no heart was proof against her merit Her Body was not inferiour to the Beauties of her Countenance and in a word she seemed to have been framed on purpose to inspire into Hearts the tenderest of Passions Tudor at first beheld her with admiration but seeing his Fortune had no Conformity with high designs his reason at that time retained its authority and that Princes thoughts were taken up as much at least with the sense of his Calamities as with the Consideration of the perfections of Catharine However he had a Heart like other Men and he must needs have been of a very savage disposition if seeing daily the Princess he had not been affected by her Beauty He began to be a little more Melancholick than he used to be or to say better he changed his Melancholy into a sweet and restless pensiveness and such as men commonly fall into when a great passion begins to seize them He well percieved in himself this change of humour and was displeased thereat yet not so much as he would have been had he fully known the cause of it However he made some reflexions on the complaisance that he had for the Princess and seemed indeed to have touched the right string when he helped to beguile himself In effect after so many marks of goodness as Catharine had shewed him he thought there could be no great danger in those little offices which he rendred her and which he believed to be rather testimonies of Gratitude than Love but the effects which great obligations produce are easily known and though they make deep impression on generous Souls yet all things have their limits and it is no hard matter to distinguish that which flows from Love from the effects of a Heart that is only grateful Neither did Tudor long continue in his error and the earnest desire he had to be in all places where Catharine was convinced him that civility did not commonly lead men so far but that some extraordinary matter must needs have invaded his thoughts That consideration made him afraid so that endeavouring to prevent the troublesome consequences that might ensue from it He employed all means to stifle his Affection in the Birth and proposed to his own Imagination every thing that might represent to him the fatal effects of that attempt But none but such as have never been in Love can think that from such like enterprises any success is to be expected and experience does too plainly evince that Love is like to those snares wherein the more men strive to get out the more they entangle themselves Tudor had the same Fate as others have had and all his reasonings served only to render him more Amorous The Charms of Catharine presenting themselves in vast numbers to his memory he conceived so agreeable an Idea of the Princesses perfections as suddenly got the absolute Victory over his weakness He found a Thousand delights in the conversation of that fair one and in her Company he so much forgot the thoughts os all his misfortunes that his greatest care was how he might appear agreeable to her Eyes He was no more Tudor whom ambition tormented Day and Night and that Passion which had so cruelly racked his Heart since the first time that he had given way to it gave place to those Sentiments which to tender and affectionate Souls have far greater charms than the most glorious and magnificent Crowns But how said that Prince sometimes to himself Dost thou consider Tudor what thou art about
first to fall into some jealousie But giving way at length to his Reason over his Chimerical Fancies he not only advised the Princess to make use of the Dukes offers but prayed her likewise not to spare her prayers if there was need of them to incline him to break up that Conference which put him into despair Catharine having had the consent of Tudor made no more scruple and was resolved to make her thoughts known to the Duke the next visit that he should be pleased to render her However that Prince was not so fully determined what to do as the Princess was and though she had given him no ground of diving into her thoughts yet he judged that glory was more the cause of the resistance she testified than any inclination she had for the King his Brother And deliberating afterward if it would be more to his advantage that she should Marry that young Prince or that he should start difficulties to obstruct the Alliance he at first resolved to suffer the matter to take its course And thought it his interest rather to see Catharine Queen to his Brother than to leave her in France and be for ever deprived of the sight of her but seeing men commonly are not apt to renounce their hopes so long as they have any ground to entertain them the Duke of Glocester took suddenly a resolution quite contrary to the intention he seemed to be in a little before He considered with himself that he was not far from the Crown and backing a great deal of Love with a little Ambition he imagined that he might hope to enjoy himself what he was about to abandon to another if he suffered the Conference to proceed too far That consideration was enough to make him play his part but though in that he had a greater respect to his own than the interests of the Princess yet he was willing to give her the honour of it and having rendred her a Visit Well Madam said he after the usual Ceremonies that pass between persons of that quality Do you still continue in the opinion you were in the other day and do you believe that one is obliged in Ceremonie to do the quite contrary of what they desire You have had time added he to think on 't and considering your natural perspicacity Give me leave to tell you that it would be a head-strong obstinacy still to continue in the same thoughts You press me too hard replied the Princess and cannot you permit Sir that people should satisfie their duty without putting of them in mind what it may cost them I was willing to follow mine without looking back if you had not stopt me in my Career and Catharine had not known what it is to declare her will if a civil and obliging Prince had not perswaded her that it is necessary for her repose once in her Life to do so Yes Madam I tell you once more answered the Duke and I thank Heaven that in so important an action as this in agitation your eyes are opened Reflect a little upon the Crosses you were about to expose your self to by affecting a false virtue and how many times you would have accused your self of being the cause of your own pains How much is a Princess of your disposition to be pitied when she is constrained to put on the Fetters that Policie hath made and how much do I blame as to that the actions of the greatest men in the world who without minding their own inclination daily sacrifice themselves to a weak reason of state How dear do they buy added he that vain glory which they are willing to purchase at the cost of their heart and how often do they blame themselves for having deprived their own satisfaction of the delights that are to be tasted in an happy Union Ah! Madam continued the Duke is there any thing more sensible than these secret rebukes that men give themselves and when Persons have a right frame of Spirit and Discretion should they not pursue that sole pleasure which is to be found in a sincere and affectionate engagement Ah! Sir replied the Princess let us not I beseech you condescend on so many particulars I am afraid for a reason that concerns my self that I shall come off with trouble though there were not a great many more that might make me condemn my conduct which probably I may be the first my self to dislike We should not too much reflect on things to which our inclination rather than duty moves us and the way to make us again embrace them is to be convinced that we have unseasonably forsaken them I distrust not Madam the Justice of my Cause replied the Duke and I can maintain it against all men living but I shall say no more For your part Madam I only beg of you to consider that in the way of procedure that I intend to follow in respect of my King I ought not to be so much blamed as I shall quickly be because the Rules of Duty and Interest of Blood are of no value when a Man is smitten with so lovely Eyes as yours Believe it Madam the Intrigue of the Conference proceeds from them and if the Duke of Glocester had never seen them he would have had no other thoughts but to facilitate a good accommodation and to hinder the streams of Blood that will flow from this Rupture Ah! Good God Sir cried the Princess let matters continue as they are rather than I should be the cause of so many Calamities The disorders that will follow Madam are not to be imputed to you said the Duke for the Duke of Glocester has the greatest hand in them It is his affection that will suddenly be the cause of that which shall be seen by all Europe and his Love is so great as that of himself he would have produced these great effects though you had never given your consent to it I recall it Sir replied the Princess and I had rather spend my dayes in Sorrow than suffer so many people to become miserable for the Love of me Would to God Madam answered the Prince you had as much compassion for the Duke of Glocester as you have for those you know not and that what I really suffer might move you to as much pity as an Evil which is no where as yet but in the Imagination How willingly should I expose my self to troubles and how well should I be rewarded for it if the Princess Catharine might be one day heard say It is for my sake that the Duke of Glocester hath sacrificed his Country and he would have alwayes considered the Interests of his Prince as his own if he had never loved me But I am in the wrong added he Madam to desire rewards seeing as yet I have deserved none and I should be inexcusable were it not that by an anticipating Idea all the Services I intend to render you are so conspicuous and present in
my Imagination that I flatter my self to have already obliged you to some kind of acknowledgment Having so said he held his peace and the Princess by his silence being put to a plunge knew not what to answer till after some little force that she put upon her self at length she spake to him in these terms It is needless Sir to render me all the services whereof you speak to engage me to that which I owe you and considering the way how you have behaved your self towards me I must needs be very ungrateful if I acknowledged not my obligations to you Time will afford me means to give you Testimonies of my gratitude In the mean time believe it Prince I have no such inclinations as can move me to forget the favours I have received The Duke thanked the Princess for the Marks she gave him of her goodness and having told her a thousand things concerning his passion he took his leave that he might go and bestir himself about the matters he had promised He omitted nothing and wrought so well upon the minds of those with whom he had to do that the English having added new demands to those which they had already made in the beginning of the conference it was finally broken up Afterward both parties prepared themselves for all the Acts of Hostility that War can admit of and the Duke of Glocester having seen the Princess and given her new protestations of Love followed the English Camp Our Lovers being thus delivered from the disquiets into which these long Negotiations had put them consulted what measures to take for their future security and after much deliberation they thought that to set them above fear they should Essay all means to make their designs approved and then agreed betwixt themselves about the course they should take to accomplish what they projected So that at length it was resolved that Tudor should use his utmost endeavours to get into favour with Madam de Giack who was one that had the ascendant upon the Duke of Burgundy and whose friendship the Dolphin courted also secretly Tudor found no difficulty in gaining the good Opinion of that Lady but she thought it not convenient to speak of his Love as yet the times seemed unfit for Marriages whilst all the Kingdom was in Confusion And she had reason indeed for what ground was there to give new occasions of fury to the King of England Would not that have been to have put all France in Fire which was but already too much Harassed by giving Catharine in Marriage after she had been refused to a Prince whose Love had perhaps contributed as much to the War as his Ambition Madam de Giack brought Tudor to consent to her Opinion and promised to him that so long as she had any credit with the great men there should be nothing done in prejudice of his interests These Assurances gave the Prince some comfort who acquainted Catharine with the success he had had with that Lady They rested both satisfied finding that it was impossible for them to do better but the small tranquillity which they enjoyed was shortly disturbed by great troubles Tudor who persisted in rendering Visits to Madam de Giack and in the prospect of his Affairs omitted nothing that might oblige her did suddenly in the Opinion of Catharine do too much To encrease the Jealousie of the Princess she was told also that the Prince was in Love with that Lady but that he lost no labour and that she had at least as great a kindness for him as he could have for her These reports wrought the effect that one may expect and seeing the Princess had a tender Love for Tudor she resented cruelly his pretended infidelity He quickly percieved that something troubled her mind and being conscious to himself of no Disloyalty he accosted her with a Countenance that spake the Integrity of his proceedings How Madam said he are not we crossed enough by Fortune And must we during this small Interval of Tranquility create to our selves troubles and afflictions Whence arises this change that I observe in the Looks of my Princess and knows she not that the least sign of melancholy that Tudor percieves there is enough to embitter the greatest felicity of his Life He said no more nor expected any thing less than reproaches when the Princess with a fierce aspect Do you still pretend said she to abuse me and do you think that I am so ill informed of your treacheries as to believe your words How Madam replied Tudor does my Princess accuse me and can she suspect me guilty of any thing contrary to my Love Ah! Madam continued he then is all my comfort gone and it is enough that I have once displeased you to deprive me of all Joy for the rest of my Life These words which he feelingly uttered put Catharine into some trouble and seeing she earnestly desired that he might Justifie himself she was willing to give him the occasion so that resuming her Discourse How Prince said she I am in the wrong then and do you take it to be a great sign of Love to forsake me for Madam de Giack Is not she the cause that you have almost forgot a Princess who had it been at her own choice would have left all to have followed you There is nevertheless I think a great difference between her and me and the most indifferent heart would make distinction betwixt a Frisking Lady and a Princess who knows not what cunning is Tudor had much ado to forbear interrupting the Princess but perceiving that she had ended her Discourse How Madam said he all in surprise do I Love Madam de Giack then Upon what ground I pray you have you conceived such a suspicion Have I so much as a thought but for my Princess and the indifference which is observed in me for the rest of Woman-kind makes it not sufficiently appear that you are the sole Mistress of my Soul You know Madam continued he that you obliged me to Visit Madam de Giack and though you were not in my Eyes the Loveliest Princess that ever was Do you believe that I could be smitten with a Lady who is known to be otherwayes engaged and that Tudor is not so ambitious as to despise a Heart which he must share with the Duke of Burgundy A great deal of Policy with a little Love replied Catharine are many times ingredients in the Actions of Princes and you shall see one that appears in the Eyes of many to be very passionate who at the Heart is only filled with ambition Banish that Opinion answered Tudor no body can answer that Article better than my self I know all your greatness but if I suspected that you gave Ear to any one who might speak of Love to you I should value you no more and in the lowness of your Soul should find enough to make me forget the perfections of your person Why then replied the Princess do
you blame me if I take it ill to see you entertain commerce with two Women at one and the same time and may not I be as nice as you are Ah! Madam answered the Prince are you afraid that the Wound you have given me is not dangerous enough unless you open it afresh I have already told you that I should never have waited on Madam de Giack but by your order and if you had not as well as I thought it convenient for our Affairs it should never have entered into my thoughts to have rendered her a Visit But since upon so weak a pretext as that you take occasion to break up with people you shall Judge by the Consequences what concerns I had with that Lady I desire not to break with you replied immediately the Princess and so far from wishing you were guilty I shall never have greater Joy than to find you innocent They told one another besides a Thousand tender and passionate things but at length came to an Accommodation and parted afterward in as good intelligence as ever they were However the Prince would not Visit any more the Lady who had been the cause of their falling out and he refused so long to do it that it seemed he foresaw the mischief which he was to meet with on her account But the Princess began quickly to regret that she had broken a commerce which was so necessary to their designs She was the first that prayed Tudor to renew it and it was only for fear of another misunderstanding that the Prince condescended to Visit Madam de Giack again Two dayes after he rendered her a Visit and needed not much time to regain the place that he had had in her esteem She reposed even greater confidence in him than she had ever done before and seeing he had concealed nothing from her of what most affected his Heart She resolved to do the like with him and imparted to him the secret Love that she had for the Duke of Burgundy Tudor was ravished to be intrusted with that secret and believed it might prove a means to oblige these two Lovers to concern themselves the more in his Affairs He did them many times great Services in some little Janglings they had together and the Duke of Burgundy to repay his friends kindness had a special care also to do him good offices with Catharine and took all occasions to perswade the Princess that he would employ all his power that nothing might be done to the prejudice of their Love They lived all with content enough when that accursed passion which had already wrought so much trouble to our Lovers compleatly ruined their hopes Madam de Giack was passionately in Love with the Duke and as it is the property of Jealousie to take Umbrage at every thing That Lady believed that this Prince had a Passion for the Countess of Foix and she interpreted the marks of Civility which he rendered her to be Testimonies of Affection She began even to think him indifferent as to her and it cannot be expressed what havock these thoughts made in her Soul She fell at length into a furious Jealousie and thinking that the Duke ought to sacrifice all things to her she carried towards him with so much haughtiness that having taken him up very briskly on several occasions the unhappy Lover was fain to leave off visiting her without being ever able to know the cause of his misfortune Tudor was no sooner acquainted with these transactions but that he laboured earnestly to reconcile them but he found all things so festered on both sides that when he spake of it to the Duke he could draw no other reason from him but that Madam de Giack was an ungrateful Lady nor had he better success with that Lady for all the answer she gave him was that he knew not his friend and that he was a very Traitor He endeavoured to mitigate her anger but without effect and was obliged to retire without other information but that he knew them to be at extream variance However he was not much surprised at all this and being acquainted with the ways of Lovers he thought that a few dayes would make them friends again and that all that was to be done was to give them time that themselves might rub up again the affection that they had mutually for each other He failed not to visit them daily but spoke not a word to them of their Quarrels believing that an interview would be more proper to reconcile them than all that he could say In the mean time matters continued as they were and Tudor beginning to be apprehensive that their differences might prove harder to be adjusted than he had imagined thought it not fit to suffer these Lovers to accustom themselves to Indifference and took the resolution the sooner because he knew that the Duke and he were that very day to depart upon a little Journey He went to Madam de Giack and accosting her with a Countenance full of heaviness And why Madam said he will you still keep your friends in so much trouble and though you had no esteem for them can you see a Prince whom your cruelty brings to despair suffer any longer The Duke of Burgundy is no more himself and it is to no purpose for him to affect a counterfit Serenity all the Sentiments of his Heart are to be seen through his constraints and it is no hard matter to Judge that he can have no content in his Life if you take not quickly other measures with him You are mistaken Sir answered Madam de Giack the Duke is not so passionate as you think Observe if after that he hath cruelly offended me he hath made the least step to appease my anger and what would you say if you were in the place of a Lover who upon the point of haughtiness should find that one stood it out with you I would say Madam replied Tudor that such a Lover were passionately in Love with me and being out of all patience that I should have wrongfully accused him he was unwilling to come to Justifications which are an usual sign of guilt You lose time Sir answered Madam de Giack and what pains soever you take to excuse your friend you shall never perswade me that he Loves me seeing after that he gave me his promise to see Madam de Foix no more he still continues his pretensions to her with greater assiduity than ever Ah! Madam replied Tudor is that all the hurt that the Duke has done you how can you think that he can deny the civilities which the quality of Madam de Foix requires and is not he also obliged to that upon the account that that Ladies Husband has alwaies stuck to his interests And does he owe nothing to me answered Madam de Giack and which of the two Houses that of Foix or mine hath done most for him Monsieur and Madam de Foix added she have adhered to the Duke
a regard to these Obligations which any else in your place would have thought himself bound in to me I will only convince you by the tenderness of my heart and that tender heart which you have now deceived will make appear to you that your carriage denotes a Cheat beyond the usual Knavery of Men. She said no more but in her Countenance there appeared so great signs of sadness that it was easie to be perceived that her grief was not in the least abated She pretended some little distemper that she might not be interrupted in her thoughts and then renewed her complaints against Unfortunate Tudor But if that Letter made so great an impression on the Heart of that tender Princess yet she alone suffered not all the cruel effects of it Madam de Giack who knew not what was become of her Letter expected daily an answer and the least Noise that was made in her Anti-chamber seemed to her to be a Messenger from the Duke of Burgundy It was long before she could think that he had forgot her but at length hearing no News from him she began to be perswaded of his Inconstancy and was so confirmed in her suspicions that she fully abandoned her self to Jealousie She broke forth in as many complaints at least against the Duke as the Princess had made against her Lover but she stopt not there and seeing she thought that she had extraordinary cause to complain of him to which she added the resentment of the slight which in this last occasion she imagined he gave her she fell into thoughts altogether contrary to the Character of a Woman that is in Love and entertaining them with more pleasure than she ought she quickly hatched strange designs to obtain the revenge which she resolved It is true that the Love which she had had for that Prince came often into her mind and it seemed that sometimes she upbraided her self for the fatal resolution that she took against him but these considerations at length wrought no great effect and the memory of these last offences carrying greater sway with her than the remains of an almost extinct passion she listened to nothing but her own Resentment In the mean time the Dolphin had notice of the misunderstanding that was between these Lovers and was willing to make advantage of their quarrels upon which design he managed some secret interviews with Madam de Giack They fell both quickly into one Opinion and seeing the Dolphin thought he had reason to be ill satisfied with the Duke and that his too great power gave him some Umbrage he frankly declared himself to Madam de Giack and made appear to her what pleasure he would have if he could ever meet with an opportunity of being revenged on him The Sympathy of humour begot a strict Union betwixt them so that they suddenly resolved the ruin of that Prince and busied their thoughts only about the means to accomplish their design with greater facility that put them for some time into a puzle but at length the Duke himself gave them the occasion He was as much in Love with Madam de Giack as he had ever been and being impatient to live any longer without seeing her he thought himself obliged to pass by all that she had done to him He wrote her a Letter wherein he expressed so much passion as might have changed the Mind of any other but Madam de Giack was still so possessed with the Opinion of that Princes Inconstancy that she had not the least regard to all that had passed between the Duke and her She read the Letter however that she had received from him two or three times over and stopping at that place where he prayed her to come to him Yes yes Traitor said she I shall come to thee as thou desirest but it shall be with a design to imitate thee and to revenge my self on thy Treachery She sent immediately to intreat the Dolphin to come to the place where they used to meet when they had any thing to Communicate to one another The Prince failed not and Madam de Giack putting into his hands the Letter which she had recieved from the Duke the occasion Sir is fair said she to catch that Traitour he must be satisfied and I 'le go to him I have cunning enough to use him as he has dealt by me Believe it Prince I shall strain my humour so that he shall suspect nothing of my designs and it is your part while this commerce lasts to find some pretext to draw him into what snare you please I shall so order matters that he himself shall run his head into the Noose and though he had a thousand suspicions of what may befall him I know how to remove them and without much trouble I shall give you an occasion to free your self from the anxiety that he may put you into That Treason at first seemed horrible to the Dolphin he had indeed a Pique against the Duke of Burgundy but he thought that way of revenge too base and it is certain he would never have embraced it had no body but that Lady perswaded him But she got those whom she knew to have greatest influence upon him to back her proposal They spake to him of the Dukes Ambition and of his design that he had always had of Supremacy Afterward they put him in Mind of the Murther of the Duke of Orleans and the carrying away of the Queen when she was at Tours and perswading him that all these Actions had no other aim but the Crown they so far prevailed upon him that he condescended to all they desired It was resolved then that whilst Madam de Giack was with the Duke the Dolphin should cause an interview be proposed to him under pretext of Affairs of State and that they should take that occasion to dispatch him As soon as the Plot was laid that Lady went to him He received her with much Affection and without any clutter of Reproaches admitted her to the same place that she had formerly held in his Heart Madam de Giack desired not to come to Justifications and unhappily for the Duke she said not a word of the Letter which she thought he had received from Tudor for there was no appearance that she would have persisted in her cruel resolution had she been convinced that he had not done her that last indignity which filled her Heart with so much rage Two days after came a Courier from the Dolphin to the Prince as it was agreed upon The Duke opened the Pacquet and finding that he desired a Conference at Montereau he found himself in some perplexity how to make him an answer For though he was sufficiently disposed to grant what he desired in prospect that it might tend to the good of the State yet some just fears made him cautious seeing he was not ignorant that he had given him cause oftner than once not to be well pleased with him He thought
did he give it you Madam Immediately after you went away upon your Journey with the Duke of Burgundy answered the Queen Ah! Madam replied Tudor after a little musing that may very well be I just left that Lady when I came to take my leave of you and I urged her so much to write to that poor Prince with whom she had quarrelled as to incline her to write that note Why did she not give it to your self before you left her answered the Princess She would do nothing Madam replied Tudor and she thought perhaps better on it after that I was gone out of her House But what does she mean said the Princess by that Jealousie she speaks of and explain to me what she intends by these reasons of Policy It is no hard matter to satisfie you Madam answered Tudor She was Jealous of Madam de Foix and she was so far from hearing any reason as to that matter that she would never give ear to what I told her concerning the Civilities which the Duke was obliged to shew that Lady These are the Politick reasons whereof she complains and wherewith she says that he would have satisfied her and that is also the passage which hath made me suffer so much said the Queen and which would have created you much trouble if it be true that you have an esteem for me still but seeing you knew your self to be innocent Why did you not undeceive me and is that the way to Love to leave people to those disquiets which rob them of their repose Ah! Madam replied Tudor it is I if you please who have cause to complain and to ask you if that be the way to esteem one to banish him as you banished me out of your Closet I thought you guilty answered the Queen and could I give you greater evidence that you were dear to me than by testifying the resentment that I had of your inconstancy And could I replied Tudor make appear the respect that I had for you any better way than by obeying your commands Ah! Tudor answered the Princess who is she that would not have dealt as cruelly as I upon the Ground that I had to be displeased with you No Madam replied Tudor another who had Loved better would not have been so ready to condemn me She would have reflected on her own Sentiments and finding that she had no passion but for her Lover she would have likewise thought that he could have Loved none but her But what could one think answered the Queen when there were so many appearances against you But what should become of me Madam replied Tudor did I but listen to all that makes against you You have nothing to say against me said the Queen of equal force to that Letter You cannot reproach me answered Tudor with any Marriage that gives a sign of ambition Ah! Tudor replied the Princess how can you urge me on that account and though there had been no misunderstanding betwixt you and me had I right to oppose my self to a thing that was concluded by my Father and on which depended all the peace and quiet of the State You were always Madam answered Tudor in a Condition of speaking one word to me and though nothing can give comfort in adversities of that nature yet it is no small matter for a Lover to have some cause of being flattered that nothing but the Interests of a Crown would have out-voted his Love Could not you have told your self that replied the Queen and did not I on Thousands of occasions give sufficient signs of tenderness to make you Judge that I could esteem no Man besides your self It is hard Madam said Tudor to believe things which we see visibly overthrown by other matters so repugnant to them And Imagine not that I give much credit yet to these marks of goodness which now you are pleased to shew me if you pretend they should be attended with so fatal a destiny as that wherewith you have already tried me No no Tudor answered the Queen you have nothing now to fear upon that account I have payed my duty to my Country by the Sacrifice that I made to it of my Heart and it is enough that once I have Married against my Will now I think I have reason to please my self Since I have found you Innocent I have again placed all my affection on you and if you continue in the same Sentiments that heretofore you were in it shall be your own fault if I give you not ground to lay aside all doubts of my real esteem for you Ah! Madam replied Tudor casting himself at her Feet how little should I value the evils that I have suffered for so good a Princess and how shall I ever be able to make appear how much I adore her No Madam continued he that is not to be exprest and if you knew the State of my Heart at this very hour you would not in the least doubt but that it is more tender and affectionate than ever I not only accept of the favour you bestow upon me said he but I accept of it with Resentments made up of Joy and Respect and if you would have me to be the happiest of men hasten only the day wherein I may enjoy so great a Blessing Then shall I make appear Madam that I have all that I can desire by the possession of my Amiable Princess and that with such a Happiness I would not change Fortune with the greatest Princes in the World I am glad answered the Queen to find you in that Opinion and be perswaded that it shall be none of my fault if you be not very shortly satisfied Tudor as duty obliged him thanked the Queen and these two Lovers parted so fully content with one another that they thought no more upon all those Evils which by their own fault they had endured Tudor found his Fortune at that Pitch to which nothing could be added or more desired and the Queen thought that People should be satisfied when they are assured of the Affection of those whom they intimately Love Nevertheless she found her Joy somewhat troubled when she reflected on what Pavini had told her and she could not comfort her self when she considered that the kindness which she had for Tudor must cost him his Life She discovered sometimes her fears to her passionate Lover but he endeavoured still to reassure her and used all Arguments to perswade her that such kind of Blades did more frequently miss than hit the Mark and that they were indebted to meer chance when they find their predictions verified On a day when they had entertained discourse on that Subject Mind me said the Queen to him I cannot but give credit to the sayings of Pavini and all that he hath said is fulfilled so plainly according to his predictions that I am extreamly apprehensive of what he hath spoken as to you It were far better added she that we should still â—â—ain
from retaining any esteem for her he could not hear her named but with horrour All these considerations put her many times in trouble but virtue at length triumphs over weakness and at least it contributed to make her reject her resolutions which sometimes she had to listen to a clear information In the mean time Unfortunate Tudor found by degrees that his Crosses were too hard for him and there is nothing truer than that at length they would have ended his days had not an accident happened which revived in him some small hopes For some Moneths there had been at Court an Italian called Pavini who ventured at Fortune-telling and whose Reputation was in so much Vogue by many surprising things he had told to most part of the Nobility that he was lookt upon as a person of extraordinary knowledge He cast the Horoscope of the King of Enggland but that Prince had no cause to be pleased with it and that I may not trouble you with all the accidents of his Fortune it is enough I tell you that he assured him his Life would prove short his death extraordinary and that though he should not be killed yet he should have thousands of enemies to fight with who should never leave him till they put him in his Grave The Duke of Florence Brother to the King had the same curiosity as his Brother had had and his Fate was not more happy than Henry's he was to lose his Life in the first Battel that he should fight These Princes were not well pleased with such fatal predictions But as the Prophecy of the Italian concerning the Kings death seemed foolish so they were not much troubled thereat and they had no great apprehensions but when they considered that most of the things which he had foretold others were fulfilled But in a short time Pavini was fully believed for the Duke of Clarence was killed in an engagement which happened in Anjou between his Forces and the Troops of the Dolphin commanded by the Earl of Buchan whom that Prince had made Constable of France That accident made the knowledg of the Italian to be admired all people consulted him and Tudor who had slighted him was one of the first that heard him with greatest confidence This man encreased the confidence that Prince Tudor had in him by some particular things which he told him for being together in a Chamber and he having cast his figures and done all that his art required Seigneur said he I know not what to think of this figure you must needs be naturally inconstant and Fortune is pleased to treat you according to the disposition of your temper For I find that at this very instant there is a considerable Cross which puts you into despair and I see that you forget it immediately though no extraordinary alteration happen in your Affairs but there is an odder thing still that I must tell you you are betrayed by a person who loves you and who is so far from forsaking your concerns that that person cleaves as close to them as ever Pavini made some pawse afterward before he spake again but then renewing his Discourse Here is a thing Seigneur said he which much abates my wonder you have lately had a great Cross and yet not from your enemies for the person that is the cause of it takes it as ill as you do Unriddle this your self added he if you can for I confess for my part I understand nothing of it all that I can tell you plainly is that you are much in Love with some thing and that though you have lost all hopes of possessing it yet you shall though you expect no such matter But by that you are in danger of shortning your Life and have a care also that your death be not fatal Pavini told Tudor no more but what he said was enough to make him ponder matters for who could not be surprised and setting aside the point of Treason was not the rest so conform to that which had already happened that it might be easily understood He began then to promise himself better Fortune and that faint beam of hope finding a place in his mind it was quickly percieved that he had lost one half of his Melancholy Queen Catharine took notice of it as well as the rest She would needs know the cause thereof and having information that Pavini told all people that he had no more Skill in the Stars and that he lost all his measures in the Case of Tudor the Queen was curious to know what he had told that Prince thinking that it must of necessity be from that that he had taken comfort She sent for Pavini when she was all alone and having commanded him to inform her of that Princes Fortune he frankly confessed that it put him to a puzle and that he found great difficulty to conceive the meaning of the Figure he had cast for him He told her likewise all that he had said to Tudor and she could have interpreted a great part of it her self if she had pleased but she discovered not her thoughts to him and having employed him in something upon her own account she dismissed him Her Conversation with Pavini gave her occasion to reflect on his great Skill and perswading her self that he was infallible She found her self divided between discontent of having unjustly accused that Prince and Joy of knowing that he was not to be always Unfortunate But there were a great many things that suddenly thwarted that weak satisfaction She called to mind the Letter which she had and finding therein more appearance than in all the Skill of Pavini she reckoned his art sometime foppery and many times accused her self of too much credulity However she was in danger of taking the Princes part before she could wholly Sacrifice him to her suspicions if her virtue had not come to her Assistance and had not made her somewhat scrupulous in all that concerned him That thought alone made her absolutely condemn Tudor she was willing for her own Repose to think him guilty and for that bout she resisted all temptations that she had to come to a clearing with him But Pavini gave her suddenly occasion of obtaining another Victory over her self He cast the Horoscope of that Princess as she had ordered him he had a Mind to discourse with her and taking his opportunity for an audience without interruption Madam said he to her if I was amazed at the strange accidents that I found in the Fortune of Tudor I must freely tell you that I know not what to say of the things I have observed in yours for every thing in it appears to me more extraordinary than another But who would not be surprised as well as I when I see the greatest Princess in the World unhappy amidst her Grandures Yet that is nothing continued he and there are so many others who in a Condition not far from that you are in have had the
like thoughts that I should not much trouble my self with that Circumstance if it were not accompanied with many others which seem to me directly opposite to common sense For who will not blame you Madam for contributing alone more to your own Crosses than all others that are conconcerned in them Yet after all that you endeavour not your own ease and I percieve that you oppose the means which might give you satisfaction Yet you will not be alwayes in the same opinion and one day or other you will leave off to be cruel to your self but as it is fatal to you to do evil to that which affects you most you shall be the cause of the death of the only person whom you passionately Love and which puts me in amazement without recovery you shall not have the least trouble at it The Queen would hear him no longer she retired into her Closet and there was she forced to struggle with her humour that she might stifle a Thousand thoughts which declared in favour of Tudor All that Pavini had told her seemed to furnish her with weapons against her self but at length she conquered her own weakness and began to taste the quiet that she had acquired by her virtue when she found her troubles again renewed by a superveening accident The King her Husband made War vigorously against the Dolphin he took from him the Towns of Meaux and Compiegne and was going to the relief of Cosne which was Besieged by the Army of that Prince when he was taken sick at Melun and was forced to stop But his Disease rather encreasing than abateing he went to the Castle of Vincennes where he was hardly arrived but that his distemper fulfilled the prediction of Pavini and carried him out of this World So terrible a death occasioned certainly much grief to the Queen but it is not to be thought that she was so much afflicted as she would have been had she married that Prince for Love In the mean time Tudor was not in the least sorry for it on the contrary he thought that by that means his troubles might come to an end and trusting as much to the prediction of Pavini as to his own Innocence he flattered himself with the hopes that the Queen would reflect on his Love and that at length after so many Crosses she would perhaps reward him for all the pains that she had made him unjustly suffer He was not altogether mistaken for that Princess who had nothing now to object against the passion which she felt for him suffered her self gently to listen to every thing that spake in his favour and if she desired some little clearing it was only because she Judged it necessary to convince that Prince that she had reason to treat him as she had done Matters being so well disposed on either side the Queen went to England Tudor followed her and these Lovers began then to look on one another with so passionate Eyes that it was easie for them to percieve that their reconciliation would not be difficult But though Tudor knew that the Queen was all sweetness yet he could not so far prevail upon himself as to speak his mind And he had already found many occasions to discourse to her of his Love without being so bold as to venture on it yea and he had long pined away under the pain of a bashful and constrained passion if that Princess had not afforded him the means of disburdening his Heart On a day when he was alone with her and after a long discourse concerning the State of the War I believe said that Princess to him that when all is done we shall very shortly lose the hope of preserving the Kingdom of France and the Fortune of War is so favourable for the Dolphin that there is but little appearance we can long resist his progresses I daily hear that those who Espoused the Interest of the Late King my Husband forforsake us and I see nothing but Treachery on all hands There is no Trust to be given now adays Madam answered Tudor but to such as we know perfectly well and yet we see that for most part the very same fail in their promises as well as others and there is so little sincerity in the World that they who make most Protestations are commonly the people who least mind their word You are well acquainted with some of that Character replied the Queen but though you seem to disapprove their procedure yet I am confident you are too much a friend to them to wish them any punishment You have reason answered Tudor with a sigh and for all the Crosses I have met with yet I find that my Heart is so tender as to adore those who have cruelly used me That is to say replied the Queen that you have so good an Opinion of your own Conduct as not to be willing to Condemn your self It is to say Madam answered Tudor that notwithstanding your Rigour you are in my Eyes still the same as you were when you were no more but Princess Catharine and that then I might have flattered my self that to her I was not altogether a thing indifferent Put me not in mind replied the Queen of the ground you gave me to be displeased with you and none but one of my goodness would look upon you after all that you have done to me Say rather Madam answered Tudor that none but one of so much cruelty as your self would punish people with so great severity and still conceal from them the Pretext which you take to render them miserable Pretexts are never used replied the Queen but when reasons are wanting and it is to no purpose to invent when one hath so good proofs as you have furnished me with Ah! Madam replied Tudor not to offend you I have not the gift of knowing thoughts and I ought indeed to be guilty to find out the cause that makes you accuse me I know answered the Queen that Tudor will not be convinced without evidence The must be satisfied and here it is continued she giving him the Letter that we have spoken of what can he object against this the Prince took the Letter and having read it all over Well then Madam replied he and what is this to me How Prince said the Queen should you ask me that question and is it not your part to declare to me how far your Intrigues went with Madam de Giack if you think fit that I should know any thing of it I am not at all concerned Madam said he in what you see nor can I give you any account of it And you know better than I added he giving her back the Letter that this concerns the Affair that the Duke of Burgundy had with that Lady However she wrote that Letter to you answered the Princess and I had it from the Gentleman of your Horse The Gentleman of my Horse had no Letter for me replied Tudor and when I pray
it then unsafe to trust that Prince but Madam de Giack came in purposely to dissipate all his apprehensions She gave him to understand that he would be accountable for all the Evils that might happen to France if upon idle apprehensions he refused an Interview which would be of great advantage to the publick and that in fine he did wrong to distrust the Dolphins word who being reconciled to him in good earnest might probably break off again when he percieved that he had to do with a Jealous and diffident Prince These words wrought more upon him than all the Counsels that his friends gave him to shun the Resentment of that Prince He sent him a Courier by whom he gave him advice that he would not fail to come to Montereau-faut-yonne the day prefixed in effect it was his destiny which he could not avoid and with some Guards he took his Journey but it was sadly fatal to him for he was killed by some of the Dolphins Servants just as he alighted to Salute that Prince who waited for him on thc Bridge All France was surprised at the death of the Duke of Burgundy for which the Dolphin was generally blamed by all and by the great disturbances that upon that occasion happened shortly after he well percieved how dear it cost him for having followed so bad Counsels Madam de Giack was ravished to hear that her revenge had so well succeeded but Unfortunate Tudor who foresaw the consequences of that accident was no sooner informed of it but that it struck him to the Heart he had not left the Duke of Burgundy untill he went to Montereau and he took that time to go see the Princess to whom he had written twice without receiving any answer He could not Imagine the reason of that silence and desiring to know the cause of it he went to her Apartment so soon as he came to Troyes where the Court was then He found the Princess alone in her Closet and expected his usual Reception when Catharine looking fiercely on him with eyes that darted out the anger that she was in Begone Traitour said she and go take your advantage of the death of the Duke of Burgundy He will no more now interrupt your Amorous engagements and I am much afraid that the hinderance he gave to your pleasures has cost him his Life It is impossible to express the effect that these words had on the Soul of Unfortunate Tudor He was long without knowing where he was or what was become of him but coming a little to himself again he desired to know of the Princess what she had to lay to his charge but she gave him no time to ask the question for rising from her Couch Once more begone said she and know that I will reason the Case no more with you At the instant she opened the Door and that passionate Lover seeing himself thus banished by his Mistress was obliged to obey her without being able to perswade her to hear one word for his Justification The truth is the sad condition that he was in spoke enough to have convinced the Princess of his Innocence had she not been prepossessed with an Opinion of his Infidelity but she had by her that which was enough to overcome all the Scruples that she might have had on that matter and on a time when she was a little too much urged by him she pulled out of her Pocket the fatal Letter that we have spoken of and casting her Eyes upon it All this said she is written to my sincere Lover and at the same time that he gives me the greatest Protestations of kindness he endeavours to perswade another that all his Carriage with me is but a design of Policy No no Traitour you shall deceive me no more and least I may be again surprised by your Artifices I know I should distrust my own weakness and that the surest way to Guard against it is to break off all farther commerce with thee Whilst the Princess persisted in such like Discourses and Tudor gave way to despair Philip Duke of Burgundy who succeeded his Father contrived a terrible revenge against the Dolphin He called together all that he thought favoured him and having taken Counsel of the most judicious he sent one of his confidents to the King of England to negotiate the League with him which put France within a Fingers breadth of utter ruin Most of the Grandees sided that way and were the more easily inclined to it in that the Duke made use of the Kings name to authorise his actions The truth is he disposed of that Prince according to his pleasure and made it very well appear by what he undertook and accomplished sometime after For he not only concluded the Marriage of Henry with Catharine but was likewise the cause that the King declared the Dolphin incapable of succeeding to the Crown and to compleat the Dukes revenge that King banished his own Son by a Decree of Parliament and acknowledged the King of England for his lawful Heir After these astonishing and furious proceedings Henry came to Troyes where the Court was he took upon him the Government made sure of Paris and the chief Cities of the Kingdom and afterward prepared for the Marriage of the Princess who procured him so much grandure Tudor sometime before was advertised by the Duke of Burgundy of all that passed and knowing how little power he had to hinder it he desired to be comprehended in the Treatie and seeing as he lost the hopes of his Love he set no value upon all the advantages of Fortune he chose rather to remit his pretensions than to see himself obliged to leave those places where he might still hope to enjoy the sight of his Lovely Princess He led as sorrowful a Life as can be imagined but when he himself was a witness of the Marriage of Henry and Catharine at Troyes no despair was like to his and all that I can say of it would be far short of the severity of his sufferings He was almost dead for grief and he had never out-lived his affliction if it were not evident by daily experience that the greatest Crosses have indeed power enough to over-burthen us but seldome the force to end our days In the mean time Catharine was in as bad a Condition as Tudor and though she was haughty enough to Curb the Sentiments that she still entertained for him yet she could not look upon him when they met without speaking many things in his favour Yea and sometimes she thought that she had done amiss in judging him guilty and to her it seemed that the Melancholy he was in since the time that she had used him so ill might serve far more to justifie him than the Letter we have spoken of was able to condemn him But she was much more confirmed in her thoughts when she saw that that Prince continued no more commerce with Madam de Giack and that so far