blowes and blowes never met with them and that is it which Luynes Surgeon wrote to his wife that was in doubt lest her husband was slaine in the armie Wife take no care for me but be quiet feare nothing for I incurre no danger my Lord Constable doth me that honour to affect me much and to keep still neare unto his person Thus you see how those gallants are miraculously preserved and kept out of the danger of blowes while they cause others to lose their lives Our posteritie said the King will hardly beleeue that men of no degree and voide of all valour should in so short a time lay hold upon the government of France Sir said Pluninel I did neuer so easily with bit and bridle manage your Graces great horses in the stable without comparison as I have seene them manage all the Princes of your Realme What said the Marshall de Brisac was not Cadnet so bold as to threaten the Prince that he should not go out of Bois de Vincennes if he did not consent to give him the Princesse of Orange to be his wife who died for griefe thereof You iest said the King He hath done more then that said he for he was so presumptuous as to presse the Earle de Soyssons to give over the office of high Steward unto him The late Earle taking the word out of his mouth said If my sonne had bin wise he should have caused him to be well beaten for his impudencie You haue reason said old Courtenay if he had Rambure or such another Knight as he for his governer but he hath a blocke to be his schoole-master that knowes not what belongs to honour and courage and therefore those companions know with whom they have to do Let us enter into some other discourse said the King as I remember one of you told me that during all these businesses Luynes and his brethren carried their wives with them unto the warre and that they were with them during the important siege of Montauban if it were so it is very likely that their intent was no other but onely to make their battery under curtains At that word M. William gave a nod and said to the King Indeed my Lord you have often bin told that they play the Kings and that I acknowledge they have heretofore sitting by the fire heard how you in times past rid upon the League and those gallants would imitate you and thinke by riding their wives to ride upon the Huguenots but those wicked heretickes have knavishly ridden upon them before Montauban Whereat all of them began to laugh But the King enquired of the miracle of the Spie and much desired to know it and speaking thereof askt why after he had escaped in such maner he was not sent into the Towne to convert the inhabitants Faith of a gentleman said de Loppe that had bin no safetie for him for so the people might have hangd him up in good earnest God is strong every where said the King and can defend those that are his at all times and in all places but tell me who sent father Dominicke de Iesus Maria into France what maner of man is he And it please your Majestie said the Earle de Fiefque he is a holy man I yet have a portatise cloake that he gave me your Majestie will not beleeve what honour the Parisians did unto him and yet know not wherefore every woman cut off a peece of his gowne and he came thither onely to shew us that all the Spaniards are not Saracins and that there are some holy men among them If I had bin of the Kings Councell said the Abbot du Bois I would in counter-change have sent father Berule to Madril I am sure that the women of Castile would also have cut his fustian That were good said the Marshall de Fervaques if French cloth were as fine as Spanish cloth but if I were of the Councell as the Cardinall de Rets is and as forward as the Earle de Chomberg who is capable to redresse all Luynes faults so that he doth not joyne with forreine faction I would make the Spaniard know that he is not a better Catholik then I my selfe am and would keepe him from having secret intelligences with our Favorites to the great detriment of the Kings service and the Realme which goes to decay if remedy be not speedily had therein I confesse said the King that since I have heard of all the bad and perfidious practises which that gallant and his brethren have done and performed my son never knowing thereof my spirit hath bin in continuall perplexitie fearing lest they should destroy their good maister and great benefactor Sir said the Marquis de Villars the earth never bare more traiterous and ambitious villaines then they are they have bin so bold the last yeare to cause a Maske to be made in Burbon hall wherein they presented divers mysticall figures and among the rest a great Lady and divers Giants chained whom Luynes apparelled like Phebus drew after him whereof the greatest resembled the Duke de Mayenne upon whose head Luynes set his foote for a signe of servitude Truly said the Baron de Plancy he made another more impudent in the Castle of Piquerox for there perceiving the King to be grieved for the losse he had received by the death of the Duke de Mayenne he devised a litle Comedie to make his Majestie merrie wherein hee presented a great Moore making divers strange jestures and for that he resembled the Duke de Mayenne the King commanded them to leave and act no more Why said Luynes Because said the King that this man in all respects resembles the Duke de Mayenne I cannot endure to see it Truly Sir said he his death needs not minister cause of sadnesse to your Majestie for he was a turbulent fellow that troubled all your affaires you were no King as long as he lived we haue discovered and found out that he made a third partie and since his death we have found all his practises Thus this villaine alwayes sought to divert all the good opinion that his Majestie had of his servants and of all those of his blood He did another matter said the Secretarie of State for the Seales he was so impudent as to write vnto the Pope that the Queen mother was the cause that Montauban was not taken thereby thinking to cover his owne cowardlinesse from whence it may be conjectured how many false reports he hath made to the king your sonne seeing he was so bold to send such a message to his Holinesse You shall never have done Sir said the Earle de Lude if you will hearken unto all their arrogant actions who knowes them better then my selfe that brought them up as long as any of that race are neare about the King your sonne they will spoile all there being no kind of wickednes whereof they are not capable and aboue all things beleeve it
your Majestie doth not see the foule dust which they cause to rise up into the aire with their feete I perceive it well said the King let us stay here for them in the meane time take your prospective glasse as the Constable did at Piquerox the better to know them afarre off And as the King walked somewhat aside the Marshall d' Aumont said Sir we shall speedily heare some newes for I see a carrabin among the mirtle trees that runs as fast as he can to get before his fellowes he seemes to be some harbinger or quarter master that seekes to come to the campe before the rest that he may take vp the best lodging but coming nearer they knew him to be a Iesuite that was sent in great haste by his Generall to perswade the King not to beleeue all that should be told him touching the lamentable state whereinto the affaires of France are now reduced and he was no sooner come to the King but on the other side Hautefontaine suddenly was at his heeles who had slipt out of the company that he might excuse himselfe touching the miserable disorder hapned in S. Iohn d' Angely And as soone as he spied the Iesuite he suddenly cried out and said What doth this Iannisarie here doth it not suffice his Societie to haue supported the authors of the diuision between the mother and the sonne but must he come hither also to trouble and disturbe the peace of the blessed What noise is that which I heare said the King Varenne made answer It is Hautefontaine that quarrels with this good father which even now came to your Majestie Hautefontaine said the King bid him come hither that I may speake with him Who coming to the King-presence he asked him who had sent him into these quarters By the Lord Sir excuse me said he if I do not sweare as the Huguenots do for I am angrie I am not come hither for mine owne pleasure it is true that I make no account of my life but I am halfe mad to see this Spanish Iannisarie presume to speake unto you after they have dealt with you as they have done and Catholikly set fire in the foure quarters of your sonnes Realme Why do you call them Iannisaries said the King Do not you know said Hautefontaine that the Turks Ianisaries haue neither father nor native country acknowledging no Lord but the great Turke so the Iesuites neither respect their country nor their parents but onely bend their mindes and all their studies to accomplish the will and desire of Yo el Rey their Soveraigne Lord and the better to effect his will and pleasure they haue troubled all Christendome and are the cause of the death of all these brave Knights which are now coming hither to your Majestie The King looking backe saw all those that had past over the river who all together began to kneele downe Are these moale-catchers or takers of Montauban said the late Admiral d' Anvile The King therwith sharply reproved him saying Hold you your peace this is no spectacle to be laught at and therewith his heart was so much grieved that he could hardly speake yet he refrained not to entertain them friendly and then particularly embracing the Cardinall de Guise the Duke de Mayenne and the rest of the Lords he prayed them to go and rest themselves and hauing eased their bodies awhile he would conferre with them at leisure and therewith he commanded Zamet to entertain them wel and so drew himself aside with his most confident friends untill the next day While the King spake unto them Hautefontaine stood talking with Beringhen touching the motives of the secret mysteries of Bearn and entred into so profound a discourse with him that they past over a great part of the night therein At last the King desiring to take some rest asked for Beringhen and answer being made That he was without walking with Hautefontaine He commanded that they should both come to him And turning to Hautefonte he asked him what occasions had moved them to rebell against the King his sonne saying hide nothing from me but speake boldly like a true Huguenot Sir said he if I should die once againe by a musket shot at me from the wall by a false brother of the companie I will tell you our affaires truly how they past and wil not lie in any point It is long time since we perceived that the Spaniard doubting the end of the truce betweene him and the Hollanders and that for the good of his affairs he sought to trouble France by some civill warre finding no better meanes then to make us wrangle among our selves with blowes of Pater nosters and Clement Marots Psalms his device from that time effected what it could and to give us matter and subject to enter into the field many things which your Majestie had formerly granted unto us by your Edicts were denied us The affaires of Bearn were brought in question as a countrey neare bordering upon Spaine his principall agents there dispersed a certaine quantitie of Medales for marks of Catholikes on the backe side having Iulius secundus The Marquis d' Ancre was no sooner slaine but du Vair Keeper of the Seales author of the assembly of speciall persons holden in Roane in the beginning of an 1618. caused that notable decree of the privie Councell for the restoring of the temporall goods and lands unto the spirituall persons in Bearn to be pronounced but the great difficulties touching this restitution caused the execution thereof to be delayed The Spaniard that stil sought to set fire on France caused the Bishop to trot up and downe Paris to have an end and order of their suite Thereupon our Ministers made a generall assembly in Loudun in the meane time we were undermined by all the malcontents in the Realme but yet they could not win us in any sort to estrange our selves from the fidelitie which we owe unto our King Luynes and his brethren fearing lest we should make a scape promised us in the Kings name that within six moneths the speciall points of our complaints should be answered and that in the meane time nothing should be innovated in the country of Bearn Vpon this assuraÌ„ce we brake up our assembly with promise by word of mouth that we should have leave to reassemble if that were not performed within the said time which was promised unto us But that word was not held with us but on the contrary we were mockt and without staying till the six moneths were expired your old servant de la Salle was driven out of Navarrens and at the same â—â—me the Iesuites were established in P 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 hereupon wâ— presented our most humble supplications to the King your sonne and in stead of an answer thereunto we had a flat deniall Whereupon wee assembled the Deputies to renew our complaint but without giuing them audience we were proclaimed Traitors Then we saw all the Transmontaine faction
and the other and the worst is that I haue not the authoritie Royall to cover my faults any more nor to support my insolencies I must needs confesse that I haue offended God the King my master and all men and that there is no punishment great enough to recompence my deserts but I will gladly say with Caesar Si violandum est ius regnandi causa all that I haue done was not effected by any wicked inclination that was in me but onely by a generous ambition to raigne I knew how easily Marquis d' Ancre obtained the government of the State I beleeved and was verily perswaded that in that point I could doe more then a stranger that onely had a woman to support him and that I possessing the Kings heart was the more able to dispossesse all men and to possesse all things for my designe was to surmount that Italian and if any of my good friends sought to divert me from that generous enterprise presently du Agent Contade and Ronsselay cried out in mine eares saying What are you afraid of If Marquis d' Ancre could make the Frenchmen cullions why should not you being a great Falconer take them for birds Audaces fortuna invat said my father in law we must draw water when we are at the well side said my wife we are of the same kind of wood whereof men make Princes said my brethren and I said Modene of the same that the Marshals of France are made All these motions encouraged me and in truth my first bringing up to fowling taught me so well to flie that in foure yeares space I surpast all those that medled with the affaires of State before me I caused Marquis d' Ancre to be kild to haue his place I vrged the Parliament to put his wife to death that I might haue his goods I kept the Queene mother as much as I could from the presence and favour of the King her sonne that I might onely enioy it I kept the Prince of Conde prisoner and let him not come forth but then when I thought he could no more hurt me and that he might serve my turne I vsed charmes to trouble the spirit of the King and of the Queene employing Boisgandrie to that effect whom I caused to be committed prisoner in the Bastile because he would have disclosed me I set division among the Princes and estranged them all from the Kings favour I abused all those that had any thing to do with me with promises and faire words All places that were voide I got into my hands With the Kings mony I bought all the governments that I could get and constrained some to yeeld theirs unto me I had whole Provinces under my obedience there is no part of the Realme but therein I have townes I have drawne France drie of mony The greatest part of the Kings domaines is mine or my brethrens I did absolutely dispose of the sale of offices and as I disanulled the annuall right I also established it I made all mine enemies stoupe and as much as I could I made all the world know what power I had over the genius of the King that men might addresse themselves vnto me and be perswaded that the King could do nothing without me This Sir is that whereof I may be accused but he that will consider of that which resteth without passion he shall finde that these are not actions of a dull spirit but of a brave courage which rather deserve commendation then blame and for the which I was never reproved by my Confessor Marquis d' Ancre could never equalize himselfe with me in this respect his designes were base in regard of mine he could not attaine to any degree but onely to be Marshall of France and I for my part made at least twelve Marshals He could neither make himselfe Knight of the Order of the holy Ghost nor Duke and all you my Lords that are here know well that I gaue that Order to whom I would and that I made more Dukes then there are sparrow-hawkes in the Kings Mewes and so many that the Parliament of Paris was forced to say it was too much But those foure cornerd caps know not that my intent was to extirpe the heretickes and that for so dangerous a warre I had need of many Dukes Marshals and Knights to honour the Constables sword which I reserved for my selfe by the Iesuites counsel and his Holinesse himselfe who assured me by his Nuncius that if I undertooke that Catholicke designe that heauen would reserve the diademe and the purple for me as in effect I wanted not the latter and if I had not bin constrained to leaue the siege before that cursed towne of Montauban the accomplishment of destinie had given me the Scepter I doubt not Sir but you haue bin entertained with a thousand iests touching the impertinent proceedings of my militarie exploits and specially upon the subiect of my approches made before ville Burbon I take not upon me to defend my selfe against bad speeches it sufficeth me that my actions seemed to be heroicall and my designes haughtie Further I care liâ—â—…e what the world can say and that is it which I wrote for an answer to a letter sent us by our most deare vncle the Duke de Modene in France touching the slanders that were published in Toulouse against me and my qualitie I could easily haue restrained and punished the libertie of such tongues but like an old Courtier I use not to be afraid of reports as I made it well appeare in the strongest assaults of the siege before that filthy towne where I refrained not from sleeping sweetly in my bed notwithstanding the roaring of the cannons upon the assurance that I had that they could not hurt me Did not the souldiers call my quarter the place of villanie but for all that I never made lesse cheare They also mockt my wife as often as she came to visit me in the campe in mockery saying that she went oftener to combat with me then I did with the enemie but such reproches moved me not seeing that my wife and I had no other intent but to do well as we alwayes did well thankes be to God and beleeue me Sir that those malicious evill speakers spake but of envie as grieved to see us take our pleasures while they were at blowes and by the eares together in the trenches like rascals suffering themselves to be beaten which made them vomit out their rage not onely against me but also against my brethren and their wives who like true Amazons never fainted in all the combats wherein they happened to be encouraged thereunto by the wise discourses of Madame de Guimbarde and of my sister du Vernet the true mirrour of chastitie of whom I learned never to be angry for that which men said so I do well This also that I shew you Sir is not to give you cause to thinke that such things grieved me not