pitied than you think of You know Madam continued the Prince that the misfortune of War having obliged me to flie for refuge to the Court of the King your Father I was no sooner arrived here but that I found what I had never seen elsewhere The men appeared to me extreamly civil and well bred and the Ladies to my Fancie performed all they set about with so good Air that I thought other Countries destitute of the Politeness which was to be found in France I made it my work to observe things more narrowly that I might from them frame to my self a pattern for my conduct but how dangerous is it so attentively to consider objects of great worth I saw a lovely Brown who ravished me with her charms and robbed me of my Heart Pardon me Madam if I tell you not all her Amiable qualities for it is above my power and nothing but my Heart is able to tell it self how many are her charming perfections I will only assure you by the by that never was Lady more Beautiful nor Witty and that as there is none in the World so accomplished so never was Passion more respectful and sincere than the Love I have for her With these words the Prince held his peace and the Princess who had Love enough for him to make her conceive some jealousie by that Discourse being desirous to discover who that Rival was I perceive said she Tudor you are discreet in your Amours for having told us the perfections of your Mistress you are pleased to conceal from us her name and your own happiness It is not for the reason that you imagine Madam answered Tudor that I tell you no more I understand my self and that was enough to keep me from having farther proceeded with the person of whom I spake In effect so great is the difference betwixt her merit and the defects of Tudor that I think he will never so much mistake himself as to dare speak to her of his passion That Lady must needs be of great quality replied Catharine being desirous to engage him to declare himself that a Prince stands in so great awe of her and for my part I know none that should oblige him to so great a reserve I am not of your opinion Madam replied Tudor and to my grief I know one who deserves that one should do greater matters for her But what do you mean by that replyed the Princess I mean Madam answered Tudor that my actions should make her sensible of my Love rather than my words and my satisfaction would be great if by all the ways of respect and submission I might ever engage that fair one to pitie me The Princess who imagined not before that Tudor designed her by his Discourse began now to suspect it and being willing to inform her self Prince said she this way of reasoning is not just if I were in your place I should take another course and a Lover that by his silence can work upon his Mistress never disobliges her by declaring his Love when he does it with all civility and respect In this Madam answered the Prince I have some doubts of your sincerity and perhaps you would be the first to take it ill if such a thing happened These words confirmed the Princess more and more in her suspicion she was desirous to have no more ground of doubting and speaking again Tudor said she I perceive you know me not I never speak but what I think and the aversion that I have made appear to the Marriage lately proposed to the King my Father ought to convince you that I am an Enemy to all kind of dissimulation That Discourse made Tudor change his design of concealing his Love he found that he could never meet with so fair an occasion of declaring himself and laying hold of the opportunity offered him by Fortune Well then Madam replied he I must believe you for indeed it would be too hard for me to keep my self longer under constraint and it is my duty to acknowledg my rashness in declaring that I adore you and that none but the Princess Catharine could ever touch the Heart of the Prince of Wales Believe it Madam this Heart is immoveable to all but your self and it is my Fate that a King of England should strip me of all my felicities but let him freely enjoy the fruits of my overthrow provided he suffer me to enjoy the sight of my dearest Princess Tudor said no more but made appear to Catharine so much Love in his Looks that she could no longer listen to the residue of an expiring stateliness which would have obliged her to disguise her Sentiments She made known to him by a Glance the Flame that was in her Heart and at length overcoming her own humour Alas why did you not speak sooner said she and why have you delayed so long to discover to me a matter which at another time would have pleased me so well Believe it Prince continued she I would willingly have heard you and perhaps had I never known you I should not have had so great an Aversion to match with England But after so free a confession entertain no sinister Judgment of me make use of it only to break off my Marriage consult your Friends and so manage Affairs that there may be a stop put to an Alliance which if it take effect will cost me the quiet of my whole Life Ah! Madam answered Tudor how happy do you make me by the goodness which you shew me but how short will this happiness prove by the obstacles I foresee therein For in a word what can I do in this conjuncture you know that the House of Orleans has at present the advantage of that of Burgundy to which I have addicted my self and that I have no authority with those that determine Affairs of that nature But have you your self no power left continued he to oppose that which thwarts your inclinations and must you demand assistance from one who expects his relief from you What would you have me do replyed the Princess and are you so ignorant of the duty of Persons of my Quality as not to know my Inability No Tudor expect no more from me I have an esteem and perhaps something more for you but I shall suffer my self to be led to the Sacrifice if it be so resolved and I had rather have it said that Catharine is Unfortunate than that she should be accused of failing in her duty Well then Madam replied Tudor it is your pleasure that I die I must obey you and that is indeed the only ease I find in my calamities Oppress me no more replied the Princess it is not well done to encrease my sorrows Bestir your self rather if you Love me Love has many secret ways of succeeding in enterprises and there is nothing impossible to those who truly feel it Here ended the Conversation of those two Amorous Persons they parted fully satisfied with
left him that he might go to the Dolphin and having found him in the same disposition that he had left the Duke of Burgundy in he made them Friends in appearance and retarded for some time at least his own misfortune The reconciliation of these two Princes put France in some hopes again Yet it hindered not but that the two Kings upon a cessation of Arms attended by the chief of their Court met in the Park of Meulan where they resolved to have a conference for facilitating the peace The Queen followed after and carried the Princess with her The English beheld her with admiration and there were but few of them that found not by experience how dangerous it is too narrowly to consider an amiable person But amongst all those who admired her Beauty no man was certainly more sensibly smitten than the Duke of Glocester that Prince who was Brother to the King of England and by his Rank and Quality at Court had the greatest share in the management of Affairs no sooner viewed Catharine but was charmed by her perfections He resolved at first to acquaint her with the Sentiments he entertained for her and seeing the marriage of the Princess was to be one of the first Articles of the Treaty then in agitation he thought he had no time to lose in taking a good resolution And therefore having rendred a visit to the Queen he discoursed with Catharine in a place where their conversation could not be overheard It is so hard Madam said he to her to see you and not to feel some particular emotion that I think I shall not much surprise you when I tell you that you have before you a Prince who is absolutely at your disposal It is not added he by the multitude of words that I pretend to make good what I say my actions shall far better make known to you my Sentiments than all the discourses that I can make Consider only Madam wherein you think fit to employ me and believe that I have so much authority in the Conference that is held to day as to sway matters to what side I shall incline The Princess was surprised at that Compliment and having expected no such thing nor well understood the meaning of it she was for some time put to a plunge what answer to make to the Duke But having at length paused upon it a little Really Prince said she you are the most obliging person alive It is seldom found that enemies offer to turn their arms against themselves however you run no Risk on this occasion I am none of those that will to your cost make advantage of your civilities and study the interest of my Country by an action which would somewhat diminish your glory I perceive Madam answered the Duke that I have not expressed my self so as to be understood It is not in favour of the King your Father that I have offered you my Services in this place and I am less concerned for the Interests of my Princes Crown than for those of his heart It is needless I think to explain my self more clearly consult about that which may affect yours and if the designs which Henry hath on your person have nothing in them that can flatter you I make no difficulty Madam to tell you I know how to satisfie you and a Prince who would give his life to contribute in the least to your content will not find great difficulty to divert the blow which may render you unhappy I am still more obliged to you than I thought replied the Princess since you confine to me alone the Sentiments which I extended to others But in fine Prince though my inclinations were contrary to the Alliance that is in agitation to day you know that it would be undecent for me to discover them and that a Princess of my quality ought with pleasure sacrifice her self to the publick good Have a care Madam of being mistaken replyed the Prince and embrace not the shadow of virtue for virtue it self I know very well added he that when one hath once made a choice all pains are to be endured rather than to give any mark of repentance but the case is not a like in a matter that is not as yet concluded and untill it be finally ended we may forbear such things as would cost us the repose of our Life if we did them contrary to our inclination There is nothing Sir an-answered Catharine which is inconsistent with the inclination of a Princess and the hearts of Persons of that quality should be of the nature of Wax whereon Princes may stamp all that they judge advantageous for the grandure of their Crowns These are indeed brave Sentiments Madam replied the Duke of Glocester but Destiny sometimes opposes so great generosity and seeing it inspires into us Love and Aversion according as it pleases we find often in our selves hatred for that which is appointed for us and have often also an inclination for the thing we are denied It were far better Madam added he to render your self Mistress of your own fortune and without seeming to affect any thing in particular as you may do to day to make use of the assistance that is offered you that you may perhaps thereby prevent your own misfortune How Prince replied Catharine have I nothing but appearances to answer for and can a Princess be satisfied with her self when she can upbraid her self with such an escape In fine Madam answered the Duke I see you are not to be convinced by my reasons and that it is as easie for you to overcome me in conversation as it was to triumph on my heart but consider a little what I have said to you and think not that so small a matter from which you are to expect all the happiness or misery of your Life As he made an end of these words he rose and having made a low reverence retired to the Camp and left Catharine in a musing fit into which the discourse of that Prince had cast her She bethought her self what it might be that could make him speak in that manner and making no doubt but that it was some small esteem that he had for her She found her self in great perplexity what course to take in that conjuncture For on the one hand she would not have been vexed if there had been no progress made in the Conference and on the other she would have been glad to have had no obligation to the Duke and not to have been exposed to a complaisance which he would certainly have expected from her if he had once found himself in a condition of doing her service She would not trust her own Judgment as to the resolution which she ought to take concerning that but writ an account to Tudor who was obliged to stay at Paris of the conference she had had with the Duke Though that Lover had ground to praise the carriage of Catharine yet he could not forbear at
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
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
the fame mutual affection for one another without proceeding farther and that I should by that means preserve one who is dear unto me and not expose him to the destiny wherewith he is threatned by my embraces Ah! Madam replied the Prince if any of the two ought to tremble it should only be Tudor and he it is that must die but he sets no such value on Life as to refuse to give it if it be by that Sacrifice alone that he can deserve so great a Blessing as that which you have promised him and I should not pay enough for that I prise though I should end my days an hour after that you had given me real proofs of your kindness Ah! Tudor answered the Queen put me not in mind that I am to lose you that is a thing that represents it self so cruelly to me that I cannot but at present feel the sensible effects of it and can one be separated from what they Love and survive their grief Have you still these thoughts Madam and do you believe the predictions of Pavini replied Tudor Do you not remember that you are not to be the least troubled at my death I am not so unjust to my Princess as to believe it and considering the goodness she has been pleased to testifie to me I am perswaded on the contrary that her Fate would depend on mine and that if she should not die by the same blow that sent me to my grave she would at least lye under so great affliction and sorrow that such a Life as she would afterward lead should be reckoned a real death You do me right Tudor answered the Queen and what you have now said to me fully confirms me No Pavini is Dim-sighted as to the future and the Prince of Wales cannot meet with the least misfortune but that I shall resent it as bitterly as he Let us compleat what Destiny intends for us and let us endeavour to render our Fortune happy by preventing those things which may replunge us into Crosses such as those that we have lately past Whilst the Queen was so well disposed for Tudor Fortune prepared new impediments to their Love The Duke of Glocester who was still taken up in the Wars since the conference at Meulan was chosen for the Command and Government of Affairs in England during the minority of Henry the Sixth his Nephew who was but as yet an Infant in the Cradle That Prince accepted the Commission with Joy and the more willingly inclined to the Journey in that he retained still for the Queen the same Sentiments that he felt at first sight of her In effect he no sooner saw her again but that his flames were powerfully revived in his Breast She seemed more beautiful to him than all that ever he had seen and seeing his quality of Regent obliged him to speak frequently with her these many Conversations made him quickly passionately in Love He prevented that Princess in granting all that he thought she might desire and became in a word so civil and obliging that it was very hard not to entertain an esteem for him Nevertheless the Queen was so far from being pleased with that complaisance that she was much troubled at it so soon as she discovered the cause and she observed such a Conduct with him that she always endeavoured to avoid the occasions which he sought to discourse to her of his Love But all that Circumspection was unprofitable and on a day when they had had a conference concerning some matters of State wherein the Queen told the Duke that he had very well discharged his duty You give me said he Madam praises which are not due to me and I have contributed far less than you to the success of what I have told you The Queen not knowing what to make of that How Prince replied she unfold to me that Riddle and what hand can I have had in a matter whereof I did not so much as know That hindered not Madam answered the Duke but that you wished that it might succeed as it did and it was enough for the Duke of Glocester knowing your intentions fully to comply with them I am much obliged to you replied the Queen but I shall refer all that if you please to the Zeal which you have for the Service of the King and I shall like it as well You are in the wrong Madam answered the Duke not to take it as done for your sake alone and you should believe that Love will be always more powerful in my Heart than all the Sentiments of Nature and Duty I am forced to tell you continued he that I am nothing changed from what you saw me at Meulan But be not alarmed at this Madam I have no thoughts that may give you cause of complaint and I know very well that that which hath happened since my fatal departure hinders me from having any thing to pretend to more However I Love you not with less Sincerity than if I had ground to believe that you would one day render me happy Pitie so wretched a Lover Madam who though his Passion be so violent yet is still so respectful as to conceive nothing contrary to the virtue of a Princess whom I shall adore with such Sentiments as long as I live These words gave the Queen some comfort and having considered a little what answer she should give him she at length in this manner broke her silence You ought not to doubt Sir but that the knowledg you give me of your passion causes me much trouble and you oblige me to have so great an esteem for you that I cannot forbear to wish you a better Fortune than that to which you expose your self Consider what it is to Love without hope and I am assured that if you reflect upon it as you ought you will ease your self of a great many troubles that you are about to create both to your self and me if you persist in that unhappy passion I am not now Madam replied the Duke to make that reflection I have used all arguments with my self to overcome my own weakness But to be short it is too hard for me and after a Thousand attempts all that I can gain upon my self is to admire you as a Lover full of tender affection and to speak to you as a man who is hindered by sacred ties to tell you all he thinks Believe it Madam I can reconcile most respectful words with most languishing looks and nothing but my Eyes shall ever testifie to my Princess that the Unfortunate Duke of Glocester is born to love her with extream Passion Ah! Prince answered the Queen banish those Sentiments which abuse you and do you not percieve that you already begin a discourse contrary to the resolution you have taken and that you declare your Love at the same time you promise me never to speak more of it I had not been aware of it Madam replied the Duke if you
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
one another but with small hopes of a better Fortune In the mean time Tudor spread reports at Court that the Marriage of Henry and Catharine was no wayes advantageous for France That that Prince was but the Son of an Usurper that the House of York which was dispossessed of the Crown was still strong enough to regain the Scepter and that in Fine the last words of the dying King to his Son should make him rather think of giving back what he had gotten than of demanding such ridiculous matters as were proposed by his Ambassadours I cannot tell whether these rumours that were in every bodies mouth made any impression on the Counsel or that the pretensions of the King of England seemed not very reasonable But in a word his Ministers returned without effectuating any thing It is hard to imagine how great the joy of our Lovers was but they failed not to make it known to one another in its full extent and by mutual assurances of Love began to forget their past troubles when of a sudden they found themselves more than ever exposed to the cruelty of Fortune Henry incensed at the refusal of giving him Catharine in Marriage leavied a powerful Army He landed in Normandy where he put all to Fire and Sword and having taken some places by the way he marched towards Callis He fought a great Battel at Agincourt and obtained the Victory afterward he wasted all Picardy laid Siege to the Citie of Roan and there was no doubt but that he would have carried it had not they who had the Administration of the Affairs of France being surprized at so many Conquests endeavoured in good earnest to find means to put a stop to that Victorious Prince And finding no more ready remedy for the Calamities that threatned their Country than to appease the Rage of the Conquerour Ambassadours were sent to his Camp to beg Peace of him and to offer him Catharine This was a cruel Blow for our Lovers and the sorrow that appeared on their Countenance gave signs enough if it had been observed that both were extreamly troubled Well then Princess said Tudor one day to Catharine now is the time come that I must lose you and Fate has only given me a little Reprieve to let me know the greatness of that felicitie which it had appointed for another Why have you not been altogether Cruel Continued he or rather why are you but kind by halves and how can it be that one tenderly Loves as you profess and in the mean time resolves to forsake the beloved object Ah! Tudor be sparing in your censures replied the Princess my afflictions are too great that I should need other pressures and your reproaches are too unjust that I should suffer them and survive my grief Let us be unhappy if Heaven hath so decreed but let us not contribute any thing that may make us lose the esteem which we have for one another You in giving me Counsels that go against my Reputation and I in listening to them I am already but too much enclined to believe you continued she to make me distrust my strength and I have so often represented to my self the pleasure that I might have had in living with you that I am much afraid I shall project to my self nothing but horrours with all besides your self if you still persist to bring them to my mind Help me rather to overcome my self and believe Prince that this is the occasion wherein one really deserves pity seeing after all the effects of my Virtue I stand in need still of assistance to overcome my weakness I confess Madam answered the Prince I must admire you for these Sentiments and grant them to proceed from the most generous Princess that ever was but grant me likewise that if I have not so great a Soul yet I have perhaps more tenderness than you have I am in the wrong added he to press you so much and it is misbecoming a Prince who has no other Fortune but in his hopes to desire to snatch from a Princess a Crown which is in her offer it has certainly more charms than one is aware of and it must needs be of small value if it were to be forsaken for the forlorn estate of Tudor These words which he uttered with some sullenness made the Princess sensible he was jealous she was willing to cure him of that fatal passion and looking on him with an obliging Aspect What is it Prince said she that you suspect me of and what signs of Ambition have I given you that you should think me so much inclined to it as you make me to be Banish such thoughts far from you if you love your own repose and if you will give your self any trouble for mine hinder the success of that Treaty which is to be set on foot at the interview of the two Kings You may do somewhat in that matter and you are in so good terms with the House of Burgundy which is now again restored to the Government of the State that with the help of that Family you may hope to succeed in your undertaking These words reassured the Prince who casting himself at her feet Pardon Madam said he an Unfortunate Lover who knows not whom to blame for his Calamities and consider that it is very difficult to be deeply in Love and not to be a little jealous Believe me my dear Princess I shall employ all the Friends I have to hinder that fatal Marriage and I have so great interest in it as may I think make you believe that I shall omit nothing which may contribute to it's repture At the same time he took leave of her and went straight to the Palace of the Duke of Burgundy where he found that Prince more afflicted for the Calamities of France than he expected and perceiving him resolved to employ his utmost endeavours to hinder its ruin I rejoyce my Lord said he at your good intentions and doubt not of the Kingdoms safety now that you make it your care But remember that there depends much on diligence in preventing a disadvantageous Treaty to which the weakness of the King will it may be oblige him and which will not be easily remedied if once concluded You have reason Prince answered the Duke of Burgundy but there are many things to be done before I can be in a condition to act as I should What greater matters are to be done then replied Tudor and if you were reconciled with the Dolphin might ye not Unite your Forces and make head against the common Enemy of your Country Yes answered the Duke but the difficulty will be to bring us to good terms together I shall endeavour it if you please replied Tudor and am perswaded that I shall not meet with so many Lets in it as you imagine You will thereby oblige me replied the Duke and I shall be always ready to do all that my honour and duty can allow Tudor thereupon
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
of Burgundy because they found it to their advantage and I have renounced the friendship of my Husband and the duty that I owed my self only that I might follow his person I know Madam replied Tudor that the Duke is obliged to you but I am likewise assured that he is not wanting in his acknowledgments and if you came to a clearing you would be the first to confess that you have taken the Allarm without ground Only make a Trial continued he if I speak Truth and you will see that you shall have no sooner made one step but that the Duke shall make another How answered Madam de Giack must I advance first then Really Prince hitherto I took you for my friend but I know not what to think on 't now and you give me a Counsel that makes me doubt of it extreamly I have told you Madam replied the Prince coldly what I would do if I were in your place you know that those who would entertain a Commerce together must condescend and accommodate themselves to humours You know the Duke of Burgundy well enough not to be ignorant that he can hardly yield when he thinks he has no reason he is perswaded that you are in the wrong on this occasion and that it is your part to redress it How cruel a thing it is to be in Love answered Madam de Giack and must our Wills be forced for a few pleasures which consist only in Fancie Well then Prince I must believe you and shall disown nothing which you shall tell the Duke in my name as you are together upon your Journey That is not enough replied Tudor you should write to him a Lover believes not always all that his friend tells him of his Mistress and in the matter of Janglings every thing that comes that way is suspected he often imagines that his friend would disguise his misfortune and all the circumstances that can be alleadged if not backed by a Letter perswade him far more of the friendship of him that speaks than of the sincerity of her that puts him into despair You desire too much Prince said Madam de Giack and that I may use your own words condescend to people and consider that it is enough on a Ladies part to do as I do I grant it answered Tudor but seeing you have already won so much ground upon your self boggle not at the rest Madam which is but a trifle and give that satisfaction to the Duke of Burgundy who adores you There need no more words Prince replied Madam de Giack and you should require no more of your friends they have done enough if people be reasonable and it is according to their conduct alone that they may expect other marks of my complaisance Tudor made some more attempts to bring her to what he desired but seeing all was to no purpose he took his leave of her praying her to consider seriously what he had said He was no sooner out of her House but that she began to muse upon it and quickly repented her haughtiness thinking with her self that Princes expect not to be treated as those that are inferiour to them and that there are no Intrigues to be managed with such persons unless one have a design to be subjected to a thousand little things which may be avoided in other engagements These thoughts had greater influence upon her mind than all the Conversation that she had had with Tudor she called for Paper and Ink and had already closed her Letter when the Gentleman of that Princes Horses hearing that his Master was at her House came to inquire for him Madam de Giack by chance looked out at the Window at that very instant she asked who the Gentleman was and being informed that he belonged to Tudor she gave orders to invite him up and it being her desire that the Prince might have the Letter she gave it to the Gentleman to be delivered to him He presently returned to his Masters Lodgings and not finding him there he thought he might hear News of him at the Princess apartment he found her just going to take Coach and was about to retire again when she knowing him to be one of Tudors retinue and having percieved that he looked for some body caused him to be called and asked him who he desired to speak with The Gentleman frankly confest that he had somewhat to say to his Master and a Letter for him from Madam de Giack These last words pierced the Princess to the Heart she found at that minute all the jealousie which that Lady had formerly occasioned her revived a fresh and being desirous to know if she had good ground for it or not Leave that Letter with me said she to the Gentleman Tudor is not here he is just now gone with the Duke of Burgundy but I shall take care that the Letter be sent to him by a Post who is to be dispatched to them by and by There it is Madam said the Gentleman putting it into her hand it will ease me of a great trouble seeing I could not carry it my self without delaying a Journey that he has ordered me to make about his Affairs The Princess gave no signs of that which troubled her mind she would not so much as return into her Chamber least that Letter should give occasion of some suspicion but having performed a short Devotion in the Church whither she was going she returned to her Lodgings And as soon as she was come shut her self up in her Closet where she took the fatal Letter out of her Pocket and having opened it found it conceived in these terms THE LETTER OF Madam de Giack TO THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY IF extream jealousie be a sign of an infinite Love nothing certainly can come near my passion but who can arm themselves against suspicion when they have as much ground for it as you have given me and what Lady could forgive the pretensions you make to another pretend not to reassure me by reasons of Policy wherewith you have already endeavoured to satisfie me that is not current Coyn with a Lover so sharp sighted as I am The End of the First Part. TUDOR A PRINCE of WALES An Historical Novel The Second Part. THat Letter which had no direction had almost killed the tender and affectionate Princess with grief She made no doubt but that it was addressed to Tudor and lying under the lashes of Jealousie How Traitour cried she immediately is this the way that you repay the sincere friendship that I had for you and were the Testimonies of Love which with so much solicitude you gave me but Artifices then to impose upon me with greater severity Are these Villain the effects of the promises you have made to me and what is become of the Oaths which in this I thought so pleasant that they gave me the Assurances of a constant and perpetual Love I ask not of you unthankful Man added she that you should have
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
had not given me notice but I shall for the future be more punctual in keeping my word I shall not so much as complain of your cruelty how severe soever you may be to me and I know but one thing that may make me lose the measures which I intend to observe in so tender and respectful a Love Ah! Prince have a care said the Queen your Passion wants the respect you speak of if you think that you can ever dispense with the silence to which you oblige your self it is that promise alone which makes me to day suffer a Conversation that is so contrary to the duty I owe my self and which renewed once more would make me lose all the esteem that your civil carriage hath gained from me These Sentiments Madam wherewith you flatter me are too precious than that I should not preserve them at what expence soever and if the Duke of Glocester never find that you intend to make some Man else happy whilst he suffers so much he shall perhaps convince you by his carriage that he deserved the blessing himself if a Brother had not been before possessed of that happiness and had not for ever deprived him of the hopes of it These words made the Queen conceive how great difficulty she was like to meet with in the design she had for Tudor She was troubled on this consideration but being willing to dismiss the Duke before she gave her self wholly to these thoughts Prince said she either think of putting in execution what you have promised or resolve never to see me more for to be short I find my self too much to be blamed for entertaining such discourses with you and it is not enough to have good intentions we must likewise do our duty It is true Madam replied the Duke and I know that as well as you Wherefore my whole study shall be to satisfie you and I 'le tell you no more that I Love you because you are displeased with such discourses However I pray you believe that my passion shall neither be more nor less what countenance soever I put on and the Fate of the Duke of Glocester indispensably obliges him to the Service of the most lovely Queen in the World So soon as he had said so he withdrew and left the Queen in an inconceivable trouble Tudor came in at the same instant and finding that Princess in a condition that suffered none to doubt of her grief What hath befallen you Madam said he presently and has destiny still new Crosses in reserve for me Yes Tudor replied the Queen Fate is ready again to make me suffer and the Duke of Glocester opposes my happiness and the satisfaction I intended to give you At the same time she told him of the Conversation she had had with him and then renewing her discourse Consider Prince said she to what I expose you if I follow my Inclination which bids me content you and is not that the way to make Pavini's word true so to deliver you up to the rage of a despised Lover What can he do Madam replied Tudor and besides does he not give evidence of so much virtue as that we need not fear he will dishonour himself by any base Act. Ah Tudor answered the Queen that shadow of virtue which beguiles you does not so much deceive me I have dived into the very heart of the Duke through all his disguises and he puts on that counterfeit Cloak of Civility that he may only fetch his first blow and wheedle me if I may so say to listen to the discourse of his passion Consider what is to be expected from one who thinks himself slighted and whose power in this place can accomplish what ever he intends What hath my Princess then resolved to do replied Tudor to Love you as long as I live answered the Queen but rather to die a Thousand times than to be to you the cause of those calamities whereof the very thought chills me with horrour But is it not Madam said he to expose me to the most cruel of pains always to delay that which might render me happy and what more can I expect from the wrath of the Duke of Glocester Good God Tudor replied the Queen urge me no more to that You know my weakness but your preservation will be far dearer to me than all my pleasures let us joyn both together if it may be done answered Tudor and seeing you have so much goodness as to have so great care of my life let us find out a remedy to cure you of these obliging fears and which may at the same time afford me the satisfaction that I should meet with in the accomplishment of your promises That is impossible replied the Queen not so much as you think Madam answered the Prince and if an expedient could be found would you be against it No Tudor replied the Queen and so far from refusing it I would consent to it with all my Heart Consider then Madam if you can resolve to marry me secretly There is no necessity that people should have so many witnesses of their happiness and we may find some so faithful as we need not fear that they will publish our secret unless we give them leave But are there no consequences to be feared said the Queen and were there no other but the effects of Marriage have not I reason to be circumspect Can we want persons to whom we may trust answered Tudor and can so small a matter as that make you scrupulous the Queen stood sometime speechless but shortly after speaking again I perceive at length Tudor said she that I must grant your desires and indeed it is impossible for me to deny you but remember what I do for you The Prince cast himself immediately at her feet and being as sensibly affected as one could be he told the Queen all that a strong passion and extream gratitude can suggest to a tender faithful and generous Lover The Princess put forth her hand to raise him and that happy Lover falling on that fair hand kissed it with such Transports of delight that it might be easily Judged how great pleasures he was to taste in the possession of so Lovely a Princess In effect no Man was so happy as Tudor some few days after and in the Marriage of that great Queen he found matter enough of Comfort for all the Evils that he had suffered so long That Lovely union which was Ushered in by so many Crosses was attended with all the Contents that this Life can afford and difficulty which seasons pleasures made these Lovers find a Thousand charms in the secret of their Marriage which perhaps they had not met with if they had enjoyed one another publickly and without Intrigue Their Commerce lasted long before it was perceived and the Queen so well concealed her Big-belly that she was Brought to Bed oftner than once before the matter came publickly to be known But as it is hard
always to decieve a Lover and a Lover that is Unfortunate the Duke began to suspect that Tudor had a greater share than he in the favours of the Queen and though that Prince knew nothing but what his suspicions made him conjecture yet he grew fearfully Jealous He never met Tudor but that he beheld him with threatning looks and at length he observed so few measures in his Resentment that our Lovers easily percieving it redoubled their Circumspection to conceal their Marriage But Fortune which delights in Inconstancy was weary of showring her Favours on them and resolved to make them feel her cruelty after that she had Crowned them with her kindness The Duke of Glocester entertained many spies in the Countrey and these Blades who observed all things with great care could not hitherto find any thing that might confirm their Master in his thoughts Sometimes he upbraided them with Carelesness sometimes with Treachery and that they conspired with the Queen to deceive him In the mean time all these Reproaches being unprofitable he resolved to set to Work himself and laboured to corrupt the Loyalty of those whom he knew to be most Privie to the Secrets of the Queen But he found them all so firm to their duty that he began to lose hopes of succeeding in his designs when Fate alone in a Trice compleated that which the Duke could not perform with the Assistance of all whom he had employed The Queen made use of one of the Chamberlains of her House to send her Letters by to Tudor she had intrusted him to carry one to him and that faithful Servant who was glad punctually to discharge what he was ordered to do by the Queen waited till Night that he might go securely to the House of Tudor and so soon as it grew Duskish he took his Journey that he might perform his Message He was not far from the House when he found himself set upon by Six Robbers He defended himself as well as he could but the Foot-man that was with him having forsaken him he received suddenly several wounds which made him fall dead upon the place In the mean time that murther was committed with much Rumour and the Lackey who fled called together a great many for his Masters Assistance with whom he came back but too late for the Murtherers had already saved themselves Some went in pursuit of them and the rest carried the Body of the Gentleman into the next House where making an Inventory according to the good Custome of some of all that the dead Man had about him they found there the Letter which he carried to Tudor They presently knew the Queens Signet and seeing the Letter had no address and that they doubted not but that it was of consequence The Constable took the charge of it and went instantly with it to the Regent to whom he told what had happened The Duke presently dismissed him and having looked upon that Letter Three or Four times without daring to open it at length he broke it up and found these words in it THE QUEENS LETTER TO TUDOR ALL that can be done is done to discover if I love you and there is nothing omitted to draw from my Servants a Confession of what they might know of our Secrets but they have not falsified the Opinion that I had of their fidelity and our Jealous observer shall keep watch long in vain if I mistake not At present I find some abatement of my fears come as soon as you can my Dear and make your advantage of the Serenity we now enjoy and I shall give my Dear Tudor proofs that I Love him more than my self THe Duke grew stark staring mad upon reading of that Letter he was sometime before he would resolve what to do but at length having uttered great threats against these two Unfortunate Lovers he resolved to shew them what a slight was able to produce in the Breast of a Man prepossessed with a strong passion He imagined every thing that might animate him to revenge and when he found that some remains of Affection put a stop to his rage Is it for that infamous Princess then that thou dost solicite me and art thou still so base as to be willing to observe measures with one who not content to put me into despair stains likewise the honour of the Royal Family by a shamefull Commerce which she holds with a Prince so far beneath her Ah! too happy Tudor cried he immediately afterward thy death must expiate the Crimes that thou committest against the Memory of thy Prince and the Duke of Glocester shall revenge him at the same time that he resents the Indignity that you offer to his Love He was at least an hour in making such useless complaints and thinking that he would receive great ease if he might utter in the Queens presence what he had been saying all alone he went to her appartment The Queen was surprised to see him at that time but she had far greater reason to be so when that Prince after a terrible look I am not at all amazed Madam said he to her at the trouble I put you in when one expects to see a Lover and finds a furious man one has reason to change colour but I shall be exceedingly changed my self if I produce not shortly more surprising revolutions and I hope that the deceitful Eyes which I behold shall shortly weep for the same things that have hitherto made them laugh What do you mean Prince replied the Queen half angry at that discourse and half shaking for fear I mean Madam answered the Duke that to see you one would never have believed that you could Joyn such modest looks with so bad and Irregular a Conduct But I know your secret practices and it is no time to dissemble when I have so good proofs to confound you Here is the thing continued he showing her the Letter that we have mentioned that will put you out of your measures and ought you not to blush at these shameless words whereby you express your passion If the Queen was astonished at the Dukes discourse ye may Judge what case she was in when she saw her Letter in his hand She stood sometime speechless but finding that it was no longer time to dissemble By what means Prince said she have you come by my Letter I see not what right you have to censure my actions and may not I write to my Husband what I think good but that the Duke of Glocester must find fault with it Tudor your Husband Madam said the Duke immediately interrupting her Yes Prince replied the Queen Tudor is my Husband and I would have you know besides that I have Three Children by him These words almost killed the Duke with despair and renewing his discourse after he had made some reflexion on what the Queen had told him A Queen of England said he Daughter of a King of France has Married Tudor and has Three Children
by him Ah! Madam added he think not by that Pretext to abuse me it will be to no purpose for you to think to stop my revenge and let it be as you will have it that too happy Tudor shall die and he shall pay for the freakishness of Fortune that appoints some to so much happiness whilest others wrestle with the Torments of a wretched life He presently went out with the Mine and Gate of a Man who was to be feared The Queen could not behold him in that condition without Trembling for Tudor and at this instant she felt a shivering that never left her till she died In the mean time the Duke of Glocester sent some of the Guards to apprehend that Prince but they narrowly miss'd him for he was gone a little before to wait upon the Queen upon the news he had received that their Confident was Assassinated He entered her apartment unseen of any and finding the Princess in a Posture that might have drawn Tears from the most obdured hearts it was long before he gave any sign of sorrow by words but instead of that he made appear in his Countenance the utmost effects of extream affliction Afterward he looked tenderly on that amiable Princess and speaking to her fully as much with his Eyes as Mouth What is the news then said he my dear Queen and what should I think of the cruel condition wherein I see you Ah! Prince we are undone answered the Queen and the Duke of Glocester has discovered our secret he hath intercepted a Letter which I sent you to day by my Chamberlain and in a word we are betrayed That faithful Servant is dead Madam replied Tudor and was murthered hard by my house I am come purposely hither to pay my duty to my Princess and to know of her if she had heard of that fatal accident Alas no answered the Queen and I began almost to suspect him of Treachery but at length I am convinced of his innocence and who have been his murtherers There is no doubt but the Duke has committed that crime and not satisfied with the death of that Wretch he threatens also the Life of my dear Tudor At the same time she told him all that had passed between the Duke and her and had no strength to speak any more about the end of her discourse she fainted away and came not to her self again till half an hour after but was feised on with so burning a Feaver that she alarmed all that were with her In the mean time Tudor was in no better condition and he could not behold these sad Marks of kindness which his Princess shewed him without the bitterest Agonies of grief but he had shortly occasion to be overwhelmed with sorrow For the Queen understanding that the Duke of Glocester's Guards had been at the Princes house to apprehend him and that he was sought after in all places she thought him utterly undone and that nothing could save him from his rage She obliged him to suffer himself to be shut up in a Closet behind her Bed but that circumspection delivered her not from her fears and her Feaver got immediately up into her Brain and made her Light-headed which in two days time brought her to the last extremity It is hard to tell the sufferings of Tudor when he saw the Queen in that condition nor can I even tell which of the two was most to be pitied he looked upon her with all imaginable tenderness and had no other way to express his grief but by a flood of Tears which streamed from his Eyes The Queen was sensibly affected at his pains and striving against her distemper that she might again speak to him Prince said she if you would oblige me be not so much afflicted consider you have Children and that for them you owe your preservation Take no care of the Mother and reserve for these dear pledges which I leave to you of my kindness the Testimonies that now you give me of your Love Having so said she embraced Tudor and mingling together the Memorie of his pains and Love breathed out her last between his Arms leaving all in an uncertainty whether she died for Joy or Grief The Unfortunate Tudor melting in Tears stretched himself upon the Body which he endeavored to warm again by his embraces but finding it cold and past all sense he was at length convinced of his misery He continued long in a fearful extasie but so soon as he came to himself he resigned all his contents to despair Ah! Pavini cried he your knowledg is great and you have to the least circumstances foretold my unhappiness My Queen will not now be troubled at my death seeing that Illustrious Princess is gone He said no more but leaving the Chamber went streight to the Duke of Glocester He accosted that Duke with the resolution of a Man that fears not death and having cast a disdainful look upon him Make an end barbarous man said he of the Tragedy you have so well begun and seeing my lovely Princess is by your cruelties now expired why are you so slow to make me feel the same measure of Injustice and to reunite above what was so well Joyned here below The Queen is dead replied the Duke in a great surprise is it possible good God! do I hear that fatal news and do not I die for grief With that he fetched several sighs and turning to Tudor in the height of rage Yes yes Traitour said he I shall speedily grant your desire and your blood shall supply the Tears that you have made me shed He called his Guards immediately and having ordered them to carry him to Prison he lockt himself up in his Chamber where he mournfully lamented his destiny But he quickly changed his Love into fury for within a few days he caused a Scaffold to be erected where he commanded Tudor to be put to death The poor Prince was led to Execution as if he had been guilty but instead of complaining of the Dukes cruelty he prayed a certain friend to thank him in his name for the favour he did him because by his means he hoped shortly to see his lovely Queen again He laid down his head to the Executioner who having by one blow divided it from his Body shewed the Spectators by that Memorable Catastrophe how little there is between the highest bliss and the lowest misery FINIS A Catalogue of some Books Printed for and Sold by Jonathan Edwin at the Three Roses in Ludgate-street THe Commentaries of C. Julius Cesar of his Wars in Gallia and the Civil Wars betwixt him and Pompey Translated into English with many excellent and judicious Observations thereupon as also the Art of our Modern Training or Tactick Practice by Clement Edmunds Esquire Remembrancer of the City of London Whereunto is adjoyned the Eighth Commentary of the Wars in Gallia with some short Observations upon it together with the Life of Caesar and an account of his Medals Revised Corrected and Enlarged in Fol. The History of the Reigns of Henry the VII Henry the VIII Edward the VI. and Queen Mary the first Written by the Right Honourable Francis Lord Verulam Viscount St. Alban the other Three by the Right Honourable and Right Reverend Father in God Francis Godwyn Lord Bishop of Hereford in Fol. The Countess of Pembrokes Arcadia written by Sir Philip Sidney Knight the Thirteenth Edition with his Life and Death a brief Table of the principal Heads and some other new Additions in Fol. The French way of Exercising their Infantry as it is now used in the Armies of his Most Christian Majesty in Fol. stitcht Parthenissa that most Fam'd Romance the Six Volumes compleat composed by the Right Honorable the Earl of Orrory in Fol. Roman Forgeries or a true Account of false Records Discovering the Impostures and Counterfeit Antiquities of the Church of Rome in Octav. The Comparison of Plato and Aristotle with the Opinions of the Fathers on their Doctrines and some Christian Reflections together with judgment on Alexander and Caesar as also on Seneca Plutarch and Petronius in Octav. Observations on the Poems of Homer and Virgil A discourse representing the Excellencies of those works and the perfections in general of all Heroick Actions in Octav. The Causes and Remedies of the Distempers of the Times in certain Discourses of Obedience and Disobedience in Octav. Songs and Poems by Thomas Flatman the Second Edition in Octav. Gallantry A-la-Mode a Satyrical Poem in Three parts representing the Vanities of several humors of this present Age in Octav. Wit at a Venture or Clio's Privy Garden containing Songs and Poems never before in Print in Octav. The Mercury Gallant containing many true and pleasant relations of what hath passed at Paris from the first of January 1672. till the Kings departure thence in Octav.