accession of henri iii.—a journey to lyons.—marguerite’s faith in supernatural intelligence.
after this fatal event, which was as unfortunate for france as for me, we went to lyons to give the meeting to the king of poland, now henri iii. of france. the new king was as much governed by le guast as ever, and had left this intriguing, mischievous man behind in france to keep his party together. through this man’s insinuations he had conceived the most confirmed jealousy of my brother alencon. he suspected that i was the bond that connected the king my husband and my brother, and that, to dissolve their union, it would be necessary to create a coolness between me and my husband, and to work up a quarrel of rivalship betwixt them both by means of madame de sauves, whom they both visited. this abominable plot, which proved the source of so much disquietude and unhappiness, as well to my brother as myself, was as artfully conducted as it was wickedly designed.
many have held that god has great personages more immediately under his protection, and that minds of superior excellence have bestowed on them a good genius, or secret intelligencer, to apprise them of good, or warn them against evil. of this number i might reckon the queen my mother, who has had frequent intimations of the kind; particularly the very night before the tournament which proved so fatal to the king my father, she dreamed that she saw him wounded in the eye, as it really happened; upon which she awoke, and begged him not to run a course that day, but content himself with looking on. fate prevented the nation from enjoying so much happiness as it would have done had he followed her advice. whenever she lost a child, she beheld a bright flame shining before her, and would immediately cry out, “god save my children!” well knowing it was the harbinger of the death of some one of them, which melancholy news was sure to be confirmed very shortly after. during her very dangerous illness at metz, where she caught a pestilential fever, either from the coal fires, or by visiting some of the nunneries which had been infected, and from which she was restored to health and to the kingdom through the great skill and experience of that modern asculapius, m. de castilian, her physician—i say, during that illness, her bed being surrounded by my brother king charles, my brother and sister lorraine, several members of the council, besides many ladies and princesses, not choosing to quit her, though without hopes of her life, she was heard to cry out, as if she saw the battle of jarnac: “there! see how they flee! my son, follow them to victory! ah, my son falls! o my god, save him! see there! the prince de conde is dead!” all who were present looked upon these words as proceeding from her delirium, as she knew that my brother anjou was on the point of giving battle, and thought no more of it. on the night following, m. de losses brought the news of the battle; and, it being supposed that she would be pleased to hear of it, she was awakened, at which she appeared to be angry, saying: “did i not know it yesterday?” it was then that those about her recollected what i have now related, and concluded that it was no delirium, but one of those revelations made by god to great and illustrious persons. ancient history furnishes many examples of the like kind amongst the pagans, as the apparition of brutus and many others, which i shall not mention, it not being my intention to illustrate these memoirs with such narratives, but only to relate the truth, and that with as much expedition as i am able, that you may be the sooner in possession of my story.
i am far from supposing that i am worthy of these divine admonitions; nevertheless, i should accuse myself of ingratitude towards my god for the benefits i have received, which i esteem myself obliged to acknowledge whilst i live; and i further believe myself bound to bear testimony of his goodness and power, and the mercies he hath shown me, so that i can declare no extraordinary accident ever befell me, whether fortunate or otherwise, but i received some warning of it, either by dream or in some other way, so that i may say with the poet
“de mon bien, on mon mal, mon esprit m’est oracle.”
(whate’er of good or ill befell, my mind was oracle to tell.)
and of this i had a convincing proof on the arrival of the king of poland, when the queen my mother went to meet him. amidst the embraces and compliments of welcome in that warm season, crowded as we were together and stifling with heat, i found a universal shivering come over me, which was plainly perceived by those near me. it was with difficulty i could conceal what i felt when the king, having saluted the queen my mother, came forward to salute me. this secret intimation of what was to happen thereafter made a strong impression on my mind at the moment, and i thought of it shortly after, when i discovered that the king had conceived a hatred of me through the malicious suggestions of le guast, who had made him believe, since the king’s death, that i espoused my brother alencon’s party during his absence, and cemented a friendship betwixt the king my husband and him.
