the peace of sens betwixt henri iii. and the huguenots.
the queen my mother left me, saying these words. for my part, i remained a close prisoner, without a visit from a single person, none of my most intimate friends daring to come near me, through the apprehension that such a step might prove injurious to their interests. thus it is ever in courts. adversity is solitary, while prosperity dwells in a crowd; the object of persecution being sure to be shunned by his nearest friends and dearest connections. the brave grillon was the only one who ventured to visit me, at the hazard of incurring disgrace. he came five or six times to see me, and my guards were so much astonished at his resolution, and awed by his presence, that not a single cerberus of them all would venture to refuse him entrance to my apartments.
meanwhile, the king my husband reached the states under his government. being joined there by his friends and dependents, they all represented to him the indignity offered to me by his quitting the court without taking leave of me. they observed to him that i was a princess of good understanding, and that it would be for his interest to regain my esteem; that, when matters were put on their former footing, he might derive to himself great advantage from my presence at court. now that he was at a distance from his circe, madame de sauves, he could listen to good advice. absence having abated the force of her charms, his eyes were opened; he discovered the plots and machinations of our enemies, and clearly perceived that a rupture could not but tend to the ruin of us both.
accordingly, he wrote me a very affectionate letter, wherein he entreated me to forget all that had passed betwixt us, assuring me that from thenceforth he would ever love me, and would give me every demonstration that he did so, desiring me to inform him of what was going on at court, and how it fared with me and my brother. my brother was in champagne and the king my husband in gascony, and there had been no communication betwixt them, though they were on terms of friendship.
i received this letter during my imprisonment, and it gave me great comfort under that situation. although my guards had strict orders not to permit me to set pen to paper, yet, as necessity is said to be the mother of invention, i found means to write many letters to him. some few days after i had been put under arrest, my brother had intelligence of it, which chagrined him so much that, had not the love of his country prevailed with him, the effects of his resentment would have been shown in a cruel civil war, to which purpose he had a sufficient force entirely at his devotion. he was, however, withheld by his patriotism, and contented himself with writing to the queen my mother, informing her that, if i was thus treated, he should be driven upon some desperate measure. she, fearing the consequence of an open rupture, and dreading lest, if blows were once struck, she should be deprived of the power of bringing about a reconciliation betwixt the brothers, represented the consequences to the king, and found him well disposed to lend an ear to her reasons, as his anger was now cooled by the apprehensions of being attacked in gascony, dauphiny, languedoc, and poitou, with all the strength of the huguenots under the king my husband. besides the many strong places held by the huguenots, my brother had an army with him in champagne, composed chiefly of nobility, the bravest and best in france. the king found, since my brother’s departure, that he could not, either by threats or rewards, induce a single person among the princes and great lords to act against him, so much did every one fear to intermeddle in this quarrel, which they considered as of a family nature; and after having maturely reflected on his situation, he acquiesced in my mother’s opinion, and begged her to fall upon some means of reconciliation. she thereupon proposed going to my brother and taking me with her. to the measure of taking me, the king had an objection, as he considered me as the hostage for my husband and brother. she then agreed to leave me behind, and set off without my knowledge of the matter. at their interview, my brother represented to the queen my mother that he could not but be greatly dissatisfied with the king after the many mortifications he had received at court; that the cruelty and injustice of confining me hurt him equally as if done to himself; observing, moreover, that, as if my arrest were not a sufficient mortification, poor torigni must be made to suffer; and concluding with the declaration of his firm resolution not to listen to any terms of peace until i was restored to my liberty, and reparation made me for the indignity i had sustained. the queen my mother being unable to obtain any other answer, returned to court and acquainted the king with my brother’s determination. her advice was to go back again with me, for going without me, she said, would answer very little purpose; and if i went with her in disgust, it would do more harm than good. besides, there was reason to fear, in that case, i should insist upon going to my husband. “in short,” says she, “my daughter’s guard must be removed, and she must be satisfied in the best way we can.”
the king agreed to follow her advice, and was now, on a sudden, as eager to reconcile matters betwixt us as she was herself. hereupon i was sent for, and when i came to her, she informed me that she had paved the way for peace; that it was for the good of the state, which she was sensible i must be as desirous to promote as my brother; that she had it now in her power to make a peace which would be as satisfactory as my brother could desire, and would put us entirely out of the reach of le guast’s machinations, or those of any one else who might have an influence over the king’s mind. she observed that, by assisting her to procure a good understanding betwixt the king and my brother, i should relieve her from that cruel disquietude under which she at present laboured, as, should things come to an open rupture, she could not but be grieved, whichever party prevailed, as they were both her sons. she therefore expressed her hopes that i would forget the injuries i had received, and dispose myself to concur in a peace, rather than join in any plan of revenge. she assured me that the king was sorry for what had happened; that he had even expressed his regret to her with tears in his eyes, and had declared that he was ready to give me every satisfaction. i replied that i was willing to sacrifice everything for the good of my brothers and of the state; that i wished for nothing so much as peace, and that i would exert myself to the utmost to bring it about.
as i uttered these words, the king came into the closet, and, with a number of fine speeches, endeavoured to soften my resentment and to recover my friendship, to which i made such returns as might show him i harboured no ill-will for the injuries i had received. i was induced to such behaviour rather out of contempt, and because it was good policy to let the king go away satisfied with me.
besides, i had found a secret pleasure, during my confinement, from the perusal of good books, to which i had given myself up with a delight i never before experienced. i consider this as an obligation i owe to fortune, or, rather, to divine providence, in order to prepare me, by such efficacious means, to bear up against the misfortunes and calamities that awaited me. by tracing nature in the universal book which is opened to all mankind, i was led to the knowledge of the divine author. science conducts us, step by step, through the whole range of creation, until we arrive, at length, at god. misfortune prompts us to summon our utmost strength to oppose grief and recover tranquillity, until at length we find a powerful aid in the knowledge and love of god, whilst prosperity hurries us away until we are overwhelmed by our passions. my captivity and its consequent solitude afforded me the double advantage of exciting a passion for study, and an inclination for devotion, advantages i had never experienced during the vanities and splendour of my prosperity.
as i have already observed, the king, discovering in me no signs of discontent, informed me that the queen my mother was going into champagne to have an interview with my brother, in order to bring about a peace, and begged me to accompany her thither and to use my best endeavours to forward his views, as he knew my brother was always well disposed to follow my counsel; and he concluded with saying that the peace, when accomplished, he should ever consider as being due to my good offices, and should esteem himself obliged to me for it. i promised to exert myself in so good a work, which i plainly perceived was both for my brother’s advantage and the benefit of the state.
the queen my mother and i set off for sens the next day. the conference was agreed to be held in a gentleman’s chateau, at a distance of about a league from that place. my brother was waiting for us, accompanied by a small body of troops and the principal catholic noblemen and princes of his army. amongst these were the duc casimir and colonel poux, who had brought him six thousand german horse, raised by the huguenots, they having joined my brother, as the king my husband and he acted in conjunction.
the treaty was continued for several days, the conditions of peace requiring much discussion, especially such articles of it as related to religion. with respect to these, when at length agreed upon, they were too much to the advantage of the huguenots, as it appeared afterwards, to be kept; but the queen my mother gave in to them, in order to have a peace, and that the german cavalry before mentioned might be disbanded. she was, moreover, desirous to get my brother out of the hands of the huguenots; and he was himself as willing to leave them, being always a very good catholic, and joining the huguenots only through necessity. one condition of the peace was, that my brother should have a suitable establishment. my brother likewise stipulated for me, that my marriage portion should be assigned in lands, and m. de beauvais, a commissioner on his part, insisted much upon it. my mother, however, opposed it, and persuaded me to join her in it, assuring me that i should obtain from the king all i could require. thereupon i begged i might not be included in the articles of peace, observing that i would rather owe whatever i was to receive to the particular favour of the king and the queen my mother, and should, besides, consider it as more secure when obtained by such means.
the peace being thus concluded and ratified on both sides, the queen my mother prepared to return. at this instant i received letters from the king my husband, in which he expressed a great desire to see me, begging me, as soon as peace was agreed on, to ask leave to go to him. i communicated my husband’s wish to the queen my mother, and added my own entreaties. she expressed herself greatly averse to such a measure, and used every argument to set me against it. she observed that, when i refused her proposal of a divorce after st. bartholomew’s day, she gave way to my refusal, and commended me for it, because my husband was then converted to the catholic religion; but now that he had abjured catholicism, and was turned huguenot again, she could not give her consent that i should go to him. when i still insisted upon going, she burst into a flood of tears, and said, if i did not return with her, it would prove her ruin; that the king would believe it was her doing; that she had promised to bring me back with her; and that, when my brother returned to court, which would be soon, she would give her consent.
we now returned to paris, and found the king well satisfied that we had made a peace; though not, however, pleased with the articles concluded in favour of the huguenots. he therefore resolved within himself, as soon as my brother should return to court, to find some pretext for renewing the war. these advantageous conditions were, indeed, only granted the huguenots to get my brother out of their hands, who was detained near two months, being employed in disbanding his german horse and the rest of his army.
