Volume II Part 2 (1/2)

MARIE DE MEDICIS AS REGENT

CHAPTER I

1610

Self-possession of Marie de Medicis--The Ducs de Guise and d'Epernon a.s.semble the n.o.bility--Precautions for the security of the metropolis--The first audience of the widowed Queen--Impolicy of Sully--The Duc d'Epernon announces to the Parliament the authorized regency of Marie--By whom it is ratified--Precarious position of the Queen-mother--The first night of widowhood--Injudicious apathy of Marie de Medicis on the subject of her husband's murder--Her incautious display of favour towards the Duc d'Epernon--The Duke is suspected of having been an accessory to the a.s.sa.s.sination of Henri IV--He demands the punishment of the authors of the rumour--A lawyer and a courtier--Fearless reply of the President de Harlay to the rebuke of the Regent--Suspicions against Philip of Spain--Louis XIII holds his first Bed of Justice--The Queen requests the support of the Parliament--Return of the Court to the Louvre--The Duc de Sully visits the Queen--Effect of his reception--The Princess-Dowager of Conde urges the return of her son to Court--M. de Soissons is invited by Marie de Medicis to the capital--His disappointment--His arrogance--A courtly falsehood--Reception of M. de Soissons at the gates of Paris--His numerous retinue--The recompense of obedience--Congratulatory deputations--Trial of the regicide Ravaillac--His execution--Arrival of the Duc de Bouillon in Paris--His quarrel with the Duc de Sully--They are reconciled--The Court attend a funeral service at Notre-Dame--Presumption of the Duc d'Epernon--Marie de Medicis devotes herself to state affairs--Jealousy of the Princes of the Blood and great n.o.bles--Marie endeavours to conciliate them--The Spanish Minister endeavours to prevent the return of the Prince de Conde--Without success--The Regent forms a council--Pretensions of the n.o.bles--The Duc d'Epernon takes possession of apartments in the Louvre--He leagues with the Comte de Soissons against the Prince de Conde--Speculations of the Ministers--Their policy--Boyhood of Louis XIII--A delicate position--A royal rebuke--Court favour--The visionary Government--Discontent of the citizens of Paris--Unpopularity of the Regent--The ex-Queen's entertainment--Imprudence of Marie de Medicis--Confirmation of the Edict of Nantes--Return of the Prince de Conde--The Regent is alarmed by his popularity--Double-dealing of the Duc d'Epernon--The Prince de Conde declares his intention to uphold the interests of the Regent--His reception at the Louvre--He rejoins his wife--The Court of the Hotel de Conde--A cabal--Marie is advised to arrest the Prince de Conde--She refuses--The secret council--Indignation of Sully--Mischievous advice of the Duc de Bouillon--Munificence of the Regent to M. de Conde--The royal treasury--Venality of the French Princes--The English Amba.s.sador--Royal pledges--Philip of Spain proposes a double alliance with France--The Regent welcomes the offer--Policy of Philip--The secret pledge--Madame de Verneuil urges her claim to the hand of the Duc de Guise--The important doc.u.ment--A ducal dilemma--The Regent discountenances the claim of the Marquise--Madame de Verneuil is induced by Jeannin to withdraw her pretensions--Her subsequent obscurity.

The news of the King's decease had no sooner been communicated to Marie de Medicis than, profiting by the advice of the Chancellor, she made a violent attempt at composure; and although still with streaming eyes and ill-suppressed sobs, she gave her a.s.sent to the suggestions of her councillors. The Ducs de Guise and d'Epernon were instructed to mount upon the instant, and to a.s.semble as many of the n.o.bles as were within reach, whom they were to accompany through the streets of the city, declaring upon their way that the King was not dead, although grievously wounded; the city gates were ordered to be closed, the keys delivered to the lieutenant of police, and strict commands issued to prevent all gatherings of the populace in the thoroughfares; while the guards who were distributed through the faubourgs were hastily concentrated in the environs of the Parliament, in order, should such a measure become necessary, to enforce the recognition of the Queen as Regent of the kingdom.

These arrangements made, MM. de Guise, d'Epernon, de Villeroy, and de Lavardin demanded an audience of the august widow, at which, kneeling before her, they kissed her hand, and a.s.sured her of their unalterable devotion. Their example was imitated by all the great n.o.bles of the Court, with the sole exception of the Duc de Sully, who was encountered by Ba.s.sompierre in the Rue St. Antoine, accompanied by about forty mounted followers, and evidently in a state of intense agitation.

”Gentlemen,” he exclaimed, as the two parties met, ”if the loyalty which you each vowed to the monarch whom we have just been unhappy enough to lose is as deeply impressed upon your hearts as it should be upon those of all faithful Frenchmen, swear at this precise moment to preserve the same fidelity towards the King his son and successor, and that you will employ your blood and your life to avenge him.”

”Sir,” haughtily replied Ba.s.sompierre, who had probably more deeply mourned the death of his royal master and friend than any other individual of the Court, and who was consequently revolted by the imperious tone of this address, ”it is we who have been enjoined to enforce this oath upon others, and we do not need any exhortations to do our duty.”

Sully regarded the speaker gloomily for an instant, and then, as though overcome by some sudden apprehension, he coldly saluted the group of n.o.bles, and retraced his steps to the Bastille, where he forthwith closed the gates; having previously, on his way thither, caused his attendants to carry off all the bread which they could collect either in the shops or markets. He, moreover, no sooner thus found himself in safety than he despatched a courier to his son-in-law, the Duc de Rohan, who was with the army in Champagne at the head of six thousand Switzers, desiring him to march straight upon Paris; an indiscretion which he was subsequently destined to expiate, from the heavy suspicion which it necessarily entailed upon him. Vainly did MM. de Praslin and de Crequy, who were sent to summon him to the presence of the young King, endeavour to induce him to lose no time in presenting himself at the Louvre; the only concession which he could be prevailed upon to make, was to desire the d.u.c.h.ess, his wife,[26] to hasten to the palace, and to offer to the Regent and her son his sincere condolence upon their irreparable misfortune.[27]

The Duc d'Epernon, after having stationed the guards at the palace, was instructed by the Queen to proceed at once to the Parliament, which was then a.s.sembled, and to inform its members that her Majesty had in her possession a decree signed and sealed by the late King, conferring upon herself the regency of the kingdom during the minority of her son; entreating them at once to ratify the appointment in order to ensure the public tranquillity. She also privately despatched a messenger to the President de Harlay, whom she knew to be attached to her interests, and to be at once able and zealous, to instruct him to a.s.semble the Court without delay, and to use all his influence to enforce her rights. De Harlay, who on receipt of her message was confined to his bed by gout, immediately caused himself to be dressed, and proceeded in a chair to the Augustine monastery; where he had scarcely arrived when the Duc d'Epernon entered the hall, and declared the will of the late King, and the confidence felt by the Queen that the Parliament would, without repugnance, recognize her right to the dignity thus conferred upon her.[28] This they immediately did; and owing to the absence of the Prince de Conde and the Comte de Soissons, both of whom aspired to the high office about to be filled by Marie de Medicis, without the slightest opposition or disturbance.

This happy intelligence was conveyed to the Queen by M. d'Epernon, who returned to the palace accompanied by one of the members of the Parliament, when the latter, after having been presented to his royal mistress, on whose right hand sat the young King bewildered by what was pa.s.sing about him, bent his knee before their Majesties, and tendered to Marie a scroll, which having been returned by her to the accredited envoy of the supreme court, was read aloud as follows:--

”THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL, having represented to the Parliament in full a.s.sembly that the King having just expired by the act of a most cruel, most inhuman, and most detestable regicide committed upon his sacred person, it became necessary to provide for the safety of the reigning monarch and of his kingdom, required that an order should be promptly issued concerning his safety and that of the state, which could only be ruled and governed by the Queen during the minority of the said Lord her son; and that it should please the said Court to proclaim her Regent, in order that it might, through her, administer the affairs of the realm; The subject having been duly considered, the said Court declared, and still declares, the said Queen, the King's mother, Regent of France, to be entrusted with the administration of all matters of state during the minority of the said Lord her son, with all power and authority.

”Done in Parliament, this 14th of May, 1610.

”(Signed) DU TILLET.” [29]

During the course of the day guards had been sent to the residence of the several foreign amba.s.sadors, in order to protect them from the violence of the populace, and especially to that of the Spanish minister, who was peculiarly obnoxious to the Parisians. The governors of provinces and fortresses who chanced to be at that moment sojourning in the capital were ordered to repair without delay to their several commands, to maintain tranquillity within their separate jurisdictions; and, save the audible lamentations which throughout the night broke the silence of the mourning city, all was calm and quiet, except in the immediate neighbourhood of the Augustine monastery, where the Attorney-General had authorized the workmen to prepare the great hall for the reception of the young King, and where the necessary preparations for his presence on the following day were continued until dawn.[30]

The parliamentary envoy having quitted the palace, and the crowd of n.o.bles, by whom its s.p.a.cious halls and galleries had been filled, having retired, Marie was at length left at liberty to indulge her grief, rendered only the more poignant from the constraint to which she had been so long subjected. Her first impulse was to command that the bed of the young sovereign should be removed to her own chamber, and this done, she abandoned herself to all the bitterness of her sorrow.

She had, indeed, legitimate cause for tears. With a son still almost a child, ambitious n.o.bles jealous of her power, and a great nation looking towards herself for support and consolation, she might well shrink as she contemplated the arduous task which had so suddenly devolved upon her. Moreover, death is the moral crucible which cleanses from all dross the memories of those who are submitted to its unerring test; and in such an hour she could not but forget the faults of the husband in dwelling upon the greatness of the monarch. Who, then, shall venture to follow her through the reveries of that fatal night? Who shall dare, unrebuked, to a.s.sert that the ambition of the woman quenched the affection of the wife? or that Marie, in the excess of her self-gratulation, forgot the price at which her delegated greatness had been purchased? That some have been found bold enough to do this says little for their innate knowledge of human nature. The presence of death and the stillness of night are fearful chasteners of worldly pride, and with these the daughter of the Medici was called upon to contend. Her position demanded mercy at the hands of her historians, and should not have sought it in vain.

From one reproach it is, however, impossible to exonerate her, and that one was the repugnance which she evinced to encourage any investigation into the real influence under which Ravaillac had committed the murder of the King. In vain did she receive communications involving individuals who were openly named; she discouraged every report; and although among these the Duc d'Epernon made a conspicuous figure, she treated the accusation with indifference, and continued to display towards him an amount of confidence and favour to which he had never previously attained.

Indignant at this extraordinary supineness, the President de Harlay only increased his own efforts to unravel so painful a mystery; and refusing all credence to the a.s.sertion of the regicide that he had been self-prompted--an a.s.sertion to which he had perseveringly adhered amid torture, and even unto death, with a firmness truly marvellous under the circ.u.mstances--the zealous magistrate carefully examined every doc.u.ment that was laid before him, and interrogated their authors with a pertinacity which created great alarm among the accused parties, of whom none were so prominent as Madame de Verneuil and the Duc d'Epernon.

The latter, indeed, considered it expedient to wait upon the commissioners appointed by the Parliament to investigate these reports, in order to urge the condemnation of their authors; these being, as he a.s.serted, not only guilty of defaming innocent persons, but also of exciting a dangerous feeling among the people, at all times too anxious to seek the disgrace and ruin of their superiors. He found, however, little sympathy among those whom he sought to conciliate; and on addressing himself to the President, whom he entreated to inform him of the details of the accusation made against himself, that magistrate, without any effort to disguise his feeling of repulsion towards the applicant, coldly replied, ”I am, Sir, not your prosecutor, but your judge.”

”I ask this of you as my friend,” was the retort of the Duke.

”I have no friend,” said the uncompromising minister. ”I shall do you justice, and with that you must content yourself.”

So uncourteous a reception excited the indignation of M. d'Epernon, who forthwith hastened to the Louvre to complain to the Regent of the insult to which he had been subjected; and Marie had no sooner been apprised of the affair than, with a want of caution highly detrimental to her own reputation, she despatched a n.o.bleman of her household to M. de Harlay, to inform him that she had just learnt with extreme regret that he had failed in respect to the Duke, and that she must request that in future he would exhibit more deference towards a person of his quality and merit. This somewhat abrupt injunction, addressed to the first magistrate of the kingdom, and under circ.u.mstances so peculiar, only tended, however, to arouse M. de Harlay to an a.s.sumption of the dignity attached to his office, and he replied with haughty severity to the individual who had been charged with the royal message:--

”During fifty years I have been a judge, and for the last thirty I have had the honour to be the head of the sovereign Court of Peers of this kingdom; and I never before have seen either duke, lord, or peer, or any other man whatever might be his quality, accused of the crime of _lese-majeste_ as M. d'Epernon now is, who came into the presence of his judges booted and spurred, and wearing his sword at his side. Do not fail to tell the Queen this.” [31]

So marked an exhibition of the opinion entertained by the Parliament on the subject of the complicity of the Duke in the crime then under investigation, did not fail to produce a powerful effect upon all to whom it became known, but it nevertheless failed to shake the confidence of Marie de Medicis in the innocence of a courtier who had, in the short s.p.a.ce of a few days, by his energy and devotion, rendered himself essential to her; while thus much must be admitted in extenuation of her conduct, reprehensible as it appeared, that every rumour relative to the death of her royal consort immediately reached her, and that two of these especially appeared more credible than the guilt of a n.o.ble, who could, apparently, reap no benefit from the commission of so foul and dangerous a crime. In the first place, the Spanish Cabinet had been long labouring to undermine the power of France, in which they had failed through the energy and wisdom of the late King, whose opposition to the alliance which they had proposed between the Dauphin and their own Infanta had, moreover, wounded their pride, and disappointed their projects; and there were not wanting many who accused the agents of Philip of having instigated the a.s.sa.s.sination; while another rumour, less generally disseminated, ascribed the act of Ravaillac to the impulse of personal revenge, elicited by the circ.u.mstance that Henry had first dishonoured and subsequently abandoned a sister to whom he was devotedly attached.

That M. d'Epernon was politic enough to impress upon the mind of the Queen the extreme probability of either or both of these facts, there can be little doubt, as it would appear from the testimony of several witnesses that the intention of the murderer was known for some time before the act was committed; and nothing could be more rational than the belief that if the agents of Spain were indeed seeking to secure a trusty tool for the execution of so dark a deed, they would rather entrust it to one who could by the same means satiate his own thirst for private revenge, than to a mere bravo who perilled life and salvation simply from the greed of gain.

Day by day, moreover, the ministers were overwhelmed by accusations which pointed at different individuals. Those who had opposed the return of the Jesuits to France openly declared that they were the actual a.s.sa.s.sins; while even in the provinces several persons were arrested who had predicted before its occurrence the death of the King, and the means by which it was to be accomplished; and finally the affair became so involved that, with the exception of the woman De Comans to whom allusion has been elsewhere made, and who was condemned to imprisonment for life, all the suspected persons were finally acquitted.[32]