Project Gutenberg's A Gallant of Lorraine; vol. 1 of 2, by Hugh Noel Williams This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license Title: A Gallant of Lorraine; vol. 1 of 2 François, Seigneur de Bassompierre, Marquis d'Haronel, Maréchal de France, 1579-1646 Author: Hugh Noel Williams Release Date: May 22, 2016 [EBook #52128] Language: English Character set encoding: UTF-8 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A GALLANT OF LORRAINE; VOL. 1 OF 2 *** Produced by MWS and Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) Image unavailable: cover Contents. Some typographical errors have been corrected; a list follows the text. List of Illustrations (In certain versions of this etext [in certain browsers] clicking directly on the image, will bring up a larger version.) (etext transcriber's note) A GALLANT OF LORRAINE VOL. I. “C’étoit un homme de grande qualité, beau, bien fait, quoique d’une taille un peu épaisse. Il avoit bien de l’esprit et d’un caractère fort galant. Il avoit du courage, de l’ambition et l’âme du grand roi.” Bussy-Rabutin to Madame de Scudéry, August 16, 1671. FRANÇOIS, SEIGNEUR DE BASSOMPIERRE, MARQUIS D’HAROUEL, MARÉCHAL DE FRANCE. From an engraving by Lasne. [Frontispiece A GALLANT OF LORRAINE FRANÇOIS, SEIGNEUR DE BASSOMPIERRE, MARQUIS D’HAROUEL, MARÉCHAL DE FRANCE (1579-1646) :: :: BY H. NOEL WILLIAMS AUTHOR OF “FIVE FAIR SISTERS,” “A PRINCESS OF INTRIGUE,” “THE BROOD OF FALSE LORRAINE,” ETC. IN TWO VOLUMES With 16 Illustrations VOL. I {i} {ii} {iii} LONDON : HURST & BLACKETT, LTD. :: PATERNOSTER HOUSE, E.C. :: PREFATORY NOTE Although the Mémoires of the Maréchal de Bassompierre are acknowledged to be one of the chief authorities for the history of France during the early part of the seventeenth century, they have never been translated into English, nor, if we except the charming but all too brief sketch of the marshal by Comte Boudet de Puymaigre in his Poètes et Romanciers de la Lorraine (Paris, 1848), has any biography of their author yet been attempted. That such should be the case is certainly very surprising, since seldom can a man have led so eventful a life, or played so many different parts with distinction, as did François de Bassompierre. Soldier, courtier, diplomatist, gallant and wit, he was to the Courts of Henri IV and Louis XIII very much what the celebrated Maréchal de Richelieu was to that of Louis XV, and when on that fatal February day in 1631 the gates of the Bastille closed upon him, not to reopen for twelve long years, one of the most interesting careers in French history practically terminated. In my endeavour to give a full and authentic account of this career, I have naturally found my chief source of information in Bassompierre’s own Mémoires, which he wrote, or rather arranged and revised, during his imprisonment in the Bastille; but I have also consulted a large number of other works, both contemporary and modern. Most of these are mentioned either in the text or the footnotes, but I desire to take this opportunity of acknowledging my great indebtedness to the admirable notes of the Marquis de Chantérac, who so ably edited the edition of the marshal’s Mémoires published by the Société de l’Histoire de France. H. NOEL WILLIAMS. London, May, 1921. CONTENTS VOL. I CHAPTER I Birth of François de Bassompierre—Origin of the Bassompierre family—A romantic legend—His grandfather—His father—His early years— He and his younger brother Jean are sent to the University of Pont-à-Mousson, and afterwards to that of Ingoldstadt—Their studies at Ingoldstadt—Death of their father, Christophe de Bassompierre—Journey of the two brothers through Italy—Their return to Lorraine pp. 1-14 CHAPTER II Visit of the Bassompierre family to Paris—François dances in a ballet before Henri IV at Monceaux—He is presented to the King, who receives him very graciously—He decides to enter the service of Henri IV—He escorts his Majesty’s mistress, Gabrielle d’Estrées, Duchesse de Beaufort, to Paris—Sudden illness and death of the duchess—Extravagant grief of Henri IV, who, however, soon finds consolation in the society of Henriette d’Entragues—Affray between the Prince de Joinville and the Grand Equerry Bellegarde at Zamet’s house, where the King is staying—Visit of Bassompierre to Lorraine—He returns to Paris pp. 15-29 CHAPTER III Bassompierre accompanies Henri IV in his campaign against Charles Emmanuel of Savoy—His narrow escape at the taking of Montmélian— He goes with the King to visit Henriette d’Entragues, Madame de Verneuil, at La Côte-Saint-André, and reconciles Henri IV with his mistress—Marriage of the King to Marie de’ Medici—Presentation of Madame de Verneuil to the Queen—Visit of Bassompierre to Lorraine —He returns to find the royal ménage in a very troubled state, owing to the jealousy of the wife and the mistress—He assists at a conference, in which the Chancellor recommends the King to get rid of Madame de Verneuil at any cost—He accompanies the Maréchal de Biron on a visit to England—He is present at the arrest of Biron at Fontainebleau, in June, 1602—Condemnation and execution of the marshal pp. 30-37 CHAPTER IV Bassompierre sets out for Hungary to serve as a volunteer in the Imperial Army against the Turks—His journey to Vienna—He learns that the commander-in-chief of the army is General von Rossworm, a mortal enemy of the Bassompierre family—He is advised by his friends in Vienna to take service in the Army of Transylvania, instead of in that of Hungary, but declines to change his plans—He sups more well than wisely at Gran—His arrival in the Imperialist camp before Buda—Position of the hostile armies—Bassompierre is presented to Rossworm— He narrowly escapes being killed or taken prisoner by the Turks—He takes part in a fierce combat in the Isle of Adon, and has another narrow escape—He is reconciled with Rossworm—Massacre of eight hundred Turkish prisoners—Failure of a night-attack planned by the Imperialist general—Gallant but foolhardy enterprise of the Hungarians—The Turks bombard the Imperialist headquarters—Termination of the campaign—Bassompierre returns with Rossworm to Vienna pp. 38-49 CHAPTER V {iv} {v} {vi} {vii} {viii} Bassompierre goes to Prague, where the Imperial Court is in residence—He is presented by Rossworm to the lords of the Council—He dines at the house of Prestowitz, Burgrave of Karlstein, and falls in love with his widowed daughter, “Madame Esther”—Bassompierre and Rossworm engage in an amorous adventure, from which they narrowly escape with their lives—Bassompierre plays tennis with Wallenstein, with the Emperor Maximilian an interested spectator—He is presented to the Emperor, who receives him very graciously and commissions him to raise troops in Lorraine for service against the Turks—Bassompierre, Rossworm and other nobles parade the streets masked and have an affray with the police—Singular sequel to this affair—Bassompierre spends the Carnival with the Prestowitz family at Karlstein—Amorous escapade with “Madame Esther”—Bassompierre sets out for Lorraine—He engages in a drinking-bout with the canons of Saverne which very nearly has a fatal termination—Death of his brother Jean, Seigneur de Removille, at the siege of Ostend— Grievances of Bassompierre against the French Government—Henri IV promises that “justice shall be done him” and invites him to return to his Court—Bassompierre renounces his intention of entering the Imperial service and sets out for France pp. 50-63 CHAPTER VI Bassompierre arrives at Fontainebleau and is most graciously received by Henri IV—He falls in love with Marie d’Entragues, sister of the King’s mistress—The conspiracy of the d’Entragues—The Sieur d’Entragues and the Comte d’Auvergne are arrested and conveyed to the Bastille, and Madame de Verneuil kept a prisoner in her own house—Jacqueline de Bueil temporarily replaces Madame de Verneuil in the royal affections—The King, unable to do without the latter, sets her and her father at liberty—Bassompierre becomes the lover of Marie d’Entragues—He is dangerously wounded by the Duc de Guise in a tournament, and his life is at first despaired of—He recovers— Attentions which he receives during his illness from the ladies of the Court pp. 64-70 CHAPTER VII Quarrel between Bassompierre and the Marquis de Cœuvres—Bassompierre sends his cousin the Sieur de Créquy to challenge the marquis to a duel—The King sends for the two nobles and orders them to be reconciled in his presence—Bassompierre and Créquy are forbidden to appear at Court, but are soon pardoned—Visit of Bassompierre to Plombières—He returns to Paris, and “breaks entirely” with Marie d’Entragues—The Chancellor, Pomponne de Bellièvre, ordered to resign the Seals—His conversation with Bassompierre at Artenay— Bassompierre wins more than 100,000 francs at play—He is reconciled with Marie d’Entragues—He joins Henri IV at Sedan—The adventure of the King’s love-letter—Henri IV gives orders that a watch shall be kept on Marie d’Entragues’s house to ascertain if Bassompierre is secretly visiting that lady—A comedy of errors—Madame d’Entragues surprises her daughter and Bassompierre pp. 71-86 CHAPTER VIII A strange adventure—Bassompierre sent as Ambassador Extraordinary to Lorraine to represent Henri IV at the marriage of the Duke of Bar and Margherita di Gonzaga—He returns to Paris and orders a gorgeous suit, which is to cost fourteen thousand crowns, for the baptism of the Dauphin and Madame Élisabeth, though he has only seven hundred in his purse—He wins enough at play to pay for it—Charles III of Lorraine writes to request his presence at the Estates of Lorraine—Henri IV refuses him permission to leave France, but he sets out notwithstanding this—He is arrested by the King’s orders at Meaux, but set at liberty on his promising to return to Court—He is allowed to leave for Lorraine a few days later—Affair of the Prince de Joinville and Madame de Moret pp. 87-94 CHAPTER IX Amusements of Bassompierre during the winter of 1608—His gambling-parties—Embarrassment which the fact of having several love-affairs on his hands simultaneously sometimes occasions him—Death of Charles III of Lorraine—Bassompierre goes to Nancy to attend the Duke’s funeral—Gratifying testimony which he receives during his absence of the esteem in which he is held by the ladies of the Court of France—“The star of Venus is very much in the ascendant over him”—Marriage arranged between Marie d’Entragues and the Comte d’Aché, of Auvergne—The affair is broken off—Frenzied gambling at the Court: gains of Bassompierre—Secret visits paid by him and the Duc de Guise to Madame de Verneuil and Marie d’Entragues at Conflans—Visit of the Duke of Mantua to the Court of France pp. 95-99 CHAPTER X Enviable position of Bassompierre at the Court of France—The Connétable de Montmorency offers him the hand of his beautiful daughter Charlotte, the greatest heiress in France—The marriage-articles are drawn up—The consent of Henri IV is obtained—The Duc de Bouillon, whom Bassompierre has offended, endeavours to persuade the King to withdraw his sanction and to marry Mlle. de Montmorency to the Prince de Condé (Monsieur le Prince)—Henri IV falls madly in love with the young lady—Singular conversation between the King and Bassompierre, in which his Majesty orders the latter to renounce his pretensions to Mlle. de Montmorency’s hand—Astonishment and mortification of Bassompierre, who, however, yields with a good grace—Bassompierre falls ill of chagrin and remains for two days “without sleeping, eating or drinking”—He is persuaded by his friend Praslin to return to the Louvre—Mlle. de Montmorency is betrothed to the Prince de Condé—Bassompierre falls ill of tertian fever, but rises from his sick-bed to fight a duel with a Gascon gentleman—The combatants are separated by friends of the latter—Serious illness of Bassompierre pp. 100-118 CHAPTER XI The body of a man who has been assassinated opposite Marie d’Entragues’s house mistaken for that of Bassompierre—Bassompierre wins a wager of a thousand crowns from the King—Marriage of the Prince de Condé and Mlle. de Montmorency—Henri IV informs Bassompierre of his intention to send him on a secret mission to Henri II, Duke of Lorraine, to propose an alliance between that prince’s elder daughter and the Dauphin—Departure of Bassompierre—He arrives at Nancy and challenges a gentleman to a duel, but the affair is arranged—His first audience of Duke Henri II—Irresolution of that prince, who desires to postpone his answer until he has consulted his advisers— Negotiations of Bassompierre with the Margrave of Baden-Durlach—He returns to Nancy—Continued hesitation of the Duke of Lorraine— Memoir of Bassompierre: his prediction of the advantages which Lorraine would derive from being incorporated with France abundantly justified by time—The Duke gives a qualified acceptance of Henri IV’s propositions—Difficulty which Bassompierre experiences in inducing him to commit his reply to writing pp. 119-131 CHAPTER XII {ix} {x} Return of Bassompierre to the French Court—Frenzied passion of Henri IV for the young Princesse de Condé—His extravagant conduct— Condé flies with his wife to Flanders—Grief and indignation of the King, who summons his most trusted counsellors to deliberate upon the affair—Sage advice of Sully, which, however, is not followed—The Archduke Albert refuses to surrender the fugitives—Condé retires to Milan and places himself under the protection of Spain—Failure of an attempt to abduct the princess—Henri IV and his Ministers threaten war if the lady is not given up—The “Great Design”—Bassompierre appointed Colonel of the Light Cavalry and a Counsellor of State—His account of the last days and assassination of Henri IV pp. 132-145 CHAPTER XIII Incidents at the Court and in Paris after the assassination of Henri IV—Meeting between Bassompierre and Sully—Marie de’ Medici declared Regent—Her difficult position—Return of Condé—Greed and arrogance of the grandees—Quarrel between the Comte de Soissons and the Duc de Guise—Grievance of Monsieur le Comte against Bassompierre—He persuades Madame d’Entragues to endeavour to compel Bassompierre to marry her daughter Marie—Proceedings instituted against that gentleman—Announcement of the “Spanish marriages”— Magnificent fêtes in the Place-Royale—Intrigues at the Court—The Princes and Concini in power—Assassination of the Baron de Luz by the Chevalier de Guise—Marie de’ Medici and the Princes—Conversation of the Regent with Bassompierre—Bassompierre reconciles the Guises with the Queen-Mother—The Chevalier de Guise kills the son of the Baron de Luz in a duel—The Princes, on the advice of Concini, retire from Court pp. 146-164 CHAPTER XIV The affair of Montferrato—Intrigues of Concini with Charles Emmanuel of Savoy—Arrest of Concini’s agent Maignan—Bassompierre warns the Italian favourite of his danger and advises him to throw himself on the clemency of the Queen-Mother—Concini follows his advice and is pardoned and shielded by Marie de’ Medici, while his agent is executed—Bassompierre goes to Rouen, where the d’Entragues’s action against him is to be heard—The Regent recommends his cause to the judges—The d’Entragues object to the constitution of the court, and the case is adjourned—Duplicity of Concini—He intrigues to ruin Bassompierre with the Queen-Mother—Semi-disgrace of Bassompierre— He is reconciled with Marie de’ Medici—He is appointed Colonel-General of the Swiss—The Princes surprise Mézières—Peace of Saint- Menehould—Bassompierre accompanies Louis XIII and the Queen-Mother to the West pp. 165-176 CHAPTER XV Bassompierre, during his absence in Lorraine, condemned by the Archbishop of Aix to espouse Mlle. d’Entragues, on pain of excommunication—The archbishop’s decision quashed by the Parlement of Paris—Financial and amatory embarrassments of Bassompierre —Death of his mother—The action which the d’Entragues have brought against him finally decided in his favour—Condé withdraws from Court and issues a manifesto against the Government—Civil war begins—Marriage of Louis XIII and Anne of Austria—Peace of Loudun— Fall of the old Ministers of Henri IV—Concini and the shoemaker—Condé becomes all-powerful—He obliges Concini to retire to Normandy —Arrogance of Condé and his partisans, who are suspected of conspiracy to change the form of government—The Queen-Mother sends for Bassompierre at three o’clock in the morning and informs him that she has decided upon the arrest of the Princes—Preparations for this coup d’état—Arrest of Condé—Concini’s house sacked by the mob—The Comte d’Auvergne and the Council of War—Bassompierre conducts Condé from the Louvre to the Bastille pp. 177-195 CHAPTER XVI Serious illness of the young King, who, however, recovers—Bassompierre and Mlle. d’Urfé—Gay winter in Paris—Richelieu enters the Ministry as Secretary of State for War—His foreign policy—His energetic measures to put down the rebellion of the Princes—Return of Concini—His arrogance and presumption—Singular conversation between Bassompierre and Concini after the death of the latter’s daughter —Policy pursued by Marie de’ Medici and Concini towards Louis XIII—Humiliating position of the young King—His favourite, Charles d’Albert, Seigneur de Luynes—Bassompierre warns the Queen-Mother that the King may be persuaded to revolt against her authority pp. 196-207 CHAPTER XVII Bassompierre joins the Royal army in Champagne as Grand Master of the Artillery by commission—Surrender of Château-Porcien— Bassompierre is wounded before Rethel—He sets out for Paris in order to negotiate the sale of his office of Colonel-General of the Swiss to Concini—He visits the Royal army which is besieging Soissons—A foolhardy act—Singular conduct of the garrison—The Président Chevret arrives in the Royal camp with the news that Concini has been assassinated—Details of this affair—Bassompierre continues his journey to Paris—His adventure with the Liègeois cavalry of Concini pp. 208-218 CHAPTER XVIII Bassompierre arrives in Paris—Marie de’ Medici is exiled to Blois—Bassompierre’s account of the parting between Louis XIII and his mother —The rebellious princes return to Court and are pardoned, but Condé remains in the Bastille—His wife solicits and receives permission to join him there—Arrest of the Governor and Lieutenant of the Bastille, on a charge of conniving at a secret correspondence between Barbin and the Queen-Mother—Bassompierre is placed temporarily in charge of the fortress—The Prince and Princesse de Condé are transferred to the Château of Vincennes—Bassompierre goes to Rouen to attend the assembly of the Notables—A rapid journey pp. 219-224 CHAPTER XIX Luynes succeeds to the power and wealth of Concini—Trial and execution of Concini’s widow, Leonora Galigaï—Luynes begins to direct affairs of State—His marriage to Marie de Rohan—Conduct of the Duc d’Épernon—His quarrel with Du Vair, the Keeper of the Seals—His disgrace—He begins to intrigue with the Queen-Mother—Escape of the latter from Blois—Treaty of Angoulême—The Court at Tours— Arnauld d’Andilly’s account of Bassompierre’s lavish hospitality—Favours bestowed by the King on Bassompierre—Meeting between Louis XIII and the Queen-Mother—Liberation of Condé—Bassompierre entertains the King at Monceaux—He is admitted to the Ordre du Saint-Esprit pp. 225-234 {xi} {xii} {xiii} CHAPTER XX The grandees, irritated by the increasing power and favour of Luynes, decide to make common cause with the Queen-Mother against him— Departure of Mayenne from the Court—He is followed by Longueville, Nemours, Mayenne and Retz—Formidable character of the insurrection—Bassompierre receives orders to mobilise a Royal army in Champagne—He informs the King that the Comte de Soissons, his mother, the Grand Prieur de Vendôme and the Comte de Saint-Aignan intend to leave Paris to join the rebels—Alarm and indecision of Luynes—Advice of Bassompierre—It is finally decided to allow them to go—Success of Bassompierre in mobilising troops in Champagne, despite great difficulties—The Duc de Bouillon sends a gentleman to him to endeavour to corrupt his loyalty—Reply of Bassompierre—The town and château of Dreux surrender to him—He joins the King near La Flèche with an army of 8,600 men—Combat of the Ponts-des-Cé —Peace of Angers pp. 235-254 CHAPTER XXI Refusal of the Protestants of Béarn to restore the property of the Catholic Church—Louis XIII and Luynes resolve on rigorous measures and set out for the South—Visit of Bassompierre to La Rochelle—He joins the King at Bordeaux—Arrest and execution of d’Arsilemont—The Parlement of Pau declines to register the Royal edict, and Louis XIII determines to march into Béarn—Bassompierre charged with the transport of the army across the Garonne, which is accomplished in twenty-four hours—Béarn and Lower Navarre are united to the Crown of France—Coldness of the King towards Bassompierre—Bassompierre learns that this is due to the ill offices of Luynes, who regards him as a rival in the royal favour—He is informed that Luynes is “unable to suffer him to remain at Court”—Bassompierre decides to come to terms with the favourite, and it is arranged that he shall quit the Court so soon as some honourable office can be found for him—The Valtellina question—Bassompierre appointed Ambassador Extraordinary to the Court of Spain—Birth of a son to Luynes pp. 255-270 CHAPTER XXII An alliance with Luynes’s niece, Mlle. de Combalet, proposed to Bassompierre—His journey to Spain—His entry into Madrid—He is visited by the Princess of the Asturias, the grandees and other distinguished persons—His meeting with the Duke of Ossuña—His audience of Philip III postponed owing to the King’s illness—Commissioners are appointed to treat with Bassompierre over the Valtellina question—Death of Philip III—His funeral procession—An indiscreet observation of the Duke of Ossuña to one of Bassompierre’s suite is overheard and leads to the arrest of that nobleman pp. 271-285 CHAPTER XXIII Bassompierre’s audience of the new King, Philip IV—The Procession of the Crosses—An old flame—Good Friday at Madrid—Anxiety of the Queen’s ladies-in-waiting to see Bassompierre—His visit to them—He is commissioned by Louis XIII to present his condolences to Philip IV—He is informed that etiquette requires him to leave Madrid as though to return to France and then to make another formal entry— Revolution of the palace at Madrid: fall of the late King’s Ministers—The Count of Saldagna ordered by Philip IV to marry Doña Mariana de Cordoba on pain of his severe displeasure—Bassompierre offers to facilitate the escape of Saldagna to France, but the latter’s courage fails him at the last moment—Negotiations over the Valtellina—Treaty of Madrid—Bassompierre’s pretended departure for France—He visits the Escurial, returns to Madrid and makes a second ceremonious entry—The audience of condolence—State entry of Philip IV into Madrid— Termination of Bassompierre’s embassy—He returns to France pp. 286-298 CHAPTER XXIV A new War of Religion breaks out in France—Luynes created Constable—Louis XIII and Duplessis-Mornay—Bassompierre joins the Royal army before Saint-Jean d’Angély—Capitulation of the town—Bassompierre returns with Créquy to Paris—He is “in great consideration” amongst the ladies—Apparent anxiety of Luynes for the marriage of his niece to Bassompierre—The King and the Constable resolve to lay siege to Montauban—Bassompierre decides to rejoin the army without waiting for orders from the latter—He arrives at the King’s quarters at the Château of Picqueos—Dispositions of the besieging army—Narrow escape of Bassompierre while reconnoitring the advanced-works of the town—A gallant Swiss—Death of the Comte de Fiesque—Heavy casualties amongst the besiegers—The Seigneur de Tréville— Bassompierre and the women of Montauban—Death of Mayenne—The Spanish monk—An amateur general—Disastrous results of carrying out his orders—Furious sortie of the garrison—Bassompierre is wounded in the face—An amusing incident—The Cévennes mountaineers endeavour to throw reinforcements into Montauban—A midnight mêlée pp. 299-319 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS VOL. I François, Seigneur de Bassompierre, Marquis D’Harouel, Maréchal de France Frontispiece From an engraving by Lasne. FACING PAGE Gabrielle D’Estrées, Duchesse de Beaufort 24 Henriette de Balsac D’Entragues, Marquise de Verneuil 78 From an engraving by Aubert. Charlotte Marguerite de Montmorency, Princesse de Condé 104 From an engraving by Barbant. Henri IV, King of France 136 Concino Concini, Maréchal D’Ancre 184 From an engraving by Aubert. Charles D’Albert, Duc de Luynes, Constable of France 238 From a contemporary print. {xiv} {xv} Philip IV, King of Spain 290 From the painting by Velasquez. A Gallant of Lorraine CHAPTER I Birth of François de Bassompierre—Origin of the Bassompierre family—A romantic legend—His grandfather—His father—His early years— He and his younger brother Jean are sent to the University of Pont-à-Mousson, and afterwards to that of Ingoldstadt—Their studies at Ingoldstadt—Death of their father, Christophe de Bassompierre—Journey of the two brothers through Italy—Their return to Lorraine. François de Bassompierre was born at the Château of Harouel, in Lorraine, on Palm Sunday, April 12, 1579, “at four o’clock in the morning.” His family, which was one of the most ancient and illustrious of Lorraine, appears to have owed its name to the village of Betstein, or Bassompierre,[1] near Sancy, which formed part of its possessions until 1793, when it was confiscated and sold by the Government of Revolutionary France, with the rest of the Bassompierre property. If we are to believe the very confusing documents which François de Bassompierre collected about his family, it descended from the German House of Ravensberg, but, according to the learned genealogist, Père Anselme, its origin can be traced to the latter part of the thirteenth century, to one Olry de Dompierre, who became possessed of the fief of Bassompierre by marriage, and whose son, Simon, adopted the name, which became that of his descendants. However that may be, it was undoubtedly a very old family indeed, as well as a distinguished one, and, like most old families, had its mysterious traditions; but, at any rate, the legend of the Bassompierres had nothing sinister about it. The story goes that during the transitory reign of that Adolph of Nassau who lost his Imperial crown and his life at the Battle of Spire, there lived a certain Comte d’Angerveiller, or d’Orgeveiller. This nobleman, as he was returning home one evening from hunting —it was a Monday—stopped to rest at a summer-house situated in a wood a little distance from his château. There, to his astonishment, he found a young and beautiful woman—a fairy, it is said—(She must surely have been the last of the race!)—apparently awaiting his arrival. And the pair were so well pleased with one another at this first interview, that for two whole years they failed not to meet every Monday at the same rendezvous, “the count pretending to his wife that he had gone to shoot in the wood.” However, as time went on, the countess began to conceive suspicions, “and one morning entered the summer-house, where she found her husband with a woman of perfect beauty, and both asleep. And being unwilling to awaken them, she merely spread over their feet a kerchief which she was wearing on her head, which, being perceived by the fairy, she uttered a piercing cry and began to lament, saying that she must see her lover no more, nor even be within a hundred leagues of him; and so left him, having first bestowed upon him these three gifts—a spoon, a goblet and a ring, for his three daughters, which, said she, they must carefully preserve, as, if they did this, they would bring good fortune to their families and descendants.” Well, a lord of Bassompierre, an ancestor of the marshal, married one of the three daughters of the Comte Orgeveiller, who brought him as her dowry, together with certain fat lands, the spoon; and, in memory of this tradition, the town of Épinal, of which he had been burgrave, was obliged to offer to him and his descendants, on a certain day each year, by way of quit-rent, a spoonful from every measure of corn sold within its walls. The ancestors of Bassompierre had served in turn the Emperors and great princes of Germany, the Dukes of Burgundy, the Kings of France and the Dukes of Lorraine, and had ended by occupying the highest offices at the Court of Nancy. To go no further back than two generations, we find the marshal’s grandfather, François de Bassompierre, high in the favour of the Emperor Charles V, to whom he was successively page of honour, gentleman of the Chamber, and Captain of the German Guard. In 1556 he accompanied his Imperial master to the gates of the Monastery of Yuste, where he witnessed Charles’s last adieu to the world, and received from his hand a valuable diamond ring, which was ever afterwards religiously preserved in the Bassompierre family. In 1552 Henri II, King of France, invaded Lorraine and established a protectorate over the duchy; and François de Bassompierre, who, some years before, had been sent by Charles V as Ambassador Extraordinary to Nancy to assist in the government of Lorraine, during the minority of its youthful sovereign, Charles III, was required to send his youngest son, Christophe, to the French Court, as a hostage for his good behaviour. The little boy—then about five years old—was brought up with the Duc d’Orléans, afterwards Charles IX, who “either on account of the conformity in their ages or some other reason, conceived a great affection for him,” and admitted him to the closest intimacy. In consequence, when the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis left Christophe at liberty to return to Lorraine, he preferred to remain in France, until, in 1564, when barely seventeen, he set off for Hungary to serve under one of his uncles, Colonel de Harouel, against the Turks. Here he made the acquaintance of Henri de Lorraine, Duc de Guise, who had also gone crusading on the Danube, and a warm friendship sprang up between the two lads, which lasted until Guise’s tragic death in 1589. “My father,” writes Bassompierre, “always preserved for him (Guise) his devotion and his service, and the said Sieur de Guise esteemed him above all his other servants and intimates, calling him ‘l’amy du cœur.’ ”[2] Returning to France, after two years’ service in Hungary, Christophe de Bassompierre was entrusted by Charles IX with the command of 1,500 reiters, at the head of whom he distinguished himself at the Battles of Jarnac and Montcontour, in both of which he was wounded. In 1568 he was sent by the King with a body of reiters to the Netherlands, to the assistance of Alva, and took part in the Battle of Gemmingen, in which Alva defeated the Duke of Nassau. On his return to the French Court after the Peace of Saint- Germain, Charles IX proposed to reward his military services by marrying him to one of the two daughters of the late Maréchal de Brissac. Christophe, however, who was poor and a cadet of his House, represented to his Majesty that these damsels, who had little money and great pretensions, were ill suited to him who had none, and who needed it; “but that if he would do him the favour of marrying him to the niece of the said marshal Louise le Picart de Radeval,[3] who was an heiress, and whose aunt, Madame de Moreuil, intended to give her 100,000 crowns, it would do him much more good and make his fortune. And this the King did, in spite {xvi} {1} {2} {3} {4} of her relations and in spite of the girl herself, who did not like him, because he was poor, a foreigner and a German.” Of this union, so inauspiciously begun, five children were born—three sons, of whom François was the eldest, and two daughters.[4] Almost immediately after his marriage, Christophe was obliged to leave his bride, to take part in the siege of La Rochelle, which was interrupted by the news that the Duc d’Anjou (afterwards Henri III), who commanded the Catholic army, had been elected to the throne of Poland. Christophe was one of those chosen to accompany the prince to his kingdom, and set out for Poland, “with a great and noble retinue”; but, on reaching Vienna, he received orders from Charles IX to raise a levy of reiters for service against the Huguenots and “Politiques” and return to France with all speed. He performed a like service for Henri III in 1575, at the time of the revolt of Alençon, but in 1585 resigned his pensions and offices and threw in his lot with the Duc de Guise and the League, to whom his skill in recruiting mercenaries from Germany and Switzerland proved of great assistance. After the King’s surrender to the demands of the League, at the Peace of Nemours, in July of that year, Christophe’s pensions and offices were restored to him, and in 1587, when the great army of reiters under Dohna and Bouillon invaded France, we find him commissioned by Henri III to raise a new levy of 1,500 horse. These troops were stationed with the main army, commanded by Henri III in person on the Loire, but Christophe himself preferred to serve under Guise on the Lorraine frontier. Here he was seized with a serious illness, which necessitated his return home and prevented him taking part in Guise’s victories at Vimory and Auneau. Christophe was at Blois at the time of the assassination of Guise in December, 1588, but, warned in time, he succeeded in effecting his escape from the town before the principal adherents of the duke were arrested, and, exasperated by the fate of his friend and patron, raised large levies in Germany for the service of the Leaguer princes. He fought under Mayenne against Henri IV at Arques and Ivry, in which latter engagement he was twice wounded and obliged to return to Lorraine. He returned to France in 1593, to assist, as representative of Duke Charles III, at the Estates of the League, where he offered very effective opposition to the proposal of the ultra-Catholic party to confer the crown of France on the Infanta Clara Eugenia. The conversion of Henri IV having caused him to abandon any projects which he might have had in France, he now devoted himself to re-establishing the affairs of the Duke of Lorraine, which were in sad disorder, and was appointed by that prince Grand Master of his Household and Superintendent of Finance. In July, 1534, he signed, on behalf of the duke, in Henri IV’s camp before Laon, a treaty by which Charles III undertook to observe complete neutrality between France and Spain. This gallant old warrior was an excellent father and spared no expense to give his sons the most thorough education which it was possible for them to obtain. François de Bassompierre’s early years were passed at the Château of Harouel. “I was brought up in this house,” he writes, “until October, 1584, when I first remember seeing Henri, Duc de Guise, who was concealed at Harouel, for the purpose of treating with several colonels of landsknechts and reiters for the levies of the League. At this time I began to learn to read and write, and afterwards the rudiments. My tutor was a Norman priest, named Nicolas Ciret.” In the autumn of 1587, on the approach of the invading army of Dohna and Bouillon, Madame de Bassompierre and her children had to leave Harouel and take refuge at Nancy. The invaders burned the town of Harouel, but appear to have left the château untouched. On the return of the family to Harouel, François and his younger brother Jean, who now shared his studies, were given another tutor, named Gravet, “and two young men, called Clinchamp and La Motte, the one to teach us to write, the other to dance, play the lute and music.” They passed the next four years partly at Harouel and partly at Nancy, where, in the autumn of 1591, François saw for the first time Charles de Lorraine, Duc de Guise, who had recently effected his romantic escape from the Château of Blois,[5] and with whom he was to be on such intimate terms in later years. In October, 1591, the two boys went, accompanied by their masters, to study at Freiburg, but only remained there five months, “because Gravet, our tutor, killed La Motte, who taught us to dance.” In consequence of this unfortunate affair, they returned to Harouel, but towards the end of 1592 were sent to continue their studies at the University of Pont-à-Mousson, founded by Duke Charles III and his uncle the Cardinal de Lorraine, and early in the following year reached the first class. They passed the Carnival of 1593 at Nancy, where they took part in a tournament, “dressed à la Suisse.” At its conclusion they returned to Pont-à-Mousson, where, shortly afterwards, their father brought them a German tutor, George von Springesfeld, in place of the homicidal Gravet. At the Carnival of 1594 they again went to Nancy, to assist at the marriage of William II, Duke of Bavaria, and Marie Élisabeth, younger daughter of the Duke of Lorraine, when it was decided that they should accompany the bridal pair back to Bavaria, and keep their terms at the University of Ingoldstadt. They travelled in the duke’s suite by way of Heidelberg, Spire, Neustadt, Donauworth and Landshut, the party being splendidly entertained by the various nobles at whose houses they stopped; but the journey did not end without a tragic incident, in which François de Bassompierre had a narrow escape of his life. At Donauworth, where they were delayed for two or three days by the swollen condition of the Danube, he went out in a boat with the duke and some of his attendants, to reconnoitre the passage of the river. As they were nearing the castle in which the duchess was lodged, William II ordered one of his pages to load and fire a pistol, in order to announce their approach to his consort. The pistol missed fire, and, while the page was examining the priming, it suddenly went off and killed an old nobleman of the prince’s suite, who was sitting close to Bassompierre. At Ingoldstadt the two brothers, and the elder in particular, would certainly not appear to have wasted much time:— “We went on with rhetoric for a little while, and then proceeded to logic, which we studied in an abridged form, and in three months passed on to physics and occasionally studied the sphere. In the month of August we went to Munich, whither the duke had invited us to spend the stag-hunting season, which they call Hirschfeiste, with him. At the end of the hunting-season, which lasted a month, we returned to Ingoldstadt, and continued our studies until October, when we quitted physics, having got to the books De Animâ. And, as we had still seven months to remain, I set myself to study the institutes of law, in which I employed an hour; another hour I spent in cases of conscience; an hour in the aphorisms of Hippocrates; and an hour in the ethics and politics of Aristotle, upon {5} {6} {7} {8} which studies I was so intent that my tutor was obliged, from time to time, to draw me away from them, in order to divert my mind. I continued my studies during the rest of that year and the early part of 1596.” But what contributed a good deal more than this bizarre erudition to give to the future marshal that perfect aplomb, those graceful accomplishments and charming manners to which he owed his fortune, was the journey through Italy which he and his brother undertook after they had completed their course at Ingoldstadt and returned to Harouel, which was then a house of mourning, as their father, Christophe de Bassompierre, had died just before they left Bavaria. In the autumn of 1596 they set out for the South, accompanied by the Sieur de Malleville, an old gentleman, who acted as their gouverneur, Springesfeld, their German tutor, and one of their late father’s gentlemen, and travelled by way of Strasbourg, Ulm, Augsburg, Munich, Innsbrück and Trent to Verona, where they were the guests of the Counts Ciro and Alberto Canossa, the latter of whom had once been page to William II of Bavaria. From Verona they proceeded to Mantua and Bologna, and then, crossing the Apennines, arrived at Florence. Here they received a gracious message from Ferdinand I, Grand Duke of Tuscany, who had married Christine of Lorraine, daughter of Charles III, inviting them to visit him at his country-seat at Lambrogiano, to which one of the prince’s carriages would be sent to convey them. On the day following their arrival at Lambrogiano, the Grand Duchess invited the elder brother to walk with her in the gardens, where they met her niece Marie de’ Medici, to whom she presented him. Bassompierre little imagined as he made his reverence that the young princess whom he was saluting was the future Queen of France. In the evening they left Lambrogiano and returned to Florence, where they remained for a few days and then set out for Rome, by way of Sienna and Viterbo. At Rome they stayed a week, in order to perform the various devotions customary for good Catholics who visited the Eternal City, and waited upon several of the cardinals to whom they had letters of introduction, and also upon the Spanish Ambassador, the Duke of Sessa, who had been a friend of their father, and whose acquaintance they had made some years before when he passed through Lorraine on his way to France. The Ambassador provided them with passports and with letters of recommendation to the Viceroy of Naples, and they set out for that city, stopping on the road at Gaëta, Capua, and Aversa. On their arrival at Naples, they lost no time in presenting the letters which the Duke of Sessa had given them to the Viceroy, Don Henriques de Guzman, Count of Olivares, “who, on opening them, inquired if we were the sons of that M. de Bassompierre, colonel of reiters, who had come to the succour of the Duke of Alva in Flanders, by orders of the late King Charles. And when we told him that we were, he embraced us most affectionately, assuring us that he had loved our father as his own brother, and that he was the most noble and generous cavalier whom he had ever known; adding that he would treat us, not only as persons of quality, but as his own children, which, indeed, he did, giving us all the proofs of affection and good-will possible to imagine.” At Naples, the brothers passed a considerable part of their time in practising equitation, under the guidance of two celebrated Italian riding-masters; but at the beginning of 1597 their course of instruction was interrupted by an attack of small-pox. On their recovery, they returned to Rome, where they remained until after Easter, the only incident of importance which marked their second visit to the Papal city being their rescue of a French gentleman named Saint-Offange, who had killed another in a duel, from the pursuit of the law. From Rome they went to Florence, where they resumed the riding-lessons which the small-pox had interrupted at Naples. “As for our other exercises,” writes Bassompierre, “we had Messire Agostino for dancing, Messire Marquino for fencing, Guilio Parigi for fortification, in which Bernardo della Girandolla also sometimes assisted. We continued these lessons all the summer, and also witnessed the festivities of Florence, such as the calcio and the palio, the plays and some marriages within and without the palace.” While at Florence, they paid short visits to Pisa, Lucca, and Leghorn, and early in November left the Tuscan city and took the road to Bologna, whence they travelled by way of Faenza, Forli, and Ancona to Loretto. At Loretto, where they arrived on Christmas Eve, they were invited by Cardinal Gallio to stay at the Palazzo Santa-Casa. They spent the night in devotions in the chapel, and on Christmas Day the cardinal appointed the elder Bassompierre one of the witnesses to the opening of the alms-boxes, “which amounted to six thousand crowns for the last quarter of the year.” At Loretto our young travellers, inspired doubtless by their visit to that famous shrine with the desire to do and dare something for the sake of Holy Church, embarked in a strange adventure:— “There were a great many other French gentlemen at Loretto, besides ourselves, and we all took the resolution to go together into Hungary to the wars before we returned home. Having mutually promised this, on the day after Christmas we all set out in a body, to wit: MM. de Bourlemont and d’Amolis, brothers; MM. de Foncaude and de Chasneuil, brothers; the Baron de Crapados and my brother and I. But, since the nature of Frenchmen is fickle, at the end of three days’ journey some of us, who had not our purses sufficiently well-lined for a long journey or who had a stronger desire to return to our homes than the rest, began to say that it was useless to go so far in search of fighting when we had it near at hand; that we were in the midst of the Papal army, marching to the conquest of Ferrara, which had devolved on the Pope by the death of Duke Alphonso; that Don Cesare d’Este retained possession of it, contrary to all right;[6] that this was not less just and holy a war than that of Hungary, and that in a week we should be face to face with the enemy; whereas, if we went to Hungary, the armies would not take the field for four months. “These persuasions prevailed on our minds, and we resolved that we would all go next day to Forli, to offer our services to Cardinal Aldobrandini,[7] legate of the army, and that I should speak in the name of us all, which I did, to the best of my ability. But the legate received us so coolly, and gave us so poor a welcome, that in the evening, at our lodging, we did not know how sufficiently to express the resentment and anger with which his indifference had inspired us. “Then my brother began to say that in truth we had only got what we deserved; that, not being subjects of the Pope, nor in any {9} {10} {11} {12} way concerned in this war, we had gone inconsiderately to attack a prince of the House of Este, to which France had so many obligations, which had ever been so courteous to foreigners and particularly to Frenchmen, and which was so nearly allied, not only to the Kings of France, from whom that family was descended in the female line, but also to the families of Nemours and Guise; and that, if we were good for anything, we should go and offer our services to this poor prince whom the Pope wanted unjustly to despoil of a State possessed by so long a line of his ancestors. “So soon as he had said these words, all the company expressed, not only their appreciation, but also their firm resolve to proceed on the morrow straight to Ferrara, to throw themselves into the town. I have related all this, first, to make known the volatile and inconstant character of Frenchmen, and, secondly, to show that Fortune is generally mistress and director of our actions, since we, who had intended to bear arms against the Turks, did, in point of fact, take them up against the Pope.” Travelling by way of Bologna, where their company was reinforced by the Comte de Sommerive, younger son of the famous Duc de Mayenne, of the League, the Chevalier de Verdelli, a friend of the Bassompierres, and several other adventurous young gentlemen, they arrived on January 3 at Ferrara. The duke received them with great honours and cordiality, but he was very irresolute on the question of the war, alleging that his coffers were well-nigh empty; that the King of Spain had declared for the Pope, and that the Venetians, who had encouraged him to resist the Pontiff, refused to assist him openly, and that the support that they were prepared to give him secretly was of very little account. In this state of mind he went, on the Feast of Kings, to hear Mass at a church near the palace, accompanied by a great retinue of lords and gentlemen, when the priests immediately quitted the altars, without finishing the masses they had begun, and retreated from them as excommunicated persons. This incident decided Don Cesare to send the Duchess of Urbino, sister of the late Duke Alphonso, to treat with the Legate;[8] and, accordingly, next day the band of young Frenchmen who had come to offer him their services took leave of him and went their several ways. The Bassompierres went to Rovigo and thence to Padua, when Johann Tserclas, Count von Tilly, elder brother of the famous captain of the Thirty Years’ War, who was then studying at the University of Padua, invited them to dinner, and the following day accompanied them on a visit to Venice, where they remained a week. On leaving Venice, they returned to Padua, and, after a short stay there, set out for Genoa, stopping on the way at Mantua. At Genoa they lodged at the house of the German consul, and “my brother and I both fell in love with the consul’s daughter, whose name was Philippina, to such a degree that for some days we did not speak to one another.” Which of the two brothers Philippina preferred, Bassompierre does not tell us. Among the distinguished persons whose acquaintance they made at Genoa were the two brothers Ambrosio and Frederico Spinola, the former of whom, afterwards Duke of San Severino and Marquis of los Balbazes, was to earn such renown as a general in the service of Spain. Frederico, who also entered the Spanish servi...