The Constable did not expect to find the same disinclination to
marriage in his second son which he had found in his eldest, but he
proved mistaken. The Duke d'Anville was desperately in love with the
Dauphin-Queen, and how little hope soever he might have of succeeding
in his passion, he could not prevail with himself to enter into an
engagement that would divide his cares. The Mareschal de St. Andre was
the only person in the Court that had not listed in either party: he
was a particular favourite, and the King had a personal affection for
him; he had taken a liking to him ever since he was Dauphin, and
created him a Mareschal of France at an age in which others rarely
obtain the least dignities.
His favour with the King gave him a lustre
which he supported by his merit and the agreeableness of his person, by
a splendour in his table and furniture, and by the most profuse
magnificence that ever was known in a private person, the King's
liberality enabling him to bear such an expense. This Prince was
bounteous even to prodigality to those he favoured, and though he had
not all the great qualities, he had very many; particularly he took
delight and had great skill in military affairs; he was also
successful, and excepting the Battle of St. Quintin, his reign had been
a continued series of victory; he won in person the Battle of Renti,
Piemont was conquered, the English were driven out of France, and the
Emperor Charles V found his good fortune decline before the walls of
Mets, which he besieged in vain with all the forces of the Empire, and
of Spain: but the disgrace received at St. Quintin lessened the hopes
we had of extending our conquests, and as fortune seemed to divide
herself between two Kings, they both found themselves insensibly
disposed to peace.
The Duchess Dowager of Loraine had made some overtures about the time
of the Dauphin's marriage, since which a secret negotiation had been
constantly carried on; in fine, Coran in Artois was the place appointed
for the treaty; the Cardinal of Loraine, the Constable Montmorency, and
the Mareschal de St. Andre were plenipotentaries for the King; the Duke
of Alva, and the Prince of Orange for Philip the II, and the Duke and
Duchess of Loraine were mediators. The principal articles were the
marriage of the Princess Elizabeth of France with Don Carlos the
Infanta of Spain, and that of his majesty's sister with the Duke of
Savoy.
The King, during the Treaty, continued on the frontiers, where he
received the news of the death of Queen Mary of England; his Majesty
dispatched forthwith the Count de Randan to Queen Elizabeth, to
congratulate her on her accession to the Crown, and they received him
with great distinction; for her affairs were so precarious at that
time, that nothing could be more advantageous to her, than to see her
title acknowledged by the King. The Count found she had a thorough
knowledge of the interests of the French Court, and of the characters
of those who composed it; but in particular, she had a great idea of
the Duke of Nemours: she spoke to him so often, and with so much
ernestness concerning him, that the Ambassador upon his return declared
to the King, that there was nothing which the Duke of Nemours might not
expect from that Princess, and that he made no question she might even
be brought to marry him. The King communicated it to the Duke the same
evening, and caused the Count de Randan to relate to him all the
conversations he had had with Queen Elizabeth, and in conclusion
advised him to push his fortune: the Duke of Nemours imagined at first
that the King was not in earnest, but when he found to the contrary,