“There were tears of joy in his eyes when he finished speaking,” writes Bassompierre, “and, as for me, I was so overcome by an honour as unhoped for as it was dear to me, that words failed me to express what I felt. At length, I told him that this honour so great and so unexpected which he, in his generosity, designed for me deprived me of the power of speech; that I could only marvel at my good fortune; that it was above all my expectations, as it was above my deserts; that it could only be repaid by very humble service and infinite submission; that my life would be too short to requite it, and that I could only offer him entire devotion to his will; that it was not a husband whom he would give his daughter, but a being by whom she would be incessantly adored like a goddess and respected like a queen, and that he had not chosen a son-in-law so much as a domestic servant of his House, whose every action would be guided by his intentions and wishes alone; and that if anything abated the excess of my joy, it was the apprehension that Mlle. de Montmorency, who could choose from all the marriageable princes in France, might regret renouncing the quality of princess, of which she ought with reason to be assured, to occupy that of a simple lady; and that I would prefer to die and lose the honour which Monsieur le Connétable designed for me than occasion her the least regret or discontent. And upon that, as I occupied a rather low seat close to his own, I placed a knee to the ground, and, taking his hand, kissed it, while he held me in a long embrace. After which, he told me not to entertain any fear of that, as, before speaking to me, he had consulted his daughter, and found her perfectly disposed to fulfil all the wishes of her father, and particularly in that which was not disagreeable to her. “MM. d’Épernon and de Roquelaure approved the choice which the Constable had made of my person, and said more kind things concerning me than I merited; as did also Zamet, La Cave, and Du Tillet-Girard; and they then all embraced me, praising the Constable’s choice and felicitating me on my good fortune. After this, the Constable told them that it was not opportune to reveal this affair, and that he entrusted it to their discretion until the time came to divulge it; because he was not just then in the good graces of the King, since he had refused his consent to the marriage which the King had desired to bring about between M. de Montmorency[60] and Mlle. de Verneuil,[61] his daughter. This they promised him, and I likewise. “The Constable requested me to come to him again in the evening, when Madame d’Angoulême, his sister-in-law[62] would be there, saying that he intended to speak before her