I had an audience of the King on the 19th of the same month, and was received most kindly. On my delivering your Majesty’s message and letter, together with that of the Empress, he answered in very handsome terms, that for your Majesty’s sake he would do all that lay in his power for the Queen, and spoke at great length of the attentions and kind services he had received at your hands. The Queen Mother (Catherine de Medici), to whose presence I was admitted a few days later, held similar language; she had been suffering from constant sickness, which prevented her giving me an earlier interview. I ascertained later that the King had sent letters to the Queen at Paris touching the dower, and that, contrary to the usual custom, they had been registered by the Parliament of Paris before being presented to the Queen. I called on his Majesty and made some objections to his proposal. The King said he must refer the matter to his council, and also wait for an answer from the Queen’s advisers. He spoke of your Majesty’s kindness at great length, and specially of the assurances he had lately received, through Vulcob,[37] that he would have your Majesty’s support if he cared to keep his kingdom of Poland. In the course of our conversation I discovered that the King would do whatever the Queen Mother wished, so I determined to approach her again and ask for her services on behalf of the Queen. She professed the utmost willingness and said, she would do her best for the Queen, who had been an excellent daughter to her. A few days later, de Morvilliers,[38] the Bishop of Orleans, and the Bishop of Limoges called on me and we had a long discussion with regard to the dower. I must not forget to mention that, when the King told me that your Majesty had offered to assist him in keeping his kingdom of Poland, I was much surprised, but made no reply, as I thought it might possibly be a trap. I wonder also that nothing has been said as to the non-payment of the marriage portion[39]; I am afraid they are keeping this argument in reserve. I must not forget to inform your Majesty that, in the course of my interview with the Queen Mother, she told me she felt assured of the kindly feeling which your Majesty entertained for her, because your Majesty had continually advised her against war, whereas those who wished her ill had given the opposite counsel. She had followed your Majesty’s advice, she said, for a long time, and thereby exposed herself to severe criticism from not a few. Lyons, January 24, 1575. LETTER XII. To-day the King set out from Lyons on his way to Rheims, where he is to be crowned—as he told me himself—on the 13th. I will not weary your Majesty with a full description of the state of France, but content myself with a sketch.