[126] Jerome (or Albert) de Gondy, peer of France, knight of the King's Orders, and first gentleman of the bedchamber, occupied the mansion which was subsequently known as the Hôtel de Condé. He enjoyed the confidence of Catherine de Medicis and Charles IX so fully, that he had the honour of espousing, in the name of that monarch, the Princess Elizabeth of Austria, daughter of the Emperor Maximilian II. At the coronation of Henri III he represented the person of the Constable; and at that of Henri IV, he was proxy for the Comte de Toulouse. [127] Anne d'Este, Duchesse de Nemours, was the mother of the Duc de Mayenne, and grandmother of the young Duc de Guise who aspired to the throne. She was first married to François de Lorraine, Duc de Guise, and subsequently to Jacques de Savoie, Duc de Nemours, whose son, after his decease, also pretended to the crown. [128] One historian (Sauval., _Gallerie des Rois de France_, vol. i.) asserts that the King himself presented his mistress to his wife; but he is unsupported in this statement save by Bassompierre, who also says: "The King presented Madame de Verneuil to her, who was graciously received" _(Mémoires,_ p. 25). Every other authority, however, contradicts this assertion, which is indeed too monstrous to be credible. [129] L'Etoile, vol. i. p. 550. [130] This residence, which was situated near the Bastille, and subsequently known as the Hôtel de Lesdiguières, was the same in which _la belle Gabrielle_ had breathed her last. [131] Bassompierre, _Mém_. p. 25. [132] Wraxall, _History of France_, vol. vi. p. 187. [133] L'Etoile, vol. ii. pp. 550, 551. [134] Bassompierre, _Mém_. p. 25. [135] Bassompierre, _Mém_. p. 50. [136] L'Etoile, vol. iii. pp. 505, 506. [137] Sully, _Mém_. vol. vii. pp. 180, 181. [138] Leonora Dori, otherwise Galigaï, was the daughter of the nurse of Marie de Medicis (who was the wife of a carpenter), and she was consequently the architect of her own fortunes. By her great talent and insinuating manners, she had, however, succeeded not only in securing the affection of her royal patroness, but also in exerting an influence over her actions never attained by any other individual, despite unceasing attempts to oust her. [139] Suzanne de la Porte, wife of François du Plessis, Seigneur de Richelieu, Knight of the Royal Orders, and Grand Provost of France. [140] Concino Concini was the son of a notary, who, by his talent, had risen to be secretary of state at Florence. [141] Dreux du Radier, _Mémoires des Reines et Régentes de France_, vol. vi. p. 81. Conti, _Amours du Grand Alcandre_, Cologne edition, 1652, p. 41. [142] Péréfixe, vol. ii. p. 346. L'Etoile, vol. ii. pp. 573, 574. [143] Matthieu, vol. ii. p. 441. [144] Mézeray, vol. x. p. 178. [145] Daniel, vol. vii. p. 407. [146] Matthieu, _Hist. de Henri IV_, vol. i. p. 307.