The Spaniards attached great importance to the possession of Condé’s person, for, as first Prince of the Blood and next in succession to the King’s children, he might prove of the highest value to them in exciting troubles in France, should Henri IV. persist in his hostile projects against Spain, while, in the event of negotiations, his extradition might be dearly sold. In accordance with instructions from Madrid, the prince was received by the Spanish governor, Fuentes, with every possible honour, lodged in the ducal palace, and a numerous household appointed to wait upon him. Henri IV. and his Ministers, finding persuasion of no avail with the Archdukes, had recourse to threats, and represented to them that, unless the fair Charlotte were surrendered, war would follow. “The repose of Europe rests in your master’s hands,” said the Président Jeannin to Pecquius, the Ambassador of the Archdukes in Paris; “peace and war depend on whether the princess is or is not given up.” And the King himself reminded the Ambassador that Troy fell because Priam would not surrender Helen. The gravity of these speeches was enhanced by the warlike preparations which were in progress all over France for the execution of the “Great Enterprise”: the scheme of liberating Europe from the domination of the House of Austria and giving France her rightful place in the world, which Henri IV. had cherished ever since his accession to the throne. It was, however, believed by many that these formidable preparations had no other object than the forcible recovery of the Princesse de Condé, and Malherbe wrote-- “Deux beaux yeux sont l’empire Pour qui je soupire.” Such, undoubtedly, was the opinion of the Spanish Ambassador. “The King is so blinded and infatuated by his passion,” he writes to Philip III., “that I know not what to say to your Majesty concerning it, and, if I find many reasons for holding peace to be secure, in regarding affairs from a political standpoint, I find many more for holding war to be certain on the ground of love.” He goes on to say that he is informed that the King’s infatuation has reached such a point that he is ready to sacrifice everything to it. His health is much affected by it; he has lost his sleep, and some persons believe that he is losing his reason. And he adds that he is in daily expectation of seeing Henri IV. marching on Brussels at the head of a large force of cavalry. A fortnight later, the Ambassador writes again--