Brantome describes her as “a good Catholic and very devout;” but the abbe’s standard is not a high one. He adds that “she hated those of the religion.”[38] This we can believe, but her dislike did not extend to their possessions, by which she grew enormously rich. The historian Matthieu records that the people said of her: “For twelve years an old woman kept heaven so close, that not a drop of justice fell on France, except by stealth.” She was very extravagant in her tastes, to meet which added much to an already oppressive taxation. The ruins of her little palace of Anet, on the Eure, near Dreux, still exhibit some faint traces of the splendor and elegance of its first occupant, and of its architect Philibert de l’Orme. In 1547, Henry II. made her a present of the castle of Chenonceau, a marvel of the Renaissance, built by that unfortunate superintendent of finance, Jacques de Beaune-Semblançay. In the letters patent conveying this magnificent present to his favorite, the king declared it was “in consideration of the great and most commendable services rendered to the crown by her late husband, Louis de Brézé.” But when Henry died, Catherine forced her to give up the château, and retained it for herself. To decorate this building and add to its pleasure grounds, Henry imposed a tax upon bells--twenty livres each. The people murmured loudly at this, and Rabelais, echoing the popular complaints, pretended that “the king had hung all the bells of the kingdom round the neck of his mare.”[39]