The Works of Honoré de Balzac: About Catherine de' Medici, Seraphita, and Other StoriesBalzac, Honoré de
General
The Works of Honoré de Balzac: About Catherine de' Medici, Seraphita, and Other Stories
Balzac, Honoré de
French fiction -- Translations into English
On the following day the Queen-mother was the first to appear. She found no
one in her son's room but Mary Stuart, pale and fatigued from having passed
the night in prayer by the bedside. The Duchesse de Guise had kept the
Queen company, and the maids of honor had relieved each other. The young
King was asleep.
Neither the Duke nor the Cardinal had yet appeared. The prelate, more
daring than the soldier, had spent this last night, it is said, in vehement
argument, without being able to induce the Duke to proclaim himself King.
With the States-General sitting in the town, and the prospect of a battle
to be fought with the Constable, the "Balafré" did not think the
opportunity favorable; he refused to arrest the Queen-mother, the
Chancellor, Cardinal de Tournon, the Gondis, Ruggieri, and Birague, in face
of the revolt that would inevitably result from such violent measures. He
made his brother's schemes dependent on the life of Francis II.
Perfect silence reigned in the King's bedchamber. Catherine, attended by
Madame de Fieschi, came to the bedside and gazed at her son with an
admirable assumption of grief. She held her handkerchief to her eyes, and
retreated to the window, where Madame de Fieschi brought her a chair. From
thence she could look down into the courtyard.
It had been agreed between Catherine and Cardinal de Tournon that if
Montmorency got safely into the town, he, the Cardinal, would come to her,
accompanied by the two Gondis; in case of disaster, he was to come alone.
At nine in the morning the two Princes of Lorraine, accompanied by their
suite, who remained in the hall, came to the King's room. The captain on
duty had informed them that Ambroise Paré had but just arrived with
Chapelain and three other physicians, prompted by Catherine, and all hating
Ambroise.
In a few minutes the great hall of the Bailliage presented precisely the
same appearance as the guardroom at Blois on the day when the Duc de Guise
was appointed Lieutenant-General of the kingdom, and when Christophe was
tortured; with only this difference, that then love and glee reigned in the
royal rooms, and that the Guises were triumphant; whereas now death and
grief prevailed, and the Princes of Lorraine felt the power slipping from
their grasp.
The maids of honor of the two Queens were grouped on opposite sides of the
great fireplace, where an immense fire was blazing. The room was full of
courtiers.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account