Henri II.'s four sons nullified every pretension of the Bourbons, who were all miserably poor, and crushed under the scorn brought upon them by the Connétable de Montmorency's treason, in spite of the reasons which had led him to quit the country. The Vidame de Chartres, who was to the first Prince de Condé what Richelieu was to Mazarin, a father in politics, a model, and yet more a master in gallantry, hid the vast ambition of his family under a semblance of levity. Being unable to contend with the Guises, the Montmorencys, the Princes of Scotland, the Cardinals, and the Bouillons, he aimed at distinction by his gracious manners, his elegance, and his wit, which won him the favors of the most charming women, and the heart of many he never thought about. He was a man privileged by nature, whose fascinations were irresistible, and who owed to his love affairs the means of keeping up his rank. The Bourbons would not have taken offence, like Jarnac, at la Châtaignerie's scandal; they were very ready to accept lands and houses from their mistresses--witness the Prince de Condé, who had the estate of Saint-Valery from Madame la Maréchale de Saint-André. During the first twenty days of mourning for Henri II., a sudden change came over the Vidame's prospects. Courted by the Queen-mother, and courting her as a man may court a queen, in the utmost secrecy, he seemed fated to play an important part; and Catherine, in fact, resolved to make him useful. The Prince received letters from her to the Prince de Condé, in which she pointed out the necessity for a coalition against the Guises. The Guises, informed of this intrigue, made their way into the Queen's chamber to compel her to sign an order consigning the Vidame to the Bastille, and Catherine found herself under the cruel necessity of submitting. The Vidame died after a few months' captivity, on the day when he came out of prison, a short time before the Amboise conspiracy. This was the end of Catherine de' Medici's first and only love affair. Protestant writers declared that the Queen had him poisoned to bury the secret of her gallantries in the tomb. Such was this woman's apprenticeship to the exercise of royal power. FOOTNOTES: [B] See _Bayle_. Art. _Fernel_. [C] At that time in French, as in Italian, the words _marry_ and _espouse_ were used in a contrary sense to their present meaning. _Marier_ was the fact of being married, _épouser_ was the priestly function. [D] The old French word _cramoisi_ did not mean merely a crimson red, but denoted a special excellence of the dye. (See Rabelais.) [E] Some satirist of the time has left the following lines on Henri II. [in which the pun on the words Sire and Cire (wax) would be lost in translation]:-- "Sire, si vous laissez, comme Charles désire, Comme Diane veut, par trop vous gouverner, Fondre, pétrir, mollir, refondre, retourner, Sire, vous n'êtes plus, vous n'êtes plus que cire." Charles was the Cardinal de Lorraine.