“Bassompierre,” said Henry with an emotion which he was unable to conceal, “I have become passionately attached to Mademoiselle de Montmorency.  If you marry her and she loves you, you will be the object of my hatred; while should I, under such circumstances, induce her to love me, you would hate me in your turn.  You are aware of my attachment towards yourself, and it will be far better to avoid this risk by not placing either party in so trying a position.  As regards the lady, I have resolved upon uniting her to my nephew the Prince de Conde, and keeping her at Court.  Her presence and intercourse will be the charm and amusement of the old age which is fast creeping upon me.  I shall give to my nephew, who is young and who prefers a thousand times a hunt to a lady’s love, a hundred thousand francs a year with which to amuse himself, and all that I shall ask of his wife in return will be the affection of a child.”

The habits and manners of the Court at that age admitted but of one reply to this cold and selfish declaration.  Bassompierre pressed his lips upon the hand which lay upon the velvet coverlet, and assured the King that it had ever been the desire of his life to find an opportunity of sacrificing his own happiness to that of his Majesty; that he did not seek to deny the extent of his disappointment; but that he nevertheless voluntarily pledged himself never again to renew a suit which counteracted the views and wishes of his sovereign, and trusted that this new passion might be productive of as much delight to his Majesty as the loss of such a bride must have grieved himself, had he not been amply consoled by the consciousness of having merited the confidence of his King.

“Then,” he says, with a naivete at which it is impossible to suppress a smile, “the King embraced me, and wept, assuring me that he would further my fortunes as though I were one of his natural children, that he loved me dearly, as I must be well assured, and that he would reward my frankness and friendship.” [398]

On quitting the royal presence, the discomfited courtier hastened to confide his sorrows to M. d’Epernon, who endeavoured to console him with the assurance that the King’s passion for Mademoiselle de Montmorency was a mere passing caprice, as well as his declared intention of marrying her to the Prince de Conde; reminding him, moreover, that as the admiration of the monarch for the young lady had already become matter of notoriety, it was highly improbable that M. de Conde would, under the circumstances, accept her as a wife.  The worthy minister had, however, forgotten that the Prince was entirely dependent upon his royal relative; that he had not yet been invested with any government or official post; and that he was young, ambitious, and high-spirited.  Bassompierre bears testimony to his possession of the latter quality by his assurance that, important as the favour of the monarch could not fail to be to the young Prince in his peculiar position, he did not finally give his personal consent to the alliance until he had obtained a solemn declaration from Henry of the perfect purity of his proffered bride.