He then began to pass in review all the marriageable princesses who were eligible to share his throne, but to each in succession he attached some objection which tended to weaken her claim.  After what he had already undergone, as he declared, there were few women, and still fewer women of royal blood, to whom he would willingly a second time confide his chance of happiness.  “In order not to encounter once more the same disappointment and displeasure,” he said at length, “I must find in the next woman whom I may marry seven qualities with which I cannot dispense.  She must be handsome, prudent, gentle, intellectual, fruitful, wealthy, and of high extraction; and thus I do not know a single princess in Europe calculated to satisfy my idea of feminine perfection.”

Then, after a pause during which the minister remained silent, he added, with some inconsistency:  “I would readily put up with the Spanish Infanta,[32] despite both her age and her ugliness, did I espouse the Low Countries in her person; neither would I refuse the Princess Arabella of England,[33] if, as it is alleged, the crown of that country really belonged to her, or even had she been declared heiress presumptive; but we cannot reasonably anticipate either contingency.  I have heard also of several German princesses whose names I have forgotten, but I have no taste for the women of that country; besides which, it is on record that a German Queen[34] nearly proved the ruin of the French nation; and thus they inspire me only with disgust.”

Still Sully listened without reply, the King having commenced his confidence by assuming a position which rendered all argument worse than idle.

“They have talked to me likewise,” resumed Henry more hurriedly, as disconcerted and annoyed by the expressive silence of his companion he began to walk more rapidly along the shaded path in which this conference took place; “they have talked to me of the sisters of Prince Maurice;[35] but not only are they Huguenots, a fact which could not fail to give umbrage at the Court of Rome, but I have also heard reports that would render me averse to their alliance.  Then the Duke of Florence has a niece,[36] who is stated to be tolerably handsome, but she comes of one of the pettiest principalities of Christendom; and not more than sixty or eighty years ago her ancestors were merely the chief citizens of the town of which their successors are now the sovereigns; and, moreover, she is a daughter of the same race as Catherine de Medicis, who has been alike my own enemy and that of France.”

Once more the King paused for breath, and glanced anxiously towards his minister, but Sully was inexorable, and continued to listen respectfully and attentively without uttering a syllable.

“So much for the foreign princesses,” continued Henry with some irritation, when he found that his listener had resolved not to assist him either by word or gesture; “at least, I know of no others.  And now for our own.  There is my niece, Mademoiselle de Guise;[37] and she is one of those whom I should prefer, despite the naughty tales that are told of her, for I place no faith in them; but she is too much devoted to the interests of her house, and I have reason to dread the restless ambition of her brothers.”