After his incarceration in the gloomy prison in Spain where he was taken ill, Francis asked for the safe conduct of Marguerite; this was gladly granted.  Ignorant of her future duty in Spain, she wrote:  “Whatever it may be, even to the giving of my ashes to the winds to do you a service, nothing will seem strange, difficult or painful to me, but will be only consolation, repose, and honor.”  So impatient was she to arrive at her brother’s side that she could not travel fast enough.

Her presence only increased his fever and a serious crisis soon came on, the king remaining for some time “without hearing or seeing or speaking.”  Marguerite, in this critical time, implored the assistance of God.  She had an altar erected in her chamber, and all the French of the household, great lords and domestics alike, knelt beside the sick man’s sister and received the communion from the hands of the Archbishop of Embrun, who, drawing near the bed, entreated the king to turn his eyes to the holy sacrament.  Francis came out of his lethargy and asked to commune likewise, saying:  “It is my God who will heal my soul and body; I entreat you that I may receive him.”  Then, the Host having been divided in two, the king received one half with the greatest devotion, and his sister the other half.  The sick man felt himself sustained by a supernatural force; a celestial consolation descended into the soul that had been despairing.  Marguerite’s prayer had not been unavailing—­Francis I. was saved.

She then proceeded to visit different cities and royalties, endeavoring to secure concessions for her brother.  From the people in the streets as well as from the lords in their houses, she received the most unmistakable proofs of friendly feeling; in fact, her favor was so great that Charles V. informed “the Duke of Infantado that, if he wished to please the emperor, neither he nor his sons must speak to Madame d’Alencon.”  The latter, unable to secure her brother’s release, planned a marriage between him and Eleanor of Portugal, sister of Charles V.; her successes at court and in the family of the emperor furthered this scheme.  Brantome says:  “She spoke to the emperor so bravely and so courteously that he was quite astonished, and she spoke even more to those of his council with whom she had audience; there she produced an excellent impression, speaking and arguing with an easy grace in which she was proficient, and making herself rather agreeable than hateful or tiresome.  Her reasons were found good and pertinent and she retained the high esteem of the emperor, his court and council.”

Although she failed in her attempts to free the king, she succeeded, by arranging the marriage, in completely changing the rigorous captivity to which Charles had subjected him.  Finally, by giving his two eldest sons as hostages, the king obtained his release, and in March, 1526, he again set foot, as sovereign, on French soil.  Thus the king’s life was saved and he was permitted to return to his country, Marguerite’s devotion having accomplished that in which the most skilled diplomatist would have failed.