The Memoirs

The War of the League

M. du Plessis was still in Paris at the end of 1584. He had just entered into his 35th year, and, thinking how uncertain all human life was and that his own, more than most, was never free from danger he made his will. He wrote it with his own hand and had it signed by two notaries. He did this more for the instruction of our children than for any other reason because he left their upbringing and the management of their property entirely in my hands. About this same time he wrote his meditations of the 6th, the 32nd and the 34th psalms. That on the 25th was written later at Montauban just at the beginning of the war of the League.

At the new year, 1585, he returned to the court of Navarre after concluding his negotiation with the King at Paris.1 He found the King of Navarre at Sainte Foi and all the most important protestants with him, waiting to hear what news he brought. He laid the whole result before them and his success filled them with the greatest joy. Meantime M. de Laval had gone straight home and had left M. du Plessis to make the report of their joint mission. M. du Plessis, on his own initiative, told them bluntly that they must not rest contented with what he told them because war was certain to break out again in a fresh place, for the Lorraine people were on the very point of exploding and that they could not look out for their own safety too soon. He particularly urged His Majesty not to purchase La Ferte from the Vidame, as the late M. de Segur had advised, urging that it

1 See p. 195, for negotiation carried on by M. de Laval and M. du Plessis.

THE WAR OF THE LEAGUE 219

would be wiser to send the money to Germany to hire mercenaries. The King, however, would not listen to him. M. de Turenne was at Court, lately returned from captivity in the Low Countries. During his absence in Paris certain malicious people had done M. du Plessis a very ill turn, for they had contrived to get the King of Navarre to appoint M. de Turenne as chief controller of the King's household over both him and M. de Clervant. M. du Plessis' answer to this move was as follows : " That he would be only too sorry to be the occasion for the King of Navarre to lose the services of so valuable a servant as M. de Turenne, or even to cause him discontent in any way, so that he was perfectly willing to resign his office. At the same time he must say quite plainly that he would rather have no appointment at all than continue in one with diminished dignity and authority ; at the same time if others were appointed as their companions and equals he and M. de Clervant would welcome them as so many more witnesses of their honest dealing." On hearing which His Majesty did no more in the matter. Later on M. de Turenne himself saw how unwise the scheme had been and valued M. du Plessis' friendship higher than that of its originators.

And so now we come to the war of the League, which started at the end of March 1585, and whose end will come in God's good pleasure. I never saw M. du Plessis worried by this war, for his opinion never faltered that it would bring an increase of honour and reputation to our King ' now reigning. When the first news of the war reached the court of Navarre, the King asked M. du Plessis what his opinion was. M. du Plessis answered in these words, which he has often since recalled : " Thank God, Sire, that your enemies, and not you, have begun this war. It was certain to come and it is better that it should come in the present King's reign, than in yours, should you succeed him ; easier to bear while you are young than when you are old ; and if we labour we shall

1 Henri IV, then King of Navarre.

220 A HUGUENOT FAMILY

at least leave our children at rest. Your enemies take God's name in vain but vengeance is the Lord's. Much trouble lies before you but you will win through all, and no Prince ever emerged from a war with more glory than I am certain you will win in this if you continue in the fear of the Lord. As for my part I vow that nothing will be too hot or too cold that you bid me do in your service." The King has often since borne witness that this vow was faithfully kept.

It looked at first as if the King (of France) meant to gather his forces against the League, although M. du Plessis expected their attack would soon be turned against the protestants. This, however, they would not be in a position to do until four or five months had elapsed. In the meantime the King of Navarre's policy was to unite his supporters and munition the towns as quietly as he could for in point of fact they were all so destitute of stores of corn owing to the treaties of peace, that before harvest any one of them might have been taken by famine without difficulty. The League justified their action partly on the ground that they were safeguarding the public welfare, and partly that they were opposing the reformed religion and they scattered their writings broadcast to this effect. In reply M. du Plessis undertook to plead with all Frenchmen in a paper which bore good fruit. But when it became apparent that the storm was about to burst on the King of Navarre and the protestants, M. du Plessis was bidden to draw up a statement1 to inform all Europe of the justice of the said King's cause, and of the wrong done him. It is in this paper that the offer was made, provided the King (of France) would hold the stakes, to punish the insolence of the Lorrainers, or rather, the better to spare the poor people of France, to meet them man to man, ten against ten or twenty against twenty as they chose, and in any place ordered by the King. This defiance, written with the King of Navarre's own hand, was read in full Council

1 "Declaration du Roi de Navarre contre les Calomnies de la Ligue." See Letters of de Mornay, ed. 1824.

THE WAR OF THE LEAGUE 221

and was forthwith sent to all Christian Princes, to the great honour of the aforesaid King. But not one of the Houses of Lorraine and Guise made any reply. When this offer of a duel was first broached M. du Plessis was told to put it into words but he only consented to do so on condition that, if the offer were accepted, he should be among the chosen champions. And to this request the King very readily agreed.

It would take too long to give particulars of all his writings during the ensuing war, for he never let an occasion go by when he thought he could serve the cause of France, of the churches and of his master. There are several whole volumes of these writings, and especially of foreign dispatches and manifestos to the public, which nearly all came from his pen. I remember one in particular, drawn up in accordance with his firm conviction, that whatever edicts of union between the King and the Guises might be published there never would be real agreement between them ; and this being so their attacks would be ill-consorted and feeble, which opinion was not only shown to be true throughout the whole course of the war but was finally proved by the death of the Duke of Guise.

M. du Plessis had made a plan for an attack on Toulouse, but before proposing it to the King of Navarre he wanted to reconnoitre the place himself, a matter which proved very hazardous. One evening he rode to within a league of the town with ten horse but all unarmed when, passing through a little place called St Geniz, the villagers took the alarm and he had scarcely time to reach the further gate before they attacked him. Further on at a house, in which he expected to shelter, he found that M. de Verdale, colonel of the Due de Joyeuse's l infantry, had already taken possession, so he had to pass it by. The people of St Geniz had set the beacon on the belfry alight so that the whole countryside was up, bugles

1 Anne de Joyeuse, 1561-1587 ; one of Henri Ill's favourites ; m. Marguerite de Lorraine, the queen's sister ; killed at the battle of Coutras.

222 A HUGUENOT FAMILY

blowing and roads blocked on every side. Not being able to do any reconnoitring that night he managed to reach Foix instead, where he was very well received by M. de Benergue, son of the late President de Mansencal, who, although he did not know him, welcomed him on the faith of one of his company. On the morrow he recrossed the Garonne above Toulouse, and rode by the islands to the various spots which he wanted to spy out. He got so close to them that by the light of the full moon he could see everything quite plainly, and could report to the King of Navarre that his scheme was perfectly feasible. He drew up a plan which he gave to His Majesty, who promised that M. du Plessis should command the first 500 soldiers to enter Toulouse. The infantry however were so constantly occupied elsewhere with the defence of so many and of such scattered places that His Majesty could never carry out this plan.

At the beginning of the year 1586, the Duke of Mayenne came into Guienne with an army which rumour said was formidable. The King of Navarre, who was at Caumont sur Garonne, sent for all the chief nobles and captains of that part of the country. M. de Turenne was charged with the defence of the Dordogne, a task in which he acquired a great reputation both for courage and prudence. It was not certain whether the Duke of Mayenne meant to cross the Dordogne near Souillac, on his way into Quercy, and so the King of Navarre, who wanted to be ready whatever happened, sent M. du Plessis to Montauban to be on the watch. At the same time he was left almost without troops, for all the best were posted on those parts of the frontier which seemed most likely to be attacked. In spite of all precautions the Duke of Mayenne crossed the river at Souillac and marched into Upper Quercy, where the protestants had barely time to bring up enough arms of all sorts to secure Figeac, Caviac and Cardillac, all of which towns would certainly have fallen if the enemy had known the state they were in and had shown the smallest perseverance in attacking

THE WAR OF THE LEAGUE 223

them. One thing following on another M. du Plessis stayed on at Montauban, where I and our household were living, for fifteen months. During this time, without going into details, the fortifications of the new town were finished at his earnest request, the* Bourbon town was put into a state of defence and rebuilt, and the suburb of the Tarn was brought within the walls. Several times he took the town's cannon beyond the walls to clear out the wretched little fortresses which kept Montauban in subjection and he always met with success and sometimes with God's special favour. Three times over he revictualled the town of Le Maz du Verdun with every sort of food and ammunition. He crossed into Gascony and rousing M. de Fontrailles, who was in command of Armagnac, together they saved the town of L'Isle en Jourdain, which was blockaded with nine forts, and which had food for only six days left ; thence he quickly recrossed to Montauban and threw himself just in time into Villemur, where M. de Reniez was in command. This place was not thought to be capable of defence and was not fortified, but with the help of Messrs de Savaillan and de Suz and a number of other gentlemen they checked the successful march of the Duke of Joyeuse, whose army was menacing the place but a short way off. From Villemur he did his best to save Salvaignac and every one knows he would have succeeded if the least help had been given him. One particular I will mention concerning this affair of Villemur. The King of Navarre, thinking his actions inexplicable sent him word that " while he praised his good heart he could not help blaming him for wasting it on so worthless an object as Villemur." In spite of all that his friends could say to dissuade him he maintained that this place, worthless though it were, was yet the link between Languedoc and Guienne, which two provinces, were it lost, would be left without any means of communication and that this being so it was as well that someone should lose himself in saving it. During his stay at Villemur he also dis-

224 A HUGUENOT FAMILY

covered a plot against Montauban hatched by two brothers, M. de Claux and M. de Bresolles, nephews of M. de Tarride, Governor of Montauban, and whose house was only a league outside that town. This plot was proved by letters written by the two brothers to M. de Mayenne, to the Seneschal of Toulouse and to others, and there was every probability that it would have succeeded for M. de Tarride had such absolute confidence in his nephews. All these affairs won him a great reputation but they also aroused a great deal of jealousy and this all the more because everywhere people appealed to him. Leaving Villemur he went into Gascony to relieve Leyrac which the Marshal de Matignon 1 was threatening, and he succeeded in entering it with reinforcements. Thence, all fear of a siege blowing over, he went on to N£rac. There I and all our family joined him. I obtained a passport from the Marshal de Matignon, who moreover received me very kindly as we passed through Agen. This was at the beginning of 1587 and it was just about the same time that M. de Turenne also came to Nerac. M. du Plessis was able to be of great use to M. de Turenne and with an excellent result. Unhappily this was brought to an end by a shot from an arquebus which wounded M. de Turenne at the fort of Nicole sur Garonne just as he was coming back from a round to see how the watch was kept and while M. du Plessis was actually speaking with him.

During our time at Montauban God gave us a daughter who only lived three months. We had asked M. de Chatillon to be her godfather but as he was detained in Rouergue defending it against the Duke of Joyeuse he could not come. M. Antoine de Chardien, generally known as M. Sadeil, a gentleman of Dauphine and a most worthy minister of God held the child as his proxy ; her godmother was Suzanne de Pas, my daughter by my first marriage. We buried the child at Montauban.

1 Jacques de Goyon de Matignon, 1525-1597, Marshal of France, Lieutenant-General of Guienne ; recognized Henri de Navarre on death of Henri III.

THE WAR OF THE LEAGUE 225

The King of Navarre sent for M. du Plessis to come to him at la Rochelle. This he was willing to do and all the more readily because he foresaw the necessity for making preparations to meet the said King's foreign troops. So at the end of June he set out and on the way had the good luck to raise the siege of Linde sur Dordogne, which the Pengord nobles were besieging. Accompanied by a few friends he presently reached the King of Navarre and afterwards never left him throughout the rest of the war, nor was there any deed or exploit up to his master's accession to the throne of France in which he did not play his part. The King even did him the honour to say more than once that he had discussed his most important undertakings with him alone and that he had always found his advice good. M. du Plessis on his arrival found the King of Navarre deeply involved in the war with the Duke of Joyeuse, who since his return to the French court from Rouergue and Albig^ois had been dispatched into Poitou with a fresh army. There he had obtained several noteworthy advantages over the King of Navarre by the capture of St Maixant, Maillezay and other places. The arrogance of the Duke had grown to such a pitch in consequence that, as was proved by letters between him and others which M. du Plessis intercepted and deciphered himself, he aimed at nothing less than making himself chief of the League. As he was on the point of returning to Court it was anticipated that his army would scatter as soon as he departed and His Majesty therefore determined to follow hard on his heels. This move met with complete success. For although it was contrary to the advice of almost every one (who not daring to blame the master fell upon his servant), the King of Navarre defeated several companies of the Duke's army, captured M. de Joyeuse's own cornet near to Chinon, blockaded M. de Lavardin and the army under him in La Haye in Touraine, opened a passage across the Loire at Monsoreau which enabled the Count of Soissons and the troops of Normandy and Beauce to cross the

p

226 A HUGUENOT FAMILY

river, and all this achieved with no larger force than two hundred horse and three hundred foot-soldiers. It should be noted that they who reaped the glory for this drive were the very same who had most strongly advised against it. This first piece of good fortune brought about a second for the Duke of Joyeuse, bent on revenge, determined to give the King of Navarre battle at no matter what cost. The battle of Coutras, fought on the 20th of October 1587, was the result, when a complete victory was won by the said King. M. du Plessis had the honour of fighting at his side. He noted that on this very day twelve years before (making allowance that is for the ten days deducted by the Pope) he had been made prisoner at Dormans. I have seen several letters among his papers which he wrote from la Rochelle to friends both within and without the kingdom, in which he said that a battle would be fought within a week and that God would give them the victory. And I have often heard him say that on the morning his only fear was lest the Duke of Joyeuse would decline the battle, because then the King of Navarre would have been helpless between two rivers and two armies. His Majesty wrote to the King (of France) by M. de la Burte, maitre des requites, saying how deeply he deplored the shedding of so much blood and to beseech him to put a stop to it for the good of his kingdom ; but the times were not yet ripe and the King would not heed.

M. du Plessis was ordered to write a short account of this battle. Owing to the omission of two lines in a copy made by M. du Pin, secretary of State, which was sent to La Rochelle, in which the Prince of Conde" was spoken of with all due honour and respect for his rank, the said Prince was highly offended and sent the bitterest complaint to the King of Navarre. The King took the matter up in the sharpest manner possible but M. du Plessis could show by his notes that the Prince had no complaint against him. M. du Plessis thought it strange that this victory was not better followed up. The

THE WAR OF THE LEAGUE 227

truth is that the King of Navarre did propose that he should effect a union with his foreign troops, which would certainly have been the most fruitful result of the victory, but his army, gathered in haste, wanted a breathing space to go home, promising to gather again at Pe>igord in a month's time. So the King went to Beam to see his sister. On his return his advance was interrupted by the Marshal Matignon who had brought up his troops to the relief of Aire. It was this which made him summon M. du Plessis who was resting at Nerac in the bosom of his family. It was God's will that I should be seized with the pains of childbirth at the very moment when he was mounting at the head of his troops. I was delivered of a daughter two hours after he had ridden off. She was christened Sara but she only lived three months, and was buried at N^rac. Her godfather was M. de Bouquet, Lord of Brueil in Normandy (a cousin of M. du Plessis', descendant of a Mile de Mornay), a valiant gentleman, religious and learned ; her godmother was Dame Georgette de Montenay, also a cousin, widow of the late M. de St Germain in Gascony, a woman of high virtue, who has even written various things.

On his return from B&rn towards the end of 1587 news came to the King of Navarre of the defeat of his foreign troops,1 which greatly troubled many of his adherents, especially those who had come to join him from north of the Loire. This made him go to Montauban to discuss what could best be done in the matter, thinking that he should meet the Prince of Conde- and M. de Montmorenci there. However, he failed to see them. Whilst there certain deputies demanded a general Assembly of all the Churches for the healing of this sore wound, to which the King of Navarre would not assent. However, M. du Plessis persuaded him on the grounds that such a disaster could be best met by such a remedy, which would tend to keep men steady in the path of duty who might otherwise

1 Mercenaries raised in Germany and paid by the Queen of England.

228 A HUGUENOT FAMILY

seek for personal and private relief. But in the end, owing to the dilatoriness of the provinces, the Assembly could not be held before the end of the following year. After taking two or three places His Majesty returned to Nerac. There he heard of the Prince's 1 death by poison. It was M. du Plessis who broke the news to him privately, adding " that a heavy loss had befallen him, and that though our arms and nerves might give us pain still they were arms and nerves, and that the Prince was always an arm even when he was most difficult, and that his loss was one nothing could make good." His Majesty received the news with infinite sorrow, and sending for the Comte de Soissons 2 to come to his private room, they wept a long time together. The King made ready that very day to ride to La Rochelle but they could not reach it before Marans had been captured by M. de Lavardin. M. du Plessis and a small company of friends followed the King on the next day. He found the Lady de la Tremoille,3 the Prince's widow, had already been arrested as an accomplice in his murder. It was a very perplexing case, badly managed from the beginning and it gave M. du Plessis an immense amount of trouble before its end.

This year passed by in various negotiations and enterprises. Marans was retaken with no small measure of perseverance and courage, and the King confided to M. du Plessis all the preliminary reconnaissances and preparations necessary for the final success of the undertaking. The regiment of Gerzay was defeated by a great cavalry charge, three leagues from Nantes ; Beauvais sur Mer was besieged and captured in the finest way imaginable. This success was all the more important because M. du Plessis had already obtained the King's consent to his sailing down to St Nazare in Brittany and thereby controlling the only mouth of the river Loire which is

1 Henri de Bourbon, Prince de Conde. He was reputed to be poisoned but without real proof, d. March 1588.

2 Charles de Bourbon, half-brother to Henri, Prince de Conde.

» Charlotte Catherine de la Tremoille, m. Prince de Conde 1586.

THE WAR OF THE LEAGUE 229

navigable and which he planned to fortify with all speed. So as to assist the first successes in these parts he carried with him in the boat ready-made fortifications of bulletproof palisades and supports. He had with him three hundred labourers, quantities of tools and food and munitions for three months. The Baron de Salignac and his regiment were to aid him and the King of Navarre gave M. du Plessis the Governorship of the country. But God, whose will was otherwise, showed His displeasure with the project by preventing the boats from reaching the sea, and by making all landing impossible by the fury of the winds. The army under M. de Nevers ■ arriving in the vicinity finally forced M. du Plessis to make good his retreat. The wonders of God were, however, made manifest in a much greater way, for just when the King (of France) was making preparations to reap the benefit of the defeat of our foreign army the Duke of Guise drove him out of Paris on the Journ^e des Barricades.1 And later when they had patched up their quarrel by the second Edict of Union and had summoned the Estates General to meet at Blois for the purpose of declaring the Edict to be the law of the land, just at the very moment when the Duke was writing out both his appointment as Constable and the King of Navarre's degradation as heir to the throne against the judgment of all men, the King had him killed in his own private room.* I had recently brought our household to La Rochelle, after a visit to Beam, whither I had gone to pay my respects to Madame, the King of Navarre's only sister, and also to benefit by the hot springs. I remember that several of M. du Plessis' friends urged him, some by word of mouth and some in letters to him, to write against this Assembly at Blois, protesting its nullity. Some were even angry because he declined to do so, and I remember quite well the answer he made to one and all,

1 Louis de Gonzague, 1539-1595 ; Due de Nevers through his wife Henriette de Cleves, heiress of her brother.

• May 1588. • December 1588.

230 A HUGUENOT FAMILY

which can yet be seen among his papers. It was to this effect : that if anything good came out of the Assembly and our party had condemned it aforehand, no profit could accrue to us ; while if evil came, we being neither summoned nor heard, it could do us no harm ; and moreover the fact of omitting to summon the King of Navarre was in itself a cause of nullity ; and moreover if the attention of the Assembly were drawn to this fact and the King of Navarre were, in consequence, to be summoned it would do him less than no good. And to conclude they could see that he expected that something or other would happen in this Assembly which would glorify God and turn to the comfort of His Churches.

A short time before the death of the Duke of Guise and almost at the same date as the opening of the Estates General at Blois the Assembly of the Churches was held at la Rochelle, in which the King of Navarre was helped in no small fashion by M. du Plessis against certain innovations which were threatened. These arose from the ill success of certain measures, principally the defeat of the foreign army, which made some people accuse the King of Navarre and talk of limiting his authority in the management of affairs. M. du Plessis was suffering from quaternion fever at the time but in spite of it he worked harder than ever. He was the more eager because he knew very well that those who hold office are always open to slander, for since the outbreak of the war the King had appointed him surintendant of the public revenue. So soon as the Assembly began to inquire into matters of finance M. du Plessis rose and begged His Majesty graciously to allow him to retire, and also to do him the honour to command all those present to speak their minds freely and frankly against him on the condition that he should be allowed to reply to their charges, and thereupon he left the hall. The result was that every one earnestly begged him to continue in office with undiminished authority. And on the subject of his salary instead of the 1 200 crowns a year with which

THE IV AR OF THE LEAGUE 231

he had been contented they allowed him 1600 and, moreover, made him Chief of the Council which was appointed to assist the King of Navarre in matters of Church and State. All of which was not done without arousing the spite and envy of certain people who had hoped to turn the Assembly against him. I can very truly say that he wanted nothing so much as to be relieved of this office, which was afterwards made clear enough. For the truth is that, as by nature he loves to make people happy, the office could bring nothing but worry in the depleted state of the exchequer. And as for his private affairs in fourteen years of service no one could accuse him of putting a penny into his own purse, paying a debt or buying so much as a foot of land. On the contrary every one marvelled how he could manage at all for when he took over the finances nothing came to the King of Navarre from Languedoc or Dauphin^, all Guienne above l'Isle was in M. de Turenne's hands, and as for the King's patrimony it had been entirely seized, so that Xaintonges and Poitou were the only sources of revenue and only the half of these were in his control, for he had nothing but the failles and certain profits which accrued from the ocean. And yet the King's household was kept up in its usual style : the officers were paid ; an extraordinary number of gentlemen were maintained ; the garrisons were never a day in arrears, neither were the mounted harquebusiers who formed the base of all the King's successful cavalry operations ; the artillery lacked for nothing and great sums of money were found for an incredible number of journeys, both within and without the Kingdom.

The capture of Niort happily followed soon after in the same week as the death of the Duke of Guise. This capture was planned in private by the King of Navarre and M. du Plessis and the latter had charge of the scaling ladders. From thence the King went to the aid of Ganache which M. du Nevers was besieging. On his way he fell ill in a country house in Poitou called la Motte

232 A HUGUENOT FAMILY

Freslon, which made it impossible to raise the siege as they had had every hope of doing. The illness was an attack of pleurisy which seized the King as he rode from Marueil to la Motte Freslon. He kept no one but M. du Plessis by him, who, in the absence of M. d'Ortoman, the King's most excellent doctor, undertook to bleed His Majesty. M. du Plessis did this with the more confidence because he had himself suffered three attacks of the same complaint, and the King felt relief from the treatment. His only consolation was found in the singing of the psalms and in sweet and comfortable words. His life was in danger and rumour even said he was dead. Whilst he lay ill the Queen Mother died at Blois a few days after the Duke of Guise's execution.