The Memoirs

Civil War: 1575— 1577

At the end of August trustworthy news reached Sedan that a levy of mercenaries had been raised by M. de Thore- for the purpose of rescuing the Duke of Alencon. M. du Plessis, who had waited on at Sedan with the express purpose of serving on the very first occasion, decided to join them. Before his departure we were betrothed in the presence of M. de Lizi, M. d'Heudreville, and Messrs de Luynes, conseiller de Parlement, and du Pin, since Secretary of State for Navarre, and nowadays Intendant des Finances of France, and we and they all signed the contract.

After which he left Sedan and he and those he accompanied made their first halt at Buzancy where their troops forgathered. Throughout the whole of this journey he and the late M. de Mouy were always together and shared the same lodgings, for not only were they nearly related and great friends, but they had also carried through several enterprises at their own cost whilst living at Sedan with the object of furthering the march of these mercenaries ; and a great expense it had put them to. I have often heard him say that their efforts were brought to naught by certain people who wanted to gain reputation without being willing to work for it. Their troops might number five hundred harquebusiers and fifty gentlemen, and, so as to preserve order, M. Espau was appointed their commander with M. du Plessis and M. de Mouy as his lieutenants. They marched by the Metz country and Lorraine, crossing several rivers on their way. M. de Guise and his troops marched in the same direction

OLD LONDON BRIDGE (From Visscher's Panorama of London. 1616)

[/ace p 14b

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and never more than three or four leagues from them ; this caused some of their men-at-arms to slip off and in consequence certain of their company advised that they should scatter and retreat. Notwithstanding this advice their project held and they reached the frontier of Germany without hurt though not without many alarms and fears. On their arrival at the place where they should have met M. de Thore* no news of him was to be had ; they therefore resolved to send to the Count of Nassau to ask permission to enter his territory, living at their own expense and those who had money paying for those who had none. M. du Plessis was chosen as their envoy to the aforesaid Count, but as he was starting some of M. de Clervant's troops appeared with whom he spoke and from whom he learnt that the army was close by. The following day they joined forces to their great joy. A story that I have often heard him tell should not be forgotten, that, on this very evening when news of the army's approach reached them, a great combat with lances of fire was seen in the sky which lasted over two hours and on which every eye was fixed. Many thought it an ill omen although M. du Plessis did what he could to explain it by some natural cause. Having joined M. de Triore- they entered France and crossing the Meuse marched direct to Attigny, a village situated on the Aisne. Here they tarried several days — long enough to allow M. de Guise to come up with them. M. de Thor£, finding himself importuned by the mercenaries who demanded their pay before they would unfurl their colours, begged M. du Plessis to go to Sedan and try to collect as much money as he could as a voluntary contribution. M. du Plessis agreed although he told M. de Thore" that he had no hope of succeeding and that the refugees were the only people he could beg from and they had barely enough for their own needs.

A few days earlier M. du Plessis, foreseeing trouble, had advised M. de Triore- to keep his troops better together, avoiding the richer towns and letting their

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citizens know from day to day that if they did not buy themselves off by a reasonable sum the mercenaries would be quartered on them and there is little doubt but that the towns would have paid up. The troopers too could have been well enough lodged outside the towns just for a mere halt on their march. And by this means M. de Thore could have raised enough to pay his mercenaries, without the least doubt, for there were only some fifteen hundred who refused to take their oaths of service before they had had their money. M. du Plessis finding, as he expected, that it was out of the question to raise money in Sedan left the day after he arrived. M. d'Heudreville accompanied him to the city boundary and on separating asked him what he thought of the army. " Pride goeth before a fall," M. du Plessis replied and added, for he spoke very confidentially to M. d'Heudreville, that within three days they would be defeated and all because of their chief's arrogance and the ill-management of everything. And thereupon he returned to Attigny where M. de Thore* was and where he found nothing to give him more hope than he had had when he left. He and M. de Mouy were lodged together in a small village near by.

The army advanced on the Marne and after camping three times arrived within three leagues of it and halted in the outskirts of Fismes and Barochies between the Marne and river Aisne. They were followed by the King's army under M. de Guise with all possible haste. The same evening that they reached Fisnes M. de Fervaques, marechal de camp in the King's army, with fifty horse, came reconnoitring quite close to their camp, and having crossed the Aisne at Pontaver while following their opponents step by step, a little skirmish took place between Ronsy and Pontaver in a meadow, in which M. du Plessis and M. de la Mothe Juranville fought and took several prisoners. From them they learnt that M. de Guise was determined to contest the passage of the Marne. On the morrow they left at break of day

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and pressed on, although harassed from time to time by the enemy who sent mounted harquebusiers against them both to right and to left in the forest, so as to retard their speed, or who attacked their rear with little skirmishes so as to force them to face about to repulse them. M. du Plessis was mixed up in most of these skirmishes and he even had a shot from an arquebus in his cuirass but it did him no harm. M. de Thore was advised to make up his mind once for all either to fight or to retreat and on the whole he inclined to retreat without fighting. This he could have done, according to what was generally said, by reinforcing the rearguard of the retreat sufficiently to withstand the attacks of the enemy so that the main army could have continued its march across the river, baggage first, then infantry, then the mercenaries and finally all who were left behind. The locality was suitable for this because the troops which would cross last commanded the top of a hill, which the enemy could not attack except by very difficult approaches and then only one horseman at a time, so that the enemy could see nothing ahead nor perceive what was taking place behind the hill. This advice was thought good and the army was ready to follow it but M. de Thore- was incapable of making up his mind one way or the other. At one moment he gave directions in accordance with a resolution to fight and the next those proper to a retreat, and in the end as he determined neither to fight nor to retreat in disorder the enemy took advantage of his wavering and, pursuing their plan, forced a battle half a league from the river Marne.1 They attacked in four companies of men-at-arms in front flanked by mounted harquebusiers who rode out of the forest on their right hand and thus obliged M. de Thor£, however much at disadvantage he might be, to fight. He therefore ordered his ensign, M. de Pontillant, to charge. M. de Mouy and M. du Plessis were both included in the troop, no more than eighteen in all, and scarcely had they charged

1 The battle of Dormans, 10th Oct. 1575.

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before they were all killed, wounded or prisoners. M. de Clervant also charged but few of his mercenaries followed him and he himself was taken prisoner. M. de Thore retreated without fighting and so did all the rest of his army as well as the mercenaries, who fled as far as Marigny sur Orbaiz. That evening they sent an envoy to the enemy with a surrender. M. de Guise was wounded while pursuing his victory which is matter for history. I return to M. du Plessis without stopping to mention others. He was made prisoner by the company under the Viscount Jean de Tavannes 1 reinforced by that of M. Guillaume de Tavannes • his elder brother, but he actually surrendered to a Burgundian gentleman, named la Borde, who belonged to the elder M. de Tavannes. M. du Plessis took part in the charge mounted on a tired horse and had taken off his head-piece, his brassards and his " cassettes." God watched over him and he got nothing worse than a blow from a lance which was nothing because the enemy rode at no more than a trot. As soon as he was seized one of the company wanted to kill him but the aforesaid de la Borde prevented it. He demanded his purse which M. du Plessis gave up. It held some thirty double ducats and two letters from me, one of which was addressed to M. du Plessis and the other to M. de Boinville, which was the name of an estate in Beausse. He begged M. de la Borde take care of them as they were letters from his mistress. They mounted him on an unshod horse and marched him with the rest in battle array, but anyone could see he was a prisoner because he was disarmed. M. de Guise's wound made many people very bitter and M. du Plessis was in danger of his life on several occasions.

After crossing the river they halted on a hill near to Marigny sur Orbaiz. From thence they saw the German mercenaries leaving the village and it looked as

1 Guillaume de Saulx, Comte de Tavannes, 1553-1633, Jean de Saulx, Vicomte de Tavannes, 1555- 1629, sons of Gaspard de Saulx-Tavannes, Marshal of France.

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if they were returning to charge, whereas they only wanted to surrender. Had they charged it might have altered the whole result of the battle because the main army of M. de Guise followed the victorious troops at too great a distance. During this halt on the hill M. du Plessis was asked why he had taken up arms ? Answer : for religion's sake. Whether he would not change his religion ? Answer : he would die sooner. Whether he were not one of the Politiques ? Answer : it was plain that at his age one did not meddle with such matters. Whether he were not one of the " malcontents." l Seeing himself pressed he very truthfully replied that he was very ill-contented that every man did not get his due, including the mercenaries, and in his place they would have been as ill-contented as he was because the mercenaries had been admitted to composition instead of being sent off with a sound beating with peeled rods as they ought. He spoke so courteously that some of them seemed pleased with what they heard. Most of the questions were put to him by the two marshals de Biron * and de Retz, neither of whom knew him, as was in fact the case with all those present.

Whilst the surrender of the mercenaries was taking place there chanced to pass by the son of that M. des Avelles, who had been governor of the castle of Sedan and who had lost his post as mentioned before, and whose son had taken service under M. de Guise. He knew M. du Plessis as he had often met him at Sedan and would willingly have done him an ill-turn, but happily he did not notice him. There also passed by a spy, named Baron, who had breakfasted with him the day before, and who had come to give information to M. de Guise but he also never saw him. Whence M. du Plessis felt assured that God would help him.

The quarters of those who took him prisoner were at Damery on the Marne. M. du Plessis was most anxious

1 The Due d'Alencon's party.

• Armand de Gontaut Biron, 1524-1592, Marshal of France.

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to get rid of various compromising papers which he had on him as well as letters from divers Princes and countries but this he found it impossible to do, so closely was he watched. But on their reaching Damery he hastened to stable his horse and hastily pulling out his papers he stuffed them between the thatch of a low bit of roofing. This was on the loth Oct. 1575. At supper he became quite friendly with his captors but on the following morning, the nth Oct., Marshal de Retz ordered M. de la Borde to search his prisoner for papers, because several of the other prisoners were found to carry them. M. de la Borde came to M. du Plessis with many excuses and expressing his great regret at having to carry out orders, but as they were extremely explicit he dared not disobey. M. du Plessis had no doubt that he was ordered to kill him and made answer that he was entirely in his hands. At length M. de la Borde spoke out plainly and asked M. du Plessis to empty his pockets and let him see their contents. M. du Plessis thereupon begged him to search them for himself for his greater assurance, and glad enough he was that he had got rid of his papers overnight. On the 1 2th Oct. they reached Ventueil. The lady of that district was a protestant and a friend of M. du Plessis'. She entertained M. de Tavannes to whom M. du Plessis had been presented the day before. M. de Tavannes was charmed with him and his conversation and wanted to take him to the banquet which the lady had prepared. M. du Plessis excused himself saying that he felt ill and that his shoulder had been bruised by a blow from a lance in the charge ; on the morrow he made the same excuse and finally he besought M. de Tavannes not to drag him in triumph before the eyes of the ladies. This of course was all done to avoid being recognized by his friend who would have greeted him by name, thinking no harm, whereas he did not desire this because he was well known to have been employed on various missions. From this place they went to a village called Champagne not far from Chateau Thierry, where he was introduced

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to the elder M. de Tavannes. Here he was confronted with the rest of the prisoners in the hope that some would recognize him, but once more God watched over him for M. de Mouy, badly wounded, was taken to his cousin's, M. de Liancourt's house ; M. de Pontillant was killed ; M. de Longjumeau escaped and thus his companions were all scattered some here, some there.

Thus, when questioned as to who he was and whence he came, he answered that his name was Boinville, a poor cadet of Beausse, and that he possessed an income of no more than 300 livres, and so on. M. de Beauvoisin, M. de Tavannes' lieutenant, was told to make inquiries of two gentlemen of Beausse, M. de Orgenis and M. Jaudray at that time attached to M. d'Aumale.1 These gentlemen confirmed M. de Plessis' statements under the impression that he was really the Boinville whom they knew, and who they said possessed no more than he stated, if as much, and who was a protestant and a cadet of his house. M. de Beauvoisin thereupon conceived a high opinion of M. du Plessis' integrity and praised him for it to M. de Tavannes and all the others. His ransom was fixed at one hundred crowns.

From this day forth M. de Tavannes showed the greatest pleasure in conversing with him and usually made him dine in his company. M. du Plessis spoke very freely above all on the religious differences between them. M. de Tavannes liked him so well that he proposed that he should go on living with him free in conscience and religion and, even during the troubles, that he should live in his household though without bearing arms. M. du Plessis thanked him but excused himself. His captors also liked him, trusted him entirely and allowed him to walk about alone. Truth is that at first a watch was kept on him, but he told them plainly he must know how he stood with them. If he were on parole he would die sooner than break it, but if he were

1 Charles de Lorraine, Due d'Aumale, 1554-1631, grandson of Claude, 1 st Due de Guise.

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guarded then he should consider himself free from his parole. After that they let him go where he would all day. He came back each night to their lodging but he was very glad to be allowed to keep himself all day out of the way of any chance person who might recognize him. Also he wearied with the blasphemies and licentiousness of some among them which he never failed to reprove and remonstrate against very freely, although in such a way that no one took offence. Two worrying occurrences troubled him during his imprisonment. The first was a command from the king that all prisoners should be sent to him which chilled M. de Tavanne's friendly intention to let him go on parole, and made M. du Plessis implore him to kill him rather than to send him to consume all his small patrimony in a prison. M. de Tavannes promised not to let him out of his hands until he was forced. The second trouble was that whilst marching towards la Brye by the side of M. de Tavannes, so that he could listen to him talk, a lacquey belonging to M. d'Espau recognized him, spoke to him by name and then went off to tell the news to all his company. This lacquey had left his master and had seen M. du Plessis at Sedan a long time before. He kept nothing back of all he knew so that M. du Plessis was threatened by his captors with having to pay a ransom of 2000 crowns. He put a good face on it, however, scoffing at the word of a lacquey, and the aforementioned M. de Beauvoisin went surety for the truth of what he maintained, and assured the gentleman that their prisoner's name was de Boinville and not du Plessis. This mistake arose from having read the direction on M. du Plessis' letters and not what was in them. Amidst all these alarms M. de Vidart, a Basque, and M. de Cormon, his uncle, a Burgundian, each privately showed him a way of escaping and begged him to avail himself of it in consideration of the sort of people he had to do with. However, he refused saying that he had given his word and that they had kept faith with him since. At last he was allowed to send for

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his ransom although he dared not send home for fear of disclosing his family name. So instead he sent to S edan with a letter for M. d'Heudreville, who so managed that the messenger could tell no tales. I sent the mon v by one of my own men, called Daleu, together with a small horse and a shabby cloak. The man arrived just at the moment when a fresh order came to deliver M. du Plessis up to M. du Mayenne l at Montmirail. La Borde was for keeping him but M. de Vidart was determined to let him go since he had kept faith with them. M. de Vidart accompanied him some thousand paces though against the goodwill of the aforesaid la Borde. When they parted M. du Plessis thanked M. de Vidart for the kindness he had shown him and told him, in strict confidence between them, who he really was since he had shown himself so friendly. M. de Vidart urged him to go as quickly as possible lest evil befell him if his name became known. It was on the 20th of October 1575 that his captivity came to an end.

He took his way towards Sedan attended by the man I had sent, and entered the town secretly, for the Duchess had no mind to offend the King by openly receiving those who had borne arms against him. He lodged with my host, M. de Verdavayne, in a building at the back, which was the only place from which he could visit me undiscovered. Mme de Bouillon knew he was there but she was much pleased with his discreet conduct, which was a good example to others and could not offend the King. He was some time there before his followers, who had been all scattered at the defeat, found him out, but one by one they joined him. He renewed his equipment, which had all been lost, and only waited an opportunity either to join the army of mercenaries under the Prince of Conde or to go in search of the Duke of Alencon who was somewhere between Berry and Auvergne. Things being so I had not thought of our wedding taking place

1 Charles de Lorraine, Due de Mayenne, 1554-1611, 2nd son of Francois, 2nd Due de Guise.

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before the troubles were over. But as this time seemed slow in coming M. du Plessis, M. de Lizi and others of our friends thought it was wiser to get the wedding over. Our contract was therefore drawn up by the notaries of Donchery, our banns were published and we were married on the 3rd of January 1576. But just as we had fixed the wedding-day news came that the mercenaries raised by the Duke were marching through Lorraine on their way to France, so that the very same week that we were married M. du Plessis set out one morning before daybreak, accompanied by M. de Lizi who had collected every one in Sedan and the neighbourhood who was willing to march with them. They numbered some 80 horse and a few foot-soldiers and took their way towards Jametz ; thence to the Bishopric of Verdun and so on to the Vosges. But just as they expected to join the army on the appointed day, near Chaumont in Bassigny, news reached them that it had not stopped there but had gone further on ; which was thought to be on account of the unwillingness of those about the Prince to allow better people than themselves to approach him. Thus they were obliged to retire. But before they got this news they had heard that two cornets of horse soldiers were camped on the road and they resolved to defeat them as they went by, attacking them in broad daylight in their village. They and their foot-soldiers advanced very resolutely after offering up prayer. But the difficulty of returning, after learning that the Prince was not in the neighbourhood, made the older men among them abandon this plan and their advice was taken. They therefore broke up their company at Louppy and each led a small party back to the Duchess of Bouillon's territory. M. de Lizi and most of those who had come from Sedan went to Francheval. The same day I was informed of this by a note from M. du Plessis and I went to meet him there. The following day M. de Lizi and the rest were of opinion that they should enter Sedan quite openly but M. du Plessis did not agree. He was

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afraid of offending the Duchess and so he decided to retire to Bazeilles for a few days which pleased her, but all the same she sent word that he could come to Sedan provided that he did it secretly.

So back he went to Sedan and stayed there till the 20th March. We then decided to return to France and set out with the intention that M. du Plessis should join the late Duke of Alencon's army. To make the journey easier for him I rode ahorseback with one of my women, leaving the others at Sedan, whence later on they followed me. Our first stopping-place was at Chesne le Pouilleux, near to the place where the King's mercenaries were camped. However, we crossed the whole of Champagne without misadventure, or any unlucky encounter and got to la Borde au Viconte, near Melun, to my eldest brother's house. On the next day I set out for Paris to see if I could get some sort of passport for M. du Plessis under a feigned name, so that he might cross the Seine at Paris and continue his journey towards Moulins in the Bourbonnais, where the Duke was said to be. Once in Paris I got the passport by the help of my friends. I also saw Monseigneur Dareines, one of the presidents in the Parlement de Paris and at that time deputy, along with M. de Beauvais la Node, for the protestant churches in the negotiations for peace. I gave him a remonstrance written by M. du Plessis pointing out that the safety of the protestants was not secure unless guarantee towns, and other places where preachings were allowed, outside of the Duke of Alencon's apanage, were assigned to them, for if the Duke abandoned our party, as might very well happen, we should lose all the security which his apanage gave us. However, Messrs de Beauvais and d'Arcines, as well as many others, would not believe that the Duke could abandon us, in which belief they very soon found themselves mistaken. I can testify that M. du Plessis never for a moment expected anything else.

Having got my passport I went back to M. du Plessis whom I had left in my brother's house. We started at

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once for Paris, whose gates we found reinforced with guards since I had come through. All the same, after showing our passport, we were let into the city and stayed there two days. Thence we went on to Plessis and from there to Levainville, to my sister's house, Mile de Vaucelas. Three days later M. du Plessis set out for his journey's end, leaving me with my sister at Levainville. After leaving me M. du Plessis slept at la Briche, at M. de Cherville's house ; from thence his way lay through the Gastinois by Montargis and so to St Fargeau near where he found the Duke. It may be mentioned that when passing through a town he pretended to be sent by the King to negotiate the peace, so he always got in and was everywhere well received. He never failed to beg the town authorities to come to a composition with the mercenary troops rather than let them proceed to extremities and said that the King himself would prefer to have it so, seeing that he had at present no army to protect them, and so forth. In this way he induced several towns to send to meet the Duke's army as it approached with offers of money and victuals in good quantities, which might have been husbanded better than they were. As he passed by Belesbat not far from Estampes he learnt that the King was not a quarter of a league off, looking at some houses which he wanted to buy, almost alone and quite open to an attack. A little further on he met a gentleman who has since told him more than once, that if he had only known, he could have seized the principal courtiers without the smallest danger, so little were they suspecting any themselves.

When he reached the Duke he proposed to him a plan by which, if he would consent to it, Verdun might fall into his hands and the Duke listened very readily. But afterwards he told him not to speak about it to anybody, and above all not to Duke Casimir, because by the terms of the capitulation they had promised him Metz, Toul and Verdun as hostage towns, and it was hoped by the Articles of Peace to content him with less ; M. du Plessis there-

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fore said no more. At this same time a quarrel in the army arose between M. de Turenne and M. de Bussy 1 and their adherents, which, because of the high quality of the chief opponents, caused a great division. M. de Bussy, as Colonel-General of the Duke's troops, had the privilege of bearing the white Ensign. M. de Turenne on the other hand had brought some fine companies of foot-soldiers from Guienne which the churches there had entrusted to him together with a white flag. It was M. de Bussy's contention that nobody but himself was permitted to use a white flag. M. de Turenne maintained that the flag given to him was sacred like all flags, and he was bound to return it just as he had received it. The Duke was inclined to favour M. de Bussy. M. du Plessis was asked to settle the quarrel and proposed as a way out of the difficulty that, as all flags of one colour were proper to colonels only, M. de Turenne should have a blue or violet one, leaving the white for M. de Bussy, which was the way it was arranged between the colonel of the French infantry and the Piedmontese colonel. However, peace soon after being made M. de Turenne's troops withdrew highly dissatisfied.

Peace was at last made at Chastenoy in Gastinois on the 7th May 1576, M. du Plessis taking a share in most of the discussions. This matter settled he obtained leave of absence from the Duke so that he could attend to his own private affairs. He could easily see by the temper of many that this peace would not last long. As he was at supper with M. de Laval,' to whom he had gone to bid farewell expecting to start the following morning, the Duke sent for him and offered him the choice of going either to England or to Germany with news of the peace, and also to explain to the foreign Princes his reasons for making peace in the same way as he had previously explained his reasons for going to war. M. du Plessis

1 Louis de Clermont de Bussy d'Amboise, assassinated 1579. * Paul de Coligny, Comte de Laval, d. 1585, son of Francois de Coligny, seigneur d'Andelot.

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preferred going to England as the journey was shorter. Dispatches for England were therefore given him and he went to Sens to meet the Queen Mother. She received him well enough but let him know plainly that she was quite aware that he had been mixed up with the affair of St Germain and Mantes. From Sens he went to Paris to see the King and I travelled to meet him there. We stayed in Paris for two months because the Duke's treasurer would give him no money for his journey, nor anything for suitable presents for some of the English lords. The reason for this was that the Queen Mother had succeeded in turning the Duke against the project for she was afraid the mission would serve to unite the Duke and the Queen of England more closely, so that the Duke's treasurer, who was a son of Marcel, was given a counter order not to pay M. du Plessis. All the same when M. du Plessis complained of him to the Duke he was always told to go back and press for payment. At last after a long stay in Paris the journey was given up and we went off to Buhy. M. du Plessis' brother, M. de Buhy, had been promised the governorship of Loches in the Duke's apanage but he had never been able to obtain it for the same reason ; which was the Queen Mother's ill will on account of the affair of St Germain and Mantes. From the fact that M. du Plessis' journey into England was given up many people foretold trouble and all the more because M. de la Vergne, who was a catholic, really was sent to Germany.

It was just at this time that the League, which called itself ' holy ', was founded in Picardy. M. du Plessis sent out warnings from the moment of its birth to the Duke, to the King of Navarre and more especially to M. de la Noue. The first aim of the League was to turn the Estates General, which had been promised by the Edict, into an instrument for the condemnation of all professing the reformed religion. To achieve this they aimed at controlling the towns, the clergy and the nobles in the provincial Estates, so that these Estates

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should all be of one religion and all give identical instructions to the deputies sent to represent them at the Estates General, and thus secure that similar resolutions should be passed by that body. M. du Plessis set himself to combat this in several ways. First, he used persuasion to retard the meeting of the Estates General on the grounds that the public was not yet ready so soon after the civil war, arguing that a medicine of this sort ought to be preceded by various other medicinal concoctions, that one ought to wait till people were on better terms with each other and so forth. On these points he held many discussions, even with M. de la Noue himself. Secondly, he opposed the League's resolutions in the Provincial Estates by various papers written privily and sent to them, more particularly to the Baillage of Senlis to which he belonged. In this baillage he secured a resolution for the maintenance of the Edict, and he was moreover elected by one and all, even the clergy, to represent them at the Estates General. From this he excused himself on the grounds that the Duke was employing him on affairs of importance. Thirdly, by exposing the worthlessness of all Estates whether provincial or general. Fourthly, by writing a remonstrance addressed to the Estates, which was printed and for the most part very well received, in which he pointed out that the best ordinances which could be made by the Estates were useless without peace, that peace depended on the maintenance of the Edict, and so on. This remonstrance was printed with the consent of the late chancellor de Birague,1 who was asleep when the first page, which was quite unimportant, was read aloud to him. Several maitres des requites read the whole of it and were glad it was printed because they really wanted to have peace. However, it nearly cost him his life between Blois and Chasteaudun through falling in with some of his neighbours who belonged to the League.

1 Rene de Birague or Birago. b. at Milan 1509, chancellor 1573, cardinal 1578, d. 1583.

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They were very close on his heels but he turned aside towards Ougues, a village and a house belonging to a protestant gentleman who was away at Blois.

Whilst he was thus travelling to and fro M. du Plessis was urgently summoned by the Duke, who was then at Tours. The Duke wanted to send him to England and this time he was in earnest. It was plain, however, that the Duke meant to desert his party and return to Court so M. du Plessis refused this mission and took his leave, saying at the end quite plainly that he saw that the Duke was about to pursue a course where he could be of no service to him in conscience or in honour. From this moment he made up his mind to join the King of Navarre, who had already written to him an invitation on the very special recommendation of M. de Foix and M. de la Noue with others of the Religion ; and in truth it was such a recommendation that the King of Navarre stared with surprise. M. de Foix told the King, laughingly, that he had better find out such an obvious truth for himself. So M. du Plessis went off to Agen where the King of Navarre was and stayed there several days. The King of Navarre took him into his service and from that day forth used him in his council and in all his affairs. It was decided to oppose by a resort to arms the deliberations of the Estates General at Blois, which, as the King sent word to the King of Navarre, were resolved that only one religion should be allowed in France. The King of Navarre sent M. du Plessis to treat with M. de Montmorenci,1 to induce him to take arms for his party, which he was very willing to do and indeed was on the very point of declaring himself when he excused himself. His reason of so doing was the King's assumption of the leadership of the League, and also his indisposition for the fatigue of war. He held a secret conversation with M. du Plessis at Chantilly where the chiefs of the league in Picardy and Isle de France were staying.

On his return from Gascony he found me brought to

1 Francois de Montmorenci, 2nd Duke, 1530-1579.

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bed with our eldest daughter, who was named Marthe, and who was baptized at Plessis where I had gone for my confinement. Her godfather was M. de Sauseuse, a man of the highest distinction for piety and doctrine. It should be noted that the same day that I was seized with the pains of childbirth, and whilst M. du Plessis was on his way to me, he knew in his heart that I was in labour. He wrote down in his diary what he had felt on the very same day, namely the 17th of December 1576, so that on his arrival, before a word was said by anyone, he told us the day of my confinement and found that he was right. The times waxing more troubled he resolved to join the King of Navarre, crossing France and the zone of war. On his way he passed by Chastelier in Touraine and stopped at M. de la Noue's house, but found him already gone. However, Mme de la Noue was there and he also met M. de Chassincourt who afterwards acted as agent for the churches to the King. While at Chastelier he wrote a letter to the Duke, who was at Blois with the King, pointing out the wrong he had done himself in rejecting the almost certain hope he had of a great position in England, in the Low Countries and in Germany. This letter was shown to the Queen Mother who was greatly annoyed with it. The effect of the Duke's conduct was clearly manifest afterwards by the difficulties he met with in his negotiations with foreign princes where previously everything had been quite easy. Mme de la Noue wanted to rejoin her husband and so she and M. du Plessis set out together. The first day's journey brought them to la Tricherie, in Chastellerault and Poitiers, which was besieged by the Viscount de la Guierches' company but hearing that it was Mme de la Noue they let her through their lines, because of the high respect in which her husband was held. But some of her company, who were discovered from their talk to be from la Rochelle, were taken to Blois and had much ado to get free again. M. du Plessis was let go although one of his grooms, whom he had been teaching all the way to

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call him a different name to his own, did in his fright give him his correct name ; but the fact is there are several others bearing the same name and his calmness put them off their guard. To avoid further danger they wrote to M. Sainte Solene who was in Poitiers, and who was a friend of M. de la Noue's, to ask him to allow the aforesaid lady to stop at Jaulnay, a village between la Tricherie and Poitiers, and to bring with her some fiveand-thirty horsemen. And thereupon they set out. At Jaulnay, M. de Sainte Solene's place, they found a company of de Landreau's camped. This said de Landreau was the chief of the League in those parts who had seized Jaulnay while M. de la Sainte Solene was unable to leave Poitiers on account of a tumult which had broken out in that city. The travellers passed through and some few paces further on turned aside to Monstreuil le Bonin, a house owned by M. de la Noue. There they found M. de Landreau himself and the late M. de Tremouille with him and two hundred lancers as well. For several hours the danger of being recognized was very great but they were allowed to go on. They slept at Monstreuil. On the morrow, between Monstreuil and Loue whilst they were wasting time with looking at the ruins of Lusignan,1 they were attacked by some of M. de Chemeraut's company who might number twenty cuirasses. They turned and confronted them with so much boldness, and held their own with so much firmness that they were allowed to go on their way. Thus they passed through three separate dangers in as many days and at a time when the disturbances caused by the leaguers were very troublesome, and when a very special hatred was felt for M. du Plessis by those among them who knew him for a man of high value and of great devotion to his religion. At length they reached St Jean d'Angely, whence he went on to meet the King of Navarre at Agen.

1 Lusignan, a celebrated castle which Melnsine la F6e was supposed to have founded. Taken and lost twice by the huguenots the king ordered its demolition in 1575 ; M. de Chemeraut carried out the work of destruction.

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He stayed with him during part of this war. He wrote the King of Navarre's declaration setting forth the just reasons which had moved him to take up arms ; he also took part in the siege of Marmande and had his share in negotiating a month's truce to raise the siege, between the Marshal de Biron and M. de Foix to whom were joined Messrs de Segur Pardaillan x and de Gratemx, chancellor of Navarre.

Towards the end of this truce he was sent on a mission to the Queen of England with plenary power in all the King of Navarre's affairs in England, Scotland, the Low Countries, Germany, etc. He even had a number of commissions and blank forms with a seal to sign all dispatches according as he thought fit, which is a power very rarely given to anyone. He had to pass through M. de Mayenne's army in Xaintonge. He was warned at the same time by M. de Foix that Admiral de Villars,8 at that time lieutenant general in Guienne, had been very particularly commanded by the King to be on the watch for him and to seize him on his way, for his journey having been put off more than once had become known to the enemy. He got to Rochelle, however, though not without great danger. He was kept waiting several days at Rochelle because the Prince de Conde" was desirous for certain reasons of his own, namely, an appeal to the Queen of England on his behalf that his messenger, Captain Lisle, should reach her before M. du Plessis did. Through this delay he lost the advantage of a fleet sailing for England. He embarked in the Isle de Rhe" in the first ship he found which was one laden with salt, vexed to the heart that he had lost the escort of the fleet. Once out at sea, by an extraordinary intuition, he told M. du Ronday de Loudun, a notable person who accompanied him, that within a short time they would fall into extreme danger but that God would bring them

1 Segur de Pardaillan, a family of Perigord.

1 Andre de Brancas, Sieur de Villars, important member of the League, killed 1595.

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safely through it. That very same evening, off the Isle Dieu, they were attacked by the King's ships and by some from the coast of Olonne, who captured them and almost succeeded in boarding them and putting them all to the sword out of hand. They did strip them, both M. du Plessis and all his men ; some they tied by their heels and plunged them into the water threatening to drown them or worse, to make them say who they were. By God's grace they all held firm remembering that he had bade them say that they were merchants. M. du Plessis had had just sufficient warning to hide all his commissions, instructions, letters and blank forms in the pump. M. du Ronday, who accompanied him, when very straitly pressed, did say : " I belong to this gentleman" meaning M. du Plessis, who marked his words and felt how dangerous they were. Another of his men although a dagger was at his throat would not give up a belt with eight hundred crowns in it. But M. du Plessis got him to yield at last for he was afraid they would murder him. There were several trunks full of silk clothes aboard which would have clearly shown that they were not simple merchants but it was God's will that their enemies should not notice them. To get him into their snare they took M. du Plessis apart in the lower part of the ship ; there they talked in his hearing of going to la Rochelle or to the Isle de Rhe and thereupon his men begged him to say who he was and to show his passport. But he considered that if they were enemies it would be his certain death, and that even if they were friends they might still kill him to conceal the blunder they had made. At last they left them carrying away everything with them, even the sails, the nautical instruments, the anchor, lead and all. It looked as if they had not really wished to return to shore to give an account of their doings to Sandreau, admiral of that coast, while M. du Plessis, on his part, pretended to be willing to be taken to him although he would have been in the greatest danger had they done so. For not

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only had the King expressly commanded that he should be seized wherever he was found, but also the people along that coast were enraged at the rough way in which they had been treated by M. de Mouy when he took les Sables d'Olonne. M. de Mouy was a cousin of M. du Plessis and one of his best friends ; he was still at Olonne with the Poitou infantry whose colonel he was. His treatment of the town had been so severe that the inhabitants had flung themselves into the sea in despair. M. du Plessis returned to Rochelle in the salt ship. There an offer was made to make good his losses out of the fortune of his captor's father-in-law. But he was not willing that the innocent should suffer for the guilty. This happened in April 1577.

It should be noted that six or seven months before this date M. du Plessis had told me that he was about to run into some extreme peril but that he had God's assurance that he should come safely through it. He had said the same thing to Mme de la Noue, who, recalling his words when they were stopped at la Tricherie after getting safely through all the other dangers on their road, asked him if he thought that this was the peril of which he had spoken to her. He said no, but that in a very short time he should fall into it but that he had full confidence that God would bring him safely through. Eight days later he got back to la Rochelle where he got his outfit together again and borrowed enough money for his journey from M. de Rohan, who lent it him very willingly. And so he passed over into England whence he sent for me to join him.