The Princess of Cleves | Page 6

the design but the
Constable, secrecy being necessary, he knew, to the success of it. The
Count de Randan advised the Duke to go to England under pretence of
travelling; but the Duke disapproving this proposal, sent Mr. Lignerol,
a sprightly young gentleman, his favourite, to sound the Queen's
inclinations, and to endeavour to make some steps towards advancing
that affair: in the meantime, he paid a visit to the Duke of Savoy, who
was then at Brussels with the King of Spain. The death of Queen Mary
brought great obstructions to the Treaty; the Congress broke up at the
end of November, and the King returned to Paris.
There appeared at this time a lady at Court, who drew the eyes of the
whole world; and one may imagine she was a perfect beauty, to gain
admiration in a place where there were so many fine women; she was
of the same family with the Viscount of Chartres, and one of the
greatest heiresses of France, her father died young, and left her to the
guardianship of Madam de Chartres his wife, whose wealth, virtue, and
merit were uncommon. After the loss of her husband she retired from
Court, and lived many years in the country; during this retreat, her chief
care was bestowed in the education of her daughter; but she did not
make it her business to cultivate her wit and beauty only, she took care
also to inculcate virtue into her tender mind, and to make it amiable to
her. The generality of mothers imagine, that it is sufficient to forbear
talking of gallantries before young people, to prevent their engaging in
them; but Madam de Chartres was of a different opinion, she often
entertained her daughter with descriptions of love; she showed her what
there was agreeable in it, that she might the more easily persuade her
wherein it was dangerous; she related to her the insincerity, the
faithlessness, and want of candour in men, and the domestic
misfortunes that flow from engagements with them; on the other hand
she made her sensible, what tranquillity attends the life of a virtuous
woman, and what lustre modesty gives to a person who possesses birth
and beauty; at the same time she informed her, how difficult it was to
perserve this virtue, except by an extreme distrust of one's self, and by
a constant attachment to the only thing which constitutes a woman's
happiness, to love and to be loved by her husband.

This heiress was, at that time, one of the greatest matches in France,
and though she was very young several marriages had been proposed to
her mother; but Madam de Chartres being ambitious, hardly thought
anything worthy of her daughter, and when she was sixteen years of
age she brought her to Court. The Viscount of Chartres, who went to
meet her, was with reason surprised at the beauty of the young lady; her
fine hair and lovely complexion gave her a lustre that was peculiar to
herself; all her features were regular, and her whole person was full of
grace.
The day after her arrival, she went to choose some jewels at a famous
Italian's; this man came from Florence with the Queen, and had
acquired such immense riches by his trade, that his house seemed rather
fit for a Prince than a merchant; while she was there, the Prince of
Cleves came in, and was so touched with her beauty, that he could not
dissemble his surprise, nor could Mademoiselle de Chartres forbear
blushing upon observing the astonishment he was in; nevertheless, she
recollected herself, without taking any further notice of him than she
was obliged to do in civility to a person of his seeming rank; the Prince
of Cleves viewed her with admiration, and could not comprehend who
that fine lady was, whom he did not know. He found by her air, and her
retinue, that she was of the first quality; by her youth he should have
taken her to be a maid, but not seeing her mother, and hearing the
Italian call her madam, he did not know what to think; and all the while
he kept his eyes fixed upon her, he found that his behaviour
embarrassed her, unlike to most young ladies, who always behold with
pleasure the effect of their beauty; he found too, that he had made her
impatient to be going, and in truth she went away immediately: the
Prince of Cleves was not uneasy at himself on having lost the view of
her, in hopes of being informed who she was; but when he found she
was not known, he was under the utmost surprise; her beauty, and the
modest air he had observed in her actions, affected him so, that from
that