The Tales of the Heptameron, Vol. I | Page 7

pair. Other
authorities have endorsed this view; but M. Le Roux de Lincy asserts
that in the pieces referred to, and others in which Marot incidentally
speaks of Margaret, he can find no trace either of the fancy ascribed to
her for the poet or of the passion which the latter may have felt for her.
Like all those who surrounded the Duchess of Alençon, Marot, he
remarks, exalted her beauty, art, and talent to the clouds; but whenever
it is to her that his verses are directly addressed, he does not depart
from the respect he owes to her. To give some likelihood to his
conjectures, Lenglet-Dufresnoy had to suppose that Marot addressed
Margaret in certain verses which were not intended for her. In the
epistles previously mentioned, and in several short pieces, rondeaux,
epigrams, new years' addresses, and epitaphs really written to or for the
sister of Francis I., one only finds respectful praise, such as the humble
courtier may fittingly offer to his patroness. There is nothing whatever,
adds M. Le Roux de Lincy, to promote the suspicion that a passion,
either unfortunate or favoured, inspired a single one of these
compositions.
The campaign in which Francis I. was engaged at the time when
Marot's connection with Margaret began, and concerning which the
poet supplied her with information, was destined to influence the whole
reign, since it furnished the occasion of the first open quarrel between
Francis I. and the companion of his childhood, Charles de Bourbon,
Count of Montpensier, and Constable of France. Yielding too readily
on this occasion to the persuasions of his mother, Francis intrusted to
Margaret's husband the command of the vanguard, a post which the
Constable considered his own by virtue of his office. He felt mortally
offended at the preference given to the Duke of Alençon, and from that
day forward he and Francis were enemies for ever.
Whilst the King was secretly jealous of Bourbon, who was one of the

handsomest, richest, and bravest men in the kingdom, Louise of Savoy,
although forty-four years of age, was in love with him. The Constable,
then thirty-two, had lost his wife, Susan de Bourbon, from whom he
had inherited vast possessions. To these Louise of Savoy, finding her
passion disregarded, laid claim, as being a nearer relative of the
deceased. A marriage, as Chancellor Duprat suggested, would have
served to reconcile the parties, but the Constable having rejected the
proposed alliance--with disdain, so it is said--the suit was brought
before the Parliament and decided in favour of Louise. Such
satisfaction as she may have felt was not, however, of long duration, for
Charles de Bourbon left France, entered the service of Charles V., and
in the following year (1524) helped to drive the French under Bonnivet
out of Italy.

II.
The Regency of Louise of Savoy--Margaret and the royal children--The
defeat of Pavia and the death of the Duke of Alençon--The Royal
Trinity--"All is lost save honour"-- Margaret's journey to Spain and her
negotiations with Charles V.--Her departure from Madrid--The scheme
to arrest her, and her flight on horseback--Liberation of Francis I.--
Clever escape of Henry of Navarre from prison--Margaret's secret
fancy for him--Her personal appearance at this period--Marriage of
Henry and Margaret at St. Germain.
The most memorable events of Margaret's public life date from this
period. Francis, who was determined to reconquer the Milanese, at once
made preparations for a new campaign. Louise of Savoy was again
appointed Regent of the kingdom, and as Francis's wife, Claude, was
dying of consumption, the royal children were confided to the care of
Margaret, whose husband accompanied the army. Louise of Savoy at
first repaired to Lyons with her children, in order to be nearer to Italy,
but she and Margaret soon returned to Blois, where the Queen was
dying. Before the royal army had reached Milan Claude expired, and
soon afterwards Louise was incapacitated by a violent attack of gout,
while the children of Francis also fell ill. The little ones, of whom

Margaret had charge, consisted of three boys and three girls, the former
being Francis, the Dauphin, who died in 1536, Charles, Duke of
Orleans, who died in 1545, and Henry, Count of Angoulême, who
succeeded his father on the throne. The girls comprised Madeleine,
afterwards the wife of James V. of Scotland, Margaret, subsequently
Duchess of Savoy, and the Princess Charlotte. The latter was
particularly beloved by her aunt Margaret, who subsequently dedicated
to her memory her poem Le Miroir de l'Ame Pécheresse. While the
other children recovered from their illness, little Charlotte, as Margaret
records in her letters to Bishop Briçonnet, was seized "with so grievous
a malady of fever and flux," that after a month's suffering she expired,
to the deep grief of her aunt, who throughout her