The Tales of the Heptameron, Vol. I | Page 9

[Louise], and of all those who love you,
that it has been to us as a Holy Ghost after the agony of the Passion....
Madame has felt so great a renewal of strength, that whilst day and
evening last not a moment is lost over your business, so that you need
have no grief or care about your kingdom and children." (2)
1 See extract from the Registers of the Parliament of Paris (Nov. 10,
1525) in Dulaure's Histoire de Paris, Paris, 1837, vol. iii. p. 209; and
Lalanne's Journal d'un Bourgeois de Paris, Paris, 1854, p. 234. The
original of the letter no longer exists, but the authenticity of the text
cannot be disputed, as all the more essential portions are quoted in the
collective reply of Margaret and Louise of Savoy, which is still extant.
See Champollion-Figeac's Captivité de François Ier, pp. 129, 130.
2 Génin's Nouvelles Lettres de la Peine de Navarre, Paris, 1842, p. 27.
Louise of Savoy was indeed now displaying courage and ability. News
shortly arrived that the King had been transferred to Madrid, and that
Charles demanded most onerous conditions for the release of his
prisoner. At this juncture Francis wrote to his mother that he was very
ill, and begged of her to come to him. Louise, however, felt that she
ought not to accede to this request, for it would be jeopardising the

monarchy to place the Regent as well as the King of France in the
Emperor's hands; accordingly she resolved that Margaret should go
instead of herself.
The Baron of St. Blancard, general of the King's galleys, who had
previously offered to rescue Francis while the latter was on his way to
Spain, received orders to make the necessary preparations for
Margaret's voyage, of which she defrayed the expense, as is shown by a
letter she wrote to John Brinon, Chancellor of Alençon. In this missive
she states that the Baron of St. Blancard has made numerous
disbursements on account of her journey which are to be refunded to
him, "so that he may know that I am not ungrateful for the good service
he has done me, for he hath acquitted himself thereof in such a way that
I have occasion to be gratified." (1)
1 Génin's Lettres de Marguerite, &c., p. 193.--Génin's Notice, ibid., p.
19.
Despite adverse winds, Margaret embarked on August 27th, 1525, at
Aigues-Mortes, with the President de Selves, the Archbishop of
Embrun, the Bishop of Tarbes, and a fairly numerous suite of ladies.
The Emperor had granted her a safe-conduct for six months, and upon
landing in Spain she hurried to Madrid, where she found her brother
very sick both in mind and body. She eagerly caressed and tended him,
and with a good result, as she knew his nature and constitution much
better than the doctors. To raise his depressed spirits she had recourse
to religious ceremonies, giving orders for an altar to be erected in the
room where he was lying. She then requested the Archbishop of
Embrun to celebrate mass, and received the communion in company of
all the French retainers about the prisoner. It is stated that the King,
who for some hours had given no sign of life, opened his eyes at the
moment of the consecration of the elements, and asked for the
communion, saying, "God will cure me, soul and body." From this time
forward he began to recover his health, though he remained fretful on
account of his captivity.
It was a difficult task to obtain his release. The Court and the Emperor
were extremely polite, but Margaret soon recognised the emptiness of

their protestations of good-will. "They all tell me that they love the
King," she wrote, "but I have little proof of it. If I had to do with honest
folks, who understand what honour is, I should not care, but it is the
contrary." (1)
1 Lettres de Marguerite, &c., p. 21.
She was not the woman to turn back at the first obstacle, however; she
began by endeavouring to gain over several high personages, and on
perceiving that the men avoided speaking with her on serious business,
she addressed herself to their mothers, wives, or daughters. In a letter to
Marshal de Montmorency, then with the King, she thus refers to the
Duke del Infantado, who had received her at his castle of Guadalaxara.
"You will tell the King that the Duke has been warned from the Court
that if he wishes to please the Emperor neither he nor his son is to
speak to me; but the ladies are not forbidden me, and to them I will
speak twofold." (1)
Throughout the negotiations for her brother's release Margaret always
maintained the dignity and reserve fitting to her sex and situation.
Writing to