afraid that his plans
would be thwarted either by some intrigue of the emperor, or by the
refusal of France, or by the grandees of the kingdom looking with evil
eye upon the marriage, that he gave orders to embark at once, and sailed
for Marseille, where he arrived toward the end of October, 1533.

Notwithstanding its wealth, the house of the Medici was eclipsed on this
occasion by the court of France. To show the lengths to which the Medici
pushed their magnificence, it is enough to say that the "dozen" put
into the bride's purse by the Pope were twelve gold medals of priceless
historical value, which were then unique. But Francois I., who loved
the display of festivals, distinguished himself on this occasion. The
wedding festivities of Henri de Valois and Catherine de' Medici lasted
thirty-four days.

It is useless to repeat the details, which have been given in all the
histories of Provence and Marseille, as to this celebrated interview
between the Pope and the king of France, which was opened by a jest of
the Duke of Albany as to the duty of keeping fasts,--a jest mentioned
by Brantome and much enjoyed by the court, which shows the tone of the
manners of that day.

Many conjectures have been made as to Catherine's barrenness, which
lasted ten years. Strange calumnies still rest upon this queen, all of
whose actions were fated to be misjudged. It is sufficient to say that
the cause was solely in Henri II. After the difficulty was removed,
Catherine had ten children. The delay was, in one respect, fortunate for
France. If Henri II. had had children by Diane de Poitiers the politics
of the kingdom would have been dangerously complicated. When the
difficulty was removed the Duchesse de Valentinois had reached the
period of a woman's second youth. This matter alone will show that the
true life of Catherine de' Medici is still to be written, and also--as
Napoleon said with profound wisdom--that the history of France should be
either in one volume only, or one thousand.

Here is a contemporaneous and succinct account of the meeting of Clement
VII. and the king of France:

"His Holiness the Pope, having been conducted to the palace, which
was, as I have said, prepared beyond the port, every one retired
to their own quarters till the morrow, when his Holiness was to
make his entry; the which was made with great sumptuousness and
magnificence, he being seated in a chair carried on the shoulders
of two men an