rancois de Luxembourg, of the House of Brienne, had
for some time paid his addresses to Mademoiselle de Lorraine, with the
hope and intention of making her his wife; a fact which the licentious
and frivolous King no sooner ascertained than he declared his
inclination to effect an alliance between the disappointed suitor and
his own mistress, Mademoiselle de Chateauneuf, for whom he was anxious
to provide through this medium. He consequently proposed the arrangement
to M. de Luxembourg on the day of his coronation, but received the cold
and firm reply that the Count felt himself bound to congratulate
Mademoiselle de Lorraine on her good fortune, since by changing her
lover she had also been enabled to increase her dignity; but that, as
regarded himself, since he could derive no benefit whatever from
becoming the husband of Mademoiselle de Chateauneuf, he begged that his
Majesty would excuse him from contracting such an alliance. The King,
however, declared that he would admit of no refusal, and insisted upon
his instant obedience; whereupon M. de Luxembourg demanded eight days to
make the necessary preparations, to which Henry demurred, and it was
finally arranged that he should be allowed three days for that purpose,
after which he was to hold himself prepared to obey the royal command.
These three days sufficed to enable the intended victim to make his
escape, and he accordingly left the kingdom. His sarcasm against herself
had so deeply irritated Queen Louise that after the death of her husband
she entreated Henri IV to revenge her injured dignity upon her former
suitor, but the monarch declined to aid in any further persecution of
the unfortunate young noble. The married life of the Queen was a most
unhappy one, and appeared to have entirely disgusted her with the world,
as on becoming a widow she passed two years of seclusion and mourning at
Chenonceaux, whence she removed to the chateau of Moulins, where she
devoted herself to the most austere duties of religion. In her will, by
which she bequeathed nearly the whole of her property to the Church and
to charitable purposes, she left a large sum for the erection of a
Capuchin convent at Bourges, where she desired that she might be
ultimately interred; but by command of Henri IV the convent was built in
the Faubourg St. Honore, at Paris, and her body deposited in the chapel.

[68] Sully, _Mem_. vol. iii. p. 312.

[69] Saint-Edme, p. 200.

[70] Equal, in the present