s the first Archbishop of
Paris, the metropolis having previously been only an episcopal see.

[121] Francois d'Escoubleau, better known under the name of Cardinal de
Sourdis, was the son of Francois d'Escoubleau, Marquis d'Alliere, and
was of an ancient and noble house. He distinguished himself so greatly
by his mental and moral qualities as to secure the confidence and regard
of Henri IV, who, in 1598, obtained for him a cardinal's hat; and in the
following year he was created Archbishop of Bordeaux, in which city he
died in 1628.

[122] Cayet, p. 191.

[123] L'Etoile, vol. ii. p. 546.

[124] Bassompierre, _Mem_. p. 25.

[125] L'Etoile, vol. ii. p. 549.

[126] Jerome (or Albert) de Gondy, peer of France, knight of the King's
Orders, and first gentleman of the bedchamber, occupied the mansion
which was subsequently known as the Hotel de Conde. He enjoyed the
confidence of Catherine de Medicis and Charles IX so fully, that he had
the honour of espousing, in the name of that monarch, the Princess
Elizabeth of Austria, daughter of the Emperor Maximilian II. At the
coronation of Henri III he represented the person of the Constable; and
at that of Henri IV, he was proxy for the Comte de Toulouse.

[127] Anne d'Este, Duchesse de Nemours, was the mother of the Duc de
Mayenne, and grandmother of the young Due de Guise who aspired to the
throne. She was first married to Francois de Lorraine, Duc de Guise, and
subsequently to Jacques de Savoie, Duc de Nemours, whose son, after his
decease, also pretended to the crown.

[128] One historian (Sauval., _Gallerie des Rois de France_, vol. i.)
asserts that the King himself presented his mistress to his wife; but he
is unsupported in this statement save by Bassompierre, who also says:
"The King presented Madame de Verneuil to her, who was graciously
received" _(Memoires,_ p. 25). Every other authority, however,
contradicts this assertion, which is indeed too monstrous to
be credible.

[129] L'Etoile, vol. i. p. 550.

[130] This residence, which was situated near the Bastille, and
subsequently known as the Hotel de Lesdiguieres, was the same in which
_la belle Gabrielle_ had breathed her last.

[131] Bassompierre, _Mem_. p. 25.

[132] Wraxall, _History of France_, vol. vi. p. 187.

[133] L'Etoile, vol. ii. pp. 550, 551.

[134] Bassompierre, _Mem_. p. 25.

[135] Bassompierre, _Mem_. p. 50.

[136] L'Etoile, vol. iii. pp. 505, 506.

[137] Sully, _Mem_. vol. vii. pp.