olation in the society of her
immediate household, and the zealous devotion of Madame de Concini; to
whose first-born child she became joint sponsor with M. de Soissons,
greatly to the annoyance of the King, who watched with a jealous eye the
ever-increasing influence of the Florentine favourite.

Previously to her marriage with the Duc de Bar, Madame, the King's
sister, had affianced herself to M. de Soissons; but the circumstance no
sooner became known to Henry than he expressed his extreme distaste at
such an union, and directed the Due de Sully to expostulate with both
parties, and to induce them, should it be possible, to abandon the
project, and to give a written promise never to renew their engagement.
In this difficult and delicate mission the minister ultimately
succeeded; but since that period a coldness had existed between the two
nobles which at length terminated in mutual dissension and avoidance. It
was, consequently, with considerable surprise that while preparing for
his embassy to England, where he was entrusted with the congratulations
of his own sovereign to James I. on his accession, M. de Sully found
himself on one occasion addressed by the Prince in an accent of warmth
and friendliness to which he had long been unaccustomed from his lips;
and heard him cordially express his obligation for some service which,
in his official capacity, the minister had lately rendered him, and
declare that thenceforward he should never recur to the past, but rather
trust that for the future they might be firm and fast friends. Sully
answered in the same spirit; and thus a misunderstanding which had
disturbed the whole Court, where each had partisans who violently
defended his cause, and thus rendered the schism more serious than it
might otherwise have been, was apparently terminated; but the Duke had
no sooner returned to France than it was renewed more bitterly than
ever, to the extreme annoyance of the King, who was reluctant to
interfere; the high rank of M. de Soissons on the one hand, and the
eminent services of Sully on the other, rendering him equally averse to
dissatisfy either party.

In the month of August 1603 the Comte de Soissons, whose lavish
expenditure made it important for him to increase his income by some new
concession on the part of the monarch, held an earnest consultation
with Madame de Verneuil, with whom he was on the closest terms of
intimacy, as to the most feasible method of effecting hi