,
and the great collar of St. Michael; and had his white-gloved hands
crossed upon his breast. At the foot of the bier stood a small table
upon which was a massive silver crucifix; and near it a second
supporting a vase of holy water. In this state the deceased Duke
remained during eight days; the officers of his household waiting upon
him in the same manner, and with the same ceremonies as when he was
alive. A prelate said the grace; the water, in which while in existence
the Prince had been accustomed to lave his hands previously to
commencing a meal, was presented to his vacant chair; the different
courses were placed upon the table by the proper officers; a silver
goblet was prepared at the same moment in which he had formerly been in
the habit of taking his first draught; and, finally, the same prelate
uttered a thanksgiving, to which he added a "De profundis," and the
prayer for the dead; when the food that had been served up was
distributed to the poor.

At the termination of the eight days the funeral service was performed
at Notre Dame, in the presence of the Knights of the Holy Ghost, all
wearing their collars. The chief mourners were the Prince de Conde and
the Comte de Soissons, the cousins of the deceased Duke; and his funeral
oration was delivered by M. de Fenouillet, Bishop of Montpellier. The
body was then conveyed to Champigny in Poitou, where the Duke was laid
to rest with his ancestors.[379]

Having strictly forbidden all public festivities, Henry removed the
Court to Fontainebleau; and Marguerite, whose unblushing libertinism was
a byword in Paris, seized the moment to erect an almshouse and convent
upon a portion of the grounds of her hotel. It was stated that the
ex-Queen during her residence at Usson, where, as we have already seen,
her career was one of the most degrading profligacy, had made a vow that
should she ever be permitted to revisit Paris, she would support a
certain number of monks who should daily sing the praises of the Deity;
and she accordingly gave to the chapel attached to the convent the name
of the Chapel of Praise, while the house itself was designated the
Monastery of the Holy Trinity. It was no sooner built than it was given
by the foundress to the reformed and bare-footed Fathers of St.
Augustine; but after having solicited in their favour various privileges
which were accorded by the Sovereign-Pontiff, she dispossessed them in
the year 1613, and established in their plac