c de
Vendome, and Mademoiselle de Mercoeur,[385] but the mother and
grandmother of the young lady had succeeded in inspiring her with such a
hatred of the legitimated Prince, that she would not allow his name to
be mentioned in her presence; and when she ascertained that the monarch
had resolved upon the fulfilment of the contract, she withdrew to the
Capuchin Convent, declaring that sooner than become the wife of M. de
Vendome she would take the veil. The Duchesse de Mercoeur and her mother
had been anxious to marry the young heiress to the Prince de Conde, or
failing in this project, to some relative of their own, in order to
retain her large possessions in the family; but the King had resolved
upon securing them to his son by enforcing the promise made by the
deceased Duke. He accordingly adopted conciliatory measures by which he
succeeded in effecting his object, and before the conclusion of the
rejoicings on the birth of the infant Prince, the marriage was finally
celebrated in the chapel of Fontainebleau with all the pomp and
magnificence of which the ceremony was susceptible, while the King
appeared beside his son at the altar blazing with jewels of inestimable
price, and joined in the festivities consequent upon the alliance with a
zest and enjoyment which were the theme of general comment.

The arrival of Don Pedro de Toledo,[386] the ambassador of Philip III
of Spain, at this precise juncture gave further occasion for that
display of splendour in which Henry had latterly delighted, and after
his public reception at Fontainebleau the Court removed to Paris, where
the ambassador had been sumptuously lodged at the Hotel de Gondy. His
arrogance, however, soon disgusted the French King; nor did he hesitate
to exhibit the same unbecoming hauteur towards his kinswoman the Queen,
who having despatched a nobleman of her household to welcome him to
France in that character, was informed by her envoy that the only answer
which he returned to the compliment was conveyed in the remark that
crowned heads had no relatives; they had only subjects.

The sole occasion upon which he laid aside his _morgue_, and then to all
appearance involuntarily, was while driving through the streets of the
capital in the carriage of the King. He had previously visited Paris,
and as he contrasted its present magnificence with the squalor, filth,
and disorder which it had formerly exhibited, he could not suppress an
exclamation of astonishment