eded in retaining his duchy, which he found invaded and
in great distress when he inherited it.

In short, nothing can rob this house of the Medici of its lustre,
and of its nobleness and grandeur in all ways.

As to the house of Boulogne and Auvergne, who can deny its greatness,
descending as it does from that noble Eustache de Boulogne, whose
brother, Godefroy de Bouillon, who bore his arms and escutcheons
with that vast number of princes, seigneurs, chevaliers, and
Christian soldiers even to Jerusalem and to the sepulchre of
our Saviour, where he would have made himself, by his sword and
by the favour of God, king, not only of Jerusalem, but also of
the greater part of the East, to the confusion of Mahomet, the
Saracens, and the Mahometans, to the amazement of all the rest
of the world, and would have replanted Christianity in Asia when
it had fallen to the lowest depths?

Besides this house had ever been sought in alliance by all the
monarchies of Christendom and by the great families, such as
those of France, England, Scotland, Hungary, and Portugal, which
latter kingdom belonged to it of right, as I have heard President
de Thou say, and as the Queen herself did me the honor to tell
me at Bordeaux, when she heard of the death of King Sebastian.
The Medici were even allowed to argue the justice of their claims
at the last Assembly of States previous to the death of King
Henry.

And it was for this reason that she armed M. de Strozzi for an
invasion of Portugal, where the King of Spain had usurped the
kingdom. She was prevented from carrying out her well-chosen
plans by reasons which I will explain at another time.

I will leave it to you, therefore, whether the house of Boulogne
was great: yea, so great it is that I once heard Pope Pius IV
say, while sitting at table at a dinner he gave after he had
made Ferrara and Guise cardinals, that the house of Boulogne
was so great and noble he knew none in France, no matter which,
that could surpass it in antiquity, valour, and grandeur.

All this is much against those malicious detractors, who have
said that this Queen was a Florentine of lowly birth, as one
can see the contrary to be the case.

Moreover, she was not so poor since she brought to France as
portion of her marriage estates which are valued to-day twenty-six
thousand livres, such as the Counties of Auvergne and Lauragais, the
seigneuries of Leverons, Donzenac, Boussac, Gorreges, Hondecourt,
and other