is
enemy, arrested him there, and took him as a prisoner to the
Bastille, by the Queen's orders. But he remained there only
overnight, and then she sent for him and gave him a reprimand
partly sharp, partly gentle, for she was naturally of good heart,
and harsh only when she wished to be. I know very well what she
said to me also, inasmuch as I was to be my cousin's second:
that as I was older I ought to know better.

The year that the King returned from Poland, a quarrel began
between De Grillon and D'Entaigues, both brave and valiant gentlemen,
who being called out and ready to fight, the King gave orders
for their arrest of M. de Rambouillet, one of his Captains of
the Guards on duty; and also ordered M. de Nevers and Marshal
de Retz to reconcile the two men, which they failed to do. The
Queen thereupon summoned them both, that evening, to her room;
and as their quarrel was in regard to two great ladies of her
household, she commanded them sternly and then besought them
gently to leave to her the settlement of their differences; for
since she had done them the honour to meddle in it, and the princes,
marshals, and captains had failed to bring them together, she
wished to have the credit and honour for so doing. By this means
she made them friends, and they embraced unreservedly, taking all
from her; so that by her prudence the subject of the quarrel,
which touched upon the honour of the two ladies and was rather
delicate, was never known publicly. This shows the great goodness
of the Princess! And then to charge that she never liked the
nobility! Ha! If the truth were known she liked and esteemed it
too much. I believe that there was not a house in her kingdom
with whom she was not personally acquainted. It is said that she
learned all about them from the great King Francis, who knew
all the genealogies of the great families of his kingdom; while
as for her husband, the King, he had this faculty that after he
had once seen a gentleman he recognised him ever after, knowing
not only his face but also his deeds and his reputation. I have
seen this Queen, frequently and as a usual thing, when her son the
King was a minor, take the trouble to present to him personally the
gentlemen of his realm, reminding him that "This one has rendered
good service to the King, your grandfather," and such and such
things "to the King, your father," and so on; and commanding
him to be mindful of them, to cherish them, look after their