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notables of France and Poland, tendering to each a golden salver
as large as the palm of the hand, finely enamelled and engraved,
showing the fruits and products peculiar to each province, as
for example: In Provence, citrons and oranges; in Champagne,
cereals; in Burgundy, wines; in Guienne, soldiers--certainly a
great honour to Guienne!--and so on through the various other
provinces.

At Bayonne similar gifts were bestowed, and a combat was fought
which I would willingly describe, but it would take too much
space. But at Bayonne the men presented gifts to the ladies,
while here it was the ladies giving to the men. And note that
all these inventions were derived from no other bounty and brain
than that of the Queen. She was mistress and deviser of everything.
She had such a knack that, no matter what spectacles were offered
at Court, hers surpassed all the others. So they had a saying
that only the Queen Mother knew how to do fine things. And if
such shows were expensive, they also gave great pleasure, and
people used to say that she wished to imitate the Roman emperors,
who studied how to exhibit games to the people and give them
pleasure, and so amuse them that they had no time to get into
mischief.

In addition to the fact that she delighted to give pleasure to
her people, she gave them much money to earn; for she greatly
preferred all kinds of skilled workmen and paid them well. Each
was kept busy at his own work, so that they never lacked employment,
especially masons and architects, as will be seen in her beautiful
mansions--the Tuileries (still unfinished), Saint Maur, Monceaux,
and Chenonceaux. Also she favoured men of genius and gladly read,
or had read to her, the works which they presented to her or
which she knew they had written, even the high-flown invectives
which they launched against her, at which she scoffed and laughed,
but took no other notice of, calling the writers prattlers and
penny-liners.

She wished to know everything. On the journey to Lorraine, during
the second uprising, the Huguenots took with them a very fine
culverin which they nicknamed the "queen mother." They were obliged
to bury it at Villenozze as they were unable to drag it further
because of its excessive weight and poor harness; and they were
never able to find it again. The Queen Mother was curious to
know why they had named the gun for her, when she heard about
it. Finally some one, after being strongly pressed by her