rom
the city, and rejoined the Duke, in close intercourse with whom he
remained during the following years, accompanying him finally on his
unsuccessful expedition to the Low Countries in the summer of 1578. On
Anjou's return to court in January, 1579, Bussy, who seems to have
alienated his patron by his presumptuous behaviour, did not go with him,
but took up his residence again in the territory of Anjou. He was less
occupied, however, with his official duties than with his criminal
passion for Francoise de Maridort, wife of the Comte de Monsoreau, who
had been appointed _grand-veneur_ to the Duke. The favorite mansion of
the Comte was at La Coutanciere, and it was here that Bussy ardently
pursued his intrigue with the Countess. But a jocular letter on the
subject, which he sent to the Duke of Anjou, was shown, according to the
historian, De Thou, by the Duke to the King, who, in his turn, passed it
on to Montsoreau. The latter thereupon forced his wife to make a
treacherous assignation with Bussy at the chateau on the night of the
18th of August, and on his appearance, with his companion in pleasure,
Claude Colasseau, they were both assassinated by the retainers of the
infuriated husband.

The tragic close of Bussy's life has given his career an interest
disproportionate to his historical importance. But the drama of La
Coutanciere was only the final episode in a career crowded with romantic
incidents. The annalists and memoir-writers of the period prove that
Bussy's exploits as a duellist and a gallant had impressed vividly the
imagination of his contemporaries. Margaret of Valois, the wife of Henry
IV, Brantome, who was a relative and friend of D'Ambois, and L'Estoile,
the chronicler and journalist, are amongst those who have left us their
impressions of this _beau sabreur_. Chapman must have had access to
memorials akin to theirs as a foundation for his drama, and though, for
chronological reasons, they cannot have been utilized by him, they
illustrate the materials which he employed.

The first two Acts of the play are chiefly occupied with Bussy's
arrival at court, his entry into the service of Monsieur, his quarrel
with Guise, and the duel between himself and Barrisor, with two
supporters on either side. Brantome, in his _Discours sur les Duels_,
relates from personal knowledge an incident between Guise and Bussy,
which took place shortly after the accession of Henry III. The Duke took
occasion of a royal hunt