Rose D'Albret; or Troublous Times. Read online

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  COLLECTION

  OF

  BRITISH AUTHORS.

  VOL. LXV.

  ---------------

  ROSE D'ALBRET BY JAMES.

  IN ONE VOLUME.

  TAUCHNITZ EDITION.

  By the same Author,

  MORLEY ERNSTEIN (WITH PORTRAIT) 1 vol.

  FOREST DAYS 1 vol.

  THE FALSE HEIR 1 vol.

  ARABELLA STUART 1 vol.

  ARRAH NEIL 1 vol.

  AGINCOURT 1 vol.

  THE SMUGGLER 1 vol.

  THE STEP-MOTHER 2 vols.

  BEAUCHAMP 1 vol.

  HEIDELBERG 1 vol.

  THE GIPSY 1 vol.

  THE CASTLE OF EHRENSTEIN 1 vol.

  DARNLEY 1 vol.

  RUSSELL 2 vols.

  THE CONVICT 2 vols.

  SIR THEODORE BROUGHTON 2 vols.

  ROSE D'ALBRET

  OR

  TROUBLOUS TIMES.

  BY

  G. P. R. JAMES.

  _COPYRIGHT EDITION_.

  LEIPZIGBERNHARD TAUCHNITZ1844.

  ROSE D'ALBRET;ORTROUBLOUS TIMES.

  CHAPTER I.

  Whatever effect the institution of chivalry might have upon themanners and customs of the people of Europe; however much it mightmitigate the rudeness of the middle ages, and soften the character ofnations just emerging from barbarism, there was one point which itleft untouched by its softening influence, and which remained, tillwithin a few years of the present period, as a case of great hardshipupon those who are supposed to have benefited more particularly by therise of chivalrous feeling. Women, to whose defence the knights of olddevoted their swords: women, for whose honour and renown so many agallant champion has shed his blood: women, for whose love so manywars have been kindled and so many deeds done, were, till within ashort period of the present day, mere slaves in those matters wheretheir own happiness was concerned. Their influence, it is true, mightbe great over the heart and mind, but in person, at least till aftertheir marriage, they were simply bonds-women; they ruled without powereven over themselves, and had no authority whatsoever in thosetransactions which were of the most importance to them.

  Where parents were living--although even then it was thought scarcelynecessary to consult a young woman upon the disposal of her ownhand,--yet we may suppose that parental affection might occasionallyenable her to exercise some influence, however small, in theacceptance or rejection of a lover. But where the parents were dead,she had for many centuries, especially in France, no voice whatever inthe matter, and was consigned, often against her inclination, to thearms of one whom perhaps she had never seen, whom she often regardedwith indifference, and often with hate. It is little to be wondered atthat such a state of things produced gross immorality. The first actof a young woman's life, the act alone by which she obtainedcomparative freedom, being one by which all the fine and delicatesensibilities, planted by God in the female heart, were violated atonce,--it is little to be wondered at, I say, that the vows by whichmen endeavoured to supply the place of principles, should be violatedlikewise at the voice of inclination.

  The fault, however, was in the feudal system; and the manner in whichlands were first acquired in Europe, produced regulations for theirtransmission which generated the greatest social evils,--from theconsequences of which indeed we are not yet altogether free. Eachfeoff was required to be held by a man who could do service to hissovereign in the field; and, consequently, when any vassal or vavasordied, leaving behind him one or more daughters, the law required thatthe feoff should be managed by a guardian till such time as, bymarriage, the heiress or heiresses could present men to do homage fortheir lands, and perform military service to the superior lord. Thus,an heiress could not marry without her lord's approbation; and by theconstitutions of St. Louis it was enacted, that, even where a daughterwas left under the care of her mother, the lord might require securitythat she should not form an alliance without his consent; and the goodking, in the rule which he lays down for the choice of a husband for award, directs the guardian simply, if there be two or three who offer,to take the richest.

  As the feudal system declined in France, however, the power of thelord over his vassals of course diminished, and long before the end ofthe sixteenth century it was but little exercised by one nobleman overanother. In cases where large inheritances fell to daughters, theirmarriages were made up in their own families; and though theythemselves had, in general, as little choice allowed them as ever, yettheir own relations were the persons who selected the futurecompanions of their life. Thus fathers, brothers, cousins, uncles,aunts, had all far more to do with the marriage than the person whoseweal or woe was to be affected by it.

  When a father died, however, leaving his daughter to the care of aguardian, he transmitted to him the great power he himself possessed;and if the young lady were the heiress of great wealth, it generallyhappened that the person selected for her husband was a son or nearrelation of her guardian. Very often, indeed, her hand was made amatter of merchandise and sold to the best bidder, so that theguardianship of an heiress was not unfrequently a profitablespeculation.

  During the last half of the sixteenth century, indeed, almost allthese rules and regulations were broken through, in the midst of thecivil contentions which then existed in France; and we find severalinstances, even in the highest ranks of society, of children marryingagainst the will of their parents, when an opportunity was affordedthem of escaping parental rule. Such was the case with the daughter ofthe Duke of Montpensier; but in this, as in many other instances,religious differences had their share, and the principle of liberty,which rose with the Protestant religion, affected even the relationsof domestic life. To guard against the opportunities thus afforded, bythe troubles of the times, for ladies to choose as they thought fit,many very violent and tyrannical acts were committed; and, on theother hand, where power could venture to outstep the law, shamefulbreaches of right and justice took place to get possession of theperson of an heiress, who was looked upon and treated by all partiesmerely as the chief title-deed of the estate. Thus the celebrated Dukeof Mayenne himself carried off by force out of Guienne, from the careof her own mother, Mademoiselle de Caumont in order to marry her toone of his own sons, though she had been already contracted to anotherperson from the very cradle.

  Such a strange state of things was farther complicated by the rightsof the monarch to certain privileges of guardianship, known by thename of _gardes nobles_, by which he was entitled, by himself or hisofficers, to take into his charge the estates and persons of certainorphans under age; and, according to the corrupt practices of thetimes, the tutelage of the royal wards, in particular provinces, wasoften made a matter of merchandise, and still more frequently wasbestowed upon unworthy persons, and obtained by the most corruptmeans.

  To all these complicated and evil arrangements must be added anothercustom of those times, which perhaps was devised for the purpose ofobviating some of the bad consequences of the existing state ofthings. I allude to the habit of affiancing at a very early period.Sometimes this engagement between the children of two noble houses wasconfirmed by every ceremony which could r
ender the act inviolable inthe eyes of the church and the eyes of the law: sometimes, however, aless solemn compact was entered into by the parents, subject tocertain conditions, and these were frequently rescinded, changed, ormodified, according to circumstances. In many instances the heiress ofa noble house was left by a dying parent to the guardianship of afriend, under contract to marry that friend's heir on arriving at afixed period of life; and in such circumstances, whatever might be herinclination to break this engagement, when her reason or her heart ledher towards another union, she would have found it very difficult toescape from the trammels imposed upon her, even to take shelter withinthe walls of a convent.

  It has seemed necessary to give these explanations in thisintroductory chapter, that the reader may clearly understand thecircumstances of the parties in the following tale; and I shall onlyfarther add, that at the time when the history is supposed tocommence, a long period of strife and confusion had thrown the countryinto a state of anarchy, in which law was daily set at defiance, evenfor the pettiest objects; every evil passion found indulgence underthe shield of faction; the most violent, the most unjust, and the mostcriminal proceedings took place in every part of the realm; might maderight throughout the country; and the bigoted priesthood weregenerally found ready to assist in any dark plot or cunning scheme,where the interests of their patrons might be served, or the objectsof their own order advanced.

  At the same time, though tranquillity was in no degree recovered,everything was tending to its restoration. Henry III. who hadsanctioned, instigated, or committed every sort of crime, had fallenunder the knife of the assassin. Henri Quatre was daily strengtheninghis tottering throne by victory, clemency, and policy. The battle ofArques had been fought and won, and the king, with a small but veteranand gallant army, had advanced towards the capital and was besiegingthe town of Dreux.