❧ The last wyl and Testament of the Princes of Conde.
SO soone as reason and gods worde mighte commaund mine eies, and that this paper, watered ouer with my teares, mighte drye it selfe: I dyd take my penne in hande to answere the request that so instantlye you made vnto me, to wrytte you a brief discourse of the maner & course of my Ladye the Princes of Condes sicknes: For the greate desier you haue (as you saye) that the shadowe of hyr death, maye serue you for a lighte to lighten your doings, against the thicknes of the darknes of oure lyfe in this perillous pilgrimage. But I pray you (yf I do not satisfice your expectation accordynge to the sufficiencye of the subiect) accuse the basenes of my wytte rather then the good wyl I haue to content you, and to gyue by this priuate [Page] letter (since better I cannot do it) a faythfull testimonye of hyr vertue, which wel deserueth a publike setting forth. The prophane auncientes were wont to saye when they dyd lose suche patternes and examples of vertue, that God, beinge angrye wyth men, dyd beareft them of so great a good before the tyme. And you shall gyue me leaue to say to you, that in very conscience I beleue he iudged vs vnworthye of a thinge of so great valure.
And nowe, leauynge to speake of the reste of hyr lyfe, & of the first and furthest causes of hyr euell, that is to saye the extreame sorowes whiche she was dryuen to deuoure, in that firste peryllous tyme of the imprisonment of my Lorde the Prince hyr husbande, and lykewyse of Madame de Roye hyr mother (the same being a right worthie argument of a great historye, whereby might be eternised, and made perpetuall, the singular graces which God had endued this noble Princes wyth, and the vnspeakable force and constancye [Page] of hyr mynde in all hyr aduersities) I wyll begynne with the most euidentes and freshest.
I doubt not, but you haue harde how that after she had letfe my Lord hyr husbande at Meaux (at the same tyme that he resolued to goo to Orleās) as she was traualynge towardes hyr house, called Muret, and passynge by a vyllage named Vanderay, nere vnto Lizy & vpon the ryuer of Ours, a companye of paisants (whiche then were goinge in procession) dyd set vpon hyr and the Marquis of Conty hyr eldest sonne, wyth staues, stones, crosses and banners, and that without any occasion geuen, but that there was a malicious & naughty priest emongest them, who for the hatred that he bare to the religion, incited & set on the sayd troupe of paisants so to outrage hyr and hyr companye, at this very tyme the fyer of the troubles for religion did begynne to kyndle, and in the moste partes of all Fraunce the sparkelles thereof dyd alreadye appeare.
[Page]Thys furor and populous rage, dyd so moue and vnquiet this good Lady, that hauynge gonne to the ende of cyghte monethes, she was the same daye, by feare, and before hyr tyme, delyuered of two boyes, at a village called Gandalu, before she could recouer any of hyr owne houses. And within fewe dayes after (as she was naturallye of greate courage and harte) she toke hyr waye towardes Orleans, to mete wyth my Lord hyr husbande: Whether she came in the ende by longe and dangerous iourneis. For you must imagine, that all the wayes and passages were alreadye taken and kepte. And that therfore she was dryuen to vse great circumspection, and to expose hyr person to verye great daunger to make that hasardous voiage.
Note you that, of this same inconueniencye: Of the second tyme of the imprisonment of my Lord hyr husbād, after the cruell conflict of a battail: Of the besiegyng of the towne of Orleans, [Page] and so of the paynes and continuall trauailes, which she dyd suffer & abyde duryng the whole tyme of the troubles (besyde that she dyd not diligentlye inough loke to hyr selfe, when she had the last yere the smale pokes at Galleō) hath growen and proceaded, by course of tyme, all hyr sicknes and indisposition: But chyefly an Issue of bloud, caused by a Carcinome, or eatyng canker, in the Matrice: whiche hyr shamefastnes and chastitie, woulde neuer suffer to be dressed as it was requisite and necessarye.
This fluxe of bloud, which was faier, redde, and of good substaunce, beganne the .xxvj. daye of April last past, but toke hyr more aboundauntlye the thursdaye and Sonday nexte followynge, and so continued and lefte of, at certain times vntyll the .xxiij. daye of this present moneth of Iuly: At what tyme hyr forces were so abated and weakened, that she lost vtterly the power retentiue: so as the same then runnyng oute vnto the [Page] droppe of that lyttell that remayned of the former great voydynges, she yelded happelye vp hyr sprite to God, throughe lacke of natural heate, at Conde about xj. of the cloke in the mornynge.
This euacuation was very muche hastened by a dyet whiche a lyttell before she had taken in hande, and would nedes continue the same after hyr retourne from Troye: where settinge asyde all other thynges, she had bene in great hast to see my Lord her husband, then newly, fallen into a sicknes: which dyet was cleane contrarye to hyr, & the drinke that she toke dyd greatly heate & chafe hyr bloud, whiche of it selfe was ouer subtil. Herein I canne assure you that after the Phisitions and Chirurgiens were ons made acquainted with all, they dyd omite nothynge of that, that order and knowledge might commaunde: And it had bene very easye at the beginnynge to haue remedyed and healed it, if the matter had been so soone declared as it was requisite.
[Page]In the tyme of this sicknes manye accidents happened, as the laske, the feuer Hetique, whiche was with some accesse, payne of the raynes, with great vnquietnes, faintinges and soundings throughe the venimous vapours caried from the diseased part to the stomacke, to the lyuer, to the harte, and to the braine. You muste thynke that I cāne hardlye expresse vnto you all her griefs, for they were by the iudgement of them that be most expert in that arte, so dyuerse and violent, that they had bene vndurable to any other.
Wherin, I pray you marke wel, how greatlye God dyd assist and strengthen her, for she neuer opened her mouthe to murmur, nor made any shewe or countenaunce of impacience. I did alwayes see her in her greatest paines with drye eyes, without cryinge, without teares, and without complaintes: whiche be ordinary to all sicke folckes, yea to the most strongest and constants.
And because I knowe, it wylbe great pleasure vnto you, to heare me particularise [Page] somwhat of her behauiours, I wyl shewe you, that the most egre and lamentable voice, that in all the time of her sicknes I euer harde her pronounce (and yet as you know I was very litell from her) was that one tyme about an eyght dayes before her death, beynge pressed with extreme payne, she addressed her selfe to God, in raising her voice a lyttell more then she was accustomed (whē she could not fynde in two beddes with al her often chaungyngs, any one place where she might rest one minute of an houre) and sayde.
Oh Lord God almightye, forasmuch as in all the places of this terrestriall abydynge (how great and spacious soeuer it be, and wherof thou arte onlye creatour) I cannot fynde by all my diligence one littell corner of quietnes nor voyde of grief (wherby I might lyberally pronounce, as I was wont, thy great goodnes and mercye) I leaue and gyue ouer wyllingly my longer dwellynge and abode here, to retourne, yf it please thee, at this tyme to that heauēly [Page] rest whiche thou hast prepared for me, by the death and passion of thy welbeloued Sonne. Make my God my Father by his meanes, that my soule and body be both content and at rest: The one, to be free and at libertie goyng straight to thee, who I see doth alreadye stretche out his armes for me: The other abydynge insensible here belowe, vntyl thou doest waken it at the sounde of thy commynge.
I cannot tell whether this her talke wyll seame to you oute of order or no, but I canne assure you I neuer harde her speake worse wordes in the myddes of her greatest extremities.
This chast Ladye, for so I may right well cal her, as accomplished in euerye degrée and in al circumstaunces in that excellent gifte and matronall modestie, whiche dyd followe her euen vnto her graue, as you see Iustice doth Kynges to theyr buryals (wherof I requyre no better prouffe then the very confession of her ennemyes (and I do nothynge maruell if in your countrey so manye [Page] wyse and graue Ladyes doe determine to set her before their eyes, for an image & mirrour of chastitie in the bringyng vp & nurturynge of their daughters, euen as we here emōgst our selues desire to do the lyke. For to speake trulye, she doth excell all those that euer haue bene celebrated by any hystorie: And at one worde there was neuer nothynge that founde place in hyr harte but vertue only: And therof I may be a sufficient wittnes, hauynge had the honor, euen from her cradell and most tender yeres, to be alwayes about her personne.
She, I say, dyd well forsee, so soone as this Issue of bloud beganne to take her, that the disease was mortall: And besydes her owne iudgement (hauynge harde the opinion of them that had the charge of her health) she resolued incontinently to gyue order in her householde affaires, to th'intent she mighte the more lyberallye thynke of God.
And to this effect she sent for my Lorde the Prince her husbande, desiryng hym [Page] most humbly to come to her: which he dyd forthwith and in great hast, after he had receaued the newes thereof at Vitry: from whence on the morow the court remoued to Bar.
And after he had ben a two or three dayes at home with her, & that she had made many chereful shewes and countinaūces of the Ioye she had to see hym (for you knowe there was neuer woman that loued, cheryshed, honored, or respected more her husbande then she dyd hym) she prayed two personages, towardes the lawe, whiche she knewe dyd loue and honor theyr house, to goe and declare vnto hym the greate danger of death wherin she thought her selfe to be (fearynge it shoulde greue hym muche more if she her selfe dyd tell him it): To thyntent it mighte please hym to gyue her leaue to ordeyne and dispose of certaine thinges whiche she desired to haue executed after her decesse.
And I do very well remember that when she sent these two counsellors to [Page] hym, she desired them to saye vnto hym emongest all the rest) these woordes whiche I dyd well note.
Since, the good pleasure of God was that the separation of hym, & her should be made as touchinge the body, yet she desired him that theyr soules might continue together inseparable, in that charitie which they dyd owe alike to theyr father Iesus Christ: who had so miraculouslye deliuered them in the sight of all the worlde, from so many troubles and dangers as they had passed and escaped by his grace: That he had lefte vnto them children the sure gage of theyr amitie: And that to beginne her testament, she dyd make hym vniuersal inheritor of that Masse of loue that she had hitherto bo [...]e them: To y e end that after her death he shold loue them both for hym selfe and for her to: recommē dynge them vnto hym principally for their bringing vp and instruction in the feare of God: whiche she assured to be the most certaine good and patrimonie that she coulde leaue them.
[Page]They haue, sayd she, good beginnings, and that at the handes of a sufficient master (meanynge the minister de l'Espine) who in dede hath of late taken great paynes with them, interpretynge vnto them euery mornynge (with great dexteritie) the prouerbes of Salomon: And in the afternone the Commentaries of Iulius Caesar, whereby my Lorde Marquis theyr eldest sonne hath so wel profited, that he is one of the best learned that is to be founde of his age.
She added vnto these (as she was alwayes a well spoken woman) manye other godly sayenges & exhortations: whiche the force of the streame that issued out of myne eyes dyd lette me to beare awaye. And do you not marueil at all, if I dyd then weepe so aboundātly, for the two persons before spoken of, dyd no lesse, before they departed to goo thether as she had desired them.
Soone after I sawe them retourne agayne to make reporte of the honest & wyse talke, that my Lord the Prince had vsed vnto them vpon this sorowful [Page] subiect: Wherof the good Ladye receaued a most greate contentation & comfort: And they both tolde me apart: that it was impossible for any mā to speake more eloquentlye then the Prince had done to them (as euerye man knoweth how wel spoken he is, of how good iudgement he is, and howe gentil a Prince he is) True it is, said they, that we haue very wel perceaued, that the amitie and loue whiche he beareth to this his dere spouse & compagnion, did oftentimes breake the thryd of his Oration, by the many and depe sighes he gaue, whiche doe sufficientlye wytnes his iust & profound sorowe.
God, sayd he, who hath conioyned vs together, separate & sonder vs since it doth so please him: it is reason that we do wholly cōforme our selues to his holy wyl: It is certaine that he is more happy that goeth to hym, then he that caryeth here and abydeth an other passage: Oh happye houre that God shal ordayne vs to be reunited in heauen, in the place of euerlastinge felicitie.
[Page]In the meane tyme, I wyll studye to kepe wel the gages which she hath lefte me, and wyl continue them in the same maner of teachinge that so christianlye they haue begonne, to thintent, that the vse and the propertie of the mother, of the father, and of the children, be all to God: who by his puissaūt hande hath so oftentymes deliuered and conserued this house of ours.
If I do consider & waye the rarenes of my good fortune herin (whiche doth present it selfe incessauntly before myn eyes: and wherof I sée my selfe vtterlye spoyled by this separation) It can not be, that I cane fynde here sufficient or egall consolation: when no man is able to nomber by all the milliōs that may be assembled, the infinitnes of so notable a losse. I will therfore haue my recourse to hym (if I dare saye so) that hath geuen me the wounde, who shall, and please hym, fournishe me of aswaging plaister of his word to heale the same: as it is saide of them that be bytten by the Scorpion, must seale the remedie [Page] of the Scorpion.
And as to that she prayeth me, by you, to double my good wyll towardes our children: I dyd feale in my harte at the very same instant that you spake these wordes to me, I can not tell what maner of hydden infusiō, that hath encreased in me the fyer of fatherlye loue: whiche I dyd before beleue, coulde not haue receaued anye encrease, persuadyng alwayes my selfe, that it was not possible to augment it in me.
You shall now retourne, and saye to her, I pray you, that this oratiō, whiche she hath made me, by your mouthes, hath so resolued me, that I feale in me the effectes of the force of her noble courage: and that I do praise God greatly for the inestimable constancye, that he hath geuen her: but I praye her that in any wyse she do not omitte nor forsake any of those meanes, whiche God hath departed to men by art and industrie, for the recoueringe of her health: to thintent she do not leaue behinde her an encrease of my sorowes, when I [Page] shoulde vnderstande hereafter the fault of her remedye.
This discourse was muche more great & graue as you may well thinke: but excuse (I praye you) the memorye of a woman so greuouslye troubled and attainted.
This done, she caused two Notaries to come vnto her, vnto whom she spake from worde to worde her last wyll and Testament commaundynge them to write in this sorte followinge.
COnsideryng the fragilitie and vncertaintie of this lyfe, and that God, by this greuous sickenes (wher wyth it hath pleased him to visite me) hath warned me as it were by a callynge vpon, to prepare my selfe, & to take order in my worldlye affaires, that I might be ready with spede to followe his wyll, whē it shall please hym to call me: I haue made, sayd, and ordayned, this whiche [Page] followeth, for the declaration of my laste will and testament, reuokynge all others in any sorte made heretofore.
First, I beseche thee my good God, that when it shal please thee to delyuer me of the miseries and peynes of this lyfe, & to take my soule out of the prison of this bodye (wherin it is closed, but for a tyme) that of thy goodnes & mercye, thou wylte vouchsafe to receyue it into thy handes, and to place it in the possession and enioyinge of that felicitye, whiche thy deare Sone hath bought vs by his death and passion: And by this meanes to assure, the stedfast faith, which thou hast geuen vs by thy promisses, & sealed, as wel by the sacramēt of Baptysme, as by the same of thy holy Supper, of the generall remission of oure [Page] synnes: all whiche we beleue to be so defaced by the bloude & obedience of thy Sonne, that they shall neuer come in accompte before thee.
Secondly, I recommende vnto thee our children, praying the, that (accordyng to thy promisse) thou wylte be theyr God, theyr Father, and protector: & that extendyng thy blessyng vpon them, it may please thee to illuminat, & instruct them in the knowledge and feare of thy holy name: and to serue thy selfe of them, as thou hast donne of their father, to exalte thy glory, to procure and cō serue the reapose and quietnes of thy churche, and to plucke vp by the roote al that which thou hast not planted therein: Make them by thy speciall goodnes, instrumentes and vessels of thy glorye, [Page] & replenishe them with thy heauenly graces, commādyng them by the authoritie which thou hast geuen me ouer them, that they do aduowe and dedicate all their lyfe to thy seruice and to the same of thy churche.
I referre the buryinge of my bodye to the good wyl & pleasure of my Lord my husbande, knowing wel that where so euer it doth lye, it wyll reste there in a verye certaine hope of his resurrection.
Then she disposed her goodes to my Lordes her chyldren, and gaue many charitable Legacies: And emongest others one for the entertaynynge of the Colledge of la Ferté au Col, which a littel before my Lorde her husbande, and she had instituted and erected.
She dyd also ordeyne that vpon her landes, a certaine pencion [Page] shuld be yerely leauyed towards the fyndynge of the Ministers of gods worde: and dyd her selfe heare the accomptes of al her seruaunts, to thende she might helpe them to that, y t in any sorte might be due vnto them: so great was her care to do right to euerye bodye, and to vnderstande her houshold affaires: wherunto she wold be made preuye euē vnto the last extremitie: geuing as good order in them, and with as sounde a iudgement, as at any tyme she was accoustumed to do in her most perfect health.
That beinge donne she caused the minister Perrucel to be called, and declared vnto hym howe glad she was to vnderstand y t she shold very shortly go to her God, by the ende of this sicknes: And that therfore she woulde consider [Page] of the state of her consciēce: Not sayd she, thankes be to God, that I do feele my selfe otherwyse thē well disposed towardes my creatour, & readye to go to hym when it shall please hym: but to the end that you father, whome god hath ordeyned shepheard in my Lorde my husbands house and myne, may knowe the face of this shepe of your flocke: and that I dye contented, that I haue geuen before the Minister of the churche of the Lorde, a true testimonye of my fayth & hope of health, whiche by hys grace and goodnes I receyue of hym.
Then with ioined handes, and eyes lyfted vp on highe, she made humble confession of her fayth: declarynge that she dyd beleue & confesse God to be, and in beinge to be God only, distinct, notwithstandynge [Page] in thre persons, which are the Father, the Sone, & y e holy Ghost: that he is creatour, conseruer and gouernour of heauen, the earthe, the Sea, and all that is in them: without whose wyll & pleasure no creatures (be they Aungels, Dyuels, or any other) canne make or moue any thinge: and yet neuerthelesse he can not be sayd, nor ought to be sayd, the procurer to euyll, or the cause or author of synne, whiche doth proceade of the corruption & malice, that man hath purchassed to hym selfe.
After this, she protested that she dyd not thynke, that ther was any other meane or waye, by the whiche men might haue remissiō of their synnes, health, and euerlastynge life, but by Iesus Christ only: and that there is no other [Page] name geuen to man for his saluation, but that only: and that as he is very God, he is also only sauiour and redemer, mediatour & aduocat of man towardes God, and sole sacrificatour & sacrifice: who hath ones for all satisfysed & appaised the wrathe and strayte iudgement of God the father, by his death for vs, & hath fully iustified vs in his resurrection.
Wherfore I take him, sayd she, for my only and notwithstādyng sufficient ransom, for my peace, for my wisdome, for my iustice & for my santcfication: assuryng my selfe that he dyd prepare a place for me in heauen, when he ascended thyther, & that he doth there tarye me with his father & mine by hym, with the holy Ghost, the Aungels and the saints: where I desyre to be with all my harte, [Page] and whether I am sure I shal go or it be longe,
Thyrdly she gaue to vnderstād that we ought not to serue God, otherwyse or in other sorte then as he hath appointed vs by hys worde: And therfore that she did acknowledge two partes in the true seruice of God: Wherof the first and principall is to trust and beleue stedfastly in him: to obey his holy commandements: to cal vpon him in all our necessities: & to giue thankes to him onlye as the only author of all goodnes.
Thother is to exercyse in the churche those thinges whiche he hath established: as the ministery of his worde and of his Sacramentes, the ecclesiasticall Discipline in her purenes, followynge his order therin, withoute mynglynge eyther of the witte or inuention [Page] of man: and therfore addressynge her speache a newe to God she sayd further on this sort.
Howe aboundauntly, oh Lord, hast thou vouchsaft to shewe thy mercies vpon me, that by thy holy sprite hast made me vnderstād and see, that thy holy worde, the holy Baptisme & the holy Supper (whiche be the two Sacramentes, that thy Sonne Iesus Christe hath lefte to thy churche his spouse & body) the discipline and correctiō of sinners, ordeined by hym in his Gospel, be purelye and sincerely administred in the reformed churches of Fraunce: & also that in the same churches, the true doctrine of obedience, of repentaunce, of faythe, and iustification by the same, through the merite of Iesus Christ (wythoute that there may be anye thynge at [Page] all allowed of ours for payment) is there preached and constantlie declared: that Gods name is truly called vpon there, that is to saye, in the onlye name of Iesus Christ: and that to hym alone begyuen al thankes for al his goodnes receyued:
For these causes I say, Oh my Lord, & delyuerer, I do acknowledge that these reformed churches, with all other lyke vnto thē (wher soeuer they be) do make togethers the spouse and the body of thy Sōne Iesus Christ, thy chosen vyne, thy flocke, thy holy Ierusalem, and thy lawfull assemblye: thankynge thee wyth al my hart, that thou haste called me to this moste happye knowledge: yea and I thāke thee more, that thou haste made me one of the stones of this thy buyldynge [Page] & humble Citie, one of the shepe of this thy flocke, one of the braū ches of this thy vyne, and one of the members of this body & and of this spouse of thy Sonne Iesus Christ.
Make me so to perseuere (oh dyuine goodnes) and continue in me these graces euen vnto the last sighe of my lyfe: to the ende that accordynge to thy promesse, I may be receaued of the into the kyngdome and heritage of thy most happy chyldren.
The ende of the wyll.
Wythin an houre after she sent for, and caused to come into her chamber, the Minister de l' Espine, of whome I haue already spoken to you: and continuynge (in one maner of feruencye & affection) the talke which before she had entamed, she began to recite the fauours [Page] whiche God had shewed her, hauynge as vnto the worlde made her greatly honorable, and imparted largely inoughe vnto her of the goods of the same: assisted her in all her affaires, defended and susteyned my Lord her husbande, my Lady her mother, her selfe, her children, her kynsfolks and frindes, against all the enterprises and conspiracies of their ennemyes: and yet that al these his graces, dyd seame lyttel vnto her, in respect of the knowledge which he had geuen her of hym & of his Sone by his holy worde: for in that only cōsisted al her felicitie, & it was the certaine and true foundation of all her hope.
And being by all these reasons infinitly bounde to serue God, that notwithstandyng she had not done her dutye to acknowledge and confesse the author frō whome so many and sondrye blessyngs came vnto her, to giue vnto him for thē all thankes, praises and glorye.
Neuerthelesse for all these greate ingratitudes which she had vsed towards God, she dyd verely hope that by hys [Page] mercy and the merite of his Sonne the same and all other his fautes shulde be entyerely pardoned, assurynge her selfe to be in the nomber of his shepe, by the grace she had receyued to heare y e voice of her sheppeard, & pastour, and that by his callynge of her, she was assured of her Iustice and glorie.
For these causes she sayd, she desired nothing more earnestly thē to be quicklye out of this worlde, that she might go into the armes of her Sauiour: & that notwithstanding, she dyd leaue behynd her my Lord the Prince her husbande, my Ladye her mother, & my Lords her children (whiche she dyd loue as muche and as well as nature and dutye might beare) yet she preferred God to all them: And y t there was nothing so deare vnto her, as to followe redilye and chearefullye his good wyll and pleasure.
The Dyuel she said dyd set before her eyes many sondry imaginations, touching the kyngdome of heauen: & went about to persuade her, that it was not the same that she toke it to be, that by [Page] that meanes he might brynge her to be lothe to leaue the vaine pleasures & delightes of this worlde: But for al y t, she dyd remayne ancred in that faith, that eye neuer sawe, care neuer harde, nor harte of mā could euer conceaue, which god hath prepared for his elect.
As she had thus made an ende, came into the chamber my Lorde the Prince (as he was very diligent in visitinge of her) and after that he had spent a fewe wordes, in the coumfortyng of her, she sayd vnto him, there were fowre things which dyd greatly satisfice and content her. The firste was the assuraunce, she had of her saluatiō, for by the hope and hande of fayth, she dyd alreadye enioye eternall lyfe. Her second contentation was, in the reputation of an honest woman, whiche she had alwayes had, by the grace of God. Thyrdly, she dyd assure her selfe, that euen, as she had as faythfully serued hym, loued hym, and honored hym, as anye woman in the worlde coulde doo her husbande: so she dyd as verily beleue that on his part, he [Page] dyd holde hym selfe very well content, & satisfised of her: And for the last point, she dyd greatlye reioice, that God dyd leaue suche a father to her children, and suche a Grandmother, as would bring them vp in the feare of the Lord, which was the chefest of her desiers.
My Lord the Prince could no longer abyde to heare this maner of talke, and therfore after hauynge felte her poulse, he retired hym selfe vpon this worde which she said to hym: Syr, thus I must ende my course, to wynne the price, whiche I sée prepared for me at the end of the lysts of this painfull carire.
After the Prince was thus retourned into his chamber, he sent vnto her my Lord Marquis their sonne to make her merye, vnderstanding that she had sent for hym, & that she toke greate pleasure to sée hym (as he is very amiable & doth promesse many good thynges, whiche ought to be desired in a good Prince: When she had asked hym howe he dyd, and the Seigneur of Garannes, his gouernour, how he vsed hym selfe: she demaunded [Page] of him, yf he woulde not be content, that, accordyng to the order of nature, she dyd first go to God, since it was so his pleasure to call her, that beinge our Father, he dyd nothynge but for our aduauncement and profit.
I praye you my sonne, sayde she, feare hym aboue all thinges, & honor hym as author of all goodnes: at whose hādes you ought to looke for all fauour, since it hath pleased him to leaue in our house so greate an earnest of his beneficence, whiche you shall muche better iudge with more yeres. Growe in vertu, my lyttel frynde, whiche is the true ornament of the great: to the ende you may be capable to do the Kyng agreable seruice: In whose face euery man may sée the printe and marke of a well borne Prince and of a litell Iosias, of whome you haue harde me so often speake. Honor my lord Cardinal of Bourbon, my Lorde your father, my Ladye youre grandmother, your vncles my Lordes of Chastillion & Rochefoucault, whiche be men that feare God, and haue made [Page] good prouffe of their vertues in fondry sortes: Loue well the common wealth, and procure it by all iust meanes, without offendynge your conscience: Loue your two brethern and your sister, not as a brother, but as a father, for so you must be to them, since you are the eldest and be no more a child: Talke the ofteneste, that you may with the Ministers Perrucel & de l'Espine, for your soules health, & beleue y e coūcel of thre mē of Lawe, whiche you knowe to be beloued and estemed of my Lorde youre father and me: Beware that you neuer do any thinge vnder collour or procurement, that any man shall saye to you, that your gouernour (be he neuer so watchful) shall not here nor knowe of it: For your Father who is in heauen doth sée, vnderstand, and know all thing, & therfore you should be ashamed to do euell, as if he were alwayes present & by you, accordyng to the godlye instructions of your booke of Salomō, which you shuld neuer leaue out of your handes, to the ende that in all your lyfe and conuersation, [Page] you may speake & recite to euerye body, that whiche is conteyned therein: Be gentyll and tractable to suche as be so: abatinge the pryde of them, whose audacitie should make them forget thē selfs: Let your mouth be the house of truth, your hande open to the poore, & your gates closed to flatterers.
If you do this, my Iuell, you shall haue as Abraham, Isaac, & Iacob had gods blessinge and mine: whiche I do gyue you w t this ringe of Diamāt, that you shall kepe for my sake, and in remembraunce of that which I haue said to you: Wherof your gouernour is wytnesse, & canne wel put you in minde of it, in tyme and place conuenient, as he is most carefull of your well doinge.
She dyd then tourne her talke to my Lady her daughter, and wylled her to marke diligentlye that whiche she had sayd to her brother: and that she should beleue the councel and aduise of the Ladye of sainct Cir her gouernesse, no lesse thē as if she were her naturall mother.
These lyttell children, whiche sometymes [Page] kyssed her mouth & somtymes her handes, were by her commaundement taken oute of her sight, least they should haue bene made more sorowfull, and because, with all that she could doo she could note stay them by any meanes from most bytter weepynge.
After she had thus sayd to her children, she beganne with a newe admonition to her maydes and Gentilwomen: but you shall holde me excused if I doo not tel you the hoole: for I dyd then go forth to prepare a thing whiche the physitions had appointed for her: And I came againe, as she was praying thē to remēber y e good bringing vp and nourriture which they had had in her house, and the example whiche she had geuen them: Haue alwayes (my daughters, saide she) the reuerence of God before your eyes: and let your honor be more dere vnto you then your lyfes: Loue my Lady my mother & my daughter, for thei loue that, that toucheth me, and you shall continue with them vntyl you be maried. Farewell my maydens: [Page] thinke me happye and contented, and learne you to dye wel.
At night, féelyng her selfe troubled with a great laske, with a shorte breath, & with a peyne in her throte, she caused the Minister Perrucel to come to her, & to talke to her of God, as oftentimes he dyd: and as he was in comfortynge of her, she lifted vp her handes to heauen, and with a softe sighe, said in this sorte.
Ha my God my Father, it is nowe that I shal come to thee: I haue foughtē a good combat: I haue kepte my faith: I haue ended my course, and all by thy grace and fauour: for the whiche, I assure my selfe that I shall haue, or it be longe, the crowne of Iustice, and shall lyue of the lyfe, that thou kepest for me, and hast hidden for me in Iesus Christ.
Then stretchynge out her hande to maister Perrucell she sayde: Father, praye to God, to gyue me perseuerance and encrease in all his graces: that he wyll strengthen me against all assaults and temptations: that he wyl alwayes holde his hande ouer me, as I do sée he [Page] doth in his sonne Iesus Christ: that he do make me continuallye féele his loue towardes me, that he do deliuer me frō all grief & sorowe, which might trouble me for the leauynge of any corruptible thing of this worlde, and that the violence of my sicknes, do not hynder me from the magnifyinge of his name and hyghnes.
In this sorte she spake to the Minister, for that she thought her spéeche shoulde soone after be taken from her, iudgynge the same so, by that she felte inwardlye.
So, as immediatlye after they had prayed, she sent for my Lorde her husbande, who was then a bed (for it was nere vnto one of the clocke after mydnight) and for all the request that Madame de Roye dyd make vnto her, to deferre the matter vntyll the mornynge, she continued styl in the contrary, assuryng her selfe, as she sayd, that he wold not be sory to be wakened for so greate an occasion: & that it was not good to tarye vntyll she coulde speake no more, [Page] least she coulde not declare vnto hym those thinges whiche God had put into her harte.
Thus was my Lorde the Prince called, at whose commyng al the company gaue place, and suffered them to speake together. I cannot declare vnto you the talke that then passed betwexte them: for albeit I was very nere, yet I coulde vnderstande nothyng, her voice was so muche decayed, and to tell you true, I dyd somtimes slomber, as you maye imagine, we had no great rest, neyther night nor day. I remember very well that this discourse betwexte them dured almoste an houre, for it was nere the breake of daye before they lefte of, and about that time she was wonte to fall to a lyttell rest, as she then dyd.
In the afternoone her peyne dyd take her againe (whiche all the mornyng before was slaked) whervpon she beganne to say to maister Perrucel. It is, now, father, that God wyll haue me, wherof I do most reioyse: but alas I am sory, that my shorte breath, & the rume which [Page] falleth from my brayne, do let me to praise hym: praye hym, as you dyd this nighte past, that it maye please hym to gyue me a lyttell respite to cal vpō him, not that I do desier to lyue any longer, for he knoweth my thoughtes, and readeth in the tables of my harte.
So soone as the prayer was made, she felte her selfe muche eased, & at the same instaunt she gaue God thankes in thys sorte. Is it not thou (Oh immortall Lorde, mightye God, wise & good) that without the helpe of man appaisest in one moment of tyme my trauaile and peines? Oh inestimable goodnes, which doest make thy selfe to be so openlye séene, touched & féelte of me, fortifie my soule, since thou dost abate my body.
In this sorte she continued a good time in praising and thankyng of God: Afterwardes she framed and made her prayers for my Lorde her husband, my Lordes her children, my Ladye her mother, for al the Churche, and finally, for all them of whome God had moste speciallye bounde her to haue care: as her [Page] kynsfolks, her frindes, her allyes, her seruauntes and subiectes: which prayer was at the lest an houre longe, togethers with the same, she made for the Kynge, and for the tranquillitie of the Realme.
So great were then the sorowes, wepynges, and lamentable voyces of all those that were present, that I coulde beare awaye neyther the substaunce, nor the forme of it: but this I canne assure you, that it is impossible to heare more humble, pure and feruēt prayers, then she made at that time: & I knowe very well, that all the hole companye had their hartes no lesse heauy then I, whiche may be a sufficient testimonye to you of the same.
In the ende she asked pardon of all the worlde, namely of my Lady her mother, and of her good sister, Madame de Rochefoulcault, who was ther with her as continuallye, as if she had bene tyed to her.
Whyle these thinges were in doing, there came vpō her againe greate difficultie [Page] for the takyng of her breath, with a sore griefe in her syde, whiche put her sodenly to silence: but this euel dyd immediatly cease by the remedie of praier: A thinge worthye of great marueil: & as she her selfe did well acknowledge, at whose handes she receyued that ease and fauour. And I remember how curiouslye, at the same tyme, she caused l'Espine to recite vnto her the passages of the Scripture, whiche be proper and mete for the consolation of them, which dye in Iesus Christe: Of all whiche I wel bare awaye the same of the Apocalipse, and that of Esaye in the last chapters: whiche you shall for my sake, and please you, rede ouer at your leasure.
I wil not write you here the diuine dialogues, that passed betwexte her and my Ladye her mother, duryng y e course of this sicknes: as of the greatnes of God, of hys wisedome, goodnes and mercye, of hel, of the consciences of suche as haue not his feare before their faces, of the difference of true & false seruice, of the assuraunce of the faythfull [Page] soule at the article of death: And of suche other highe matters, whiche well deserue hole and longe letters: but I wyll kepe thē in store for you against an other tyme: and beleue I praye you, that I shoulde fynde my selfe greatlye troubled, if I shoulde come to gyue my iudgemēt whether of them saide better, For you know what swetnes there is in the mouth of Madame de Roye, and howe graue her discourses be.
The night before the death of oure religiouse Princes, about two of the clocke after midnight, y e Minister Perrucel (perceyuynge it shoulde be verye harde for her to passe y e day followyng) declared vnto her (as she had alwayes desired hym) that the houre in his opinion dyd drawe nere of her departyng: that she shuld be or it were longe at her desired rest: that in any wise she toke a good harte to her, without hauyng feare of the lawe, of sinne, of hel, or of anye other ennemie of her saluation: that all suche theues and robbers had bene put to flyght, by the Lambe of God Iesus [Page] Christ, together with the emperour of death, the Dyuell & his empyre, who was made cursednes and condemnation, for all them that put theyr trust and confidence in hym.
And when the Minister asked her, if she felte not her selfe by the vertue and grace of the holy Ghoste, armed of the pieces whiche sainct Paule writteth of, to the Ephesians: and aboue all of the buckler of fayth, and the sharpe sworde of the worde of God: She aunswered, yea trulye father, I haue in my harte that whiche God, since my youth, hath put in it, the assurance of my saluation: and so she sayd these foure verses of Dauid.
That donne she continued her talke to maister Perrucel, and sayd therfore, father, aske of god for me, and I wil in [Page] harte praye with you, that he wyll alwayes lende me the burninge lampe, to thintēt, that when the spouse shalcōme, I may enter in with hym to the weddynge: that he wyll gyue me the grace to watche continually, to the ende, I be not taken sodenly, when my Lorde shal cōme: that he wyl gyue me the whight garment, that I may follow the lambe with y e lyuerey, whersoeuer he goeth: that he wyl make me to be borne of his Aungels, that I do not falle, and that he wyll take me frō hence belowe, puttyng his lefte hande vnder my heade, & embrasinge me with his right.
Then they prayed, and aunswere being made, so be it, she sayd. Oh my god my Sauiour, now is my wynter past, and my springe tyme is come: Open therfore the gate vnto me of thy celestial garden, that I may taste of the fruit of thy euerlastyng swetnes: repetynge these wordes thre tymes.
At this same tyme maister Perrucell toke his leaue to goo, to prepare himselfe to preache, which he should do that morninge, [Page] & in his place came l'Espine, accordyng as they disposed of the houres, to be about her, tourne by tourne, togethers: with the minister la Bossiere. It was then about .vij. of the clocke in the morning, beinge Sonday .xxiii. daye of this moneth. L'espine continued in prayers and exhortations, and as you knowe he is ritche and copious in similitudes & cōparisons, so he spake things more celestiall then humaine: whiche lasted for the space of an houre, & vntill they gaue to this couragious pacient some lytell sustenaunce: who was accoustumed to says .vj. or .vij. dayes before, that notwithstandinge, she knewe welinough, that that she did eate & take, was vnprofitable, & a lost thinge, that neuerthelesse she would styll entertaine her bodye with nourishment, vntil it should please God to dispose of the issue of her soule: and that it was not in vs to leaue this garison without the leaue of our Captaine.
Soone after this repast, her flux of bloud toke her againe, whiche by no [Page] meanes coulde be stopped, for that her forces were ouermuche abated: she her selfe dyd then also iudge, that the former remedies, vinaiger nor boxinges coulde any longer preuayle.
Maister Perrucel (being in his Sermon) was sent for, because, before, she had desyred that in any wyse he mighte be by her in that extremitye, notwithstāding, that de l'Espine was then there with her. Her difficultye of breathinge came vpon her againe: and seinge first her right hande dye, & then her lefte, she put them one vpon the other, and sayde to me, it is now, my good frynde, that I doo go to god.
Maister Perrucell came in greate haste, and so soone as she had perceyued him, she sayd, my good father, speake for me, do your office, you haue had the charge of my soule, my hearyng is hardened, my tonge fayleth me, but I wyl make you signs with my head, if I can not aunswere. These two Ministers vsed vnto her many godly & conueniēt exhortations, as they be both notoriouslye learned, & full of zeale: after whiche [Page] they asked her, if she had wel vnderstode al y t they had said, & whether her hart did so beleue it, & féele it: Yea I thanke god, said she, liftyng vp her eyes to heauen: make your prayers for me, accordynge as you both knowe my soule desiereth.
Which prayers ended, she called vnto her one of her maidens of her chamber, that she loued very dearely, & saide vnto her (to the ende she might receyue with all the contentations that she coulde, the ease and benefite of death) that she shoulde take her legges, & stretche them forth, whiche the rigor of mortall colde had already drawen vp. And sodenlye she pronounced these wordes.
Into thy handes, oh Lord, I cōmende my soule: And so beganne to enter into the pangs of death: wherin she cōtinued not so longe as halfe a quarter of an houre, durynge whiche tyme, these two good men, togethers with la Boissiere, dyd declare vnto her sondry good and godly sayings, of the assuraunce of her saluation, and to aunswere them, & to let thē knowe that she vnderstode them well, she enforced her selfe to speake, but [Page] could not: so as she gaue them in steade of wordes the signe of the head, whiche she had before promised.
Within a minute of an houre after, she departed, by a swete sighe vp into heauen, into the heritage whiche God hath prepared for his elect: Leauyng to vs all, a desier to ende as she had donne.
I can not but tell you that, because whylst I lyue here, I canne sée her no more, I must remaine for euer in an extreame sorow and heauines, and yet in a ioye moste greatest, that I haue appertayned in seruice to so vertuous a Princes.
Nowe cometh to my remembraunce the talke which maister Perrucel had to this Ladye, at the article of her death, which I esteame worthy to be written.
Madame, sayd he, you must & please you acknowledge the goodnes of this great god towardes you: not only for all the goodnes & graces whiche he hath donne for you in all your lyfe hytherto: but also for the special fauour which he doth presently shewe you: for hauynge put you into his vyneyarde, there to laboure [Page] & trauayle all the hole day, he wil take you from thēce, at the midds of the day, to bring you to reste and quietnes. You haue scantly yet attayned to the middes of your age, which you haue by the grace of god, well & faithfullye employed in the labour of his vyneyarde: Ought not you to thanke him, & thinke well of hym, if he wyll excuse you of the sweate & traueaile of the rest of the day, & gyue you lyke wages, and paymēt as if you had laboured all the daye longe.
I had also forgotten to tell you, that about a moueth before her death: she sayde to a personage of greate qualitie, her kynsmā, and a very iuste man, that she had hard a voice in the night, which sayd to her in very plaine wordes, that she should dye, or it were longe, & that therfore she should prepare her selfe: and so muche it lacked, that those newes did make her any thing sadde or sorowfull, as that euer after she dyd moste desier the ende of this holy separatiō. I must tell you truly, that without flatterynge of those of our sexe & sorte, her magnanimitye herein, hath shamed, and put to [Page] foyle the great courage wherof men so ordinarily do vaunt them selues: for her members dyinge one after an other before her eyes, she dyd lesse care for the feare of death, then the brauest of them euer dyd. She spake as francklye and boldly of this great terror of death, as if it had bene of any thinge, that euery daye is most comen to vs, and that doth appartaine to oure most familier & domesticall matters. And two dayes before her death, notwithstandynge, that the dangerous beatynge of her poulce did make her perfect of that, which soone after should come to her, neuerthelesse she caused to be brought to her the plote of the castell of Amsi: whiche she had commaunded to be made a lytel before her sicknes: wherin she did deuyse with my Lord her husbande, as curiouslye, & as particularly, of all the desseins, deuises, and orders, as that you would haue thought, to haue séene her speake wyth her ordinary laughyngs and smilyngs, that she would haue accommodated her selfe to haue dwelt there, some lōg time: And yet dyd she not this, but that she [Page] knewe welinough, that her true & most assured buyldyng was in heauen: But she sayd it was not to be marueled at, if she dyd so speake and deuise of all matters, as thoughe she had not set at al before her eyes, the daunger wherin she sawe her selfe: For that god had geuen her the grace euer since she had the knowledge of him, and his worde, that she dyd thinke, she was as well subiect to death at one time, as at an other: & that the true christian will also beleue, that therof doth depende the greatnes of of his blessednes and contentation.
She was borne at Chastillion, vpon the ryuer of Loing the, xxiiij. daye of Februarye. 1535. And was maried to my Lord the Prince, the .xxij. day of Iune. 1551. Of ths mariage be issued seuen children in sixe times of greatnes: that is to say, thre daughters, Catherine, Marguerit & Magdalene, and fowre sonnes, Henry, Fraunces, & at her last deliuerye, Charles and Lewes, twynnes. Henry, Fraunces, Charles & Marguerit be lyuyng: God hath taken the others. She lyued .xxviij. yeres .iiij. [Page] monethes .xxvij. dayes and .xj. houres.
In the time of her sicknes, she was visited of many greate personages & good folks: namely of my lords her three vncles of Chastillion, who did to her al the good, godlye and charitable offices, that were possible to haue bene desiered.
I will not here discouer vnto you the noblenes of her race, as wel French, as strange, for euery one vnderstandeth it sufficiently, and you knowe as wel as I that of her fathers syde, she is descended of the righte lyne, by the woman of Lewes the sixth, Kynge of Fraunce.
Yet I will write vnto you thus much more, which hath seamed vnto me to appartaine to y t, that goeth before, & which you shall receyue as vsurye of my good wyll. This death was declared to my L. the Prince, who had retired himselfe alone īto his chāber, & was gone to bed after his retourne frō the preaching. At y e cōming vp of the Minister la Bossiere, (who was made messenger for y e purpose) he suspected, y t whiche was in dede happened, neuertheles he cōtinued somtime in readynge in a booke of praiers, [Page] which he had in his handes: soone after, tournīg his face towards y e minister, he asked him howe his wyfe did, she is my L. said he, with god, whether you shall go also one day: At this worde he coulde not kepe hīselfe frō sighing & sorowing, In so much y e two or thre gētilmen, and y e minister Perrucel, who then came in, were greatly troubled to sée him in that heauye case: & yet neuertheles durst not approch to breake of his bitter cōplaits, & lamentatiōs, vntil such time as a certain man towardes y e lawe, came vnto him, & prayed him to resolue & coūforte himselfe, as he had done in all his other great aduersities, & herevpon y e two ministers toke occasiō to cōtinue this maner of talke, according to y e largenes of the scope, y t was offered thē: notwithstandyng, he remained for a good tyme sylent, and after puttyng his handkerchyef to his face, he said. He trusted y e god wolde not impute vnto him, y e infirmitie, & that good men wolde support him, in those his greuous passiōs: seinge that his sorowes proceaded not, but of y e loue of vertue. That in very dedede he [Page] had great reason to cōtent him selfe, for the assurāce he had of y e good rest of hys deare wyfe & moitye, who had dyed the death of a sainct: but also y t he was excusable for his heauines, to lose y e cōpanye of so wyse & vertuous a Lady, that had alwayes honored him aboue al things-& loued him so derely, as she wold haue sacrificed her owne lyfe for hym: y t had gouerned his house in all holynes, and brought vp his children in al wisedome, in rendering to him all due obedience.
He added to this (turning his face to heauen) a lyttel prayer to God: the sentence wherof, as I was writynge this vnto you, is fallen into my mynde in these foure verses, without, as it were thinkynge of it.
Here vpō, after hauing deuotly vowed the rest of his life in the seruice of God, he sent for my lords his childrē, but being desired to eate somwhat (for it was then past noone) he defferred to sée them [Page] tyll after his dinner, whiche was, God knoweth, a smale thinge, & ful of sighes and heauines.
After grace being said, his childrē my Lords Marquis & Fraūces, with theyr sister were brought ī to hī: his daughter was sette vpō his bed, & my Lordes, his two sonnes stode by him, whether y e litel soules were no sooner cōme, but they fel so into wéepyng, that al those that were present could not withholde them selfes frō it, no more could my L. the Prince their father, & as for me, I can not now tel it you, but I melte awaye in teares.
You shuld haue séene this litle Ladye (who is a liuely picture of beautye) take my L. her father about y e necke, & washe his face & berde with y e aboundaunce of her teares, wythout hauynge power to speake to hī, but in halfe & broke; words.
My L. her father vsed suche wayes to her, as y e in the end he appaised her wéeping, & did drie her face with som prety admonitiōs, mete for her age, whiche I will tel you, if I haue caryed them well away. My daughter, we must wéepe no more, our good God wylbe angrye with [Page] vs: do not you remēber y t you say to him euery daye, Thy wyl be done, he hath taken your mother out of prison, to set her by him in libertie, because he loued her wel, & wyl you be angry with it? he is so wise, y t we shuld neuer aske why he doth any thinge: he hath lefte you here for the image of her: & as I haue loued her, aboue all the women of y e world, so I wil loue you: but you must not be only the image of her face, but also of her spirit and vertu: for although she were fayre of personage, it was nothinge in comparison of her gentil & wel disposed mīde, which neuer did office, but of chastitie, no more then her hart, her tonge, her handes, & her eares. As you shall waxe great & growe, enquire diligētlie, what maner of womā this good mother was: And whē you shal here, y t she neuer loued man but her husbande, y t she dyd alwayes lyue without any blote of dishonestie, yea without suspition, that all her doings & countinaunces, haue bene holy, chast, modest, playne & vertuous: Then enforce your selfe, my minniō, to resemble her, to thintent god may assist [Page] you, as he hath done her, that euery body may esteame you, and that I may loue you more and more, as I wyll not fayle to do, if you be suche a one.
Then he called to hym the Ladye of sainct Cir, her gouernes, & embracinge her, & her daughter de Fosses, he praied them to cōtinue their care in the education and bringyng vp of her, as one of the thinges, which were moste precious vnto hym.
After this, puttynge his hande vpon my Lord Marquis head, my sonne, said he to him, you are the firste testimonye which God gaue of his blessynge, and fauour, of the mariage of your mother and me, and the greate encrease of our loue. Séeke alwayes to gyue me ioye and consolation, as you shall do, if you wyl followe the stepps, which your mother hath troden before you, in the way of vertue: Marke wel the path & tracke therof, lest you lose your selfe, and fall into the wayes of the dangerous dedal of this worlde. The sonnes cōmenlye conforme them selues to the doinges of the father: but you shall principallye [Page] study to resemble in maners and vertue your mother. For one maye tell you, & you may somtimes here of youre father, and of his life, things which you ought not to follow (as in others again you oughte to imitate him) but in your mother (of the lyfe and death of whome God hath vouchsafed to serue himselfe) you shal finde nothing, that is not worthy to be followed and straitly kepte, as she was most worthy to be placed in the first rancke of the moste vertuous women. My sonne, vertue hath made Princes, & the Heroicall dedes of their auncesters, & those that were before thē. For the rest, we be all the children of Adam, of sinne & of death, to kepe well then this principalititye, it behoueth vs to lyue vertuously, & to flée from vice, as a thinge most horrible and abhominable to all noble hartes.
Therfore, it is, that a Prince should alwayes thinke, that he is in this worlde, as vpon a scaffolde, to be beholden of al folkes: So as his fautes be more séene and marked, then theirs be that be vnder him: And as a blote that in an other [Page] part might be hydden, is easelye perceiued in the face, and doth make one diformed (be it neuer so lyttel) so is it in the actions & doinges of Princes, which be (howe smallye reprehensible soeuer they be) séene & perceyued of euery one, by the highe place in degrée, that they holde emongest the commen & vulgare people.
Lo, my Iuel, how you may prosper, and so you shalbe to me an agreable childe.
Then in the absence of his gouernor, he cōmitted him to the charge of y e Seigneur de Buisson, whome he gaue hym for his stuarde, praying him, that aboue all thinges, there were good eye geuen, that ther came nere him, no contēpnor of God, nor of the reuerēce, whiche we owe to his holy commaundements.
On Sonday after, whiche was yesterdaye her body was put into the Sepulchre of her predecessours at Muret, without other pompe or ceremonie, but that maister Perrucel dyd make an excelent Sermon vpon the fifty seuenth chapter of Esaye, wherat there was a [Page] good nomber of nobilitie, and people of the churches, nere there abouts.
The sermon ended, which was about nyne of the clocke in the mornyng some parte of the Gentilmen went, & fetched the body (which laye, leaded in a hawle nere vnto that, where the preachynge was) and so brought it to the place chosen and made for the reapos, and rest therof vnto the consummation of the worlde.
The rest of the nobilitie and people followed the body in order to the graue, and so after retourned in lyke sorte into the court of the Castel, where maister Perrucel declared vnto thē howe worthy a worke of Christiās they had done, by thys theyr accompanying of the body to his buryal, of the great edification, the same was to thē of the churche: Howe pleasaunt a thing it was to god, & how agreable to my Lord the Prince: thankyng them all in his name, and in the name of all the kynsfolkes of the decessed Lady.
I could send you in this pacquet sondry consolatiōs, which were sent as wel [Page] to my late decessed Lady, as to my lord her husbande, since her death, by y e most wyse, learned and apparaunt personages of Christendome: but I vnderstād by your good kynsman, that you haue had the copyes of them frō other places.
This is then asmuche as you shall haue of me at this time, prayinge you to excuse my wyt, my eyes, my memory, my hande, and my penne, all which in their natures and offices, do féele the sorowe and peyne of me, their passionnate mystres: who it maye please you, may remaine in your fauour and good grace.
God graunt you to lyue wel, and to dye well in his Sonne Iesus Christ.
From Conde, in the coūtrey of Brye the last daye of Iuly.