MEMORIES OF FONTAINEBLEAU.

Otago Witness, Issue 2892, 11 August 1909, Page 79

MEMORIES OF FONTAINEBLEAU.

A FAMOUS FRENCH PALACE. "Fah\ Women at- Fontainebleau" is the title of a readable book by Frank- Hamel (London: George Bell and Sons). It tells the stories of the many beautiful women, ' queens and mistresses of the kings of France, who dwek in the famous royal chateau on "the Seine. Some of them were noted historical characters, and the palace is crowded with associations of' the old regime, for the period when Fontainebleau shone with 'is brieihtest lustre wa* during the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries. It was known in the Middle Ages, and was the home of Charlies V, whose Queen, Jeanne de Bourbon, founded a library there. Its European renown, however, dates from the reign of Francis I, whose 'artistic taste transformed what was little more than , a hunting-box, falling into decay, into a gorgeous palace, adorned by the genius of some of the foremost Italian artists of the day. "A Court without ladies is a year without spring, and a spring without roees," declared this monarch, who filled his new palaoj with lovely and joyous dames. — A Royal Romance. — Among the fair ladies at the Court were Diane d.c Poitiers and the King's daughter Ma-deWr.e. One day a beautiful riyslal box. studded with diamonds, was fourd in the gpvden, containing an enameled port ft it of Diane, with whom the King's son Henri was in love. He failed to ••'.= io2ni.-'» t'ii° box as his. and concluded that he had a rival. On inquiry he found that it b-clone^d to J?me<; V of Scotland, who was vi.-itins: Fontaineblenu. Prince Henri, who hid a great affection for Jiime=. foucrht him out, and bitterly re-pi-oiichpd him for his underhand way of attempting to win Diane's affections. TheScottish King tola him, to his surprise, that the box mist have been stolen and the portraits chanced, a« the likeness originally in it wa-* that of Princess Madeleine, the only object of his love. It was a revere blow to James to overhear a conversation in which Madeleine, who wa« only 15, told a conzpanion that Don John, a natural «or of *he Emperor Chailes V. the lifelong rival of Francis I, was not indifferent to her, but that as it was her duty to. the State •she would marry James. The young couple were maiTied. and they journeyed to Scotland, hut unhappily the young Queen died at the early age of 16. According to Brantome, the French chronicler. Madeleine found Scotland very unlike France, and died of weariness. She had remarked repeatedly. "Alas. I wished to be Queen." By hi.s second wife James was father of M>ry Queen of Scots. Two yeans after Madeleine's death

T Charles V vi: ited Francis at Fontame- ! bleau, on his way to Flanders. Tha ! Cots* fool, Triboulet, remarked to FranI cis, "If tbs Emperor dare to cross France, ' I think be deserves to wear my shoes. '^ •I "But suppose I kt him pass through?" said he King. "Ah, Sire!" was .hanswer; "perhaps in that case they would fit you best." Francis, as we know, was magnanimous, and refrained from taking advantage of his rival and enemy. —Diane and Catherine. — The most sinister figure among the ladies who made Fontainebleau their home was Catherine de Medici, though the terrible event associated with her reign, the massacre jf St. Bartholomew, ~ took place in Paris, and is, therefore, only alluded to in this Tecord. She was wife of Henry 11, son of Francis I, and mother of the three •succeeding Kings, during whose x«igiis she was the virtual ruler of France. She was not one of the beauties of Fontainebleau, and, as she aged, she grew heavier, clumsier, and' lessr preposseeshsg than before. She is described by Mr Hamel a? tall and broad, her face being round, and her features large and colourless. Her hair was yellow and curly ; her lips were full, and inexpressive,, and she developed a doublechin. In strong contrast with *his wife was Henry's mistress, Diane le Poitiers, who, if not exactly beautiful, was tali and well made, with good features and complexion. She was "well read, expert in the chase, fascinating, and full of practical sense and knowledge of how ta manage the opposite sex. There is s. good deal of uncertainty regarding heir early life, and when Henri, a youth, met her she was 31 yeare old, wit> two daughters, and soon to be a widow. Thiea years after the meeting he married. Catherine de Medici, ami immediately: afterwards ignored her for the sake ol Diane. On the death of Francis tha mistress gained a greater ascendancy, than ever over Henri., which she maintained until bis death, 12 years later. Mary Stuart (afterwards Queen of ScotsJ visited Fontainebleau, and preferred Diane to Catherine, her future mother-in» law. When Henri died Diane's reign was over, and she withdrew for ever from Fon^ tainebleau. „„ — Nearly a Queen. — ■ ■ The lady who came nearer to being Queen of France than any other King's mistress, was the beautiful Gabrielle d'Esirees, the favourite of Henri the Fourth, the greatest, of the French Sovereigns. Henri wished to marry her, but his powerful Minister, Sully, objected. She burst into tears, and reproached the King for being ready to acrifice her to one of hia valets. The lovers made it up, and thera is little doubt that before long the marriage would have taken place. But it turned opt otherwise. Gabrielle died suddenly, and "the aum&on-decbsdi bed was transformed into a bier, on which shr lay in state." — An Eccentric Queen. — rhe most extraordinary woman who evei 1 lived at Fontainebleau was neither consort nor mistress of a French King. She was Christina, Queen of Sweden, the only child of Gustavus Adolphus, tfor "Lion of the North." She says in her memoirs: "I came into the world all over hair, .my, voice was strong and harsh !" Her father was killed in tihe Thirty Years War, and she was- brought up in a remarkable manner, under the superintendence of the great Swedish Chancellor, Oxenstierna. Her aoooTnplis'hments were marvellous. She scorned feminine pursuits, and worked continually, surrounded by learned men, from whom she drew vast stores of knowledge. Descartes journeyed to Stockholm to please her. She knew most languages, and read Petronius, Martial, and Tacitus. She required no more than three or four hours' sleep at night, and was usually ink-stained and untidy^ Unlike nearly, all of her fcex, her toilet took only a quarter of an hour. Her linen was not beyond reproach, and a comb with a knot of ribbon attached was her headdress when she did not wear a wig. She was indifferent to what she ate. She refused tp marry, turned Koman Catholic, and abdicated the throne in favour of her cousin Gustavus. She then set out on her travels, visiting the courts of Europe, including Rome. At Paris, her next destination, she was awaited with tlie utmost curiosity, everyone being desirous of seeing the strangest and most notorious personage of her time— the "Sibyl of the North, the "tenth muse," the "strolling Queen, as she was variously called. In September, 1656, when Mazarin was in power, being then 30 years old, she entered Paris, escorted by 5000 horsemen. She wore a scarlet doublet, a woman's skirt, and a plumed hat, and rode astride of a large white horse. She .hac* pistols in her holsters and carried a cane. Madame de Motteville, who has described her arrival, says:— "She looked to me, at first sight, like a disreputable gipsy, who by chance was not quite brown." The Due de Guise wrote of her ?—"? — " She is shod h&e a man, and she has the tone of voice and nearly all the actions of a'man. She affects to play the Amazon." Many other extraordinary things are told of her. After a visit to Home, she arrived, in October, 1657, at FontaineWeau, where apartments I had been assigned to her in the absence of the Court. She had not been there a fortnight before she made herself more notorious than ever by authorising the murder o. her grand equerry, the Marquis Monaldeschi, a former favourite. He had greatly offended her, tfcougfr the nature of his offence has never been made known. A circumstantial account of the murder i given by Fathei LebeL It appears that Monaldeschi having confessed to the authorship of certain compromising docu< ments, she called him "traitor," and refused to listen to bis prayers for pardon. He was then attacked by her men-at-arms, and finally stabbed in the throat by tha favourite wfoo had superseded Monaldeschi. Christina clouted that she had the power of Hfc and c'baih over members of her suite. This atrocious deed, which reminds one oi Catber'ne of Russia, com-

pleted the alienation of the French Court and people, already disgusted by her want of decorum, and decency. She had to leave Fontainebleau and Paris, and finally she retired to Rome, where she spent the remaining 30 years of her life. Cromwell ignored a broad hint from her that she desired an invitation to England. — Later Beauties. — After le Grand Monarque assumed the reins of government a. succession of his mistresses dwelt at Fontainebleau, the chief of them being Mauie de Mancini, a niece of Caidinal Mazarin ; Louise de la Valliere, whose reign lasted six years ; Madame de Montespan, considered the most beautiful woman in France (12 yeans) : and Madade de Maintenon, upon whom he became more and more dependent in his later years. Of the mistinesses of Louis the "Well beloved," the most celebrated T*as Madame de Pompadour, who for 20 years ruled the King, and through him the kingdom, with almost jibsolute power. Her successor, Madame dn Barry, perished by the guillotine during the Reign of Terror. ,