a reconciliation
between herself and the King, in order that the prayers of the nation
might be answered by the birth of a Dauphin; or, should she deem such an
event impossible, to entreat of her to pardon him if he ventured to take
the liberty of imploring her Majesty to make a still greater sacrifice.

Sully had felt that it was unnecessary to explain himself more clearly,
as a reconciliation between Henri IV and his erring consort had, from
the profligate life which she was known to have led at Usson, become
utterly impossible; nor could she doubt for an instant the nature of the
sacrifice which was required at her hands. It was not, therefore,
without great anxiety that he awaited her reply, which did not reach him
for the space of five months; at the expiration of which period he
received a letter, wherein she averred her willingness to submit to the
pleasure of the King, for whose forbearance she expressed herself
grateful; offering at the same time her acknowledgments to the Duke
himself for the interest which he exhibited towards her person. From
this period a continued correspondence was maintained between the exiled
Queen and the minister; and she proved so little exacting in the
conditions which she required as the price of her concession, that the
affair would have been concluded without difficulty, had not the
favourite, who was privy to the negotiation, calculating upon her
influence over the mind of the monarch, suddenly assumed an attitude
which arrested its progress.

For a considerable time she had aspired to the throne; but it was not
until she learnt that the agents of the King in Rome were labouring to
effect the dissolution of his marriage with Marguerite de Valois, and
that the Duc de Luxembourg[48] was also about to visit the Papal Court
in order to hasten the conclusion of the negotiations, that she openly
declared her views to Sillery,[49] whom she knew to be already well
affected towards her, declaring that should he be instrumental in
inducing the King to make her his wife, she would pledge herself to
obtain the seals for him on his return from Rome, as well as the dignity
of chancellor so soon as it should be vacant.[50]

Sillery, whose ambition was aroused, was not slow to obey her wishes;
and, finding the Pope unwilling to lend himself to the haste which was
required of him, he not only informed him privately that, in the event
of a divorce, his royal master was ready to espouse the Prin