as placed above. At three (p. 252)
in the afternoon the royal parties, having entered within the
barriers, approached each other, the Queen led by the Duke of
Burgundy, the Princess by the Count de St. Pol. Henry with a solemn
bow took the Queen by the hand and saluted her, and afterwards the
Princess; as did also his brothers, bending one knee almost to the
ground. The Duke of Burgundy paid his respects to Henry, and was
honourably received by him. Henry led the Queen into the pavilion,
taking the upper hand of her after a long dispute about this ceremony;
and having placed her in one chair of state, of cloth of gold, himself
occupied the other. Nothing further than ceremony was the apparent
object of that day's conference, though the fate of Henry perhaps
turned upon it. The Earl of Warwick, "the father of courtesy,"
addressed the Queen, and the parties separated,--the Queen's for
Ponthoise, Henry's for Mante; having first engaged to meet each other
again on the following Thursday. These conferences were carried on at
intervals till June 30th, without any satisfactory progress being made
towards peace; on that day they agreed to meet on the 3rd July, and
Henry kept his engagement, but the French disappointed him; and then,
convinced of their insincerity, and the total absence of all real
intentions on their part to bring the proceedings to a favourable
issue, he dissolved the conference, complaining loudly of the unfair
dealings of his enemies. He was chiefly, however, angry with the Duke
of Burgundy, to whom he ascribed all the blame; and who is said (p. 253)
to have been guilty of such double-dealing as to have had frequent
interviews with the Dauphin in the neighbourhood of Paris, even during
the conference.

A circumstance connected with this meeting is too closely interwoven
with Henry's character, and conduct, and destiny, to be passed over in
silence. In preparing for the interview, the Queen had shown much
courteous attention to secure Henry's gratification; and she looked
forward to it as the hour of her daughter Katharine's[188] conquest
over his heart. That Princess was a lovely young person, and in the
very prime and bloom of her beauty; and her mother had flattered
herself that her charms would prevail over the young conqueror more
than the arms or the statesmen of France. Nor had the designing lady
altogether miscalculated the power of her daughter's charms, or the
extent of Henry's susceptibility