n war, though in an advanced age, was yet the
delight of the Court: he had three sons very accomplished; the second,
called the Prince of Cleves, was worthy to support the honour of his
house; he was brave and generous, and showed a prudence above his
years. The Viscount de Chartres, descended of the illustrious family
of Vendome, whose name the Princes of the blood have thought it no
dishonour to wear, was equally distinguished for gallantry; he was
genteel, of a fine mien, valiant, generous, and all these qualities he
possessed in a very uncommon degree; in short, if anyone could be
compared to the Duke de Nemours, it was he. The Duke de Nemours was a
masterpiece of Nature; the beauty of his person, inimitable as it was,
was his least perfection; what placed him above other men, was a
certain agreeableness in his discourse, his actions, his looks, which
was observable in none beside himself: he had in his behaviour a gaiety
that was equally pleasing to men and women; in his exercises he was
very expert; and in dress he had a peculiar manner, which was followed
by all the world, but could never be imitated: in fine, such was the
air of his whole person, that it was impossible to fix one's eye on
anything else, wherever he was. There was not a lady at Court, whose
vanity would not have been gratified by his address; few of those whom
he addressed, could boast of having resisted him; and even those for
whom he expressed no passion, could not forbear expressing one for him:
his natural gaiety and disposition to gallantry was so great, that he
could not refuse some part of his cares and attention to those who made
it their endeavour to please him; and accordingly he had several
mistresses, but it was hard to guess which of them was in possession of
his heart: he made frequent visits to the Queen-Dauphin; the beauty of
this princess, the sweetness of her temper, the care she took to oblige
everybody, and the particular esteem she expressed for the Duke de
Nemours, gave ground to believe that he had raised his views even to
her. Messieurs de Guise, whose niece she was, had so far increased
their authority and reputation by this match, that their ambition
prompted them to aspire at an equality with the Princes of the blood,
and to share in power with the Constable Montmorency. The King
entrusted the Constable with the chief share in the administration of
the Government, and treated the Duke of Guise and the Mareschal de St