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                         THE BOOK OF THE LADIES

              [Illustration: MESSIRE PIERRE DE BOURDEILLE

                         SEIGNEUR DE BRANTOME.]

                      _The Reign and Amours of the
                            Bourbon Régime_

                       A Brilliant Description of
                        the Courts of Louis XVI,
                     Amours, Debauchery, Intrigues,
                      and State Secrets, including
                    Suppressed and Confiscated MSS.

                             [Illustration]

                            The Book of the
                           Illustrious Dames

                                   BY

                 PIERRE DE BOURDEÏLLE, ABBÉ DE BRANTÔME

                       WITH INTRODUCTORY ESSAY BY
                           C.-A. SAINTE-BEUVE

                 _Unexpurgated Rendition into English_

                  PRIVATELY PRINTED FOR MEMBERS OF THE
                     VERSAILLES HISTORICAL SOCIETY
                                NEW YORK

                            Copyright, 1899.
                             BY H. P. & CO.

                         _All Rights Reserved._

                            Édition de Luxe

                    _This edition is limited to two
                     hundred copies, of which this
                       is Number_.............




CONTENTS.


                                                                    PAGE

INTRODUCTION                                                           1

DISCOURSE I. ANNE DE BRETAGNE, Queen of France                        25

_Sainte-Beuve’s remarks upon her_                                     40

DISCOURSE II. CATHERINE DE’ MEDICI, Queen, and mother of
our last kings                                                        44

_Sainte-Beuve’s remarks upon her_                                     85

DISCOURSE III. MARIE STUART, Queen of Scotland, formerly
Queen of our France                                                   89

_Sainte-Beuve’s essay on her_                                        121

DISCOURSE IV. ÉLISABETH OF FRANCE, Queen of Spain                    138

DISCOURSE V. MARGUERITE, Queen of France and of Navarre,
sole daughter now remaining of the Noble House of France             152

_Sainte-Beuve’s essay on her_                                        193

DISCOURSE VI. MESDAMES, the Daughters of the Noble House
of France:

Madame Yoland                                                        214

Madame Jeanne                                                        215

Madame Anne                                                          216

Madame Claude                                                        219

Madame Renée                                                         220

Mesdames Charlotte, Louise, Magdelaine, Marguerite                   223

Mesdames Élisabeth, Claude, and Marguerite                           229

Madame Diane                                                         231

MARGUERITE DE VALOIS, Queen of Navarre                               234

_Sainte-Beuve’s essay on the latter_                                 243

DISCOURSE VII. OF VARIOUS ILLUSTRIOUS LADIES:

Isabelle d’Autriche, wife of Charles IX                              262

Jeanne d’Autriche, wife of the Infante of Portugal                   270

Marie d’Autriche, wife of the King of Hungary                        273

Louise de Lorraine, wife of Henri III                                280

Marguerite de Lorraine, wife of the Duc de Joyeuse                   282

Christine of Denmark, wife of the Duc de Lorraine                    283

Marie d’Autriche, wife of the Emperor Maximilian II                  291

Blanche de Montferrat, Duchesse de Savoie                            293

Catherine de Clèves, wife of Henri I. de Lorraine, Duc de Guise      297

Madame de Bourdeille                                                 297

APPENDIX                                                             299

INDEX                                                                305




LIST OF PHOTOGRAVURE ILLUSTRATIONS.


PIERRE DE BOURDEILLE, ABBÉ AND SEIGNEUR DE BRANTÔME        _Frontispiece_
From an old engraving by I. Von Schley.

                                                                    PAGE

FRANÇOIS DE LORRAINE, DUC DE GUISE                                     8
By François Clouet; in the Louvre.

DISCOURSE

I. TOMB OF LOUIS XII. AND ANNE DE BRETAGNE                            34

By Jean Juste, in the Cathedral of Saint-Denis. The king and
queen are carved as skeletons within the twelve columns;
above they kneel at their prie-dieus, and the tradition is
that the portraits are faithful. The cardinal virtues, Justice,
Prudence, Temperance, and Fortitude, sit at the corners of
the monument: the twelve apostles between the pillars; and
round the base, between the virtues, are exquisite representations
(not visible in the reproduction) of the king’s campaigns in Italy.

II. CATHERINE DE’ MEDICI, QUEEN OF FRANCE                             44
School of the sixteenth century; in the Louvre.

II. HENRI II., KING OF FRANCE                                         52
By François Clouet; in the Louvre.

II. BALL AT THE COURT OF HENRI III., WITH PORTRAITS                   81
Attributed to François Clouet; in the Louvre. See description
in note to Discourse VII.

III. MARIE STUART, QUEEN OF FRANCE AND SCOTLAND                       90
Painter unknown; in the Uffizi Gallery, Florence.

III. THE SAME                                                        120
School of the sixteenth century; Versailles.

V. HENRI IV., KING OF FRANCE                                         166
By Franz Pourbus (le jeune); in the Louvre.

V. ÉLISABETH DE FRANCE, QUEEN OF SPAIN                               185
By Rubens; in the Louvre.

V. CORONATION OF MARIE DE’ MEDICI, WITH PORTRAITS                    211
By Rubens (Peter Paul); in the Louvre. See description in
note to the Discourse.

VI. FRANÇOIS I., KING OF FRANCE                                      224
