V.
While civil war was raging all round, and Christina's best friends were dying on the scaffold or the battle-field, the marriage of her daughter Renée brought a ray of light into her life. The tale of Renée's courtships almost rivals that of her mother's. The Kings of Sweden and Denmark, William of Orange and Henri de Joinville, were only a few among the candidates who sought her hand. Granvelle once proposed the Duke of Urbino as a suitable match, and Philip was anxious to marry her to his handsome and popular half-brother, Don John of Austria. But the Duchess declined this offer repeatedly, saying that no child of hers should ever wed a bastard. When in the summer of 1567, Don Luis de Mendoza again urged this suit on the King's behalf, the Duchess informed him that her daughter's hand was already promised to Duke William of Bavaria, the eldest son of the reigning Duke Albert and his wife, the Archduchess Anna. The contract was signed in September, and the marriage took place early in the following year,[635] and turned out very happily. Throughout his life the Bavarian Duke maintained worthily the strong Catholic traditions of his house, and proved a dutiful and affectionate son-in-law. Christina spent the following winter at the Castle of Friedberg in Bavaria, where she was once more dangerously ill, and Silliers as usual complained bitterly of Philip's neglect and unkindness in never making inquiries after her health. But, in spite of all rebuffs, neither the Baron nor his mistress had abandoned their dreams of conquering Denmark, and in April, 1569, Cardinal Granvelle wrote to the King from Rome:
Sept., 1572] DEATH OF SILLIERS
"Madame de Lorraine is still trying to recover her father's kingdom, and both she and her Councillor, Silliers, are continually begging me for help in this matter. In vain I have replied for the hundredth time that I am too far from Madrid and the Low Countries to know if the affair is practicable, and have pointed out that, in the first place, the Dutch will never break with Denmark; secondly, that the Emperor would object to any attempt of this kind; and, thirdly, that Your Majesty's hands are full. In fact, I have told her that I cannot see any solid foundations for her hopes. But she returns to the charge again and again."[636]
It was the last flicker of an expiring flame. After this, even Christina seems to have recognized the futility of her schemes, and the death of Silliers finally decided her to abandon them altogether. This "vain, insupportable, and foolish man," as the Cardinal called him, and whom her son, the Duke, also detested cordially, lost his life in Bavaria, in September, 1572, being killed by a shot from a crossbow, which was said to be accidental, but which Granvelle and his other enemies ascribed to a paid assassin.[637] During the last twenty years, it must be owned, Silliers had been the Duchess's evil genius; but, in spite of all his faults, he was sincerely attached to his mistress, and his devotion to her interests cannot be questioned.
Christina spent the next six years chiefly at Nancy or Denœuvre, in the company of her children and grandchildren. The Duke had a large family of three sons and six daughters, the eldest of whom, Christina, bore a strong likeness to her grandmother both in face and character. This Princess and her cousin Louise de Vaudemont, the daughter of Nicholas by his first wife, Margaret of Egmont, were great favourites with the Duchess-mother, and spent much time in her society. Louise was a fair and gentle maiden, whose charms captivated Henry, Duke of Anjou, when he came to Lorraine in 1573, on his way to take possession of the throne of Poland. He was accompanied by his mother, Queen Catherine, who spent a week at Nancy, and after her son's departure remained some days at Blamont with Christina. When, two years later, Henry succeeded his brother, Charles IX., the new King's first thought was to make the Princess of Lorraine his wife. Christina was too ill to leave her bed, but Duchess Antoinette, still young in spite of her eighty years, brought the bride to Reims, where the wedding was celebrated two days after Henry III.'s coronation. The Duke and his sister Dorothea were present at the ceremony, as well as all the Guise Princes.[638] Five days afterwards, on the 20th of February, 1575, the Duchess Claude, whose health had long been failing, and who had lately given birth to twin daughters, died in the ducal palace, at the age of twenty-eight, leaving the Duke an inconsolable widower. He was only thirty-two, and although he lived till 1608, never married again. Soon after Claude's death, her eldest daughter, Christina, went to live with her grandmother, Catherine de' Medici, at the French Court. This masterful lady, who quarrelled with her own daughter Margaret, was very fond of Christina, and kept this young Princess constantly at her side during the next fourteen years.
Dec., 1575] MARRIAGE OF DOROTHEA
In the following December, Elizabeth of Austria, the widow of Charles IX., and daughter of the Emperor Maximilian II., visited Nancy on her way back to Vienna, and was escorted on her journey by Renée and her husband, the Duke of Bavaria. They were all three present at the wedding of the Princess Dorothea, who was married in the Church of St. Georges, on the 26th of December, to Duke Eric of Brunswick.[639] This wild and restless Prince had always been on friendly terms with Christina and her family, and was one of King Philip's favourite captains and a Knight of the Golden Fleece. He had lately lost his first wife, and succeeded his father in the principalities of Göttingen and Calenberg, although his roving tastes made him prefer foreign service to residence on his own estates. Now, at the age of forty-seven, he became the husband of Christina's younger daughter. In spite of her lameness, this Princess inherited much of her aunt Dorothea's charm and gaiety, and was fondly beloved by her brother and all his children. She took especial interest in the improvements which the Duke was never tired of making at Nancy, and helped him in laying out the beautiful terraced gardens, adorned with fountains and orangeries, in the precincts of the ducal palace. And the bell in the new clock-tower, which the Duke built in 1577, was named Dorothea, after the Duchess of Brunswick.[640] Charles himself, like his father, was a Prince of cultured tastes, who studied the Latin and Italian poets and took delight in Ronsard's verses. The foundation of the University at Pont-à-Mousson bore witness to his love of learning, while he employed scholars to collect precious books and manuscripts, and sent his gardeners to inspect the royal palaces at Fontainebleau and St. Germain, and to bring back rare plants and exotics.[641]
In these last years of Christina's life at Nancy, new hopes and interests were suddenly brought into her life by Don John of Austria's arrival in the Low Countries. When terrorism and massacre had failed to crush the revolted provinces, the hero of Lepanto was appointed Governor, in the hope that he might succeed in restoring order, by appealing to his illustrious father's memory and ruling the Netherlands according to his example. In October, 1576, Don John travelled through France in the disguise of a Moorish servant, and, after spending one night in Paris, came to Joinville to consult the Duke of Guise on a romantic scheme which he had formed to release and marry the captive Queen of Scots. Then he hurried on to Luxembourg and proclaimed his intention of withdrawing the Spanish troops and granting a general amnesty. The coming of this chivalrous Prince, with his message of peace, filled the people of the Netherlands with new hope. Don John was received with open arms by the Duke of Aerschot and his half-brother, Anne of Lorraine's son, Charles de Croy, Marquis of Havré. His first act was to restore the lands and fortune of the late Count Egmont to his widow, the Countess Palatine Sabina, and her innocent children. This rejoiced the heart of Madame d'Aremberg, who had been spending the winter at Nancy with the Duchess, and Christina's nephew, Charles de Croy, told Don John frankly that the Low Countries would gladly have him, not only for their Governor, but for their King. Christina herself was deeply stirred, and sent a member of her household to Luxembourg with a letter welcoming the Prince in the warmest terms, and thanking him for the cheering news which he had sent her.
Nov., 1576] DON JOHN OF AUSTRIA
"I can only praise God," she wrote, "for your appointment to the government of the Low Countries, and trust that the same success that, thanks to your great valour and prudence, has everywhere attended you will continue to crown your efforts.
"Your very loving and more than
very affectionate cousin,
"Chrétienne.
"Blamont, November 12, 1576."[642]
In her anxiety to see Don John, the Duchess set out for Pont-à-Mousson; but when she reached Nancy, on the 12th of December, she heard that the Prince had already left Luxembourg for the Netherlands, and sent him the following letter by a confidential servant, who was to tell him many things which she could not commit to paper:
"My Cousin,
"The singular wish that I have to see Your Highness, and confer with you on many points of the highest importance, induced me to leave Blamont and come to Pont-à-Mousson, in order to be near you and to have an opportunity of seeing you and conversing together, as you will learn more fully from this gentleman whom I am sending to wish you all prosperity and success in your noble designs and enterprises, as well as to tell you many things which I beg you to hear and believe."[643]
Don John replied in the same friendly spirit, telling her his plans and thanking her most warmly for her advice.
"As for me," he wrote, "I am exceedingly obliged to Your Highness for your offers, and shall always be most grateful for your advice and help, knowing, Madame, your great experience and wisdom in affairs. God knows how anxious I was to come and see Your Highness on my journey here, and kiss your hands, but it was impossible owing to the urgency of affairs requiring my presence here. I am very glad indeed," he adds in a postscript, "to hear that you are in good health."[644]
The Prince was evidently impressed by the soundness of the Duchess's judgment and by her great popularity in the Netherlands, for when, a few weeks later, he began to realize the hopeless nature of his task, and begged for his recall, he repeatedly told Philip that, in his opinion, the Duchess of Lorraine would be the best person to take his place.
"The Duchess of Lorraine," he wrote on February 16, 1577, "has all the qualities necessary for the government of these provinces, which she would administer far better than I can, because they are beginning to hate me, and I know that I hate them."
Again, a little later:
"I find in Madame de Lorraine a real desire to serve Your Majesty. She has come to Pont-à-Mousson to see if she can be of help to me, and I am sure would gladly execute any orders that she may receive."
Oct., 1578] DEATH OF DON JOHN
Christina heard with delight of Don John's joyous entry into Brussels on May Day, and received with deep thankfulness his letter informing her of the departure of the hated Spanish troops. But these high hopes were doomed to disappointment. The war soon broke out again, and after Don John's victory of Gembloux in January, 1578, Madame de Lorraine was one of the first persons to whom he announced the news by letter.[645] Both of the Duchess's sons-in-law joined in supporting Don John, and in May, 1578, the Duke of Brunswick brought a force of 3,000 Germans to join him at Namur. Dorothea accompanied her husband, and was about to pay the Prince a visit, when she received a message from her brother Charles, informing her of their mother's serious illness, and left hastily for Nancy.[646]
Five months afterwards a premature death closed the brilliant adventurer's career, and Christina was left to grieve over the tragic end of this Prince, of whom so much had been expected.