"Since I sent my last letter," wrote the Duchess of Guise to her daughter in Scotland, "you will have heard of the death of your aunt—whom God pardon—a fortnight ago. The attack—a flux de ventre—which carried her off only lasted nine days, but she was enfeebled by long illness. Nature could no longer offer any resistance, and God in His good pleasure took her to Himself. She died as a good Christian, doing her duty by all and asking forgiveness of everyone, and remained conscious to the end. After Friday morning she would not see her children, or even her husband, but, as this distressed him greatly, she sent for him again after she had received God. On Sunday she was anointed with holy oil, and died at ten o'clock the next evening. It was the tenth of June. It is a heavy loss for all our family, but your uncle bears up bravely. He sent for us, and I set out for Nancy at once, but only arrived there after her death. Your father, with whom I have been in Picardy, followed on Saturday. I have just returned to Pont-à-Mousson, where I came to see my mother-in-law, the good old Queen. The funeral will be on St. John's Day, and your aunt will be buried in the Cordeliers, opposite the tomb of the late King" (René II.).[324]
Four days after his wife's death, Antoine himself sent these touching lines to his niece, the Queen of Scotland:
Aug., 1541] FRANCIS OF LORRAINE
"I was glad to hear from you the other day, Madame, and must tell you the great sorrow which it has pleased God to send me, in calling my wife to Himself. She died on the morrow of Pentecost. God be praised, Madame, for the beautiful end which she made, like the good Christian that she was. Commend me to the King your lord; and if there is any service which I can render you or him, let me know, and I will do it gladly.
"Your humble and loving uncle,
"Antoine."[325]
Renée bore the Duke a large family, but only three of her children lived to grow up: Francis, Marquis of Pont-à-Mousson, born in 1517; Anne, the Princess of Orange, who was five years younger; and Nicolas, Count of Vaudemont, born in 1524, who took Deacon's Orders, and became Bishop of Metz when the Cardinal of Lorraine resigned this see. Francis had the French King for his godfather, and was sent, as a matter of course, to be educated at the Court of France with the Dauphin. This Prince inherited the tall stature and regular features of his father's family, together with his mother's love of art and letters. His studious tastes and quick intelligence made him the delight of all his teachers, and King Francis was heard to say that the Marquis du Pont was the wisest Prince of his age. But although he could ride and tilt as well as any of his peers, he was never robust, and the strain of melancholy in his nature increased as years went by. In 1538 the young Marquis accompanied his father to meet the Emperor at Aigues-Mortes, and made a very favourable impression on Charles, who proposed that he should marry one of King Ferdinand's daughters. Several other alliances had been already suggested for this promising Prince.[326] In 1527, while he was still a boy, the fateful marriage between him and Anne of Cleves had been arranged; and when this was abandoned, King Francis first offered him one of his own daughters, and then his cousin, Mary of Vendôme, whom the King of Scotland had deserted for the fair Duchess of Longueville. At the same time Henry VIII. asked Castillon to arrange a marriage between his daughter Mary and the heir of Lorraine.[327] But from the moment that Francis of Lorraine saw the Duchess of Milan at Compiègne his choice never wavered, and his constancy triumphed in the end over all difficulties.
The lamented death of Duchess Renée, and the marriage of her only daughter, Anne, in the following year, had left the palace at Nancy without a mistress, and rendered Christina's presence there the more welcome. The old Duke was as proud of his daughter-in-law as his subjects were of their young Duchess, and Christina's frank manners and open-handed generosity soon made her very popular in Lorraine. She received a cordial welcome from Antoinette and the Guise Princes at Joinville, and was on the best of terms with her young brother-in-law, Monsieur de Metz. Above all, she was adored by her spouse, whose devotion to Christina quickly dispelled the Duchess of Guise's fears lest this grave and thoughtful Prince should not prove a good husband. His love satisfied every longing of her heart, and filled her soul with deep content. After all the storms of her early youth, after the lonely months at Milan and Pavia, after the disappointment of her cherished hopes, the young Duchess had found a happiness beyond her highest dreams. As she wrote to her old friend Granvelle a few months later: "My husband treats me so kindly, and has such great affection for me, that I am the happiest woman in the whole world."[328]
Nov., 1541] A VISIT TO FONTAINEBLEAU