Two days before the Prince's birth a secret treaty between the Emperor and King Henry was concluded at Whitehall. Chapuys had at length attained the object of his untiring efforts, and De Courrières was sent from Spain on a confidential mission to induce Henry to declare war against France. The defeat of the Duke of Aerschot at Sittard excited general alarm in Flanders, and Mary was at her wits' end for money and men. But the Emperor himself was hastening across the Alps to the help of his loyal provinces. The marriage of his son Philip with the Infanta of Portugal had been finally settled, and with the help of this Princess's large dowry and another half-million of Mexican gold, Charles was able to raise a large army of German and Italian troops. On the 22nd of August he appeared in person before Düren, the capital of Cleves, which surrendered within a week. The Duke threw himself on the victor's mercy, and was pardoned and invested anew with his hereditary duchies, while Guelders was annexed to the Netherlands and the Prince of Orange became its first Governor. William of Cleves on his part renounced the French alliance, and agreed to marry one of King Ferdinand's daughters. His previous marriage with Jeanne d'Albret was annulled by the Pope, and this resolute young Princess had the satisfaction of carrying her protest into effect. Encouraged by these successes, Charles now laid siege to Landrécy, the capital of Hainault, which had been captured and fortified by the French, and was joined by a gallant company of English under Lord Surrey and Sir John Wallop. "Par ma foi!" exclaimed the Emperor, as he rode down their ranks, "this is a fine body of gentlemen! If the French King comes, I will live and die with the English."[348] But Francis refused to be drawn into a battle, and the approach of winter made both armies retire from the field.
The Duke of Lorraine took advantage of this temporary lull to mediate between the two monarchs. Old as he was, and suffering severely with gout, Antoine came to the Prince of Chimay's house with his son Francis, and begged for an audience with the Emperor and Regent, who were spending a few days at Valenciennes, on their way to Brussels. Charles sent him word not to come into his presence if he brought offers from the French King; but in spite of these peremptory orders the two Dukes arrived in the town on Sunday, the 17th of November, and were received by the Emperor after dinner. Antoine delivered a long oration begging His Imperial Majesty to make peace for the sake of Christendom, and, laying his hand on his breast, swore that he had taken this step of his own free will, without communicating with any other person. The old man's earnestness touched Charles, who answered kindly, saying that he was always welcome as a cousin and a neighbour, and that this was doubly the case now that his son had married the Emperor's dearly loved niece. But he told him frankly that he had been too often deluded by false promises to listen to French proposals for peace, and that in any case he could do nothing without the consent of his ally, the King of England. Nothing daunted, the old Duke went on to visit the Regent, and was found by Lord Surrey and the English Ambassador Brian sitting at a table before a fire in the Queen's room, playing at cards. Antoine greeted Brian as an old friend, and asked him to drink with him. But Mary sternly refused to listen to the Duke's errand, being convinced that he came from the King, and declaring that all the gentlemen in his suite were good Frenchmen. When he and his son were gone, she called Brian to her, and said: "Monsieur l'Ambassadeur, heard you ever so lean a message?" "Madame," replied the Englishman, "if the broth be no fatter, it is not worth the supping," a sentiment which provoked a hearty laugh from the Queen.[349]
May, 1544] EGMONT'S WEDDING
Neither Queen Eleanor, who sent an entreating letter with a present of falcons to her sister, nor Cardinal Farnese, who brought fresh proposals of peace from the Pope, fared any better. The young Duchess Christina now determined to make an attempt herself, and came to meet her uncle at Spires when he attended the Diet. The ostensible reason of this journey was to visit her sister Dorothea, but Charles, divining her intention, sent the Countess Palatine word that if the Duchess of Bar brought proposals of peace she might as well stay at home. Christina, however, arrived at Spires on the 8th of February, with a train of fourteen ladies and fifteen horse, and spent a week with the Count and Countess Palatine. The sisters saw the Emperor and King Ferdinand every day, and were to all appearance on the most affectionate terms with them. But nothing transpired as to what passed between Christina and her uncle in private. On the day that she left Spires to return to Nancy, Frederic heard of the death of his brother, the Elector Palatine, and hastened to Heidelberg with Dorothea to attend his funeral and take possession of the rich Rhineland, to which he now succeeded. Six weeks later he returned to do homage for the Palatinate, and assist at the wedding of his cousin Sabina with Lamoral d'Egmont, the hero of so many hard-fought fields. The Emperor gave a sumptuous banquet in honour of his gallant brother-at-arms, Dorothea led the bride to church, and Frederic, in a fit of generosity, settled 14,000 florins on his young kinswoman.[350]
In this same month Ambassadors arrived at Spires from Christian III. of Denmark, who had quarrelled with the French King and was anxious to make peace with the Emperor. In spite of a protest from the Palatine, a treaty was concluded on the 23rd of May, by which Charles recognized the reigning monarch's title to the crown. So the long war, which had lasted twenty-one years, was at length ended, and the Emperor finally abandoned the cause of Christian II. But a clause was added by which his daughters' rights were reserved, and a promise given that the severity of his captivity should be relaxed and that he should be allowed to hunt and fish in the park at Sonderburg. Christian III. gladly agreed to these more humane conditions, and even offered to give Dorothea and Christina a substantial dowry, but the Palatine refused to accept any terms, and persisted in asserting his wife's claims.[351]
IV.
June, 1544] CHARLES V. IN LORRAINE
Soon after her return from Spires, on the 20th of April, 1544, Christina gave birth, at Nancy, to a daughter, who was named Renée, after the late Duchess. But her happiness was clouded by the illness of her husband, whose health had become a cause of grave anxiety. Fighting was renewed with fresh vigour in the spring, and unexpected success attended the imperial arms. Luxembourg was recovered by Ferrante Gonzaga, and the French invaders were expelled from most of the strongholds which they held in this province. The war raged fiercely on the borders of Lorraine, and the annoyance to which his subjects were exposed, induced Duke Antoine to make another effort at mediation. Since the Emperor turned a deaf ear to all appeals, he decided to apply to King Francis in person, and on the 8th of May he set out in a litter for the French Court; but when he reached Bar he was too ill to go any farther, and took to his bed in this ancient castle of his ancestors. His sons hastened to join him, and Christina followed them as soon as she was able to travel, and arrived in time to be present at her father-in-law's death-bed. The fine old man made his will, appointed his brothers, the Duke of Guise and the Cardinal, to be his executors, and with his last breath begged his son to rule Lorraine wisely and raise as few extraordinary taxes as possible. Above all, he adjured him to preserve his people from the scourge of war, and use every endeavour to obtain the restoration of peace. With these words on his lips, he passed away on the 19th of June, 1544.[352] The new Duke was as anxious for peace as his father, but the moment was unpropitious for any efforts in this direction. King Henry had at length taken the field and invaded Picardy with a large army, and the Emperor was bent on carrying the war into the heart of France, and urged his ally to meet him under the walls of Paris. On the 17th of June Charles himself came to Metz with Maurice of Saxony and the young Marquis Albert of Brandenburg, the boldest warrior in Germany, and prepared plans for the extension of the campaign which Ferrante Gonzaga and the Prince of Orange were carrying on in Champagne. Here Francis of Lorraine joined him as soon as he was able to mount a horse, and, after spending some days at Metz, induced the Emperor to accompany him to Nassau-le-Grand, where Christina was awaiting him.[353] On his way Charles stopped at Pont-à-Mousson, and paid a visit to Queen Philippa, the sister of his old enemy Charles of Guelders, for whom he had always entertained a genuine regard, and who was proud to welcome the great Emperor under her convent roof. Since the death of the Empress, five years before, Charles had formed a fixed resolution to end his days in some cloistered retreat, and he looked with admiration, not unmixed with envy, on the aged Queen's peaceful home, and the garden where she hoed and raked the borders and planted flowers with her own hands. It was a memorable day in the convent annals, and one which left pleasant recollections in the Emperor's breast.[354]
But although Charles was full of affection for Christina and her husband, he declined to receive the Cardinal of Lorraine, who begged for an interview, and during his brief visit not a word was spoken with regard to overtures of peace.[355] On the 12th of July he took leave of the Duke and Duchess, and joined the Prince of Orange's camp before St. Dizier. This town was strongly fortified, but René had taken up his position near a bridge across the Marne, and opened fire from a battery of guns placed in the dry bed of the castle moat. Charles himself visited the trenches on the day of his arrival, and early the next morning the Prince of Orange walked round to inspect the artillery with Ferrante Gonzaga. The Marquis of Marignano was sitting in a chair, which had been brought there for the Emperor's use the day before, and, seeing the Prince, sprang to his feet and offered him his seat. Compliments were exchanged on both sides, and the Prince finally sat down in the empty chair. He had hardly taken his seat before he was struck by a shell which, passing between the Viceroy and the Marquis, broke one of his ribs, and shattered his shoulder to pieces. They bore his unconscious form to the Emperor's tent, where he lay between life and death for the next forty-eight hours. The whole camp was filled with consternation.
"I doubt yet what will become of him," wrote Wotton, who had followed Charles to the camp. "If he should die of it, it were an inestimable loss to the Emperor, so toward a gentleman he is, so well beloved, and of such authority among men of war."