[44] Mémoires de Tallemant des Réaux, vol. i. p. 422.
[45] Père Vincent was the Queen’s confessor.—Mémoires de Madame de Motteville, vol. i. pp. 81, 82.
CHAPTER III.
Second Hypothesis—First Feelings of Anne of Austria towards Louis XIII.—Joy which she experienced on arriving in France—First Impressions of Louis XIII.—His Aversion to Spain—His Dislike to Marriage—Austerity of his Manners—His persistent Coldness—Means adopted to induce him to consummate the Marriage—Political Position of Anne of Austria—Louis XIII. and Richelieu—Watch kept by the Minister over the Queen—The King’s Illness at Lyons.
The political story of Louis XIII.’s marriage with Anne of Austria has been told; the motives which determined this union, the negotiations which preceded it, the great interests connected with it, and the powerful springs which put it in action, have all been set forth and weighed in a decisive manner.[46]
If, neglecting this grave examination, which is entirely foreign to our work, we occupy ourselves solely with the character and secret thoughts of the persons thus tied to one another, and whose private life has been ransacked in order to give a solution to the problem of the Man with the Iron Mask, we see that a very strong liking for France and for her King, on Anne of Austria’s part, was in accord with the necessities of policy. Contrary to what frequently happens in the case of royal marriages, the obligations imposed on the Infanta by her rank were not repugnant to the sentiments of the woman, and when she crossed the French frontier for the first time, she realized a hope long since conceived and dearly cherished in her heart. With only eight days between their births and at once betrothed to one another in public opinion, the Infanta and the Dauphin had been the object of the researches and predictions of all the astrologers of the time,[47] who proclaimed that, having come into the world under the same sign, they were destined to love each other, even though they might not be united. The Infanta had believed in this augury. She had early liked to hear the young King spoken of, she sought after his portraits, she preferred garments of French cut, she willingly wore ear-rings formed of fleurs-de-lis, and, the changes of the negotiation having for a moment fixed the choice of the two Governments on her sister Doña Maria,[48] Anne, then nine years old, declared, “that if it was to be thus, she was resolved to pass her life in a monastery without ever marrying.”[49] When, three years afterwards, the Duke de Mayenne, on quitting Madrid, whither he had come to sign the marriage contract of Anne and Louis XIII., asked the former what she wished him to say on her behalf to the King of France, she replied: “That I am extremely impatient to see him.” This answer having shocked the austere Countess d’Altamira, her governess, who exclaimed—“What! madam, what will the King of France think when M. de Mayenne tells him that you have made such a speech?”—the Infanta rejoined, “Madam, you have taught me that one should always be sincere; you should not be surprised then if I speak the truth.”[50]
The two years which elapsed before her departure saw no change in these sentiments. The 9th November, 1615, she parted at Fontarabia from her father, Philip III., with less sorrow than he showed in allowing her at length to leave, and it was with pride and contentment that the new Queen, radiant with youth and beauty,[51] crossed the Bidassoa, on her way to Bordeaux, where the French court was stopping. What kind of husband was she about to meet there?
Very different from those of the Princess Anne were the impressions of Louis XIII., concerning the marriage and the family to which he was going to unite himself. People had frequently, and at an early age, conversed with him about the project. The first replies of the Dauphin, questioned from his most tender infancy, would have no significance.[52] But as he advanced in age, his aversion to everything Spanish manifested itself with characteristic energy. Twice he replied in the negative to Henri IV., when the latter spoke to him of the Infanta as his future wife.[53] One day, on M. de Ventelet asking him if he liked the Spaniards, he answered, “No.” “And why, sir?” “Because they are papa’s enemies.” “And the Infanta?” added De Ventelet, “do you love her, sir?” “No.” “Why, sir?” “I don’t want any Spanish love.”[54] Later, when his chaplain was making him recite the Commandments, on coming to “Thou shalt not kill,” the Dauphin exclaimed: “What, not the Spaniards? Oh, yes, I shall kill the Spaniards, because they are papa’s enemies! I will beat them well!” And on his chaplain observing that they were Christians, he replied: “May I only kill Turks then?”[55]
To this aversion, a great deal more significant since it was contrary to a project generally acquiesced in by those about him, soon came to be added a certain distaste for marriage. Born with the ardent and lascivious temperament of his father, impelled to follow his example by conversations often loose, sometimes obscene, Louis XIII. succeeded in modifying these early tendencies by a force of will and a power of reflection truly rare. He was naturally an observer, he spoke little and laughed still less. He was usually serious and grave at times when his pages found cause for great merriment. All that he remarked became profoundly engraved on his mind, and enabled him years afterwards to reply with marvellous pertinency to questions which were sometimes embarrassing. His young imagination was early struck by the singular effects which the King’s conduct produced at the court. In his cradle he received frequent visits, not only from his mother, but also from Henri IV.’s repudiated wife,[56] and from his numerous mistresses. They all sometimes found themselves assembled around him, the latter proud of their master’s affection, Marie de Medicis irritated, jealous, and showing it. The issue of these very open intrigues, were the Dauphin’s companions; but he instinctively abhorred them. He struck them without motive; would not have them at his table; absolutely refused to call them brothers; and when Henri IV., after having beaten him without overcoming this insurmountable repugnance, asked him the reason of it, he answered, “Because they are not mamma’s sons.”[57]
This hatred for everything connected with illegitimacy was certainly the origin of the chaste reserve which was to characterize so particularly him who was the son of Henri IV. and the father of Louis XIV. From his illegitimate brothers, this aversion extended to their mothers, whom he qualified in very contemptuous terms, and to the intrigues in which they were engaged. “Shall you be as ribald as the King?” said his nurse to him one day. “No,” he answered, after a moment’s reflection. And on her asking him if he was in love, he replied, “No, I avoid love.”[58]