Цитата: Dance at house of Catherine de’ Medici
Feb. 21. 172. COBHAM to the SECRETARIES.
On Saturday M. Gondi invited me in the Queen Mother’s name to dine next day at her house ; meaning to make a private banquet to the king, not as King of France, but Henry her son and his wife. And that he might be the cheerfuller she desired me to be present, to accompany him as the servant of his good sister the Queen of England, and that I should have there no competitor for precedence, as other ambassadors would be likewise invited, whereby the king might show himself better contented finding himself in, such company. My answer was that I humbly thanked her Majesty as one willing to obey her, betaking myself into her hands to be employed at her pleasure, because the Queen’s mind was that I should serve her as she should will during the time of this service. So next day, at the hour appointed, about 10 o’clock, I went to the hostel de la Reine mère, a house of her building ; being ‘quadrante,’ all of stone, of three stories, very ‘proportially’ framed, having in one of the corners at the upper end of the quadrant a pyramid 30 fathoms high as I guess, all of hard stone, with a pair of stairs within the hollowness conveyed up to the top, from whence most part of the city may be seen. At the entry of the gate M. Gondi received me, and in the court I was met by M. la Mothe Fènelon, M. Beauvois, a captain of the guard, and Colonel Chomberg, who conducted me into a place appointed for the ambassadors, where I dined in the company of the ambassadors of Portugal and Venice. After the king had dined, the same gentlemen accompanied us to the place where the dancing was to be ; and as we were mounting the stairs the king came thither likewise, with the Queen, where, upon the occasion of some disorder through the press, the king staying plucked me to him, speaking to me of the disorder, and enquiring of me if the Queen were in like sort troubled upon such occasions. I ‘showed’ him that the smallness of the Queen’s estate could not bring forth such multitudes of nobility and gentlemen as the realm of France plentifully yielded ; but at such times she had the captains of her guard and chief officers of her chamber, who ‘gave order,’ though with some difficulty, for subjects are desirous to draw near to the person of their kings, as gods on this earth. With this I offered to put myself into the rank of the rest of the Ambassadors, but his Majesty took me by the cloak and kept me still while he was on the stairs, ever passing some pleasant speeches ; among other he wished that he might see some cheerful day between his brother and the Queen of England. I said that the Queen might think herself beholden to him for his earnest desire that way, assuring him that I have heard her Highness wish as earnestly that he were blest with children, as also good servants to both of them wished and prayed that this might be a year of good harvest wherein France and England might reap the blessed fruits of their princes’ children. With this and suchlike speeches he passed the time till we were come to the upper ‘hende’ of the chamber, where he and his Queen being placed in their chairs, he commanded me to sit on the righthand side, beside his person. The Pope’s ambassador, and the ambassadors of Savoy and Ferrara, who had dined among certain ladies, were placed round about behind him, accompanied by the Cardinal of Guise. The Portugal ambassador was beside the Queen and the ambassador of Venice beside me. After some pause the King rose from his chair, saying to me : ‘Yonder is a gentlewoman that was one of my mother’s maids, married to an Italian called Camillo Fera Mantovano, a servitor of ours ; I will do her the honour to dance with her’ ; asking me if my mistress did not use the like in England. I said she showed these favours after the manner of princes to their servants. With that he took the gentlewoman, dancing the Spanish pavane singularly well : which being done he returned and took his Queen, pacing the measures with her, followed by the Prince Dauphin, the Dukes of ‘Mercury’ and and Guise, and ‘Charles Monsieur’ [? Charles de Valois] with some of the ‘ladies of estate.’ This dance being done, the king and queen after their measures returned to their places. After this the king took Mme d’Autrey [d’Atri] lately married to Count Châteauvilain and danced with her the ‘currants,’ followed by some other young gentlemen, entertaining the time until there entered a masque ; the order of which was : First six musician maskers, playing on their lutes ; then two young boys in apparel representing Cupids, having small bows and quivers full of shafts, with certain garlands on their arms and their eyes bound with thin veils. Then there followed one of the maskers habited alla Portughese, with a ‘cassack’ and ‘gargasses’ of ‘cramoyzin’ satin, ‘laid on’ with silver lace ; his Portugal ‘capecloak’ and cap both of russet cloth of silver ; having in one hand a Portugal dart, blunt at both ends and in the other a timbrell with bells after their manner. There followed him five other maskers attired like him in all points. After they had passed once or twice about the hall they came up to where their Majesties sate and the two boys sang a French song to the lute ; afterwards they returned down again, shaking their timbrells in measure ; at the sound of which came forth six attired like women in long Spanish white satin gowns, ‘garded’ with carnation and silver lace, dancing with their timbrells ; and on passing each of them took an arrow out of the quivers of the Cupids, with which they threatened each other. The Portugueses likewise took arrows. Thereon the two boys having two scarfs of carnation and silver tinsel made a barrier by holding the scarfs at both ends, the Spanish women keeping on one side and the Portugal men on the other. They came to the barriers one to one still observing the measure in offering ‘their fight’ ; but the Portuguese when it came to striking the women threw down their darts, submitting themselves by their countenances as overcome, which act they passed one after another. On this a garland was put on the women’s heads by the Cupids. Then the Portuguese by gestures requested the Spanish women to have compassion on them ; whereon the Cupids went away with the barriers. Then the ladies after a while, with cheerful gestures, put the garlands on the Portugueses’ heads, and so they entered into sundry dances together. Thus the greater part of the afternoon of that day was spent. While these things were doing, it pleased the king to ‘minister sundry occasions’ of speech. Calling to him young Lansac, the chief and deviser of the masque, he willed him to bring the verses that were sung. After he had a little perused them he delivered them to me ; whereon I said : “This should present how your Majesty’s will were to celebrate the unity of Portugal with Spain.” He said : “No ; it is to show what they ‘pass’ and our mislike ;” for his mother pretended a right to that realm. Then their Majesties arose, and I waited on them into an adjoining chamber, where were two long tables furnished with a banquet, wherein the dishes were all of ‘India earth of China,’ the bowls and cups all of crystal. There was a ‘cupbarde’ furnished only with crystal cups of sundry fashions and rare workmanship, among which was one very great covered cup of agate and a small one of lapis lazuli. The king went from thence to the Queen Mother, who had not been present owing to indisposition, through a ‘rhume fallen into her throat,’ whereupon she was that day let blood. M. de Gondi had likewise invited me and the other ambassadors to the king’s masque on Shrove-Tuesday at night ; whereon obeying his pleasure I went thither after supper with my neighbour the Portugal ambassador. We were met as before at the gate, and so accompanied to the great chamber : at the upper end of which we found the young queen already set, with her lords and ladies about her. After obeisance done, she appointed me on her right hand between her and the Princess of Lorraine, and the Portugal ambassador on her left between her and the Princess Dowager of Condé. The Pope’s nuncio and the other ambassadors took their places behind the queen. It pleased the Queen Regent very much to speak of her Majesty’s peaceable government, and of her own desire of once seeing her, and of her marriage with Monsieur. From this she ‘entered’ to speak of her apparel, showing me her gown, which was of white camlet cloth of silver, which she said she had put on for lightness ; because the gown which she wore the day before was too heavy. It was of cloth of silver, figured with a damask branch of embossed gold and coloured silk, powdered with H for the King’s name, and W signifying Vive. She said further she heard that the Queen delighted in the attires of France, and I confirmed it, adding that she liked everything which came from thence. With this there entered a dozen maskers playing on lutes, and after them six apparelled like Almain reiters, and with them sixteen, two and two, hand in hand, like Almain women, their garments ‘parted’ with white satin and cloth of gold. The King was one of the foremost two ; the next were the Dukes of Guise and ‘Mercury,’ Count ‘Montlmerey’ [?] with other gentlemen. They danced first newly devised measures, which the King had learnt privately. After that he came up and took his Queen, and his other maskers danced around with the ladies of state, and so in sundry dances the night was passed till almost 12 o’clock. The King went from thence ; the Queen rose and licensed the Ambassadors, so we returned to our lodgings. The King passed all that night abroad in sundry houses in his mask until daylight ; since which time, Wednesday and Thursday, he has kept his chamber, resting after his pleasant travails. Copy. [France IV. 40 (13).]
Автор цитаты: Lady Cobham
Цитата относится к: 1580 г.
Дата первой найденной публикации: 1904 г.
Подобрал цитату: Кондратенко Ростислав Игоревич