The Princess de Montpensier | Page 4

the welfare of
his beloved without expectation of reward. In the hands of another
writer, with some modification, he could have provided a happy ending
in the "Mills and Boon" tradition.
This translation is not a schoolroom exercise, for although I have not
altered the story, I have altered the exact way in which it is told in the
original, with the aim of making it more acceptable to the modern
reader. All translation must involve paraphrase, for what sounds well in
one language may sound ridiculous if translated literally into another,
and it is for the translator to decide how far this process may be carried.
Whether I have succeeded in my task, only the reader can say.

The Princess de Montpensier
By Madame de Lafayette

Translated by Oliver C. Colt

It was while the civil war of religion was tearing France apart that the
only daughter of the Marquis of MÇziäres, a very considerable heiress,
both because of her wealth and the illustrious house of Anjou from
which she was descended, was promised in marriage to the Duc de
Maine, the younger brother of the Duc de Guise.
The marriage was delayed because of the youth of this heiress, but the
elder of the brothers, the Duc de Guise, who saw much of her, and who
saw also the burgeoning of what was to become a great beauty, fell in
love with her and was loved in return. They concealed their feelings
with great care; the Duc de Guise, who had not yet become as
ambitious as he was to become later, wanted desperately to marry her,
but fear of angering his uncle, the Cardinal de Lorraine, who had taken
the place of his dead father, prevented him from making any
declaration.
This was how the matter stood when the ruling house of Bourbon, who
could not bear to see any benefit accruing to that of de Guise, decided
to step in and reap the profit themselves by marrying this heiress to the
Prince de Montpensier.
This project was pursued with such vigour that the parents of Mlle. de
MÇziäres, despite the promises given to the Cardinal de Lorraine,
resolved to give her in marriage to the young Prince. The house of de
Guise was much displeased at this, but the Duc himself was overcome
by grief, and regarded this as an insupportable affront. In spite of
warnings from his uncles, the Cardinal and the Duc de Aumale - who
did not wish to stand in the way of something which they could not
prevent - he expressed himself with so much violence, even in the
presence of the Prince de Montpensier, that a mutual enmity arose
between them which lasted all their lives.
Mlle. de MÇziäres, urged by her parents to marry the Prince, realised

that it was impossible for her to marry the Duc de Guise, and that if she
married his brother, the Duc de Maine, she would be in the dangerous
position of having as a brother-in-law a man whom she wished was her
husband; so she agreed finally to marry the Prince and begged the Duc
de Guise not to continue to place any obstacle in the way.
The marriage having taken place, the Prince de Montpensier took her
off to his estate of Champigny, which was where Princes of his family
usually lived, in order to remove her from Paris, where it seemed that
an outbreak of fighting was imminent: this great city being under threat
of siege by a Huguenot army led by the Prince de CondÇ, who had
once more declared war on the King.
The Prince de Montpensier had, when a very young man, formed a
close friendship with the Comte de Chabannes, a man considerably
older than himself and of exemplary character. The Comte in turn had
been so much influenced by the esteem and friendship of the Prince
that he had broken off influential connections which he had with the
Prince de CondÇ, and had declared for the Catholics; a change of sides
which, having no other foundation, was regarded with suspicion: so
much so that the Queen Mother, Catherine de Medici, on the
declaration of war by the Huguenots, proposed to have him imprisoned.
The Prince de Montpensier prevented this and carried him away to
Champigny when he went there with his wife. The Comte being a very
pleasant, amiable man soon gained the approbation of the Princess and
before long she regarded him with as much friendship and confidence
as did her husband. Chabannes, for his part, observed with admiration
the beauty, sense and modesty of the young Princess, and used what
influence he had to instill in her thoughts and behaviour suited to her
elevated position; so that under his guidance she became one