Page:ThePrincessofCleves.djvu/70

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THE PRINCESS OF CLEVES.
Part II.

Rochefort, who not being able to bear the strict intimacy between her husband and the queen, represented it to the king as a criminal commerce; so that that prince, who was besides in love with Jane Seymour, thought of nothing but ridding himself of Anne Bullen; and in less than three weeks he caused the queen and her brother to be tried, had them both beheaded, and married Jane Seymour. He had afterwards several wives, whom he divorced or put to death; and among others Catherine Howard, whose confidant the viscount Rochefort was, and who was beheaded with her. Thus was she punished for having falsely accused Anne Bullen. And Henry VIIIth died, being become excessive fat.

All the ladies that were present when the queen-dauphin made this relation, thanked her for having given them so good an account of the court of England; and among the rest madam de Cleves, who could not forbear asking several questions concerning queen Elizabeth.

The queen-dauphin caused pictures in miniature to be drawn of all the beauties of the court, in order to send them to the queen her mother. One day, when that of madam de Cleves was finished, the queen-dauphin came to spend the afternoon with her; the duke de Nemours did not fail to be there; he let slip no opportunities of seeing madam de Cleves, yet without appearing to contrive them. She looked so pretty that day, that he would have fell in love with her, though he had not been so before: however he durst not keep his eyes fixed upon her, while she was sitting for her picture, for fear of showing too much the pleasure he took in looking at her.

The queen-dauphin asked monsieur de Cleves for a little picture he had of his wife's, to compare it with that which was just drawn; every body gave their judgment of the one and the other; and madam de Cleves ordered the painter to mend something in the