place. That is true,' replied he, 'but I can find a deputy who shall be sufficient." Do so,' answered the queen, and then I may bestow it on one of my ladies; for they, by deputation, may execute the office of chancellor, chief-justice, or any other, as well as yourself.' Soon after her advancement to the crown, an English knight, who had formerly treated her with insolence, apprehensive of the consequences of her resentment, on his knees besought her pardon. Do you not know,' said she, magnanimously, that we are descended of the lion, whose nature is not to prey upon the mouse or other small vermin?'* The remains of Elizabeth were interred in Westminsterabbey, in the vault of king Henry the Seventh's chapel. James, her successor, erected to her memory a magnificent monument. Hume's History of England-Ballard's Memoirs of British Ladies, &d ELIZABETH OF FRANCE. THE unhappy fate of this princess, a victim to policy, and, as it was suspected, to the gloomy jealousy of her husband, Philip II. of Spain, has afforded a theme to the dramatic muse. Elizabeth, the daughter of Henry II. and of Catherine of Medicis, was born at Fontainebleau, in April, 1545. She was originally destined to be the wife of Edward VI. of England, an alliance prevented by his premature death. She was afterwards contracted to Carlos, prince of Spain, son of Philip II., and heir to the empire. In the interval preceding the completion of the marriage, Philip was, by the death of Mary, queen of England, left a widower, and at liberty to form a new engagement. Thus circumstanced, during the negotiations which preceded the treaty of Cambresis, he demanded for himself the hand of the young princess, by the fame of whose beauty he had been attracted. His offers were accepted, and Elizabeth, in despite of reluctance and tears, led to the altar, a victim of state policy. The nuptials were celebrated by proxy, at the church of Notre-Dame, only a few days previous to the death of Henry II. * Puttenham. The title of Elizabeth de la Paix was given to the princess, who formed the cement of the pacification between France and Spain. It is agreed by all contemporary historians, that don Carlos never forgave his father for thus supplanting him: it is also insinuated, that a tender attachment subsisted between him and Elizabeth, on whose conduct, however, no criminal or improper imputations are thrown. In 1566, Elizabeth was brought by the duke of Alva to Bayonne, where an interview took place between her and her brother, Charles IX., who was accompanied by his mother, Catherine of Medicis, of whom the queen of Spain had been the favourite daughter. It was in this meeting, amidst festivity and splendor, that the execrable plan for the extirpation of the huguenots was concerted between Catherine, her son, and the duke of Alva. The particulars of the unhappy fate of don Carlos are involved in obscurity: he expired prematurely in the bloom of life, but whether by natural or violent means is uncertain. It was suspected, that, jealous of his attachment to the queen, Philip had given orders for the private execution of his son. Elizabeth, deeply affected by the misfortunes and death of the prince, survived him only ten weeks. She expired in childbed, at Madrid, October 3d, 1568, beloved and regretted by the whole nation. This catastrophe gave place to various tragical suspicions and conjectures. Brantome, on this subject, observes, "On parle fort sinistrément de sa mort." De Thou, and the abbé de St. Peal, also insinuate, that the death of the queen was accelerated. These suspicions probably had their rise, or at least received strength, in the cruel and gloomy disposition of Philip. Elizabeth was eminently beautiful in her person, and amiable in her manners. She left two daughters: the eldest, Clara Eugenia, the favourite and beloved child of Philip, married the arch-duke Albert, and was for many years governess of the Low-countries. The second, Catherine, espoused Charles-Emanuel, duke of Savoy. History of France-Ocuvres du Seigneur de Brantome. ELIZABETH ELSTOB. THIS lady, sister to William Elstob, an English clergyman, eminent for his skill in the Saxon language, united with her brother in his studies, whose assiduity she emulated, and whose success she equalled. NINON DE L'ENCLOS. THE celebrated Ninon de l'Enclos, the Aspasia of France, was born in Paris, May 15th, 1616. Her father, monsieur de l'Enclos, was a gentleman of Touraine: her mother descended from the respectable family of Raconis, in Orleans. Monsieur de l'Enclos, a man of talents and of pleasure, omitted nothing in the education of his daughter that might tend to the embellishment of her person, or the cultivation of her genius. A great part of her time was devoted to a perusal of the best authors; she learned of her father to touch the lute with exquisite skill, while she emulated his taste, and imbibed his principles. Her mother, a woman of piety, and severer morals, vainly endeavoured to counteract an education, which appeared to her not less dangerous than profane: with this view, she constrained her daughter daily to accompany her to vespers, or to hear sermons, which were but little suited to the taste of the young lady, who, during these exercises, clandestinely contrived to amuse herself with books of information or of entertainment. At fourteen years of age she lost her mother, whom her father survived but little more than a year. His address to Ninon, on his death-bed, is too curious and characteristic to be omitted: Draw near,' said he, Ninon: You see my dear child, that nothing more remains for me than the sad remembrance of those enjoyments I am now about to quit for ever. That their possession has been of no longer duration, is the only charge which I bring against nature. But, alas! my regrets are useless as vain. You, who will survive me, must make the best of your precious time. Be never scrupulous respecting the number of your pleasures, but always select in their choice.' Of a philosophy thus truly epicurean, Ninon failed not to avail herself. She began by arranging her little patrimony with a singular economy: determined to preserve her liberty by remaining unmarried, she was solicitous to secure for herself a competent support. The lessons, and the example of her father, were never from her mind: she formed her conduct upon a system of refined libertinism, in which intellectual pleasures were blended with those of sense. Her beauty, her genius, her musical talents, the charms of her wit, and the graces of her manner, captivated every heart: her house became the rendezvous of all who were distinguished for their talents, their elegance, or their rank. Delicate in her voluptuousness, and disinterested in the midst of an intoxicating homage, she was guided in the distribution of her favours solely by her taste; in the choice of her lovers, mercenary motives were allowed no share. If they complained of her inconstancy, they could not charge her with perfidy. Her heart, though corrupted by her education, was still sincere: she considered love in its lowest and most ignoble sense, as the mere caprice of the senses, a compact of animal gratification, or of mutual pleasure, free from duty, and subject to no restraint. Friendship she reverenced as the most sacred bond of the heart: but of that union of sentiment in which they are exqui sitely blended, in which the former loses all its grossness, and the latter acquires a more touching charm; of affection, that combines with the vivacity and tenderness of love, the purity, the stability, and the disinterestedness of friendship, she had, unfortunately for herself, no idea. The company who assembled to sup at her house, were permitted, as their lovely hostess was known not to be rich, to bring with them each his own dish.* Not less distinguished for knowledge and talents, than for her gallantry and accomplishments, Ninon acquired the title of la moderne Leontium. At the age of twenty-two, a dangerous illness brought her to the brink of the grave. Her friends, who surrounded her bed, deplored on this occasion the severity of her destiny, to be thus snatched from them, and the world, in the prime and bloom of her life. 'Ah!' replied she to them, 'je ne laisse au monde que des mourans.'t "It seems to me," says Voltaire, "that these words are truly philosophical, and that Ninon merits the four lines written by St. Evremond at the bottom of her picture: "L'indulgent et sage Nature A formé le cœur de Ninon Ninon's prayer to God was, " Mon Dieu, faites de moi un honnéte homme, et n'en faites jamais une honnête femme.' It is difficult to render the spirit of this expression in English: 'My God, make me an honest man (or a man of honour), but never make me a woman of honour.' The fame of her wit and talents procured her a visit from Christina, queen of Sweden, who came into France in 1655. Mademoiselle d'Aubigné, afterwards madame de Maintenon, was, about the time of her marriage with Scarron, united to Ninon in the strictest bonds of amity: they resided together for a long time; nor was their cordiality interrupted by a circumstance generally thought to be peculiarly trying to female friendship: Monsieur de Villarceaux, attached to mademoiselle d'Aubigné, was seduced by the more piquant charms of her friend; two children were the fruit of this connexion, who, soon after their birth, were separated from their mother. A singular and melancholy fate attended the elder of these sons: brought up in ignorance of his parents, at the age of nineteen, having been carefully educated, he was introduced to his mother, that he might receive at her house the finishing polish to his manners. Ignorant of the relation in which he stood to his captivating hostess, he quickly became enamoured of her attractions, and at length declared to her his sentiments; when his urgency forced from Ninon the secret of his birth. Struck on this intelligence with mingled horror, grief, and shame, he rushed from her presence, and, seizing a pistol, put, in the frenzy of the moment, a period to his existence, and 'I leave in the world only dying persons.' "In forming the heart of Ninon, wise and indulgent nature gave to her the voluptuousness of Epicurus and the virtue of Cato.” |