DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.45257#0096
42
THE GRAND CONDE
not get over. Meanwhile Marthe de Vigeau had
burnt his letters ; had even gone so far as to burn
his portrait; and, to make the sacrifice complete,
had taken the veil and was henceforth known as
“ Soeur Marthe” in the same Carmelite Convent.
But the Court was teeming with intriguing women
who all wished to approach the young hero, around
whose forehead laurels were now so thickly
wreathed. Strong as Cond£ was in the field, he
proved weak in the hands of an intriguing woman.
In this he resembled his ancestor Louis I de
Bourbon, whose name he bore. It was his beau-
tiful cousin, Isabelle de Montmorency, who ex-
ercised the most pernicious influence over him.
She had become the wife of Dandelot de Coligny,
who for her sake had abjured the Protestant Faith.
Ambitious to the extreme, she strove, after the
death of her husband, to attract Louis XIV whilst
still a youth, and after vainly trying to marry
Charles II of England, she ended by marrying the
Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.
Two other well-known women also contrived to
attract the Grand Conde, and with them he con-
tracted a lifelong friendship. These were Louise
Marie de Gonzague of Cleves, afterwards Queen of
Poland, and her sister Anne, known as the Princess
Palatine on account of her marriage with the son
of the Elector Frederic V. Their portraits, by
Dumoustier, can be seen at Chantilly. These
Princesses de Gonzague, before their marriages,
lived at Paris. Princesse Louise Marie held her
THE GRAND CONDE
not get over. Meanwhile Marthe de Vigeau had
burnt his letters ; had even gone so far as to burn
his portrait; and, to make the sacrifice complete,
had taken the veil and was henceforth known as
“ Soeur Marthe” in the same Carmelite Convent.
But the Court was teeming with intriguing women
who all wished to approach the young hero, around
whose forehead laurels were now so thickly
wreathed. Strong as Cond£ was in the field, he
proved weak in the hands of an intriguing woman.
In this he resembled his ancestor Louis I de
Bourbon, whose name he bore. It was his beau-
tiful cousin, Isabelle de Montmorency, who ex-
ercised the most pernicious influence over him.
She had become the wife of Dandelot de Coligny,
who for her sake had abjured the Protestant Faith.
Ambitious to the extreme, she strove, after the
death of her husband, to attract Louis XIV whilst
still a youth, and after vainly trying to marry
Charles II of England, she ended by marrying the
Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.
Two other well-known women also contrived to
attract the Grand Conde, and with them he con-
tracted a lifelong friendship. These were Louise
Marie de Gonzague of Cleves, afterwards Queen of
Poland, and her sister Anne, known as the Princess
Palatine on account of her marriage with the son
of the Elector Frederic V. Their portraits, by
Dumoustier, can be seen at Chantilly. These
Princesses de Gonzague, before their marriages,
lived at Paris. Princesse Louise Marie held her