Montmorency

“ There is a church built for the most part in the 16th century by Anne de Montmorency. The town is a well-known resort of Parisians. To the north-east lies the fine forest of Montmorency. Bleaching and dyeing and the manufacture of lime plaster, bricks and tiles are carried on. ”

“ Henry, Duke of Montmorency, marshal of France, and governor of Languedoc, was a godson of Henry IV., who said one day to M. de Villeroy and to President Jeannin, “Look at my son Montmorency, how well made he is; if ever the house of Bourbon came to fail, there is no family in Europe which would so well deserve the crown of France as, his, whose great men have always supported it, and even added to it at the price of their blood.” ”

“ But the rumor was without foundation. Montmorency was a prisoner in the hands of the Spaniards. The veteran had exposed his own life throughout the action, as if willing to show that he would not shrink in any degree from the peril into which he had brought his followers. When he saw that the day was lost, he threw himself into the hottest of the battle, holding life cheap in comparison with honor. A shot from the pistol of a schwarzreiter, fracturing his thigh, disabled him from further resistance; and he fell into the hands of the Spaniards, who treated him with the respect due to his rank. ”

“ Policy and inclination therefore both prompted the Bourbons [7] to attach themselves to the opposition, or Montmorency faction. This party, though it attracted to its ranks fewer of the Court nobility than did that of the Duchesse de Valentinois and the Guises, was supported by the bulk of the provincial noblesse, and Montmorency’s great wealth and official position—he was Grand Master of the King’s Household as well as Constable of France—enabled him to dispense extensive patronage. ”

“ A few moments later Mademoiselle de Montmorency asked for her mother, but she could not come, for she was almost out of her mind with grief. They told her she was ill. She therefore asked for her sister, the Duchesse de Montmorency, who came at once. She said to her: ‘Tell all my companions at the Abbaye-aux-Bois that I am giving them a great example of the nothingness of human life. ”

“ Well, my boy,” continued he, rising, “since you are so precocious a gallant, what think you of exchanging pretty little Ada Somers for some black-eyed nymph, who traces her pedigree to the crusades, and calls herself Montmorency or De Longueville?”
James said nothing to this treasonable discourse; but like the silent parrot, “il n’enpensait pas moins;” and his thoughts were by no means flattering to the Ladies de Montmorency and de Longueville.
“What!” exclaimed his father, at the sight of his lugubrious countenance—“at your age not enchanted to see the world! ”

“ The bare name of a Montmorency, the first French family that ever received baptism, ought to be a passport through Christendom."
"It is a name," replied the officer, "that will pass no turnpike gate in Merionethshire. And to cut the matter short, not a carriage shall pass this gate till we have searched it."
"But if you disregard the name of Montmorency, will you show no honor to the Lilies of France? The deceased Captain mounted the flag of his Most Christian Majesty. Are you not afraid of causing a rupture between the courts of St. James and St. Cloud?" ”

“ Under these circumstances, I feel that I cannot do wrong in obeying the Queen’s orders, and that your Majesty might write to the King on the subject of Montmorency’s release in perfect confidence that such a suggestion will not be taken amiss in any quarter. Undoubtedly this great and honoured lady (Madame de Montmorency) has shown the utmost kindness and attention to the Queen during the whole of her residence in France; she has never failed to support her in every way, and on her assistance, advice, and loyalty the Queen has been always able to reckon ”

“ After the deaths of Louise of Savoy, of Chancellor Duprat, of La Tremoille, of La Palice, and of all the great warriors who fell at the battle of Pavia, it was still one more friend of Francis I.‘s boyhood, Anne de Montmorency, who remained, in council as well as army, the most considerable and the most devoted amongst his servants. In those days of war and discord, fraught with violence, there was no man who was more personally rough and violent than Montmorency. ”

“ With all her fine qualities of heart and soul, she had a temperament that saved her from much of the suffering she thoughtlessly inflicted upon others. The many violent passions she roused do not seem to have disturbed at all her own serenity. The delicate and chivalrous nature of Mathieu de Montmorency, added to his years, gave his relations to her a half-paternal character, but that he loved her always with the profound tenderness of a loyal and steadfast soul is apparent through all the singularly disinterested phases of a friendship that ended only with his life. ”

“ The Constable Montmorency, and the House of Bourbon, already trembled at the growing influence of the Guises, plainly foreseeing, that as soon as the niece of the Duke and Cardinal of Lorraine became wife to the Dauphin, and consequently, upon Henry’s death, Queen of France, their own influence would be at an end. It is not improbable that Montmorency aimed at marrying one of his own sons to Mary. At all events, he endeavoured to persuade Henry that he might find a more advantageous alliance for Francis. ”

“ At the time when Montmorency brought her and Henry together in his house at Écouen she was thirty-eight and he not quite eighteen years old. Everyone said that Henry would never fall in love; but Montmorency divined better. He determined to attach the young Prince to this woman, twenty years his senior, who was of Montmorency's party—a Catholic among Catholics, a Conservative, hating the Turco-Huguenot alliance, and hating Spain also, though filled with the spirit of Spain. Diana was still a very beautiful woman. ”

“ The 12th of January, 1826, when his father-in-law, the Duke Mathieu de Montmorency, had just been named governor to the Duke of Bordeaux, M. de La Rochefoucauld again wrote to the King:—
"Shall I thank the King for the nomination of M. de Montmorency? Six months ago, it would have been useful. To-day, it is merely good. But alas, how far is that interesting Prince from the crown! and what shocks and revolutions he must traverse first. If ever—God watch over France; the Orleans are making frightful progress." ”

“ From the barons of Fosseux, a branch of the Montmorency family established in Brabant in the 15th century, sprang the seigneurs de Boutteville, among whom was the duellist François de Montmorency-Boutteville, who was beheaded in 1627. His son, François Henri, marshal of France, became duke of Piney-Luxemburg by his marriage with Madeleine Charlotte Bonne Thérèse de Clermont, daughter of Marguerite Charlotte de Luxemburg, duchesse de Piney. Charles François Frédéric, the son of the marshal, was created duke of Beaufort in 1688 and duke of Montmorency in 1689. ”

“ Montcalm:​—​The day that you landed at the Sault de Montmorency, where you encamped immediately with a body of four thousand men, in all appearance you did not know that the river Montmorency was fordable in the wood about a mile to the north of your camp, where fifty men in front might pass the ford with water only up to their knees. Had you passed it immediately, you might have fallen upon the left of our army, cut them to pieces, and pursued them two miles, as far as the ravine of Beauport, before they could assemble a sufficient number of men to be able to resist12 you. ”

“ De Montmorency married on 25 April 1866, at Montreal, Canada, Rachel Mary Lumley Godolphin, eldest daughter of Sir John Michel [q. v.] . She survived him. By her he had two sons and three daughters. The eldest son, Raymond Harvey de Montmorency (1867–1900) , captain of the 21st Lancers, distinguished himself in the charge of his regiment at Omdurman in 1898 and was awarded the Victoria Cross for his gallantry. ”

“ To a person who desires nothing more than the primary and sudden electric feeling of an overpowering and rapturous surprise, the cascade of Montmorency would certainly be preferable, but to the visitor, whose understanding and sensibilities are animated by an infusion of antiquated romance, the Falls of the Chaudière would be more attractive. ”

“ Just see what you were about to do!'
"'That's a lie!' replied Perrot, still trying to deny his identity. 'I am Monsieur de Manffol's squire, and am sent here by Monsieur de Montmorency.'
"'Who says that he was sent by Monsieur de Montmorency?' chimed in the voice of a new arrival, who was the real envoy himself. 'My good fellows, this man lies! Here are the Montmorency ring and seal; and you ought to know me too. I am the Comte de Montausier. [3] What! you dared to take away the prisoner's gag, and were in the very act of releasing him? Wretches! ”

“ Montmorency Family. L Great distinction of, 16; motto of, 18. See also Laval.
Montmorency, Henri, Duc de (1595-1632) . In 1620 purchased the viceroyalty of New France from the Comte de Soissons, his brother-in-law, and retained Champlain as his lieutenant; in 1624 conveyed his rights as viceroy to Henri de Levi, Duc de Ventadour; served at the sieges of Montaubon and Montpellier, and in 1625 captured the islands of Ré and Oleron. ”

“ CAN GIVE THAT A MAN IS NOT HER LOVER
"'MONSIEUR de MONTMORENCY,' said the dauphin, as he entered the room, angry and cast down, 'if you had not held me back, I should be better content with myself and you than I am at present.'
"'Permit me to say, Monseigneur,' Montmorency replied, 'that you talk like a hot-headed youth, and not like the king's son. Your days do not belong to you ”

“ Montmorency had the advantage through his powerful character, his industry, and will; the Guises through their skill in winning the people and the interests to their side; in the Church, in the army, in the Parlement their influence was great and was carefully developed. On the other hand, the immense ransoms exacted from Montmorency in 1559 for himself and his relatives impoverished his estate, and the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis was unpopular and diminished his credit. Thus, after the death of Henry II the advantage lay with the younger rivals of the Constable. ”

“ Gabriel continued, "Arnauld du Thill invoked the testimony of Monsieur de Montmorency, and you do not reply to that."
"Indeed, I do, Monseigneur. It is very true that this Arnauld has been in the constable's service, but his was a disgraceful employment. He must have been a sort of spy for him, and that fully explains why he attached himself to you, to follow you about and watch your movements. But though such people are employed, they are not acknowledged. Do you suppose that Monsieur de Montmorency would choose to accept the responsibility for the doings and sayings of his emissary? ”

“ On the northern side of the realm things had gone just as badly. Philibert of Savoy, commanding for Philip with Spanish and English troops, marched into France as far as to the Somme, and laid siege to St. Quentin, which was bravely defended by Amiral de Coligny. Anne de Montmorency, coming up to relieve the place, managed his movements so clumsily that he was caught by Count Egmont and the Flemish horse, and, with incredibly small loss to the conquerors, was utterly routed (1557) . Montmorency himself and a crowd of nobles and soldiers were taken; the slaughter was great. ”

“ Montmorency continually threw his influence in favor of peace and moderation, slapping the Guises, however, in his utterances. “The Duke Montmorency said there was nothing more necessary for the maintenance of the king’s estate than the sincere observance of the edict of pacification, and such as labour to the contrary are neither friends to the king nor his crown ”

“ I have heard a trustworthy person relate how the Connétable de Montmorency, in the days of his greatest favour, discoursing of this with the king, made no difficulty or scruple in telling him that if he wanted to exterminate the heretics of his kingdom he would have to begin with his Court and his nearest relations, naming the queen, his sister. To which the king replied: “Do not speak of her; she loves me too well. She will never believe except as I believe, and never will she take any religion prejudicial to my State.” ”

“ Successful in the defence of Mézières (1521) , and as commander of the Swiss troops in the Italian campaign of the same year, he was made marshal of France in 1522, accompanied Francis into Italy in 1524, and was taken prisoner at Pavia in 1525. Released soon afterwards, he was one of the negotiators of the treaty of Madrid, and in 1530 reconducted the king’s sons into France. On the renewal of the war by Charles V.’s invasion of France in 1536, Montmorency compelled the emperor to raise the siege of Marseilles ”

“ The church spire of the former is one of the most beautiful objects in view from Montmartre, the church itself, which was desecrated in the revolution, having been restored by Napoleon. St. Denis is celebrated, in the Catholic annals, by the fact of the martyr, from whom the name is derived, having walked after decapitation, with his head under his arm, all the way from Paris to this very spot.
Montmorency is a town of no great size or importance, but lying on the side of a respectable mountain, in a way to give the spectator more than a profile, it appears to be larger than it actually is. ”