Page:Secret History of the French Court under Richelieu and Mazarin.djvu/65

Rh especially her daughter, the amiable Charlotte, who was growing up far from her mother. She shuddered at the thought of the painful alternative which each day pressed her more strongly: either of being forced to have recourse to England and Spain, or to pledge the jewels that she had reclaimed from La Rochefoucauld. She clung to this rich parure, which is said to have come from Florence, from Marshal D'Ancre, as the brilliant souvenir of happier days; for Madame de Chevreuse was a woman with the weaknesses as well as the charms of her sex, and when passion and honor did not thrust her in the midst of perils, she delighted in all the elegancies of life. It was this mixture of womanly gentleness with masculine energy that formed the most striking trait of her character, and that rendered her fit for every position, as well for the endearments and confidence of love as for the excitement of