THE TWO DIANAS.
BY
ALEXANDRE DUMAS.
IN THREE VOLUMES.
VOL. I.
LONDON: J. M. DENT & CO.
BOSTON, LITTLE, BROWN, & CO.
1894.
INTRODUCTORY NOTE
The claim of Alexandre Dumas to be considered first among historicalromancists, past or present, can hardly be disputed; and his magic penfinds abundant, rich material for the historical setting of the taletold in the following pages. The period in which the action of "The TwoDianas" is supposed to take place, covers the later years of Henri II.and the brief and melancholy reign of his oldest son, François II., theill-fated husband of Mary Stuart, whose later history has caused herbrief occupancy of the throne of France to be lost sight of. This periodsaw the germination and early maturity, if not the actual sowing, of thespirit of the Reformation in France. It was during these years that thename of John Calvin acquired the celebrity which has never waned, andthat his devoted followers, La Renaudie, Théodore de Bèze, AmbroiseParé, the famous surgeon, and the immortal Coligny began the crusadefor freedom of worship which was steadily maintained, unchecked byTumult of Amboise, or Massacre of St. Bartholomew, until Henri ofNavarre put the crown upon their heroic labors, and gave them respitefor a time with the famous "Edict of Nantes," made more famous still byits "Revocation" a century later under the auspices of Madame deMaintenon, at the instigation of her Jesuit allies. Those portions ofthe story which introduce us to the councils of the Reformers are nonethe less interesting because the characters introduced are actualhistorical personages, nor can it fail to add interest to the encounterbetween La Renaudie and Pardaillan to know that it really took place,and that the two men had previously been to each other almost nearerthan brothers. It was but one of innumerable heart-rending incidents,inseparable from all civil and religious conflicts, but in which thosepresided over by the Florentine mother of three Valois kings of Francewere prolific beyond belief.
How closely the author has adhered to historical fact for the groundworkof his tale, will appear by comparing it with one of Balzac's ÉtudesPhilosophiques, entitled "Sur Catherine de Médicis," the first part ofwhich covers the same period as "The Two Dianas," and describes many ofthe same events; the variations are of the slightest.
The patient forbearance of Catherine de Médicis, under the neglect ofher husband, and the arrogant presumption of Diane de Poitiers, abettedby the Constable de Montmorency; her swift and speedy vengeance uponthem as soon as she was left a widow with her large brood of possiblekings; her jealous fear of the influence of the Duc de Guise and hisbrother the Cardinal de Lorraine, which led her to desire the death ofher eldest son, the unfortunate François, because his queen was theniece of the powerful and ambitious brothers, and which also led her tooppose their influence by a combination with two such incongruouselements as the Constable Montmorency and the Protestant Bourbon princesof Navarre, remaining all the while the bitte