CHAPTER V

The fêtes of Fontainebleau--Charles IX. and Catherine set out on a grand progress through the kingdom--Dangerous illness of the Princesse de Condé--Her husband obliged to remain with her--Scandalous _dénoûment_ of the amours of Condé and Isabelle de Limeuil--Indignation of the Queen-Mother--Isabelle and the Prince de la Roche-sur-Yon--The Comte de Maulevrier accuses Isabelle of having plotted to poison the prince--She is arrested and conducted to the Franciscan convent at Auxonne--Tender correspondence between her and Du Fresne--Passionate letters of Condé to his mistress--Isabelle denies the charges against her--Her letter to Catherine--She is removed to Vienne--Her despair--Her pathetic letters to Condé--She is examined by the Bishops of Orléans and Limoges, and confronted by Maulevrier 53–69

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